Wordless Wednesday

No spring in sight. :(
















More Wordless Wednesday.

Tourquai by Tim Davys

In Tourquai, Oswald Vulture has his head cut-off and the police, namely superintendent Larry Bloodhound, is determined to find out who did it. There are plenty of suspects, including: Vulture's secretary, Emanuelle Cobra; his mistress, Jasmine Squirrel; and Igor Panda, a degenerate gambler. Besides looking for the culprit, Bloodhound is also really intent on finding the head. Because if he can do that, it can be reattached and he can discover once and for all what happened. Reattached? Yep. Did I forget to mention that all of the characters in the book are stuffed animals?

Tourquai is a neighbourhood along with Amberville, Lanceheim, Yok. Together, they make up Mollisan Town. All of the "people" who live there are stuffed animals. They are pretty much like us (humans), with just a few differences. This book is the third in the quartet, but the first one I've read. Amberville and Lanceheim have already been published. The final book Yok is upcoming.

I really enjoyed this book. It read like an old time detective novel or police procedural that offered an honest inside look at police work. There wasn't a lot of action that a thriller might contain, but I didn't miss that at all. The story was expertly written to reveal clues and background information at just the right time. I couldn't wait to find out how it was going to play out. Just because the characters were stuffed animals, it doesn't mean that the story was flighty or cutsie. It was definitely an edgy and hardnosed story where the characters displayed their flaws and had vices just as human characters would. There were plenty of times I forgot I was reading about stuffed animals. That is, until someone puts a paw on a desk or they discuss reattaching the head.

I loved all of the characters, including Anna Lynx and Falcon Ècu, but my favourite was Larry Bloodhound. With only his pet budgie for company, he was all alone. His eating and drug use were out of control. I really felt sorry for him and just wanted to give him a hug.

There were a few conversations amongst the characters regarding free will and fate. I didn't find them particularly insightful. I'm not even sure they fit all that well with the story. I'm wondering if something got lost in the translation or if maybe it was a cultural thing.

This book has been translated from Swedish. Tim Davys is a pseudonym.

Highly recommended for those looking for an unusual detective story. I'm going to keep an eye out for the first two books in the series as well as the fourth when it comes out.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the HarperCollins website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at HarperCollins for this review copy.

Tourquai by Tim Davys, HarperCollins, ©2011. ISBN 9780061992193(Uncorrected Proof), 325p.

Needlework Tuesday - More socks and House Projects

It's time for another instalment of "Needlework Tuesday", which I first saw over at Heather's blog, Books and Quits.

I didn't get that much done in the crafting department this week. I did manage to start another pair of socks, though. These ones have HEELS and TOES! I'm using Patons' Kroy Socks yarn (Paint Box) with a free pattern for Kroy Socks - Jacquard & Stripe Socks from their website. I was a little disappointed that the socks weren't working up in stripes (little did I know that not all of the Kroy Socks yarns did that), but I'm actually really liking the zigzag pattern that's sort of emerging. This one knitted up very quickly to this point. I'm sure it'll slow down now, though, as I'm about to start the heel. Here's what I have done so far:






















As for my ill-fitting yoga socks, I asked Heather about washing them in hot water to shrink them a bit. She gave me some great tips. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to try it yet. I hope to do that soon.

I haven't done a lot of crafting because we've been busy painting again. The never ending project that's also known as "Ridding This House of Yellow Walls, Wallpaper Borders and Stippled Ceilings". IMO, stippled ceilings should be outlawed. Anyway, this time we are painting the living room/hallway wall. It's one long wall that's partly in the living room and partly in the hallway. This wall is going to be an accent wall in orange (think Home Depot with a bit of cinnamon thrown in.) We are using top-of-the-line paint and it's going over a very light yellow, but because the orange is so intense it's going to take many, many coats. We've already done 4 coats and it's probably going to need at least one, maybe a few more to get full coverage. Had I known this, I would have picked another colour. *sigh* At least it's not a whole room.

That's it for this week. Go check out what Heather has been up to. She's working on a beautiful new quilt in gorgeous colours as well as her socks.

HarperCollins March Madness

It's time again for HarperCollins March Madness, which pits book against book in a fierce literary competition. 64 books are entered....only one book will be victorious. It's up to us to decide.

Of course, I have my favourites from the lists. Rather than post all of my selections, I'm just going to list the ones that I'd love to see win. At the beginning of each round, I'll list the ones that have survived and maybe talk about them a little more...maybe not. Clicking on the titles below will take you to my reviews. To vote for your favourites, click here. Oh, did I mention that by voting and entering your information, you can win all 64 books? Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Anyway, I'm hoping that one of these will be come out on top!

In alphabetical order:





Belong to Me by Maria de los Santos. Beautifully written story in which lives are torn apart, secrets are revealed, friendships are made and tested, and love is defined.










The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. The tragic life story of Aminata Diallo, a slave girl. Just read the book. You will not forget her.








Cool Water by Dianne Warren. Warren transports the reader to dry, scorching hot Saskatchewan with a cast of memorable characters. Have a glass of water ready.










The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Beautifully written historical love story novel set in the Niagara Falls area. It remains one of my all-time favourites. Debut novel.








Deafening by Frances Itani. Set around WWI, it's about a deaf girl and her lover who goes off to war. (Incidentally, if you liked this book, you might also enjoy the one above.)







Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Intricately woven story set in New York featuring unforgettable characters.











Library of the Dead by Glenn Cooper. Great debut mystery that will blow you away wondering if what Cooper suggests is possible.










Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup. Absolutely delightful book set in India about a game show not unlike Who Wants to be a Millionaire.










Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. If you've ever wanted to run away with the circus or live a dream, you'll enjoy this book.










We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Fictional account of the life of a school shooter. Written from the mother's point of view. I love Shriver's work.






So, those are my selections. Do you agree? Disagree? Which ones did you vote for?

Weekend Cooking - Banana Muffins

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.

For more information, see the Welcome post on Beth Fish Reads.

For other food-related posts this week, click here.

I've been making these muffins on and off for over 20 years and I'm still not tired of them. It's my standard recipe when I want muffins.
















Banana Muffins
3 bananas - very ripe
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup margarine - softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water (1/4 - 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup walnuts

Topping:
1 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare muffin tin.

Mash bananas. Add sugar, margarine, egg and vanilla. Beat well.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the banana mixture to dry ingredients and mix lightly.

Add enough water to make mixture moist. Fold in nuts. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full for small muffins (makes 12) or full for larger muffins (makes 9).

Mix white sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle on top of muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Variation: For a slightly different taste, add 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut (the baking kind) to the dry ingredients. Yum!

Enjoy!

The History Book by DK Publishing

The History Book presents "a trip through history from the stone age to the digital age". In this book, history is split into 6 time periods from 4 million years ago all the way to the present. It uses humour and flashy modern paraphernalia for the presentations that include large illustrations, photographs and other visual aids.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a joy to read and quite hilarious at times. The material isn't new, but the presentation is unique and makes learning history so much fun. As I've said many times on this blog, history is not my thing. If this book was around when I was first learning about history, I probably would have liked it a whole lot more. Besides being fun, the book is also educational and I learned a few things along the way.

I couldn't possible list all of the great items in this book. Every time I open it, I find something new. There are games: board games, arcade games, mazes, jigsaw puzzles...just to name a few. None of these are interactive, but it would be really fun if they were. There are also web pages/sites/blogs for historical figures, newspaper articles, interviews with the famous and infamous of the past, collages, comic strips and numerous maps and so much more. Each page is different from the last. All of the material is presented in a big, bright, eye-catching and informative format.

Some of my favourite pages for content and presentation:
- board game featuring Egyptian after life (page 32-33)
- boxing match between Sargon of Akkad and Nebuchadnezzar II (page 34-35)
- the Irish Rebellion presented on a song sheet with annotated lyrics. (page 232-233).
- curious quotes, mix-ups and misquotes (page 286-287)
- report card on Joseph Stalin (page 230-231)
- Roman Emperors' high school photographs along with interested, goals, voted most likely to... etc. (page 56-57)

The table of contents is fabulous. It's clearly grouped by time period and is nicely laid out. In addition, each of the topics is listed with a short description. The index is a little short, but it's still adequate. Both of these items should aid the reader in finding items in the book.

Highly recommended. While this book will probably never be used as a text book in school, I think it would be ideal for young history buffs or for those whose eyes glaze over when past events are mentioned.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the DK website.

I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.

The History Book by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley Limited(DK), ©2008. ISBN 9781553631347(Paperback), 304p.

Wordless Wednesday

More Wordless Wednesday.