Review: “Map of the City” by Valerie Laken

by Carol10 Comments
Photo credit: BBC News In "Map of the City" the narrator is in some ways a typical Midwestern college-age girl. She's trying to find her place, fit in, navigate relationships with men, learning how to become her own, independent person, but Laken adds the complexity of Moscow in 1991 to the mix. The young woman is a foreign exchange student, just when the Soviet Union is collapsing. We get an inside view of the riots and the economic hardships, but the narrator is still separate. It's not her country, not her language, no matter how hard she tries to fit in. I liked how Laken let us see the woman's relationships honestly. She's not in love with the men in her life, but she enjoys their company. The writing is wonderful, descriptive and authentic, seeing a truly historical time through the lens of one woman's experience. "Map of the City" is included in Separate Kingdoms by Valerie Laken, which you can purchase on...
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Review: Between the Thames and the Tiber: The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Ted Riccardi

by Carol16 Comments
First, a side thought. I never know whether to include the book's subtitle in my post title. In this case I did because it really is essential, usually I don't though. Honestly, subtitles in fiction just tend to annoy me. Give me a good title without feeling you need to explain further. Just my opinion. Back to the book. I am a die-hard Sherlock Holmes fan. While Doyle's stories will always be first in my heart, I do enjoy the new adventures, re-tellings, re-imaginings, sequels. For a second there, I thought I was talking about Austen's works. Unfortunately, this wasn't my favorite of the pastiches. Appropriately, Between the Thames and the Tiber is a collection of  Holmes' adventures transcribed by the ever-loyal Watson. It mirrors the originals in tone and style, but the I just didn't like the stories. They were missing the spark that makes Holmes enjoyable. Yes, Holmes uses his deductive reasoning and Holmes and Watson's friendship matches the originals,...
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A Killer Weekend

by Carol6 Comments
Just a warning. This is not a full-story. It ends just when it's getting started. And yes, the title's cheesy, but I couldn't come up with anything better. A Killer Weekend 384 words "Welcome," I murmur, my voice husky and soft, forcing my audience closer. "I'm so glad you could join us." I can't believe I've sunk to this, hosting a "Haunted Weekend," my beautiful turn of the century manor transformed for the month into a dreary, spooky, cobweb-laden house. Tall candles light each room, sending flickering shadows across the spaces. But each weekend party is fully-booked and even most of the weeknights. It's bringing in money, which was the point. I lead the way into the dining room, where Justin is already seated at the head of the table, the goblet in front of him filled with deep red wine. "Sit." A wind whistles outside, moaning through the branches of the oak, rattling the windows. The creaking stairs and an occasional small bang...
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BBAW: Reading and Blogging

by Carol10 Comments
I'm actually combining yesterday's topic and today's. I just never got around to posting yesterday's, even though I had a decent start on it. I got home after work and got started doing stuff around there and just forgot. I did make some delicious zucchini bread though. So, reading and blogging. It's actually rather sad. I read less now than I did when I began this blog. Some of my reading time has been taken over my computer time. On the other hand, that's a good thing, since I get to talk more about the stories I love or hate and books in general. I guess most things are a trade-off. I definitely read more "new" books now, and books that aren't as mainstream. In the past, most of my books came from the library, and, while some still do, now I get ARCs, galleys, recently published books galore. And have added three times that amount to my to-read list. I've tried...
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Thursday’s Tale: Jack the Giant Chaser by Kenn and Joanne Compton

by Carol10 Comments
Jack the Giant Chaser is actually my first introduction to the Appalachian Jack Tales. Granted the Jack stories began in Europe, like "Jack and the Beanstalk," but, "like so many of the cultural preservations in the Appalachian Mountains, they were packed into the minds of the earliest emigrants and carried across the sea and up into the highlands of the New World. Here they have steadfastly remained." ("Wonder Tales in Appalachia" by Grace Toney Edwards) Maybe not as uniquely American as the Tall Tales, the Jack stories have been shaped the mountains, by the people who have told the stories from generation to generation. This picture book is an abbreviated version of one of the Jack Tales, pitting Jack against only one giant instead of a family. The story opens with Jack returning to his hometown, bragging about his adventures. Thinking Jack is a great fighter, the mayor asks him to get rid of the giant that's been bothering them for...
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