Carol's Notebook

Running Hot

January 22, 2009 by Carol3 Comments

Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz From the jacket: Ex-cop Luther Malone, lifelong member of the secretive paranormal organization known as the Arcane Society, is waiting to meet Grace Renquist. Hired as an aura-reading consultant in the quest for a murder suspect, she's got zero field experience. She's from tiny Eclipse Bay, Oregon. She's a librarian, for heaven's sake. As for Grace, she's not expecting much, either, from Malone, who walks with a cane and isn't so good with a gun. Nice résumé for a bodyguard. But even before they reach their hotel in Maui - where they'll be posing as honeymooners - Grace and Luther feel the electric charge between them. Problem is, they need to remain vigilant day and night, because it soon becomes clear there's more going on here. Rogue sensitives - operatives for the underground group Nightshade - are pouring into the luxury resort as if there's a convention. While the pair's employers at Jones & Jones scramble to get them...

The Old Man and the Sea

January 19, 2009 by Carol2 Comments

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway From the cover: The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal - a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in striking contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novella confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for literature. My thoughts: I was prepared to dislike this book. Most of the people I know are not Hemingway fans and 120 pages about catching a fish just didn't sound that great. I was suprised that I actually enjoyed it. I liked the writing style, you feel...

Phantom Limb

January 15, 2009January 16, 2009 by Carol10 Comments

Phantom Limb by Theresa Kishkan From the cover: Phantom Limb invites readers to explore culture and nature by looking at landscape and place through a series of historical lenses, ranging from natural history to family history to the broader notions of regional and human history. In her popular essay "month of wild berries picking" Theresa Kishkan reveals the extent to which native stories articulate the complexity and importance of rules that govern relationships between species. In essays such as "The One Currach Returning Alone" and "Well" she explores her affinity with Ireland, the weight of its history, the peace of its geography, the roads that lead to collective memory, or the magic of its wishing wells. Other travel essays remind us of the tolerance and diversity that new cultures elicit from us, while teaching us how bound we are to the soil and air of our homes. What resonates throughout this collection is a rich lyricism and a distinctive visceral imagery. Though...

Love Walked In

January 13, 2009January 13, 2009 by Carol3 Comments

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos My life - my real life- started when a man walked into it, a handsome stranger in a perfectly cut suit and, yes, I know how that sounds. When Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. Charming and debonair, the spitting image of Cary Grant, Martin sweeps Cornelia off her feet, but, as it turns out, Martin Grace is more the harbinger of change than the change itself. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, eleven year-old Clare Hobbes must learn to fend for herself after her increasingly unstable mother has a breakdown and disappears. Taking inspiration from famous orphans (Anne Shirley, Sara Crewe, Mary Lennox and even Harry Potter) Clare musters the courage to seek out her estranged father. When the two of them show up at Cornelia's cafe, Cornelia and Clare form a bond as unlikely as it is deep. Together, they face difficult choices...

Surprise Island

January 9, 2009January 12, 2009 by Carol2 Comments

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children #2) by Gertrude Chandler Warner From the Cover: The Alden children have a home with their grandfather now - but their adventures are just beginning! Their first surprise comes when they learn they'll be spending the summer on their own private island. The kind stranger who lives there is always happy to help the children out, but does this new friend have a secret? My thoughts: I can see why Amber likes this series. The kids have little to no adult supervision, but they manage quite well on their own, cooking, cleaning and exploring, always helping each other out. There are adults on the island, the handyman, Joe, and Captain Daniel, but they only provide assistance or guidance when the children ask them to. And of course Joe's secret is a good one; that 's the kind of stories these are. For me, the books seem kind of bland. I would not read them, if Amber didn't enjoy them so much, but...

The Hiding Place

January 7, 2009January 7, 2009 by Carol7 Comments

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill Corrie ten Boom was a woman admired the world over for her courage, her forgiveness, and her memorable faith. In World War II, she and her family risked their lives to help Jews escape the Nazis, and their reward was a trip to Hitler's concentration camps. But she survived and was released--as a result of a clerical error--and now shares the story of how faith triumphs over evil. Corrie's dramatic life story, full of timeless virtues, has prepares readers to face their own futures with faith, relying on God's love to overcome, heal, and restore. The Hiding Place tells the riveting story of how a middle-aged Dutch watchmaker became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler's death camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. This is an incredibly touching story about faith and love in the midst of the Holocaust. It truly is...