The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu

by Carol5 Comments
The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) by Gina Misiroglu The title sums this book up. It answers a myriad of questions with brief, usually only one or two paragraph, clear responses, so while you may have to look elsewhere for more in-depth info, this gives you at least an answer to start with. It covers everything from outer space to math to animals. It answers questions like "What is a booger?" and "How does a cellular phone work?" The sheer variety of topics is amazing, really. "What is Euclid's elements?" I had no idea. "How thick is a lightning bolt?" I never even considered the question. It even explains why women in some countries wear veils. Of course, it can't cover everything. For example, I wanted to see what it said about Christmas - nothing. But I did find "Are angels real?" In many religions, angels are powerful spiritual beings who live with God but who sometimes become involved in the...
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Movie – Disney’s A Christmas Carol

by Carol8 Comments
Disney's A Christmas Carol I truly enjoyed this re-imagining of Dicken's classic story. We all know the basic plot. Scrooge is a bitter old man, with no joy or charity in his heart. He is visited by three "spirits," the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, who convince him that he needs to change his ways. I read the story a couple of years ago, but from what I remember, the script stayed very close to the original, with some added flying and chase scenes to make full use of the 3D. The 3-D, by the way, was very well done. Sometimes I get tired of all the 3-D movies that have been coming out lately, but I thought it worked nicely in this case. This was the creepiest version of the story I've seen, but I mean that in a good way. The ghosts could be downright scary at times. I was thankful that we were seeing it in the middle...
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Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

by Carol7 Comments
Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas I really enjoyed this mystery set in Victorian London. London is a beautiful city, and never more so than when it rains. The streets gleam, the buildings all take on a dappled color, and the lights from butcher shops, tobacconists, and tea shops cast a cozy shade of ochre upon the pavement. (pg. 31) Thomas Llewelyn, the narrator, is at the end of his rope when he is hired by enquiry agent Cyrus Barker as his assistant, a position that thankfully includes room and board. The two work together to solve the mystery behind the murder of a young Jewish man in London's Jewish ghetto. It's vaguely reminiscent of a Holmes-Watson relationship, with Thomas as Barker's apprentice. The strength of this novel, for me, was the characters. Barker is certainly an eccentric and surrounds himself with an odd cast of character, including Llewelyn who has a past as both an Oxford student and prison inmate. The household also...
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Two more challenges

by Carol6 Comments
I really enjoyed the challenges I did last year, so am re-joining a couple of them, even though I said no more challenges. These don't count, since they're not really "new." First is the 100+ Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye. I'm just setting my goal at reading 100 books. If I read more, great. Also, I don't think I'm going to complete the A-Z Challenge this year. Maybe, but probably not. I'm going to give it another shot in 2010. Becky's hosting it at A to Z Challenge....
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Guest Post about Christmas Shopping by Pat Snyder

by Carol8 Comments
I want to thank Pat Snyder, author of The Dog Ate My Planner, for guest posting today. Her story about Christmas shopping made me laugh. ONLY ONE WISE MAN BROUGHT GOLD Ever on the lookout for time-savers, I was blown away when my friend Jean said she didn’t do Christmas shopping for her adult children. “I’m terrible,” she said. “I just write a check.” “Not terrible!” I told her, feet still hurting from last year’s hunt. “Money’s what they want! Money’s what they need! I’ve never seen one of them return it.” The prospect of a shopping strike left me reeling. Mentally, I fast-forwarded to two weeks before Christmas under a no-shopping plan. I am sitting in front of the fireplace, sipping red wine (for my health) and tucking three checks into gift envelopes to be hung from the tree. I have purchased lovely cards for my spouse and my mom. And I’ve gone to the Heifer International website (http://www.heifer.org) and notified my out-of-town relatives...
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Q is for Quiet

by Carol10 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is Q. I'm going back to one I read in 2007. I didn't make any notes about it at the time, but did rate it 4 1/2 stars out of 5. The Quiet Game by Greg Iles Taking place in Natchez, Miss. The Quiet Game is flavored with the violence and seamy undertones of a Southern Gothic. After his wife's death, Penn Cage, a former Houston prosecutor and a bestselling suspense novelist, retreats to his parents' home in Natchez with his grieving young daughter. The healing process is interrupted when Cage learns that someone is blackmailing his father, a saintly family doctor who once made a lethal mistake. In tracing the source of his father's moral dilemma, Cage stumbles upon a trail of lies surrounding the unsolved murder of a black man in 1968. He determines to reopen the case, even though his antebellum hometown is smoldering with racial tension. With the...
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