Monthly Wrap-up

by Carol7 Comments
I've never done a monthly wrap-up before, but I thought it might be a good idea. Kind of give me an idea of where I've been, where I'm going. I'm not sure what all I'm going to put in these posts, so bear with me as I get it figured out. This month I only read six books. Laced with Magic by Barbara Bretton The Witch’s Grave by Shirley Damsgaard The Fairy-Tale Detectives (Sisters Grimm #1) by Michael Buckley Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey Lucan by Susan Kearney Three Samurai Cats retold by Eric A. Kimmel I read the Sisters Gimm with Amber and Samurai Cats when she had one of her friends over. Her friend loves cats and Amber loves having me read aloud before bed, so it worked out well. Of the "adult" books, two are mysteries and two are romances, but three out of the four have paranormal/fantasy elements, four out of five, if you count the Sisters Grimm. I also listened to one audiobook...
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Awards

by Carol17 Comments
I truly appreciate the awards I've received, but I am horrible at passing them on. So, I'm going to try harder. Here are a few that I've received recently. Thanks, Michael! If you haven't checked out his blog, A Few Minutes with Michael, you should. This award means that this blog is: B: Beautiful I: Informative N: Neighborly G: Gorgeous O: Outstanding I'm going to pass this on to: B: Beautiful -Sweet Vernal Zephyr I: Informative- The Movieholic and Bilbiophile's Blog N: Neighborly- Wordsmithonia G: Gorgeous- Seductive Musings O: Outstanding-Things Mean a Lot Thanks, Ryan! I mentioned his blog, Wordsmithonia, above. You should definitely stop by and visit him. Here are the rules for this award: 1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends. 2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award. 3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award. 4. Each Blogger who wins...
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H is for Haunted

by Carol7 Comments
Vicki of Reading At The Beach hosts A-Z Wednesday. Today's letter is H. I read this in the summer of 2008, before I started this blog. I remember loving the setting. I'm not sure why I never got around to picking up Lake of Sorrows, the second in the series. I need to  before the third comes out next year. Haunted Ground by Erin Hart From the author's website: Two farmers cutting turf in the west of Ireland make a grisly discovery—the  perfectly preserved severed head of a beautiful young woman with long red hair. Called out to the bog to investigate, Irish archeologist  Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin are thrown together by their shared curiosity about her fate. Archaeologist Cormac Maguire is quickly called to the scene—“bog bodies” are always a remarkable find, sometimes centuries old but still close to their original condition. Cormac and Nora embark on a mission to determine the identity of the beautiful young  woman and what led...
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Movie- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

by Carol7 Comments
So, we went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs this past weekend. It was a cute movie and Amber,9, loved it. The gross-out factor was a little high for me, though, and I'm tired of 3-D. I mentioned a while ago that the book the movie is "based on" is a favorite at our house. The movie, though, had little to do with the story itself. I understand that they have to add a lot to make a short picture book into a full-length story, but changing it from a bed-time story to a sci-fi adventure takes away something. There were several scenes that were taken straight from the book, like the tomato tornado and the pancake falling on the school, but overall there was little similarity, aside form the falling food. Don't get me wrong, go see the movie, but realize that reading the book is an entirely different experience. By the way, if you're thinking ahead for Christmas...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol14 Comments
Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: There are people you remember and people you dream of. For me, Nuria Monfort was like a mirage: you don't question its veracity, you simply follow it until it vanishes or until it destroys you. -pg. 325, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....
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From Amber’s Sketchbook

by Carol6 Comments
I'm showing a clay piece again this week instead of a drawing, but there's a reason. Amber had to turn in her first book report for the year this past week. She had to read a non-fiction book, which she loves, and she chose to make a model as her project. It's a pink dolphin, which I didn't even know existed when I was Amber's age (9). Amber really enjoyed the book she read, Encantado, which I've included below. She learned a lot, not just about pink dolphins, but also about other animals of the Amazon and the culture and customs of the people who live there. Encantado: Pink Dolphin of the Amazon  by Sy Montgomery Publisher's description: Welcome to a forest filled with water. In the wet season, the swollen Amazon becomes a looking glass into another world, where pink dolphins swim like something from a dream. In Peru they are called bufeo colorado—the ruddy dolphin. Their color ranges from white to gray to a vivid...
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