I have just returned from a five-week visit to France with my son. While staying in Bayonne, a dear friend and avid reader gave me a book which made me want to see the movie Frida a second time. Frida: Biographie de Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera is actually translated from the English original. What […]
I took a quick clip of this baby opossum, found in the flower beds beside the beach side Holiday Inn at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I was most impressed with the fauna there. I saw crows, pelicans, gulls, snake birds, turtles, alligators, a snake over a metre long, cardinals and woodpeckers who seemed quite
Over dinner, a friend who knows I’m going to South Carolina, compared me to a Southern Belle. Not sure what this meant, I guessed he was referring to my tendency to be “slightly evil,” that is to say, not bland. Canadians are known for blandness in conversation. As a child I was taught to avoid
I hope to return with a story to tell Read More »
There’s been a pattern to my recent reviews. The books are tending to be YA more than adult. That’s because I’m starting to think about fall. I’ve just been notified that I’ll have an Intermediate class next year. In the special program where I teach, many of my students will be reading at the high
Clockwork by Philip Pullman Read More »
I recently watched the musical We Will Rock You, and the opera Elektra. I know I won’t be getting any Brownie points for excellent taste when I tell you I loved the first and didn’t care much for the second. To be fair, I knew every song used in the Queen musical, right down to
Today I broke the 155 page wall on my Y.A. novel-in-progress. It’s a good thing too. A working editor has promised to read it when it’s finished so I’d be a fool not to finish it, before he reconsiders. The Geek Chronicles: Dear God, Help!!! Love, EarlI recently read Barbara Parks revenge fantasy about an
Bully for me — Bully for you Read More »
Since his post-modern picture books: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolfe and The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales, I have looked forward reading more by Jon Scieszka. Today, I refer to three short novels in his Time Warp Trio series. I have read: Knights of the Kitchen
Three by Jon Scieszka Read More »
I’ve been looking up Hilton Head, South Carolina, trolling for authors. I’ve already found two, without expanding my search beyond Hilton Head Island itself: Patricia Cornwell has multiple websites, including some scary-looking promo videos for her mysteries. Great fun. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed was fairly contentious when it came out.
Author outta Carolina Read More »
Now reading: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. I took out the 30th anniversary edition of this book from the library. I’ve only read the first 80 pages and already it’s changing my view of evolution. Dawkins uses game theory and mathematical models to prove that many of the evolutionary advantages we might assume are
The Selfish Gene — Richard Dawkins Read More »
I went to see the Rocky Horror Show on March 28. As a teen I was given the soundtrack by my parents but forbidden to see the movie itself. I have since watched it on DVD. My husband hadn’t seen any version of the Rocky Horror Show when I took him to see it. It
Rocky Horror Stage Show Read More »