Carol's Notebook

The Strength of a Sparrow by Tim "Dr Hope" Anders From the cover: The Strength of a Sparrow is based on a true story- the story of the author's parents. The character of a tenacious young woman, Bouvette Sherwood, who is a successful New York Broadway producer and actress, drives the plot. In the mid 1940s Bouvette meets and falls in love with a charming alcoholic, Hughie Hewitt. He has a secret though, which he keeps from her during their intense courtship- he is a Catholic priest. Their love story unfold into a kaleidoscope of intrigue, suspense, betrayal, and romance. My thoughts: What would you risk for love? What would you be willing to give up for the life you dream of? Bouvette "Boo" Sherwood and Hughie Hewitt risk everything to be together, including the wrath of the church and the respect of family and friends. And they do manage to find happiness together for a while. Boo's strength is obvious throughout the story. Her...

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read? 2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines? Of course I don't get to read as much as I want to.  If I did magically have more time to read, I would lean toward escapism, but hopefully with a few classics thrown in. I love books that I can get lost in, but whose topics aren't too heavy....

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley "Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. "The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers or fathers; they've got no wives, or children or lovers to feel strongly about; they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there's soma." Soma is a drug engineered to eliminate side effects of sickness, while promoting submission. The revelation of Huxley's world, how it is created and how it functions leads to powerful messages about the purpose of humanity, the pursuit of happiness, the role of suffering and the need for individual human dignity and freedom. It also illustrates Huxley's theory that the masses are...

This week's "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels, book 3)release date: March 31, 2009 Drafted into working for the Order of Merciful Aid, mercenary Kate Daniels has more paranormal problems than she knows what to do with these days. And in Atlanta, where magic comes and goes like the tide, that's saying a lot. But when Kate's werewolf friend Derek is discovered nearly dead, she must confront her greatest challenge yet. As her investigation leads her to the Midnight Games - an invitation only, no holds barred, ultimate preternatural fighting tournament - she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, uncover a dark plot that may forever alter the face of Atlanta's shapeshifting community... I'm a sucker for these urban fantasy novels, I admit, even though they seem to blend together after awhile. I really enjoyed the first two of this series. Kate is a great character, strong, independent, but I think she really does want someone to come home...

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two "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: The singing of the girls over their test-tubes, the preoccupied whistling of the Microscopists, suddenly ceased. These was a profound silence; every one looked round. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, pg. 100 See more teasers here....

The Best Chrismas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, smoke cigars, swear, and hit little kids. So no one is prepared when this outlaw family invades church one Sunday and decides to take over the annual Christmas pageant. None of the Herdmans has ever heard the Christmas story before. Their interpretation of the tale -- the Wise Men are a bunch of dirty spies and Herod needs a good beating -- has a lot of people up in arms. But it will make this year's pageant the most unusual anyone has seen and, just possibly, the best one ever. This is the first year I've read this with my daughter. I had to do some convincing to get her to read it with me, but she ended up loving as much as I do. Seeing the Christmas story through the Herdmans' eyes makes it new and fresh again. Sometimes...