Carol's Notebook – Page 426

Thursday’s Tale: The Red Shoes

May 23, 2013 by Carol9 Comments

"The Red Shoes" was written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in 1845. Andersen's fairy tales tend to have a distinctively moralistic and Christian bent, but usually I enjoy them for the imagery and phrases. "The Red Shoes," however, may be my least favorite of the fairy tales I've read. A pretty peasant girl named Karen is so poor she has to go barefoot in the summer until an old shoemaker's wife takes pity on her and makes her a rough pair of shoes from red cloth. On the day of her mother's funeral, Karen is adopted by a rich old lady who promises the clergyman to take care of her, but she grows up vain and spoiled. The old woman burned the red shoes, but Karen tricks her adoptive mother into buying her a new pair of fancy red shoes fit for a princess. Karen repeatedly wears them to church, without paying attention to the service. She ignores the anger of her adopted...

Audiobook Review: Miss Tonks Turns to Crime by Marion Chesney

May 22, 2013 by Carol4 Comments

Title: Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (The Poor Relations #2) Author: Marion Chesney Reader: Davina Porter Category: Romance- Historical Audio Published: May 8, 2012 by AudioGo (First published April 1993) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon The oddly assorted group met some time ago. All of them were poor relations, the genteel paupers of society, living on little more than their dignity. They banded together and started The Poor Relation hotel, hoping to be bought out by their embarrassed relations, but as the hotel prospered, they began to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But once more they are in need of funds. To stoop to crime in their days of poverty was one thing, but to turn to it again when they have enjoyed a certain amount of success is quite another. But they all agree. The hotel must go on. And so poor, faded Miss Tonks has been persuaded to steal something valuable enough from her rich sister to set the poor relations...

Audiobook Revew: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

May 21, 2013 by Carol6 Comments

Title: Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey #5) Author: Dorothy L. Sayers Reader: Ian Carmichael Category: Mystery Audio published: August 17, 2007 by AudioGo (First published 1931) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository Mystery writer Harriet Vane's murder trial is the talk of London, and naturally, Lord Peter Wimsey is fascinated by the case. He's not convinced she poisoned her fiance in the same way she offed one of the characters in her books, but is it because the case against her is weak, or because he's fallen in love with her? Thus begins one of the most complex romantic relationships in mystery fiction. I think I finally get why Sayers is one of the Queens of Mystery. Strong Poison is the third of her Wimsey books I've read and definitely the best so far. It took me a couple of books, but Lord Peter does grow on you. He's intelligent and loyal, well-read and doggone funny. He'd be almost too perfect, if he weren't a bit of a...

Review: A Zeal of Zebras by Woop Studios

May 20, 2013 by Carol5 Comments

Title: A Zeal of Zebras: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns Author: Woop Studios Category: Picture Book - Alphabet Published: August 10, 2011 by Chronicle Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository An embarrassment of pandas, a galaxy of starfish, a shiver of sharks...these are all collective nouns used to describe their groups. Woop Studios, acclaimed for their work on the Harry Potter movies, has illustrated these quirky phrases, creating a series of extraordinarily beautiful art that has been collected here for the first time. The colorful introduction to animals and the alphabet is accessible for young children, while the gorgeous, whimsical art and clever wordplay make it perfect for design-savvy parents and inspired gift givers. Longer than the standard picture book, with high design and production values, this is a volume readers will want on their coffee tables in addition to their child's bookshelf. I've mentioned before that I love words, including collective nouns, like an unkindness of ravens, which...

Audiobook Review: Frank Sinatra in a Blender by Matthew McBride

May 17, 2013June 17, 2013 by Carol9 Comments

Title: Frank Sinatra in a Blender Author: Matthew McBride Read by: Keith Szarabajka Category: Crime Fiction Audio published: April 1,2013 by Blackstone Audio Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Add: Goodreads Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound Nick Valentine has problems. He’s a drunken ex-cop who lives in his shabby office, hangs out at strip clubs, and has only one real friend—Frank Sinatra. But he’s one of the best private investigators in Saint Louis. So when an inept crew robs a credit union, only Valentine can figure out who made off with the millions—because sometimes solving a crime takes a hard guy who’s not afraid to work outside the law. Valentine swerves through the underbelly of Saint Louis looking for answers, and with every law he breaks, every drink he takes, and every OxyContin he snorts, he lurches closer to finding the truth—or floating facedown in the Missouri River. https://twitter.com/carolsnotebook/status/332926849950818305 That's still how I feel. Frank Sinatra in a Blender by Matthew McBride is a non-stop ride full of violence, alcohol, violence, and strippers, but it's funny and...

Thursday’s Tale: Jorinde and Joringel

May 16, 2013May 16, 2013 by Carol4 Comments

Today's tale comes from the Household Tales of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. "Jorinde and Joringel" is about the power of true love to conquer evil, a nice fairy tale theme. Deep in the woods, a witch lived in a castle. During the day, she changed herself into a cat or an owl and at night took back her human shape. She could lure wild animals and birds to her before killing and eating them. If anyone came near her castle, they were compelled them to stand still until she released them. She turned innocent maidens who came near the castle into birds and caged them. One day, Jorinde and Joringel, who had promised to marry each other, went for a walk in the forest. They knew not to go to close to the castle, but they became lost after listening to the sorrowful song of the turtle-doves. They came too near to the witch's castle; she turned Jorinde into a nightingale and fixed Joringel to the ground. Once...