The Fat Man by Ken Harmon

by Carol3 Comments
The Fat Man by Ken Harmon I'm sitting here munching on butter cookies that one of the carpet cleaning/restoration companies dropped off at work. You know the kind that comes in the tin and you only get at Christmas. They're not very good, but I do love anything sweet. I'm kind of like an elf that way. Elves are fueled by sugar. Cookies, candy, cakes, pies - an elf's sweet tooth is primal and not picky. Need six million Poopy Droopy Diaper Dolls with Wipe-Away by sundown? Toss a handful of elves a couple of sleeves of chocolate chip cookies and get out of the way. During the Christmas of '88, when it seemed like every tyke in the hemisphere was clamoring for the Z-Box's Grandma Hostage Ninja Rescue, Santa stepped up production with a few dozen rhubarb pies and a turbocharged how chocolate. (pg. 133) But this "Tale of North Pole Noir" is definitely not sugary sweet. Gumdrop Coal has...
Read More

Teaser from India Black

by Carol7 Comments
We each exercise our charm and wile to convince our customers to pay us or vote for us, for we're in competition with others who can provide the same services. And we'll both do just about anything, as long as the price is right. Frankly, I think it's a damned slur against the tarts to consign them to the social rubbish heap just for earning a living while praising the politicos as selfless public servants. At least bints aren't hypocritical: you'll never hear one of them blathering on sanctimoniously that they do what they do for the benefit of the British public. (pg. 3, India Black by Carol K. Carr) So far, I have to say that I like India Black. She's independent, intelligent, charming and resourceful. And the fact that she owns a brothel makes her stand out from the ordinary heroine. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules...
Read More

Tangled (2010)

by Carol12 Comments
Tangled (2010) David, Amber (10), my mom and I watched Tangled on Saturday. Personally, I was amazed that Amber wanted to see one of Disney's princess movies, but it topped her list of movies to watch this weekend. Our theater wasn't showing it in 3D, happily. Supposedly it's the story of Rapunzel, but reality is it has next to nothing to do with the original fairytale, which I read back in March. The similarities are the girl's locked in a tower by a woman named Gothel and the girl falls in love with a man. Oh, and the girl has really, really long hair. That's it. The rest is entirely Disney. In this version, the baby is stolen from her crib by Mother Gothel, because of the child's hair which can magically heal people or keep them young.  Mother Gothel hides Rapunzel in the tower, forbidding her to ever leave it, keeping the precious hair safe. While Gothel is away getting a present...
Read More

Game Night – The Game of Life

by Carol4 Comments
The Game of Life Manufacturer: Hasbro Players: 2 to 6 Ages: 8 and up In this classic game of fortune, your goal is to dodge bad luck and make a buck. Along the way, you'll also earn valuable Life Tiles by doing good deeds, helping your community, or just taking a break from the rat race! Retire with the biggest fortune, and you'll win! Each space is a different adventure, so you'll get a whole new Life every time you play. What does Life have in store for you' Take a spin and find out! First of all, our version is not the same one I remember from when I was a kid. There are some changes, like the tiles you collect and don't reveal how much money they're worth until the end. There's a new way of choosing careers and salaries and how those affect the game. The basics are still the same though. It's not a game I...
Read More

The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

by Carol3 Comments
"The Elves and the Shoemaker" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm This is one of three elf stories that follow each other in the Grimm's Household Tales. This one is the funnest to me and it takes place just before Christmas, so it's appropriate to the season. There a poor shoemaker who has only enough leather to make one more pair of shoes. He cuts the shoes out in the evening and goes to bed. The next morning when he went to start his work, two finished shoes were on the worktable. The quality was superb and the shoemaker was able to sell them for more than the usual price, allowing him to buy leather for two pairs of shoes. Once again, he cut them out the night before and in the morning they are finished. He sells them for more than usual again and buys more leather, and on and on it goes until the shoemaker and his wife are quite wealthy. A few...
Read More

Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley

by Carol4 Comments
Once Upon a Crime by Michael Buckley (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) Another good adventure for the Sisters Grimm. Amber (10) and I read this together and it picks up where The Problem Child left off. The Grimm sister, along with their grandmother, Mr. Canis the Big Bad Wolf, and Mr. Hamstead, one of the three little pigs, are taking an injured Puck to New York City. Faerie is there and Puck's family are the only ones who can heal him. I think this is a series that you really need to read in order. Puck's injury and what happened to the girls' parents were explained in an earlier book, but you really need to know what happened to understand what's going on in this one. I like Sabrina's character. She's growing some, realizing that she can't control everything and that just because she believed things were one way doesn't mean they were. She is truly becoming a Grimm, and is not just the...
Read More