Another Week in the Books

by Carol6 Comments
First of all, I want to thank Tif at Tif Talks Books for passing this fabulous award on to me a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it adorable? This past week I posted three book reviews. I loved The Miracle Worker by William Gibson and, after reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, totally understand why Amber (10) calls the Percy Jackson series one of her favorites. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, though. I also have a couple of giveaways still going on, both are for audiobooks. I have three copies of The War Lovers by Evans Thomas and three of Eat the Cookie...Buy the Shoes by Joyce Meyer. I was pretty lousy about keeping my camera with me this past week. In addition to our usual game night, we did a couple of fun things, but have no pictures to show. On Saturday, my Mom, Amber and I went up to...
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The Princess and the Accountant by Robert E. Rogoff

by Carol4 Comments
"The Princess and the Accountant" by Robert E. Rogoff In this short story, Rogoff takes a common fairy tale element, the quest to marry the princess, and reimagines it with a science fiction twist. Ralph is an accountant with the Royal Distribution Agency and has been for three centuries, when he tells his manager he's quitting. He feels it's his destiny to marry the princess, even though he has a middle-class genome, and the time has finally come for him to go to the palace. Many people try to stop him along the path, including the police, a war fighter a journalist, even a female tenant farmer who asks him to join her for a drink. He tells each his story and is allowed to pass. "If this is your destiny, then it cannot be denied." It turns out it's true, destiny cannot be denied. However, remember this isn't a traditional fairy tale. It isn't everyone's destiny to marry the princess. The sci-fi aspects...
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The Miracle Worker by William Gibson

by Carol6 Comments
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson I read this short play in one sitting, with a slight break to find some tissues. To be honest, while I knew who Helen Keller was, I've never really thought much about her life, about how amazing it truly was that her teacher found a way to reach her.  Both of them, Helen and her teacher Annie Sullivan were simply remarkable women. According to the author's note, the play for the most part was based on Annie's own letters from the time. The play opens with Helen's parents discovering that following an illness, their baby can neither see nor hear them. Helen, with no way to interact with the world around her becomes a violent, angry undisciplined girl. When her parents have almost given up, talking about sending her to an institution, a letter they sent to the Perkins Institution in Boston is answered. Annie Sullivan arrives to teach Helen. At only 21 and half-blind herself, Annie...
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Game Night – Apples to Apples

by Carol5 Comments
Apples to Apples Designers: Matthew Kirby, Mark Alan Osterhaus Manufacturer: Mattel Artist: John Kovalic Year: 2008 Players: 4 - 10 Time: 20 - 30 minutes Ages: 12 and up As I was looking through the list of games I've talked about, I realized that I've never mentioned Apples to Apples. It's probably because I have kind of a love/hate relationship with the game. It's a great game when you have a bunch of people. It consists of two decks of cards, Things/People and Descriptions. Each turn, the current referee draws a Description from the face-down deck and players try to quickly pick, from the cards in their hands, the Things that best match that Description. We actually play that the slowest player doesn't get to submit a Thing that round. Players get to argue for the cards of their choice, then he referee chooses the Thing that appeals most and awards the card to the player who played it....
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The Philosopher’s Stone by Hans Christian Andersen

by Carol6 Comments
"The Philosopher's Stone" by Hans Christian Andersen This was a new fairy tale to me, one that I've never heard before. The version I read, available at SurLaLune is from Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales. Mrs. Henry H. B. Paull, translator. [1872, 1883]. It tells of the wisest man in the world who lives in a crystal castle at the top of the Tree of the Sun in India. He knows everything there is to know, including has happened and what will happen. In a secret chamber in the castle is his most treasure possession, the Book of Truth, which he had read through, page by page, except the section titled "Life after Death" whose pages appeared blank. This man had five intelligent children, four sons and one blind daughter. He spoke to them of the true, the beautiful, and...
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Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

by Carol6 Comments
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout I enjoyed the way this book was constructed. It's a collection of stories about the residents of Crosby, Maine, dealing with their secrets and disappointments, their strengths, their passions, their despairs. The title character, Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher, appears in all the stories, although sometimes in only a minor way. Everyone in town knows her and she knows everyone else. Olive is the resident we come to understand the most. At times she can be mean and overly blunt, but she can also be patient, honest and caring. We see her grow through the stories, but at the same time, she is who she is. Olive's private view is that life depends on what she thinks of as "big bursts" and "little bursts." Big bursts are things like marriage or children, intimacies that keep you afloat, but these big bursts hold dangerous, unseen currents. Which is why you need the...
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