Escapade by Walter Satterthwait

by Carol8 Comments
Escapade by Walter Satterthwait I finally finished this last night. I wish I could say I liked it. It seems like it should be right up my alley - great characters, including Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a murder, a locked room, an English country manor. Throw in some "ghosts" and a séance and you can see why I was drawn to it. Unfortunately I was bored. Phil Beaumont is a Pinkerton detective whose current assignment is to guard Houdini from a rival magician. He accompanies Houdini to a weekend gathering at and English country manor where there are several other guests, including a slightly nutty Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. the old Earl is murdered, Phil and Houdini decide to investigate with the help of another guest's paid companion, Jane Turner. Jane is a very competent young lady and holds her own in the story. "Someone meant to kill her?" she asked me. "Sounds like it." "But that's insane," said Mrs. Corneill. "Why...
Read More

Teaser from Escapade by Walter Satterthwait

by Carol8 Comments
Her eyes were narrowed and she was staring at my hand. "Let me go," she said, her voice low and threatening. The rules of the game had changed, and she didn't like it. (pg. 137, Escapade by Walter Satterthwait) Yes, I'm still slogging through this book. I can't put my finger on what's missing. It's got some great character, a murder in a locked room, witty dialogues, but I'm just bored, trying to finish. I don't hate it enough to just put it down, but I just can't seem to care enough to pick it up rather than doing something else. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. Purchase at...
Read More

2011-2012 Choose to Read Ohio

by Carol1 Comment
The Choose to Read Ohio list for 2011-2012 looks great. I'm going to try to read several of these over the next couple of years. Children's Titles The Giant of Seville by Dan Andreasen The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! illustrated by Will Hillenbrand Otis by Loren Long B is for Buckeye by Marcia Schonberg Tween Titles Firegirl by Tony Abbott Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton The Brother's War by J. Patrick Lewis Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson Teen Titles Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson Two Girls of Gettysburg by Lisa Klein Beneath My Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar Bone #1: Out of Boneville by Jeff Smith Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor Adult Titles The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini Blood of the Prodigal by P. L. Gaus All the Way Home by David Giffels Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead To learn more about the books...
Read More

The Snowman by Hans Christian Andersen

by Carol8 Comments
"The Snowman" by Hans Christian Andersen This is such a sad story. It starts with a snowman enjoying the nice crisp winter air, and then a bitter old dog comes around and starts to taunt the snowman. The dog first tells the snowman that the sun will make him melt eventually and then directs the snowman's attention to the stove indoors. From there, it becomes a tale of unrequited love. During the whole day the Snow Man stood looking in through the window, and in the twilight hour the room became still more inviting, for from the stove came a gentle glow, not like the sun or the moon; no, only the bright light which gleams from a stove when it has been well fed. When the door of the stove was opened, the flames darted out of its mouth; this is customary with all stoves. The...
Read More

Case Closed? by Susan Hughes

by Carol6 Comments
Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) Amber (10) is a big fan of non-fiction, but they can sometimes be hard to find for her age range. This one she really enjoyed. We read it aloud over three evenings, and all the mysteries were interesting.I have to say that she was a little leery of reading it at first. I think she thought it was going to be boring, but after the first page of the first case, the story of a female pharaoh in ancient Egypt, she was hooked. The nine "mysteries" range from in time period from the ancient world to the 1970s. The include a city that disappeared into the desert, several explorations that were never heard from again, and the story of Princess Anastasia. "Using both traditional search methods and modern technology, researchers around the globe are now shedding new light on old mysteries. In these pages,...
Read More