Today deals from Amazon: The Misremembered Man by Christina McKenna for $0.99
Memoirist McKenna’s debut novel—a pastoral, feel-good yarn set in 1974 County Derry—concerns two Irish 40-somethings who meet through a newspaper Lonely Hearts column. Both farmer Jamie McCloone and schoolteacher Lydia Devine have suffered the recent death of a loved one. Jamie’s traumatic childhood at a sweatshop run by the nuns from hell precipitates his dependence on Valium and whiskey. Lydia, meanwhile, grew up under the oppressive thumb of her now-dead rector father and—at age 40, still a virgin who has never tasted alcohol—decides it’s time to live a little. The pair, of course, are grossly mismatched—she prim and buttoned-down, he a rough-edged rustic—which is underscored repeatedly during their lengthy postal courtship. Comic relief comes from Jamie’s neighbors, the McFaddens, who do their best to aid Jamie and lift him from his saturnine moods. McKenna—who’s written a memoir, My Mother Wore a Yellow Dress—places a few twists in the narrative, saving the most startling until the close. (Mar.)
The Misremembered Man is a charming yet harsh portrait of Ireland and some of it’s characters, mainly a man and a woman whose younger lives shared a common bond, oppression. This tale is engrossing although a wee syrupy at times, and here and there are touches of humor that are in sharp contrast to the lives of these two people. The author builds the characters well, then plops them in the middle of life in the small towns of Ireland. You might feel the final chapters will bring a heartwarming predictable ending that you hoped would happen, but the writer surprises you….worth the time to curl up on a comfortable sofa and read the day away. —-Mary S. Long (Baltimore, MD USA)
Quisr PRO is a game for your Kindle Fire and others Android devices which you can get for free here.
What year was the Battle of Hastings? Who was the last .400 hitter in Major League Baseball? Which pop star had a hit with “Genie in a Bottle”? If trivia is your game, you’ll love Quisr Pro for Android. Learn how to open DAT file.
Let’s face it: you know way too many obscure facts for your own good. What better way to show off all that useless knowledge than crushing your friends and ruling the world in a trivia game on your phone or tablet? That’s what you can do with Quisr.
The first time you open up Quisr you’ll need to create a unique profile. This allows you to participate in the worldwide leaderboards, and also enables you to create your own questions and review others’ suggested questions. You can even add an avatar to your profile to express your individuality.
Now that you’re registered, your pride is on the line. Quisr offers two modes of play: Singleplayer, where the app feeds you a series of questions, and Multi Player, where you and up to three of your trivia-loving friends can duke it out on your device. This mode is based on the “first to buzz in” method of gameplay, and it’s great for tablets. Note that trash-talking in Quisr is allowed (although trash-talking in Singleplayer mode is kind of silly).
Quisr features more than 1,000 different questions, with more being added all the time. You’ll find eight categories included, everything from geography to sports and games to entertainment to history to–well, you get the picture. How culturally literate are you? You’ll find out quickly with this app.
Unlike some quiz games, the questions are not all boring multiple choice. Sometimes you’ll be given a rotating list and asked to pick out the two or three correct answers for that question. There is a timer, so don’t think you have all day to Google the answer or ask your Mom for help. Questions are worth different amounts of points, based on level of difficulty and how fast you answer. If you’re stuck, you can use a Joker option to stop the timer, eliminate wrong answers, or skip the question entirely.
Earn bonuses by correctly answering multiple questions in a row. If you get enough right, you’ll advance to the next level. Miss too many, though, and it’ll be “Thanks for playing!”
After each game, Quisr tells you your total score for that game, your high score to date, and where you rank on the worldwide leaderboard. You can also go to the Quisr website and see the details, as well as participate in the making and reviewing of questions that will then appear in subsequent quizzes. See if you can stump your fellow players and claw your way to the top of the trivia heap with Quisr.