The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton

by Carol4 Comments
The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton I have to admit that I have a growing fondness for steampunk, and there are lots of cool details in this fun, quick read. Julia, airship waitress and music hall dancer, wants to discover who murdered her sister and why. When the famous Lady Law offers to solve the case for free, Julia can't help but agree. After all, Lady Law has caught countless criminals, including Jack the Ripper, beating Scotland Yard to the punch every time. But Julia doesn't entirely trust her, and neither does Julia's new friend, Constable Al Grant. Al and Julia, along with an aging adventurer Horace Holly, unravel the truth. The mystery held my attention, even though I have to say I was a little disappointed in the ending, but simply it used a device that I'm not a big fan of. I truly liked Julia's character. She's a tough lady, but only because she has to be. She's waiting for...
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Game Night Quote

by CarolNo Comments
From The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino: "You know, chess really isn't my kind of game," Kusanagi muttered. Yukawa rolled his eyes. "Here he goes again." "First of all, what's all this about taking your opponent's pieces and not being able to use them? They're the spoils of war! Why can't I add them to my army?" "Don't go blaming the rules of the game. Besides, the fact of the matter is your opponent's pieces aren't spoils, they're soldiers. When you take them off the board, you're kiling them. Not much use for dead soldiers." "But you can use them in shogi!" "Well, credit the man tho though t up shogi for being so flexible. I suppose that when you capture pieces in shogi your'e making them surrender, not killing them. That's why you get to use them again." "Chess should be the same way." "I don't think going turncoat sits well with the spirit of knightood." (pg 39-40 in the ARC)...
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I don’t want a time machine.

by Carol8 Comments
I recently read a story in which the private detective used a time machine to go back in time, view the crimes in progress, so that she could the "solve" them, put the bad guy away and get some publicity. The story was fun enough, and the machine didn't really play too big a part until the end and then it confused things up some, with two versions of her running around and goons from the future with guns, but that's beside the point. Honestly, I wish they had used something else, mind-reading, paying for information, slinking through the shadows gathering information. I'm just not a big fan of time travel. And why does time travel also involve physical space too. Usually not only are they traveling through time but also across distances. Like they leave 21st-century New York and end up in Victorian England. Like it would make more sense to me to leave 21st-century London and wind up...
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The Ballad of Belle Dorcas by William H. Hooks

by Carol5 Comments
The Ballad of Belle Dorcas by William H. Hooks, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Suggested reading level: Grades 2 - 4) This is a wonderful re-telling of a traditional American story, but one I've never heard before. According to the author, this is one of the many "conjure" tales he was told when he was a child in the tidewater area of rural North Carolina. He remember listening with "awe and tantalizing shivers." Belle Dorcas is free issue, the daughter of a slave woman and her master who was granted her freedom at birth. She works in the master's home, but her mom is dreaming of the day when Belle will marry a free issue man and live in her own home on her own land. Despite being courted by a number of eligible free men, Belle falls in love with a slave, Joshua, and gains permission to marry him. She gives up everything for love. When a new master plans to sell Joshua,...
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Over two years ago

by Carol14 Comments
My first post was over two years ago, and I actually do remember why I started this blog in the first place. I had just discovered the world of book blogs and thought had to join in. And I've never regretted it. It's fun, talking about books I love or hate, sharing bits of my life, showing off my photos, "meeting" new people from all over the world. I have to admit that I love the internet. Face-to-face, I'm not totally comfortable, and I'm horrible on the phone. The internet and e-mail have liberated me. I can write whatever I want- if people care enough to read it great, if not that's fine too. At heart, my blog is for me. It's about the things I enjoy, the people I love. It made me happy in the beginning and still does. Why did you start blogging?...
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