Carol's Notebook – Page 175

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block

August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block was eye-opening. In the last few years, I've gone out of my way to see women doctors, they make me more comfortable and I feel like they listen better, but to be honest, I hadn't really thought beyond that. Block's focus is on women's reproductive health specifically, but she does talk about how doctors and the medical establishment treat women both now and historically. Female reproductive health covers a range of sub-topics, and Block laid out the facts thoroughly and specifically, citing studies from numerous medical journals. Covered here is routine gynecologic care, hormonal birth control, infertility treatment, abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. Most women will find something in these pages they can relate to. Maybe in a good way, a birth that went well or having a skilled surgeon. Maybe it's being bullied by a doctor or given unnecessary tests. Maybe it's not being given all the information about whatever the pharmaceutical companies are...

Murder in the Mill-Race by E. C. R. Lorac

July 31, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol3 Comments

Murder in the Mill-Race, also published as Speak Justly of the Dead, takes place in a small, somewhat isolated town North Devon. Dr. Ferens has taken over the practice of the mostly retired town doctor and he and his wife are happy to move away from the grit and grime of the city. Of course, villages come with their own sets of difficulties, and in this particular village, one of those is Sister Monica who runs the children's home. Mrs. Ferens has an instant dislike to her and while the townsfolk all praise her, you know something's not quite right. It's no surprise when she ends up dead in the stream just beyond the mill. We meet the people in town as Dr. Ferens does and we are allowed to settle into the setting nicely before the murder occurs. Even then the local guy does a bit of investigating before MacDonald is called in. The villagers are not keen on answering...

Sunday Salon – 7/28

July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

I really did start this post on Sunday, but you know how that goes sometimes. Thanks to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting The Sunday Salon. Stop over there or at the Facebook Group to participate. Week’s Highlight: I think the week's highlight for me was the Pirates baseball game we went to. Even though the Pirates are doing terrible, I still had fun at the game. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0UaKiuAWxq/ Reading: Dewey's 24 Hour Reverse Readathon starts on Friday at 8:oo p.m. I love the reverse readathon, so of course I'm joining in, but we're having a cookout on Saturday, so won't be reading the whole 24 hours. This week's posts: The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle by Laura DiSilverioPicnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay Playing: We played The Mind a couple of times recently. It's a deck with cards 1-100, and during the game you try to complete a certain number of levels depending on the number of players. In a level, each player receives a hand of cards equal to the number of...

The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle by Laura DiSilverio

July 24, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle is right up my aisle. Amy-Faye is an event planner, but more importantly, she's a member of a mystery book club. This month they're reading Murder on the Orient Express, one of my favorites, so of course when a murder occurs, more than one of the readaholics is thinking it might be a conspiracy. This is the first in the series I've read but I had no trouble jumping right into the characters and their lives. Amy-Faye has organized the grand opening of her brother's new brewery, but his business partner is found dead in the dumpster in the middle of the party—probably not good for business, definitely not good for her brother who gets arrested. Of course, Amy-Faye and the gang have to clear her brother's name and keep the brewery running. Amy-Faye and her friends are fun to hang out with. They each have their own careers and quirks, they're very different from each...

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

July 23, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol8 Comments

Some authors manage to pack more atmosphere and tension and characters into less than 200 pages than others ever manage to, even in books twice as long. Lindsay has done just that in Picnic at Hanging Rock. Girls at a boarding school go out for a picnic, as the title states, at Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock is a former volcano in central Victoria, Australia. The setting plays a huge part in the story, casts its shadow over the whole book. Hanging Rock After lunch, four of the girls go climbing in the rocks, followed eventually by one of the teachers. One of the girls runs back to the picnic area in terror, but with no memory of what happened. The rest of the girls and the teacher are never seen again. The rest of the story tells us what happens after. The ripples from the disappearances fan out, bringing terrible endings for some people and happily ever afters for others. There are a...

Mailbox Monday – 7/22

July 22, 2019May 19, 2020 by Carol12 Comments

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com. I picked up a couple seasonal reads on NetGalley....