The Three Bears by Robert Southey

by Carol2 Comments
"The Three Bears" by Robert Southey I always knew this story as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," but apparently in its earliest versions the bears' intruder is actually an old women. Southey's version is from 1837. The story itself is familiar. A family of good-natured, trusting bears lives in a nice house in the woods. Each bear has his own chair, bowl of porridge and bed. One day when the three go for a walk in the woods while waiting for their porridge to cool, an ill-tempered, perhaps homeless, old woman enters their home, making sure no one is around to see her. She eats the little bear's porridge, breaks his chair and eventually falls asleep in his bed. That is where the bears discover her. The small bear cries out that someone has been sleeping in his bed and states she's still there. The old woman awakens and jumps out the...
Read More

Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophecy by Robert “Doc” Gowdy

by CarolNo Comments
Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy by Robert "Doc" Gowdy While I was in the early chapters of this tale, I told my friends that it was like reading a sci-fi geek's lesbian fantasy. My friends, who are male by the way, said, well  that's it then, that's the pinnacle, time to just stop awarding the Hugo and Nebula. Joking, of course. Anyway, the farther I got into the book, the more I appreciated it. This space pirate adventure is engrossing, full of intrigue, secrets and fascinating characters. I'll grant you that the women, slaves, royalty and pirates alike are naked or close to it most of the time, but don't let that fool you. They are intelligent, powerful women. This novel, the first in a planned trilogy, centers on the first steps to bringing down an evil empire. Captain Bonny Morgan, a beautiful, mysterious space pirate with some unusual abilities, has been commissioned to kidnap Princess Cossette, the Emperor's step-daughter, setting into...
Read More

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

by Carol4 Comments
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-6) This is one of the few books I have clear memories of from when I first read it. My copy has the cover on the right, but the newer versions just don't have the same feel to me. I loved reading this out loud with Amber (10), seeing her get excited over the characters I fondly remember. The Minnipins are a small people, sedate, somber and conforming. Today Minnipins of all ages were scurrying about the market place, green cloaks flying in the breeze. Round, rosy housewives, their brown-weave dresses tucked up, were scrubbing their doorstones or polishing the silver doorknobs on their watercress-green doors, while children were watering the flowers that grew around the family trees. (pg. 19) They live securely in an isolated mountain valley and never question the authority of the Periods, the leading families. There are a few rebels, though, referred to as "Them" - Curley Green a painter, Walter...
Read More

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

by Carol13 Comments
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett I love the Queen. In this delightful novella, the Queen of England discovers a love of reading. It begins when her corgis lead her to the mobile library. Once she enters to apologize for the barking, she can't leave without borrowing a book, and there the joy in reading begins. Reading takes over every spare second of the Queen's life. She would rather read than attend opening, reads in her carriage, in her gardens, everywhere she can. Unfortunately her advisers, from her personal secretary to the Prime Minister, are not pleased, but the Queen does not let that deter her. What she was finding also was how one book led to another, doors kept opening wherever she turned and the days weren't long enough for the reading she wanted to do. I actually listened the audio version of this, narrated by the author. Somehow looking back, it seems odd to have listened to a book that...
Read More

More Space Pirates

by Carol3 Comments
Passing O'Malley's throne, Morgan turned left into the corridor, finding it vacant but for two women standing at the far end, apparently guarding the quarters where Lady Brit had been taken after her branding. Morgan approached silently along the corridor's wall, her bare feet making not the slightest sounds, until finally she spied the large doorway on her right that led to Colleen O'Malley's quarters. (pg. 220, Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy by Robert "Doc" Gowdy) Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy. Grab your current read, open to a random page, and give us two teaser sentences. Remember, no spoilers. My copy was sent by Pump Up Your Book! for a blog tour and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate....
Read More