Thursday’s Tale: The Boy and the Pooka

Thursday’s Tale: The Boy and the Pooka

by Carol5 Comments
"The Boy and the Pooka" is a story in The King with Horse's Ears and Other Irish Folktales retold by Batt Burns and illustrated by Igor Oleynikov, 2009. Burns is a professional storyteller who divides his time between the US and Ireland. In this collection, he retells the folktales he grew up listening to his grandfather tell. In "The Boy and the Pooka" all the residents of a valley near Kenmare Bay are afraid of a monstrous dog, the pooka, who has been roaming the area as long as any can remember. Parents warn their children to behave, lest the Black Pooka take him away. The valley storyteller, Old Jamesie, tells everyone that if they leave te pooka alone they don't need to be afraid of him, but that doesn't change anyone's opinion. Conor, Old Jamesie's grandson, comes to spend a school break in the valley. He brings his brand new bicycle with him, but when he is sent to the store...
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Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most

by Carol12 Comments
Recommending books is always hard. I may recommend a certain book to my daughter that I would never recommend to one of my friends. And what if the person hates a book I love? Here are some of the books I tend to tell people they should read. Classic The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Yes, it's long, but it's a grand adventure and the revenge novel. Make sure you get the unabridged version. General Fiction The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Made me laugh and cry and gave me a new look at the South in the 60s. Mystery Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series - tTis is the only mystery series I've told my mother she had to read. They have more layers than the average who dunnit. Have Gun, Will Play by Camille LaGuerre - The sleuths in this Old West mystery are one of my favorite fictional couples. Fantasy Trash, Sex, Magic by Jennifer Stevenson - Unique plot, gorgeous writing, truly memorable. Childrens/ Middle School Favorite Tales...
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At the Movies: Oz the Great and Powerful

At the Movies: Oz the Great and Powerful

by Carol10 Comments
Oz the Great and Powerful From: Walt Disney Pictures Release Date: March 8, 2013 Category: Fantasy Director: Sam Raimi Rating: 3½ out of 5 stars Disney's fantastical adventure Oz The Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking- that is until he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity- and even a bit of wizardry- Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. First things first, Oz...
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Review: Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell

Review: Not in the Flesh by Ruth Rendell

by Carol6 Comments
Title: Not in the Flesh (Inspector Wexford #21) Author: Ruth Rendell Read by: Simon Vance Category: Mystery- Police Procedural Audio published: June 10, 2010 by Random House Audio (First published: January 1, 2007) Rating: 3½ out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository When the truffle-hunting dog starts to dig furiously, his master’s first reaction is delight at the size of the clump the dog has unearthed: at the going rate, this one truffle might be worth several hundred pounds. Then the dirt falls away to reveal not a precious mushroom but the bones and tendons of what is clearly a human hand. In Not in the Flesh, Chief Inspector Wexford tries to piece together events that took place eleven years earlier, a time when someone was secretly interred in a secluded patch of English countryside. Now Wexford and his team will need to interrogate everyone who lives nearby to see if they can turn up a match for the dead man among the...
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What were you doing that year?

What were you doing that year?

by Carol6 Comments
Dig through your couch cushions, your purse, or the floor of your car and look at the year printed on the first coin you find. What were you doing that year? Digging through my purse, all the way to the bottom where the crumbs settle, not just checking the zippered coin part of my wallet (as if my change ever ends up there anyway), the first coin I found was a nickel from 2011. I can actually remember easily what I was doing in 2011, since it's pretty much what I'm doing now. Loving my family, going to church, working, reading. There were a couple of semi-notable evenst. We went on vacation to the Outer Banks that year, which was a nice, relaxing week. I got to see some of the filming for the Batman movie they were doing in Pittsburgh. That's about it. The second coin I found, by the way was from 1993, which is the year I graduated from high...
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