Another book in the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood.
Set in the era of the Flappers, this is another Australian-based murder mystery. In this case, the setting is His Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, 1928. The scene is a production of Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan, and the victims and suspects are the actors and crew.
Ambition, intrigue, emotional dilly-dallying, and murder are the order of the day. Add in a little oriental twist, and you have the makings of a good read.
Again, this is not a book of rocket-science or subtle agendas. It is a pleasantly easy read, but not so dumbed-down and formulaic that you can pick with 100% certainty *whodunnit*. In fact I spent much of the book going back and forward between characters, and still ended up wrong on a couple of counts.
This is another light summer read that entertains. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Resolutions....
What Resolutions?
So, 2006 has arrived, and January is doing its level best to rush to the end without as much as a by-you-leave! It is also the time of year for self-congratulation and self-flagellation; depending on how last year's big goals and dreams went. For many of us it is usually a time for reflection upon our lives and then the day after the New Year hangover wears off a feeling of new beginnings overtakes us.
On the recrimination front, here are a few of the usual suspects:
Just add your own endings.
If you are of the fortunate, some say, sensible, breed of human who manages to avoid the self-recrimination and self-assessment of New Years, feel free to skip to the quotes and humour below.
As for the rest of you, join me in my misery…
I have a few old chestnuts that pop up each year on my “I should’ve…” list and I’m willing, kind of, to bare my failings.
Lynn’s Top 5 “I should have…” List.
If you’re feeling in a good mood, I’d love to hear your “I should have…” list too.
And what, I hear you asking, are your 2006 resolutions?
Not telling!
Well, okay. Maybe I will spill a few beans.
Every year I choose 4 or 5 areas of my life that need to be tidied up (ie – they have “I should haves” from last year) or areas that just need to keep ticking over. In each of these areas I decide on the 3 or 4 most important things I could achieve throughout the year. This gets typed up and made pretty on a word processor, is printed out and then bluetacked to my wall. At the end of the year I take a look to see how well I did. Don’t ask about 2005!
So, this year I have two “should haves” already under control. Sort of.
My perennial favourite – exercise – is now under the guidance and control of a personal trainer. Boy, is that a love/hate relationship.
And for those who have suffered through countless conversations about all of the wonderful ideas for renovating our house, you will be pleased to know that we have FINALLY begun the process. An architect, Ron Sang, has been engaged to do the preliminary measure-up and concept plans. That should start this month. (I can hear my bank manager crying now. Or is that laughing and rubbing their hands together? Hmm.)
If you have a spare moment, I would love to hear what your “Should have” and 2006 Resolutions lists are. Feel free to add it to the comments section.
~~~~
Quotes for an upbeat 2006.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
- Walt Disney
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
- Jeremy Kitson
Dum spiro spero. {While I breathe, I hope.}
- Clan Lindsay motto (this is better than my clan’s – Aut Pax Aut Bellum)
~~~~
For Cat Lovers – the Cat-English Dictionary.
Miaow – Feed me.
Meeow – Pet me.
Mrooww – I love you.
Mmrow – I feel like making noise.
Mioo-oo-oo – I am in love and must meet my betrothed beneath the hedge. Don’t wait up.
Rrrow-mawww – Please the time has come to tidy the cat box.
Rrow-miawww – I have remedied the cat box untidiness by shovelling the contents as far out of the box as was practical.
To be continued…
~~~~
Howard had felt guilty all day long. No matter how much he tried to forget about it, he couldn't. The guilt and sense of betrayal was overwhelming.
But every once in a while he'd hear that small inner voice trying to reassure him, "Howard. Don't worry about it. You aren't the first doctor to sleep with one of your patients and you won't be the last."
But invariably the other voice would bring him back to reality, "Howard. You're a veterinarian."
So, 2006 has arrived, and January is doing its level best to rush to the end without as much as a by-you-leave! It is also the time of year for self-congratulation and self-flagellation; depending on how last year's big goals and dreams went. For many of us it is usually a time for reflection upon our lives and then the day after the New Year hangover wears off a feeling of new beginnings overtakes us.
On the recrimination front, here are a few of the usual suspects:
- I should’ve exercised more…
- I should’ve given up…
- I should’ve taken the chance to…
Just add your own endings.
If you are of the fortunate, some say, sensible, breed of human who manages to avoid the self-recrimination and self-assessment of New Years, feel free to skip to the quotes and humour below.
As for the rest of you, join me in my misery…
I have a few old chestnuts that pop up each year on my “I should’ve…” list and I’m willing, kind of, to bare my failings.
Lynn’s Top 5 “I should have…” List.
- I should have exercised more.
- I should have written to friends more than once a year!
- I should have made a better effort to have a balance between work and relaxation.
- I should have made more effort to be patient.
- I should have walked the dogs more.
If you’re feeling in a good mood, I’d love to hear your “I should have…” list too.
And what, I hear you asking, are your 2006 resolutions?
Not telling!
Well, okay. Maybe I will spill a few beans.
Every year I choose 4 or 5 areas of my life that need to be tidied up (ie – they have “I should haves” from last year) or areas that just need to keep ticking over. In each of these areas I decide on the 3 or 4 most important things I could achieve throughout the year. This gets typed up and made pretty on a word processor, is printed out and then bluetacked to my wall. At the end of the year I take a look to see how well I did. Don’t ask about 2005!
So, this year I have two “should haves” already under control. Sort of.
My perennial favourite – exercise – is now under the guidance and control of a personal trainer. Boy, is that a love/hate relationship.
And for those who have suffered through countless conversations about all of the wonderful ideas for renovating our house, you will be pleased to know that we have FINALLY begun the process. An architect, Ron Sang, has been engaged to do the preliminary measure-up and concept plans. That should start this month. (I can hear my bank manager crying now. Or is that laughing and rubbing their hands together? Hmm.)
If you have a spare moment, I would love to hear what your “Should have” and 2006 Resolutions lists are. Feel free to add it to the comments section.
~~~~
Quotes for an upbeat 2006.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
- Walt Disney
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
- Jeremy Kitson
Dum spiro spero. {While I breathe, I hope.}
- Clan Lindsay motto (this is better than my clan’s – Aut Pax Aut Bellum)
~~~~
For Cat Lovers – the Cat-English Dictionary.
Miaow – Feed me.
Meeow – Pet me.
Mrooww – I love you.
Mmrow – I feel like making noise.
Mioo-oo-oo – I am in love and must meet my betrothed beneath the hedge. Don’t wait up.
Rrrow-mawww – Please the time has come to tidy the cat box.
Rrow-miawww – I have remedied the cat box untidiness by shovelling the contents as far out of the box as was practical.
To be continued…
~~~~
Howard had felt guilty all day long. No matter how much he tried to forget about it, he couldn't. The guilt and sense of betrayal was overwhelming.
But every once in a while he'd hear that small inner voice trying to reassure him, "Howard. Don't worry about it. You aren't the first doctor to sleep with one of your patients and you won't be the last."
But invariably the other voice would bring him back to reality, "Howard. You're a veterinarian."
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Resolutions....
What Resolutions?
So, 2006 has arrived, and January is doing its level best to rush to the end without as much as a by-you-leave! It is also the time of year for self-congratulation and self-flagellation; depending on how last year's big goals and dreams went. For many of us it is usually a time for reflection upon our lives and then the day after the New Year hangover wears off a feeling of new beginnings overtakes us.
On the recrimination front, here are a few of the usual suspects:
- I should’ve exercised more…
- I should’ve given up…
- I should’ve taken the chance to…
Just add your own endings.
If you are of the fortunate, some say, sensible, breed of human who manages to avoid the self-recrimination and self-assessment of New Years, feel free to skip to the quotes and humour below.
As for the rest of you, join me in my misery…
I have a few old chestnuts that pop up each year on my “I should’ve…” list and I’m willing, kind of, to bare my failings.
Lynn’s Top 5 “I should have…” List.
- I should have exercised more.
- I should have written to friends more than once a year!
- I should have made a better effort to have a balance between work and relaxation.
- I should have made more effort to be patient.
- I should have walked the dogs more.
If you’re feeling in a good mood, I’d love to hear your “I should have…” list too.
And what, I hear you asking, are your 2006 resolutions?
Not telling!
Well, okay. Maybe I will spill a few beans.
Every year I choose 4 or 5 areas of my life that need to be tidied up (ie – they have “I should haves” from last year) or areas that just need to keep ticking over. In each of these areas I decide on the 3 or 4 most important things I could achieve throughout the year. This gets typed up and made pretty on a word processor, is printed out and then bluetacked to my wall. At the end of the year I take a look to see how well I did. Don’t ask about 2005!
So, this year I have two “should haves” already under control. Sort of.
My perennial favourite – exercise – is now under the guidance and control of a personal trainer. Boy, is that a love/hate relationship.
And for those who have suffered through countless conversations about all of the wonderful ideas for renovating our house, you will be pleased to know that we have FINALLY begun the process. An architect, Ron Sang, has been engaged to do the preliminary measure-up and concept plans. That should start this month. (I can hear my bank manager crying now. Or is that laughing and rubbing their hands together? Hmm.)
If you have a spare moment, I would love to hear what your “Should have” and 2006 Resolutions lists are. Feel free to add it to the comments section.
~~~~
Quotes for an upbeat 2006.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
- Walt Disney
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
- Jeremy Kitson
Dum spiro spero. {While I breathe, I hope.}
- Clan Lindsay motto (this is better than my clan’s – Aut Pax Aut Bellum)
~~~~
For Cat Lovers – the Cat-English Dictionary.
Miaow – Feed me.
Meeow – Pet me.
Mrooww – I love you.
Mmrow – I feel like making noise.
Mioo-oo-oo – I am in love and must meet my betrothed beneath the hedge. Don’t wait up.
Rrrow-mawww – Please the time has come to tidy the cat box.
Rrow-miawww – I have remedied the cat box untidiness by shovelling the contents as far out of the box as was practical.
To be continued…
~~~~
Howard had felt guilty all day long. No matter how much he tried to forget about it, he couldn't. The guilt and sense of betrayal was overwhelming.
But every once in a while he'd hear that small inner voice trying to reassure him, "Howard. Don't worry about it. You aren't the first doctor to sleep with one of your patients and you won't be the last."
But invariably the other voice would bring him back to reality, "Howard. You're a veterinarian."
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
The Code of the Woosters
Bertie Wooster is THE MAN !
Actually, Jeeves is truly THE MAN.
For those of you who have been blessed enough to have watched the 1990s Jeeves and Wooster series with the wonderful Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, the books just vividly bring the visuals of that series to life as you read.
The writing and characterisation is witty, quaint, slightly dotty and a downright pleasure to read.
Bertie, in the books, is not quite the full-on bungler that you would perhaps believe him to be. He seems to be more often caught between a friend and a hard place, and usually at the pointy end of an attempt at blackmail.
In "The Code of the Woosters" Bertie is at the mercy of his Aunt Dahlia and her need for a silver cow creamer. Unfortunately his stomach gets the better of him when Aunt Dahlia threatens to withdraw his access privileges to the heavenly Anatole (Dahlia's cook). And if there is one major weakness to Bertie, it is Anatole's cooking.
So, Bertie is bundled off to a country house to steal back the underhandedly purchased cow creamer. In the midst of this he is requested to sort out not one, but two betrothals. He is threatened with jail and with bodily harm by the head of the "Black Shorts", all the while.
It takes Jeeves and his Gentlemen's Gentlemen club to sort out the "Black Shorts" and the threat of Bertie marrying a family member to finally win out across the betrothals, blackmail, and eventually Aunt Dahlia's cow creamer.
The book is surprisingly long for the fairly simple comedy-farce plot, but the language is just so evocative of the inter-war period right into the 1940s proper, that it is a delight and rarely sags.
I would have to give this a 4 out of 5 for ease and crispness of reading, as well as a bit of a giggle.
Actually, Jeeves is truly THE MAN.
For those of you who have been blessed enough to have watched the 1990s Jeeves and Wooster series with the wonderful Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, the books just vividly bring the visuals of that series to life as you read.
The writing and characterisation is witty, quaint, slightly dotty and a downright pleasure to read.
Bertie, in the books, is not quite the full-on bungler that you would perhaps believe him to be. He seems to be more often caught between a friend and a hard place, and usually at the pointy end of an attempt at blackmail.
In "The Code of the Woosters" Bertie is at the mercy of his Aunt Dahlia and her need for a silver cow creamer. Unfortunately his stomach gets the better of him when Aunt Dahlia threatens to withdraw his access privileges to the heavenly Anatole (Dahlia's cook). And if there is one major weakness to Bertie, it is Anatole's cooking.
So, Bertie is bundled off to a country house to steal back the underhandedly purchased cow creamer. In the midst of this he is requested to sort out not one, but two betrothals. He is threatened with jail and with bodily harm by the head of the "Black Shorts", all the while.
It takes Jeeves and his Gentlemen's Gentlemen club to sort out the "Black Shorts" and the threat of Bertie marrying a family member to finally win out across the betrothals, blackmail, and eventually Aunt Dahlia's cow creamer.
The book is surprisingly long for the fairly simple comedy-farce plot, but the language is just so evocative of the inter-war period right into the 1940s proper, that it is a delight and rarely sags.
I would have to give this a 4 out of 5 for ease and crispness of reading, as well as a bit of a giggle.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The Sound of Paper
The Sound of Paper
is another book on the creative life by Julia Cameron.
If you are feeling in need of a creativity boost, or just wish to read a lovely book, then this is one to enjoy.
I have four books by this author in my library at home, and this one is tempting me to add it to the collection. It is full of essays that track the seasons as the author compiles ideas for this work. You get a nice view into Ms Cameron's world, both personal and professional, but not so close as to create a feeling of voyeurism. It strikes me as someone sharing their 'flashes' of realisation and personal insight, but with a touch of down-home comfort.
I find myself feeling as though we were having a chat together over a cup of tea as I read these wonderful snippets of life. The form of the book appeals to me very much because of this tea-time feeling and the short essay structure.
Each essay concludes with a simple exercise which you can do to provoke and provide food for your creative soul. Actually, even if you weren't requiring it for 'artistic reasons', the exercises are still worth doing for the fun of it.
If you want to start from the beginning, then start with The Artist's Way.
You will find the themes of the books to be similar, but with "The Artist's Way" it is a more structured process of freeing yourself up to your own creativity. "The Sound of Paper" feels more like a Sunday afternoon amble through the creative playing fields.
On the whole I would give this a rating of 4 out of 5.
is another book on the creative life by Julia Cameron.If you are feeling in need of a creativity boost, or just wish to read a lovely book, then this is one to enjoy.
I have four books by this author in my library at home, and this one is tempting me to add it to the collection. It is full of essays that track the seasons as the author compiles ideas for this work. You get a nice view into Ms Cameron's world, both personal and professional, but not so close as to create a feeling of voyeurism. It strikes me as someone sharing their 'flashes' of realisation and personal insight, but with a touch of down-home comfort.
I find myself feeling as though we were having a chat together over a cup of tea as I read these wonderful snippets of life. The form of the book appeals to me very much because of this tea-time feeling and the short essay structure.
Each essay concludes with a simple exercise which you can do to provoke and provide food for your creative soul. Actually, even if you weren't requiring it for 'artistic reasons', the exercises are still worth doing for the fun of it.
If you want to start from the beginning, then start with The Artist's Way
.You will find the themes of the books to be similar, but with "The Artist's Way" it is a more structured process of freeing yourself up to your own creativity. "The Sound of Paper" feels more like a Sunday afternoon amble through the creative playing fields.
On the whole I would give this a rating of 4 out of 5.
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