Carol's Notebook – Page 196

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie

November 24, 2018 by Carol11 Comments

Jane Wilkinson wants to be rid of her husband, Lord Edgware. She asks Poirot to see him, to convince him to grant her a divorce. At the same time, she talks about how she would go about killing her husband if need be. As the title makes it clear, Lord Edgware does die. Jane, however has an ironclad alibi - but she was also observed at the scene of the crime. As always, Christie gives us several suspects and possible motives and two more dead bodies. She provides us plenty of clues, but also enough red herrings to keep us guessing. This time around we have several characters who are actors, which makes it even more difficult to tell who is lying. The final solution was well done, believable but with a perfect twist. Hastings is our narrator here, and I read the version narrated by Hugh Fraser, which was perfect. Hastings gets made fun of by Poirot for not understanding, but...

Black Friday Book Bonanza Giveaway Hop

November 23, 2018November 30, 2018 by Carol12 Comments

Welcome back to the Eighth Annual Black Friday Book Bonanza Giveaway Hop. The event is hosted by Marlene @ Reading Reality and Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. I'm giving away a $20 gift card today, since I love gift cards. It's your choice, Amazon or The Book Depository. The contest is open through 12:01 am on November 27 and the winner will be announced later that day. a Rafflecopter giveaway...

Classics Club Spin #19

November 22, 2018November 29, 2018 by Carol8 Comments

The Classics Club is holding its 19th Spin. The idea is to list 20 of the books on your Classics Club list before November 27 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 January 31. This is an extra special, super-dooper CHUNKSTER edition of the Classics Club Spin. We challenge you to fill this spin list with 20 of those HUGE books you’ve been putting off reading because you didn’t have enough time. With this spin we are giving you the time – nearly 10 weeks in fact – to tackle one of those imposing tomes on your classics shelf. I don't have many chunksters on my list, so I picked 10 and repeated them to make 20: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Odyssey by Homer The Mystery...

Le Mont

November 21, 2018 by Carol5 Comments

I wrote out my bucket list in 2011, since then I've added a few things and accomplished a few things. This past weekend, David took me to Le Mont, a restaurant that's been on my list from the beginning, for my birthday/our anniversary. I have a wonderful bucket list; Le Mont was fabulous. There was valet parking, which is always a plus in Pittsburgh. The view is as special as the food. The restaurant is on Mount Washington overlooking Pittsburgh, and we had a table by the window. David and I both ordered off the Autumn Celebration Menu. All the food was delicious, especially my chicken. The lighting was pretty dim, it's a romantic, fancy place after all, so I did the best I could with the photos. And one final picture of the inside, because I loved it. We had a wonderful evening. I'm hoping to go back again sometime, but it's definitely an "occasion" restaurant, at least for us....

Much Ado About Murder by Elizabeth J. Duncan

November 14, 2018 by Carol8 Comments

I finished Much Ado About Murder a few days ago, but then I couldn't remember if I finished it or not. I had started another book on my Kindle, which meant I must have finished it, but then I had to look back and see who the killer was. The book obviously didn't leave much of a lingering impression, or at least the reveal didn't. I like the setting, a hotel/theater in the Catskills. I also like Charlotte. She's from England and is a very talented costume designer. Due to the turnover of directors and her friendship with the Director of the Board, she is to some extent in charge of the theater. Between the actors, director and costume staff, we've got a lot of characters, several of whom had motive for killing Edmund, because of course Charlotte's right—it was murder. I guess overall it was just fine. The characters were fine, each had their bit of backstory that made them possible suspects....

Origin by Dan Brown

November 12, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

In the middle of Kirsch's presentation regarding a breakthrough that will change the way we look at humanity's past and future, he's killed. And he, of course, is the only one who can release the rest of the presentation, so Langdon and the beautiful woman, this time around it's museum director Ambra Vidal, have to follow clues to find out how to let the public know about Kirsch's discovery. They are also helped by Kirsch's amazingly advanced AI, Winston. This time the art is modern, which is a world Langdon isn't quite as comfortable with, but did make for an interesting change of pace. And I loved the tour of Spain. As always, Brown touches on history and religion,which is part of what I enjoy about his thrillers. His writing may be a bit repetitive and sometimes gives us information that we should probably already know, I enjoy them. There's nothing wrong with something that's just entertaining. I do tend to listen to...