Carol's Notebook – Page 418

Thursday’s Tale: Thumbelina

August 8, 2013July 30, 2015 by Carol4 Comments

I have mixed feelings about Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. Some are just so moralistic and some just too sad. "Thumbelina," however, has a happy ending and though there are a few sad moments it's overall an enjoyable story. The version I read was from Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Mrs. Henry H. B. Paull, 1875. The tale opens in a rather traditional way with a woman who desperately wants a child. She goes to a fairy for help and the fairy sells her a barleycorn which she plants in a flower pot. It grows a lovely flower and when the flower opens, a tiny girl, Thumbelina, also called Tiny, emerges. Thumbelina has a lovely life with the woman until one night, when she is asleep in her walnut-shell cradle, she gets carried off by a toad who wants the miniature maiden as a bride for her son. With the help of friendly fish and a butterfly, Thumbelina...

Guest Post: Elizabeth Buhmann, author of Lay Death at Her Door

August 7, 2013August 7, 2013 by Carol6 Comments

Today, I'm happy to welcome Elizabeth Buhmann, author of Lay Death at Her Door, to Carol's Notebook. She's talking about beach reads today, a perfect topic for this time of year. The Search for the Great Summer Beach Read Guest Post by Elizabeth Buhmann, Author of Lay Death at Her Door (Red Adept Publishing, May 2013) Imagine you are sitting in the shade of a palm tree on Maui. The sun sparkles on the sea, a light breeze keeps you cool, and you’re in the middle of a great book… Or maybe you’re just sitting in a glider on the back porch drinking sassy water. But you’ve gotta have that great book! What makes a great summer beach read? For me, partly it’s a great setting, with a touch of the exotic. Did you know that MM Kaye (Far Pavillions) wrote a series of romantic suspense novels? Death in Kenya, Death in Kashmir, Death in Zanzibar, and so on. She lived in all of these...

Audiobook Review: Babylon South by Jon Cleary

August 6, 2013August 12, 2013 by Carol2 Comments

Title: Babylon South (Scobie Malone #6) Author: Jon Cleary Reader: Shaun Grindell Category: Mystery Audio published: June 1, 2013 by AudioGo (First published 1990) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | AudioGo In 1966 Sir Walter Springfellow, head of Australian Intelligence, vanished mysteriously and without a trace. As a young constable, Scobie Malone investigated the disappearance. Twenty-one years later some bones are found up in the hills which are presumed to be Sir Walter's, and Detective Inspector Malone finds himself back on the case. His first task is to break the news to Venetia Springfellow, Sir Walter's glamorous widow, whose ruthless ambition has made the Springfellow Corporation a hugely successful company. Then comes news that there has been another death in the family, and one of the Springfellows is to be charged with murder. Police Commissioner John Leads turns out to have every reason for talking a close interest in the case, but emotional involvement results in his putting unfair pressure on Scobie Malone. Always a straight cop...

Canoe Camp

August 4, 2013August 4, 2013 by Carol5 Comments

David, Amber and I spent this weekend at family canoe camp - no work, no tv, my cell phone didn't even get a signal. It was nice to take a weekend off. Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads - and once again I'm a day late. Seems to be a pattern lately....

Thursday’s Tale: The Mermaid and the Boy

August 2, 2013 by Carol5 Comments

Andrew Lang included "The Mermaid and the Boy" in The Brown Fairy Book, 1904, but the tale comes from Northern Europe. A king, having been married a year, set out to settle some distant subjects. His ship caught on rocks and the wind was becoming fierce. A mermaid promised to free him in return for his firstborn, and the king had to agree. Their son was born, and finally, when he was grown, the king told the queen that they could not keep him by them, because that was where the mermaid would look. He told the prince about the mermaid and sent him out into the world. The prince met a lion and shared his food with it; it gave him the tip of its ear, and told him it would transform him into a lion. The prince traveled for a time as a lion, but found that he got tired of walking like one. The next day, the same thing happened with...

Review: Pinot Envy by Edward Finstein

July 30, 2013August 4, 2013 by Carol1 Comment

Title: Pinot Envy Author: Edward Finstein Category: Mystery Published: July 16, 2013 by Bancroft Press Rating: 2½ out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository Meet Woody Robins, a bon vivant, devil-may-care wine guru who specializes in investigatory work involving rare artifacts of a vinous nature. Amidst the backdrop of world-famous Napa, California wine country, and upbeat, cosmopolitan “city by the bay” San Francisco, Woody finds he’s bitten off more than he can chew when hired by a wealthy grape grower to retrieve his stolen, rare, priceless, large bottle of red Burgundy that once belonged to the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. Tested by a colorful cast of characters, deceit, blackmail, intrigue, dealings with the mob and even murder ensue. With the help of his dozy boyhood chum, girlfriend, aunt and detective buddy with San Francisco’s finest, he eventually manages to unravel the case, but not before he learns a thing or two about himself. I don't know what necessarily makes a mystery good. Sometimes it's the...