Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn

by Carol10 Comments
Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn I adore cookbooks. I can read recipe after recipe, thinking they all sound good. I'm not a wonderful cook, but I do try. Combine a cookbook with ideas on saving money on groceries and I had to check it out. The first third of the book is full of money- and time-saving ideas, some of which I've heard before, some that were new to me. The nice part is that Ostyn doesn't expect you to implement all her suggestions, and definitely not all at once. She encourages you to pick and choose what will work best for you. For me, I think a price book and better meal-planning are great places to start. The price book, in theory, would help me know which of our three local stores typically has the best price, and also help me know what is a good price if I see the item on sale somewhere else. And...
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Werewolves or Vampires?

by Carol11 Comments
"Werewolves also have an agenda to keep to. You do realize that?" "And you bloodsuckers, of course, are all sweetness and light with only my best interests at hear," Alexia shot back, brushing Battenberg crumbs casually off her lap. (pg. 96, Soulless by Gail Carriger) I actually haven't gotten this far in the book yet, so I'm not sure how "involved" Alexia is with the werewolves, but I do have a question for you. Werewolves or vampires, if you had to trust one which would it be? I personally tend to prefer werewolves, at least they're alive. 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 won my copy and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
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Another Week in the Books

by Carol6 Comments
First of all, I want to thank Tif at Tif Talks Books for passing this fabulous award on to me a couple of weeks ago. Isn't it adorable? This past week I posted three book reviews. I loved The Miracle Worker by William Gibson and, after reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, totally understand why Amber (10) calls the Percy Jackson series one of her favorites. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, though. I also have a couple of giveaways still going on, both are for audiobooks. I have three copies of The War Lovers by Evans Thomas and three of Eat the Cookie...Buy the Shoes by Joyce Meyer. I was pretty lousy about keeping my camera with me this past week. In addition to our usual game night, we did a couple of fun things, but have no pictures to show. On Saturday, my Mom, Amber and I went up to...
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The Princess and the Accountant by Robert E. Rogoff

by Carol4 Comments
"The Princess and the Accountant" by Robert E. Rogoff In this short story, Rogoff takes a common fairy tale element, the quest to marry the princess, and reimagines it with a science fiction twist. Ralph is an accountant with the Royal Distribution Agency and has been for three centuries, when he tells his manager he's quitting. He feels it's his destiny to marry the princess, even though he has a middle-class genome, and the time has finally come for him to go to the palace. Many people try to stop him along the path, including the police, a war fighter a journalist, even a female tenant farmer who asks him to join her for a drink. He tells each his story and is allowed to pass. "If this is your destiny, then it cannot be denied." It turns out it's true, destiny cannot be denied. However, remember this isn't a traditional fairy tale. It isn't everyone's destiny to marry the princess. The sci-fi aspects...
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The Miracle Worker by William Gibson

by Carol6 Comments
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson I read this short play in one sitting, with a slight break to find some tissues. To be honest, while I knew who Helen Keller was, I've never really thought much about her life, about how amazing it truly was that her teacher found a way to reach her.  Both of them, Helen and her teacher Annie Sullivan were simply remarkable women. According to the author's note, the play for the most part was based on Annie's own letters from the time. The play opens with Helen's parents discovering that following an illness, their baby can neither see nor hear them. Helen, with no way to interact with the world around her becomes a violent, angry undisciplined girl. When her parents have almost given up, talking about sending her to an institution, a letter they sent to the Perkins Institution in Boston is answered. Annie Sullivan arrives to teach Helen. At only 21 and half-blind herself, Annie...
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