The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

by Carol13 Comments
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux I've never actually seen the musical or watched the movie, but I still had some general idea in my head of what the story was like. I had some idea of a romantic love story. Apparently I was wrong. It's more like a horror story. Leroux presents this as a true story, that he has researched in depth. After having spoken with some of the main characters and reviewed the written records, he is ready to present the actual story of the scandal. The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is...
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Green Like God by Jonathan Merritt

by Carol6 Comments
Green Like God by Jonathan Merritt I have to say that I was a little skeptical when I first started this book. Environmentalism and "Go Green" is so politically correct and cool, I guess, that I didn't want want a re-hash of what we've already been told over and over again. But this was so much better than my expectations. I usually use post-its in books, both fiction and non-fiction, to mark passages I find interesting, beautiful, thought -provoking, that strike me in some way. Usually, there's maybe 5 marked pages when I'm finished with a book. This time I think I've got like 20 pages marked, which is pretty impressive for such a short book. It just grabbed my attention. Of all things I've grown to love most about God, topping the list is that He is so unexpected. Parting the Red Sea? Who would have predicted that one? Feeding a crowd from a child's lunch box? No way. Wrapping His...
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A Touch of Sci-Fi

by Carol3 Comments
"How are the inertial dampers treating you, my Lord?" asked Tink, looking gleefully over her shoulder at Jon. Clearly charmed by the mischievous slavegirl, Jon smiled and patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Smooth sailin', Missy. Yeh be one a' th' best pilots I ever seen, little one." (pg. 110, Captain Bonny Morgan by Robert "Doc" Gowdy) I haven't gotten very far in this sci-fi novel yet, but it seems like it should be a fun one, kind of an irreverent, erotic space adventure. Do you read much science fiction? Any favorites that you've read lately? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. My copy was sent by Pump Up Your Book! for a blog tour and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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Another Week in the Books

by Carol5 Comments
I actually finished a few books this week, so I've got a couple of reviews I need to get up. One is Green Like God by Jonathan Merritt, which really made me look at taking care of our environment in a different light. We had a really nice week. On Tuesday, after Amber's appointment we convinced David to play hooky from work for a couple hours. We had a nice lunch at the Olive Garden, Amber's choice, and then went for a walk in a park just up the road from David's office. Really a nice place. We got some of our early plants in the garden - lettuce, peas, onions. And my azaleas are blooming. They look gorgeous. On Saturday, Amber and I went to see the Pittsburgh Symphony. We actually got complimentary tickets- 5th row. It was the Cirque de la Symphonie show and was absolutely fabulous. Whoever thought of combining the cirque performers with the symphony was a genius. Not...
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Game Night – Kingsburg: To Forge a Realm

by Carol2 Comments
Kingsburg: To Forge a Realm Designers: Andrea Chiarvesio, Luca Iennaco Manufacturer: Fantasy Flight Games Year: 2009 Players: 2 - 5 Time: 90 minutes Ages: 10 and up A few weeks ago I wrote about Kingsburg, a fun game where you build buildings, influence the king's advisors and defeat monsters. This is a great expansion. It adds variety and new strategies. Lately I've been feeling a little burned out on expansions, but this one really does help the game. It doesn't feel so much like an expansion for expansion's sake, as some do. Actually, the expansion is more a collection of 5 "modules" that can be used separately or in conjunction to change the base game, add a little something different. The first module is new province sheets. They have the original buildings, but add on two new rows. The second module is single strips of building that can be used over lines in the original province sheets or the new ones. When...
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