Teaser Tuesday - June 29

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

It was soundly defeated while it was besieging the Danubian city of Nicopolis (Nikopol in the modern Bulgaria); thousands were massacred by the Turks. The disaster prompted the Emperor Manuel II Palaeologos to travel as far west as England appealing for renewed help; he got much sympathy and won much esteem for his dignity and courtliness; but no practical assistance.

The 1396 crusade in Diarmaid MacCulloch's A History of Christianity England opting out again... I'm nearly through this mammoth tome and I've really rather enjoyed it, I teased a few months back from this book when I was starting this epic.

Mutterings - June 28

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Reputation :: Good
2. Annoyance :: Frequent
3. Gossip :: Huddle
4. Cleaning :: Fluid
5. Bottled :: Water
6. Pet :: Tortoise (one of these was I think) my first pet
7. Irritation :: Scab
8. Hearts :: Love
9. Sighing :: Dolor (Italian and Madrigals!)
10. I am :: Yahweh (Hebrew name for God)

Teaser Tuesday - June 22

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

'We have missed you,' I said. 'We have rejoiced at your victory.'
Henry risked a kiss to my icy cheek.

from Anne O'Brien's The Queen's Choice Our book group (BATS) book of the month - historical category - Here's a review and an interview with the author. With some reservations I'm quite enjoying this tale of a piece of English history I didn't know much about.

Mutterings - June 14

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Height :: Depth
2. Cramped :: (my) Style
3. Style :: Free (I don't think I'd seen the 'Style' when I entered the word above!)
4. Butcher :: Do you think so? (shares of Jules and Sand)
5. Vague :: Nouvelle
6. Windows :: Gates
7. Scheme :: Plot
8. Tradition :: Dead hand of..
9. Stripped :: Whipped (Lord of the Dance..)
10. Gentle :: Giant

Teaser Tuesday - Jun 14

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Dozens of small lengths of what looked like miniature wainscoting were lined up on top of it.
A little strange, Fenerman thought, but it doesn't make the man a murderer.

from Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. I book I'd encourage you to read - if you haven't already - but it's a book you'll either love or hate! Here's part of the Guardian review

The Lovely Bones is a determined reiteration of innocence, a teeth-gritted celebration of something not dismembered or shattered at all, but continuous: the notion of the American family unit, dysfunctional, yes, but pure and good nonetheless. It's a celebration that is hard-won, often vivid, sometimes moving, comic and sweet,

- though contrary to other parts of that review I thought the book increased its grip on you as you read it.

Mutterings - June 14

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Manufacture :: PLant
2. Gum :: Boil
3. Vest :: Hi-Viz (I've just come back from a Barnaby volunteers briefing!)
4. Bearded :: Lady
5. Modeled :: Fashion
6. Stanley :: Knife
7. Arch :: Foot
8. Program :: begin (pascal programming...)
9. Sneakers :: Stealth
10. Dentures :: Tablets

Are any other users of blogger finding that the post they're writing suddenly disappears with the draft replaced with the contents of a previous (recent) post? This happened to me while I was writing this and you wonder when you try to recover if you're going to obliterate the old post too - fortunately not! This isn't the first time it has happened but I can't re-create the bug to order!

Teaser Tuesday - June 7

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

I have great respect for Brian Cox. He has a brain so big that it crosses whole time zones. and he is normally impeccable with the language, so why on earth would he say 'the bombardier beetle and me' when it is surely more natural, and clearly more respectable, to say 'the bombardier beetle and I'?

Bill Bryson - The Road to Little Dribbling. This was our book group book for last month, I seem not to have teased it yet. I wanted to like this and did enjoy bits of it but there was far too much irony in it for my taste. I caricatured it, at our meeting last night as hunks of irony separated by disasters at sea!
(Finally notices that Teaser tuesday has moved!)

Mutterings - June 7

This week's free word associations from Unconscious mutterings are:

1. Daughter :: Clare
2. Intercom :: Button
3. Employee :: Paid(!)
4. Alter ego :: Dr Jekyll
5. Differences :: Integration (differences leads to differentiation)
6. Android :: Tablet
7. Leather :: Sofa
8. Angry :: Friend ('I was angry with my friend' Blake)
9. Remote :: Spot
10. Strange :: Meeting (Wilfred Owen)

A few poetic and literary connections here!