A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 17.

Okay, despite not having been around for the last couple weeks {well, I was around, just not in the blogging world *wink*}, I have bounced around a few of my favorite blogs today to see what you've all been posting about and the following links are the results. Enjoy!

Carrie over at A Writing Maiden shares her thoughts on modesty.

Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One has a humorous book review to share.

Amber over at Seasons of Humility is craving Sherlock Holmes.

Kathleen over at Shield Maiden of God shares with us a lovely piece of music not used in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Ruth over at Booktalk and More shares a Masterpiece Mystery review.

Elenatintil over at her blog gives a rundown of the pilot for Terra Nova.

Rachel over at The Inkpen Authoress shares a sweet, beautiful short story she wrote.

Debbie over at her grand new blog Dancing Off the Walls shares her thoughts on coffee.

And my friend Ella over at Hellwig Family Blog humorously tells of the repainting of her family's kitchen.

Till next week, keep blogging!

Monday Blurbs ~ Eighth Edition.

Aha! We're back! I hope. After my impromptu "vacation" from blogging regularly, I'm getting my routine under control and will hopefully be back up and running full on by next week. Yay!

Okay, now to see what my family and I watched over the weekend. *rubs hands together* On Friday we started watching BBC's Wives and Daughters which is a long movie and based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novel of the same title. Made in 1999 and starring Justine Waddell, Bill Paterson, Tom Hollander, Anthony Howell and Michael Gambon {to name a few}, this is a classic worth watching again and again! It is about Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a country doctor who remarries a very silly woman who has an equally silly daughter. While dealing with the unwanted stepmother and stepsister, Molly is also burdened by grave secrets people entrust her with and her unwavering love for Roger Hambly who thinks of her only as a friend. I enjoyed it a lot.

On Saturday we watched Unstoppable. Made in 2010 and starring Chris Pine, Denzel Washington and Rosario Dawson, this is an epic action/adventure and totally grand! There isn't much of a plot but with a lead like Pine, sweet camera shots, plenty of action and a cool soundtrack, who needs a plot? *wink* The basic plot, based on a true story nonetheless, is this: an unmanned half-mile long freight train is on a collision course toward a major city and it is up to two brave men, Frank who is close to retirement and Will who is a newbie, both with personal issues going on in their lives, to stop it. I can't get over how great this movie is! However, there is a smattering of foul language {if you can handle Inception then you should be fine but it's still there} and a brief scene with suggestive background images. Frank's teenage daughters work at Hooters. *rolls eyes*

Needless to say, we continued watching Wives and Daughters on Saturday and Sunday {we finished it yesterday btw}. On Sunday my family watched something but I wasn't present so I don't know what it was. That pretty much sums up my weekend as far as what we watched is concerned. *wink* Catch ya later!

Black Book Review.

Title: Black.

Author: Ted Dekker.

Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy, Christian, action/Adventure.

Plot: Thomas Hunter, a twenty-five-year-old military brat and failed novelist, lives with his older sister in Denver, Colorado. One day on his way home from work Thomas is shot at by dangerous men sent to find him from New York. It’s been six years since the last time Thomas was in a fight for his life and he panics; dashing up to a roof in the darkness, he waits and tries to catch his breath when a silent bullet speeds through the night air and clips him on the head. He drops unconscious and immediately wakes up in a black forest filled with malevolent talking black bats that nearly kill him before he escapes. A white bat with green eyes swoops in and helps lead him out of the forest to a bridge linking it with a colored, healthy forest. Thomas falls unconscious on the green grass and wakes back up in Denver, extremely confused.

At first Thomas thinks he’s just been having a very real dream but when he learns of the existence of the Raison Strain, a deadly virus set to wipe out the world’s population in a few short weeks, in the colored forest half of his dreams, everything shifts. With his sister Kara’s help, Thomas embarks on an epic journey in two worlds that will leave him exhausted and will forever change his life and the course of history. But how is he to stop something so unreal when he has been killed – twice?

Likes/Dislikes: This is the first book in a trilogy which is the first part of a very long series by Dekker. Black packs quite the adrenaline-rush. Thomas Hunter is a very simple yet very complex character and it was grand to watch his gradual change as the story progressed. Kara was a grand character as well and the descriptions of the dream world, while a little confusing if read too fast, were very imaginative. I picked this book up worried that Dekker would be like Frank Peretti but I was pleasantly surprised to find that he isn’t. Dekker isn’t a star author like some of the classics but he’s better than the average and he can spin a very colorful adrenaline-laced story with all the pieces falling into place only at the end. I must note, however, that he really is terrible at writing romance. Full of humor and nonstop action, I highly recommend Black.

Rating: PG-15 and up for reading level and content {mostly violence}.

Date Report Written: September 8, 2011.

Aha!

Hiya folks! I have a very good reason for not having posted all week. :) Okay, I don't. Well, I do but I'm not gonna tell you what it is. *grins* I have a book review for tomorrow and hopefully I'll be back to my regular posting schedule by Tuesday. Monday Blurbs might start showing up on Tuesdays till choir practice levels out again. Catch ya later! ;)

Crocodile on the Sandbank Book Review.

Title: Crocodile on the Sandbank.

Author: Elizabeth Peters.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Romance, Action/Adventure, Drama.

Plot: Amelia Peabody is a thirty-something spinster with a cynical outlook on life, a love of studying and an inheritance vastly larger than she’d originally supposed. Being bored with life in England and lonely for companionship, Amelia plans a visit to Egypt during the winter there. Her original traveling companion very quickly deserts her but the quick-thinking heroine soon rescues and befriends the seemingly delicate Evelyn who is fleeing a damaged reputation and a scoundrel lover. With these two teamed up, an adventure is sure to take place and they both unknowingly influence each other in a positive manner.

However, the adventure they encounter on their journey up the Nile isn’t what either expected. They stop in at a dig run by the Emerson brothers whom they’d previously run into at a museum with humorous and lopsided results. The dashing but very temperamental Radcliff Emerson and Amelia had exchanged insults and were not fond of each other’s company in the least; the admirable and handsome Walter Emerson, however, was very fond of the ladies’ company, particularly of Evelyn’s. With these four thrown together, first by a serious fever on the elder Emerson’s part and then secondly by a series of misadventures usually resulting in loud arguments and someone getting bruised {usually Emerson}, the situation is lively and entertaining enough. Yet when a mysterious midnight visitor starts calling and Evelyn’s foppish cousin arrives on the scene, Amelia and Emerson wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Likes/Dislikes: This is the first Amelia Peabody mystery and I must say I enjoyed every word of it although I rather liked The Golden One better. It’s a case of the first book verses a later book difference. Anyway, this tale is lively and fun with a good deal of sarcastic humor thrown in which is what I enjoy in books like this. Emerson does curse a lot though not as much as in the fourteen book, which I noticed. There is also some suggested suggestive material, thus I cannot recommend it to younger readers but to more mature readers, particularly those who love mysteries, adventures and grand tales set in places like Egypt, I highly recommend it.

Rating: PG-16 and up for content and reading level.

Date Report Written: September 8^th, 2011.

Excerpt from Black.

"I could write your story," Tanis continued. "A wonderful play of love and beauty, but then it would be mine, not yours. You must tell your own story. Or, in this case, live it. And to understand how love unfolds, you must understand how Elyon loves."

The sheer momentum of their zeal carried Tom. He asked the question he knew Tanis was demanding he ask. "And how does Elyon love?"

"Excellent question! He chooses."

"He chooses," Palus repeated.

"He pursues."

"He pursues," said Rachelle's father, fist clenched.

"He rescues."

"He rescues."

"He woos."

"He woos."

"He protects."

It was like a Ping-Pong match.

"He protects. Ha!"

"He lavishes," Tanis shouted.

Palus stopped. "Is that one of them?"

"Why not?"

"I mean, is that normally placed with the others?"

"It should be."

They looked at each other for a moment.

"He lavishes," cried Palus.

"This, my dear Thomas, is what you should do to win Rachelle's heart."
         ~ Excerpt from Black by Ted Dekker.

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts 16.

I didn't post this yesterday because I was busy and my mom has been getting after me for being online too much. *rolls eyes* Anyway, let's check out what you've all been blogging about folks!

Casey over at Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One has a wonderful post on writing and being a writer.

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has a grand review on the Inspector Lewis episode I mentioned seeing on Sunday.

Holly over at The Bookshelf has a lovely book review to share with us.

Rachel over at The Inkpen Authoress has a wonderful thing to say on reading and writing; she has a good point.

My friend Gabrielle over at Legend of a Seamstress links up to five blogs she enjoys following.

Lady Elenatintil over at her blog shares a tip of hers on how to get through tough times in life.

Ruth over at Booktalk and More has a delightful movie review on a classic old film.

Jody over at The Corner Bookblog shares a wonderful book review with us.

Tarissa over at In The Bookcase has her new monthly link-up post; do check it out folks.

Jane over at Reviews by Jane is vlogging!

And my sister Maxine over at her new blog Max's Random Adventures makes her debut post in fine style.

And until next week, keep blogging folks! *grins*

Monday Blurbs ~ Eighth Edition.

I know I didn't post a book review on Saturday; I was too tired and mentally distracted. I'll post it next week.

Anyway, on Friday we didn't watch anything because we went to my cousin's wedding which was so grand and tons of fun! *grins excitedly* On Saturday we watched Tangled {my review}; I love that movie! It's so sweet and funny while so adventurous and epic. Flynn is definitely my favorite character and it's one of the few movies that I actually like the main girl and have lines memorized. Most movies I watch, unlike my siblings, I don't have any of the lines memorized. But this one is different. "I have dreams like you/No, really, just less touchy-feely/They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny/On an island that I own/Tanned and rested and alone/Surrounded by enormous piles of money!" "Please don't freak out!" "You guys should see your faces because you look - wham! - ridiculous." "I think he likes me." Need I say more? *smiles sweetly*

Also on Saturday we watched a re-run episode of MI5 wherein the agents bounce around "protecting" somebody while Beth's past is looked into and Lucus' past catches up with him in dramatic but subtle fashion. On Sunday our NASCAR race got rained out *frowns disappointedly* and I was online bouncing around most of the day but in the evening we watched a Masterpiece Mystery Inspector Lewis episode. The episode title was Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things and was about a murder {not too surprising I suppose} at an all-girls' college reunion where an attack had happened ten years previously that left a student's younger sister in a coma and Inspector Lewis haunted by the unsolved murder. His young, energetic likable partner James Hathaway helps him solve both cases in fine style.

Catch ya later!