Game Night – Abalone

by Carol2 Comments
Abalone Designers: Michel Lalet, Laurent Levi Manufacturers: FoxMind Games Year: 1999 Players: 2 Time: 30 minutes Ages: 8 and up I played this last weekend with my brother and sister-in-law. I had honestly forgotten how much I enjoy this game. Of course, it helps that I won. Basically each player has a set of marbles and they take turns pushing the marbles around the board. The goal is to push six of your opponent marbles off.  But there is a catch. It takes two marbles to move one, and three to move two. With six possible directions, it's difficult to defend yourself perfectly. This is a fun game that I wish I played more often. It's a balance between being of the offensive and making sure your troops aren't separated too much. My husband's not a fan. He doesn't like other people pushing his marbles around, which is the whole point of the game. It's a very easy game to learn, with only a couple...
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

by Carol6 Comments
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley I think this is the first time I've actually sat down and read Frankenstein, but I had the story all mixed up in my mind with the various movie interpretations I've seen, either whole or in part. I didn't even know that it was a story being told by Frankenstein to a ship captain, and that part of that story had been told to Frankenstein by the monster himself. Captain Robert Walton, who is on a voyage of discovery in the North Polar Seas, takes on board his ship a man who is on the verge of death. This man is Victor Frankenstein and before his death he tells Walton his whole, unbelievable story. Frankenstein relates to Walton that, as a student, he became passionate about the natural sciences. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein,—more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and...
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Awards

by Carol13 Comments
I received a couple of awards recently that I want to thank folks for. Freda, of Freda's Voice, was kind enough to pass on the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks! Here are the rules.  Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to up to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. I'm passing this on to some of the blogs I've recently "discovered." I realize they've been around a while, but they're new to me. Take a minute and visit them. Booklust GalleySmith Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia Book Blab Jeane, from DogEar Diary, was kind enough to pass on the Let's Be Friends award. Thanks! "Blogs that receive the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in...
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The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery

by Carol2 Comments
The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop Amber (9) loves animals and says she want to be a wildlife biologist. One problem I run into, though, is that it's hard to find good, interesting non-fiction animal or science books that are actually at her reading level. So many seem to be aimed at younger kids or teenagers. This one was perfect, though, one that we both learned from and enjoyed. The Snake Scientist is Bob Mason, a zoologist at Oregon State University. The book discusses his research projects at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area in Manitoba, where in the spring over 18,000 red-sided garter nakes come out of their dens. For about six weeks each April and May, thousands of these harmless snakes awaken from eight months' sleep beneath the earth. They pour out of the pits like water—a river of writhing reptiles. At any of the three big dens here, you can see more snakes at a glance than...
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The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg

by Carol4 Comments
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg I read this aloud with Amber (9) on Halloween night, but it really is perfect for any day in October. It's truly a magical book. A witch's brooms loses its power of flight suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving the witch to fall to the ground. A kindly widow takes her in. Once the witch heals, she flies off with another witch, leaving her old broom behind. The widow discovers there is still some magic left in the broom. She peeked in and saw something that made her heart jump. There was the broom, sweeping the floor all by itself. Unfortunately her neighbors are afraid of the broom and determined to destroy it. The widow and the broom out wit them in the end, though. The sepia-toned illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and the story is captivating, from the witch falling to the broom's abilities. And the bigoted neighbors are the real villains, not the witch. It makes the point that...
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M is for Magic

by Carol4 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is M. I read this one in July of 2008. It's an urban fantasy, the first in a series. It  has a slightly different spin on creatures like vampires and weres and how they co-exist with humans. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake. Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate's guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta's magic circles. The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings—and the...
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