Awards and a Picture

by Carol10 Comments
Freda of Freda's Voice passed the Let's Be Friends Award back to me. Thanks so much. I'm glad to "know" you. Blodeuedd from The Book-girl of Mur-y-Castell gave me the Sisterhood Award, which I really appreciate it. You're so kind and thoughtful. I picked the Kreative Blogger Award up over at Freda's Voice, too. Now I need to list 7 of my favorite things and pass this award on to 7 other bloggers whose sites I love.   spaghetti and sauce peppermint hot chocolate my library card scrapbooks forsythia Christmas carols sapphires I'm not passing this on to anyone in particular. If you want to join in, please do and leave me a link to your faves. And a picture. My mom took David, Amber and me to see STOMP earlier this week . The show was fabulous and this is a picture of Amber and me with one of the performers....
Read More

One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein

by Carol8 Comments
One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein "The earth laughs with flowers, but it dances with butterflies." - Harold Feinstein (from the front flap) I don't usually post such large images of book covers, but I wanted to give you an idea of how absolutely dazzling the photos in this books are. Feinstein has captured the beauty and brilliance of these ornate insects and reproduced it in a oversized format, allowing us to appreciate the details. The photos of butterflies from around the world are mesmerizing, the vivid colors shown off to perfection by the black background. The intense blues of the African Blue Salamis and the luminous oranges of the Monarch took my breath away. May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun And find your should to light on, To bring you luck, happiness and riches Today, tomorrow and beyond. Irish Blessing, - pg. 96 Butterfly lovers would treasure this book, as would art lovers. After all, butterfly wings are as magnificent as any painting or stained-glass...
Read More

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

by Carol9 Comments
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by Dave McKean (Reading level: Ages 9-12) I just finished The Graveyard Book, and no one warned me. No one told me how attached I would become to the graveyard residents and Bod's life there that I would end up crying when Bod had to leave. A little boy's family is killed, but he escaped and wandered to the graveyard at the top of the hill. The ghosts who live there decided that he can stay and he takes the name Nobody Owens. The Owens become his parents and Silas, who is neither dead nor alive, his guardian. The ghosts are his friends and Silas his protector. He is safe in the graveyard, but no where else, as the killer is still out there. I enjoyed this a lot, more than I expected. I liked meeting all the people and reading about Bod's adventures both in the graveyard and in the real world.  One of his closest...
Read More

Women Unbound Challenge

by Carol8 Comments
I can't resist. I'm joining the Women Unbound Reading Challenge, reading nonfiction and fiction books related to  ‘women’s studies.’ Yes, that's broad, and encompasses biographies, memoirs, essays by women, classics written by women, and topics like motherhood and body image. I'm not putting together a reading list, at least not yet, but I'm choosing the Bluestocking level, reading 5 books, at least two of which will be non-fiction. The challenge began on November 1 and will end November 30, 2010. I think this'll be it for challenges though, at least for now. To start the challenge, there were a few questions. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act? Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not? What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it...
Read More

N is for Night

by Carol8 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is N. I read this one in May of 2008. It's actually the second in the series. The first is The Patient's Eyes. I'm a big Holmes fan and this fiction series takes a different twist on the original, with Doyle as the narrator and Dr. Bell as the model Holmes was based on. The Night Calls by David Pirie Inspired by the discovery that Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle attended medical school in Scotland with one of the 19th century's most notorious serial killers, David Pirie's The Night Calls reels out a grim but engrossing tale that suggests a model for Holmes's foremost adversary, Professor James Moriarty. A series of bizarre assaults on women in the brothels of 1878 Edinburgh draws the attention of Dr. Joseph Bell, a surgeon, charismatic teacher, and forensic expert who periodically applies his deductive skills to solving crimes. Together with a young Conan Doyle, his...
Read More

X Marks the Spot by Margaret Hall

by Carol1 Comment
X Marks the Spot: Mapping the World by Margaret Hall (Reading level: Ages 9-12) This book traces the history of cartography, map-making, from thousands of years ago with a photo of a clay map, to modern times, discussing GPS units.  Maps have been and still are important to travelers, traders and explorers. Navigation tools, like compasses, sextants, chronometers were also described. It was really interesting and I actually learned a lot. For example, I didn't know that Ptolemy was a.) a cartographer or b.) the first to put north at the top of the map. I didn't realize that the first aerial photographs used by mapmakers were taken from hot air balloons, even though it makes sense. The history is told simply with important words in bold and defined in a glossary. The photos of maps through the ages are fascinating. I also like the list at the back of books to read to learn more. This is a great book for middle...
Read More