Top Ten Things that Make My Life as a Blogger Easier

by Carol15 Comments
Top Ten Things that Make My Life as a Blogger Easier My husband - He may not be a reader, but he encourages my blogging and pretends to be interested when I change my template or something Goodreads - Not only does it have blurbs, it also lets me keep track of my lists of books to read, books I've read, books I've received last month FictFact - Keeps track of my series, where I'm at, which ones I've read Google Calendar - for specific tour dates/guest posts/giveawas NetGalley - A great source for e-ARCs Audiobook Jukebox - Great for audiobook lovers Library - Who doesn't love the library? Bloglovin'/Twitter/Facebook - All ways I keep up with other folks. I love the community part of blogging. Coffee and chocolate - They make life in general easier, so that counts, right? Good books Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish....
Read More
Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

by Carol12 Comments
Recommending books is always hard. I may recommend a certain book to my daughter that I would never recommend to one of my friends. And what if the person hates a book I love? Here are some of the books I tend to tell people they should read. Classic The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Yes, it's long, but it's a grand adventure and the revenge novel. Make sure you get the unabridged version. General Fiction The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Made me laugh and cry and gave me a new look at the South in the 60s. Mystery Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series - tTis is the only mystery series I've told my mother she had to read. They have more layers than the average who dunnit. Have Gun, Will Play by Camille LaGuerre - The sleuths in this Old West mystery are one of my favorite fictional couples. Fantasy Trash, Sex, Magic by Jennifer Stevenson - Unique plot, gorgeous writing, truly memorable. Childrens/ Middle School Favorite Tales...
Read More
Saturday 9: Call Me Maybe

Saturday 9: Call Me Maybe

by Carol5 Comments
Saturday 9: Call Me Maybe  1) Do you owe anyone a phone call? No, not really. There are a couple of people I need to call, but not anyone I owe a call. 2) Do you still have a landline phone? No, we have three cell phones, but no landline. 3) When was the last time you looked up a number in the phone book? I'm not sure. Usually I look on-line. 4) Do you receive more calls or texts? More texts, by far. Of course, I'm not really much for actually talking on the phone, never have been, even in the days before e-mail and text. 5) Carly Rae made the Final 3 on Canadian Idol. Can you name another cultural import from Canada? Michael J Fox - always loved him! 6) Sam grew sick of this song by hearing it too often on the radio. Where do you listen to the radio most often? Car? Work? Somewhere else? Most often at work, but...
Read More
Saturday 9: Aida

Saturday 9: Aida

by Carol7 Comments
Saturday 9: Aida 1) Have you ever been to the opera? No, I don't think I've ever been to an opera. I'd like to one day. 2) Maria Callas was often called a "diva." Is that a compliment or a criticism? Both, I think. A diva is a wonderful singer, but the term also implies that she knows it, that she expects to be treated as a special person, to have her wants attended to at all times. A diva can be difficult to work with or for, but she's worth the effort. 3) Aida was composed by famous Italian Giusseppe Verdi. In addition to opera, what else can the world thank Italy for? Spaghetti and sauce, pizza, gelato, great art and music, fast cars. . . 4) Verdi was Italian and Callas was Greek. Would you rather vacation in Italy or Greece? Italy - the food, the art, the architecture. It's actually on my bucket list. 5) The Marx Bros. starred in A Night...
Read More
Saturday 9: Stormy Weather

Saturday 9: Stormy Weather

by Carol4 Comments
It's been a while since I participated in Saturday 9, but it seemed like fun today. Saturday 9: Stormy Weather 1) Do noisy storms scare you? Not really. Sometimes the thunder'll keep me awake at night, but that's about it. I do worry when it's super-windy ever since the one time we had a window open and it literally blew off and landed in the bushes. 2) Mother Winters tells us Lena Horne was considered one of the great beauties of the 1940s. Whom do you consider one of today's most beautiful women? I really have no idea. And I decided that googling beautiful women was probably not worth my time 3) Crazy Sam admits it -- there's a big bag of recycling she really should take out to the bin. Yet she's composing this meme. What should you be doing, instead of answering her questions? I should be doing dishes, but I don't wanna. 4) Sam may be crazy, but she's not stupid and will...
Read More
Top Ten Favorite Books of 2012

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2012

by Carol17 Comments
This Top Ten topic is perfect for the end of the year - Top Ten Favorite Books of 2012. I've read about 110 books so far this year and it's a little tough choosing which ones to highlight, but here's my list. They are not necessarily in any order. The Tempest by William Shakespeare I actually read four of Shakespeare's plays this year: The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsumer Night's Dream, and The Taming of the Shrew. All could legitimately be included on this list, but The Tempest was my favorite of the lot.   Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny Another author I read several of this year: Bury Your Dead, A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, and The Hangman. This is my currently my favorite mystery series and I especially liked Bury Your Dead because it settled some issues from the previous installment that I really hadn't been happy with. It also gave us some wonderful insights into the main characters. Whiplash River by...
Read More