Carol's Notebook

I ran across a few new-to-me words this week. The first three are from The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. banquette- a long bench with an upholstered seat, esp. one along a wall, as in a restaurant. "that had a blackboard menu and banquettes that used to be church pews" confit- (I've heard this several times on cooking shows, but wasn't quite sure what it was.) meat, such as duck, that has been salted and then cooked and preserved in its own fat. gaufrette- a thin crisp fan-shaped French wafer, often served alongside a dessert "duck confit on a gaufrette" This one is from Eyewitness to Jesus by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona. tessera- one of the small pieces used in mosaic work. "those tesserae, those small pieces of the Matthean mosaic"  And then I have one that is used a lot, but when Amber asked what it meant, I couldn't quite define it. We were reading Viva Cisco by Patrick Shannon. glen- a small, narrow, secluded valley. (Yes, I should have known this...

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: Phillip Strauss reclined and sank into the overstuffed couch, which, by subtle design, was meant to be warm and inviting, allowing patients to open up and speak freely. Phillip had no issues with such openness. -pg. 113, "Four Letter Session," The Light, the Dark, & Ember Between by J. W. Nicklaus Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....

  I want to thank Kim Smith for taking a page in my notebook to tell us a little about her life.   A Day in the Life of Kim Smith, Author of A Will to Love So you wanna be a writer like me? Do you have the “write stuff”? I am a very busy woman. So, come along and let’s see what my day is like. Today, June 29, 2009 Alarm went off at 5:25 am as it is set to do, but since I had a very sleepless night, I snoozed until 6 am. Up and at 'em, on the computer, checking emails, writing posts for blog tour, posting to groups for promos on the book.  6:45 off to the showers and cereal bowl 7:15 off to the day job as a network admin for a hydrostatic remanufacturing co. 8:00 working at the day job invoicing, order entry, troubleshooting order issues. 10:45 take a break go for a walk for fitness and blood sugar (type two diabetic) 11:00...

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about about library company… Who, if anyone usually accompanies you to the library? Is it somewhere you go alone? Or is it a regular outing with family or friends? Which do you prefer? Most of the time I go to the library by myself, whether it be to check out books, return them, or just sit and read for a while in peace and quiet. Usually I go once a week, but sometimes it's more, depending on my mood. I do like when Amber comes with me though, just because she always finds a stack of books to read. She may not get to them all before they need returned, but that's beside the point. And she's old enough now to go off to the kids section without me having to tag along and we can meet up when we're both done looking. I never go with any other family or friends besides Amber. It's just not that...

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday. I got few in the mail this week, all of which look great.     The Devil's Company by David Liss The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own treacherous plans. Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself...