Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Currently Reading: Reel History: The World According to the Movies by Alex von Tunzelmann Date Started:  April 1 Goodreads Summary:  From ancient Egypt to the Tudors to the Nazis, the film industry has often defined how we think of the past. But how much of what you see on the screen is true? And does it really matter if filmmakers just make it all up? Picking her way through Hollywood's version of events, acclaimed historian Alex von Tunzelmann sorts the fact from the fiction. Along the way, we meet all our favourite historical characters, on screen and in real life: from Cleopatra to Elizabeth I, from Spartacus to Abraham Lincoln, and from Attila the Hun to Nelson Mandela. Based on the long-running column in the Guardian, Reel History takes a comic look at the history of the world as told through the movies - the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly. Little Thoughts :  I was enjoying this book until she gave A Knight's Tale a C+ entertainment rating. Otherwise

Photo copyright K.S. Brooks.  Do not use without attribution. Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge This one is from February, I never entered it, because I never finished writing it. Something just felt off and I couldn't get it edited and submitted in time.   If you like alone time to just sit in nature and drink your tea don’t date a K-9 officer cause the moment he cannot find you he sends the dog after you and that very good boy will always find you. This happens at least once a week when I'm off in the woods that back up to our house, I’m never very far and always within cell range, but he still sends the dog. It’s good training for the dog and he does make me laugh so I guess it’s not a terrible way to be found, but sometimes you just want to be alone.  That’s what I was feeling when I stormed out of the house and headed off into the woods during a break in the snowstorm. I know better, yet in the heat of the moment off I went and in my anger I went too far and now I’m

Currently Reading: The Awakening by Nora Roberts Date Started:  March 25 Goodreads Summary:  In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword—representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own… When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father—and it’s worth nearly four million dollars. This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she kept

Photo copyright K.S. Brooks.  Do not use without attribution. Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge Marilyn was standing at her sink washing her lunch dishes when she saw the bear amble through her back yard. It wasn’t a completely uncommon occurrence, but it wasn’t something she saw every day, so she paused and enjoyed the site. It was the next day when she saw yet another bear, or was it the same bear, walk through her yard she got concerned. Then she realized both bears were coming from her neighbor’s property.  Marilyn huffed as she slipped on her boots, she’d have to go over and clean up their mess, again. They were barely down here overnight; she couldn’t even guess what they could have left behind that a bear would visit 2 days in a row. As she rounded the corner of their house, she saw that he had tipped over the trash can and had torn into one of the black trash bags.  All the years she lived out here she never had problems with her neighbor’s and that property had gone

  Currently Reading: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor Date Started:  March 8 Goodreads Summary:  No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long

I won the Flash Fiction Popular Vote! Photo copyright K.S. Brooks.  Do not use without attribution. It was my first trip to New Mexico and my uncle promised me an easy hike as part of my vacation. Knowing his normal hikes, I was certain his definition of easy and mine were vastly different, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to spend time with one of my dad’s brothers. Being with them was like being with him, something I sorely missed.   I had the early morning news on in my hotel room as I packed my bag for the day. The drone of the reporter the perfect background noise as I struggled to keep my eyes open. It was early but my uncle said we had a drive before we reached the National Park. He wanted to be there for when the park opened, which meant an early morning. I tossed my National Park Stamp Book into my bag and zipped it closed.   Picking up my tablet I sat down at the little table in my room to read and drink my weak hotel room coffee. I had done my research on some of th