Game Night – Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War

by CarolNo Comments
Last weekend, the guys played Axis and Allies, so instead of playing I sat on the couch and read. I don't play A & A. I don't enjoy the game and they never seem to play all the way to the end which would just annoy me. And it takes forever. We had been talking about playing Race for the Galaxy with takeovers, but then Amber ended up going to Texas for the weekend, which meant it was perfect for a looong game instead. We play Race for the Galaxy a lot, with all the expansions including the latest, The Brink Of War. I enjoy the game. It's a card-based game where you basically build a galactic civilization using game cards that are worlds or social advances or technological developments. The third expansion started takeovers. You could conquer other players military planets with your military. We tried it like twice, and that's it. It was confusing and kind of boring for...
Read More

Friday’s Tale: The Story of the Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs

by Carol6 Comments
"The Story of the Three Little Pigs" by Joseph Jacobs I thought I knew the story of the Three Little Pigs. They each build a house, the wolf blows down the first two and those pigs run and join the third in his brick house that the wolf can't destroy. Not exactly. It's true, the three little pigs leave home to make their ways in the world. Three is a common number in fairy tales by the way, with the "Three Billy Goats Gruff" coming to mind quickly. Anyway, the first pig meets a man who gives him straw to build a house. After he builds it along comes the wolf. Politely the wolf first knocks. "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." To which the pig answered: "No, ...
Read More

Deadly Heat and Deadly Lies by Cynthia Eden

by Carol Comment Closed
Deadly Heat and Deadly Lies by Cynthia Eden Intense and hot! Both of these focus on a member of the FBI's Serial Services Division. In Deadly Heat, firefighter Lora Spade calls in the SSD to track an arsonist who traps and kills people with his fires. When Special Agent Kenton Lake shows up, Lora realizes that the fire's flames are the only thing she has to worry about. Her attraction to Kenton can't be resisted and it's obvious he feels the same way. In Deadly Lies, a kidnapper is abducting, torturing and sometimes killing the twenty-something year old sons of rich men. One of those young men is the brother of Max, a man Samantha knows well, a man she spent a passionate night with. She is the best hope the FBI has of finding the kidnapper, and the attraction between her and Max is irresistible. Romantic suspense needs to have a couple of things for me. First of all is the suspense...
Read More

“Lie Like a Rug” by Margaret Maron

by Carol3 Comments
"Lie Like a Rug" by Margaret Maron I've already mentioned my new toy, but the other day I subscribed to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. A new magazine full of fabulous storis delivered straight to me every month. I don't know why I never subscribed to the print version; it just never crossed my mind. Back to the story. I have read one novel by Margarat Maron, Bootlegger's Daughter, but it was years ago, before I kept any notes or records of what I read. I remember enjoying it, though, which is this was the first selection I read in the magazine. Mack Parker is on trial for killing his wife, Felicia. From the testimonies, we learn it is a well-known fact around town that Mack beat her up on a regular basis, and all the facts point to his guilt, including that a rug is missing from the house. The body is never found. The story then picks up years after the trial. I...
Read More

Room by Emma Donoghue

by Carol26 Comments
Room by Emma Donoghue Everyone's been singing Room's praises for months, and I think I knew too much about this book before I actually read it. I knew that it was told from the point of view of Jack, a five year old boy with an unusual speaking style. I knew that Jack and Ma were being kept prisoner by Old Nick, but that Jack doesn't see it that way, since Ma is simply amazing about playing with him, teaching him, keeping him safe. I knew that eventually they do escape, but that Outside is scarier than Room for Jack. Room he understood, Outside he doesn't. So I was prepared. The story is so original and Jack's voice so unique, but I wasn't struck by that, I expected it. The plot itself, was fairly simple. Full of determination, hope, love, but still not complex. The characters were amazing people, especially Ma, but I think that Jack as the narrator kept me at...
Read More