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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Brief Reviews: 92 Pacific Boulevard; Philippine Folklore Stories

92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber, AF, 2009, Playaway digital audio, 10.5hrs., rating=3
Source: library

Dear Reader,
I'm not much of a letter writer. As the sheriff here, I'm used to writing incident reports, not chatty letters. But my daughter, Megan—who'll be making me a grandfather soon—told me I had to do this. So here goes.
I'll tell you straight out that I'd hoped to marry Faith Beckwith (my onetime high school girlfriend) but she ended the relationship last month, even though we're both widowed and available. There were a few misunderstandings between us, some of them inadvertently caused by Megan.
However, I've got plenty to keep me occupied, like the unidentified remains found in a cave outside town. And the fact that my friend Judge Olivia Griffin is fighting cancer. And the break-ins at 204 Rosewood Lane—the house Faith happens to be renting from Grace Harding…
If you want to hear more, come on over to my place or the sheriff 's office—if you can stand the stale coffee!
Troy Davis (Goodreads)

I missed the first eight books to this series so it's no wonder I felt lost!  There were so many characters and lots of things going on that I had a hard time following who's-who and what's-what.  Overall though, it's a good leisure read for those who like community drama stories.

Philippine Folklore Stories, AF, 2004, Kindle ebook, 48p, rating=4
Source: own

Excerpt from one of the stories...
But one day, while they were laughing and singing, the earth suddenly opened and Harisaboqued sprang out before them. They were very much frightened and fled in terror down the mountain side. When they reached the foot and looked back they saw a terrible sight. All the tobacco had disappeared and, instead of the thousands of plants that they had tended so carefully, nothing but the bare mountain could be seen. (Goodreads)

During my early childhood, I grew up hearing many superstitious beliefs and old wives' tales so this read took me back.  A memory trip back to my native country through folklores (11 told here).  I can't say I have heard any of these before but I felt the stories for the entertainment they brought.  One in particular reminded me of what my aunt instructed me to do as we walked through this foresty path (somewhere in the Philippines) during the night.  She told me to say, "Tabi, tabi" so as to say to the ghosts or creatures of the night to stay away from us.  Looking back at it now, I think she may have said that so that I don't go wondering off there at night by myself.  Not like I would anyways.  As a kid, I was a big scaredy cat!


3 comments:

  1. I read one of her books, enjoyed it, but "community drama" (what a great way to put it) is a once-in-awhile thing with me. My grandmother used to tell us lions and tigers lived in the tree next to our house.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by, Jinky, and for your lovely comments. I'm in the chute, hoping to get caught up soon as the second draft of my WIP is almost completed. BTW, do you do beta reads? You have a command of what works and what doesn't that most lack. Thanks for remembering Madeleine. She's in my WIP, but is growing up a bit. (Oh, that was hard to do.) Anyway, if you're interested in a beta read, I'm at kittiehoward@gmail.com. I'd be most appreciative.

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  3. I've heard such a lot of good things about Debbie Macomber that I really must get around to seeking out some of her books.

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Thank you for taking the time to write a comment. You are fabulous! :)

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