Guest Post about Christmas Shopping by Pat Snyder

by Carol8 Comments
I want to thank Pat Snyder, author of The Dog Ate My Planner, for guest posting today. Her story about Christmas shopping made me laugh. ONLY ONE WISE MAN BROUGHT GOLD Ever on the lookout for time-savers, I was blown away when my friend Jean said she didn’t do Christmas shopping for her adult children. “I’m terrible,” she said. “I just write a check.” “Not terrible!” I told her, feet still hurting from last year’s hunt. “Money’s what they want! Money’s what they need! I’ve never seen one of them return it.” The prospect of a shopping strike left me reeling. Mentally, I fast-forwarded to two weeks before Christmas under a no-shopping plan. I am sitting in front of the fireplace, sipping red wine (for my health) and tucking three checks into gift envelopes to be hung from the tree. I have purchased lovely cards for my spouse and my mom. And I’ve gone to the Heifer International website (http://www.heifer.org) and notified my out-of-town relatives...
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Q is for Quiet

by Carol10 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is Q. I'm going back to one I read in 2007. I didn't make any notes about it at the time, but did rate it 4 1/2 stars out of 5. The Quiet Game by Greg Iles Taking place in Natchez, Miss. The Quiet Game is flavored with the violence and seamy undertones of a Southern Gothic. After his wife's death, Penn Cage, a former Houston prosecutor and a bestselling suspense novelist, retreats to his parents' home in Natchez with his grieving young daughter. The healing process is interrupted when Cage learns that someone is blackmailing his father, a saintly family doctor who once made a lethal mistake. In tracing the source of his father's moral dilemma, Cage stumbles upon a trail of lies surrounding the unsolved murder of a black man in 1968. He determines to reopen the case, even though his antebellum hometown is smoldering with racial tension. With the...
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November wrap-up

by Carol11 Comments
November was a great month, all-around. I read14 books, although a couple of reviews aren't up yet. The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie dePaola Frankenstein by Mary Shelley X Marks the Spot by Margaret Hall The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham Chosen by Desire by Kate Perry Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby You Wouldn’t Want to be Sick in the 16th Century! by Kathryn Senior Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado I'm happy that I read one classic this month. Of the others, 8 were kids books and 2 were coffee table art books. I made some progress on my challenges and joined another one. Operation Actually Read Bible- I read Psalms 31-60 and Isaiah  1-31. (NIV) 100+ – I’m at 136. What’s in a Name? – Completed A-Z – 46/52 Wilkie Collins – 0/2 Shelf Discovery – 0/6 Women Unbound - 0/5 At home...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol12 Comments
Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: For a month before Christmas he turns his sleuthing genius to tracking down unusual wrapping papers, fine ribbons, and artistic stickers; and he spends the last two days creating beauty. So it was that when Attorney John S. Bondling called, Inspector Queen was in his kitchen, swathed in a barbecue apron, up to his elbows in fines herbes, while Ellery, behind the locked door of his study, composed a secret symphony in glittering fuschia metallic paper, forest-green moiré ribbon, and pine cones. -pg. 286, "The Adventure of the Dauphin's Doll" by Ellery Queen, in Murder for Christmas edited by Thomas Godfrey Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of...
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Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby

by Carol7 Comments
Secrets of a Christmas Box by Steven Hornby (Suggested reading level: Ages 9-12) This book is a magical read for December. One of the tree-dwellers, Larry, a glass snowman, has waken up on the tree after a long sleep only to discover that his brother is missing. Larry, his girlfriend Debbie, their pet Tinsel and a new-comer to the tree, break the rules, leave the tree and set off to find Larry's brother. On their journey through the house they face many dangers, not the least of which is the cat, and learn a deadly secret about their safe world on the tree. Amber (9) and I read this together and both enjoyed it. To use Amber's words, "Larry and Splint rock! It's awesome." It was a fun read, with lots of adventure for the pint-sized heroes and Amber definitely did not see the twist coming at the end. I did, but that's partly because I had to peek ahead, just to make...
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