Thursday’s Tale: Why the Bat Flies by Night

by Carol1 Comment
We went to an air show last weekend and I'm hoping to pull together some pictures to share Saturday. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a tale about flying. "Why the Bat Flies by Night" was retold by Elphinstone Dayrell in Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, 1910. I found it at worldoftales.com. A bush rat called Oyot was a great friend of Emiong, the bat; they always fed together, but the bat was jealous of the bush rat. When the bat cooked the food it was always very good, and the bush rat said, "How is it that when you make the soup it is so tasty?" The bat replied, "I always boil myself in the water, and my flesh is so sweet, that the soup is good." He then told the bush rat that he would show him how it was done; so he got a pot of warm water, which he told the bush rat was boiling water, and jumped...
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A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

by Carol3 Comments
I have a soft spot for Sherlock Holmes, so when someone (I forget who) said they enjoyed this take on the characters, I had to put it on my to-read list. Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are descendants of the famous duo and they "just happen" to meet at boarding school. In Connecticut. But don't worry, the story will get to that. Coincidences are never really coincidences in a Holmes world. Charlotte is pure Sherlock, complete with drug problems, brilliant deductions, and violin-playing, which comes off a little differently in a 16-year-old girl. She can be tough to like, but we're seeing her through Watson's eyes, and he's either falling in love with her or is obsessed with her or both. When a student they both hates ends up dead, everything points at them, so of course they have to solve the mystery. What else could a Holmes and Watson do? The mystery was clever, with plenty of connections to the original Holmes...
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My Favorite . . Author

by Carol3 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. The other day I was updating my "secret questions" for a work password and one of the prompts was "favorite author," and now today Maureen is asking the same thing. I put the first one that popped into my head the other day, since I figured that would be the easiest to remember. I'm choosing someone different today though. And not just because that's what the computer geeks would tell me to do. In all reality it's tough to pick a favorite author. It would almost be easier to pick a favorite author for when I need something light, or a favorite author for when it's cold and snowy outside, or a favorite kids...
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Readers’ Workouts – 5/16

by Carol1 Comment
I just missed my week. Barely.   FitBit's running a 30-day spring challenge that I'm participating in. For the burpees, I'm just doing a stand up at the end, as described in the challenge, not a jump. I'm modifying the push-ups by keeping my knees on the floor. FitBit May Challenge Day 1: Done (7687) Day 2: Done Day 3: Done Day 4: Done (10849) Day 5: Done Day 6 Done Day 7: Rest Day 8: Done (7763) Day 9: Done Day 10: Done Day 11: Failed (6887) Day 12: Done Day 13: Done Day 14: Rest Day 15: Done (8797) This week: Tuesday - Walk with the dog Wednesday - Walk with the dog, Pilates Sunday - Walk with the dog Monday - Walk with the dog, Weights Meal plan: Chicken Scaloppine Chicken Enchiladas Risotto Pizza Sloppy Joe Year Fitness Goals: - Lose weight. Goal - Lose 26 lbs. Found my scale, but apparently since it's been in hiding I've gained weight rather than lost any. Starting over on this goal. (5/15 144.6) - Run 2 5ks, 1 10K and 1 half. Completed - 1 10K - Hit my weekly step goal (56,000 steps) for...
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Boost It Tuesday

by CarolNo Comments
Have you noticed that despite ALL of your Facebook "Likes" you are only "reaching" a very small portion of those followers? Does that bother you? It bothers us, and we want to boost each other up. Link up with Every Free Chance Books.   What is Boost It Tuesday, you ask? Well, we want to help each other out. We are a great community of bloggers and authors, and we should be supporting each other. Share your Facebook address below, then visit the Facebook pages, like 3-5 posts, share or comment on 1 or 2 posts. That's it. You don't have to "like" the page if you don't want to, just "like" some posts. Let's help expand each other's page reach. Who knows! You may find a new blog or author to follow along the away. Please be aware that any non-Facebook links will be deleted.   Here are some tips for Boosting. A big thanks to Kate at If These Books Could Talk...
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Dead Tide by Leighann Dobbs

by CarolNo Comments
Mystery, magical power, romance - and pirates. It's light and fun. This was one of my read-a-thon books and it was perfect. It's a quick read, maybe a little unbelievable, but that's okay since it's so enjoyable. The sisters are each discovering their own powers, like seeing ghosts or electric fighting powers - yeah, not sure about that one yet. I like how much they care for each other and how well they all work together. The plot is carried on from book #2; they're hunting for the treasure and so are the bad guys. People end up dead, thankfully none of them. The mystery is not terribly strong here, but the girls and their men make up for it. It does veer strongly toward romance, so if you don't like a love interest clogging up your mystery, avoid this series. I do enjoy it, when it works right, and it does for me with these stories. I'm looking forward to reading...
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