Last Wednesday 2012

Earlier this week I finished The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. I loved that book!. The author wove the two different characters, and the 2 different time periods, seamlessly. I did find one word that was unfamiliar to me.

pg 391    “ ’Tis impolitic thinking that keeps me ahead of the devil, your ladyship”

impolitic

adj.      not politic; unwise; injudicious; inexpedient

It is a word that is hard to say, for me at least. I would not use this word in my day to day speaking. But I'll remember it, in case I need to use it in writing.


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Christmas Eve 2012 Mailbox Monday

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia and hosted by Susan of Suko’s Notebook in December.  This is where we spotlight the books that came to our home in the last week. Caveat: Mailbox Monday can cause your TBR pile to increase exponentially.

This week there were lots of deliveries to my mailbox and porch!. Most of them were not books. Most were Christmas gifts from family far away. Our son and his family lives in the Phoenix area, our daughter and her family live in Colorado. Here is a snapshot of the bottom of our tree, packages and Santa. Also two books from my DIL in Arizona, unwrapped so I know they were for me, RIGHT NOW!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I know most of you have read this one, but I have not and want to use it for  What's In A Name 6 challenge        at Beth Fish Reads. See more about this 2013 challenge on the side bar at Beth's blog. 

Also in the same box from AZ was Engaged to Die by Carolyn Hart. My daughter-in-law and I read some of the same kinds of books. The last book was She Who Remembers by Linda Lay Shuler. This was from PBS. I know nothing about this one, but I like Native American history. And the cover has a quote by Jean M Auel. If she liked it, I know I will too. I loved Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series. 

I won't be reading much today, too many preparations to be made for tonight. But I expect to read more and more in 2013.  

Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

        Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

       Happy Holidays and a Blessed New Year

 

Wondrous Words Wednesday 12-18

 Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by BermudaOnion each week. It's an opportunity to share new words you've encountered in your reading, or highlight words that you particularly enjoy.

Again, this week my words come from The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. The book I am currently reading, The Winter Sea by Suzanna Kearsley has lots of unusual words, because the some characters speak Doric, a slang of sorts used in some parts of  Scotland.  I’m getting used to reading the phrases and can usually figure out what Jimmy is saying. The author is really good at using the dialogue between Jimmy and his sons or Carrie, the protagonist, to translate the strange words and phrasing.

pg 152   “Brown hair, brown eyes – not too close together, thank goodness -  a rather pert little retrousse nose”

Retrousse

Adj   turned up at the end, used describing a nose.

pg 200  “- she waved a porcine hand to signal that the fellow might be admitted to her bower.”

Porcine

Adj:  of or resembling swine or pig  

I was pretty sure of both of these words. But they are not words I use day to day.

Another word I encountered in often in The Secret Keeper, was Kirby grips.  Dorothy (Dolly) was always referring to “kirby grips” in her hair. I thought some sort of curler or clip. When I googled it , there were images of what I grew up calling bobby pins. 

As the holidays draw closer, I am finding fewer and fewer hours to read.  I have 2 quilts to construct, cookies to bake, meal shopping to do. My MIL fell and has been in the hospital. She should be able to be moved to a short-term assisted living today. It may be a long road back for her, but her attitude it great. 

So until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros 12-18

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph or maybe two of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.

Won in a contest on Goodreads. The following are the first 2 chapters. I am looking forward to reading this. Thanks to Goodreads and especially to Leigh Moore for offering the book as a prize. 

    A trumpet blast, followed by silence. We were all frozen on our marks. Center stage, my arms were raised in a V, and the insides of my eyelids turned from pink to black as the lights went out and the curtain fell, sending the odor of musty velvet swirling around us. Applause filled the house, but on our side was the swift click-clack of tap shoes, the whisper of tights against taffeta, fishnets and feathers. I dropped my arms and exited stage right.
   The glare of the spotlight had dazzled my eyes, but I'd done this so many times, I could find my way blind. I caught the small hand waiting for me in the wings as I passed. Not so small anymore, I thought as we navigated the maze of boxes and discarded scenery back to my dressing room. 

So would you continue? I hope to start reading next week. 

Until next time,

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Mailbox Monday 12-17

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia and hosted by Susan of Suko’s Notebook in December.  This is where we spotlight the books that came to our home in the last week. Caveat: Mailbox Monday can cause your TBR pile to increase exponentially.

On 11-29-12, I entered a contest at Goodreads called Mystery Cover. The moderator there, Christina, disguised the cover of a book and each day revealed a part of the cover. The prize was a copy of Rogue by  Leigh Talbert Moore. To make a long story short, I made two guesses. The second time I guessed,  it was only because a very small portion of the lower left hand cover of the book had writing, and I remembered seeing a copy of a book in the side bar that had writing in the lower left corner. So I guessed, The Paris Wife. There were two correct guesses that day, and by random chance my name was drawn. Anyway, the book arrived in my mailbox on Friday. I am really anxious to read it. 

Trapped in the underground theater world of 1890's New Orleans, Hale Ferrer has only one goal: escape. But not without Teeny, the orphan-girl she rescued from the streets and promised to protect.  Freddie Lovel, Hale's wealthy Parisian suitor, seems to be the easy solution. If only his touch could arouse her interest like Beau's, the penniless stagehand who captures her heart. Denying her hears, Hale is poised to choose love until an evil lurking in their cabaret-home launches a chain of events that could cost her everything. 

from the back cover of Rogue by Leigh T. Moore. A gift from the author in a contest on Goodreads. 

Such Sadness

Today I am trying to keep an ear to the television and still go about my daily chores. It is hard to continue on my everyday life as there is a town in CT experiencing such tragedy. It is unbelievable that so many have died. My prayers go out to all involved and I pray for wisdom for those left to deal with the aftermath. Parents and teachers alike will have to be strong for those children.

Mailbox Monday Dec 10

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia and hosted by Susan of Suko’s Notebook in December.  This is where we spotlight the books that came to our home in the last week. Caveat: Mailbox Monday can cause your TBR pile to increase exponentially.

These are images from Amazon.  From the inside flap of The Stupidest Angel.  Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.

From the back cover of The Winter Sea: In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the  exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. 

Now Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.  

This week there were no books in the mailbox. So to help my feelings of sadness, I made a trip to the library. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is the December read for the Love of Reading group on Goodreads. I wasn't sure what the story was about. If I had been better informed, I would have chosen the "side read" or alternate, The Weight of Silence.  I have finished the book, but definitely am not a fan. Of course I don't watch Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler movies either. It's irreverent, gross , R rated humor. 

The Winter Sea is the December read for Ladies and Literature on Goodreads. I hope I enjoy this one more. I will start it tonight probably. Today I have to get the oil changed in my car, do some grocery shopping and Christmas shopping, then home to finish some Christmas items and part of the graduation gift for one of my granddaughters. 

Hope everyone else has a wonderful Mailbox Monday and a wonderful week to come. 

Until the next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy