Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 159
A cozy mystery is crime fiction where sex and violence are downplayed with humor and lightheartedness. The story can start with something minor, beginning with a series of small events, such as is found in a short story. I came upon one of these "shorts" recently that I thought would fit the perfect setting for a cozy murder... The Poinsettia Fiasco The poinsettia didn't seem to suffer at all. But it was the harbinger of catastrophe. It started with Uncle Joe bringing his sister a lovely...
December can be frightful...frightfully busy. Holiday preparations, social engagements, baking. I love the baking! But when you sit down for a little break with a hot cup of coffee and a still warm cookie, it’s nice to have something equally cozy to read, taking you away from the December frazzle. It’s important to stay away from deep serious mysteries or long sagas though, so I chose a trio of short Christmas stories, all involving gingerbread. The first book is by Joanne Fluke and is cal...
A ghost story for a December book review? As said by my Scandinavian relatives, “Ya sure ya betcha!” As we sat around the table after Thanksgiving dinner, conversation came around to books. And we discussed, rather, we marveled at how much one small Christmas story has survived through decades of growth and change in our world, and still makes an impact today. The book is “A Christmas Carol.” “A Christmas Carol” was written in London, 1843, by Charles Dickens, a man who took to heart the s...
Here we are in November. Seasons have changed. Leaves are falling and blowing from our yards to our neighbors’ and back again. Fall is the time we become reflective and thankful for our lives, our families, good fortune or the fact that we survived bad fortune. Probably a mixture of all those things, along with sweeping and raking those leaves. In recent years, there has been a push back to the Pilgrim story we were taught in our youth. Though details of a feast with Pilgrims and Indians may n...
This month of November, when we give thanks for the blessings in our current lives and celebrate our beginnings in the new world, I have decided to dig deep into historical novels. Really deep in this review, clear back through the years and centuries and millenniums of time. In 1980, Jean Auel gifted us the first book of her Earth’s Children series, “The Clan of the Cave Bear.” We met Ayla as a young child as she experienced a great and all consuming earthquake which left her an orphan in a...
At the end of the last book review I promised you “bumps in the night,” completely thinking I could do what a good reviewer needs to do, read a rash of scary ghost ridden books for the Halloween October review. However, I chickened out. I live alone and it seemed unwise to fill my mind with such scares, so I did the next best thing. I thought of every scary book I have ever read in the past. The first that came to mind was the classic “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Written...
Tastes in books are very diverse from person to person. Some people want everything to end nice and sweet, some want romance, and some like that heated. Others prefer books that stuff their heads with adventure, science or fantasy, creating new worlds, alternative universes, out of this world tales, magic, or a combination of all of the above. It is hard to satisfy all readers all the time. I myself have diverse and multiple tastes in a wide-range of subjects and I do try my best to review from...
No GPS. No smartphones. No internet. Yet they managed to get around, keep in touch and gather information while solving mysteries! I was a mature 12 year old, or liked to think I was. I wandered into the adult section of the library often and Phyllis A. Whitney’s books were my first gothic novels. They were full of eeriness and mystery, with big dark houses, ghostly hallways and creepy attics. Who doesn’t like to be scared in the safe environment of their own cozy chair? I also did a lot of rea...
If you are of a certain age, you might remember Pet Rocks. They were marketed in the 1970’s, packaged in designer cardboard boxes with a bed of straw inside to cushion googly eyed rocks. Air holes were cut into the sides of the boxes to make the rocks appear alive. This was one of many fads that marched through the 70s, along with bell bottom trousers, great music and love beads. Rocks are all the rage again in 2019, but this time they come with purpose. Stones that fit in the hand, painted w...
Have you ever heard of a literary lipogram? It is a piece of writing, usually poetry, in which the author eliminates one letter from the entire writing. A most amazing lipogram was written in a novel form by Enest Vincent Wright in 1939. Where the most likely choice of Z, J, Q or X is used in elimination, Wright chose from the most difficult of letters, E, T or A, and managed to write the complete novel “Gadsby” without using the letter E. That may not mean so much to the non-writer, but to tho...
In my opinion, dogs absolutely are man’s best friend, but I’m not sure that we humans deserve them. Happily, many good humans recognize these conflicting beliefs and try their hardest to earn worthiness by writing excellent books portraying dogs’ most desirable and commendable traits. On Dec. 17, 1938 in the Saturday Evening Post, a short story was published introducing the world to a collie named Lassie. By 1940, author Eric Knight had written Lassie’s full novel and it was published as “Las...
Thanks to Courtney Gail for sending The Loop this beautiful and vibrant photo. Courtney is the owner of Just Another Shot Photography in Tehachapi. See more of her work online through Just Another Shot Photography's Facebook page....
Tehachapi bursts with color in these photos from local photographer Israel Vera. Keep inspiring us with your photos, Israel!...
Cats, cats and more cats. In fact, a million of them are in the story "Millions of Cats" written and illustrated by Wanda Gag in 1928. This book became the recipient of the Newbery Honor Award in 1929, and was one of very few picture books ever to do so. "Millions of Cats" is the oldest American picture book still in print. An elderly couple decide to look for the world's prettiest cat. The man brings home so many, at least a million, and neither husband nor wife can decide which one is the...
For this review I will start with a true story. Years ago I came across the picture book “Grandma Summer.” It is a delightful story about a grandma bringing her grandson to the shores of Oregon, opening up a family summer home and treating him to a summer like she had shared with his father years before. The house was old, with white paint peeling off its wood, the porch a bit rickety, the yard overgrown and sea blown. The young boy was not quite sure about his grandma’s choice of a fun summer v...
A great short story dangles a mood or theme, like bait. It immediately catches the eye and the imagination. Sometimes our hearts. But it must do so quickly, with the speed of light or, in this fast paced world, readers move on. As with poetry, each and every word counts. The writer looks for the most precise all encompassing words to draw readers in and capture them completely, with memorable characters and themes, ranging from the ordinary to extraordinary. They nail the voice, set the plot on...
Traditionally, June is wedding month. Probably because the school year ends, vacations start, weather is good and flowers are abundant. A wedding must have flowers! There are so many wedding themed books. Some pretty good, some not. Personally, I've been a bridesmaid in at least two dozens weddings, and each wedding was different. Some pretty good, some not, if you get my drift. I love the wedding toward the end of "Under the Tuscan Sun" by travel writer Frances Mayes. Most of the book speaks...
What is it with bees? They are small, fluffy and soft close up. They do a great job of flitting back and forth, pollinating as they go. They produce a life giving nectar that can sustain, repair and heal. Some people call it liquid gold. Yet, they can bring a 6’5” man to his knees and stoke fear in the hearts of any and all ages. One tiny bee is a great warrior, wielding a sharp, stinging dagger at will. How complex. While they maintain (and demand) a high level of respect in the insect world as...
These beautiful photos were submitted by 23-year-old Rodolfo Gonzales. Rodolfo, who goes by Rudy, Benz, or even RudyBenz, first picked up a camera in the fall of 2016. "Since then, I have pursued to master all areas of photography. From traveling to exploring my backyard ... I aspire to inspire the whole world with photos," he said....
As we go to press this week, people are preparing to celebrate their mothers. Flowers, candies, cards, brunches and memories will be flowing. Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation in 1914 designating the second Sunday of May as a national holiday to honor the mothers of this nation. It’s not a new idea to take a book, make it into a play, maybe a musical or two, and eventually into a heartwarming movie. It’s been happening for years. What might seem a non-typical main character choice would be...
Rachel Siegfried created a flower farm in 2008. She grows seasonal flowers and arranges them for weddings and special events. In her book “The Flower Box” she shares 60 beautiful photos of flowers, along with useful information and tips. Arranging flowers for the home or an event can be a most joyous activity, from seed to bloom to vase. Just feast on the photos if your garden is not yet planted for the year. Remember in small spaces, even one pot can produce beautiful blooms. Perhaps Mary Len...
What I like most about Alexander McCall Smith is how comfortable I am with his main characters. It is easy to slip them on like an extra pair of skin and ease into their lives quickly while the settings, a home, a city, a country, grow on you as he describes and experiences them through his lists of characters. From a cozy home in the "Corduroy Mansions" series, to a complex yet compatible grouping of renters at the "44 Scotland Street" flats, we merge into their stories. Then with the...
Book Review! Looking out the single window, contaminated soil is blown about in wicked winds, the soil so caustic that it burns the skin and causes instant death to all who venture out. Suited up in protective gear, her punishment for breaking the Silo laws is to be given the task to clean the window. She must go outside in the gritty winds and sweep the massive window clean. This is the apocalyptic future world created by the self-published wonder Hugh Howey. In 2011, "Wool" began as a short...
Calling all artists, writers and creative-types! The TALE is looking for more contributions. Send us your photos, artwork, short stories, poems, songs, etc. and you may see them in a future edition of The Loop. Don't forget to get the kids involved, too. We love to see the creativity of the Tehachapi "youngins." Send your submissions to [email protected]....
I really love a good mystery. Sometimes I want an easy going read. At other times I’m ready for a little grit. In my deepest of moods, I like the brainy kind of books filled with lots of historical background and philosophical contemplation. In all types of mysteries, I like being given the chance to solve the mystery myself along the way. For cozy reading I grab a book from Ellery Adams’ Book Retreat Mystery series. Adams sets this series in a vintage mansion, holding an abundance of boo...
