Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

by Carol3 Comments
Isn't that cover great? I don't read many middle school books, but I have to thank whoever wrote the review that made me put Serafina and the Black Cloak on my to-read list. I really enjoyed it. Serafina herself is a charming twelve-year old. She has an odd life, hiding in the basement of the Biltmore Estate where her pa works, but she's adorable and brave and smart. And not quite human, but part of this first story is her discovery of who she is. The narrator does an excellent job, giving Serafina a perfect accent and a very expressive voice, showing her pride, curiosity and fears well. I love Serafina's pa, too. He's not a huge part of the actual plot, but he's a strong, caring man, doing the best he can in an unusual situation. There aren't really any surprises in the story, we see most things coming well before they're revealed, but it's a middle school book, so I'm...
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Readers’ Workouts – 1/12

by Carol3 Comments
Here are my steps for the week. I made my weekly goal, even if I didn't hit each day. My current plan is to do a core workout on Monday, cardio on Tuesday (60 mins), upper body on Wednesday, cardio on Thursday (60 mins), total body workout on Friday and cardio on Saturday (60+ mins). But I'm not doing very good at following it yet. Tuesday - 10 min walk on treadmill. 15 mins stair mill. 43 mins elliptical. Wednesday - 20 mins arms/shoulders Thursday - 43 minutes on the elliptical Friday - 30 min workout from here Saturday - walk with the dog Sunday - 1 hr 51 mins on the elliptical Monday - Abbreviated version of the core workout from here I usually listen to a book while I'm walking, jogging, whatever. This week I finished  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. I started All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer. I'm down 2.2 pounds from 11/17. (my goal is...
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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

by Carol12 Comments
Gone Girl was all the rage a couple of years ago, but I didn't get around to listening to it until now. I shouldn't have put it off. It was unique, well-done, definitely attention-grabbing, maybe not quite unputdownable, but close. Nick and Amy are not nice people. Neither is really the good guy, although you do sympathize with Nick. The audio had two narrators, one for Nick and one for Amy, which I thought was a great choice. It always takes me a while to get used to anything different than one narrator of the same gender as the main character, but this format worked so well with the story it was the perfect choice. Both narrators did a great job capturing the points of view, the dark humor, the nuances in the phrasing. I think that listening to it probably made it even better than reading it in print would have. I can't say much about the plot without ruining it,...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Crow and the Pitcher

by Carol4 Comments
We don't have water today, at home or at work. There's a water break down the road and apparently two across town, so who knows when it'll be back on. But it made me look for a watery story. I found Aesop's fable, "The Crow and the Pitcher." A Crow perishing with thirst saw a pitcher, and hoping to find water, flew to it with delight. When he reached it, he discovered to his grief that it contained so little water that he could not possibly get at it. He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain. At last he collected as many stones as he could carry and dropped them one by one with his beak into the pitcher, until he brought the water within his reach and thus saved his life. The translator, George Fyler Townsend, added the moral, "Necessity is the mother of invention."  Avianus, a Latin writer from...
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2016 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge

by CarolNo Comments
I wasn't going to sign up for any reading challenges this year - but then I saw the Cloak and Dagger challenge is being hosted by Stormi at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!  and Barb from Booker T’s Farm. I couldn't resist. Rules: You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres. You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, goodreads, booklikes, shelfari, etc.) Make a goal post and link it back tp the sign-up post with your goal for this challenge. Books need to be novellas or novels, please no short stories. (At least 100 pages +) Crossovers into other challenges is fine. Challenge will be from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends April 15th) There will be a monthly link up. If you tweet about your progress or reviews please use the hashtag #2016CloakDaggerChal so others can see...
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Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge Wrap-up

by CarolNo Comments
I did not read as many Christmas stories as I would have liked for the  Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge, but I did complete the Mistletoe Level which is what I was aiming for. I also completed Visions of Sugar Plumbs, reading a couple of Christmas stories with my niece on Christmas Day. What I read: Advent Illustrated by Sara Laughed (review) A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton (review) 'Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement C. Moore Santa Duck by David Milgrim Happy Holidogs by Ed Heck Thanks again to Michelle for hosting this annual challenge....
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