Belle of the Library

Yup, we went to the movies this afternoon.   What did we see?  Maleficent, of course Not quite  the story you expect.   . Definitely  worth seeing.  We loved it. My kid laughed at some parts and clapped at the end. He's not a kid overly impressed with the Sleeping Beauty story.  It's not one of his favorite Disney classics ( it's a girlie movie) but he enjoyed this version. In fact, when we last visited Disneyworld, I made him get his picture taken with Maleficent.  He wasn't impressed. Maleficent has ALWAYS been one of my favorite characters (yea, I like the villains best) Glad she finally got a movie of her own. Oh, by the way... nobody could have played this role as well as Angelina Jolie.

Hardcover, 384 pages Expected publication: October 14th 2014 by Crown Publishing An engrossing biography of the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and the story of her audacious rise to power in a man’s world. Hatshepsut, the daughter of a general who took Egypt's throne without status as a king’s son and a mother with ties to the previous dynasty, was born into a privileged position of the royal household. Married to her brother, she was expected to bear the sons who would legitimize the reign of her father’s family. Her failure to produce a male heir was ultimately the twist of fate that paved the way for her inconceivable rule as a cross-dressing king. At just twenty, Hatshepsut ascended to the rank of king in an elaborate coronation ceremony that set the tone for her spectacular twenty-two year reign as co-regent with Thutmose III, the infant king whose mother Hatshepsut out-maneuvered for a seat on the throne. Hatshepsut was a master strategist, cloaking her poli...

JULIET is here today with a few friends with a guest post.  If you recall, yesterday we featured her fantastic book 'MOZART'S WIFE' A Few Thoughts on Writing the Historical Novel In writing historicals, many factors must be explored before the writer can bring the chosen period to life. It’s not enough simply to dress up our characters in period clothes—complete with all the flounces and undergarments—plop them down into an equally detailed setting, and call it historical fiction. Even as human nature has remained unchanged for thousands of years, the ways in which people speak, act, and think have always been determined by a host of influences. Social hierarchies, politics, religion, and locale are just a few of the forces that determine an individual’s view of life. Here for your reading pleasure, historical novelists, Juliet Waldron, Kathy Fischer-Brown, and Louise Turner share thoughts on their use of dialogue, primary source material, and the extent to which their fict...

about the book Publication Date: January 11, 2014 Books We Love, Ltd. Formats: eBook, Paperback ISBN 1461109612 (ISBN13: 9781461109617) edition language English Jon Baxley, Editor of Amazing Authors Showcase says it all in his review. "This author's fictionalized account of Constanze Webber--an extraordinary woman who just happened to marry an even more extraordinary man named Mozart--brings 18th Century Vienna and its people vividly alive. Constanze would have been a remarkable woman for any era, struggling with her own perspective on life while trying to cope and understand the icon composer with whom she chose to share her life. But as an 18th Century woman, she is all the more remarkable. This book is well written and thoroughly researched, that's obvious from the details in dialogue and events. I suspect little of this work is pure fiction, though, given the vast availability of historical information on Mozart and his contemporaries. However, the author melds backgro...

The Alliday Poem Book of Silly Celebrations features themes from the amusingly mundane to the severely bizarre. Flip to any date, and in addition to the varied and clever poetry, you might find fun facts, though-provoking quotes, or captivating bios on major historical figures born that day. Readers will become more familiar with heroes from Feng-Shan Ho to Florence Nightingale. Teens, tweens, daydreamers, lovers of learning, and the young-at-heart will appreciate this book. Among the poetic forms included are rondeau, terza rima, limerick, tetractys, cinquain, pantoum, enclosed rhyme, haiku, double dactyl, and epigram. Alliday is a useful tool for learning about the intricacies of poetry, but more than that, it’s flat-out family-friendly fun! Every day is a chance to celebrate. Let Alliday be your guide! my thoughts What a fun book!  You will never get tired of reading the entertaining bits and pieces from this book. There are many quotes that are indeed 'thought provoking' bu...

Please join Peni Jo Renner as she tours the blogosphere for Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca Eames from April 28-May 30. Publication Date: September 17, 2013 iUniverse Formats: Ebook, Hardcover, Paperback On a cold night in 1692, two young girls are caught up in the divining games of a slave woman-and then begin to act very strangely when the game goes wrong. Suddenly, Salem Village is turned upside down as everyone fears that witches may be involved. Six months later, as news of the girls’ strange behavior becomes known, fear and suspicion overwhelm a nearby farming community, pitting neighbors against neighbors and turning friends into enemies. When Rebecca Eames makes one careless utterance during a verbal attack on her family, she is falsely accused of witchcraft. After her fate is decided by three magistrates, Rebecca must endure a prison sentence during which she and her fellow captives have no choice but to valiantly struggle to find humanity and camaraderie among dire c...

Summer is not complete without a new novel from top ten bestelling author Santa MontefioreEllen Trawton is running away from it all - quite literally. She is due to get married to a man she doesn't love, her job is dragging her down and her interfering mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she know her mother won't follow her - to her aunt's house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret - and a future she never knew she might have. Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. She died tragically in what the village thinks is suspicious circumstances, and now she is stuck in a limbo, unable to move on. And between the two of them is an old lighthouse - the scene of so much tragedy. Can each woman find the peace she so desperately longs for? And can they find the way to live again? 'The House by the Sea has it all: secrets, mystery, passionate love affairs...Unforgettable!' Adriana Trigiani...

Publication Date: May 27, 2014 Arthur A. Levine Books Formats: Hardcover, eBook Genre: YA Historical When your world blows apart, what will you hold onto? TAG is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom. LUCIA is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air... When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them -- to Lucia's father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos t...

Tour Hashtags: #DaughteroftheGodsTour #StephanieThornton #Hatshepsut #VirtualBookTour Publication Date: May 6, 2014 NAL Trade Formats: eBook, Paperback Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt…and sets her on a profoundly changed course. Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Isis Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut’s wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing attraction for his brilliant adviser Senenmut. And when Thut suddenly dies, Hatshepsut becomes de facto ruler, as regent to her two-year-old nephew. Once, Hatshepsut anticipated being free to live and love as she chose. Now s...

The Supernatural-AmazingReadings and Outcomes  by Janet Gant In the mood for something Supernatural?  Do you believe in psychics, mediums or ouija boards? This just may be the book for you!  Even if you are not a believer, you could learn a thing or two about psychic phenomena. Are you a believer in psychic power? I'm not certain if I am, but I truly enjoyed reading this book. Ms Gant has written a wonderful reference for those of us with little knowledge of the subject of psychic abilities and backed it up with examples of readings. This book is divided into two parts. Part 1 explains the methods of psychic phenomena, mediums, psychic readers, ouija boards, tarot cards and much much more. She briefly touches upon these things with just enough information to hold the readers attention. When I finished part 1, I had a basic understanding of psychic methodology..(except numerology..I just can't figure out how this works). Part 2 includes the authors readings along with thos...