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Art Appreciation - Post #26
Flirting in the Park of the Villa Borghese, Rome (Date unknown) by Frédéric Soulacroix (1858-1933) [x]
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Art Appreciation - Post #23
Reflections on the Thames, Westminster (1880) by John Atkinson Grimshaw [x]
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Art Appreciation - Post #22
Leisure Moments (Date unknown) by Daniel Hernández Morillo (1856-1931) [x*]
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Snakes and Ladders - Post #5
Spaces with numbers on them = a space I've already visited and read a book for.
Space with the stack of books on them = the space I'm currently on as of my most recent move.
I was on space 52 (Has a tree or flower on the cover), and the book I read for this space, Desperate and Deceptive, does meet the requirement, even if it is hard to see:
^^Trees!
So, I was able to roll two dice:
Moving forward 10 spaces puts me on space 62, "Cover is more than 50% green".
Spaces:
1. Author is a woman [Game start] - Hidden on the Fens by Joy Ellis
3. Set in the twentieth century [Roll 1 - 4/4/20] - Death in Disguise by Caroline Graham
51. Has a wild animal on the cover [Ladder sp3 - 4/10/20] - Final Girls by Riley Sager
57. Was published more than 50 years ago [Roll 2 - 4/14/20] - The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
65. Snake [Roll 3 - 4/15/20] - go back to 52
52. Has a tree or flower on the cover [Snake sp65 - 4/15/20] - Desperate and Deceptive by Jayne Castle
62. Cover is more than 50% green [Roll 4 - 4/17/20] -
1. Author is a woman
2. Genre: mystery
3. Set in the twentieth century
4. Published in 2019
5. Published in 2018
6. Title has a color word in it
7. Author's last name begins with the letters A, B, C, or D.
8. Author's last name begins with the letters E, F, G, or H.
9. Author's last name begins with the letters H, I, J, or K
10. Author's last name begins with the letters L, M, N or O
11. Author's last name begins with the letters P, Q, R, or S
12. Author's last name begins with the letters T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z
13. Author is a man
14. Author is dead
15. Genre: romance
16. Genre: fantasy
17. Genre: horror
18. Set in a school
19. Set in the UK
20. Set in a country that is not your country of residence
21. Set in Europe
22. Set in Asia
23. Set in Australia/Oceania
24. Set in Africa
25. Snake - go back to 5
26. Part of a series that is more than 5 books long
27. Set during WWI or WWII
28. Written between 1900 and 1999
29. Someone travels by plane
30. Someone travels by train
31. Road trip
32. Genre: thriller
33. Set in North America
34. Snake - go back to 1
35. Has been adapted as a movie
36. Set in Central or South America
37. Has won an award
38. Newest release by a favorite author
39. A reread
40. Characters involved in the entertainment industry
41. Characters involved in politics
42. Characters involved in sports/sports industry
43. Characters involved in the law
44. Characters involved in cooking/baking
43. Characters involved in medicine
44. Characters involved in science/technology
45. A book that has been on your tbr for more than one year
46. A book that has been on your tbr for more than two years
47. Snake - go back to 19
48. A book you acquired in February, 2019.
49. Recommended by a friend
50. Has a domestic animal on the cover
51. Has a wild animal on the cover
52. Has a tree or flower on the cover
53. Has something that can be used as a weapon on the cover
54. Is more than 400 pages long
55. Is more than 500 pages long
56. Was published more than 100 years ago
57. Was published more than 50 years ago
58. Was published more than 25 years ago
59. Was published more than 10 years ago
60. Was published last year
61. Cover is more than 50% red
62. Cover is more than 50% green
63. Cover is more than 50% blue
64. Cover is more than 50% yellow
65. Snake - go back to 52
66. Part of a series that is more than 10 books long
67. Set in a city with a population of greater than 5 million people (link)
68. Something related to weddings on the cover
69. Something related to travel on the cover
70. Something related to fall/autumn on the cover
71. Involves the beach/ocean/lake
72. Involves the mountains/forests
73. Categorized as YA
74. Categorized as Middle Grade
75. Set in a fantasy world
76. Set in a world with magic
77. Has a "food" word in the title
78. Set in a small town (fictional or real)
79. Main character is a woman
80. Main character is a man
81. Ghost story
82. Genre: urban fantasy
83. Genre: cozy mystery
84. Genre: police procedural
85. Written by an author who has published more than 10 books
86. Author's debut book
87. Snake - go back to 57
88. Comic/graphic novel
89. Published between 2000 and 2017
90. A new-to-you author
91. Snake - go back to 61
92. Reread of a childhood favorite
93. Author's first/last initial same as yours (real or BL handle)
94. Non-fiction
95. Memoir
96. From your favorite genre
97. Title starts with any of the letters in SNAKE
98. Title starts with any of the letters in LADDERS
99. Snake - go back to 69
100. Let BL pick it for you: post 4 choices and read the one that gets the most votes!
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Desperate and Deceptive
Hoo boy...okay.
This book contains the first two books of the Guinevere Jones mysteries: The Desperate Game and The Chilling Deception. Both were originally published in 1986, and good grief, does it ever show.
The "hero" quite frankly (and excuse my language) was a dick. The heroine was pretty much a dishrag at times, despite that fact that I think she was intended to be a feminist character.
In the first book, the hero was pretty intolerable, and I was unsure I'd be able to get through it. But, thanks to a book light and sheer boredom, I prevailed. The second book was easier to get through, and I could see glimmers of Krentz/Quick/Castle heroes to come, but then this dude would say or do something that would enrage me all over again. I did find the heroine slightly more likeable in the second book, but there were times I wanted to grab her by the shoulder and shout that she could do better than this jerk.
From the perspective of a fan of this author, it was interesting to read a couple of her earlier books if only to see how much she improved during the ensuing years.
I have the second volume that contains the final two books, and I will read it. Just not right away, I don't think.
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Snakes and Ladders - Post #4
Spaces with numbers on them = a space I've already visited and read a book for.
Space with the stack of books on them = the space I'm currently on as of my most recent move.
I was on space 57 (Was published more than 50 years ago). The book I read for this space, The Pale Horse, met the requirement as it was published 59 years ago. So, I rolled 2 dice:
Moving 8 spaces forward put me on space 65, which is a snake, so I slid back down to space 52, "Has a tree or flower on the cover".
Spaces:
1. Author is a woman [Game start] - Hidden on the Fens by Joy Ellis
3. Set in the twentieth century [Roll 1 - 4/4/20] - Death in Disguise by Caroline Graham
51. Has a wild animal on the cover [Ladder sp3 - 4/10/20] - Final Girls by Riley Sager
57. Was published more than 50 years ago [Roll 2 - 4/14/20] - The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
65. Snake [Roll 3 - 4/15/20] - go back to 52
52. Has a tree or flower on the cover [Snake sp65 - 4/15/20] -
1. Author is a woman
2. Genre: mystery
3. Set in the twentieth century
4. Published in 2019
5. Published in 2018
6. Title has a color word in it
7. Author's last name begins with the letters A, B, C, or D.
8. Author's last name begins with the letters E, F, G, or H.
9. Author's last name begins with the letters H, I, J, or K
10. Author's last name begins with the letters L, M, N or O
11. Author's last name begins with the letters P, Q, R, or S
12. Author's last name begins with the letters T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z
13. Author is a man
14. Author is dead
15. Genre: romance
16. Genre: fantasy
17. Genre: horror
18. Set in a school
19. Set in the UK
20. Set in a country that is not your country of residence
21. Set in Europe
22. Set in Asia
23. Set in Australia/Oceania
24. Set in Africa
25. Snake - go back to 5
26. Part of a series that is more than 5 books long
27. Set during WWI or WWII
28. Written between 1900 and 1999
29. Someone travels by plane
30. Someone travels by train
31. Road trip
32. Genre: thriller
33. Set in North America
34. Snake - go back to 1
35. Has been adapted as a movie
36. Set in Central or South America
37. Has won an award
38. Newest release by a favorite author
39. A reread
40. Characters involved in the entertainment industry
41. Characters involved in politics
42. Characters involved in sports/sports industry
43. Characters involved in the law
44. Characters involved in cooking/baking
43. Characters involved in medicine
44. Characters involved in science/technology
45. A book that has been on your tbr for more than one year
46. A book that has been on your tbr for more than two years
47. Snake - go back to 19
48. A book you acquired in February, 2019.
49. Recommended by a friend
50. Has a domestic animal on the cover
51. Has a wild animal on the cover
52. Has a tree or flower on the cover
53. Has something that can be used as a weapon on the cover
54. Is more than 400 pages long
55. Is more than 500 pages long
56. Was published more than 100 years ago
57. Was published more than 50 years ago
58. Was published more than 25 years ago
59. Was published more than 10 years ago
60. Was published last year
61. Cover is more than 50% red
62. Cover is more than 50% green
63. Cover is more than 50% blue
64. Cover is more than 50% yellow
65. Snake - go back to 52
66. Part of a series that is more than 10 books long
67. Set in a city with a population of greater than 5 million people (link)
68. Something related to weddings on the cover
69. Something related to travel on the cover
70. Something related to fall/autumn on the cover
71. Involves the beach/ocean/lake
72. Involves the mountains/forests
73. Categorized as YA
74. Categorized as Middle Grade
75. Set in a fantasy world
76. Set in a world with magic
77. Has a "food" word in the title
78. Set in a small town (fictional or real)
79. Main character is a woman
80. Main character is a man
81. Ghost story
82. Genre: urban fantasy
83. Genre: cozy mystery
84. Genre: police procedural
85. Written by an author who has published more than 10 books
86. Author's debut book
87. Snake - go back to 57
88. Comic/graphic novel
89. Published between 2000 and 2017
90. A new-to-you author
91. Snake - go back to 61
92. Reread of a childhood favorite
93. Author's first/last initial same as yours (real or BL handle)
94. Non-fiction
95. Memoir
96. From your favorite genre
97. Title starts with any of the letters in SNAKE
98. Title starts with any of the letters in LADDERS
99. Snake - go back to 69
100. Let BL pick it for you: post 4 choices and read the one that gets the most votes!
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The Pale Horse
I randomly chose this one from the Christie books on my kindle during the weather related blackout. I didn't know what to expect as I didn't easily have access to the synopsis (and I believe my phone was in my car charging when I first started this one), so I went into it rather blind.
I enjoyed this quite a bit, though at times I was wondering just where Christie was going story-wise. The plot and the resolution were rather implausible, but at the same time it was also great fun and a cracking good mystery.
I only wish there had been more Ariadne Oliver in it.
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