Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenge. Show all posts

Saturday, February 18, 2017

#MarchMysteryMadness Challenges & Link Video

2017 #MarchMysteryMadness Challenge



GROUP & LINKS
#MarchMysteryMadness GOODREADS GROUP
#MarchMysteryMadness on TWITTER

CO-HOSTS ON YOUTUBE
~~~~~ The Classic Mystery 50 Years or Older~~~~~
(Read a classic mystery from or before 1967)
“But suppose one doesn't quite know which one wants to put first. Suppose," said Harriet, falling back on words which were not her own, "suppose one is cursed with both a heart and a brain?

'You can usually tell,' said Miss de Vine, "by seeing what kind of mistakes you make. I'm quite sure that one never makes fundamental mistakes about the thing one really wants to do. Fundamental mistakes arise out of lack of genuine interest. In my opinion, that is.” 


Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

There’s a phrase that’s been popular at lot less longer than these old classic pioneers of the mystery genre. It’s “she gets it from her mamma.” In this case, we’ve tumbled deep into getting it from our great-grandmothers and fathers. Now I’m not one to manage numbers well, but anyone shooting for Patricia Wentworth or Mary Roberts Rinehart will nail this one. Unless I’ve miscalculated once again.

But hey. The default is anything by Poe or Christie, right?

They’re always a safe bet. But who wants to be safe this year?
~~~~~ The First or Sequel~~~~~
(Read the first book in a series, or the sequel to another) 
“Even at a glance, even in this light, I could tell my friend was dead. He lay on his side in what common sense told me must be blood. Only it didn’t smell like blood.

My fingers clutched the flash. I stood for a moment, several moments. It seemed like hours. Finally I knelt and dipped my finger into the pool of liquid. It was thick and sticky. Paint. Bright-red house paint.

I straightened, wiping my finger on my jeans before I realized what I was doing.

‘Oh, Jake,’ I said, louder. My words echoed in the cavernous room, and then the old house enveloped me in ponderous silence. From outside came the bellow of foghorns on San Francisco Bay.


The Cheshire Cat’s Eye by Marcia Muller

The question everyone wants to know is what happens next to our sleuth? What is the next logical or illogical step? Should the sleuth immediately call the police? Should the sleuth exam the body and, effectively, tamper evidence? Or the most important question: what is our sleuth's background? Or are you acquainted with his or her background and here for the next row of shenanigans? Or are you totally new to his or her system?

I guess the question is would you rather have new shoes or stick with your old hats?

Friday, February 19, 2016

#MarchMysteryMadness Challenge List

Goodreads Group: March Mystery Madness
(#MarchMysteryMadness)
*Challenges*
~~~~~ The Food/Craft/Hobby Cozy~~~~~
1.       “It wasn’t the way that Hannah preferred to attract new clientele, but she had to admit that finding Ron’s body had been good for business.  The Cookie Jar was jam-packed with customers.  Some of them were even standing while they munched their cookies, and every one of them wanted her opinion on what happened to Ron LasSalle.”
Everybody has a craft–a hobby.  Whether it’s baking sugar cookies or crocheting Forget-Me-Not dollies.  Maybe even culturing herbs for organic dishes.  Or are you into nature photography and are a dedicated bibliophile?  Now imagine engaging with your day-to-day passions when a body suddenly crosses your path.  What would you do?  Do you have what it takes to balance your craft with solving murders?  Explore the possibilities by reading a cozy mystery with a food/craft/hobby theme.
~~~~~ The Get Christie Love Lead~~~~~
2.       “Finally, after all my procrastinating and avoiding Bessie’s calls, I was able to put the finishing touches on my report, explaining exactly how I had spent her money (I didn’t include the manicure), apologizing for what I hadn’t been able to find out, but pointing out that her involvement may have sparked the cops’ renewed interest in the case.  I included the name of the lawyer that Jake had given me as well as the contact for the program for Rayshawn.  I also warned her in strong language that Rayshawn had been on the verge of committing a serious felony and had some serious problems that had to be dealt with, and if she and Viola didn’t make sure he got help, I’d be forced to go to the authorities with information that would result in his arrest.”
Find and follow your inner Christie Love and Foxy Brown.  Read a mystery/crime fiction novel powered by an African (-American) female sleuth.  Or, from Tokyo to Seoul.  Shanghai to Kolkata.  Or even New York to Los Angles.  Read a mystery/crime fiction novel featuring a sleuth with an Eastern perspective on matters.  (In general, a book featuring a person of color taking lead.)
~~~~~ The Christie/Poe Complex~~~~~
3.      “I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.”
“Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.”

Did you know Edgar Allan Poe did mystery and crime fiction before mystery and crime fiction were even a thing?  Let’s face it; he’s the godfather of the genre.  He’s the seed to this entire challenge.  Therefore, your challenge is simple: indulge in one or all three of Poe’s mystery shorts…
A.     The Murders in the Rue Morgue
B.     The Mystery of Marie Roget
C.     The Purloined Letter
Or how about the matriarch of mystery and crime fiction, Agatha Christie?

Sunday, January 10, 2016

2016 Goodreads Challenge GOALS... Err... Maybe Not

First, I gotta wonder how long I’ll be able to keep this “joke” up.  Because I’m always changing my mind about something.  Secondly, of course I’ll never stop a year reading only 17 books.  I'm not that HIGH!
What’s up, visitors/friends/neighbors/etc?  I’d like to share what I set myself up for in 2016, about Goodreads' yearly book consumption challenge.  Now I know reading and keeping track of your finished books is not a big deal to some.  But, personally, I like keeping track.  It speaks to the OCD and book lover nature in me.  The Goodreads' platform containing various thumbnail images of my book conquests puts a touch of joy in my bookworm spirit.  Or something like that.  Anyway, unfortunately, I think I got a little too OCD and personal with my reading last year.  Last year what should’ve been a relaxed stroll through books turned slightly into a grind-feast.  And it had a lot to do with increased work hours and just general personal life distractions.
You know how it goes.
So I played around with the thought of just skipping out on the challenge this year.  I told myself I was going to let it go and take my time reading.  But that’s just no damn fun to me!  I love a challenge.  I love being a witness to progress.  Hell, I love books and the hours I spend soaked in them.
So I decided to soup up my favorite number–17–and stick it in the blank box as my goal.  That’s it.  17.  From 2015’s 60 to only 17.  That number will eventually morph and transform into something bigger.  But only after I’ve hit it.
Now on to fill in the goal!
So what's your 2016 Goodreads reading goals?  What number do you have in mind?

Monday, September 23, 2013

Totally Random: Sharing Some Crazy Metaphors

Something I love to do is eat up words and language; tubular pasta mixed with Pesto sauce.  Much of it clings uneaten to the corners of my unaware, child-like lips.  But I live in the chewing, even if I sometimes choke in the swallowing.  Nonetheless, it's about the taste of words and language, similar to the extra delight of Swiss cheese sliced before laying sweet on bread.  

Sometimes you study those sweet pieces, peeking through holes that you wish to have filled as you wonder if those holes of inconsistency actually attribute to the flavor.  So on occasions I snack on words and language incorrectly, like empty calories found in a grab bag of Halloween candy.  It can be that sweet to be so wrong.  

Once a writing teacher told me that my material was convoluted.  Was it because of my misuse of words?  It didn't matter.  I told her I loved words too much to hold back, thinking maybe she was a lazy reader.  I have acknowledged that my writing is often like a cosmic, excited sun climbing over wrung rain clouds.  It glares at streets filled with puddles.  It beams its damnedest to soak up every single drop, hoping each drop has absorbed a piece of the people walking along these streets.  Absorbed, I can then fill my stories with more convoluted lives.  As well as lies.

So then I smile and keep writing.
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Your turn.  Be totally random.  Pick a certain topic and writing some crazy metaphors.

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