Carol's Notebook – Page 228

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by R. D. Carstairs

December 8, 2017June 29, 2022 by Carol4 Comments

A Christmas Carol tends to be one of my selections every year, whether it be in print, on audio, or watching a movie adaptation. It's just a good story. Ebenezer starts off as an arrogant, obstinate, miserly man, but by the end, he's generous and warm-hearted, a changed man. I listened to the story this time around on the Audible Channel. Honestly, it took me a little while to get used to the full cast. It's just unusual that a story I listen to has more than one, or at most two, narrators. Once I got into it, though, I enjoyed the format. It was like listening to a play with a narrator taking up the pieces that couldn't be handled well through dialogue. It's a traditional Christmas story and I think this format would make it a nice listen for the whole family....

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

December 7, 2017December 5, 2017 by Carol4 Comments

Mistletoe, Maine, the setting of Twelve Slays of Christmas, is a wonderful little town, the perfect place for Holly to head home to after her wedding is called off. Her family and the town welcome her back with open arms and working at the family Christmas tree farm keeps her busy. In all reality, though she's not too heartbroken over her fiancé; he was a jerk anyway, and good riddance. Then she finds one of the townspeople dead at the farm, killed by one of the candy cane shaped markers. It throws her for a loop, which is understandable, and she feels the need to investigate, both to keep the people she loves out of suspicion and to find justice for the victim. Twelve Slays of Christmas is the first in the series and I think Holly will make a good lead character. She's curious and smart, prone to doing what she wants regardless of others telling her to stay out. I...

My Favorite . . Christmas Read

December 6, 2017 by Carol13 Comments

My Favorite.. is a weekly meme hosted by Maureen’s Books. In this meme we share every week something we love with each other. Because let’s face it.. The world can be a dark place and it’s time to share something positive. For more info: My Favorite Meme. As you can probably tell from my recent posts, I read a lot of Christmas books. My favorite this year so far, has been Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan. It's a traditional English manor house mystery set at Christmas. I also just finished listening to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I think I either read, listen or watch it every year, so it must be one of my favorites. The version I listened to this time was an adaptation by R. D. Carstairs with a full cast done for Audible. And I have to mention my favorite Christmas childrens book, Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve by Jan Brett, mostly because it's a re-telling...

Readers’ Workouts – 12/5

December 5, 2017 by Carol6 Comments

I actually made my steps this week!! This week's activities: Tuesday - Walk with the dog, Elliptical Wednesday - Lunges Thursday - Lunges, Elliptical Friday - Jumping jacks Sunday - Jumping jacks Monday - Jumping jacks, Pilates Goals for December: Gym - 4 times (Done: 0) Pilates - 12 times (Done: 1) #Starcember - 3/4 so far This week's dinners: This week's dinners were not terribly healthy. Tuesday - Kielbasa and macaroni and cheese Wednesday - Chips, coleslaw, apple turnover (church) Thursday - Spaghetti Friday - Fried chicken and scalloped potatoes Saturday - Chicken tenders and cheese fries (restaurant) Sunday - Hot dog and soup (church) Monday - Chicken nuggets and fries Meal ideas for next week: Chicken fajitas Hawaiian chicken Chili Year Fitness Goals: So, I've failed at these, but we'll see by how much at the end of the year. And think what my goals should be for next year. - Lose weight. Goal - Lose 26 lbs. (Currently at -15.6) - Run 2 5ks, 1 10K and 1 half. Completed - 1 10K; 1 5K (The half I was planning on doing got cancelled.) - Hit my weekly...

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas adapted by Jun Asuka

December 1, 2017 by Carol4 Comments

We always watch The Nightmare Before Christmas around Halloween at our house, but the story's as much about Christmas as it is Halloween. After all, it's Christmas Eve when Jack puts his plan into motion and almost ruins the holiday. This manga adaptation is really faithful to the movie, although it feels a little quicker paced. The style of the movie translates well to the illustration style , as you can see by the cover. I had the digital version though, and some of the smaller details were a little hard to see. Obviously, the movie is better, you just can't beat the songs, but this is a well-done reworking of the original. It would be a great stocking stuffer for any of the movie's fans on your list. It just might be in someone's at our house on Christmas....

State of the ARC – December

December 1, 2017December 1, 2017 by Carol10 Comments

State of the ARC is hosted by Avalinah's Books and the goal is to help track your ARC progress! I have a bad habit of requesting/accepting way more books than I should, so I thought this might be fun to try. If you want to join in, head over to Avalinah's Books and link up. I also joined the ARCs Anonymous group on Goodreads. The idea of reading ARC for a given theme each month sounds fun. Books I read in November I've been in the mood for Christmas reading, so I've been knocking those off my list of ARCs - and really enjoying them. Read in November Infogram Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan Killer Holiday by Amy Korman Heart Note by Cassandra O'Leary A Christmas Peril by J.A. Hennrikus Disney Manga: Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas by Jun Asuka State of the ARC I read five and added five. Yay for even!! I also took off one that I'm just not going to read, because I didn't enjoy the first in...