February Wrap Up

I'm tired of snow. Have I mentioned that lately? I keep threatening not to come out of the house until April. Luckily David deals with all the shoveling and what-not, so I guess I shouldn't complain too loudly. February was a pretty quiet month at our house, nothing major going on. We had David's folks and brother over to watch the Super Bowl and we watched the Olympics a fair amount. Amber missed a bunch of days because of the snow, but she's definitely not complaining. I read or listened to 11 books, 3 short stories and 2 fairy tales, even though my comments aren't up yet for all of them. The Girl who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton The Help by Kathryn Stockett The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse The Bug Scientists by Donna M. Jackson Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep The Problem Child by Michael Buckley The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle Mystery of Merlin and the...
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Game Night – Ad Astra

Ad Astra Designers: Bruno Faidutti, Serge Laget Manufacturers: Fantasy Flight Games, Nexus Editrice Year: 2009 Players: 3 - 5 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 13 and up This is not my favorite game set in space. That would be Race for the Galaxy, but Ad Astra's fun enough to play occasionally. Basically players explore the galaxy searching for new planets. Most planets produce a resource, allowing you to build colonies, factories and more ships. Sometimes, however you will run across an alien artifact that can give you a distinct advantage. The turn system is unusual. Each player has a handful of cards allowing different actions like exploring, building and trading. At the beginning of the round, these action cards are placed face down on the main game board on one of fifteen slots, whatever is open at the time. The number on the slot indicates the order in which that action card will be resolved. Since all players may be able to benefit from...
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The Monkey and the Camel by Aesop

"The Monkey and the Camel" by Aesop I had never heard of this fable before, but with hundreds of fables attributed to Aesop it's really no surprise. Here's the story, from Litscape.com: The beasts of the forest gave a splendid entertainment, at which the Monkey stood up and danced. Having vastly delighted the assembly, he sat down amidst universal applause. The Camel, envious of the praises bestowed on the Monkey and desirous to divert to himself the favor of the guests, proposed to stand up in his turn, and dance for their amusement. He moved about in so very ridiculous a manner, that the Beasts, in a fit of indignation, set upon him with clubs, and drove him out of the assembly. Moral: It is absurd to ape our betters. We've all at some time or other wished we had talents or abilities that we don't. Poor Camel took it a step further, actually trying to dance like monkey, in front of a large, distinguished audience...
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Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass

Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass When I first started reading this one, I thought it was awfully similar to other urban fantasy out there right now. There's the strong, brave, independent heroine, Kira, whose father figure/ handler is killed and she wants revenge. Enter the male lead who she's attracted to but doesn't at first want to work with. There are a couple of catches though that set it apart. Kira is a Shadowchaser, working on the side of Light fighting the Shadow, evil and chaos and the man, Khefar, is a 4,000 year old Nubian warrior whose dagger happens to fall into Kira's hands. What really makes the book stand out for me though, is the incorporation of Egyptian mythology. [Kira's] eyes closed as she held her prayers in her heart waiting. She never doubted her patron deity; enforcing order and justice were her life, and she lived the principle of Ma'at every day. Soon enough she felt a brush of warmth,...
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The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle

The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle I think the title of this one is perfect. Vintage refers to the wines that are stolen from a hot-shot Hollywood lawyer. Sam Levitt, a former crook turned PI, is hired by his ex-girlfriend who works for the insurance company to find the bottles. The caper follows the wine's trail from Hollywood to Bordeaux and Marseille in the south of France, where Sam and his French colleague make some questionable decisions, skirting the law a little, but for the right reasons. As a mystery, it doesn't hold up too well. The plot is fairly predictable, no twists or turns to speak of. The clues are more long-shot guesses that turn out helpful. As a fun romp though, it's thoroughly enjoyable. And the sumptuous wines, delicious meals and gorgeous scenery are what truly carry the book. It really is a book for wine-lovers, not necessarily mystery-lovers. And the characters are delightful to spend some time with. I actually listened...
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