Woot! We won!
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Fun, politics
Current Mood:
Happy
It looks like the T-SPLOST bill was defeated by a landslide. I’m so glad! That thing was a total boondoggle. My baby girl and I spent the day together and one of the very first things we did was go vote against it!
We had a good lunch together and a frozen yogurt treat. She indulged me, so I finally got to go to In Stitches, too. They have the most incredible selection of fibers! I picked up my first Gloriana silks for a charity stitching project.
Now I’m exhausted, but happy. It was a good day!
Tags: Gloriana Threads, In Stitches, Katie
Academy Caritas: Free Courses Online
Posted by Cyn | Filed under College, Education, Family, Friends
Current Mood:
Cool
Today’s post at Academy Caritas lists some free online courses that look very good. I’m considering using some of those to get back into the groove of school until I can go back “for real.”
I’m in a good mood, as I’m at the girl’s place and I got to see Steven today. Happy day!
Book Review: Entangled edited by Edie Ramer
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Current Mood:
Bored
Entangled by Edie Ramer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I picked this anthology up because all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which is a wonderful cause. Many of the authors’ lives have been touched by cancer in one way or another, some first-hand. The volume is Halloween-themed, as well.
I don’t believe I’ve read anything but short stories by any of these authors in the past except for Jennifer Estep, and I haven’t read the Mythos Academy series in which her story is set. I’m more likely to read it now than I was before.
“Halloween Frost” by Estep and “Ghostly Justice” by Allison Brennan (set in her Seven Deadly Sins series) were the most polished stories in the anthology. Too many of the others had plot holes, or felt like teasers to get a reader to pursue more of the author’s work. A short story should be self-contained.
Some of the authors let the “romance” get in the way of the plotting. If the main character acts like an idiot because she’s distracted by the bulge in a man’s pants, why make her the main character of a story? Especially if, as in “Sinfully Sweet” by Michelle Miles, you fail to resolve the major plot issue you raise?
While I admire the cause for which these ladies are writing, I can’t help but think a shorter, higher-quality anthology might have been a better bet.
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Happy News
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Reading
Current Mood:
Surprised
You are reading the blog of the newest board member of Grants to You, a wonderful non-profit organization based in Prescott, Arizona. I’m going to be doing a lot of work involving the web site and serving on a new committee. I’m tickled pink!
In other news, I got to introduce someone to the Dresden Files today! I thought everybody had heard of Butcher’s books, but in case there’s another fantasy fan out there who has been deprived: you want to read these, I promise. They’re about Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden. He routinely deals with vampires, demons, werewolves — you name it. There was a short-lived television show that should have been longer, but it died the death of so many great shows (like Firefly).
Start with Storm Front, but know that you’ll want to have Fool Moon and Grave Peril handy.
I love them so much that I keep all fourteen volumes (thirteen novels and a collection of short stories) on my Nook as comfort reading. I’m eager to read number fourteen, and I can’t think of many other authors who can keep the excitement going that long. I’ve never encountered one person who doesn’t like these books if they’ve read them, so give them a try!
Book Review: Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Book Reviews, Reading
Current Mood: Bored
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
For fluff, it’s got some really dark scenes. It doesn’t have enough of a plot to be anything more than fluff, though. It absolutely does NOT stand alone, so don’t consider reading this book unless you’ve read all that went before it — you’ll be hopelessly lost.
Sookie has changed so much over the course of this series that she is having trouble recognizing herself, and is troubled over it, with good reason. Having a main character change is good, and I’ll say that some of that change is growth, but I can’t say it’s all growth, or all to the good. (Can any of us say that, though, about the changes we go through in our lives?)
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