Teaser Tuesday,.. The Crimson Rooms, Katharine McMahon

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
My Teaser:

I followed my brother across a plateau where a bitter wind howled and flashes filled the sky.  A sudden glare revealed churned earth and a monstrous coil of metal.  My brother marched ahead, immaculate in cap and pressed uniform.  I tried to keep up but floundered thigh-deep in mud.  Though I thrashed and scrabbled there was nothing to hold on to, neither root nor rock. 



I'm not having any difficulty continuing to read this one.

TOP TEN --- BOOKISH CONFESSIONS

After reading "Quietly in their Sleep", last week I should know you cannot divulge what is said in a confessional. But here it goes, I don't know that I'll come up with 10 things.  Top Ten is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

1.  I really am very prejudice about people who read sloppy romance, I'm so judgemental thinking their romantic lives might be jeopardy, oh wait, aren't I writing a romance novel?  Apparently the romance novel is the biggest seller.  Who knew? (according to my creative writing teacher/publisher) I've really fallen behind in this dept. 

2.  I hate when a book gets dramatized into a movie. Particularly if it's done poorly. I think movies should be movies and everyone who goes to see one should have to read the book first.

3.  I generally don't  read books that are highly publicized until the hoop la has died down, I want to make up my own mind.  Like 50 shades of grey,  were it not for Saturday Night Live, I probably would not even be interested. I particularly love Valorie Hart's version of the fifty shades of grey.(Valorie is a decorator, and fifty shades of gray are paint colours).

4.  I'm not big on Vampires and Werewolves. Even though my kids would read and watch this all the time, subsequently I read them too, makes for an enlightened conversation.

5.  I don't have a welcome sign in my house, because the vampires could come in if you welcome them.  Remember Angel of the Buffy series... "how did you get in here" Buffy, "there was a "all welcome" sign, Angel. I'm easily influenced by not so real important things that I read.  Like after reading The Stand, I figured I'm doomed, I can't ride a bike, or a Vespa.

6.  When I  read a review from a trusted blog, I immediately look in the library catalogue to see if it's available, and then I check Amazon.ca.  Just in case I need confirmation to add to my TBR list.

7.  I love reading review blogs and decide what to read, since I'm too short of time to peruse the library isle, our library is so busy with noisy kids. (not mine, they're angels) So I order on line and pick up from the hold isle which is really quick.  I started to do this to "walk to the library" but now I take a bus. Offers me the opportunity to read on the bus. I've gained some weight.

8.  If there is a book I want to read I usually wait a bit for a freebee copy at the painting studio.  Those people have way too much money, and some of them buy in large print, double duty, I then have a copy I can put in the "retiree library"

9.  I forget who recommends books I read, simply because I have no real system of recording it.  I mark off Shonna's books, she's the Canadian Book Worm just because Shonna finds the most interesting Canadian authors, but after that I tend to forget.  Sorry. And I really must try to record the source of the books I win.  It's so embarrassing.

10.  And the big one,  I don't read much my sisters read, we have such different tastes, so I feel orphaned.  Same mother, same father, I must have been abandoned and left on the door step.

Forgert me not, Postcard Friendship Friday

On Wednesday of this week, (too weak to post) I set out on an adventure. You may have read in my "for today" post that I was off to the chiropractor. Since my chiropractor of choice is a million miles away, I dedicated the whole morning for this adventure. I was off on an efficient bus run, well the bus just didn't show, so change of route, I arrived on time for the next train and then bus connections. I then had a 3km. walk. It was raining, I really didn't think I'd make it. I've not walked much since the fall, what with my sore feet and all, hence the appointment. Well I made it. ALL WORTH WHILE. I love this guy. But then, there was the subsequent 3km. walk back. Well usually my inspiration is the possibility of the reduction of the junk in my trunk, but today I just needed more of a push, I looked for excuses not to do the return walk. The problem is I'm so hungry when I walk. Well! I stopped half way and thought I'd call my niece (who lives in the neighborhood and drives) thought I'd stop in for a tea. Well she wasn't home. So off I trotted and waited for the bus connection. Since I was reading Quartet in Autumn This is a book posted by one of my A-Z Wednesday group (can't remember who) in my opinion it's a character study. I'm thinking I like this format. Well, I don't know what it is, but the return trip just doesn't seem so long. I arrived in plenty of time at the bus stop and continued reading this book. It brought to mind a couple of characters in our neighborhood. What has this got to do with Forget-me-nots. Well this is one of my favorite flowers, and the man I thought of had a wonderful garden of this blue plant, his wife knew of my likes and on my wedding day rushed over with a cluster so I could add it to my hat. Strangely enough this man suffered from severe Alzheimer disease. I'll never look at a forget me not without this in my mind. Anyway, since I was so efficient I thought I'd stop off at my local "postcard" store and see what goodies she had for me. Only one, this one. Imagine all of this falling into the "forget me not" thought, I think that's freaky.

Happy Postcard Friendship Friday, and Happy Birthday to our hostess. This is a postcard mailed in 1912, the sentiment still holds true today.

Q, it the letter of the day.

Over the last many years, I've been painting, mostly for pleasure, sometimes as gifts, I'm no Picaso you understand, but I do paint. I've learned more color theory, chemistry of paint, and personal habits from this pleasurable past time. One of the things that we "our little group" do is buy painting magazines. Since we started in folk art there were many today not so many. But this one is usually readily available. But like it's title Quick and Easy, there is nothing quick and easy. I have a friend who thought she'd like to paint, so out she went and bought this magazine, and O. K. Irene lets paint this... I gotta tell ya, no such thing a s quick and easy. It's only quick and easy if you already know how to paint. We set up in my dining room, simply because I share my studio with my sons and if they are busy, well I paint in the dining room. So this quick project then meant, I had to haul up all my stuff, and you know I have stuff, and then there is the lighting, and the covering of the table and chairs, because you know you'll splatter. So much for quick. Then easy part, as per many instructions, trace pattern onto surface, well there is a skill in that as well, I've never really gotten it in all these years, so what's a new painter to do. So for all you guys and gals out there who read Quick and Easy books, beware. Enjoy your Wednesday.

Vicki at Reading at the Beach is our hostess for this meme.