The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

by Carol5 Comments
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster,illustrations by Jules Feiffer From the dust jacket: Readers of all ages will find much wit and wisdom in Norton Juster's beguiling, offbeat fanatasy about  a boy named Milo "who didn't know what to do with himself." Through the Phanotm Tollbooth lies a strange land and a series of even stranger adventures in which Milo meets some of the most logically illogical characters ever met on this side or that side of reality, including King Azaz the Unabridged, unhappy ruler of Dictionopolis; the Mathemagician; Fainly Macabre, the not-so-wicked Which; and the watchdog Tock, who ticks. In his quest fo Rhyme and Reason, Milo helps settle the war between words and numbers, visits the Island of Conclusions , and ventures into the forbidden Mountains of Ignorance. My thoughts: This is my brother-in-law's favorite childrens book, and he's the one who bought it for Amber. It's a classic and I'm definitely glad we read. Amber gave it 5.9 out of 5 starts...
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Teaser Tuesday

by Carol2 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: He got the door open, gripped her arm, swept her inside and closed the door again before she could finish the sentence. "Well, I suppose a little breaking and entering is nothing compared to the risk of being arrested for poisoning Lord Fairburn," Lucinda said. -130, The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick Tuesday Teaser is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....
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My Dewey Decimal Section

by CarolNo Comments
I saw this over at Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker and thought it was cute. I chose my favorite of the three sections it assigned me. Carol's Dewey Decimal Section: 052 Serials in English Class: 000 Computer Science, Information & General Works Contains: Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations. What it says about you: You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve. Find your Dewey Decimal Section at Spacefem.com I'm not sure about the "up to date" part, but I do try to live in the present. There's no sense dwelling on things that have already happend. Just for the record, though, friends don't always appreciate honesty....
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The Turnaround by George Pelecanos

by Carol4 Comments
The Turnaround by George Pelecanos From the back: On a hot summer afternoon, three teenagers drive into an unfamiliar neighborhood—and six lives are changed forever. Thirty-five years after that harrowing day, one survivor reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. But another survivor has a different plan, and seizes the moment to claim reparation in any form he can find. The Turnaround takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the '70s to the changing neighborhoods of D.C. today, from diners and auto garages to the inside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It is a novel at whose heart is an emotionally charged story of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory, and violent redemption. My thoughts: The racially-fueled crime happens early in the book, during the 70's. The story picks up again with the teenagers now adults, some with kids of their own. Pelecanos does a wonderful  job of showing how "the incident" affected all their lives...
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Musing Mondays

by Carol3 Comments
Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about blog comments How do you respond to the comments on your blog? Do you try to email individually or comment on post yourself answering the comments above? What do you think is the best way to respond to comments and do you respond to all of them? Do you feel slighted if you don't receive a response back from the blog owner? (question courtesy of Jenn) The truth is, I'm not good at comments, leaving them or responding to them, but I'm going to work on it. I, personally, don't expect responses to any comments I leave, at least in general.  I know that's really not much of an answer, so I'll be interested in reading other responses. If you want to join in, head over to Just One More Page....
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Mailbox Monday

by Carol10 Comments
Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. I'm still excited every time there's a package waiting for me when I get home. Here's what arrived at my house this week.   Coyote Horizon by Allen Steele, which I won at Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' News and Reviews Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, andWhat Really Goes on in the Kitchen by Dalia Jurgensen One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper (Thanks, Amberkatze!) Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue Enemies & Allies by Kevin J. Anderson Moonlight on the Magic Flute (Magic Tree House #41) by Mary Pope Osborne (The Easter Bunny brought it for Amber, but we'll read it together starting tonight.) Have you read any of them?...
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