The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

by Carol10 Comments
Some books are like good meals, rich and worth savoring. Some are more like popcorn, light, fun and forgettable. I like both, but The Scam definitely falls into the second category. The plot is a bit over-the-top as are the characters, but that's part of the charm. And the writers/narrator know it. They take us on this trip from Hawaii to Vegas to Macau with a sense of humor even in the midst of dangerous situations. It's funny and action-filled and just a blast. Brick does a great job at the narration, keeping a light edge and letting us know that even the though the characters may take themselves seriously, we shouldn't. This is the fourth in the series and we know the formula pretty well by now. Kate and Nick have a bad guy in their sights. they get a team of together, including Willie, who can drive anything, and Boyd, an actor who takes his parts very seriously, Jake, Kate's dad,...
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The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

by Carol10 Comments
I love Penny's Gamache series. I may want to live in Three Pines and be friends with the characters - as long as I didn't get murdered; it's one of those towns where you don't want to be a minor character or a new arrival. Actually, there are a lot of new characters in this one and we know one (or more) is the killer. The Nature of the Beast is set in Three Pines, where Inspector Gamache has now retired with his wife Reine Marie, but of course life can't be quiet for Gamache. A young boy is killed in the village and by not believing what the boy had told him, Gamache feels partly responsible for the death. At the same time, the local amateur theater is planning on producing a play written by a serial killer. As readers, or listeners in my case, we know the two have to be connected, but the question is how. This time, the...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Troll Outwitted

by Carol1 Comment
I tend to enjoy troll stories, probably because of a couple of wonderful books we had when I was a kid. "The Troll Outwitted" is just a short tidbit from Denmark, but once again intelligence beats out brute strength. The tale comes from Northern Mythology: Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands, by Benjamin Thorpe, 1851. A farmer, who had a small hill on his field, resolved not to let it lie waste, and began to plow it up. At this a troll who lived in the hill, came out and demanded who it was that dared to plow on his roof. The farmer said that he did not know it was his roof, and suggested that it was disadvantageous for both to let such a piece of land lie uncultivated. The farmer said he was willing to plow, sow and reap every year, and that the troll should alternately have that which in one year...
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Readers’ Workouts – 9/15

by Carol4 Comments
So, here are my steps for the week. I hit my goal for the week overall. Here's my current plan (which I'm not following at all). CT stands for cross-training, SS stands for stretching or strength-training. My week: Tuesday - 65 mins on the recumbent bike Wednesday - 30 mins of weights, crunches, etc Thursday - 2 miles Friday - 45 minutes on the bike, 1 mile walk with the dog (which means slow) Saturday - 13.1 miles in 2 hrs, 21 mins, which put me at #13 our of 20 women in my age bracket. Yay me! My goal was 2 hrs 30 mins, so I think I did great. Monday - 1 mile walk with the dog,  30 mins of weights, crunches, etc Now I need to put together a new plan. I'm down 9.8 lbs from 5/19. I usually listen to a book while I'm running or walking. This week finished The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny. How was your week? Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s...
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The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

by Carol8 Comments
I don't read much horror, but Michelle is hosting read-alongs of three of Poe's short stories at Castle Macabre this month and they fit in so well with RIP X that I decided to join her on a couple. My daughter is a huge Poe fan, so I borrowed her paperback copy of Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe. I wasn't sure about reading The Cask of Amontillado. Being buried alive is one of my fears, silly I know but that's beside the point. I may have read too many stories like Poe's when I was younger, but the victim here is bricked into a wall, which is somehow different. I don't want to tell too much about the story, it's only 9 pages long and you really should just take the few minutes and read it. A couple of things really stuck me, though. First is, as always, how much good short story writers can cram into those pages,...
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All In by Joel Goldman and Lisa Klink

by Carol2 Comments
All In is a fun, breezy thriller - danger, bad guys, gambling, and a touch of romance. From a New York penthouse to a luxury yacht on the Mediterranean, it's just a fun ride. There's plenty of action and not a slow spot in the book. Both Cassie and Jake are fabulous and will take your money. Cassie because it's her job - and she's very good at her job. Jake because he's a good poker player- not lucky, he just knows the odds and can read people very well. Together, they are quite a team, even if they'd rather not be and are not sure how much to trust each other. And of course there are sparks between them, even though Cassie at first and then Jake want to resist the attraction for their own reasons. Okay, so it's a fairly typical book, one that I could totally see as date movie, but the authors do it really well. The story...
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