Readers’ Workouts – 11/17

by Carol4 Comments
Well, I did a bit better than last week. 91% of my weekly goal, up from 83% last week.  Things keep interfering with my workout plans. Okay, I let things interfere with my plans. 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). My week: Tuesday - 60 minutes on the elliptical. Saturday - Walk with the dog. Monday - Arm and shoulder workout with my husband. I'm using today as a base weight, with a goal to lose 11 pounds. (I was tired of seeing that May date.) I usually listen to a book while I'm running or walking. This week I finished Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh and Gold Frankincense and Murder by Barbara Early. How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Thanks!...
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Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

by Carol7 Comments
Career of Evil is good, let me say that first off. The mystery, even with its limited suspect pool is engrossing and the episodes from the killer's point of view are disturbing. The characters are well-drawn and I am invested in their personal stories, in addition to the crime-solving aspect, thanks to having read the previous two in the series. And I do think this is a series where it helps to read them in order. But I didn't particularly enjoy Career of Evil. If it wasn't a series I like, with people, fictional though they might be, who I care about it, I probably wouldn't have read it, or at least not finished it. First, I just don't like serial killer books. I read a lot of mysteries, but I avoid that particular trope. I think it has something to do with motive. Revenge, anger, greed, jealousy, need to protect oneself or one's secrets, are all understandable, their normal feelings taken to extreme....
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Thursday’s Tale: Long, Broad and Sharpsight

by Carol1 Comment
Today's story is a Bohemian fairy tale collected by Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves. I read the version retold by A. H. Wratislaw in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, 1889, which you can find on-line here. An aging king tells his only son that he wishes to see him married before he dies. The son replies that he does not know a suitable bride, so the king sends him to a tower room that has not been opened in years. There he finds windows showing beautiful women, and a curtain over one window. He pulls away the curtain and falls in love with the woman he sees there, pledging to marry her. He tells his father, who tells him he should have left that window curtained, because the woman is the prisoner of an evil sorcerer, in an iron castle, but the prince has given his word and must try to rescue her. The son take leave of his father,...
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Spotlight on Courting Danger by Kimberly Dean

by Carol2 Comments
Excerpt: ‘Hello? Is anyone here?’ A low voice rumbled down the hallway, and her chest tightened. It was a man, but she didn’t recognise the voice. For a moment, she considered remaining quiet, but she licked her lips and made herself step forward. She was overreacting. If she wasn’t, there was an emergency call button hidden under the lip of her desktop. Security could be here in less than a minute if she needed them. She returned to the lobby and scanned the area. Her gaze came to a screeching halt when it landed on the man who was already looking in her direction. Oh. Wow. Her wariness didn’t decrease, but a different kind of awareness flooded her. ‘Hello?’ she said huskily. Somehow he’d known she was there, yet he seemed taken aback. His weight slowly rocked back from the balls of his feet, and his eyes narrowed. They were blue eyes. Startling blue. ‘Good evening.’ She wasn’t overreacting. The guy had danger written all over him,...
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Readers’ Workouts – 11/10

by Carol2 Comments
Well, I did a bit better than last week. I really need to pick it up though, or the holidays are just going to wreak havoc.   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). My week: Tuesday - 1 mile walk with the dog Monday - Walk with the dog, Core workout (or at least most of it) I’m down 11 lbs from 5/19. (My goal is 20 lbs) I usually listen to a book while I'm running or walking. This week I finished Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith. How was your week? Better than mine, I hope. Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Thanks!...
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