Thursday’s Tale: The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener

by Carol2 Comments
Today's story, "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener," comes from Joseph Jacobs' More Celtic Fairy Tales, 1894. He, in turn, sites his source as Patrick Kennedy's Fireside Stories of Ireland. It's a confusing little story, mostly do to the quests, each person adds to the list of things that must be accomplished. In standard fairy tale fashion, the youngest son is the hero of the story, the one who actually completes the tasks. An animal helper is also common in fairy tales, in this case the fox, who is a pretty amazing creature.  And we have a happy ending all around, even for the foolish brothers. If you get a chance, read the whole story - it's available at Sur La Lune. I like the Irish tilt to it with the phrasing and words. I learned a new word, pishogue, which is an Irish term meaning sorcery or an evil spell. Thursday’s Tales is a weekly event here at Carol’s Notebook. Fairy tales, folktales, tall...
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Readers’ Workouts – 11/12/14

by Carol2 Comments
I usually try to keep a daily log, which I failed to do this week. I know I went to the gym on Thursday and did the elliptical and some ab work. I took the dog for a few walks. We brought in the outside furniture on Sunday. Yesterday I went to the gym in the evening while Amber was at band. I did 35 minutes on the stair climber machine and man, that thing's tough. I was dripping by the end. It said I went up like 75 stories, which I think is probably an exaggeration. Then I did some of the arm machines. It was a good evening. I know I feel better when I exercise more and eat better - so why don't I do it consistently? Readers' Workouts is hosted by Joy's Book Blog. Thanks, Joy, for keeping me accountable. 133.5 - Aug 12, 132.5 - Aug 19, 134 - Aug 26, 132.5 - Sept 9, 131- Oct 1,...
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On DVD: Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery (2014)

by Carol6 Comments
Few movies, including those made for TV, live up to the books they're based on. Still Life is no different - of course it doesn't help that it's based on the first book in one of my favorite series. Overall, though, I think they did a good job. I recognized all the characters immediately except one, who was just wrong, practically missing from the movie when she is a fairly prominent secondary character in the books. The town may not have been exactly how I pictured it, or the people for that matter, but I think it stayed pretty close tot he story, at least as much of it as I remember - I don't have the world's best memory though. I was pleased, glad I watched. I'd love to see them make more of the books into movies. My husband hasn't read any of the books, even though he may have heard bits and pieces from me along the way. He...
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Invisible City by Julia Dahl

by Carol4 Comments
I almost didn't get pass the first hour of this audiobook. Rebekah is young. The story is told in the first person and I had a tough time relating to her. I don't need to hear about her and her roommate's marijuana use, about her sex life, especially no details please. I understand that her mommy abandoned her, but she was like 6 months old at the time. Yes, I get that she has anxiety issues, but she dwells on everything - she's young, 22, only months out of journalism school and still relatively new to New York. I was going to tire of her quickly, but once the actual mystery kicked in it was a lot better. I will say the narrator had the perfect voice for Rebekah. It was like Rebekah was telling me the story. She did well with the other characters to, but she was best at Rebekah, which is how it should be in a first...
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Merr-E Holiday Treat

by CarolNo Comments
Plan Ahead for SLACK FRIDAY: NOVEMBER 28, 2014 Avoid crazed shopping crowds!  Keep calm and carry on at home with this great Merr-E Holiday Treat from Pocket Star eBooks! EXCERPT: Sometimes things aren’t what they seem, but it seemed to Cordy that indeed, there was a man in a tuxedo riding down the chairlift in Aspen. And he was probably drunk, which meant she wanted nothing to do with him. It was exactly six-thirty-two a.m. on May 16, four hours before the lifts opened. She stood there, panting and staring. He was floating toward her, one arm slung along the back of the chair and a foot, also in formal wear, perched on the seat. The bands of his unfurled bow tie fluttered in the breeze. My first morning in Aspen and already there’s a guy in a tuxedo. Talk about a town living up to the hype. The app on her phone beeped, telling her she’d logged five miles and could begin her cool-down....
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