Review: The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson

by Carol7 Comments
Title: The Girl with a Clock for a Heart Author: Peter Swanson Category: Thriller (no, not steampunk) Published: February 4, 2014 by William Morrow Rating: 2 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Audible | Book Depository When George first met her, she was an eighteen-year-old college freshman from Sweetgum, Florida. She and George became inseparable in their first fall semester, so George was devastated when he got the news that she had committed suicide over Christmas break. But, as he stood in the living room of the girl's grieving parents, he realized the girl in the photo on their mantelpiece - the one who had committed suicide - was not his girlfriend. Later, he discovered the true identity of the girl he had loved - and of the things she may have done to escape her past. Now, twenty years later, she's back, and she's telling George that he's the only one who can help her... Although George is the main character in The Girl with a...
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Friday 5: What Do You Like?

by Carol10 Comments
It's Friday again! Hallelujah! Today's questions for Friday 5 are about what you like. 1. What do you order to drink when you’re at a fast-food restaurant? I almost always order Dr. Pepper if they have it. My second choice is Cherry Coke. 2. What kind of dressing do you have on your salad when you eat out? It varies. One place in town, Naples, has the best "house" dressing. One other place's house is just too salty so I have French there. If I get a chicken salad, the kind with grilled chicken and French fries on top, I choose ranch. Like this salad, except with chicken instead of steak. 3. What do you like at those self-serve frozen yogurt places? I've never been to one. :( 4. How do you like your popcorn? With lots of butter and salt. 5. What kind of shampoo do you use? Usually Suave. I'm pickier about my conditioner than my shampoo. What about you? What do you like?...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Strange Tale of Caribou and Moose

by Carol1 Comment
Today's story, "The Strange Tale of Caribou and Moose," was told by Cyrus MacMillan in Canadian Wonder Tales, 1918. It gives us a little insight into why moose and caribou act as they do. You can read the story here. Two widows lived side by side and each had a son, one boy was Caribou, the other Moose. One spring, the two boys decided to travel, to explore the woods and the far away mountains, so they set out, apparently without any consideration for the mothers, who never reappear in the story. The first evening they came to the camp of the Porcupines, who were kind and gave the boys food and new moccasins, and told which road to follow. They also warned them that there were giants ahead. The boys continued on and came to the edge of the woods where the giants lived. There they met a woman who was half Indian, as her mother had been carried off by...
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Audiobook Review: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

by Carol9 Comments
Title: The Redbreast Author: Jo Nesbø Read by: Robin Sachs Category: Mystery Audio published: April 26, 2011 by Random House Audio (first published 2000) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Audible | Amazon | Book Depository 1944: Daniel, a soldier, legendary among the Norwegians fighting the advance of Bolshevism on the Russian front, is killed. Two years later, a wounded soldier wakes up in a Vienna hospital. He becomes involved with a young nurse, the consequences of which will ripple forward to the turn of the next century. 1999: Harry Hole, alone again after having caused an embarrassment in the line of duty, has been promoted to inspector and is lumbered with surveillance duties. He is assigned the task of monitoring neo-Nazi activities; fairly mundane until a report of a rare and unusual gun being fired sparks his interest. Ellen Gjelten, his partner, makes a startling discovery. Then a former soldier is found with his throat cut. In a quest that takes him to South Africa and...
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10 Random Things about Daire St. Denis, author of Mustang Sassy

by Carol6 Comments
I'm happy to welcome Daire St. Denis, author of Mustang Sassy to my notebook today to share a bit about herself. 10 Random Things About Daire St. Denis I can make a peace sign with my second and third toes I think I was Cleopatra in a past life. But then, who doesn’t? I failed my driver’s test the first time I took it. Yep. Hit the curb on the parallel park.  I love to drive endless stretches of country roads on my own. I spend the time singing and planning out stories…like Mustang Sassy! I have a passion for old stuff; old books, old photos, old buildings, ancient ruins…all of it. I think because there are so many untold stories hidden inside. I love power tools (and that is not a reference to something naughty…well, okay, maybe it is). I think all women should own power tools. Three things I really despise; cleaning (I question the sanity of those who like it), filling in forms and talking on the...
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At the Movies: The Monuments Men (2014)

by Carol8 Comments
Title: The Monuments Men Director: George Clooney Writers: George Clooney and Grant Heslov Based on: The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter In theaters: February 7, 2014 from Columbia Pictures Genre: Action-Adventure Rating: PG- 13 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements. The Monuments Men is not the type of...
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