Carol's Notebook – Page 181

Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

Miss Buncle's Book is delightful. Barbara Buncle needs to make some money and decides that writing a book is the perfect solution, much better than raising hens, but all she knows is her small town, so the people she sees every day become the characters, simply re-named. Miss Buncle sees her neighbors quite clearly, though, and not everyone is happy with their portrayal. Happily she wrote under a pseudonym, otherwise, her life would be miserable. Miss Buncle's book, Disturber of the Peace, is also charming. She takes this regular English town, and introduces her Golden Boy, and the townsfolk allow themselves to follow their passions, marry the neighorbor women, leave their husband, go off on an adventure. And some of the actual people find themselves doing the same things, more or less. So her fiction imitates life which then imitates fiction in the most enjoyable way. I loved Miss Buncle. It's a light read perfect for this time of year. It's funny...

Bout of Books 25

May 13, 2019May 20, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

Bout of Books 25 starts today! This might be just the push I need to make some extra time for reading. Here’s the info: The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01 am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 25 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog (http://boutofbooks.blogspot.com/). From the Bout of Books team I’m starting today in the middle of Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson in print and Accessory to War by Neil deGrasse Tyson on audio. I'll be keeping progress here. Challenges will generally be on twitter (@carolsnotebook). I'm hoping to also keep up with the photo-a-day on Instagram. I'm at @carolsnotebook. Monday's reading: 42 pages in Miss Buncle's Book Tuesday's reading: 115...

Sunday Salon

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

Thanks to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting The Sunday Salon. Stop over there or at the Facebook Group to participate. Week’s Highlight: We went to Oberlin Friday to see the Art Show. The first three photos are of her work and the others are just some random pieces by her class. You may have already seen them if you follow me on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxV2LZ5HLHo/ Then on Saturday, we went to the Cleveland Zoo. I thin kit was probably nice for Amber to have a day away from campus before finals week. We really enjoyed the day. I didn't take a bunch of photos, but this one is from the entrance to The Rainforest. Reading: I did not get much reading time this week. In addition to visiting Amber, we've been working on getting the house ready for new carpet in the living room and new tile in the dining room this week. Right now, I'm in the middle of Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson and Accessory to War by...

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

In the 1870s the Osage were forced from their lands in Kansas to Oklahoma, a seemingly useless land. The Osage were in a better position than most tribes. The sold their land in Kansas to the government for a decent price, and so were one of the few nations to actually buy their reservation land. And then oil was discovered on that land and the Osage became some of the richest people in the world. Grann does an excellent job telling us what happened next. The Osage started dying. They were shot, poisoned, left to die after "accidents," blown up. At least 24, probably closer to three times that number, of the Osage were killed for their oil money. Killed by people they thought loved them. Killed by people who were supposed to be protecting them. Killed by friends. And the doctors, coroners, lawmen, all contributing to covering up the crimes. It wasn't just a couple mean, greedy people. It...

Sunday Salon – 5/6

May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

Thanks to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting The Sunday Salon. Stop over there or at the Facebook Group to participate. I was going to post this yesterday, but David got home from a few days at the lake and we just sat around watching tv instead. Week’s Highlight: I went to see the local high school's performance of Guys and Dolls Jr. It was a fun show and they did a really nice job. Now I want to see the original show sometime. Not sure about watching the movie with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra though. Have any of you seen it? Reading: I finished Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. It was fascinating and sad. I'm listening to Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It's interesting and I'm enjoying it, but I don't know how many tidbits of information I'll remember in six months. Next up in print is Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson for...

Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham

May 3, 2019May 3, 2019 by Carol7 Comments

After listening to the first Albert Campion mystery I wasn't sure how I felt about the series. Look to the Lady is definitely a funner book. Campion is our main character now, and while he's still an odd duck, he clearly knows a lot about what is going on and has quite a few influential friends. The chalice is a priceless, ancient relic and a rich collector wants it. This collector is a member of a group that has its own methods and rules, and Campion is quite familiar with their system. Campion is becoming an interesting character. He is not quite a detective, more like a clever, innocuous man for hire. His plan this time is to figure out who the collector's agent is and basically make sure that person ends up dead. I listened to this one right after the first, so comparisons are inevitable. Allingham took more care of the secondary characters this time around. They were more fully...