Carol's Notebook – Page 355

Readers’ Workouts – 2/3/2015

February 3, 2015February 5, 2015 by Carol5 Comments

So, here are my steps for the week. It's interesting that Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the days I work 9-5, at my desk all day. And it's been too cold to take the dog for a walk on lunch hour. I need to find a way to move more on those days. Suggestions? And here's my current workout plan. I just finished week 2. I wish it were nicer out, I much prefer running outside; the treadmill is so boring. Tuesday - Took the dog for a mile walk. Ran 2 miles on the treadmill. Did 30 minutes on the arm and ab machines. Wednesday - Did this workout from Self using a 10-lb plate and did reps instead of time to make it 30 mins. Thursday - Did 30 minutes on the elliptical, going just over 2.5 miles Saturday - Ran 3 miles on the treadmill. (It was snowy Friday and supposed to snow Sunday, so I decided to go with the longer...

The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle

February 2, 2015 by Carol1 Comment

Ah, the lives of the rich. Wine and food and wonderful scenery. And a house so marvelous someone is willing to kill you for it. That's about all there is to this mystery. I was never really worried about Reboul, since Sam is clearly too smart to let anything happen to his friend. There's no real question who the bad guy is, but for someone as connected and careful as Vronsky is, his plan is foiled easily. It's a short audiobook and the narrator does an okay job with all the characters and accents, from French to Russian to American to whatever Elena is, but my mind kept wandering. There was a lack of tension, no need for clues. The food sounded delicious, but aside from that there isn't much else to keep my attention. The characters are two-dimensional. The mystery is pretty much non-existent and the solution to the problem is too easy. I started to say it's okay if you just need something...

The Shell Game by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 by Carol2 Comments

Short stories are always tough to talk about - I want people to know why I did/didn't enjoy it, but I don't want to give away too much. It's even tougher when it's a prequel to a series that I've read all the rest of, like this one. The Shell Game details Nick Fox and Kate O'Hare's first meeting. Nick's a con-man/thief and Kate's FBI. HE's charming, she's dedicated. They're both intelligent and good-looking, although I'm not sure you get a feel for how attracted they are to each other in this mini-episode. Nick gets to show off his cleverness, Kate gets to show off her ability to see through him, but I missed their interactions with each other that are so much of the fun in the series. Scott Brick does a good job as always as the narrator. His tone of voice fits the story, not melodramatic, but not straight either. Does that make sense. He knows the type of story...

Thursday’s Tale: Henny Penny

January 29, 2015 by Carol1 Comment

"Henny Penny" is one of the variations of folktales that are cumulative tales about a chicken who believes the world is coming to an end. There is also a very relevant moral. Henny Penny was scratching around the farmyard looking for food when something hit her on the head. She leaps to the conclusion that the sky is falling and heads off to warn the king. Along the way she meets Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey. In turn, she tells each of them that the sky is falling and they join her on her trip to warn the king. They run into Foxy Loxy and tell him their story. He agrees to go with them to tell the king and says he knows a short cut. He leads them into the woods (don't go into the woods!) and to a dark hole. Of course, it's the door to his house, and inside his wife and kids are waiting for dinner. One by one they follow him in and Cocky...

The Ice Queen by Nele Neuhaus

January 28, 2015 by Carol5 Comments

First off, a minor complaint. Neuhaus' series is being translated from German, but out of order. So the first I read was Snow White Must Die #4, then Bad Wolf #6, and now The Ice Queen#3. Each is a self-contained mystery, but Pia and Oliver's personal lives come into play a fair amount and it's a little odd going back in time to see where their relationships were, knowing how they change over time. It doesn't bother me too much, but I feel like it would be a stronger series read in order. The story is absorbing, a mystery involving an influential family and secrets that go back to WW2. The blurb above gives the basic plotline, but it gives you no idea of how inter-connected theses people's lives are, how horrible their secrets are. It's a large cast, and the narrator, Robert Fass, does a reasonable job. I found a few of his voices jarring, but I do understand that it can...

Readers’ Workouts – 1/27/15

January 27, 2015 by Carol5 Comments

I'm tired of winter. And I've been pretty lazy. And not eating so well - evidenced by the McDonalds egg and cheese bagel I had for breakfast. At least I had them leave off the butter/breakfast sauce - that stuff is weird. So, here are my steps for the week. I did walk to and from work yesterday, not because it's good for me but because the road was little snowier than I wanted to drive on. My Fitbit e-mail is carolsnotebook at yahoo dot com, if anyone wants to find me. So, I have to start getting back in shape for spring and summer. I think I'm going to pull this plan back out. I kind of gave up on it last year. I need to start at week 2 to be ready for my run in May. Readers’ Workouts is hosted by Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Thanks!...