Father Frost

by Carol5 Comments
"Father Frost" Today's story comes from Russia, but it features some familiar characters. We have a the typical beautiful kind young woman, the evil step-mother and a loving father with no backbone. The story starts in a far-off land somewhere in Russia. The stepmother is kind and loving to her own daughter but, as expected, mean and cruel to her lovely step-daughter. One day, step-mom demands that the father take his daughter away. "Now, old man, I want thee to take thy daughter away from my eyes, away from my ears. Thou shalt not take her to thy people into a warm izba. Thou shalt take her into the wide, wide fields to the crackling frost." The old man shows some remorse weeping, but nevertheless packs the girl off in the sleigh, drives her to the fields,...
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A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

by Carol11 Comments
Amber (10) and I have been listening to the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket in the car this summer. So far, we've heard #1 through #6 and we've just started the 7th. I have to say I've been enjoying them and of course she has or we wouldn't keep borrowing new ones from the library. I'm not going to go into the plot for each one. Suffice it to say that three young orphans go from guardian to guardian, always pursued by the evil Count Olaf in various disguises. He is after their fortune, of course, and though the kids tell person after person, the adults never believe the children and they never see through Olaf's assumed identities until the last chapter when it becomes obvious and Olaf gets away anyway. I can certainly see the appeal for kids. What kid hasn't felt like they are surrounded by adults who often don't see or don't understand the most obvious things?...
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A Maze of Grace by Trish Ryan

by Carol7 Comments
A Maze of Grace by Trish Ryan Tish Ryan lets us into her life, discussing the early years of her marriage. She candidly tells us about the happiness, the struggles, temptations and struggles, and how God has been with her through all of it, even if it doesn't always feel that way. She attempts to inspire and encourage us through relating what she has learned. I have mixed feelings about the book. I like Ryan's attitude that marriage is not "hard," that it can be a fun adventure, a life shared. I like her honesty and the importance she places on prayer. I found some of her comments about marriage and relationships insightful and am glad I read the book. I don't like that she spends over half of the book talking about wanting to have a baby, craving to be a mother, but never resolves those feelings. I know that it's a memoir and the baby's not going to magically appear like...
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Favorite Letters

by Carol8 Comments
U in the title Ulysses has the look of a sacred vessel, a Grecian urn, and James Joyce's novel begins with the phrase "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan..." Lots of U-ness there. The letter o suggests an alluring or erotic roundness, orifices waiting to be filled, hence the infamous Story of O, but two of them together (OO) look like fake boobs on an exotic dancer or two fat men fighting for a seat on the bus: zoot, moot, booze, tattoo, kangaroo. (pg. 19, The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark) This one keeps yelling at me from the shelf, "Read me! You'll fall in love with me!" In the meantime, though, if this teaser has caught your attention, I'm giving away three copies here. 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...
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Near Grenoble by Felix Feneon

by Carol2 Comments
"Near Grenoble" by Félix Fénéon Murder, affairs, secrets all come together in this incredibly short piece. Bones have been discovered in a villa on Ile Verte, near Grenoble, those—she admits it—of the clandestine offspring of Mme P. I marvel at how much drama is packed in those few words. It's from Novels in Three Lines, and I can totally see how completely flushing out the plot, the characters, telling the events behind this discovery and the consequences of the bones being found could result in a full-fledged novel. I love this distilled version though, this condensed new story. Not a single word is wasted, each has to sparkle. John hosts Short Story Monday at The Book Mine Set. Head over there to see what he and others have been reading....
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