Wow! I Could Have Read the Whole Bible.

My teens spent the summer re-reading, and watching the movie versions of their favorite dystopian series.  Not wanting to be left behind (no pun intended) I joined in, listening through the audio versions of the books they were reading (that way the laundry stayed under control, and we occasionally still had home-cooked dinners).

After The Hunger Games,  

Divergent,

and The Giver series,

I was working my way through The Maze Runner books, debating whether to head into The Death Cure, or to listen to the reviewers, skip it entirely, and turn to the prequel book in the series instead (after the disappointing ending to The Giver series, I wasn't sure I wanted another open-ended ending) when I did the math...

...and had one of those "I coulda had a V8" moments.


1970 V8 Commercial by RandomCommercials

Instead of a summer of depressing dystopian/teeny-bopper romance type fiction, I could have read (or listened in style) to the entire Bible - which has a quite excellent ending, I might add - with time to spare.

I was depressed for a minute.

Then I remembered, summer's not over yet.

Another Listening Weekend - From Physics Back to the Birds

I finally got a chance to see the movie version of Mark Obmascik's book about competitive birding.


I've wanted to see The Big Year, since I listened to an audio version of the book, last spring. The movie came out in theaters in October, but didn't make it to our area, so I had to put off seeing it until it released to DVD, this week.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. It has some language in it (less than the book), and a touch of sexual content (quite a bit less than most television programs), but other than that it's family friendly, with a pro-family, pro-marriage message strong enough to touch my Gen-X heart.

As far as the story goes, the facts have been changed, and shuffled around a bit, but the feel of the book is still there. It's less about the birds, and the birders than the book, and more about the balance between work, passion, and family, but in a way that will still be recognizable, and enjoyable to anyone who has read, and appreciated Obmascik's story. The fact that the book, and to a slightly lesser degree the movie, are based on a true story, makes them both so much the better.

After watching the DVD, I decided to download the audio version of the book from the library again, for this weekend.



It will be a welcome change from the heavy listening of last weekend, when I wandered into the world of modern theoretical physics, a place where science has crossed the line from experiment into mathematics driven philosophy.

Brian Greene is an American theoretical physicist, a proponent of string theory, and known as a popularizer of science. T (age 14) and I watched one of his TED presentations, and a NOVA episode dealing with one of his earlier books. He's fairly entertaining, and a clear speaker, so I thought I might be able to handle his introduction to the various theories of the multiverse, written for the layman - but I was wrong.

The book starts out strong, but bogs down quickly, and never picks back up again. I found myself confronted by science based in math, without any experimental evidence, and was alarmed to find that ideas such as multiple dimensions, in which everything that can happen, does happen somewhere (think Lt. Worf, in the "Parallels" episode from Star Trek TNG), or that we are all just part of a reflection or hologram of some reality somewhere else (sort of like the end of Star Trek TNG "Ship in a Bottle"), are actually being taught as possibilities inside science classrooms. Who knew Star Trek was really a physics primer?


I don't think Brian Greene would be all that surprised by feeling that this type of physics is counter intuitive to reality. In fact, I'm not alone in my thoughts, you can find them expressed, a good deal more eloquently, by Dr. Amir Aczel, in a conversation he had with Dr. Greene, about the book, last March, at the Boston Museum of Science.



I, or I should say we, because several of the children listened along too, had better luck with Michio Kaku's Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and our Daily Lives by the Year 2100. Basically, Kaku takes a look at where science is now, what's cutting edge, and in development, and then based on what's known to be possible within the laws of physics, draws a picture of what we might expect in the next 100 years.



He doesn't approach the subject with a great deal of imagination, and seems lacking in expertise when it comes to sociology and psychology. It should be noted too, that neither Brian Greene nor Michio Kaku are Christians, and so their books are full of a lot of Big Bang, cave man type evolutionary rhetoric.

I prefaced the books for the children with a quick look at Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 14:1, and I Corinthians 1:20.

All the same, it was fun to hear which of the gizmos and gadgets from our favorite science fiction stories might actually be on shelves soon. I'm sorry to say, it sounds like food replicators won't be available in my lifetime. But, glasses that let you look at the night sky, and see a map of the constellations overlaying the stars, might be possible.

As a follow-up to Greene and Kaku, I picked up Diane Swanson's Nibbling on Einstein's Brain: The Good the Bad & the Bogus in Science. After reading about multiple universes, and the possibility we might all just be images in some sort of cosmic computer program, it seemed appropriate.


The book itself, although for children, is a little dry. I've been reading it out loud to the children, a small bit at a time, at the dinner table. Some of the illustrations, like the one on the cover, are on the gross side, but once you get past those, you find a very good guide for telling the difference between the quacks and the scientists, media hype and real reporting, and those sorts of things that most of us have had to learn from experience, often at the expense of our pocket books.

Time, and hopefully experimental evidence, will tell to which category theoretical physics and the current theories of the multiverse belong. In the meantime, I'm happy to be heading back to the birds.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Watermelon Dinosaurs

I picked up one of those small, round watermelons for dinner last night, as a we're-almost-to-summer treat for the children, and cut it into dinosaur shapes to go along with our current family read aloud - Nathan Aaseng's American Dinosaur Hunters.

The book is part of the "Collective Biographies" series from Enslow Publishers, written for fifth to eighth graders, featuring short biographies of people from various careers, or historical positions. Aaseng's volume highlights the lives of ten, American paleontologist from the mid-19th century's Edward Hitchcock, who first catalogued fossilized tracks in this country, to men still alive and working today, like Robert Bakker, or Montana's own Jack Horner.

I originally picked the book up for the older children to read on their own, if they wanted too, but after perusing it, decided it might also interest the younger children, so we're reading it together. Even though it is a book of biographies, it is written, as are most books about dinosaurs, from an evolutionary perspective.

But, the chapters are short, leaving lots of time for discussion. And, I am currently reading Faith, Form, and Time: What the Bible Teaches, and Science Confirms About Creation, and The Age of the Universe by Kurt Wise, to be better ready for those discussions.

As to the watermelon, that was simple. I found a picture of dinosaur bands online, and saved it to my computer so I could enlarge the picture, and trace the shapes right off the screen onto white paper, which I then traced onto wax paper, and cut out.

I sliced the watermelon into rounds, about an inch and a half thick, and cut the dinosaur shapes out, around the wax paper cutouts, with a sharp knife. Each round fit about two cutouts. I cubed the scraps into a separate bowl, for later.

It was sticky work, but not difficult. The T-Rex and Triceratops ended up being the easiest to cut out. I think next time I might stick to those two, just to make things even easier.

Linked with Read Aloud Thursday, at Hope Is The Word.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Princess? Or, What My Child (and I) Are Reading.

After watching Disney's Tangled, which released to DVD on Tuesday, we read the old Brothers Grimm version of Rapunzel, out of our Worldbook Childcraft set. You can read it online in several places, including here, at GrimmStories.com, if you can't quite remember how the old story compares to the Disney remake (while you're there, you might want to click H.C. Andersen link, and read a few of his stories too - it's his birthday, today, you know).

Then, I read Peggy Orenstien's Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture, after hearing a blurb for the book on NPR, also that morning.

Orenstien is about nine years older than I am (meaning she missed out on the whole transformation of Prince Charming into the rowdy, skirting the law, yet adorable Han Solo/Starbuck/Remington Steele type hero we find being somewhat spoofed in Tangled), a feminist, and mother to one daughter (as opposed to my four), and she is not a Christian, so her viewpoint is quite different than my own, and it is the type of analytical, socio-psychology, that I don't usually read.

Even so, her short tome of motherly worry was interesting, and mostly entertaining. It would make good fodder for a book club discussion. Basically, it's a book of warning about the dangers of socialization, and as a mother of homeschoolers - that really, really made me laugh.

Beyond that, we read a whole plethora of picture books about birds, and their nests, but I'm hoping to save those to go along with tomorrow's post.

As usual though, you can find more book reviews and recommendation for children (and sometimes for their mothers, too) over at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns' What My Child Is Reading link-up.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Introducing Fractal Geometry - Review

I'm sick today, down with a nasty cold, and drugged up on cold medicine. So, while the children have been swirling about, working independently at projects, and playing games, I'd love to share with you...but won't today, I've been curled up in a chair, with a hot cup of tea, and Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon's Introducing Fractal Geometry.

It's written at about an 8th grade level, with lots of comic book style pictures, so it's an easy read, even on cold medicine. As the title suggests, it is only an introduction to the subject, it does not attempt to teach the math behind it. I picked it up for my 13 year old, hoping it would spark an interest. But, although it doesn't teach any math, it does mention some higher math terms, and refers, in the first few pages to calculus, trigonometry, and geometry, just enough to scare him away.

The first third of the book follows the path from Euclidean geometry, through the years, up to the discovery of fractals. Then, there is a short biography of Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry. And, the last third of the book, looks at all the ways fractals are being, and might be, used across mathematics, science, and art.

As I said, it is very simply written. A math minded pre-teen could easily enjoy it. And, the author includes a list of further reading suggestions, for those who want more than an introduction to the fascinating field of fractals.

I should add one disclaimer: Lesmoir-Gordon, does not write from a Christian perspective, and evolutionary studies are included in the list of sciences being aided by fractal research. Although, in mentioning the big bang, the author points out several problems with the theory, that scientists are still hoping to solve. So, it is not an offensive reference, even to a creationist reader. But, if your going to hand it over to your children, I thought you should be aware.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 Wrap Up, and Reviews

I'm slipping in just under the wire, to post my last two reviews, and wrap up for the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, at Book Chick City.


I read these two a while back, but just hadn't gotten around to posting about them. But, since this is the last day of the challenge, and I hate to leave a challenge unfinished, I thought I better get to it.

Just to review, the challenge was to read 12 thriller or suspense type novels, in 12 months. Below is a list of my first 10 titles. I stuck to the cozy mysteries, which were included in the list of acceptable genres, but I noticed most of the other participants tended toward horror based thrillers, with an occasional Agatha Christie thrown in.

1. Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs
2. The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
3.Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
4. Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
5.Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
6.The Teaberry Strangler by Laura Childs
7. Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton
8. A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton
9. Hooked on Murder by Betty Hechtman
10. Dead Men Don't Crochet by Betty Hechtman




And as for number 11, and 12:

11. Recipe For Murder

Series: Cozy Crumb Mystery

Author: Lisa Harris

Pages: 265 in the large print edition. I have good eyesight, but this was the copy my library had in.

Setting: A hunting lodge outside of Rendezvous, CO.

Recipes included: Lemon Crumb Cake, with a Lemon Curd Frosting

Summary and Review:

After objecting to some of the moral content, or lack of moral content, of some of my other entries in the challenge, I thought I'd try something different, and check out a "Christian cozy mystery". Generally, I avoid "Christian" fiction, because it tends to be sappy, and preachy, and even awkward, or forced. But, since this is a mystery, I figured how bad could it be?

Widow Pricilla Crumb comes semi out of retirement to help her son out, by filling in as cook, at his Colorado hunting lodge. She has hopes that it might become a full time position for her, giving her something to do in her old age, and allowing her more time with her son. And, on this particular weekend, she has some match making plans for son, as well, with the arrival of a dear family friend, and his grown, and single, daughter.

Everything is planned to perfection, and going according to plan, until one of the guests drops dead...

The plot is a little thin, and even the characters don't seem to think it's realistic. I lost count of the number of times they mention Jessica Fletcher, or Sherlock Homes, and how silly it is to be acting like them. And the ending - the ending is cliche to the point of being embarrassing.

But, the characters are likeable, the setting is pleasant, and the writing, while not challenging, is for the most part, light, enjoyable, and clean.

So, while I'm not completely sold on series, I'm not set against it either. If I was the star giving type, I think this one would rate somewhere around three out of five.

12. Candy Apple Dead

Series: Candy Shop Mystery

Author: Sammi Carter

Pages: 232
Setting: Paradise, CO.

Recipes included: Almond Toffee, Cream Cheese Mints, Caramel Dipped Apples, and Hard Rocky Mountain Candy.

Summary and Review:

Abby Shaw has returned to her small hometown to take over her late aunt's candy store, after a messy divorce from a cheating husband. Flirtation, begins to turn to romance with a fellow merchant down the street, when he is found murdered, and her brother becomes suspect number one.

While this mystery is definitely not a "Christian" mystery, killing off the love interest in the first few pages, kept it pretty clean. It also provided for a fun deviation from the normal cozy mystery formula. With her brother's reputation, and freedom at risk, Abby becomes a credible, if not qualified, investigator. And, along the way she rubs shoulders with enough background characters, and stumbles across a large enough web of mysteries, to keep the series going for a while.

I'm not sure where Carter takes the story later in the series, but this book was okay. Not too spicy, but not sickeningly sweet either. I'd probably give it 4 out of 5 stars, keeping in mind that cozy mysteries are not meant to be deep, or educational reading.

So, there you have it, 12 months, 12 mysteries, and the challenge is complete.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Thoughts on To Kill A Mockingbird

Hope is the Word hosted a reading challenge this month to mark the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. When I joined up, I was hoping to read the novel, watch the movie version, and peruse the CliffsNotes.

I ended up listening to an unabridged audio version of the novel, read by Sissy Spacek, as the printed version never did come in at the library. I guess I wasn't the only person in Montana interested in reading it, this month.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story though, which was a pleasant surprise. When I signed up for the challenge, I didn't know anything about Harper Lee, or her novel, except that it was one of the American classics I had missed out on by attending high school in Canada I did read a good deal by Margaret Atwood, though. After flipping through the CliffsNotes, which arrived before the audio book, I wasn't so sure I wanted to read the story, about a black man falsely accused of rape, in a southern town.

I was happy to discover, that the novel is about so much more. In fact if anything, it reminded me of Beverly Cleary, with a backdrop of Mark Twain. It's the innocence of childhood, set in an imperfect, and often unpleasant world.

My mother grew up in the 30's in a small, southern, town, and so much of what Miss Lee wrote, reminds me of her reminiscences. I think maybe, her family would have been the Cunninghams in the book, the poor farmers, who sent their children to school barefoot, and never took what they couldn't repay, in one way, or another.

I asked my mother if she'd read the book. I was curious how she thought it matched up to her own childhood. But she answered very quickly, she had never read it, that in fact she'd, "seen enough of that kind of ugliness, growing up, and didn't care to read about it." I took that to mean the darker parts of the story are pretty well on the mark, too.

I have read that Harper Lee approved of the screenplay adaption of her novel. I thought a lot of the heart of the story was left behind in the book, and found the movie on the creepy side. But, even so, it's hard not to like Gregory Peck.

Overall, I'm very happy to have been introduced to To Kill A Mockingbird. The prose is easy, but involving. If it weren't for the adult content of the crime in question, it could be a children's novel.

I think what I enjoyed about it most, was the realization, that while Harper Lee's picture of childhood in America, matches my mother's, mine is closer to Beverly Cleary's, with the Mark Twain removed - and I think, that promises some hope for the future.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Hooked On Murder - A Crochet Mystery - Review

I've been remiss in posting reviews for the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge. I have to admit, I've been feeling out of my league. Most of the other participants are reading heavy hitting thrillers - you know, the scary kind, with serial killers, and vampires. I, on the other hand, have been snuggled up, reading cozy mysteries, the ones with recipes, and crafts at the back of the book.

But, a challenge is a challenge, and with nine out of the twelve books required, already read, and reviewed, it would seem silly not to finish. Not to mention the fact, that our weekend road trip to Helena, afforded me the time to finish up book number 10 - yes, I am one of those people who can read in a moving vehicle.

So, for my 10th entry in the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City, I give you...

...Betty Hechtman's Dead Men Don't Crochet.

It's the second book in her "crochet mystery" series. Click here, to read my review of the first book.

It does, indeed, have a recipe at the end of the book, for cheesecake cupcakes. I decided to give my waistline a break, and skip the recipe, this time. In the story, they are mentioned as a diet food, because of the portion control. Instead of eating an entire cake, you can have one cupcake. But, I know myself, and cheesecake, too well to fall for that.

The project at the back, is a crocheted shawl, modeled after the prayer shawls popular with church groups, but with a secular twist. These are called "Hugs of Comfort", and are meant to be given to someone who is sick, or in need of comfort, but do not have the prayer attached. Still, a very nice idea, and the pattern is simple enough for beginning crocheters.

As for the story, it's pretty much like the first. I like, that the main character, Molly Pink, is not a professional sleuth, and it shows. It's as if I suddenly tried to solve a crime. I'd really have no idea where to begin, or how to go about it. Molly, turns often to The Average Joe's Guide to Criminal Investigation, for help.

In Hooked on Murder, it was Molly who was accused of murder, this time, it's one of her new friends from the "Tarzana Hookers", the crochet group, that meets in the bookstore, where she works. Once again, I was uncertain of the true murderer, until near the end of the story, though I had some suspicions. And, again, I enjoyed the informal, first person, conversational style of the writing.

But, Molly's love life, heated up, a bit much for me, in this one. There aren't any graphic details, but it's made quite clear, that she is engaged in an adult, and I might add, adulterous, relationship. That, and the the fact, that God's name, though abused less in this novel, than in the first, was still misused, more than once, finished me for the series, I would otherwise enjoy quite a bit.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

To Kill A Mockingbird Reading Challenge

Hope is the Word is hosting a reading challenge in honor of the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.



The challenge is to read the novel, read about the novel, or watch the movie, during the month of August. Even though I minored in literary studies in my college days, I've never read anything by, or about Harper Lee, or seen the movie. So despite the fact my reading plate is very full already this summer, I just couldn't pass this one up.

Sometime during August I hope to read, or at least listen to an audio version of, the novel...



...study through the CliffsNotes (never knock the notes!)...



...and watch the movie.



All participants are suppose to write an introductory post, announcing their intentions, and then return to Hope is the Word, at the end of August, and link up a post about their reading. It sounds great to me. I hope to see some of you there, too.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Cake, Crochet, Murder, and a Review

Our dessert tonight was thanks to the recipe at the back of Betty Hechtman's Hooked on Murder, a Crochet Mystery. It's the first in the series featuring Molly Pink, a late 40's widow/ bookstore events coordinator/murder suspect, and my 9th entry in the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City.

This particular series is set in Tarzana, California, surrounded by movie, and television stars, and including a handsome police detective, who also happens to be the boyfriend of the heroine, or at least he'd like to be. And, of course, as the title suggests, there's also a good deal of crochet going on, as Molly joins the crochet group, at the bookstore where she works, that was headed up by the woman she's suspected of killing.

I enjoyed the slightly more mature heroine. Her struggle between wanting to be in a relationship, and wanting to explore her new found independence as a widow, rang true to me. I watched my own mother sort through similar emotions, when she was widowed at 48. I also really liked the fact, that Molly struggles with real problems - trying to do well at work, trying to get along with coworkers, finding her place without her husband, and learning to make a granny square.

The writing is in an informal, first person tense, that puts you right inside the heroines head, with all her hopes, fears, insecurities, and short comings. I only noticed two typos in the book, which I'm beginning to think is good for the cozy mystery genre. As always with these books, there is a recipe at the back, for the pound cake, pictured above (there's also a recipe for butter cream frosting, but with a pound of butter, and a pound of sugar in the cake, I decided to pass), and a crochet pattern, for a granny square wash cloth.

The squares might not have been overly challenging, but the mystery was. Although I knew what the pivotal clue would be, I had no idea who the murderer was until very near to the end.

The only complaint I have, is that God's name was misused a number of times throughout the dialogue. Each time was an offensive slap in the face, that pretty well ruined, an otherwise pleasant story. It did seem to taper off in the later chapters, so I might give the second book in the series a chance, but given the setting of the stories, I don't hold out a lot of hope.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

A Deadly Yarn Review

I continued on with Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mystery series for my 8th entry in the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge, at Book Chick City.




A Deadly Yarn, is the third book in the series, which by this point is settling into a nice rhythm of Colorado life, alpaca farming, private consulting, soft ball games, and of course, knitting, and murder. It's picked up just enough soap opera quality in the story lines, to draw the reader on into the next book, despite what they might think of the actual mysteries.

And, the mystery in this case, was weak. It was almost an afterthought in the book, staying just present enough to join in the action of the story from time to time. Even the conclusion was somewhat humdrum, no great thrill, or excitement. The killer was confronted in a crowded room, by the amateur sleuth, while the police waited patiently, nearby, to step forward, and apprehend him/her at the right time.

Really, A Deadly Yarn, is a story about...yarn, and knitting, and a love of Colorado. It's a friendship story. And, from that respect, it works.

At the back of the book, there are a few recipes, this time for spicy southwestern food, which I haven't been able to eat since the birth of my second child. So, sadly, even though they sounded tasty, I didn't try any of them. And, while there are a couple of knitting patterns, too, I'm finding that even though I'm making progress with Knitting for Dummies, Kelly Flynn, the stories heroine, is progressing at a much faster pace.

Kelly has the constant help of her circle of friends at the local yarn shop though, many of whom are master knitters, and or spinners. We have a yarn shop in town, and I'd be tempted to seek out help there, but it's one of those shops that has a sign warning unattended children will be given an espresso, and a free puppy. The espresso doesn't bother me, but what would I do with six puppies?

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Needled to Death - A Knitting Mystery Review

Since I'm all caught up with Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mysteries, I picked up the second of Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mysteries (there are currently 8 books in the series), for my 7th entry in the Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City.

It's an enjoyable book, not a real page turner, but still a pleasant enough read. Sefton puts a lot into character development this time around, somewhat at the expense of the mystery, but I do now feel quite a bit more invested in the characters.

There was one major editing gaffe. In the early chapters, one of the murder suspects visits the heroine, Kelly, at her home, to appeal for help. Later, near the end of the book, when Kelly recounts the event to another character, the place and time of the conversation are changed, as if the earlier chapter was rewritten, but the later chapter was forgotten. Not being integral to the plot, it's a minor point, but it does give the story a slapped together feel.

And, I'm not sure the cavalier attitude of the characters towards a brutal murderer being on the loose, seems quite true to life, either. Or, the fact, that everyone has time, in the middle of the day, to meet, chat, and knit at the local yarn shop, when they all are supposedly holding down full time jobs. It is a very nice yarn shop, though. And, the characters are enjoyable enough to entice me to visit it again.

There are a couple of interesting knitting patterns at the back of the book, as well as a delicious looking recipe for blueberry pie. But, while I was following Kelly in making a practice piece of knitting, I realized something I've suspected for a while - I have not been purling correctly! So, before I move on to any new patterns, I'll be spending some time with another library find.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

The Teaberry Strangler - A Mystery, and a Muffin

I finally got my turn with our library's copy of The Teaberry Strangler, Laura Childs' latest novel in the Tea Shop Mystery series.

Though, I generally enjoy the series, I've been mildly disappointed by the last few titles, the characters were beginning to feel stale, and the mysteries were too easy to solve. But this time, Childs pulled it back together. She reintroduced several older characters, tied up some loose ends, and breathed fresh life into familiar friends.

And, the mystery - the strangling death of a neighboring shopkeeper, was interesting, and challenging, with several story lines intertwined. It felt like a fully developed novel, rather than a junior reader, like some of the other cozy "foodie" mysteries out there. It's not the great American mystery, but I think Childs is coming into her own, as a fairly decent novelist.

And, as to the recipes included at the back of the book...

...I found the "Pecan Pie Muffins" particularly tempting. But then, the "Chutney and Cheddar Tea Sandwiches", " Almond Devonshire Cream", and "Butterscotch Scones", also look pretty good. It will be a double session at the gym tonight!

But first, a quick stop off, to link this in as my 6th entry in the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, at Book Chick City.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Knit One, Kill Two - Another Cozy Mystery Review

I thought I'd take advantage the last few cloudy, sitting by the fire days, in our forecast (we actually have 70's, and sun forecast for the weekend!) to settle into one more cozy mystery.

Hoping to give my waistline a break, I veered away from the foodie mysteries, and tried a new knitting series by Maggie Sefton. I really enjoyed the knitting segments of Laura Child's Crackleberry Club series, so it seemed a safe bet.

In Knit One, Kill Two, Sefton introduces her heroine, Kelly Flynn. She's a youngish adult, still single (and still somewhat silly about the boys), ready to take the plunge into working for herself. She actually reminded me a good deal of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen, from the Hannah Swensen mystery series, except that instead of being surrounded by relatives, Kelly is pretty much alone.

But, she quickly discovers a surrogate family, in the regulars of the colorfully inviting yarn shop, set up in her now deceased aunt and uncle's old farm house, as she sets about solving her aunt's murder, and learning how to knit. Smile if you must, but as silly as it sounds, it was a cozy read.

I don't know what it is about these hobby themed series that's so inviting, with their recipes, and projects at the back of the book, but maybe it's the enjoyment of a tactile connection to the story - the fun of eating, drinking, or making the same sort of thing, that the characters on the page are going on about. I think I was only about 30 pages in, before I started knitting a simple beginner scarf, like Kelly.

As to the mystery - it's an Agatha Christie sort, where the clues are unraveled slowly, and the final necessary bit of evidence is withheld until near the end. Missing from this tale, is the typical girl-confronts-killer-while-risking-her-own-life ending. The girl does confront the killer, but surrounded safely by her knitting buddies. And, the final confession is procured by the resident spinning expert/retired police detective, Perry Mason-style.

The romance was limited, and innocent, and the language was almost clean, except for a few unnecessary, and unfortunate misuses of God's name. Other than that, my only complaint is to the poor editing. I spotted several typos, and grammatical mistakes. Something forgivable in the mommy-blog world, where posts are written quickly, while children perform a myriad of circus worthy acts, around the sleep deprived author, but not in a professionally published novel.

Still, I enjoyed the story enough, I will probably go ahead and check out the second title, Needled to Death, sometime soon. I wasn't sure how knitting, and reading would work together, but it came out okay - knit a few rows, read a chapter, knit a few rows. I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I had enjoyed a cozy mystery, nearly finished a scarf for my evening walks, and gathered fodder for another blog entry - all without increasing my calorie count.

That, however, was before I turned to the last page, and saw the recipe for the cinnamon rolls, with lemony, cream cheese frosting. Clearly, the scarf can wait.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Oh, and I'll be linking this as my 5th entry in the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge at Book Chick City.

Through The Grinder - Book Review

Before all the yucky flu stuff hit our house (hey, thanks for all the kind words, thoughts, and prayers, too), I was happy to have a chance to make it into "town", partly because we don't get in much in the winter months, and I've been missing civilization, but mainly because I've had a Barnes and Noble gift card since Christmas, that I finally got to make use of. My plan was to treat myself to The Teaberry Strangler, the latest of the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs. I hoped to read it as my fourth pick for the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge being hosted by by Book Chick City.


Unfortunately, The Teaberry Strangler is still in hardback, and there's no way I could bring myself to pay $25.00 for a couple of afternoons of cozy mystery reading, not even with a gift card, especially when there was a large display of homeschool workbooks in sight from the mystery section. I'll just have to wait my turn for the library's copy.

Instead, I slipped down the aisle to the Coffeehouse Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle. After a frustrating few minutes of trying to find the first book in the series (why don't they number the spines!?!), I picked up Through the Grinder, the second book in the series. By reading the back of the book, I thought I was grabbing book number one. But, I failed to notice the note on the front, "Cleo Coyle - National Bestselling Author of On What Grounds" - which is, it turns out, the real beginning of the series. So much for my own sleuthing abilities, but then, you try browsing through a bookstore, with six children in tow!


Happily, with these books, the basic concept of the series is spelled out in each edition, so you can pretty well jump in anywhere. From the back of just about every book, I glanced over, I already knew the series was about Clare Cosi, a single mother, who has recently moved back from New Jersey, to New York City, to stay near her now grown daughter, and run the historic coffee shop, owned by her ex-mother-in-law. I also knew, Clare's unfaithful, but charming husband, is still very much a part of her life, and business. As is an unhappily married, haggard, but handsome police detective.

So, much for the series. As to this particular title, I have mixed feelings.

First of all the positives:

• There is an excellent sense of place - not only is the setting, a brick, fireplace, and french door endowed coffeehouse in New York City, delightful, but Coyle does a fine job of filling in the surrounding area, too.


• The first person narrative, Coyle employs, is a refreshing change from the third person point of view, predominate to the cozy mystery genre.


• I really enjoyed the alternating points of view from killer to protagonist throughout the book.


• And, even though large portions of the narrative are written from the point of view of the killer, I still fell for enough of the false clues, to spend most of the book suspecting the wrong character.


• The banter between the heroine, Clare Cosi, and her sadly, unfaithful, ex-husband Matteo has an enjoyable Thin Man-esque quality to it. Though I believe the Thin Man was a ladies man before his marriage, rather than after.

As for the cons:

• God's name was abused a good deal in the dialogue.
  
  
• The sexual content, while not exactly up to Harlequin standards, was a little higher than I am comfortable with. I hate to sound like my twelve year old son, but - Too Much Kissing!
  
  
• In fact, the moral integrity of most of the characters was somewhat wanting.
  
  
• And finally, the recipes at the back of the book, such as Coffee Marinated Steak, with Coffee Gravy, were too heavy for my taste. I'll pass them on to my husband, when he gets to his summer barbecue phase though, and let you know if we have any winners.

With that said, while I enjoyed the story, and it held my interest to the end, I can only give it a half-hearted recommendation. I love the characters, setting, and writing style, but the language, and sexual content are too gritty for my idea of a cozy read.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Fudge Cupcake Murder - Review

This weekend, I read Joanne Fluke's Fudge Cupcake Murder, as my third book for the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge, a 12 month/12 book reading challenge being hosted by Book Chick City.

Fudge Cupcake Murder is the 5th book in the Hannah Swensen Mystery series. Hannah Swensen, the heroine of the series, is the cat loving, body finding, mystery solving, cookie shop proprietor of a small lakeside community in Minnesota (and yes, there are recipes included with the story).

Book 5 finds Miss Swensen engaged in solving two mysteries. The first is finding out who killed the local sheriff, who just happened to be running for reelection against Hannah's brother-in-law, and eating one of her cupcakes, at the time of his murder. And, the second, is finding the secret cupcake ingredient, known only by the late mother-in-law of a friend, who wants to submit the recipe to Hannah's upcoming cookbook, as a tribute to her husband's mother.

The writing style is simple, and there is a love triangle, that's somewhat adolescent, but the characters are engaging, and the mystery kept me guessing for the first 300 of the 454 pages in the large print edition, leaving me with another 100 pages to figure out the motive, before the usual, thrilling, girl-confronts-killer-and-solves-the-crime-while-barely-escaping-with-her-own-life ending.

As to the cupcakes, while I won't give away the secret ingredient, I will say - they're quite delicious!

It's great to be a homeschooler.