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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Game Night – Arkham Horror

by Carol4 Comments
Arkham Horror Designers: Kevin Wilson and Richard Launius Manufacturer: Fantasy Flight Games Artists: Brian Schomburg and Scott Nicely Year: 2005 Players: 1 - 8 Time: 120 - 180 minutes Ages: 12 and up The town of Arkham, Massachusetts is in a panic. Horrific and bizarre events have begun to occur with increasing frequency -- all seeming to point towards some cataclysmic event in the near future that may spell disaster for everyone. Only one small band of investigators can save Arkham from the Great Old Ones and destruction! No fan of the Cthulhu Mythos will want to miss this opportunity to acquire this classic Call of Cthulhu boardgame! Fair warning- this is a tough game. We've only played a couple of times.  There are a lot of rules, which is tough for David, and his character spent two-thirds of the first game we played insane. I enjoy it, even if we don't play it often.  Basically, each player has a character and all the characters work together to kill an assortment of...
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Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

by Carol3 Comments
Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey I'm not a money person, period. I don't understand it or care, really. I don't think about it that much, tracking where it comes from and where it goes is a pain. I've heard that arguments over money are one of the main difficulties facing married couples, but that's not true in our house, because David's not a money person, either, which is a problem. We read Financial Peace as part of a workshop we attended over about three months at our church. It's simple, clear baby steps are perfect for us. Ramsey explains them in terms we can understand, gives clear goals, and encourages partners, spouses to actually communicate, not yell or let one person be solely responsible. If I had to boil it down, Ramsey advocates saving, getting out of/avoiding debt and then moving on to investing for retirement and college.  I like, too, that it is Christian-based and encourages giving, but it's still practical. I'll grant...
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