A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i just finished this one and found the other 2 are also available. so my next step will be to snarf them up as fast as possible!

why? because it is a cliff hanger with wonderful writing and a really good narrator!

normally i dislike series books that have to be read in order but this is one is worth it! it has all sorts of .... weirdness (for lack of a better word). when the region is ruled by women, things are generally run well. when it run by men...different story. want to guess the sex of the ruler. you're right, a king! and things are not good.

the king has a married brother who becomes the father of twin...one boy, one girl. a things are really bad as the king and new uncle has seen to it that girls who would be in line for the crown are dying.

attending the delivery are a witch and 2 scorchers. the girl child must be protected if there is ever to be good new in the land...but how?

listen to find out for yourself and meet ghosts and warriors and people who go a bit batty. if you don't, you're going to miss some great lines that will give you a giggle, some emotions you will understand with just a bit of thought provoking ideas.

yes, i do highly recommend this book!

Did You Know

"Stewardesses"
is the longest word typed with only the left hand


And "lollipop"
is the longest word typed with your right hand.


No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.


"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".


Our eyes are always the same size from birth,
but our nose and ears never stop growing.


The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" 
uses every letter of the alphabet.


The words 'racecar,' 'kayak', and 'level' 
are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).


There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous


There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."


TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.


A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.


A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.


A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.


A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.


A snail can sleep for three years.


Almonds are a member of the peach family.



An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. 
(I know some people like that also)


Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.


February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.


In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.


If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.


Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.


Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!


Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.



The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing. 


The cruise liner, QE 2 moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.


The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. 
(Good thing he did that.)



 
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

 
There are more chickens than people in the world.

 
Winston Churchill
was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

 
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

 
Bonus!! All the ants in Africa weigh more than ALL the Elephants!!


Now you know (a little) more than you did before!!

The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The end of my marathon listening is both happy and sad. Happy to see what Ayla and her family are up to but sad because at the end, I want more. I want to know more of their adventures. Yes, there is an end but I love them and want to see them go on having adventures and grandchildren...ok, I'm greedy!

I've tried to come up with a good summary without giving away too much. Finally, I decided to share a bit of a publishers summary:

"...Whatever the obstacles, Ayla’s inventive spirit produces new ways to lessen the difficulties of daily life: searching for wild edibles to make delicious meals, experimenting with techniques to ease the long journeys the Zelandoni must take, honing her skills as a healer and a leader. And then, there are the Sacred Caves, the caves that Ayla’s mentor - the Donier, the First of the Zelandonia - takes her to see. These caves are filled with remarkable art - paintings of mammoths, lions, aurochs, rhinoceros, reindeer, bison, bear. The powerful, mystical aura within these caves sometimes overwhelms Ayla and the rituals of initiation bring her close to death. But through those rituals, Ayla gains A Gift of Knowledge so important that it will change the world.

Spellbinding drama, meticulous research, fascinating detail, and superb narrative skill combine to make The Land of Painted Caves a captivating, utterly believable creation of a long ago civilization that serves as an astonishing end to this beloved saga."

I hope you will become as much involved in this epic of the evolution of mankind with Ayla as the carrier as have I. For those who are interested in the archaeological finding put into story form, this is a series for you. For those who enjoy an epic story of survival in a hostel land, this is a series for you. My final hope is that I have stirred your curiosity enough to peek your desire have your own marathon.

The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Again, I got this audio from Audible.com. In this 5th installment, the couple with their horses and wolf, have finally arrived at his home. It is here she delivers their 1st child. As is their way, the couple teaches the tribe what they have learn from experience as well as the stops they have made with various clans they stayed with along the way.

Ms. Auel has been criticized for repeating parts of earlier books. If you, like I, picked up the books as they came out, you know how long it took for each book to be released, so you might have appreciated the refresher bits as it meant you did not have to reread the preceding books before starting this one. Also I am sure she realized that some readers might pick up a first book out of order, so she made their adventure much easier by filling in the back story.

Years ago, when I read the books, I was sorry there was not another book in the series. Can you imagine my joy at when I found out Ms. Auel had written another book? Finishing the listening of this book brought me up to date on the whole series. now it was time to start and finish the last book of the series in my marathon listening!

Tea at Trianon: Priest Holes in English Houses

We interrupt this blogging about Jean Auel's series to send you over to Tea at Trianon: Priest Holes in English Houses.

You know how I love history from different times and places and blogs about them. Thus it will come as no surprise that I stumbled across this blog and fell in love...and I haven't read one of her books yet!

Wait till you see the travel tea case Marie-Antoinette carried!

For those of us who a) will probably not be going to England or b) probably would not have the time to visit and see all the priest holes, you have to read the entire posting (it will take you to another) where you will see not only stills but videos of them as well as get some good historical information along the way!

Go quickly my friends and enjoy yourselves as much as I!

The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

They said:

Ayla and Jondalar set out on horseback across the windswept grasslands of Ice Age Europe. To the hunter gatherers of their world--who have never seen tame animals--Ayla and Jondalar appear enigmatic and frightening.

The mystery surrounding the woman, who speaks with a strange accent and talks to animals with their own sounds, is heightened by her control of a large, menacing wolf. The tall, yellow-haired man who rides by her side is also held in awe, not only for the magnificent stallion he commands, but for his skill as an artificer of stone tools, and for the new weapon he devises that makes hunting less perilous.

In the course of their cross-continental odyssey, Ayla and Jondalar encounter both savage enemies and brave friends. Together they learn that the vast and unkown world can be difficult and dangerous, but breathtakingly beautiful and enlightening as well.

I thought:

I should see what others have thought about this book. Boy howdy, was I surprised by some of the comments! One comment was about her repeating things from an earlier book. Stop a moment and look at the different publishing dates. If you read the first one and then had to wait for the next one, you might appreciate the repeats so you remember what was going on from the last one. An then there are people like me who might find one copy but it is later in the series...those retells would put you right into the story without you having to go back to the first book to find out what is going on and who's who.

Sex. Yes, and people what to know about what might have happened in the past and if everyone is in the cave, everyone knows what is going on. So how did they handle the situation. How was the act different among the Clan than the Others? What we might consider rape today, might have been normal for one group. That's one of the things you are learning about as Ayla grows up and moves from one group to another. It is not gratuitous or even as graphic as some writers might have made it.

Wonder Woman and Superman? Ayla and her lover are compilations of the Others. The Clan shared a common memory and did not like change much. The Others did not have the memories so were more adaptable to change and building on one another's ideas and sharing for the good of all. She was both a shaman and a healer. I want to know what they used for medicine, did they ever do surgery, how did they deal with wounds? So all information and advancements were attached to Ayla. Many people of today are have the ability to pick up languages quickly...but there remain traces of their original accents, just like Ayla. Of course she is alway gathering things...they were 'hunter/gatherers. It was important that she find fresh food and well as food that will store well for winter and many of the foods that she ate while living with the Clan would not be available from one territory to another. She would have to find out what new things were safe to eat in the new areas. The same thing would have to be done with her herbal medicines...some she would figure out for herself but some she would find out when they visited in different camps.

Written or spoken, I really like this series!

The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The cave lion has taken off to start his own family, the filly has given birth to a colt, and the young blond man and Ayla have fallen in love. The are traveling to his home until they meet the mammoth hunters and are invited to stay with them through the winter. While visiting them, Alya rescues a wolf pup. People of the hunters are unsure of their safety but gradually become accustomed to him.

As we follow Alya, her lover, and the critters, we learn more about the land and the life of the people of the region. It is not an easy life but very interesting as is the continuation of Alya's story.

But now we must go on to the next volume! I am having so much fun with my marathon thanks to Audible.com!

The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Alya has left the cave and the clan behind and finds food in the form of a horse. Unfortunately, the mare has a defenseless filly. She cannot leave this baby to die. She takes the filly back to her cave to raise with a baby cave lion she later finds. As she raises these animals she learns from them and how to use them. As the filly reaches the right age, Ayla learns to ride and the filly learns to help her by pulling things. This last is beneficial when Ayla and her horse are out searching for food and herbs when they come across two young men..."others". One blond like Alya who is close to death; while the other man is dead. She buries the latter and takes the former with her back to the cave.

Of course the story is much more complicated than what I have summarized, besides the story line, the above does not cover the her learning as she gets ideas and tries things. The learning is a condensation of what and how people of her time may have progressed, such as riding horses instead of eating them.

The oral story is very well narrated.

Now on to the next volume! (What great fun!)

The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1) 
by Jean M. Auel, Sandra Burr (Narrator)

 At one time I had most all of this series of books but what with lending them to this or that person, I ended up with only one (1), of the hard backed books! So I started collecting them on Audible.com. Once I had them all, I held a marathon wherein I listened to the whole series, one after the other! It was a blast!

In the Clan of the Cave Bear we meet Ayla, who survives an earth quake that takes the 5 year old's mother.  Alone, wounded, and sick, she is recused by the healer of the clan of the cave bear's healer. As a child of 'the others', the 'flat heads' take her in even though they find her ugly and ignorant as she has none of the memories. Ayla heals and is adopted and loved by the clan as much as she loves loves them. As she grows, we, the readers, learn about the clan and their ways. I tell a lie, there is a member of the clan who hates her deeply! This one will one day be the head of the clan. When he does, Ayla is forced to leave as he has marked her as dead to them. 

One of my joys with this series is that you can read them as stand alones...though reading them in tandem (or marathon) is so enjoyable. 

The author has done great research with people well known in the study of man so far back in time. So if you like ancient history with solid research along with a good story...pick this one up!

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
narrator, Roy Dotrice

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



THEY SAID

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war.

It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

©1999 George R.R. Martin; (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.


I THOUGHT

I still don't like serialized books that have to be read in order but I must admit their necessity for some stories...like this epic. Last season, a video of book 1 was shown on HBO which was entertaining and interesting from the point of taking 33 hours of listening and condensing it to 10 hours of viewing. The cast of characters is huge! But fear not, the important ones will stick in your brain, so well are they written. As in real life, no one is all good or all bad so you can't totally like or dislike them...well, except for one!

I liked the book better than the video on the last one and feel the same will hold true of the new season which should be starting soon as HBO is currently rerunning the first season. Oh, don't get me wrong, the HBO series is up to their standards! What is missing is all the little connectors which add so much color to the book! Mostly I miss the way Mr. Martin links together his words. As this was one of my Audible.com books, hearing those words were pure pleasure! The narrator, Roy Dotrice, did such a terrific interpretation...how he managed to come up with so many diverse accents and speech patterns was just such an addition to the book.


WARNING: This is an adult only book! Not for language but nudity, graphic sex, and violence.

UPDATED

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What? How can you have listened to the book and it be on your TBR list? Sandy, don't you think you need to fix your shelves?

NO. This was one of my Audible.com choices. Unfortunately, there is an oops in the recording that therefore messed up the download. The end of the two parts are cut off. It didn't bother me so much on Part 1 but was at a crucial moment in Part 2! (GRRRR!) Naturally I called Audible.com immediately! They are going to fix it and then alert me, so I can get the rest of the story! The question is how long will it take them to fix it! You know how some of us are when we are so into a book that we just have to know, can't wait to know the rest of the story! I'm one of those! What do you do then? ORDER THE BOOK!

Publisher's Summary:

"In 17th-century Persia, a 14-year-old woman believes she will be married within the year. When her beloved father dies, she and her mother find themselves alone and without a dowry. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven to pay for their journey to Isfahan, where they will work as servants for her uncle, a rich rug designer in the court of the legendary Shah Abbas the Great.

Despite her lowly station, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant designer of carpets, a rarity in a craft dominated by men. But while her talent flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim. Forced into a secret marriage to a wealthy man, the young woman finds herself faced with a daunting decision: forsake her own dignity, or risk everything she has in an effort to create a new life.

©2007 Anita Amirrezvani; (P)2007 Hachette Audio"

And that is where it cuts off! Decision time!

It should have taken just a bit over 13 hours to hear the entire story that is narrated by the rich voices of actress Shohreh Aghdashloo who is originally from Iran. Her voices add so much color to enjoyment of this book! I feel in love with her voice, accent, laugh, and intellect the first time I saw her on the Craig Ferguson show.

Maybe I need to expand a bit. When I read I hear the story in my head. When I read a book, I also hear it in my head with whatever accent is appropriate. I've heard German, French, Irish, Scottish, Russian, Spanish, Chinesse, Janpanesse, and the variety we have in America and India. The voices of the middle eastern countries have not added their music to my ears enough to remember them.

One thing is learned quickly...the role of this woman in 17th century Pursia wasn't any better than that of women in Europe in the same socioeconomic levels.

Anita Amirrezvani has not only told us the story of a gutsy young woman but bits about rug making from dye to design to finished product. She also gives us some short folk tales of the period.

I am giving you my review how because I cannot see the review changing much with reading the hard copy. It's been out for a while so you should be able to find it in most of your usual haunts! It's almost Halloween, so go haunting those places for this book in any format you like!

UPDATE:

I have now finished both the book and the recording. Sure enough, it was as wonderful as I expected! I loved all the characters in the book because of what they added to not only the understanding their motivation, but also the flavor of the peoples of the time whether good or bad. There is a richness to this book that makes me anxious to see what she comes up with next!

The conversation between the author and narrator at the end of the recording is most interesting!

Who should read this book? I would have gotten a lot out of this book about the age of 13 or 14 so young women, mothers and daughters, people who want to know a bit more about the run making process and their makers, people who love myths and legends! Lovers of historical fiction.

This is definitely on my favorites for 2011!

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I know I am strange but this is again a movie I saw and had to read the book. Thus started my love of all books Jean M. Auel. This is the start of the author's vision of what happened "way back when" as cultures intermix and travel up through time. Get hooked on the first and you will want to travel along. Unlike a lot of serialized stories, each book stands alone, so if you manage to find one before another, it won't hurt.

I now have it in audio format from Audible.com, as apparently I 'lent' my book copy. I have really enjoyed listening to this as I do the mundane! Sandra Burr does a grand narration of the first people.

EXCLUSIVE Amazing Juggling Finale

Easy serve and clean up for football event

For the recipe go to the Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Sandy on Pinterest

Harvest by Tess Gerritsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Narrated by George Guidall
Length:12 hrs and 30 mins
Release Date:04-22-11

You should know that my dad was an Army doctor and I have probably spent almost as much time in them as out! We were both mystery lovers so this had to be one of my Audible.com choices.

It got my husband and I a bit confused with some of the scene changes and who is or isn't there but that is kind of the fun of a mystery. Will it all come together in the end? While we figured out who was what and why, there was a bit of worry and OMG at the end.

I can't code this one as a cozy mystery .. it leans closer to nail biter. If I promise you that the confusing bits will make sense, will you stick with it and give this one a chance? We (DH and I) were glad we did!

BOB

BOB from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.
For full enjoyment, watch past the credits! WARNING! DON'T DRINK AND WATCH!

Source: flavorwire.com via spvaughan on Pinterest

Famous Places of the World Photographed in Soap Bubbles. Photo credit: Tom Storm. Dlugi Targ, Gdansk, Poland

Somehow I don't think this is the right size

Source: weheartit.com via Sara on Pinterest

Why aren't new state laws fought?

Black men were given the rights to vote through the 14th and 15th amendments. The 19th gave equal rights to women.

With these amendments, why isn't the federal government doing something to stop states from making it hard to impossible for many individuals to exercise their rights?

Why aren't state citizens voicing their objections? Why isn't the federal government getting into this?

They think they will hurt one party but what about people of their own party? Don't they know those people will also be stopped?

I don't know who is running for office in my state this year, but trust me, if they support these laws? or restrictions, they will not get my vote! It is, for me, a show stopper because I truly think it is anti American and illegal as hell!

Sterling Biographies: Frederick Douglass: Rising Up from Slavery by Frances E Ruffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
UNABRIDGED
Narrated by Cornelius Jones
PUBLISHER Audible, Inc.

Summary:

"From slave to freedom fighter: that was the long and hard journey taken by Frederick Douglass. Douglass was America's first great civil-rights leader, and he threw off the physical, mental, and legal chains of slavery to become one of America's greatest champions for human rights. It was said that his life was proof that once black people could read and write about their injustices, they would have the power to end slavery.

Frances E. Ruffin explores this inspiring figure in all his complexity, and captures the hardships, prejudice, and violence Douglass endured as he fought for justice.

©2008 Sterling; (P)2009 Audible, Inc."


At about 3.5 hours, this is not a long biography. It could be easily stopped if you are sharing with a child. If you want to listen in one go, easy. Not only did I learn much about Mr. Douglas that was never taught in high school and college. I also learned much about the history after the war.

He lived an amazing life, not only through the Civil War, but after, before the Jim Crow laws, the beginnings of the rights for woman's right to vote.

If you feel your history was a bit vague or you are a home schooler who wants to give your kids more information about the war and its aftermath, I recommend this book to people of all color.