tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317513632024-03-07T04:45:37.210-05:00morsie readskaren!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.comBlogger967125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-13159789944267164162015-01-22T20:19:00.001-05:002015-01-22T20:21:10.547-05:00adaptation: Treasure Island adapted for the stage by Bryony Lavery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-Fm_9PgqLABn84Cc52kbImGTaUN0RNMP3bHM0Xzpb-mxkjDSNFq8fSEaEGu6LOgsyNeyOnyajtcA8k90cuLYHbpSjH7Az0rgPZi2hqhbC0bhrM0-SMQxiIpodYZ_4-UdoxS5pQ/s1600/Treasure_Island-play.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn-Fm_9PgqLABn84Cc52kbImGTaUN0RNMP3bHM0Xzpb-mxkjDSNFq8fSEaEGu6LOgsyNeyOnyajtcA8k90cuLYHbpSjH7Az0rgPZi2hqhbC0bhrM0-SMQxiIpodYZ_4-UdoxS5pQ/s1600/Treasure_Island-play.jpg" height="213" vspace="10" width="320" /></a></div>
I haven't read <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416500294" target="new">Treasure Island</a> since I was a child and I'm really not all that keen on pirates, but I went to see the <a href="http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/" target="new">Royal National Theatre</a>'s live broadcast of <a href="http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/treasure-island" target="new">Treasure Island</a> adapted by Bryony Lavery today.<sup>1</sup> I'm glad that I did because I really enjoyed the play.
<br />
<br />
The set is dynamic, growing and changing with the story, and it features a lovely planetarium-style sky. There's a character that appears at key points to play the fiddle and lead the sea shanties that help set the tone for the play before the ship even appears.<br />
<br />
As one would expect (especially given the promotional material for the play), there's a parrot. What's less expected is that "Captain Flint" doesn't stay perched on the shoulder of Arthur Darvill's<sup>2</sup> Long John Silver, parroting his lines. He's actually an active player in the story and at times seems to fly around the theatre (in the movie theater this was accomplished by how the sound effects were dispensed from different speakers in turn).<br />
<br />
There are some female pirates (and a lady doctor) as well as a couple of other characters that seem to have been added for additional comic relief, but the most unique feature of the adaptation is that Lavery imagines Jim Hawkins as a girl child rather than a boy. And actress Patsy Ferran, who plays Jemima, is fantastic in the role, lithe and expressive. And, her costume and makeup lend her an androgyny that allows her to read male at the opening of the play when viewers are expecting a male protagonist and assists her in maintaining the illusion that Jim is a child.<br />
<ol>
<li>I'm a huge fan of these live performances shown in movie theaters and highly recommend them. In two different movie houses, I've seen two ballets, an opera, an operetta, and now a play. In my experience, the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera's live productions offer more in the way of added value ("pre-game" and intermission interviews, peeks behind the scenes, and other interesting content) than the Royal National Theatre. </li>
<li>Rory from <i>Doctor Who</i>. He's fine as Long John Silver, but not outstanding.</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<b>disclosure:</b> I paid for my own ticket to see this show, but got a discounted rate because I'm a member of the non-profit that runs the art house-type theater where I saw it.</blockquote>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-91902490115344016502015-01-02T12:24:00.002-05:002015-01-02T12:26:04.158-05:00Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html">gift</a></div>
<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a> by Gail Carriger </b><br />
series: Finishing School (3)
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780316190275.jpg" hspace="10" /><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a> is the third book in the <i>Finishing School</i> series after <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/031619008x" target="new">Etiquette and Espionage</a> (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-couple-of-new-ya-books-from-favorites.html">post</a>) and <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/031619011x" target="new">Curtsies and Conspiracies</a>. I'd had it on my wishlist ever since that once-just-books-now-everything online retailer had it available for pre-order. Since it came out in November, I didn't go ahead and buy myself a copy in the hopes of getting it for Christmas.<sup>1</sup> So sure was I that I'd have a copy of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a> in hand by the end of December<sup>2</sup> that I started rereading <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/031619008x" target="new">Etiquette and Espionage</a> in preparation.<sup>3</sup> And get it for Christmas, I did - two copies! Both Russell and my mom purchased the book from my wishlist at that site.<sup>4</sup> I assured my mother, who was quite a bit more concerned about the duplicate gift than Russell, that getting two copies was not a problem at all and that I knew exactly what to do with the second one. A few days later I sent it along to sister-in-law #3 and niece #1, to whom I'd previously given the series' first installments. <br />
<br />
In any case because I also wanted to reread <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/031619011x" target="new">Curtsies and Conspiracies</a> before I started my new acquisition, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a> ended up being the first book I finished in 2015. It was a good way to start the year because it was such a satisfying read, giving me exactly what I've come to expect from Carriger, whose work I enjoy (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/search/label/Carringer-Gail">posts</a>), and from this series in particular. In <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a>, Sophronia and her friends are properly transitioning out of childhood (complete with the realization that maybe they aren't quite ready for everything that means) and Carriger handles it beautifully. It's also significant to note that I finished <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190276" target="new">Waistcoats and Weaponry</a> with a desire to reread the <i>Parasol Protectorate</i> books (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2011/06/parasol-protectorate-series-by-gail.html">post</a>) because of a suspicion that if I look closely enough I may find evidence of another of the <i>Finishing School</i> characters that I didn't original recognize as a character from <i>Parasol Protectorate</i>.
<br />
<ol>
<li>I tried my best to ensure this eventuality by dropping copious hints to Russell.</li>
<li>If Santa et al failed me I was prepared to purchase a copy myself.</li>
<li>When it's been a while since I've read a series earlier installments, I like to reread them so that they are fresh in my mind before I start the latest one. Also, see note #1.</li>
<li> Site hiccup or user error? You be the judge.</li>
</ol>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-58756296289038011322014-06-28T19:36:00.003-04:002014-06-28T19:36:50.121-04:00sync this week: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and October Mourning<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, June 26 through Wednesday, July 2, 2014) are:
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<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_blue.jpg" hspace="10" width="100" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316221333" target="new">Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock</a> by Matthew Quick</b>
<br />
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0763658073" target="new">October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard</a> by Lesléa Newman</b>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780316221337.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I'm sorry I couldn't be more than I was — that I couldn't stick around — and that what's going to happen today isn't their fault. <br />
Today is Leonard Peacock's birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather's P-38 pistol. <br />
But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart — obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school's class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.<br />
In this riveting book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made — and the light in us all that never goes out. </i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316221333" target="new">Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Noah Galvin, courtesy of Hachette Audio.
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<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780763658076.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old college student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a Wyoming bar by two young men, savagely beaten, tied to a remote fence, and left to die. Gay Awareness Week was beginning at the University of Wyoming, and the keynote speaker was Lesléa Newman, discussing her book Heather Has Two Mommies. Shaken, the author addressed the large audience that gathered, but she remained haunted by Matthew’s murder. October Mourning, a novel in verse, is her deeply felt response to the events of that tragic day. Using her poetic imagination, the author creates fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence Matthew was tied to, the stars that watched over him, the deer that kept him company, and Matthew himself. More than a decade later, this stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember, and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard’s life.
</i>
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<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0763658073" target="new">October Mourning</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Christina Traister; courtesy of Brilliance Audio.
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.
<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-67358517883280950122014-06-19T19:49:00.000-04:002014-06-28T19:50:12.564-04:00synce this week: I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You and Anne of Green Gables<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, June 19 through Wednesday, June 25, 2014) are:
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_green.jpg" hspace="10" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423100042" target="new">I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You</a> by Ally Carter</b>
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0679854673" target="new">Anne of Green Gables</a> by L.M. Montgomery </b></div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781423100041.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but its really a school for spies. <br />
Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks shes an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real “pavement artist”—but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her? <br />
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, shes on her most dangerous mission—falling in love.</i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423100042" target="new">I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Renée Raudman, courtesy of Brilliance Audio.
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781442490017.jpg" hspace="10" width="150" /><i>As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever... but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected — a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special — a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.</i>
<br />
<br />
The version <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0679854673" target="new">Anne of Green Gables</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Colleen Winton, courtesy of Post Hypnotic Press.
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-34008346513743134912014-06-12T08:01:00.000-04:002014-06-12T08:01:00.260-04:00sync this week: Code Name Verity and The Hiding Place<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, June 12 through Wednesday, June 18, 2014) are:
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_blue.jpg" hspace="10" width="100" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423152883" target="new">Code Name Verity</a> by Elizabeth Wein</b>
<br />
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0800792475" target="new">The Hiding Place</a> by Corrie Ten Bloom, with John and Elizabeth Sherril</b>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781423152880.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>Oct. 11th, 1943 — A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. <br />
When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. <br />
As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? </i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423152883" target="new">Code Name Verity</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell, courtesy of Bolinda Audio. I highly recommend that you download this book. You can read by review of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423152883" target="new">Code Name Verity</a> in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2012/05/code-name-verity-by-elizabeth-wein.html">this post</a>.
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780800792473.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>The amazing story of Corrie ten Boom, a heroine of the Dutch Resistance who helped Jews escape from the Nazis and became one of the most remarkable evangelists of the 20th century, is told in her classic memoir, now retold for a new generation.
</i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0800792475" target="new">The Hiding Place</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Bernadette Dunne, courtesy of Christian Audio.
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<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.
<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-48814039853084857372014-06-05T07:42:00.000-04:002014-06-08T11:16:39.839-04:00sync this week: All Our Yesterdays and Julius Caesar<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, June 5 through Wednesday, June 11, 2014) are:
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_green.jpg" hspace="10" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423176375" target="new">All Our Yesterdays</a> by Cristin Terrill</b>
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0743482743" target="new">Julius Caesar</a> by Shakespeare</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781423176374.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.<br />
Only Em can complete the final instruction. Shes tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. <br />
Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of Americas most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, Jamess life crumbles apart, and with it, Marinas hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. <br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423176375" target="new">All Our Yesterdays</a> is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.</i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423176375" target="new">All Our Yesterdays</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Meredith Mitchell, courtesy of Tantor Audio.
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://download.audiobooksync.com/content/uploaded/images/covers/week4-classic-caesar.jpg" hspace="10" width="150" /><i>In this striking tragedy of political conflict, Shakespeare turns to the ancient Roman world and to the famous assassination of Julius Caesar by his republican opponents. The play is one of tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warnings–“Beware the ides of March”–and of moving public oratory, “Friends, Romans, countrymen!” Ironies abound and most of all for Brutus, whose fate it is to learn that his idealistic motives for joining the conspiracy against a would-be dictator are not enough to sustain the movement once Caesar is dead.</i>
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<br />
The version <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0743482743" target="new">Julius Caesar</a> (aka Oedipus the King) offered by Sync is performed by Performed by Richard Dreyfuss, JoBeth Williams, Stacy Keach, Kelsey Grammer, and a full cast; courtesy of L.A. Theatre Works.
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.
<br />
<br />
<br />karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-77899562224823809962014-05-29T19:18:00.000-04:002014-06-01T19:19:16.027-04:00sync this week: Confessions of a Murder Suspect and Murder at the Vicarage<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, May 29 through Wednesday, June 4, 2014) are:
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<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_blue.jpg" hspace="10" width="100" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316206989" target="new">Confessions of a Murder Suspect</a> by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro</b> <br />
Hachette Audio edition, narrated by Emma Galvin
<br />
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1579126251" target="new">Murder at the Vicarage</a> by Agatha Christie</b><br />
Harper Audio edition, narrated by Richard E. Grant
</div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780316206983.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family... and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.<br />
On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone — maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous — and revealing — game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?</i>
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781579126254.jpg" hspace="10" /><i><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1579126251" target="new">Murder at the Vicarage</a> marks the debut of Agatha Christie’s unflappable and much beloved female detective, Miss Jane Marple. With her gift for sniffing out the malevolent side of human nature, Miss Marple is led on her first case to a crime scene at the local vicarage. Colonel Protheroe, the magistrate whom everyone in town hates, has been shot through the head. No one heard the shot. There are no leads. Yet, everyone surrounding the vicarage seems to have a reason to want the Colonel dead. It is a race against the clock as Miss Marple sets out on the twisted trail of the mysterious killer without so much as a bit of help from the local police.
</i>
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.
<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-65916363067770671222014-05-23T19:10:00.001-04:002014-05-23T19:12:39.436-04:00sync this week: Cruel Beauty and Oedipus Rex<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (Thursday, May 22 through Wednesday May 28, 2014) are:
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_green.jpg" hspace="10" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062224735" target="new">Cruel Beauty</a> by Rosamund Hodge </b>
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416500332" target="new">Oedipus Rex</a> by Sophocles</b></div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780062224736.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom--all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him.<br />
Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, she abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.<br />
But Ignifex is not what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle--a shifting maze of magical rooms--enthralls her. As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. But even if she can bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him?<br />
Based on the classic fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast," <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062224735" target="new">Cruel Beauty</a> is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.</i>
<br />
<br />
The edition of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062224735" target="new">Cruel Beauty</a> offered by Sync is narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden, courtesy of Harper Audio.
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781416500339.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>One of the greatest of the classic Greek tragedies and a masterpiece of dramatic construction. Catastrophe ensues when King Oedipus discovers he has inadvertently killed his father and married his mother. Masterly use of dramatic irony greatly intensifies impact of agonizing events. Sophocles' finest play, Oedipus Rex ranks as a towering landmark of Western drama.
</i>
<br />
<br />
The version <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416500332" target="new">Oedipus Rex</a> (aka Oedipus the King) offered by Sync is performed by Michael Sheen and a full cast, courtesy of Naxos AudioBooks.
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.
<br />
<br />
<br />karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-50960435308989948492014-05-18T23:36:00.001-04:002014-06-08T11:15:57.426-04:002014 Sync schedule<br />
<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new"><img align="left" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYMrAen35IJ4WJQ27zrnhaX5Dqp73BvS_UJDuz1yAHn2dQSeVPUW4DB0FohjIdY7cn37302vSvIp2d1ahHa6sEyU9r0t20aURsFp-SdVW435uTY-lPCZM1tMB3g5FauGj42AKxw/s200/Sync_icon_blue%255B1%255D.jpg" hspace="10" style="cursor: hand; height: 100px; width: 100px;" /></a><b>Sync YA literature into your earphones with <br />two free audiobook downloads each week<br />May 15 - August 13, 2014</b><br />
<br />
Teens and other readers of young adult literature will have the opportunity to <b>listen</b> to bestselling titles and required reading classics this summer. Each week from May 15 to August 13, 2014, <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>, a program sponsored by <a href="http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/">AudioFile Magazine</a>, will offer two <b>free</b> audiobook downloads.<br />
<br />
The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the
YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading
lists.<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">SYNC Schedule:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new"><img align="right" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITBw9GR-hn-9Ipdrw4dKn5iJ358Bmh91XDdox6MPXKO2EI44uMGytALMHdHbPvbi2W06T13gNZFrMsdZKVWUtVoalE2BCLelzunkt1RzCHTh0pDqW69Y8V3TET8TKUbKny5hY9w/s200/Sync%255B1%255D.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 200px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 122px;" /></a> <br />
<b>May 15 - May 21 </b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0141341742" target="new">Warp: The Reluctant Assassin</a> by Eoin Colfer, <br />Narrated by Maxwell Caulfield (Listening Library)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0486284727" target="new">The Time Machine</a> by H.G. Wells, <br />Narrated by Derek Jacobi (Listening Library)</li>
</ul>
<b>May 22 - May 28</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062224735" target="new">Cruel Beauty</a> by Rosamund Hodge, <br />
Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden (Harper Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416500332" target="new">Oedipus the King</a> by Sophocles, <br />
Performed by Michael Sheen and a full cast (Naxos AudioBooks)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>May 29 - June 4</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316207004" target="new">Confessions of a Murder Suspect</a> by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, <br />
Narrated by Emma Galvin (Hachette Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062073605" target="new">The Murder at the Vicarage</a> by Agatha Christie, <br />
Narrated by Richard E. Grant (Harper Audio)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>June 5 - June 11</b>
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423176375" target="new">All our Yesterdays</a> by Cristin Terrill, <br />Narrated by Meredith Mitchell (Tantor Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0743482743" target="new">Julius Caesar</a> by William Shakespeare, <br />
Performed by Richard Dreyfuss, JoBeth Williams, Stacy Keach, Kelsey Grammer, and a full cast (L.A. Theatre Works)</li>
</ul>
<b>June 12 - June 18</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423152883" target="new">Code Name Verity</a> by Elizabeth Wein (highly recommended, see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2012/05/code-name-verity-by-elizabeth-wein.html">post</a>), <br />Narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell (Bolinda Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0800792475" target="new">The Hiding Place</a> by Corrie Ten Boom <br />
Narrated by Bernadette Dunne (christianaudio)</li>
</ul>
<b>June 19 - June 25</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423100042" target="new">I'd Tell You I Love You, but then I'd Have to Kill You</a> by Ally Carter, <br />Narrated by Renée Raudman (Brilliance Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0679854673" target="new">Anne of Green Gables</a> by L.M. Montgomery, <br />Narrated by Colleen Winton (Post Hypnotic Press)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>June 26 – July 2</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316221333" target="new">Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock</a> by Matthew Quick, <br />Narrated by Noah Galvin (Hachette Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0763658073" target="new">October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard</a> by Lesléa Newman, <br />
Narrated by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, Christina Traister (Brilliance Audio)</li>
</ul>
<b>July 3 - July 9</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1553801105" target="new">Torn from Troy</a> by Patrick Bowman, <br />Narrated by Gerard Doyle (Post Hypnotic Press)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0786854456" target="new">Peter and the Starcatchers</a> by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, <br />
Narrated by Jim Dale (Brilliance Audio)</li>
</ul>
<b>July 10 - July 16</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0312661053" target="new">Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice</a> by Philip Hoose, <br />
Narrated by Channie Waites (Brilliance Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1414336373" target="new">While the World Watched</a> by Carolyn Maull McKinstry with Denise George, <br />
Narrated by Felicia Bullock (Oasis Audio)</li>
</ul>
<b>July 17 – July 23</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0399247815" target="new">The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline</a> by Nancy Springer, <br />Narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Recorded Books)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1593080409" target="new">The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II</a> by Arthur Conan Doyle, <br />Narrated by David Timson (Naxos AudioBooks)</li>
</ul>
<b>July 24 – July 30</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1580819303" target="new">Headstrong</a> by Patrick Link, <br />
Performed by Deidrie Henry, Ernie Hudson, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine and Scott Wolf (L.A. Theatre Works)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1593081316" target="new">The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</a> by Robert Louis Stevenson, <br />Narrated by Scott Brick (Tantor Audio)</li>
</ul>
<b>July 31 – August 6</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0545543673" target="new">Divided We Fall</a> by Trent Reedy, <br />
Narrated by Andrew Eiden (Scholastic Audio)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0553210114" target="new">The Red Badge of Courage</a> by Stephen Crane, <br />Narrated by Frank Muller (Recorded Books)</li>
</ul>
<b>August 7 – August 13</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1458202720" target="new">Living a Life that Matters</a> by Ben Lesser, <br />Narrated by Jonathan Silverman and Ben Lesser (Remembrance Publishing)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0679729267" target="new">The Shawl</a> by Cynthia Ozick, <br />
Narrated by Yelena Shmulenson (HighBridge Audio)</li>
</ul>
Another important note is that these
books don't expire like th e-audiobooks you get from the library. So,
be sure to check in each week to download the books even if you don't
think you'll get around to reading them right away.<br />
<br />
More information about Sync is available on the <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/about/" target="new">Sync website</a>.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-30409911645637119092014-05-18T22:37:00.000-04:002014-05-18T23:37:42.033-04:00better late than never: the first week of Sync 2014Audiobook <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>, the annual summertime audiobook extravaganza, started early this year. Week one is already underway.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a>'s offerings this week (through Wednesday, May 21, 2014) are:
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://www.audiobooksync.com/images/icon_green.jpg" hspace="10" />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0141341742" target="new">Warp: The Reluctant Assassin</a> by Eoin Colfer</b> <br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0804123357" target="new">Listening Library edition</a>, narrated by Maxwell Caulfield <br />
and<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0486284727" target="new">The Time Machine</a> by H. G. Wells</b><br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0804122261" target="new">Listening Library edition</a>, narrated by Derek Jacobi
</div>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780804123358.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>Riley, a teen orphan boy living in Victorian London, has had the misfortune of being apprenticed to Albert Garrick, an illusionist who has fallen on difficult times and now uses his unique conjuring skills to gain access to victims' dwellings. On one such escapade, Garrick brings his reluctant apprentice along and urges him to commit his first killing. Riley is saved from having to commit the grisly act when the intended victim turns out to be a scientist from the future, part of the FBI's Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP) Riley is unwittingly transported via wormhole to modern day London, followed closely by Garrick. <br />
In modern London, Riley is helped by Chevron Savano, a nineteen-year-old FBI agent sent to London as punishment after a disastrous undercover, anti-terrorist operation in Los Angeles. Together Riley and Chevie must evade Garrick, who has been fundamentally altered by his trip through the wormhole. Garrick is now not only evil, but he also possesses all of the scientist's knowledge. He is determined to track Riley down and use the timekey in Chevie's possession to make his way back to Victorian London where he can literally change the world.</i>
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780804122269.jpg" hspace="10" /><i>When the Time Traveller courageously stepped out of his machine for the first time, he found himself in the year 802,700--and everything has changed. In another, more utopian age, creatures seemed to dwell together in perfect harmony. The Time Traveller thought he could study these marvelous beings--unearth their secret and then return to his own time--until he discovered that his invention, his only avenue of escape, had been stolen.
</i>
<br />
<br />
Go <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/free-sync-downloads/" target="new">here</a> to get this week's downloads. <br />
<br />
<b>Note:</b> these books don't expire like the e-audiobooks you get from the library. So, be sure to download the books even if you don't think you'll get around to listening to them right away.
<br />
<br />
More information about <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="new">Sync</a> and this year's schedule of offerings is available in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-sync-schedule.html">this post</a>.
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-7056712602690715942014-03-03T19:20:00.002-05:002014-03-03T19:20:48.920-05:00books for a one year-old<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780394818238.jpg" hspace="10" />Last weekend Russell and I attended a birthday party for a one year-old. We brought two books for the birthday girl, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1402772149" target="new">The Adventures of Lowly Worm</a> and <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0394818237" target="new">What Do People Do All Day?</a> both by Richard Scarry. Here's more or less what I wrote in the card:<br />
<blockquote>
I was so glad to see these two books on the birthday girl's wishlist because I would have bought them for her anyway. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0394818237" target="new">What Do People Do All Day?</a> was the most popular book in the [maiden name] household for many a year and Lowly Worm taught the [maiden name] girls how to behave in polite society. My mom would often prompt my sister and/or I with "Would Lowly Worm say/do..." when we were learning to navigate through through the world.
</blockquote>
I hope these books serve the birthday girl as well as our family's copies served my sister and I.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-15708521540606740222014-03-01T19:38:00.000-05:002014-03-03T19:39:48.370-05:00February Reading Recap<b>Books Read in February</b>
<br />
<br />
18. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0804138842" target="new">The Girl in the Road</a> by Monica Byrne - Netgalley
<br />
17. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1616203218" target="new">The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</a> by Gabrielle Zevin - Netgalley
<br />
16. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143034820" target="new">Death in a Strange Country</a> by Donna Leon (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/mom-approved-donna-leon.html">post</a>) - public library via my mom
<br />
15. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/006074068x" target="new">Death at La Fenice</a> by Donna Leon - (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/mom-approved-donna-leon.html">post</a>) - public library via my mom
<br />
14. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373297734" target="new">To Tempt a Viking</a> by Michelle Willingham - Netgalley
<br />
13. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0399162097" target="new">We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves</a> by Karen Joy Fowler (audio) - public library
<br />
12. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/034580709x" target="new">The Bat</a> by Jo Nesbo - public library
<br />
- "A Story in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-study-in-emerald-by-neil-gaiman-and.html">post</a>) <br />in <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1607012898" target="new">New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird</a>, edited by Paula Guran - purchased
<br />
11. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014241591x" target="new">Fire</a> by Kristin Cashore (audio) - public librarykaren!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-31236682963719802782014-02-17T21:58:00.001-05:002014-02-17T22:28:45.708-05:00quotable Gabrielle Zevin<blockquote>
<b><i>We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. </i> (<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1616203218" target="new">The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</a>)</b></blockquote>
I read <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1616203218" target="new">The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</a> from start to finish this afternoon/evening. The novel is scheduled for release on 1 April 2014. I recommend it highly.
<br />
<blockquote>
<b>disclosure (because we can't have an endorsement without a disclosure statement):</b> I received a review copy of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1616203218" target="new">The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</a> from <a href="http://www.algonquin.com/" target="new">Algonquin Books</a> via <a href="http://netgalley.com/" target="new">NetGalley</a>. A review is forthcoming.</blockquote>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-57846160564195780342014-02-02T21:22:00.002-05:002014-02-02T21:28:48.967-05:00"A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman and the Martin Wallace board game of the same name<img align="right" src="http://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic1638689_t.jpg" hspace="10" />Neil Gaiman's "A Story in Emerald" is a
particularly well-conceived mashup of Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos, which was originally published in <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0345452739" target="new">Shadows over Baker Street</a>, edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan. I first learned about it last April when Russell came across a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799046854/a-study-in-emerald" target="new">Kickstarter campaign</a> for a board game by Martin Wallace inspired by the story. We were sufficiently intrigued to back the campaign and I used Russell's June birthday as an excuse to buy a book in which the story appeared: <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1607012898" target="new">New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird</a>.
<br />
<br />
Our copy of <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799046854/a-study-in-emerald" target="new">A Study in Emerald</a> (the game) arrived at Chez Morsie sometime around Christmas, but we hadn't gotten around to playing it so when our friend Michael brought his copy to game night last week, I jumped at the chance to learn the game even though I hadn't read Gaiman's story yet.
I read the story today.
<br />
<br />
The story is set in an alternate Victorian London that should seem pretty familiar to readers. The biggest difference between "A Study in Emerald"'s London and that of Doyle is that Victoria is one of the Great Old Ones, who have been ruling the planet for the past 700 years. Like Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet," "A Study in Emerald" introduces the consulting detective and his narrating companion. There is a murder with which Inspector Lestrade and his team need assistance. At the crime scene "RACHE" is spelled out in the victim's blood, though in this case the blood is green. While I am no expert on the Sherlock Holmes canon, it seemed to me that Gaiman admirably maintained the feel of Doyle's/Watson's writing (though this is helped along by the fact the story's introductory passages mirror that of "A Study in Scarlet"). I liked how Gaiman was able to introduce the backstory of the Great Old One's takeover without having it seem like a tangent. While I enjoyed "A Study in Emerald" as I was reading it, when I finished the story I was thrilled. I can't explain why without spoiling it (I even insisted that Russell must read it himself). There's more in "A Study in Emerald" for Sherlockians than there is for Lovecraft aficionados, but I'd recommend it to both (and especially to readers who appreciate both Doyle's and Lovecraft's worlds).
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799046854/a-study-in-emerald" target="new">A Study in Emerald</a> (the game) is built upon the political tensions described in Gaiman's story: the Great Old Ones rule the world, but there is a group of "restorationists" plotting to overthrow them. In the game, which plays 2-5, players are randomly and secretly assigned to either the Loyalist or Restorationist factions. Ours was a 4-player game and I was the token Restorationist; I did not win.
<br />
<br />
Interestingly enough, per Wallace's design notes, the inspiration for <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799046854/a-study-in-emerald" target="new">A Study in Emerald</a> was not Gaiman's story but <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1607012898" target="new">The World that Never Was</a> by Alex Butterworth, a history of anarchism.
<br />
<blockquote>
I felt that there was enough material her for a board game but was note sure about the reception it would receive. I had this feeling that some players might object to a game where your main occupation would be going around blowing up various world leaders. It just so happened that I had recently read "A Study in Emerald" which suggested a solution to my problem--turn the leaders into monsters, thus depriving them of any sympathy they may otherwise garner. (Design notes, <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799046854/a-study-in-emerald" target="new">A Study in Emerald</a> rule book, 16)</blockquote>
Not to mention the added cache of both Gaiman and the Cthulhu mythos with gamers. If nothing else, the "A Study in Emerald" overlay was marketing genius. I don't tend to spend much time reading rule books (preferring to have games taught to me) and I would skip over design notes just as I usually skip over acknowledgments in the books that I read. I had Russell dig out our copy of the rule book when I started writing this post because I wanted to read Wallace's justification of his inclusion of zombies<sup>1</sup> (and vampires) in the game when they don't appear in the story,<sup>2</sup> and that's how I learned about the real inspiration for the game, which I found particularly interesting.<br />
<ol>
<li>For what it's worth I was holding my own against in the Loyalist faction until the zombies card was in play. When Dan, who had the zombies card in his card, managed to get his hands on a card that allowed his deck to cycle more quickly, I (and the Restorationist cause) was doomed.</li>
<li>He justifies zombies because of a real life Dr. Frankenstein-type individual that appears in Butterworth. He has no good excuse for including vampires.</li>
</ol>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-33543745006360901872014-02-02T12:22:00.001-05:002014-02-02T12:25:38.236-05:00seasonal reading: Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html">my dad (I'm not sure if I have it forever or just on loan)</a></div><br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060890339" target="new">Wintersmith</a> by Terry Pratchett </b><br />
series: Tiffany Aching (3); Discworld (35)
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780060890339.jpg" hspace="10" />With so many parts of the US having a particularly cold and/or snowy winter and <a href="http://www.groundhog.org/" target="new">Punxsutawney Phil</a> predicting another 6 weeks of winter today on Groundhog Day<sup>1</sup>, Terry Pratchett's <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060890339" target="new">Wintersmith</a> seems like the most appropriate of reading choices.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060890339" target="new">Wintersmith</a> is the third book in Pratchett's <i>Tiffany Aching Adventures</i> (after <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060012382" target="new">Wee Free Men</a> and <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060586621" target="new">A Hat Full of Sky</a>), which follows the coming-of-age adventures of a young witch (and her bumbling, not-quite-accidental helpmeets, the Nac Mac Feegle<sup>2</sup>) who lives within his <i>Discworld</i> world.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060890339" target="new">Wintersmith</a>, Tiffany inadvertently draws the attention of the titular character, who is the personification of the winter. The Wintersmith's attempts to woo Tiffany yield a long and preposterously harsh winter (with Tiffany-shaped snowflakes no less). Tiffany must find a way to subdue with Wintersmith while, unbeknownst to Tiffany, the Nac Mac Feegle train up a hero (who will be familiar to readers of the series) to rescue Spring from the underworld (that hero himself draws the parallel to Orpheus). More importantly (from the bildungsroman<sup>3</sup> perspective at least), Tiffany must take responsibility for her role in attracting the Wintersmith.<br />
<br />
I've mentioned before that the Tiffany Aching books were my primary reading matter during the recent family flu epidemic. While I enjoyed the books (which came highly recommended by my father), I feel like I would have liked them better if I hadn't read them one right after the other.<sup>4</sup> It just seems to be that my reading of the series would have benefited from enough of a gap that absolutely everything from the previous installment(s) was not so fresh in my mind. <br />
<ol>
<li>Groundhog Day (aka Candlemas): "On Candlemas the woodchuck is said to emerge from his hibernation in order to look for his shadow. If he sees it, he will return to his burrow for six more weeks. If he doesn't, he knows that spring will arrive soon. The belief is related to the association of Candlemas with the sowing of the crops, sunny weather foreboding harsh days and so poor planting" (<i>The Folklore of American Holidays</i> edited by Cohen and Coffin, 65).</li>
<li>The titular characters of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060012382" target="new">Wee Free Men</a>. Loveable rogues, the Nac Mac Feegle are like tiny, very clannish Scotsmen, who happen to be fairies (or pixies, I guess) and have the social structure of bees. Their primary interests are drinking, brawling, and stealing.</li>
<li>I suppose this should be <i>bildungsbuchreihe</i> (or something like that) since it's not a novel, but the overarching storyline of a series.</li>
<li>Some series beg for binge reading, others do not.</li>
</ol>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-42914375299516092232014-02-02T11:22:00.000-05:002014-02-02T12:25:03.207-05:00January 2014 reading recap<b>Books Read in January</b><br />
<br />
10. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0345536223" target="new">The Lost Sisterhood</a> by Anne Fortier (review forthcoming) - Netgalley<br />
9. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305" target="new">Graceling</a> by Kristin Cashore (audio; see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/graceling-by-kristin-cashore.html">post</a>) - public library<br />
8. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060890339" target="new">Wintersmith</a> by Terry Pratchett (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/seasonal-reading-wintersmith-by-terry.html">post</a>) - from my dad<br />
7. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> by Ben Aaronovitch (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-novel-cure-for-flu.html">post</a>) - from my mom<br />
6. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=31751363" target="new">Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things</a> by Ted Naifeh (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/courtney-crumrin-night-things-by-ted.html">post</a>) - purchased at independent comic book/gaming shop<br />
5. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/125000408x" target="new">The Witch's Daughter</a> by Paula Brackston (audio; see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-witchs-daughter-by-paula-brackston.html">post</a>) - public library<br />
4. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060586621" target="new">A Hat Full of Sky</a> by Terry Pratchett (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/seasonal-reading-wintersmith-by-terry.html">post on <i>Wintersmith</i></a>) - from my dad<br />
3. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060012382" target="new">Wee Free Men</a> by Terry Pratchett (mentioned in <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/word-susurrus.html">this post</a>; see also <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/02/seasonal-reading-wintersmith-by-terry.html">post on <i>Wintersmith</i></a>) - from my dad<br />
2. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423184629" target="new">Far From You</a> by Tess Sharpe (double-review post with <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1602829586" target="new">How Sweet It Is</a> by Melissa Brayden forthcoming) - Netgalley<br />
1. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0812995201" target="new">The Weight of Blood</a> by Laura McHugh (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-weight-of-blood-by-laura-mchugh.html">post</a>) - Netgalleykaren!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-2035006607033750472014-02-01T14:12:00.002-05:002014-02-01T14:15:14.935-05:00mom-approved: Donna LeonYesterday I ran straight from work to the public library on an errand for my mom. Lately she's been stuck at home in pain with limited mobility because of a herniated disc in her back or something along those lines. Now, my mom is a voracious reader. Her favorite genres are historical fiction and mysteries, though like me she reads broadly across most fiction genres and appreciates the occasional nonfiction title when it relates to long-term or of-the-moment interests. However, right now she's only interested in reading books from one particular author: Donna Leon. Two of the Donna Leon books she requested from one of our library system's other branches had come in and I needed to collect them before the library closed at 6 pm.
<br />
<br />
She's working her way (possibly nonsequentially) through the books in Leon's <i>Guido Brunetti</i> series of mysteries set in Venice. So far there are 23 titles in the series:
<br />
<ol><img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780060740689.jpg" hspace="10" />
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/006074068x" target="new">Death At La Fenice</a> (1992) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143034820" target="new">Death in a Strange Country</a> (1993)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1447201639" target="new">The Anonymous Venetian</a> aka <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143115898" target="new">Dressed for Death</a> (1994)</li>
<li><i>A Venetian Reckoning</i> aka <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014311591x" target="new">Death And Judgment</a> (1995)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0142004960" target="new">Acqua Alta</a> aka <i>Death in High Water</i> (1996)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1447201663" target="new">The Death of Faith</a> aka <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143115936" target="new">Quietly in Their Sleep</a> (1997)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0142003190" target="new">A Noble Radiance</a> (1997)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014311705x" target="new">Fatal Remedies</a> (1998)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143117068" target="new">Friends in High Places</a> (1999)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143116207" target="new">A Sea of Troubles</a> (2001)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143117580" target="new">Willful Behavior</a> (2002)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0142004227" target="new">Uniform Justice</a> (2003)</li>
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780143035633.jpg" hspace="10" />
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143035630" target="new">Doctored Evidence</a> (2004)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143117092" target="new">Blood from a Stone</a> (2005)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143038060" target="new">Through a Glass Darkly</a> (2006)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143117114" target="new">Suffer the Little Children</a> (2007)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143115618" target="new">The Girl of His Dreams</a> (2008)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143116592" target="new">About Face</a> (2009)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143118951" target="new">A Question of Belief</a> (2010)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0143120646" target="new">Drawing Conclusions</a> (2011)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0802120237" target="new">Beastly Things</a> (2012)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0802122426" target="new">The Golden Egg</a> (2013)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0802122647" target="new">By Its Cover</a> (2014)</li>
</ol>
Leon has also published a stand-alone novel, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0802120644" target="new">The Jewels of Paradise</a> (2012), which is also set in Venice.
<br />
<br />
I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0142004960" target="new">Acqua Alta</a> kicking around here, in turn I am pretty sure that I got it from my mom and that she picked it up as vacation reading. When I figure out where I put the book (if indeed I am remembering this all correctly), I'll read it and see whether I find the series as exciting as my mom does.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-6392845981464221262014-01-22T22:40:00.000-05:002014-01-22T22:40:21.494-05:00Graceling by Kristin Cashore<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#library">public library</a></div>
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a> by Kristin Cashore</b><br />
series: Seven Kingdoms (1)<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780547258300.jpg" hspace="10" />I don't remember the last time I "read" an audiobook so quickly. I finished <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a> today, only four days after I checked it out from the library's e-audio repository. Between recovering from the flu and the heavy snow (read: time spent outside shoveling), I've had lots of opportunity to listen lately, but I have to admit that I also made time to listen. I was utterly charmed by <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a> and by its main characters Katsa (despite her decidedly unsympathetic special ability) and Po (and also by Bitterblue, a secondary character, who seems to be the protagonist of the series' third installment). I wanted to know what would happen to them, if they'd be able to overcome the obstacles they were facing, so I manufactured listening time.
<br />
<br />
My reluctant-reader sister is going to be receiving a copy of the audio version of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a> for her birthday.
<br />
<br />
Cashore's second book, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014241591x" target="new">Fire</a>, another installment of the Seven Kingdoms series, was available from the library's ebook repository so I checked it out in anticipation of my quick completion of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a>. I started <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014241591x" target="new">Fire</a> shortly after finishing <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a>. I didn't get far (my second round of snow shoveling today ended up taking much less time than I expected), but I already know that I'm not going to enjoy it as much as <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a>. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014241591x" target="new">Fire</a> is a prequel to <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a> and just from what little I've heard (again, I'm listening to the audio version), I can tell that it's going to involve one of the least palatable characters from <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547258305">Graceling</a>. Now I'm trying to decide whether I should wait some time before continuing on with <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/014241591x" target="new">Fire</a> or not.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-60096156480010252172014-01-22T21:51:00.000-05:002014-01-22T22:40:56.504-05:00a novel cure for the fluI'd been ill for about a week before I was actually able to remember that I wanted to look up "flu" in <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1594205167" target="new">The Novel Cure</a>, which I received for my birthday (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/09/bookish-birthday-presents.html">post</a>) when I was actually in the position to find the book. Even though I'd had the book since the end of September, I hadn't actually gone to it looking for a novel cure to anything before now.
<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1594205167" target="new">The Novel Cure</a>, Elderkin and Berthoud suggest Agatha Christie, specifically Poirot, as a cure for the flu. They recommend <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062073567" target="new">The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</a>. Unfortunately I didn't have any Christie in the house and the public library didn't have any ebook or e-audio versions available to check out. I refuse to pay for ebooks so I was out of luck. Following Elderkin and Berthoud's logic, I decided that what I needed was an engrossing mystery.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#personal">my mom</a> <br />
(she picked it up at the take-a-book-leave-a-book shelf at a hotel)
</div>
<br />
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> by Ben Aaronovitch </b> (published as <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/034552425x" target="new">Midnight Riot</a> in the US) <br />
series: Peter Grant (1)
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780575097582.jpg" hspace="10" />A paranormal police procedural, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> takes place in a modern day London, in which the Metropolitan Police Service has a special, secret branch responsible for dealing with "the magic" when it poses a threat to the Queen's peace. Probationary Constable Peter Grant (protagonist and first-person narrator) learns of the secret branch when he's assigned to assist Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale with a case. That doesn't happen, though, until after Grant has interviewed an eyewitness to a murder who just happens to be a ghost. <br />
<br />
The primary storyline (serial murder) was a bit overcomplicated<sup>1</sup> for my flu-addled brain, but I enjoyed <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> nonetheless. The secondary (titular) storyline was quite interesting and easy to follow. I also appreciated the overarching story of the protagonist as he first discovers the world of magic and then becomes an apprentice wizard.<br />
<br />
Aaronovitch does a great job of world-building. There's the recognizable and well-described London from which he lifts the veil. He gives readers just enough paranormal activity to indicate the extent to which magic permeates his world, but not enough to overwhelm them and/or the story. British magic has an interesting backstory (Isaac Newton "codif[ied] its basic principles," 81) as I'm sure does Nightingale, to whom Grant becomes apprenticed. Home base for the secret branch (The Folly) is also populated by an inexplicable character named Molly, who is indispensable to the functioning of the branch.<br />
<br />
Peter Grant is an everyman character (mixed race, distractible, and decidedly average with the exception of an aptitude for magic). He also has two love interests: another probationary constable (who I assume will be a recurring character in the series as it goes forward) and a magical person he encounters in the course of his work on the titular storyline.<br />
<br />
I read <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> ravenously and I'm quite eager to read more of Peter Grant's adventures. There are three more books (so far) in the series, but it seems like only the second installment (<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097620" target="new">Moon Over Soho</a>)<sup>2</sup> has been published in the US so far.<sup>3</sup>
<br />
<br />
A note on the cover art. I <i>much</i> prefer the art on <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> (and the other British editions) to the art on <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/034552425x" target="new">Midnight Riot</a> (and the other American editions). I felt that way even before scanning other reviews and coming across one that mentioned a concern about white-washing with regard to the American editions.<sup>4</sup> The art of the British covers focuses on the city, while the art of the American cover focuses on the character (and with that character focus, obscuring the race is problematic). Additionally, the British editions are quirky, with little details (about the story and about London) hidden in the artwork. I love that.<br />
<ol>
<li>It's described thusly (from the perspective of PC Grant) on the <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0575097582" target="new">Rivers of London</a> page of the author's website: "there’s something festering at the heart of the city I love, a malicious vengeful spirit that takes ordinary Londoners and twists them into grotesque mannequins to act out its drama of violence and despair. The spirit of riot and rebellion has awakened in the city, and it’s falling to me to bring order out of chaos – or die trying" (<a href="http://www.the-folly.com/books/rivers-of-london-uk/?ln=en" target="new">The Folly/Books/Rivers of London</a>).</li>
<li>Thankfully they haven't changed the title of this one for the American audience.</li>
<li>Though a quick search of the public library catalog informs me that I can also get #3, <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0345524616" target="new">Whispers Under Ground</a>, from the library even though my branch doesn't have a copy.</li>
<li> Neth Space shows two different versions of both American editions' covers and discusses this issue, see <a href="http://nethspace.blogspot.com/2011/03/another-white-washed-cover.html" target="new">Neth Space: Another White-washed Cover?</a>. I don't particularly either version of either of the American covers. The British cover art is much more appealing to me on many different levels.</li>
</ol>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-85267693383599719032014-01-18T15:19:00.002-05:002014-01-18T15:20:27.067-05:00Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things by Ted Naifeh<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#personal">purchased</a>
</div>
<b> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=31751363" target="new">Courtney Crumrin: The Night Things</a> by Ted Naifeh </b> <br />
series: Courtney Crumrin Special Edition (1)
<br />
<br />
<img align="right" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781934964774.jpg" hspace="10" />I purchased <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=31751363" target="new">The Night Things</a> last year at a local independent comic book/game shop (Modern Myths in Mamaroneck, NY) to read myself and then possibly send along to one of my nieces or nephews as appropriate. While I was immediately drawn to the <i>Courtney Crumrin</i> books (it seems like each of these hardcover special editions collects four issues of the comic) as the covers showcase Naifeh's characteristic gloomy artwork and are nicely tactile, but I held out for quite a while before I actually handed over my money.
<br />
<br />
I decided to read <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=31751363" target="new">The Night Things</a> last night as I needed a break from my regularly-scheduled flu reading (Terry Pratchett's <i>Tiffany Aching Adventures</i>; I'm on the third installment now). I have to admit, though, that I was a bit underwhelmed by it. When collected together the story seems disjointed in a way that it wouldn't when read in its original format. And, I wished there was more character development specifically with regard to Courtney's relationship to Aloysius. I will, however, give <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=31751363" target="new">The Night Things</a> another chance since it's quite likely that I'll be less critical when I'm not feeling so poorly.<br />
<br />karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-83747691313992827102014-01-16T15:10:00.003-05:002014-01-16T15:11:47.611-05:00The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#library">public library</a></div>
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/125000408x" target="new">The Witch's Daughter</a> by Paula Brackston </b>
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" src="http://covers.powells.com/9781250004086.jpg" hspace="10" /> I've had <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/125000408x" target="new">The Witch's Daughter</a> loaded on my pocket electronic device for the last little while. I've listened to it while commuting and shoveling snow, and most recently while suffering from the flu and not having the energy to do much anything else.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/125000408x" target="new">The Witch's Daughter</a> is the story of a tenant farmer 17th century England who essentially becomes a witch to escape persecution for witchcraft (as should be obvious from the book's title, Bess' mother hanged) and then spends the next 400 years running from the warlock who aided her transformation (and who wants to claim her for himself). The book is set in 2007, but it includes long flashbacks to various periods in the titular character's life: the plague-ridden early 1600s, in which Bess should have lived out her entire life, Victorian London (complete with Jack the Ripper), and Flanders during World War I. The book long at 400+ pages or 13+ hours, but it didn't drag for me.
<br />
<br />
My pet peeve about the story is that Bess, each time she reinvents herself, uses some form of her actual name (and she maintains her appearance complete with her distinctive white widow's streak). Of course her nemesis is going to find her again and again when she does such a poor job of hiding. The fact that Gideon (the warlock) disguises himself so well really highlights this failing of Bess'.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-32431543039130614452014-01-05T20:34:00.002-05:002014-01-05T20:34:33.237-05:00The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#review">Netgalley (review copy)</a></div>
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0812995201" target="new">The Weight of Blood</a> by Laura McHugh </b>
<br />
<blockquote>
<img align="right" hspace="10" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780812995206.jpg" />It was common knowledge that in the hills, with infinite hiding places, bodies disappeared. They were fed to hogs or buried deep in the woods or dropped into abandoned wells. They were not dismembered and set out on display. It just wasn't how things were done. It was that lack of adherence to custom that seemed to frighten people the most. Why would someone risk getting caught in order to show us what he'd done to Cheri when it would have been so easy to keep her body hidden? The only reasonable explanation was that an outsider was responsible, and outsiders bred fear in a way no homegrown criminal could. (12)</blockquote>
When 17-year-old Lucy Dane's developmentally delayed friend disappeared one year earlier, no one in their small town of Henbane, Missouri seemed particularly concerned, not even Cheri's mother. Cheri's first pegged as a runway then quickly forgotten. The discovery of Cheri's dismembered body first brought news crews, then a run on locks and ammunition, but that fervor is short-lived. A lack of leads coupled with the passage of time allows Cheri's murder to fade quietly into the backdrop of life in Henbane. Only Lucy, whose own mother disappeared 16 years earlier, continues to search for answers.
<br />
<br />
As Lucy begins to find clues about Cheri's life during that unaccounted for year, she begins to hope that she'll be able to discover information about her mother's mysterious disappearance as well. However the more Lucy learns, the more complicated both present and past seems to be. As the novel unfolds parallels are drawn between Cheri's disappearance and that of Lila Dane. In order to unearth the truth about her mother's disappearance Lucy will have to "look past what [she's] always been taught and listen to what [she] know[s] in [her] bones to be true" (223).
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0812995201" target="new">The Weight of Blood</a> is an exploration of the ties that bind and the weight of blood. McHugh intersperses the contemporary narrative with flashback's to Lila's life during (and immediately before) her time in Henbane and utilizes different points of view at different times in the novel to great effect (though readers who dislike multiple POV novels are going to have trouble with this one as the POV characters multiply in the second half of the book). McHugh's characters are well-drawn and multifaceted (another obvious symptom of McHugh's effective use of different viewpoints throughout the novel). The story is both gripping (even after readers find out who is most likely responsible for Lila's disappearance, they will still keep turning the pages desperate to learn exactly what happened to her) and evocative (McHugh charts both physical and interior landscapes so clearly for her readers). <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0812995201" target="new">The Weight of Blood</a> will be available in March 2014. It's McHugh's debut novel and I look forward to reading whatever she puts out next.<br />
<blockquote>
<b>disclosure:</b> I received a review copy of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0812995201" target="new">The Weight of Blood</a> from <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/" target="new">Random House</a> via <a href="http://netgalley.com/" target="new">NetGalley</a>. </blockquote>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-12108301782515149302014-01-05T18:17:00.001-05:002014-01-05T18:18:38.141-05:00word: susurrusA wonderful, onomatopoeic word discovery in Terry Pratchett's <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0060012382" target="new">Wee Free Men</a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
Another and larger part of Tiffany's brain was thinking of the word <i>susurrus</i>. It was a word that not many people have thought about, ever. [...] <br />
Susurrus... according to her grandmother's dictionary, it meant "a low soft sound, as of whispering or muttering." Tiffany liked the <i>taste</i> of the word. It made her think of mysterious people in long cloaks whispering important secrets behind a door: <i>susurrusssusurrusss</i>... (4)</blockquote>
Emphasis <i>not</i> mine.karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-4204391970069735042014-01-02T22:52:00.001-05:002014-01-05T16:57:12.161-05:00remembering what else I read in 2013My last reading recap post for 2013 was in July (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/08/july-recap-and-2013-so-far-in-books.html">post</a>) at which point I had read 70 books so far that year. Shortly thereafter the stress of everyday life left me without the will to keep track of my reading (the last book I actively noted down was #71). I'm doing my best to reconstruct my books-read-in-2013 list (as seen below), but I am certain that I've missed more than a few (particularly library books). I will come back and edit this post as I remember books I've neglected to add to the list.<br />
<br />
Posts on many of the books listed below will be forthcoming in the next weeks. Any my 2014 blog-related resolution is the same as my (failed) goal for last year: to post at least something about every book that I read this year,
preferably immediately or shortly after I either finish or officially
give up on it. Let's hope I'm more successful this year.<br />
<br />
<u>Books read August-December 2013</u> (incomplete)<br />
<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423148037" target="new">Tesla's Attic</a> by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman - Netgalley <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1423157311" target="new">The Archived</a> by Victoria Schwab - personal collection (gift)<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1476703574" target="new">The Midnight Rose</a> by Lucinda Riley - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1476738637" target="new">Phoenix Island</a> by John Dixon- Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0545597587" target="new">Defy</a> by Sara B. Larson - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373778554" target="new">Sleighbells in the Snow</a> by Sarah Morgan (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/12/seasonal-reading-sleigh-bells-in-snow.html">post</a>) - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0307279901" target="new">Children of Men</a> by P.D. James - BookMooch<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316222704" target="new">Reality Boy</a> by A.S. King - Netgalley <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1602829586" target="new">How Sweet It Is </a> by Melissa Brayden - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/031619011x" target="new">Curtsies and Conspiracies</a> by Gail Carriger - personal collection (purchased) <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0316190101" target="new">Etiquette and Espionage</a> by Gail Carriger (reread; see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-couple-of-new-ya-books-from-favorites.html">post</a>) - personal collection (purchased) <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0345548124" target="new">A Wicked Pursuit</a> by Isabella Bradford - Netgalley <br />
? <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377316" target="new">The Colors of Blue</a> by Lance McCulloch - Netgalley <br />
- <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0307957233" target="new">Vampires in the Lemon Grove</a> by Karen Russell (I should never have attempted this on a 7-day "speed read" checkout; of course I didn't manage to finish it within that timeframe) - public library <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062104896" target="new">The School for Good and Evil</a> by Soman Chainani - public library <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0547868537" target="new">The Caged Graves</a> by Dianne K. Salerni - public library <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1608325660" target="new">Little Joe</a> by Michael E. Glasscock III - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1596437758" target="new">Tin Star</a> by Cecil Castellucci - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0544164504" target="new">A Death-Struck Year</a> by Makiia Lucier - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1250030951" target="new">Fangirl</a> by Rainbow Rowell - public library<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416978941" target="new">The Hollow</a> by Jessica Verday - public library <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1596438924" target="new">Sekret</a> by Lindsay Smith - Netgalley<br />
- <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1480441945" target="new">If Only You People Could Follow Directions</a> by Jessica Hendry Nelson (I found the title of this book particularly appealing, but there was just too much difficulty in this memoir for me to handle given the amount of stress I was under) - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1480441945" target="new">The Hanging Judge</a> by Michael Ponsor - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/006202406x" target="new">Allegiant</a> by Veronica Roth (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/allegiant-by-veronica-roth.html">post</a>)- personal collection (gift)<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062024043" target="new">Insurgent</a> by Veronica Roth (reread; see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2012/08/insurgent-by-veronica-roth.html">post</a>) - personal collection <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0670024856" target="new">The Signature of All Things</a> by Elizabeth Gilbert - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0062024035" target="new">Divergent</a> by Veronica Roth (reread; see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2011/09/divergent-by-veronica-roth.html">post</a>) - personal collection<br />
? <a href="http://houseofpomegranates.com/?p=1305" target="new">Carmilla</a> by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/seasonal-reading-carmilla-by-joseph.html">post</a>)- personal collection (gift)<br />
- <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1626340234" target="new">One Great Year</a> by Tamara Veitch and Rene DeFazio (I gave up on this book after two valiant efforts, not my cup of tea) - Netgalley
<br />? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1455574422" target="new">Delectable</a> by Adrianne Lee (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/delectable-by-adrianne-lee.html">post</a>) - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1476716080" target="new">Heavens Rise</a> by Christopher Rice - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1250012570" target="new">Eleanor and Park</a> by Rainbow Rowell (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/eleanor-and-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html">post</a>) - public library<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0425237443" target="new">Fundraising the Dead</a> by Sheila Connolly (see <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/fundraising-dead-by-sheila-connolly.html">post</a>)- personal collection (gift) <br />
- <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0307958868" target="new">One Thousand and One Nights</a> by Hanan al-Shaykh - public library
<br />
(read 100 pages before I had to return it to the library) <br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0985817089" target="new">Escaping Reality: The Secret Life of Amy Bensen</a> by Lisa Renee Jones - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0816689407" target="new">The Land of Dreams</a> by Vidar Sundstol - Netgalley<br />
? <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/193823135x" target="new">Louisiana Fever</a> by D.J. Donaldson - review copy from publicist<br />
71. <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/1416986219" target="new">Slice of Cherry</a> by Dia Reeves - personal copy (purchased at the Strand)karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31751363.post-82276015314529465302013-12-31T22:50:00.000-05:002013-12-31T22:50:05.293-05:00seasonal reading: Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan<div style="text-align: right;">
source: <a href="http://morsiereads.blogspot.com/2013/05/disclosure-where-and-how-i-get-books.html#review">Netgalley (review copy)</a></div>
<b> <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373778554" target="new">Sleigh Bells in the Snow</a> by Sarah Morgan</b><br />
series: O'Neil Brothers (1)
<br />
<br />
<img align="left" hspace="10" src="http://covers.powells.com/9780373778553.jpg" />I really enjoyed this romance novel set around the holidays.
<br />
<br />
Kayla Green is an extremely successful workaholic who hates nothing more than the Christmas season ("I'm Scrooge, but without the tasteless nightwear," 8). She's busy avoiding holiday celebrations at work when she learns of a lead that could lead to a huge account for her PR firm. When the potential client (the sexy, young Jackson O'Neil, CEO of Snowdrift Leisure) makes an unorthodox request (that Kayla agree to spend a week up his family's secluded Vermont resort in order to experience the resort firsthand <i>and</i> get the rest of the family on board with her developing an integrated marketing plan for the resort), Kayla surprises both her boss and Jackson O'Neil by agreeing to spend the holidays at the resort ("Kayla decided that given the choice between an encounter with Santa or a black bear, she'd take the bear," 42).
<br />
<br />
As would be expected with a romance novel, Kayla and Jackson have immediate chemistry. Chemistry he's willing to explore and she wants to do her best to ignore. And, of course, Kayla's time at Snow Crystal resort does not go to plan. She flubs her initial presentation to the resort's stakeholders, making her job of winning them over that much more difficult. In the course of showing her all the resort has to offer Jackson takes every opportunity to thaw Kayla's chilly exterior, much to her chagrin. On top of that Jackson's family is not the least bit businesslike and they aren't content to ignore her and let her do her work, insisting on pulling her into their holiday celebrations. In order to win the Snow Crystal account, Kayla is going to need to confront the issues that cause both her hatred of the holidays and fear of intimacy.
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<br />
Even given the time constraints inherent in the <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373778554" target="new">Sleigh Bells in the Snow</a>'s plot, Kayla and Jackson's relationship proceeds at a reasonable pace (personally I dislike romance novels in which relationships progress too quickly). Both Kayla and Jackson have interesting and complex backstories and the issues they have to overcome in order to be together are realistic. Morgan also populated the novel with a bevy of well-realized secondary characters (mostly in the form of other O'Neil family members), many of whom will no doubt appear in the other books in the series as each installment will revolve around one of the O'Neil brothers.<br />
<br />
My one complaint about the novel is that it gives away too much about the other books in the series. By the end of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373778554" target="new">Sleigh Bells in the Snow</a> readers know who both of the other brothers will likely end up with and have a general idea of the issues that the couples will have to overcome in the course of their own stories (more so for Tyler than for Sean). This isn't really enough to ruin or spoil the upcoming books, it's just that I would have preferred less in the way of clues about later installments.<br />
<blockquote>
<b>disclosure:</b> I received a review copy of <a href="http://www.powells.com/partner/31164/biblio/0373778554" target="new">Sleigh Bells in the Snow</a> from <a href="http://www.harlequin.com/" target="new">Harlequin</a> via <a href="http://netgalley.com/" target="new">NetGalley</a>. </blockquote>
karen!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03020530163370836712noreply@blogger.com0