If…

by Carol4 Comments
If I was... a month I'd be December a day of the week I'd be Wednesday a time of the day I'd be mid-afternoon If I was... a sea animal I'd be an otter a direction I'd be South a piece of furniture I'd be a big comfy armchair a liquid I'd be hot chocolate If I was... a gemstone I'd be a sapphire a tree I'd be an oak a tool I'd be a hammer a kind of weather I'd be sunny If I was... a musical instrument I'd be a piano a color I'd be purple an emotion I'd be content a fruit I'd be an apple If I was... a food I'd be spaghetti a material I'd be wool a scent I'd be peppermint a flavor I'd be banana If I was... a sound I'd be a chuckle an element I'd be earth a mammal I'd be a fox a phase of the moon I'd be a crescent If I was... a berry I'd be a blackberry a bird I'd be a red-winged blackbird a book I'd be My Many Colored Days a place I'd be home I stole this from...
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The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm

by Carol12 Comments
The Deepest Water by Kate Wilhelm I actually listened to this one, an audiobook narrated by Marguerite Gavin. I've never read anything by Wilhelm before, although I 'm not quite sure how I missed her. She's been writing in a variety of genres since the 1960s, including mystery, science fiction and fantasy. The story centers on Abby, whose father, author Jud Connors, was murdered at his secluded lakefront cabin. The detective in charge of the case seems to be making little progress, at least from Abby's point of view. Abby, against the wishes off her husband Brice, begins investigating the murder and her father's past, helped by Jud's lover and his closest friend, both strong intelligent women. The female characters were the highlight of the book for me. Abby seems real, devastated by her father's murder, determined to find the killer, confused by what she discovers. Wilhelm hits a perfect note with the two older women also. They each have their own personalities,...
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Montana Destiny by R. C. Ryan with Giveaway

by Carol14 Comments
Montana Destiny by R. C. Ryan I'm sorry to say this romance just didn't work for me. This is the second in the trilogy that began with Montana Legacy, which I enjoyed. This centers on the second of three cousins, Wyatt, who after spending years traveling the globe has settled down at his family's ranch in Montana, in part to search for a legendary treasure, but also because it's the only place that truly feels like home. His love interest is the local EMT, Marilee Trainor, a woman who loves her independence. Of course, the two fall madly in love, face life-threatening situations due to the treasure, have a fight, get back together. I'm assuming there's a happy ending, but to be honest I didn't get that far. I mentioned to my brother the other day that I wasn't really enjoying the story, that I didn't really care about the characters. It's just too predictable and some of the lines are downright corny,...
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Handwriting

by Carol4 Comments
The young man opened it and found inside an arabesque of words, scratched-out sentences, insertions, notes, marginal annotations; a cathedral of vowels, consonants, uppercase letters, lowercase letter, erasures, and changes, which Guérin scrutinized hungrily. He strained to decipher the irregular, brittle, jerky handwriting that filled every available space, page after page. Proust's downward-slanting script was exceedingly angular, entangled, hastily scrawled. (pg. 27, Proust's Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini, uncorrected proof) Our handwriting can say a lot about us and how we think, whether we want it to or not, unlike the print that computers show. There is definitely something more personal about seeing someone's actual writing, about the process they went through. I wonder what my handwriting says about me, even if I seldom write things out anymore. 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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The Babysitter’s Code by Laura Lippman

by Carol2 Comments
"The Babysitter's Code" by Laura Lippman I was browsing through the archives at Fifty-Two stories again and came across this one by Laura Lippman. Laura Lippman is one of those authors who have been on my to-read list for what seems like forever, but somehow I just never seem to get around to. Based on this short story, I really do need to move her to the top. Terri Snyder is the most in demand babysitter in River Run and knows all the rules. She sneaks and peaks, snoops all she wants, but knows to make sure everything is in it's rightful place before the houses owners return, following the real babysitter rules. One of her weekly clients is Jakkie Delafield, a young rich housewife who just doesn't fit in with the neighborhood. While going through Jakkie's lingerie, Terri finds a small silver handgun. At first she doesn't touch it, but eventually the temptation proves too much. And that's when the husband comes...
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