The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs by Aesop

by Carol6 Comments
The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs by Aesop I'm learning that I'm not really much of a fan of Aesop's fables. There's just not much to them and the morals are almost too obvious. Re-tellings seem to be a little better, but I didn't find one for today's fable, which tells of a couple who make a really bad decision. A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once; however, upon cutting the goose open, they found its innards to be like that of any other goose. What moral do you want to go with? Greed destroys everything. Think before...
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Montana Legacy by R. C. Ryan

by Carol33 Comments
Montana Legacy by R. C. Ryan This is a fairly predictable romance that takes place on a ranch in Montana, but I truly enjoyed it. It's not a great book, it's just a nice, tender romance. I had tears in my eyes a few times, but just because I'm me and cry easily over fiction. (Which is why I avoid tearjerkers.) Jesse is the cowboy who grew up on the ranch, and now, after his grandfather's death, owns it. His two cousins, who he hasn't seen since they were children, come back for the funeral and stay. They've both missed the ranch and family in their own ways and now see the opportunity to make it home again. Amy, a neighbor's daughter, is also back in town for another reason, but she and Jesse were in love when they were teenagers and of course are still attracted to each other. The heat that sizzled through his veins was like an electrical charge causing him...
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Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop

by Carol1 Comment
Freda, from Freda's Voice, invited me to participate in this great project. Hershey has partnered with the Children’s Miracle Network for over 20 years. CMN is a non-profit alliance of children’s hospitals dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care, life-saving research and preventative education across North America. This Easter season, Hershey is celebrating it's new Easter products and their legacy of making a difference by donating $7,000 to the Children's Miracle Network. So, I'm passing this Virtual Easter basket on to anyone who hasn't received one yet. Here are the guidelines. Participate in Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop of giving away virtual Easter Baskets by creating a blog post with specific rules described here. Hershey Company will donate $7,000 for CMN You can give as many virtual Easter baskets as you want. The Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop will officially begin at 12 AM EST on March 18th and end at 12 PM EST on April 4th, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us...
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Secrets of Sound by April Pulley Sayre

by Carol2 Comments
by April Pulley Sayre (Suggested reading level: Grades 4-7) Amber (10) loves science, especially topics dealing with animals, and the Scientists in the Field series is perfect for her. Amber and I read this together and we both enjoyed this look at bioacousticians, scientists who study sounds made by mammals, insects, birds, frogs and other creatures. Squeaks. Wails. Whistles. Snorts. Songs. Drumming. Allover the globe, animals are making sounds, and these days, more than ever, scientists are listening to them. (pg. 7) Dr. Christopher Clark listens whale songs.  Katy Payne studies elephants' communication and their use of infrasound which is too low for humans to hear. Bill Evans listens to night migrating bird and has set up a website, oldbird.org, to help others listen from their own homes. Others work on projects studying hippos and kangaroo rats. The variety of information they collect and how they do it is fascinating. One thing they all seem to have in common, aside from their love of...
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Childhood memories

by Carol8 Comments
After years in Southern California he'd really feared that his childhood memories had become fragmented and magnified, taking bits and pieces of the things he'd like best and making them seem even better than they'd been. Ignoring the rain, he stepped out of the car and leaned on the hood, breathing deeply. Even the air was different here. It hadn't been just a kid's imagination. It was cleaner. Sweeter. Purer. (pg. 17, Montana Legacy by R. C. Ryan) I never run into that problem. I don't have many "childhood memories." Don't get me wrong. I had a wonderful childhood, I just have a terrible memory. Is there any place you lived or visited as a child that holds a special place in your heart? Did you ever go back? Did it live up to your memories? Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. I cheated, but the rules are easy. Grab your current...
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The Coroner’s Lunch by Colin Cotterill

by Carol10 Comments
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill This mystery truly transported me to Laos in the late 1970s, an exotic place and time that was completely unfamiliar to me. The Communist Pathet Lao party has just taken over control of the country, and Dr. Siri Paiboun, instead of receiving the retirement he thinks he deserves, is appointed chief, and only, coroner. The morgue is poorly equipped and Siri often finds himself in conflict with his superiors and the system. Siri takes his job seriously, has to do the best he can for the dead who come to him, and not only because their spirits have a tendency to visit him in his dreams. Now, after months of quiet, Siri has three cases to deal with, the death of an important official’s wife, the discovery of bodies that could lead to an international incident between Laos and Vietnam, and uncovering the reason why the commanders of an Army base, located in...
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