Carol's Notebook – Page 183

Sunday Salon – 4/21

April 21, 2019April 22, 2019 by Carol14 Comments

Thanks to Deb at Readerbuzz for hosting The Sunday Salon. Stop over there or at the Facebook Group to participate. Happy Easter! Both my brother and his family and David's brother and his family were in town for the holiday. Week's Highlight: Okay, seeing everybody this weekend was definitely the highlight, but I also went to Phipps Conservatory an the Spring Flower show was gorgeous. I might show off more photos later this week. Reading: I borrowed Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann from the library. So far it's fascinating and chilling. Last week’s posts: Final Curtain by Ngaio MarshClassics Club Spin #20Can you Read a Series in a Month? ChallengeLiberty Magic – Pittsburgh Giveaway: I have a giveaway still open! Enter at https://www.woodwatches.com/g/carolsnotebook. Looking forward to: Amber's coming home next weekend, which will be nice....

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

The Final Curtain has a lot of similarities to many of Marsh's other mysteries. We've got a country house party. Inspector Alleyn doesn't show up until about halfway through. We've got a young couple who are meant to be together but have difficulties in the way. We've got a tie to both art and the theater. But Marsh winds these bits together with a pretty terrible family and comes up with an enjoyable mystery that had me stumped. WW 2 is over and Agatha Troy is waiting for her husband, Inspector Alleyn to return from New Zealand. To pass the last couple of weeks, she accepts a commission that takes her to Ancreton Manor to paint a portrait of Sir Henry Ancred, a famous Shakespearean actor in his Macbeth costume. The first half-ish of the book shows us the Ancred family from Troy's point of view and they are overall a melodramatic, argumentative bunch, not people to enjoy spending...

Classics Club Spin #20

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by Carol10 Comments

The Classics Club is holding its 20th Spin. The idea is to list 20 of the books on your Classics Club list before April 22 when the wheel will turn and reveal the winning number. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List, by May 31. My Book Spin List – The 13 Clocks by James ThurberThe Tenant Of Wildfell Hall by Anne BrontëThe Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia HighsmithMoll Flanders by Daniel DefoeThe Nine Tailors by Dorothy L SayersLittle House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls WilderDead Souls by Nikolai Gogol The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wild Middlemarch by George EliotIn Cold Blood by Truman CapoteOrlando by Virginia WoolfThe Day of the Triffids by John WyndhamThe Blue Castle by Lucy Maud MontgomeryDouble Indemnity by James M. CainAnatomy of a Murder by Robert TraverJourney to the Center of the Earth by Jules VerneI, Robot by Isaac AsimovThe Wind in the Willows by...

Can you Read a Series in a Month? Challenge

April 17, 2019May 31, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

I am an unapologetic series reader. Mysteries of course, vintage and contemporary, but also sci-fi, fantasy, and even the occasional romance. The two books I'm in the middle of right now, listed on my sidebar, are both parts of mysteries. So, when I saw Michelle and Berls' Can You Read a Series in a Month? Challenge at Because Reading Is Better than Real Life, I had to join in. The challenge is to pick 1 series, and then read EVERY book in that series during May. To count as a series, there needs to be at least 3 published books, so trilogies work. If the series isn't complete yet, as long as the first 3 books have been published it counts. The hashtag is #SeriesinaMonth. Wanna join in? Sign up here. The hard part is picking which series. I was thinking about Rachel Howzell Hall's Detective Elouise Norton series, but buying all 4 would be a bit expensive and the wait time...

Liberty Magic – Pittsburgh

April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 by Carol8 Comments

My husband's birthday was this past weekend and I surprised him with tickets to Lee Terbosic's show at Liberty Magic in downtown Pittsburgh. Liberty Magic just opened in February of this year, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The theater is small, with less than 70 seats. The show is geared for those 18+, but children as young as 12 are permitted. There were a couple of kids in the audience around that 12 age when we went, and while a couple of jokes probably (hopefully) went over their heads, there was nothing that was totally inappropriate. It may vary by the magician, but I would have had no problem bringing a young teen to the show we saw. When you walk in, the main lobby and the second room have walls filled with magic paraphernalia, which sets the tone well. There were also books, magic kits, cards and cards for sale. The theater is BYOB with a $5...

Mailbox Monday – 4/15

April 15, 2019January 6, 2020 by Carol13 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 received Blood Money from the author. And I picked up my Amazon First Read book for the month....