End-of-the-Year Book Meme

by Carol10 Comments
I like having an end of the year post that summarizes my reading for the year. Jaime, at The Perpetual Page-Turner, posted this great survey that really helps highlight some of the good ones, and bad one, of the year. 1. Best Book You Read In 2011?  It's so hard to pick a favorite. This is my top-ten, in no particular order. Have Gun, Will Play by Camille LaGuire Alphabeasts by Wallace Edwards In the Woods by Tana French The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny The Butterfuly Cabinet by Bernie McGill The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder The Honey Month by Amal El-Mohtar Yesterday's Tomorrow by Catherine West 2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did? Room by Emma Donaghue. It had gotten so much hype that I expected it to be truly amazing. Turned out that all the build-up had told me all the things that made the book special. I already knew the...
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Flash Fiction: Searching for Treasure

by Carol8 Comments
I actually wasn't going to do a story today, but I know David at least looks forward to them. So I wrote a quick one kind of up his alley. Searching for Treasure We rowed deeper into the swamp, the water green and murky. Logs floated by us, or perhaps alligators. We chose to ignore the rumors of other, more dangerous creatures living here. Snakes thirty-feet long, reptiles whose teeth could rip through our heavy wooden boat like it was paper, birds capable of swooping down and picking  a man up in their talons, flying off with him. Folktales, we had assured ourselves before beginning the trip upriver, designed to keep out visitors. But here in this oppressive sticky air, out of sight of the last village, anything felt possible. We didn't speak and tried not to listen to the rustlings along the banks. The locals had thought we were crazy and maybe we are, but we know it's here. The treasure, buried...
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Thursday’s Tale: The Elves’ Dance on New Year’s Eve

by Carol7 Comments
Folk tales that take place on or around New Year's seem are a little tough to find. I did come across "The Elves' Dance on New Year's Eve," a tale from Iceland. The story introduce two brothers, one who believes the Hidden People, elves, exist and the other who denies it. The argument continued and eventually the one who didn't believe in them stated he would leave home and not come back until he knew for sure one way or the other. Nothing of note occurred until, on New Year's Eve, he came to a farm where all the people were gloomy. He asked them why they were not celebrating and they explained that nobody would stay and guard the farm while the family went to the midnight church service, as anyone who kept guard on New Year's Eve disappeared. The traveler told them not to worry, that he would stay. The people gratefully accepted and hurried off to church. They were...
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Review: Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh

by Carol9 Comments
Ngaio Marsh is an author I just discovered this year, thanks to Bev's Vintage Mystery Challenge (which she's hosting again, by the way. Sign up here.) Died in the Wool is the third I've read by her, although the first that takes place in her native New Zealand. It's reminiscent of an English country manor mystery, although it takes place on a sheep farm. Florence Rubrick, a member of parliament and the owner of the sheep farm is found murdered after missing for three weeks, encased in a bale of her own wool. Roderick Alleyn, Marsh's series detective, is called in by a family member to investigate after the local police have gotten nowhere in over a year. Apparently Roderick is a distant relation to the dead woman. Also, he is doing War duty in England and there is some suspicion that the death is connected to a case of espionage. Died in the Wool was first published in 1945, right at...
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Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

by Carol9 Comments
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was one of my most-anticipated movies of this year, probably behind only the Muppets. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Holmes is the same sarcastic, socially inept, brilliant man. This time around he's pitted against Moriarty, a name any Holmes fan will recognize. Moriarty is Holmes' only intellectual equal, but he is purely evil and power-hungry. His plan is to start a war and provide weapons to both sides. The interplay between the two was well-done I thought, although Moriarty's plan was a little complicated, to say the least. He and Holmes were like two sides of the same coin. My problem with the movie is that I had seen it before. The filming, the glimpses into Holmes' thought process, even the proclivity for costumes, nothing was new. The plot alone didn't grab me enough and I'm not sure that there was really much character development from the original. Or maybe I'm just mad that...
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Planning ahead

by Carol10 Comments
I usually participate in a few year-long reading challenges which are always a lot of fun, but this year I think I'm going to do things a little differently. Here's my plan, each month I'll be going on a different adventure. Granted not all my posts will revolve around the month's theme, but we'll see how it works out. Happily several bloggers are hosting month long events that I'm looking forward to participating in, and I've got a couple of ideas of my own. I've got the first four months figured out. January - Shakespeare Reading Month hosted by A Literary Odyssey February - Venice in February hosted by Bellezza and Ally from Snow Feathers March - March Mystery Madness hosted at Reading Thru the Night April - Blogging from A to Z hosted by Arlee Bird at its own blog.   December will obviously be Christmas. I'm thinking Baseball in July, maybe, and I need a Wild West Month. I'm considering spending one month reading a...
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