Teaser from In the Woods

by Carol6 Comments
We had been tapping Andrew's phones for a week now, with results pathetic enough that O'Kelly was beginning to emit ominous, volcanic grumbling noises. During the day Andrews made large numbers of snappy, testosterone-flavored calls on his mobile; in the evenings he ordered over-priced "gourmet" food — "takeaway with notions," Sam called it, disapprovingly. Once he rang one of those sex chat lines you see advertised on late-night TV; he liked to be spanked, apparently, and "Redden my arse, Celestine" had instantly become a squad catchphrase. (pg. 300, In the Woods by Tana French) I tend to like mysteries in the first place, but the writing style is truly making this one stand out for me. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. I received my copy through PaperbackSwap, and the...
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Game Night – The Beginning

by Carol7 Comments
At Giant Fire Breathing Robot, the question was asked: Who instilled in you your love of gaming? The answer's easy. My parents. We played games all the time when I was a kid, from Candyland when I was little to Monopoly, Scrabble,Life, Pictionary, Backgammon, etc. Then, probably in high school, we started playing Euchre all the time, lunch, breaks, restaurants, whenever. Fast forward to when Amber was born and we moved back to town after being gone for a couple of years. I don't exactly know how it developed, but I think that instead of going out on a regular basis, it became easier for us for our friends just to come over to our house. And when you get together every week, you need something to do and games are perfect. Our tastes have broadened, last week for example we played Dominion and Death Angel, but it's still playing games.  (Why can't any of the space marines be women by the...
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Favorite Word

by Carol6 Comments
It's hard to choose a favorite word. Is it meaning that's important - passion, faith? Is it the way the word sounds - mellifluous, opulent? Is it a word with a special, personal meaning - sunshine, amber? What about a favorite word as motivation - believe, flourish? A couple of weeks ago during our mid-week praise service at church, the speaker asked people to share their favorite words.Words like love, trust, forgiveness were mentioned. So was beautiful, an interesting choice I though. I didn't share my favorite word, mostly because I couldn't come up with one. And to be honest, I still can't. There are several words that I could claim as my favorite and even write a fairly convincing reason why, but none that I feel attached to. Maybe extravagant. Not as in spending more than is wise, but as in "going beyond," "exceeding the bounds of reason." Love extravagantly, give extravagantly, live extravagantly. I'm not good at extravagant, actually, but...
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Friday’s Tale: “Maid Maleen” by The Brothers Grimm

by Carol6 Comments
"Maid Maleen" by the Brothers Grimm I have to say that I like Maid Maleen. Maybe I'm just in a good mood today, forgiving of the Grimm's typical love of the beautiful, sweet, obedient young woman, or maybe Maid Maleen is not solely passive. Her story's romantic and touching, but she has to rescue herself in order to get to her happy ending. Maid Maleen is the daughter of a King and of course very beautiful. A prince from another land asked for her hand in marriage, but her father refuses, the story doesn't tell us why. Maid Maleen and the prince love each other dearly, and Maleen tells her father that she will marry no one else. Her father, furious, locks her and her waiting-woman up in a tower (reminds you of Rapunzel's tower, doesn't it?) for seven years, cutting them off from the rest of the world. When the food and drink dwindles and the two young women realize that...
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“Method Murder” by Simon Brett

by Carol4 Comments
"Method Murder" by Simon Brett This short story was not impressive for me. The main character, Kenny Mountford, is an actor who wants wants to be respected. And really that meant doing more theatre. For the more obscure and impenetrable the theatre work, the higher the integrity of the actors involved. This meant, in effect, working with one of a small list of trendy directors, directors who didn't pander to the public by making their work accessible or simple entertaining. That section made me laugh out loud, but that was pretty much the high point. One of these select directors tells Kenny that he will put him in a play, but first Kenny has to "become" the character by infiltrating a London gang, which he does. The problem is Kenny is not bright, doesn't see what the director's up to, just goes along with the orders of the gang leader, but in the end he ends up better off than he was before. Maybe...
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