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Author: Deb

Ghost Novel Review: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

Ghost Novel Review: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

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For my next selection of the R.I.P. challenge, I read The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. This reading ended up as a serendipitous survey of literature based in Malaya (present day Malaysia). In the last two years, quite unplanned, I’ve read three works set in this country, all as different as they can be. The first novel I read is Old Filth by Jane Gardam about a cynical octogenarian barrister of British ancestry; the second was The Garden of Evening…

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Book Review: The Search by Nora Roberts

Book Review: The Search by Nora Roberts

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This is my second selection for Carl’s R.I.P. at Stainless Steel Droppings. I file The Search under the mystery/thriller category. The Search by Nora Roberts is a romantic thriller; i.e., heroine in peril narrative. I’m expanding my review categories from ghost novels to include young adult novels and dog fiction. The Search is of the latter variety. Simon isn’t Fiona’s type. And she’s definitely not his. But Simon is in desperate need of a dog whisperer/trainer for his recalcitrant canine…

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Ghost Movie Review: Ghost Town

Ghost Movie Review: Ghost Town

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Thank you, Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, for once again hosting R.I.P! Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear, directed by David Koepp. I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Seattle, and we decided to watch a scifi movie. Of all things, our search netted Ghost Town. (Such is the difficulty with the ghost genre—there is no ghost genre; you find ghosts when you least expect them.) Anyhow, ghost aficionado that I am, I jumped at…

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A Stir of Echoes: Book or Movie?

A Stir of Echoes: Book or Movie?

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I read Richard Matheson’s A Stir of Echoes as one of my selections for Bout of Books. It’s been on my list for a long time, so it felt good to put it behind me, and the Bout of Books read-a-thon provided the perfect opportunity. Finding A Stir of Echoes, however, proved a challenge as I searched one library and three bookstores and finally had to order it. When a party stunt awakens Tom Wallace’s psychic abilities, he must learn…

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Review-a-thon post Bout of Books

Review-a-thon post Bout of Books

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As a follow-up to the Bout of Books read-a-thon, Book Monsters has created a review-a-thon. Well, I’ve never heard of a review-a-thon before, but since I’ve participated in my first read-a-thon I’m up for anything. So, my goals for the review-a-thon are 1. To link a review for The Maze Runner (which I wrote yesterday when the event started) 2. To write and post a review for A Stir of Echoes. 3. To visit twelve other sites from fellow review-a-thoners….

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Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner is another in a long list of dystopian YA novels. When Thomas arrives in a community of lost boys, he must literally climb out of a “box” and, despite lacking all memory of his former life, engage in a life or death struggle with an unseen enemy. The “runners” must seek clues in the maze that will lead to their escape, and time is running out. I can’t help comparing the recent triumvirate of…

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Bout of Books Read-a-thon The End

Bout of Books Read-a-thon The End

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(image credit) I survived my first read-a-thon ever; thank you Bout of Books! I enjoyed the experience immensely even though I didn’t quite meet my goals. But I guess that’s what goals are for, yes? Anyhow, I finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner and A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson. Reviews to follow, but of these two I enjoyed A Stir of Echoes more. In addition, I finished listening to Wolf Hall during the read-a-thon week although I…

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Bout of Books Challenge: I Spy by Paperback Dreamer

Bout of Books Challenge: I Spy by Paperback Dreamer

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What fun! Not only am I participating in a read-a-thon, but I also get to take part in a challenge hosted by Paperback Dreamer. The object of the challenge is to find well, objects, on book covers that you own. I found everything except of all things, a Christmas tree. I even had a book called Christmas Day Kitten, but do you think it would include a Christmas tree on the cover? Nope. Anyway, this was way harder than it…

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Bout of Books Read-a-thon Day 1

Bout of Books Read-a-thon Day 1

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I finished the first day of my first ever Bout of Books (or any other for that matter)  read-a-thon. Yay! I also participated in my first ever Twitter chat. Comments were flying so fast and furious that my computer froze several times. As a techno-idiot, I’m still trying to understand the whole Twitter phenom, but I made a little progress. Case in point, I spent a whole lot of time on help sites trying to figure out how to jump…

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Bout of Books Read-a-thon

Bout of Books Read-a-thon

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Please join me as I pioneer my way through the Bout of Books Read-a-thon. First, a big thank you to Grace from Books Without Any Pictures for bringing this event to my attention. I’ve never participated in a read-a-thon before, so this should be interesting. Here’s the information about the event that the organizers provided: “The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long…

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Jane Austen Can’t Get No Respect: Women Writers Face Gender Bias

Jane Austen Can’t Get No Respect: Women Writers Face Gender Bias

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Well, I’m vacuuming mad, again, and Jane Austen is at the center. How mad is vacuuming mad? Check out my post V.S. Naipaul vs. the World, and you’ll see the last time I was vacuuming mad. That is, until now. This week Sandra Grayson shared Katrin Bennhold‘s NY Times article about Jane Austen concerning a proposal from The Women’s Room to add Jane Austen’s face to the British ten pound note. This follows the exit of the only other woman on British…

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Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge Wrap-up

Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge Wrap-up

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Once Upon a Time Wrap-up Alas, the reading challenge at Stainless Steel Droppings is now over, and it’s time to examine the remains. This was my first One Upon a Time. (However, I’ve done several R.I.P. challenges, which align pretty spectacularly with ghost fiction.) Once Upon a Time has a larger focus that includes fairy tales, fantasy, etc. I set my sights on Quest the Second, which stipulates reading one work each of fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, and mythology. I…

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Woman at open door sees spatial phenomena
Once Upon a Time Challenge: The Robber Bride

Once Upon a Time Challenge: The Robber Bride

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Once Upon a Time: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood     In a word: Wow! I’m dropping this book into the fairy tale category thanks in part to a wonderful post by Buried in Print who first put me onto the notion that Atwood is playing with fairy tale motifs. What absolute fun it was to discover a hidden (much like the dense forests of fairy tales) level of meaning beneath this literary novel. Even the title is an allusion…

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