BW22: U is for Unicorn Pegasus Kitten

Clash of the Geeks

Funny how life works out sometimes.  Friday night I was just about to go to bed, but before I did, checked my stat counter and found I had gotten an extreme number of hits in a couple hours for an old post I'd written back in 2010 about a painting created by Jeff Zugale for Wil Wheaton (remember Wesley of star trek fame) and John Scalzi and a fan fiction contest. Check it out here and watch their hilarious video. It'll give you some insight into their minds. Anyway, when one of my posts suddenly starts getting lots of hits, somebody's mentioned it somewhere. So I followed the various worm trails until I discovered that Wil had tweeted while doing storytime at the Phoenix Comicon being held this weekend in AZ:

@Wilw If you're in the theater for Story time, look up the Unicorn Pegasus Kitten painting now. It's important.

My post came up # 1 on the google search over Wil Wheaton or John Scalzi. Odd but true and I kind of got a kick out of that. What he should have said was look up www.unicornpegasuskitten.com while I give a reading out of the book. Well, I figured it was just the universe talking to me, because I was in the midst of brainstorming "U" ideas.

Honesty, I had totally forgotten about the painting and the book created as a result of the contest. The end result is Clash of the Geeks with offerings by Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi, Patrick Rothfuss, Catherynne Valente, Stephen Toulouse, Rachel Swirsky, Scott Mattes, Bernardette Durbin, and John Anealio. All the proceeds benefit the Lupus Foundation of America.

The book is available in ebook format on the Clash of the Geeks website for free with voluntary payments strongly encouraged which will go to the Lupus Foundation. Check it out and you are all on the honor system here. If you choose to download it, be sure to donate. I did. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

*************************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW 21: T is for Trevor

William Trevor
May 24, 1928

Today I'd like to introduce you to Irish author, William Trevor.   On May 24, he will be celebrating his 83rd birthday.   He was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland.  Coincidentally my great grandmother was from County Cork as well.   Hmm...  I wonder!   He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin with a degree in History, worked as a teacher and sculptor until becoming a full time writer in 1968.  He emigrated to England in 1954 and today resides in Devon, England. 

His first book, written in 1958 "A Standard of Behavior" met with little success, however after writing short stories, his next book "The Old Boys" won the 1964 Hawthornden Prize for Literature.  He has won a number of prizes over the years for his works including the Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction, Whitbread Book of the Year, and Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 for "The Story of Lucy Gault."

Story of Lucy Gault

According to Maureen Corrigan of NPR in her article about "William Trevor: A Short Story Master's Life Work and his most recent volume of short stories called "Selected Stories, Trevor is

"a master of capturing those small shifts in consciousness that shatter someone's world. Because he's an Irishman living in exile (Trevor has lived most of his long life in England) and because so many of those aforementioned epiphanies take place oh-so-discreetly, the comparisons to James Joyce have been inevitable. But as the 48 recent stories in this volume attest, Trevor has a more developed taste for the macabre than Joyce ever did. It creeps up on a reader slowly: the awareness that so many of these tales are about being trapped, buried alive, thwarted at every turn of life's labyrinth. And, yet, the signature response of Trevor's characters to their bricked-in situation is a fatalistic shrug garnished with Black Irish humor."

Selected Stories

In an interview with Mira Stout of The Paris Review, Trevor says of his writing:

 "I think all writing is experimental. The very obvious sort of experimental writing is not really more experimental than that of a conventional writer like myself. I experiment all the time but the experiments are hidden. Rather like abstract art: You look at an abstract picture, and then you look at a close-up of a Renaissance painting and find the same abstractions."

In response to her question why he's never created a hero in any of his stories:

Because I find them dull. Heroes don’t really belong in short stories. As Frank O’Connor said, “Short stories are about little people,” and I agree. I find the unheroic side of people much richer and more entertaining than black-and-white success.

Read the whole interview here for more insight into William Trevor, his writing, Irish writers and heroes, politics and more. It's rather insightful.

For more information on William Trevor, his book list and a critical perspective, go here.

Happy Birthday, William Trevor


************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW20: S is for Stereotyping

Chimamanda Adichie

In my Humanities class this week, we are discussing world literature and stereotyping of different cultures One of the authors we talked about is Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie.  She gave a very interesting talk about "The Danger of the Single Story" and how the single story creates stereotypes.  I wanted to share it with you today.

Her talk is well worth listening too and also made me curious about her and her books which fit in well with our armchair traveling mini challenge.

Purple Hibiscus

Half of a Yellow Sun

The Thing Around Your Neck

She's an interesting woman and I look forward to reading her books and the start of my armchair traveling through the continent of Africa.  Speaking of which, how is your armchair traveling going?  Visited any where interesting lately?

****************************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW19: R is for Roxanne

Roxanne St. Claire

Hello my darlings!  I'm on vacation this week and have been reading the latest series by one of my favorite authors, Roxanne St. Claire, who wrote the romantic suspense series "The Bullet Catchers."  Her latest series is "the Guardian Angelinos."

"The Guardian Angelinos are a Boston-based family that flies under the radar of the law to  solve crimes, save lives, protect the innocent, and take down the guilty. This team of rule-breaking, risk-taking, wave-making siblings and cousins aren’t afraid to get into the face of criminals as one of the toughest, grittiest security and PI firms around. This close-knit clan of protection, investigation, law enforcement, technology, weaponry, and legal experts all have one simple creed:  The good guys win and the bad guys get the holy hell kicked out of them."

I'm loving the characters in these stories just as much as I adored the tough bullet catchers in her other series.

She's a multifaceted writer with great imagination and very interesting characters.  Check out her booklist here.  A free prequel is available for Edge of Sight which tells the history of Sam and Zach's story in Taken to the Edge.


I hope each and every one of you have a Happy Mother's Day.  My mother's day present this year. Getting to spend it with my mom who we almost lost to a stroke a few months ago.  She is recovering and I'm so thankful I get to share the day with her.  So hug your mom close today and tell her how much you appreciate her, because you'll never know when she could be taken from you. 

****************************************************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW18: Q is for Queen

Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage

All eyes were on England Friday for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  One of the first questions my hubby asked:  What is their last name?  Good question.  I always thought since it was called Windsor Castle, their last name was Windsor.  I was half right.  On the official website of The British Monarchy (fascinating website - check it out)  I discovered this:

The Royal Family name of Windsor was confirmed by The Queen after her accession in 1952. However, in 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V.

It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that The Queen's descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.

This reflected Prince Philip's surname. In 1947, when Prince Philip of Greece became naturalised, he assumed the name of Philip Mountbatten as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

The effect of the declaration was that all The Queen's children, on occasions when they needed a surname, would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.

And with the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the queen has announced:

The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince William of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.

Prince William thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge and Miss Catherine Middleton on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.

William and Kate: A Royal Love Story

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. May their marriage be as blessed as his grandparents.

**************************************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW17: P is for Poetic Prophecy

Courtesy Jeff Golden

Happy Easter!  National Poetry Month is coming to a close and what better way to send it out than with this:

The Nail

by

Laurene H. Bell

The nail is used for many things,

A useful securing tool;

A hammer is taken by the hand

And drives it, that's the rule.

A nail is needed when you build,

It's a necessary thing.

It was also used over two thousand years ago

To hang upon a tree, the King.

He took the pain and suffering

For all mankind, you see.

Yet He took the torture just for you,

And He took it just for me.

You cannot keep a good man down,

Through the years many have said.

He went down a man, and rose a King

To deliver the spiritually dead.

He is on the throne

At God's right hand.

The First, the Last,

The Great I Am.

No nail, no hammer can touch Him now--

The mighty King on high.

What He built is forevermore,

Salvation for you and I.

So when you see a simple nail with it's sharpened end,

And need to build or repair,

Lift up your eyes, your heart and mind

And thank Him with a prayer.


*****************************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW16: O is for Owl

Painting by Donna L. Derstine

Forgive me, but I'm madly working on finishing a paper for my humanities class so keeping it short and sweet this week.   Did you ever have a nursery rhyme get stuck in your head, but then couldn't remember the whole thing.  Has happened many a time to me, particularly with this one. It was published in 1871.   Enjoy!

The Owl and the Pussycat

By

Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,

What a beautiful Pussy you are."

Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,

How charmingly sweet you sing.

O let us be married, too long we have tarried;

But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-tree grows,

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"

Said the Piggy, "I will"

So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon.

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.

They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

*************************

Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.

BW15: N is for Nature

National Geographic: Bamboo Forest, Japan

As I mentioned last week, April is National Poetry Month so I'm going to continue with the poetry theme this week.  I was never a huge fan of poetry growing up and I know the reason why.  When I learned about it in high school and college, it seemed complicated. I really didn't understand the art form and it was just something to memorize, analyze and get through. Instead of appreciating the words, we'd get lost in the verbage - Iambic, anapest, pentameters, blah, blah, blah.   I wasn't taught to appreciate it, because the ones teaching it, didn't seem to appreciate it either.  If you want someone to get excited about something, you have to be excited about it yourself.   I was just reading in A Thomas Jefferson Education that you can have the greatest teacher in the world, but if the student doesn't care about what their teaching, the lesson is lost. And if the teacher doesn't care, well....    In one ear and out the other. 

With age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes appreciation.  I've come to appreciate the art form, love Haiku, love the poets who think out of the box and break the rules.   I was listening to NPR the other day and they were interviewing Billy Collins whom I have never heard of.  He intrigued me so I looked him up on the internet and read a few of his poems.  He's one of those who thinks outside the box.  I spotlighted one of his poems on My Two Blessings.

Inspiration for poetry comes from all forms but it think the main inspiration is nature.  Nature is beautiful, emotional, awe inspiring.   My mouth literally drops open when I see some of the shots National Geographic photographer have taken, whether watching documentaries on the television or wandering about their website.    Makes me want to write a poem myself.   There are many different forms including:  Ballade, blues, cento, cinquain, elegy, epic, haiku, prose and sonnets just to name a few.   Have you ever tried to write a Haiku. Some of the greatest traditional haiku poets are Basho, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Masaoka Shiki.  I learned about Basho when doing Five in a Row with James. Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho was one of the books we rowed and I fell in love with the Haiku. 

The first day of the year:

thoughts come - and there is loneliness;

the autumn dusk is here.

                           --    Basho

A haiku is made up of simple words and grammar about nature, feelings, experiences and consists only of 17 syllables.  The first line 5 syllables, the 2nd line 7 syllables and the 3rd line 5 syllables.  It doesn't rhyme but paints a picture in your head.  I have a challenge for you this week, besides reading poetry and that is to write a poem in any form including a haiku.  Post it on your blog or post it in the comments, but I dare you to try and see what you can come up with.  I  flexed my writing wings a bit and attempted a poem and a haiku from that poem.  Here's my attempt. 

Poem by Robin of My Two Blessings

Unity

We are the branches.

He is the tree.

Stately, strong

All in unity.

One without the other

like dead branches fall

together, three in unity.

Roots stretch deep,

Anchored to the ground.

Branches reach high,

Seek the sky.

There are no bounds.

Flowers bud.

Fragile, but strong.

Green vine cling

tenacious and long.

Deep brown limbs

lift to the sky.

We are the branches.

He is the tree.

Stately, strong

All in unity.

 *******************

Haiku

Green vines, cling and twine
deep brown limbs stretch to the sky

fragile flowers bud.

Your turn!

*************************************************

Link to your most current read.  Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link.  In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis.  In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url. 

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post. 

BW14: M is for Milton

April is National Poetry month so what better way to celebrate poetry than with John Milton.  In our Well Educated Mind quest, poetry is one of the categories.  Most of the poets on the list may be found online. There are numerous site where you may read Paradise Lost or even download it to your e-reader from Project Gutenberg.  

Paradiselost.org is full of information about Milton, his life and his works. Darkness Visible, hosted by Christ's College at Cambridge University, has everything you need to know about Milton and Paradise Lost including plot summary of each of the books, history of the illustrations, Milton's life, religion and politics and his influence on later writers.   It is a wonderful, interesting, educational site for studying Paradise Lost.  You'll get lost for a few hours, in a good way. Believe me! 

The beginning of book 1

Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing, Heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of Chaos: or, if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God, I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above th' Aonian mount, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.
And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all temples th' upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for thou know'st; thou from the first
Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread,
Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast Abyss,
And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support;
That, to the height of this great argument,
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.

Say first--for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
Nor the deep tract of Hell--say first what cause
Moved our grand parents, in that happy state,
Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his will
For one restraint, lords of the World besides.
Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
Th' infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind, what time his pride
Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host
Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring
To set himself in glory above his peers,
He trusted to have equalled the Most High,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God,
Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud,
With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th' ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy th' Omnipotent to arms.

Continue it here, here, or here.

************************************************************************

Link to your most current read.  Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link.  In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis.  In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url. 

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post. 

 

BW13 - L is for linky love

I'm currently reading an e-book by an author I discovered during ROW80 called Hush Money by Susan Bischoff.  Another one of my blogging authors I stumbled over.  Over the past year, a few aspiring writers I've been following have had their first books published or decided to self publish. Of course, I just had to read their books. Or new to me authors who've been around awhile but I just discovered them.     So today I thought I'd throw a little linky love their way and introduce you to some of them.   Check out their blogs, check out their books.

Jody Hedlund - her debut novel The Preacher's Bride 

Susan Bischoff of Hunting High and Love -  the Talent Chronicles

Kait Nolan (hostess of Row80)  - The Mirius Novella Trilogy

Michelle Davidson Argyle of The Innocent Flower - debut novel "Cinders" 

Karen Harrington's of Scobberlotch - "Janeology "

K.M. Weiland's of Wordplay - "A Man Called Outlaw", plus "Behold the Dawn" and nonfiction writing book:  "Crafting Unforgettable Characters: A Hands-On Introduction to Bringing Your Characters To Life."

C.J. Darlington's "Thicker than Blood" and "Bound By Guilt"

Christine Fonseca - "Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students."  Excellent, excellent book and she's recently released "101 Success Secrets for Gifted Students." 

Susan Helene Gottfried of West of Mars - "Trevor's Song" and "the Demo Tapes Year 1 and Year 2"

Follow them for a while and get to know them.  I have read or have most of their books in my TBR stack waiting to be read.  Happy Reading!

***************************************************************************

Link to your reviews:

BW12 - K is for Kane

Ben Kane

Happy Spring!  Do you like historical fiction?    Me, not so much....they often times can be, well, dull, flat and boring.  I am pleased to say I've discovered one author whose writing is excellent. His stories capture your imagination, his characters are three dimensional and the historical aspects are educational to say the least.  I had the pleasure of reading "The Forgotten Legion" last year by Ben Kane and totally fell in like with his writing.   He approached me asking if I'd be interested in reading his book and I'm so glad I took him up on his offer.  

Check out my review of story here, then come on back.  

The Forgotten Legion is book one is a trilogy following several characters:  Romulus, Fabiola, Tarquinius and Brennus in ancient Rome.  The other two books in the trilogy are

Released March 16, 2010

and

U.S. Release date: March 29, 2011

Ben sent me two copies of The Silver Eagle, one to give away, last year. It unfortunately got buried in my bookshelves.   I came across it the other day, slapped myself silly up side the head for losing it and decided to read it.   Coincidentally or should I say synchronicity in the works, Ben contacted to let me know The Road to Rome was coming out in the U.S. and would I like a copy to read and review.   Emphatic yes with a heartfelt apology for forgetting about the other book.   

It all actually works out well since I won't have to wait to find out what happens to the characters in the next book.  I already have it.  :)   So my darlings, I will be reading both books and hosting a giveaway mid April.  If you love historical fiction and you haven't checked out Ben Kane yet, then now is the time to do so.  His parents are Irish, which pretty much makes him Irish so the books can apply to the Ireland Reading Challenge and the Armchair Traveler.

It's that time of year again.  Get your spring reading list together and sign up for the Spring Reading Thing 2011 hosted by Katrina of Callapidder Day's.  If you haven't done it before,  It's a fun, low pressure, set your own goals reading challenge.  I participate every year. 

*******************************************

J is for Judge

The votes from both the folks on Well Trained Mind board and comments here are as follow:

The Pint Man -  3   (Pub fiction - setting a bar)

Silent Mercy   - 0     (legal thriller)

Comedy in a Minor Key   - 2   (Jewish holocaust type of story)

Where Shadows Dance  -1  (historical detective thriller) 

Bound by Guilt  - 0  (Christian thriller) 

By Nightfall - 2 (relationship story)

The Pint Man wins. Will download it to my nook and let you guys know how I like.  Thanks for playing.  

**************************************************

Link to your reviews: 

BW11 - J is for judge

I have a challenge for you this week:  Judge a book by its cover.   Much easy said than done, believe me.  The task is to pick out a book based on its cover.  However, you can not look inside or on the back to see what it is about. Nor can you look up the information online.   Based on its cover, decide what you think its about and write up a little snippet, either here or one your blog.  Read the book and then let us know if you were right, close or not even in the ballpark.  

The first time I ever did this was for another challenge by Jenners of Life with Books who hosted the Take a Chance Challenge.  I went into the bookstore and failed miserably.  I just couldn't keep from checking out the synopsis.  I went online instead to Amazon and picked out books based on their covers. I selected 5 unknown to me authors and then using Random.org selected one of the books.You can read about it here.


Saturday James and I went to Borders and I decided to give it another try.  I browsed through the books and then I saw this one:

There wasn't a whole lot to go on, it was beautifully packaged and captured my attention so decided to buy it.  My guess based on the cover, the title and information provided:  It's a historical fiction mystery, involving an intriguing lady, thorny roses represent death so must have a murder or two and the maze, many puzzles to figure out.  I know that's generic but that's the best I can do.  What do you think? 


I went on to Amazon and picked out a few random books based on their covers.  I know absolutely nothing about them.  Your task, pick one and tell us what you think it is about.  

The Pint Man by Steve Rushin

Silent Mercy by Linda Fairstein

Comedy in a minor Key by Hans Keilson

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris

Bound By Guilt - C.J. Darlington

By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham

They all looked rather intriguing to me.  What about you?  Would you pick up any of them because of the cover?   Pick out which one you think I should read.  I'll read the book that gets the most votes, then report back to you what it was about.  



It's daylight savings time again - hope you didn't forget to set your clocks forward.   

***************************************************************************************

Link to your reviews: