And Now For Something Completely Different...

Monty Python Fan?  Indeed.  My favorite sketches...
This Parrot is Deceased

And Flying Sheep

Lately I have enjoyed several fine audio books and wanted to share my reviews/views with you.  When I started to write this post in my head, the phrase "And Now For Something Completely Different" popped in and that lead to the remembrance of a Monty Python video of the same name.  That was where I first came across the Dead Parrot sketch.  It wasn't until I bought the entire set of Flying Circus dvds for Chris a couple years ago that I became a fan of the Flying Sheep sketch.

Clever Sheep Indeed.

Anyhoo, recently I have read/listened to "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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 This book was FABULOUS!  Hilariously narrated by the author Libba Bray, it made my days go by even quicker than they normal do!  The premise of the book is a group of 50 beauty queens flying off to a tropical pageant shoot when their plane crashes on a "deserted" island and all but 12 girls are killed.  The girls have to learn to survive by their own devices and in doing so come to accept themselves and each other as the individuals they are.  Throw in a group of "reality TV" pirate guys, a megalomaniac aged beauty queen, and a loony dictator, and you have the makings of a really entertaining story.   It also got the message across that there is more to the inside of each girl than just the pretty, polished exterior and hit you over the head with the reality of what media does to the our self images.  The story is also broken up with product placement of "The Corporation" products (such as Lady 'Stach-away) and commercials which are extremely funny to listen to.

"The Mermaid Garden" by Santa Montefiore

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Beautiful story of love, loss, and regrets plus serendipity.  Set in Italy and is a really beautiful story.  Sad and poignant, an orphan girl (left to an alcoholic father to raise when the mother runs off with a lover) tries to find love and family.  Needless to say, more heartbreak comes her way before finding a life that is full and loving.
I am currently listening to "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

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Recommended to me recently and I am so glad I looked for the book!  Witches, Daemons, and Vampires, oh my!  Can't spend enough time near my cd player! 

Hope that you enjoy some or all of these stories and watch out for those flying sheep!