Tuesday's Treasures {The Seven Wonders of the World}

This post is copied from my main blog, Homeschool Coffee Break, but because this link-up is about books, my contributions will appear here too!

The Seven Wonders of the World by Ron Tagliapietra - A long time ago (but not in a galaxy far away) I picked up this book because I thought it might be helpful in our study of the ancient world, and give us more information about the seven wonders of the ancient world. It met those expectations, but there's a lot more to this book. It's sort of a combination of a travel brochure, a history lesson, and a Bible lesson. The seven wonders of the ancient world are discussed and described, but there is also great information about other lists of wonders - technical, archaeological, architectural, and natural. Of course, these lists change from time to time and vary depending on who compiles them. Kennady and I recently completed a lapbook project about the seven natural wonders of the world, and only three of them are the same as the ones listed in this book, which was published in 1999. I haven't checked, but I imagine a few of the technological wonders listed have been eclipsed by structures that are bigger or more amazing. For each of the ancient wonders, the author describes them and puts them in context of Biblical history. By comparing and contrasting the religious beliefs of the builders of the ancient wonders to the God of the Bible, there are some interesting lessons as well. The wonders from the other lists are also well described along with some historical context. This book has proved to be a great resource for studying history and geography, and has come in handy for science as well. It's probably best suited as a reference, and some of the Bible lessons are a tiny bit forced, but I'm glad it's in our homeschool library.

I found it available through Amazon and through Christian Book Distributors. I'm sure it's available through other vendors as well.

(I originally wrote about The Seven Wonders of the World a couple of years ago for this blog.)

The original post is linked at Every Bed of Roses for Tuesday's Treasures. Blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading, or one you found at the library.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Matters at Mansfield}

The Matters at Mansfield, Or, The Crawford Affair by Carrie Bebris - I had read this fourth novel in the Mr & Mrs Darcy Mystery series before, and I found that I enjoyed it much more the second time through, which isn't to say I didn't like it the first time. After my first reading, I'd said it was "definitely an enjoyable read" but also thought is was the "weakest outing of the four" in the series I'd read so far. Hmmm. I'm not sure I still agree with that assessment! This one is different from the first two in that it doesn't include a supernatural element to the mystery. Darcy's cousin Anne DeBourgh has finally summoned enough backbone to do what she wants to do, and to the great surprise of everyone, she elopes with the dashing Henry Crawford in order to escape the plans Lady Catherine has to marry her to a titled gentleman with a reputation for being anything but gentle or honorable! Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam ride after the couple but arrive too late to stop the marriage. An accident delays them in the village of Mansfield, where it is discovered that Anne's new husband has quite a history of romancing the ladies, and has even married at least one of his conquests, although under an assumed name. Elizabeth and Lady Catherine join the group at Mansfield and all are involved in trying to untangle the affair, which soon includes murder and further plotting.

What disappointed me in this book was the number of times that Lady Catherine is incredibly rude - even for her! - to Elizabeth, and Darcy does not defend his wife. Elizabeth doesn't tattle about all of this to Darcy, of course, but when he is standing in the same room and his aunt calls Elizabeth a "stupid, common baggage" I certainly thought he would have drawn a line at that, no matter how distraught everyone was at the time. Lady Catherine is also terribly rude to Meg, the young woman claiming to be married to Crawford, which seemed to me to be slightly out of character. I would have expected Lady Catherine to act as if Meg (a commoner, and a serving girl) was completely beneath her notice. Meg provides some welcome humour, however, as she blithely assumes that Lady Catherine is perhaps losing her mental faculties and speaks to her and about her patronizingly. 

My comments from a previous read: The Matters at Manfield. 

By the same author: The Intrigue at Highbury, North By Northanger, Suspense and Sensibility, Pride and Prescience. 

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Black Swan}

The Black Swan by Philippa Carr - This is the sixteenth in Carr's Daughters of England series, and is set in Victorian England. It focuses on Lucie Lansdon, the daughter of a respected politician. Her beloved father is murdered near the beginning of the story, and as the key witness, Lucie is able to identify the assassin, leading to his execution for the crime. She is haunted by her grief and by the worry that she may have condemned an innocent man, but another blow is yet to come. The rising young politician that she is planning to marry is kidnapped while on a diplomatic mission in Africa and she later receives word that he has been killed. In the meantime, her childhood companion (sort of a sister - the relationship is complicated and is the subject of the previous book in the series) Belinda, comes back from Australia, and convinces Lucie to go with her to visit Belinda's father in France. Lucie develops a fast friendship with a brother and sister and eventually returns to England with them and winds up marrying the brother. There is danger lurking around every corner for her, it seems, and her happiness and her very life are threatened.

In keeping with the Gothic romance style of this series, there are suggestions of haunting and questions raised about Lucie's mental stability; and there are sinister men with questionable motives in mysterious and ancient castles. It also struck me as I was reading this one that the standard advice given to young ladies facing great grief and tragedy throughout this series has been "you need to get right away from it"; the family and friends always seem to believe that removing from the scene of any horrible event and "putting it right out of your mind" is the cure-all for getting over the death of loved ones or the trauma of witnessing or being a part of something tragic.

By the same author: The Changeling; The Witch From the Sea; The Lion Triumphant; The Miracle at St Bruno's.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Loving Mr Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley}

Loving Mr Darcy by Sharon Lathan - I should have known better, after suffering through the inanity of the first book in this series. Actually, I did know better, but I'd intended to read all three so I set out to get through the second. This offering is just as full of repetitious bedroom scenes, and just as devoid of anything resembling plot as the first. In fact, I could sum up the book as follows: Darcy and Elizabeth continue to be completely ruled by raging hormones and immature obsessive passion all the way through Elizabeth's pregnancy. There is a pattern to most of the chapters that basically describes some tedious detail of their daily life and then includes a rehash of the standard breathless rush to the bedroom to once again reach the heights of passion and delight. <insert eyeroll here> 

What the book lacks in plot, it makes up for in complete absence of direction and momentum. What it lacks in intelligent dialogue, it makes up for in overly sentimental and repetitious moaning and wheezing of endearments during lustful encounters. (Both Darcy and Lizzy frequently "wheeze" during their lovemaking - not very attractive, in my opinion, but it provided a moment of amusement for me when I read it.)

Elizabeth's progressing pregnancy tends to give the illusion of a storyline, but mostly it serves as a reason for Darcy to be sentimental and overprotective, and for the reader to (presumably) be even more impressed that Elizabeth continues to be just as lascivious and enthusiastic in the bedroom as her baby bump grows. Towards the end of the book, Darcy takes Elizabeth on a tour of Derbyshire and plays the part of tour guide. There are several chapters of description of the sights and history of the region, which are frankly, horribly boring, and are still punctuated by their insatiable lust. The bedroom scenes became boring long ago, because they are all basically the same. Then they are set upon by highwaymen at one point and unbelievably, even that event turned out to be ho-hum because it was resolved within the chapter, and completely predictably. How can you include a scene with an armed robbery, violence and attempted rape and murder, and still not achieve a sense of tension or crisis in the narrative? Incredibly, Lathan manages it.

As in my review of the first book, I do have to temper my harsh criticism with something positive. I really do appreciate a point that I think Lathan is trying to make. I have the impression that by being very clear that Darcy and Elizabeth have both remained completely chaste until their marriage, and then indulging in scene after scene of their intense physical satisfaction within marriage, the author may be attempting to show that the most secure and fulfilling marriage relationship is best achieved by waiting until the wedding and being completely faithful to each other. That said, I firmly believe that the point could have been made more effectively with far less description of "burgeoning desires" and "evidence of arousal" etc. 

Why these books are receiving favorable reviews is completely beyond my understanding. Despite my original intention to read all three in this series, I refuse to put myself through the literary torment of even skimming through the third. I have the book which I believe is intended to be the fourth, and focuses on a character Lathan invented, Darcy's uncle Dr George Darcy. In hopes that it might actually have something sort of resembling a storyline, I may give it a chance at some point. My hope is slim, however. 

By the same author: Mr & Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy; and one of the novellas in A Darcy Christmas. Neither of which is worth your time or trouble either, and certainly not any of your money, in my opinion.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Changeling}

The Changeling by Philippa Carr - I must say I like the cover art on the edition I have much better than the one above, but anyway... I had been reading through Carr's "Daughters of England" series again and left off quite awhile ago. (And I haven't bothered writing about them as I read them either - the last one I mentioned on the blog was #3 in the series, and this is #15! oops.) I picked up where I left off and just finished this one, which is set during Victorian England. (The series follows a family tree from mother to daughter, beginning in the time of Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn. Each is a romance novel in a rather gothic style - high drama and adventure, with dark secrets and hints of the supernatural.) Young Rebecca Mandeville is not at all happy when her widowed mother married Benedict Lansdon, and resents many of the changes it brings to her life. Worst of all, her mother dies in childbirth, and Rebecca helps to mother her young sister, Belinda. Their relationship with Benedict is distant at best. Rebecca brings another child into the family circle when a tragedy at a party leaves Lucie an orphan. Just because of the title, the reader clues into the possibility that Belinda may just be a changeling early in the story, but the clues don't fall into place for the characters right until the end. In the meantime, Rebecca and Benedict begin to develop a friendship amid the other tragedies and mysteries that surround them and their loved ones. Of course it all comes right in the end, although it's amazing to me how placidly they all seem to accept the startling revelation about the changeling at the end.

By the same author: The Witch From the Sea; The Lion Triumphant; The Miracle at St Bruno's.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Tuesday's Treasures {The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations}

This post is copied from my main blog, Homeschool Coffee Break, but because this link-up is about books, my contributions will appear here too!

Hi, my name is Kym and I'm a grammar geek and word nerd. My kids would say I'm a grammar nazi, but I think that's a little harsh. I am a little obsessive about correcting them when they misuse "me" and "I" but that's become something of a family joke now, and the boys say it wrong on purpose half the time just to mess with me. And they love it when they can catch me getting something wrong. Of course, just because I'm a grammar nerd doesn't mean that I never make mistakes, or that I avoid speaking (or writing) using slang or extremely informal style. If you've ever talked to me in person or read some of my stuff on message boards or Facebook (or even here) you probably already know that. In fact, I've noticed lately that I use a lot of sentence fragments. I figure it's okay because this blog isn't for college credit. 

That background may help explain why I'm fascinated by this book and consider it so much fun. I have a horror of mispronouncing words. I remember being stumped by the word "calliope" and how much my hubby teased me when I got it wrong. I guess he figured he scored one on the grammar nerd! Not so much any more, but I used to provide lots of amusement to my American friends because of my "Canadian accent" and for using the British pronunciation of some words. I found the big book of beastly mispronunciations by Charles Harrington Elster in the library's book sale bin and for 25 cents I could not pass it up!

I'm just nerdy enough that I actually read this book cover-to-cover for enjoyment, and I still refer to it when a pronunciation issue comes up. It backs up my opinion when I claim that sports reporters say "fracas" incorrectly, or when I get irritated over someone saying that something is "patently false" while using a "patently incorrect" pronunciation, or when I insist that "New England Primer" and "paint primer" are not said the same way! It also proves my case that I am not mispronouncing "advertisement" or "lieutenant", merely using the British pronunciation. As I said, I am not always right, and have been surprised to find that I have been saying "congruent" and "alumnae" incorrectly. Thankfully, many words listed in this book have more than one correct or accepted pronunciation, so we sometimes find that although we aren't using the preferred pronunciation, at least we're not wrong. It's not just a book listing pronunciation either, most of the entries are accompanied with an explanation of the word origins and how the accepted pronunciations have changed over time, and often presented with droll humor. 

Are you second-guessing yourself on some of the above words? (I second-guess myself often, just because the book has shown that what we hear most often is not always correct!) Here are the answers from the expert, as found in my book:

• advertisement AD-ver-TYZ-ment (American); ad-VUR-tiz-ment (chiefly British)
• alumnae uh-LUHM-nee. Do not say uh-LUHM-ny.
• congruent KAHNG-groo-wint. Stress the first syllable.
• fracas FRAY-kis, not FRAK-is
• lieutenant loo-TEN-int (American always); lef-TEN-int (British)
• patent when used to mean "obvious" the pronunciation is PAYT'nt; for all other meanings the pronunciation is PAT'nt
• primer an introductory textbook is a PRIM-ur; paint is PRY-mur

This book is fun and educational for word nerds! Everyone around me may say EK-struh-OR-di-ner-ee but I know it should be ek-STROR-di-ner-ee and will say it correctly. But no matter how wrong it is, I guess I will probably keep saying FUNG-gy even though I now know that it is supposed to be FUN-jy. Old habits die hard.

What words do you wonder about? Leave a comment if you'd like me to check the book for the correct pronunciation! 

The original post is linked at Every Bed of Roses for Tuesday's Treasures. Blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading, or one you found at the library.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Good Knight}

The Good Knight by Sarah Woodbury - Sometimes you can find something really good among the freebies for Kindle. In my opinion, The Good Knight was one of those finds for me. A mystery with a bit of romance, and set in medieval Wales - no wonder the description had me hooked! The story was not a disappointment either, with well-developed characters and an intriguing mystery. At times I did feel a little confused, as if there was some background I had missed, and I did check to make sure this wasn't the second of a series! It is the first in this series, although a prequel novella is available as well. Most of the missing pieces were supplied later in the book, so other than those few moments of "did I miss something?" or disconnects in the storyline, the story was quite satisfying, and the twists and turns in the mystery plot kept me wondering and guessing along with Gareth and Gwen as they unravel the knots of murder, conspiracy theories, and political maneuvering. The ending was a bit abrupt - it felt like there should be a bit more, but maybe that's so I'll read the second book in the series?

Gwen is the daughter of a court bard, who also happens to be a spy for one of the Welsh princes. When her party stumbles upon the scene of an ambush on the way to a royal wedding, she renews her contact with the knight who was courting her before he was dismissed from his lord's service. Gareth is also a spy, and together they work to find out who conspired to murder the king who was on his way to be married. There are plenty of suspects to consider, but when Gareth himself is accused of the crime, things really get complicated. Turns out that very few characters in this book are completely trustworthy or can be neatly categorized as "good guys" or "bad guys". And as a bonus, at the end I found out that some of the characters and plot are based on actual events.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/