I went to the PX today after I dropped my son off at his job at church. On Saturdays, while Evan is working, I usually treat myself to a hot chocolate from Cinnabon (and maybe a 4-pack of the cini-minis or whatever they call them) and sit in the food court and read for a while. Once I'm done, I wander into the PX and browse for a while. Today I wanted to get the Glee 2 soundtrack, and I was hoping to find some Valentine decorations to hang from the ceiling in our kindergarten classroom. On my way into the PX, I noticed an author sitting at a table just outside the entrance. I smiled at her and went ahead with my shopping.
On the way out, I walked past the author again, and again I smiled. Then I had the impulse to stop and talk to her. I often think about how awful it must be to be there with a book to sell, and have people just walk by and not buy. So I asked her about her books (she had three titles for sale), and I ended up buying one, which she very nicely autographed for me. The book was Only Time Can Tell, and the author was Lisa Dumas Harris. She was really nice, and I'm looking forward to reading her book. She's a local author, from Richmond Hill, I think, which made it doubly important to support her.
This led me to think about something that happened when Harold and I were first married. I had the chance to meet Dorothy Garlock, who was doing a book signing, and I think it was her husband who tried to get me to go over and meet her and buy a copy of her book and have it autographed. I just couldn't do it. I really don't remember why I felt so reluctant, but I think it was because I was afraid I would turn into a gibbering idiot and be another one of those people who babble to successful authors about the book they're writing that will never see the inside of a publishing house. If I had it to do over again, I would totally go over and talk to her.
Later in my marriage, when I was managing a Reader's Market (the book department inside Kmart), I hosted several book signings: Robert Cormier, R. A. Salvatore, R. Patrick Gates, and Rick Hautala (who showed up during my maternity leave, but I made sure to go by and get a couple of books signed). I just now realized that all my authors had R names. Don't know what that means, but it's kind of interesting. Anyway, Robert Cormier was the most gracious man and was wonderfully encouraging. He told me when he got stuck in a manuscript, he would introduce a new character and see where things went. He was truly a lovely person, and I was sad when he died.
R. Patrick Gates and Rick Hautala both write horror stories. I don't recall us selling tons of their books. R. A. Salvatore was really nice. He hadn't yet become the huge phenomenon he is now, but he had several books under his belt and was enjoying being a published author. He talked a lot about his kids and laughed at me (in the nicest way) because I didn't know how to pronounce DelGiudice, which is a fairly common name in Fitchburg, Mass. It's very cool to walk into stores now and see Bob's books taking up so much shelf space and think I got to meet him way back when.
It was also during my Kmart days when I got to meet my idol, LaVyrle Spencer. Being a store manager, I received an invitation to have tea at the Ritz in Boston with LaVyrle, and I was allowed to bring a guest. I couldn't decide who to bring, because my sister-in-law Nancy loved LaVyrle's books as much as I did, but I also wanted to bring my aunt, Posey, to return the many kindnesses she's done for me over the years. I called the publisher, and they said I was welcome to bring an extra guest.
The three of us dressed in our nicest clothes and had a wonderful time. The tea was lovely, and it was so awesome to meet LaVyrle and her husband. The only dark note was when I asked her about Romantic Times magazine, which was relatively new at the time. LaVyrle's eyes snapped, and she said she did NOT want to talk about it. I don't remember anything more specific than that, but I did feel a bit chagrined. At that time, LaVyrle's novel Morning Glory was being made into a movie, and she told us that Peter Weller (AKA RoboCop) was being cast as the hero. He looked exactly like her description of Will, and I thought it was perfect casting. I was not best pleased to find out that Christopher Reeve ended up playing the role. I never did get to see the movie, and I've looked for it from time to time, but it's apparently quite hard to find. Since LaVyrle ended up retiring from the writing business, I guess that makes the movie even more rare.
I've met other authors over the years, and interviewed several during my tenure as a reviewer at www.TheRomanceReadersConnection.com, including Sandra Brown (who was warm and wonderful) and Beverly Lewis (as inspiring to write about as her books are to read). I met Alex Haley and got his autograph way back when I was in college. (I still have it!) He was a very engaging speaker, and I waited quite a long time for a moment of his time and attention. What I've carried away from it all is that it's really hard to be a fledgling author making a name for yourself, and it would be my worst nightmare to be sitting alone at a table wishing and hoping people would stop by and chat and maybe even buy a book. Once you're established, you have so much more control over the situation, but everything you do and/or say means so much more to the person you're talking to, and you really have to be thoughtful and courteous so people don't take away a negative impression. I think sometimes people forget that it was their fans who put them in the big leagues.
I hope I'll be in a position someday soon to have to keep that in mind.
Happy trails!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
RANDOM READING THOUGHTS
I've been looking through my reading log this month, and what I saw startled me a bit. I read about 150 books a year, give or take a dozen. (No, that's not the startling part!) What surprised me was that I tend to read the same authors over and over. I thought I was a more eclectic reader than that, so it was unsettling to see how often I gravitate back to the same writers.
Of course there are the obvious culprits, those authors who are blessedly prolific, like Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb--well, actually, I guess there's no one else quite like the Queen--she is an entity unto herself! Still, authors like Christina Dodd, Kelley Armstrong, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and others keep me coming back for more.
This week, I finished Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Now, I wouldn't exactly call her one of my favorite authors, but I find her books inherently intriguing, especially this one, about a girl who is a pathological liar with a very unusual problem. The thing is, this book grabbed me and kept me all the way through, but I'm still scratching my head over the ending, which I think is exactly what JL was going for when she wrote it. So I guess she is one of my favorite authors, because her books always leave me thinking.
My current read is Ivy by Julie Hearn. It's a book for teens, but it seems like an amalgam of A Little Princess, anything by Dickens, and possibly Slammerkin or The Dress Lodger. I'm always up for a heartrending orphan story, but I have no idea where this one is going to take me. I'm enjoying the ride, er, read.
Putting books up for sale at amazon.com has been fairly lucrative of late. Since my husband retired from the army last June (2009), he has not found another job. His retirement pay doesn't stretch quite far enough for him to remain unemployed for much longer, but of course this economy is about as bad as it can be for job hunters. So I do my regular job, my side job, and find other ways to make money, like selling my books. Considering how many thousands of books I have, and the snail-like pace at which I read, it makes some sense to try to sell them, because I probably won't live long enough to read them, anyway.
I'm going to stop here and go eat dinner, but I wanted to post something and keep my blog active on a regular basis this year.
Happy trails!
Of course there are the obvious culprits, those authors who are blessedly prolific, like Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb--well, actually, I guess there's no one else quite like the Queen--she is an entity unto herself! Still, authors like Christina Dodd, Kelley Armstrong, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and others keep me coming back for more.
This week, I finished Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Now, I wouldn't exactly call her one of my favorite authors, but I find her books inherently intriguing, especially this one, about a girl who is a pathological liar with a very unusual problem. The thing is, this book grabbed me and kept me all the way through, but I'm still scratching my head over the ending, which I think is exactly what JL was going for when she wrote it. So I guess she is one of my favorite authors, because her books always leave me thinking.
My current read is Ivy by Julie Hearn. It's a book for teens, but it seems like an amalgam of A Little Princess, anything by Dickens, and possibly Slammerkin or The Dress Lodger. I'm always up for a heartrending orphan story, but I have no idea where this one is going to take me. I'm enjoying the ride, er, read.
Putting books up for sale at amazon.com has been fairly lucrative of late. Since my husband retired from the army last June (2009), he has not found another job. His retirement pay doesn't stretch quite far enough for him to remain unemployed for much longer, but of course this economy is about as bad as it can be for job hunters. So I do my regular job, my side job, and find other ways to make money, like selling my books. Considering how many thousands of books I have, and the snail-like pace at which I read, it makes some sense to try to sell them, because I probably won't live long enough to read them, anyway.
I'm going to stop here and go eat dinner, but I wanted to post something and keep my blog active on a regular basis this year.
Happy trails!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
OFF TO A GOOD START
January so far has been a really good reading month, with lots of interesting books. I've finished 10 books this month, and have several others in varying states of reading progress. I like to finish a book every other day, so I'm a couple of days ahead of schedule. I don't have really strong impressions of some of the books, but I'll share my thoughts, such as they are.
True Love and Other Disasters, by Rachel Gibson--This was about a former exotic dancer/Playboy bunny who marries a wealthy old guy. When he dies, he leaves her his hockey team. The old guy's son is a nasty piece of work who wants to buy the team from his erstwhile stepmother, but he gets in her face once too often and she decides she'll keep the team for herself. Unfortunately, she and the team captain take an immediate dislike to each other, but their animosity soon turns to attraction.
I really enjoyed this book--it reminded me of Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Chicago Stars books. However, I was kind of bugged by some of the details in the book, especially about Faith's clothing and nail polish. As a former exotic dancer trying to go conservative, I found the constant references to short red nails a bit off-putting, because someone who switches to a basic neutral palette in her clothing would probably wear less obvious colors of nail polish. Also, sometimes the footwear sounded kind of tacky and stripperish, and I could never tell if the author meant to show that Faith hadn't quite absorbed a less flamboyant presentation or if she wanted to show that sometimes the wild girl has to escape the confines of her beige life. Other than those minor quibbles, it was a fun, satisfying read.
What I Did for Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips--It's always a treat to read SEP, and I enjoyed this story of a child TV star who finds herself married, Vegas-style, to her former co-star, a somewhat dissipated has-been who seems intent on arranging for a reunion show to earn some money. Of course his motives turn out to be a bit more altruistic, and there's really a decent guy under that bad-boy exterior. SEP keeps the action moving and the plot twists turning with her usual flair.
Certain Poor Shepherds, by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas--This slight Christmas tale seems like a book I SHOULD like because it's kind of serious and literary, but I just didn't love it. This is the story of a dog and a goat and the flock of sheep they tend, who follow the star to Bethlehem and have some adventures along the way, including encounters with angels and the three Wise Men. Probably someone more serious-minded than I would enjoy it more.
Getting Lucky, by Elaine Barbieri--I was actually somewhat disappointed with this story, because it was all a little too pat and relied on stock characters to tell the story. The heroine was orphaned while on a wagon train to California and had to walk the rest of the journey after her parents died. The book blurb tells us the heroine's virtue is at stake, but you never really get a sense that she's in any real danger, despite the best efforts of the villain and the jealous other woman (who is a saloon hall hooker). Everything was telegraphed well before anything actually happened, and there was just a bit too much mustache-twirling and gnashing of teeth to make a truly engaging read.
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George--This was a very unique fairy tale about a girl who is offered as a sacrifice to a most unwilling dragon. She coaxes him into giving her a pair of shoes, which are coveted by an evil princess who is engaged to the heir to the throne of the girl's kingdom. The story was original, and it was a very enjoyable read, with some excellent themes.
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery, by Eric Ives--This book was very scholarly in nature, as the author's intent was to delve through legend and letters to get to the real reason why Jane Grey, the person most innocent in the plot to put her on the throne of England in lieu of her devoutly Catholic cousin, Mary, was put to death. It was pretty dry reading in places, but thoroughly researched and eminently convincing in its conclusions.
Early Dawn, by Catherine Anderson--The heroine of this story is kidnapped from a train during a robbery by a band of outlaw brothers who molest and abuse her while preserving her virginity as they intend to sell her to a Mexican bordello. After several days of captivity, the heroine is rescued by a man who's been pursuing the brothers for years in serach of vengeance for his wife's rape and murder by these same villains. Most of the book consists of the hero and heroine trailing and/or evading the outlaws while they wait for the heroine's brothers to catch up with them and take her home. The heroine's strength of character was very appealing, and the hero's heartache was touching. Anderson has added another winner to her long list of successful books.
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold--I don't know what took me so long to get to this one, but it was definitely my kind of book. I wanted to read it before I see the movie, which opened this weekend. Susie Salmon is a captivating narrator/heroine, and the ripple effect her murder has on the rest of her family is heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time. Anyone who's lost a loved one to a murderer will find this book heartfelt and accurate in its depiction of the isolation grief causes the survivors of crime victims. I hope the movie does the book justice.
Kissing the Countess, by Susan King--It took me months to get into this book, but once it finally caught me, it held me until I finished it. Catriona is a minister's daughter who collects old songs from her Scottish Highland home to preserve them before they're lost to the clearances (when Scottish lords moved families out of their homes and cleared the land to raise sheep for maximum profit and minimum outlay). While returning from a trip to gather yet another song, she comes across an injured man. As the weather gets treacherous, they seek shelter in an abandoned hut, where they're found by Catriona's father, the local doctor, and the mysterious man's friend. Forced into marriage, Catriona learns that her husband is the new laird, whose father was responsible for moving so may people out of their homes. The subplot involving the doctor was a little nebulous and stretched belief at times, but overall, the book was interesting.
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock--This was another good fairy tale, about a somewhat spoiled princess whose uncle, the king, is murdered along with her mother, while her father is missing and presumed dead. Ben ends up being groomed for the throne by her very strict aunt, the king's widow. This story incorporated elements from lots of familiar fairy tales, but combined them in a unique and compelling way. I definitely want to read more by this author, and recommend this book to all fairy tale fans.
Well, that's it so far for this month. I've read lots of new storybooks with my kindergarten classes, and have listed those titles on my shelf at www.shelfari.com. I hope to have lots more books to report on by the end of the month. Happy reading!
True Love and Other Disasters, by Rachel Gibson--This was about a former exotic dancer/Playboy bunny who marries a wealthy old guy. When he dies, he leaves her his hockey team. The old guy's son is a nasty piece of work who wants to buy the team from his erstwhile stepmother, but he gets in her face once too often and she decides she'll keep the team for herself. Unfortunately, she and the team captain take an immediate dislike to each other, but their animosity soon turns to attraction.
I really enjoyed this book--it reminded me of Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Chicago Stars books. However, I was kind of bugged by some of the details in the book, especially about Faith's clothing and nail polish. As a former exotic dancer trying to go conservative, I found the constant references to short red nails a bit off-putting, because someone who switches to a basic neutral palette in her clothing would probably wear less obvious colors of nail polish. Also, sometimes the footwear sounded kind of tacky and stripperish, and I could never tell if the author meant to show that Faith hadn't quite absorbed a less flamboyant presentation or if she wanted to show that sometimes the wild girl has to escape the confines of her beige life. Other than those minor quibbles, it was a fun, satisfying read.
What I Did for Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips--It's always a treat to read SEP, and I enjoyed this story of a child TV star who finds herself married, Vegas-style, to her former co-star, a somewhat dissipated has-been who seems intent on arranging for a reunion show to earn some money. Of course his motives turn out to be a bit more altruistic, and there's really a decent guy under that bad-boy exterior. SEP keeps the action moving and the plot twists turning with her usual flair.
Certain Poor Shepherds, by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas--This slight Christmas tale seems like a book I SHOULD like because it's kind of serious and literary, but I just didn't love it. This is the story of a dog and a goat and the flock of sheep they tend, who follow the star to Bethlehem and have some adventures along the way, including encounters with angels and the three Wise Men. Probably someone more serious-minded than I would enjoy it more.
Getting Lucky, by Elaine Barbieri--I was actually somewhat disappointed with this story, because it was all a little too pat and relied on stock characters to tell the story. The heroine was orphaned while on a wagon train to California and had to walk the rest of the journey after her parents died. The book blurb tells us the heroine's virtue is at stake, but you never really get a sense that she's in any real danger, despite the best efforts of the villain and the jealous other woman (who is a saloon hall hooker). Everything was telegraphed well before anything actually happened, and there was just a bit too much mustache-twirling and gnashing of teeth to make a truly engaging read.
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George--This was a very unique fairy tale about a girl who is offered as a sacrifice to a most unwilling dragon. She coaxes him into giving her a pair of shoes, which are coveted by an evil princess who is engaged to the heir to the throne of the girl's kingdom. The story was original, and it was a very enjoyable read, with some excellent themes.
Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery, by Eric Ives--This book was very scholarly in nature, as the author's intent was to delve through legend and letters to get to the real reason why Jane Grey, the person most innocent in the plot to put her on the throne of England in lieu of her devoutly Catholic cousin, Mary, was put to death. It was pretty dry reading in places, but thoroughly researched and eminently convincing in its conclusions.
Early Dawn, by Catherine Anderson--The heroine of this story is kidnapped from a train during a robbery by a band of outlaw brothers who molest and abuse her while preserving her virginity as they intend to sell her to a Mexican bordello. After several days of captivity, the heroine is rescued by a man who's been pursuing the brothers for years in serach of vengeance for his wife's rape and murder by these same villains. Most of the book consists of the hero and heroine trailing and/or evading the outlaws while they wait for the heroine's brothers to catch up with them and take her home. The heroine's strength of character was very appealing, and the hero's heartache was touching. Anderson has added another winner to her long list of successful books.
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold--I don't know what took me so long to get to this one, but it was definitely my kind of book. I wanted to read it before I see the movie, which opened this weekend. Susie Salmon is a captivating narrator/heroine, and the ripple effect her murder has on the rest of her family is heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time. Anyone who's lost a loved one to a murderer will find this book heartfelt and accurate in its depiction of the isolation grief causes the survivors of crime victims. I hope the movie does the book justice.
Kissing the Countess, by Susan King--It took me months to get into this book, but once it finally caught me, it held me until I finished it. Catriona is a minister's daughter who collects old songs from her Scottish Highland home to preserve them before they're lost to the clearances (when Scottish lords moved families out of their homes and cleared the land to raise sheep for maximum profit and minimum outlay). While returning from a trip to gather yet another song, she comes across an injured man. As the weather gets treacherous, they seek shelter in an abandoned hut, where they're found by Catriona's father, the local doctor, and the mysterious man's friend. Forced into marriage, Catriona learns that her husband is the new laird, whose father was responsible for moving so may people out of their homes. The subplot involving the doctor was a little nebulous and stretched belief at times, but overall, the book was interesting.
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock--This was another good fairy tale, about a somewhat spoiled princess whose uncle, the king, is murdered along with her mother, while her father is missing and presumed dead. Ben ends up being groomed for the throne by her very strict aunt, the king's widow. This story incorporated elements from lots of familiar fairy tales, but combined them in a unique and compelling way. I definitely want to read more by this author, and recommend this book to all fairy tale fans.
Well, that's it so far for this month. I've read lots of new storybooks with my kindergarten classes, and have listed those titles on my shelf at www.shelfari.com. I hope to have lots more books to report on by the end of the month. Happy reading!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
THE BOOKS OF 2009
JANUARY
The Last Book in the Universe--Rodman Philbrick
Dracula--Bram Stoker, read by Susan Adams and Alexander Spencer
Sundays at Tiffany's--James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
The Outlaw Demon Wails--Kim Harrison
And Baby Makes Six--Linda Markowiak
Lucy Gets Her Life Back--Stef Ann Holm
Lean Mean Thirteen--Janet Evanovich
Peace Like a River--Elaine Schulte
Maida's Little Shop--Inez Haynes Irwin (ebook)
Plum Lucky--Janet Evanovich
The Pagan Stone--Nora Roberts
A Cedar Cove Christmas--Debbie Macomber
Worth More Dead--Ann Rule
FEBRUARY
Just Between Friends--Sandra Steffen
The Great GIlly Hopkins--Katherine Paterson
Snowy Night with a Stranger--Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries, Julia London
To the Brink--Cindy Gerard
Christmas, Present--Jacquelyn Mitchard
The Prophet of Yonwood--Jeanne DuPrau
Seduce Me at Sunrise--Lisa Kleypas
The Empty Mirror--James Lincoln Collier
Saying Grace--Beth Gutcheon
Poison--Chris Wooding
MARCH
One Little Sin--Liz Carlyle
To Tame a Texan's Heart--Jodi Thomas
Griffin's Castle--Jenny Nimmo
Don't Say a Word--Barbara Freethy
Miracle's Boys--Jacqueline Woodson
APRIL
Fat Chance--Deborah Blumenthal
At Twilight--Maggie Shayne
Sean Donovan--Lori Wick
Blue Christmas--Mary Kay Andrews
Palace of Mirrors--Margaret Peterson Haddix
Salvation in Death--J. D. Robb
Promises in Death--J. D. Robb
From Dead to Worse--Charlaine Harris
Star Bright--Catherine Anderson
Stories for the Extreme Teen's Heart--compiled by Alice Gray
Only with a Highlander--Janet Chapman
Under a Lucky Star--Diane Farr
A Family Christmas--Carrie Alexander
MAY
Heart Fate--Robin D. Owens
Alone in the Ice World--MaryAnn Easley
The Revelation--Beverly Lewis
The Gunslinger--Stephen King
Hattie Big Sky--Kirby Larson
The Drawing of the Three--Stephen King
Night of the Loving Dead--Casey Daniels
Jessie--Lori Wick
Stuart Little--E. B. White
JUNE
Tribute--Nora Roberts
Magic's Child--Justine Larbalestier
Living with the Dead--Kelley Armstrong
Men of the Otherworld--Kelley Armstrong
Fearless Fourteen--Janet Evanovich
Waiting for Normal--Leslie Connor
What I Saw and How I Lied--Judy Blundell
Ashes to Ashes--Tami Hoag (audiobook)
Dead Over Heels--Charlaine Harris
Savvy--Ingrid Law
Christmas Letters--Debbie Macomber
Lavender Morning--Jude Deveraux
The Waste Lands--Stephen King
Tall, Dark, and Texan--Jodi Thomas
Once Smitten, Twice Shy--Lori Wilde
Power Play--Deirdre Martin
Everything She Ever Wanted--Ann Rule
JULY
Princess of the Midnight Ball--Jessica Day George
Under the Banner of Heaven--Jon Krakauer (audiobook)
Grave Sight--Charlaine Harris
An Ice Cold Grave--Charlaine Harris
After Midnight--Teresa Medeiros
Numbering All the Bones--Ann Rinaldi
Charlotte's Choice--Cathleen Twomey
The Christmas Hope--Donna Van Liere
How to Ditch Your Fairy--Justine Larbalestier
Heart Quest--Robin D. Owens
Vision in White--Nora Roberts
Swept Away--Candace Camp (audiobook)
The Lost World--Michael Crichton, read by Anthony Heald
Book of a Thousand Days--Shannon Hale
Lock and Key--Sarah Dessen
The Summoning--Kelley Armstrong
The Princess and the Hound--Mette Ivie Harrison
AUGUST
Grave Surprise--Charlaine Harris
The Time Traveler's Wife--Audrey Niffenegger
Love Is Blind--Lynsay Sands
A Curse Dark as Gold--Elizabeth C. Bunce
Finger Lickin' Fifteen--Janet Evanovich
The Awakening--Kelley Armstrong
SEPTEMBER
Runaway--Bobbi Smith
Guardian of Honor--Robin D. Owens
Catching Fire--Suzanne Collins
The Runaway McBride--Elizabeth Thornton
This Lullaby--Sarah Dessen
The Darkest Whisper--Gena Showalter
Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar--Pamela Morsi
The Forgotten Man--Robert Crais, read by James Daniels
Christmas Revels--Mary Jo Putney
Bathtub Voyages: Tales of Adventure--Scott Foresman
The Big Blank Piece of Paper: Artists at Work--Scott Foresman
Personal Demon--Kelley Armstrong
A Babe in Ghostland--Lisa Cach
The Honorable Midwife--Lilian Darcy
Garden Spells--Sarah Addison Allen
True Believer--Nicholas Sparks
OCTOBER
Tennyson--Lesley M. M. Blume
Stolen Children--Peg Kehret
Breathe: A Ghost Story--Cliff McNish
Impossible--Nancy Werlin
The Miss America Family--Julianna Baggott
Trouble in High Heels--Christina Dodd
Tongue in Chic--Christina Dodd
Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girld: Cooties! (Issues 9-12)--Roman Dirge
Danger in a Red Dress--Christina Dodd
Storm of Visions--Christina Dodd
Baby Be Mine--Diane Fanning
Conard County: Cowboy Comes Home--Rachel Lee
Simply Perfect--Mary Balogh
Storm of Shadows--Christina Dodd
The Glass Castle--Jeannette Walls
NOVEMBER
You're So Vein--Christine Warren
Bed of Roses--Nora Roberts
Bitsy's Bait & BBQ--Pamela Morsi
Chesapeake Blue--Nora Roberts, read by James Daniels
Hard Day's Night--Katie McAlister
Assignment: Rescue, An Autobiography--Varian Fry
When the Duke Returns--Eloisa James
This Duchess of Mine--Eloisa James
Zenda: A New Dimension--Ken Petti and John Amodeo
Just the Way You Are--Barbara Freethy
A Christmas Scandal--Jane Goodger
Hapily After All--Laura C. Stevenson
Destined for an Early Grave--Jeaniene Frost
I'll Be Home for Christmas--Linda Lael Miller et al
The Millionaires--Brad Meltzer, read by Tony Goldwyn
They Cage the Animals at Night--Jennings Michael Burch
Sooner or Later--Debbie Macomber
DECEMBER
Land of the Living--Nicci French, read by Anne Flosnik
Lover's Knot--Emilie Richards
Secondhand Bride--Linda Lael Miller
If Wishes Were Horses--Anne McCaffrey
Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World--Paul Chambers
Dead and Gone--Charlaine Harris
Stormbreaker--Anthony Horowitz
Call Me Princess--Tomoko Taniguchi
Tall, Dark, and Dangerous--Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, and Susan Sizemore
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity--Bill O'Reilly
Gifts of Love--Kay Hooper and Lisa Kleypas
Amelia Earhart: Adventure in the Sky--Francene Sabin
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller--Sarah Miller
White Witch, Black Curse--Kim Harrison
The Rescue--Nicholas Sparks, read by Mary Beth Hurt and John Belford Lloyd
Holidays Are Hell--Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson
Sucker Bet--Erin McCarthy
The Better Part of Darkness--Kelly Gay
Mistletoe & Magic--Lisa Cach, Stobie Piel, Lynsay Sands, and Amy Elizabeth Saunders
157 Books; 46,439Pages; Average page per book: 296 pages
The Last Book in the Universe--Rodman Philbrick
Dracula--Bram Stoker, read by Susan Adams and Alexander Spencer
Sundays at Tiffany's--James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
The Outlaw Demon Wails--Kim Harrison
And Baby Makes Six--Linda Markowiak
Lucy Gets Her Life Back--Stef Ann Holm
Lean Mean Thirteen--Janet Evanovich
Peace Like a River--Elaine Schulte
Maida's Little Shop--Inez Haynes Irwin (ebook)
Plum Lucky--Janet Evanovich
The Pagan Stone--Nora Roberts
A Cedar Cove Christmas--Debbie Macomber
Worth More Dead--Ann Rule
FEBRUARY
Just Between Friends--Sandra Steffen
The Great GIlly Hopkins--Katherine Paterson
Snowy Night with a Stranger--Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries, Julia London
To the Brink--Cindy Gerard
Christmas, Present--Jacquelyn Mitchard
The Prophet of Yonwood--Jeanne DuPrau
Seduce Me at Sunrise--Lisa Kleypas
The Empty Mirror--James Lincoln Collier
Saying Grace--Beth Gutcheon
Poison--Chris Wooding
MARCH
One Little Sin--Liz Carlyle
To Tame a Texan's Heart--Jodi Thomas
Griffin's Castle--Jenny Nimmo
Don't Say a Word--Barbara Freethy
Miracle's Boys--Jacqueline Woodson
APRIL
Fat Chance--Deborah Blumenthal
At Twilight--Maggie Shayne
Sean Donovan--Lori Wick
Blue Christmas--Mary Kay Andrews
Palace of Mirrors--Margaret Peterson Haddix
Salvation in Death--J. D. Robb
Promises in Death--J. D. Robb
From Dead to Worse--Charlaine Harris
Star Bright--Catherine Anderson
Stories for the Extreme Teen's Heart--compiled by Alice Gray
Only with a Highlander--Janet Chapman
Under a Lucky Star--Diane Farr
A Family Christmas--Carrie Alexander
MAY
Heart Fate--Robin D. Owens
Alone in the Ice World--MaryAnn Easley
The Revelation--Beverly Lewis
The Gunslinger--Stephen King
Hattie Big Sky--Kirby Larson
The Drawing of the Three--Stephen King
Night of the Loving Dead--Casey Daniels
Jessie--Lori Wick
Stuart Little--E. B. White
JUNE
Tribute--Nora Roberts
Magic's Child--Justine Larbalestier
Living with the Dead--Kelley Armstrong
Men of the Otherworld--Kelley Armstrong
Fearless Fourteen--Janet Evanovich
Waiting for Normal--Leslie Connor
What I Saw and How I Lied--Judy Blundell
Ashes to Ashes--Tami Hoag (audiobook)
Dead Over Heels--Charlaine Harris
Savvy--Ingrid Law
Christmas Letters--Debbie Macomber
Lavender Morning--Jude Deveraux
The Waste Lands--Stephen King
Tall, Dark, and Texan--Jodi Thomas
Once Smitten, Twice Shy--Lori Wilde
Power Play--Deirdre Martin
Everything She Ever Wanted--Ann Rule
JULY
Princess of the Midnight Ball--Jessica Day George
Under the Banner of Heaven--Jon Krakauer (audiobook)
Grave Sight--Charlaine Harris
An Ice Cold Grave--Charlaine Harris
After Midnight--Teresa Medeiros
Numbering All the Bones--Ann Rinaldi
Charlotte's Choice--Cathleen Twomey
The Christmas Hope--Donna Van Liere
How to Ditch Your Fairy--Justine Larbalestier
Heart Quest--Robin D. Owens
Vision in White--Nora Roberts
Swept Away--Candace Camp (audiobook)
The Lost World--Michael Crichton, read by Anthony Heald
Book of a Thousand Days--Shannon Hale
Lock and Key--Sarah Dessen
The Summoning--Kelley Armstrong
The Princess and the Hound--Mette Ivie Harrison
AUGUST
Grave Surprise--Charlaine Harris
The Time Traveler's Wife--Audrey Niffenegger
Love Is Blind--Lynsay Sands
A Curse Dark as Gold--Elizabeth C. Bunce
Finger Lickin' Fifteen--Janet Evanovich
The Awakening--Kelley Armstrong
SEPTEMBER
Runaway--Bobbi Smith
Guardian of Honor--Robin D. Owens
Catching Fire--Suzanne Collins
The Runaway McBride--Elizabeth Thornton
This Lullaby--Sarah Dessen
The Darkest Whisper--Gena Showalter
Red's Hot Honky-Tonk Bar--Pamela Morsi
The Forgotten Man--Robert Crais, read by James Daniels
Christmas Revels--Mary Jo Putney
Bathtub Voyages: Tales of Adventure--Scott Foresman
The Big Blank Piece of Paper: Artists at Work--Scott Foresman
Personal Demon--Kelley Armstrong
A Babe in Ghostland--Lisa Cach
The Honorable Midwife--Lilian Darcy
Garden Spells--Sarah Addison Allen
True Believer--Nicholas Sparks
OCTOBER
Tennyson--Lesley M. M. Blume
Stolen Children--Peg Kehret
Breathe: A Ghost Story--Cliff McNish
Impossible--Nancy Werlin
The Miss America Family--Julianna Baggott
Trouble in High Heels--Christina Dodd
Tongue in Chic--Christina Dodd
Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girld: Cooties! (Issues 9-12)--Roman Dirge
Danger in a Red Dress--Christina Dodd
Storm of Visions--Christina Dodd
Baby Be Mine--Diane Fanning
Conard County: Cowboy Comes Home--Rachel Lee
Simply Perfect--Mary Balogh
Storm of Shadows--Christina Dodd
The Glass Castle--Jeannette Walls
NOVEMBER
You're So Vein--Christine Warren
Bed of Roses--Nora Roberts
Bitsy's Bait & BBQ--Pamela Morsi
Chesapeake Blue--Nora Roberts, read by James Daniels
Hard Day's Night--Katie McAlister
Assignment: Rescue, An Autobiography--Varian Fry
When the Duke Returns--Eloisa James
This Duchess of Mine--Eloisa James
Zenda: A New Dimension--Ken Petti and John Amodeo
Just the Way You Are--Barbara Freethy
A Christmas Scandal--Jane Goodger
Hapily After All--Laura C. Stevenson
Destined for an Early Grave--Jeaniene Frost
I'll Be Home for Christmas--Linda Lael Miller et al
The Millionaires--Brad Meltzer, read by Tony Goldwyn
They Cage the Animals at Night--Jennings Michael Burch
Sooner or Later--Debbie Macomber
DECEMBER
Land of the Living--Nicci French, read by Anne Flosnik
Lover's Knot--Emilie Richards
Secondhand Bride--Linda Lael Miller
If Wishes Were Horses--Anne McCaffrey
Jumbo: This Being the True Story of the Greatest Elephant in the World--Paul Chambers
Dead and Gone--Charlaine Harris
Stormbreaker--Anthony Horowitz
Call Me Princess--Tomoko Taniguchi
Tall, Dark, and Dangerous--Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, and Susan Sizemore
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity--Bill O'Reilly
Gifts of Love--Kay Hooper and Lisa Kleypas
Amelia Earhart: Adventure in the Sky--Francene Sabin
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller--Sarah Miller
White Witch, Black Curse--Kim Harrison
The Rescue--Nicholas Sparks, read by Mary Beth Hurt and John Belford Lloyd
Holidays Are Hell--Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson
Sucker Bet--Erin McCarthy
The Better Part of Darkness--Kelly Gay
Mistletoe & Magic--Lisa Cach, Stobie Piel, Lynsay Sands, and Amy Elizabeth Saunders
157 Books; 46,439Pages; Average page per book: 296 pages
Sunday, December 27, 2009
THE BOOKS OF 2008
I never posted my 2008 reading list, so I'll do it now, because on Friday I will need to post the books I've read in 2009. So, here we go!
JANUARY
Cry Wolf--Tami Hoag (audiobook)
Sheep--Valerie Hobbs
Isabella's Above-Ground Pool--Alice Mead
The Old Willis Place--Mary Downing Hahn
Snow Blind--P. J. Tracy
If His Kiss Is Wicked--Jo Goodman
Singing Hands--Delia Ray
Shadow Fires--Catherine Springer
Revenge Gifts--Cindy Cruciger
The Report Card--Andrew Celements
Morrigan's Cross--Nora Roberts
The City of Ember--Jeanne DuPrau
American Dreams--John Jakes, read by Edward Herrmann
North By Night: A Story of the Underground Railroad--Katherine Ayres
Darkfever--Karen Marie Moning
Gossamer--Lois Lowry
FEBRUARY
Sun Kissed--Catherine Anderson
The Book of Story Beginnings--Kristin Kladstrup
About Face--Fern Michaels
Paper Doll--Elizabeth Feuer
Blood Brothers--Nora Roberts
Silver Master--Jayne Castle
The People of Sparks--Jeanne DuPrau
Chocolate Fever--Robert Kimmel Smith
Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter--Arnold R. Brown
Cold Mountain--Charles Frazier, read by Dylan Baker
How to Eat Fried Worms--Thomas rockwell
Dream Soul--Laurence Yep
MARCH
Heart Dance--Robin D. Owens
Messenger--Lois Lowry
Love at First Sight--Sandra Lee
Someone to Love--Jude Deveraux
The Orphan Train Adventures: Circle of Love--Joan Lowery Nixon
Ten Big Ones--Janet Evanovich
The Far Side of Evil--Sylvia Louise Engdahl
The Winter Room--Gary Paulsen
Eleven on Top--Janet Evanovich
There Goes the Bride--Lori Wilde
Red and Rover: A Boy, A Dog, A Time, A Feeling--Brian Bassett
Miranda--Grace Livingston Hill
APRIL
Split Image--Mel Glenn
Fablehaven--Brandon Mull
The Prophecy--Hilari Bell
King's Property--Morgan Howell
Creation in Death--J. D. Robb
The Red Badge of Courage--Stephen Crane (audiobook)
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Norway--Virginia Haviland
His Runaway Son--Dee Holmes
Where Are the Children?--Mary Higgins Clark
Dragon Lovers--Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Karen Harbaugh, and Barbara Samuel
Dance of the Gods--Nora Roberts
MAY
The Boy Next Door--Meggin Cabot
Love, Ruby Lavender--Deborah Wiles
Kisscut--Karin Slaughter
The Last Chance Cafe--Linda Lael Miller (audiobook)
Ammie, Come Home--Barbara Michaels
Sea-Cat and Dragon King--Angela Carter
Solay--Mark Jonathan Harris
What Happened to Lani Garver--Carol Plum Ucci
The Dungeon--Lynne Reid Banks
Clan Daughter--Morgan Howell
No Humans Involved--Kelley Armstrong
Royal Destiny--Morgan Howell
Stalker--Faye Kellerman
While Angels Sleep--Judith Kelman
JUNE
Encyclopedia Horrifica--Joshua Gee
Deliver Us from Normal--Kate Klise
Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans--Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Carlton Stowers
Dead of Night--J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas
One Bite Stand--Nina Bangs
Texas Princess--Jodi Thomas
If Only in My Dreams--Wendy Markham
High Noon--Nora Roberts
Valley of Silence--Nora Roberts
The Darkest Night--Gena Showalter
The Panther and the Pyramid--Bonnie Vanak
The White--Deborah Larsen
Dragonflight/Dragonquest--Anne McCaffrey, read by Adrienne Barbeau
Tornadoes--Anne Schraff
Too Late to Say Goodbye--Ann Rule
Flush--Carl Hiaasen
The Executioner's Daughter--Laura E. Williams
Blizzard!--Jim Murphy
Highland Promise--Hannah Howell
The Good Fairies of New York--Martin Millar
The Darkest Kiss--Gena Showalter
JULY
Secrets--Jude Deveraux
Shadow Music--Julie Garwood
The Darkest Pleasure--Gena Showalter
Mistaken Identity--Lisa Scottoline (audiobook)
When Patty Went to College--Jean Webster
Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
New Moon--Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse--Stephenie Meyer
AUGUST
Uncertain Summer--Betty Neels
The Faerie Path--Frewin Jones
Breaking Dawn--Stephenie Meyer
The Chocolate Touch--Patrick Skene Catling
Lottery--Patricia Wood
The Named--Marianne Curley
The Sacrifice--Kathleen Benner Duble
Exploring Historical Fiction--Scholastic, Inc.
Kindred--Octavia E. Butler
The Marriage Game--Fern Michaels
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083--Andrea White
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903--Kathryn Lasky
The Ghost Sitter--Peni R. Griffin
The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma--Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje
The Stone Flower Garden--Deborah Smith
Every Fixed Star--Janew Kirkpatrick, read by Barbara Rosenblat
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865--Joyce Hansen
SEPTEMBER
The Five Little Peppers Midway--Margaret Sidney
Haunted--Meg Cabot
Wizard's Daughter--Catherine Coulter
Breaking Free--LouAnn Gaeddert
Strangers in Death--J. D. Robb
Lost Magic--Berthe Amoss
Esperenza Rising--Pam Munoz Ryan
The Ghost's Grave--Peg Kehret
Wait Till Helen Comes--Mary Downing Hahn
Morning Light--Catherine Anderson
OCTOBER
The Two Princesses of Bamarre--Gail Carson Levine
The Bright Forever--Lee Martin
Dark Magic--Cheyenne McCray
His Captive Lady--Anne Gracie
Stone Fox--John Reynolds Gardiner
The House in the Snow--M. J. Engh
The Lotus Cup--Jane Louise Curry
The Devil Who Tamed Her--Johanna Lindsey
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume--Julia Quinn
Coming Undone--Susan Andersen
The Angels of Morgan Hill--Donna Van Liere
NOVEMBER
The Devil's Possession--Heather Waters
Colony Girl--Thomas Rayfiel
Missing Magic--Karen Whiddon
Letters from Rapunzel--Sara Lewis Holmes
Train from Marietta--Dorothy Garlock
317 Beulah Street--Sandra Steffen
The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins
The Journey of the Shadow Bairns--Margaret J. Anderson
Clara Barton and the American Red Cross--Eve Marko
Deadly Seduction--Wensley Clarkson
Our Only May Amelia--Jennifer L. Holm
The Dark--Marianne Curley
The Key--Marianne Curley
The Rogue Report--Barbara Dawson Smith
The Host--Stephenie Meyer
Boundless--Alexandra Thorne
Switched, Bothered, and Bewildered--Suzanne McPherson
Blue Clouds--Patricia Rice
DECEMBER
Somewhere I'll Find You--Lisa Kleypas
The Lottery Rose--Irene Hunt
The Witch Herself--Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Solomon Snow and the Silver Spoon--Kaye Umansky
Never Romance a Rake--Liz Carlyle
When a Texan Gambles--Jodi Thomas
Marry Christmas--Jane Goodger
A Season to Be Sinful--Jo Goodman
Twelve Sharp--Janet Evanovich
The Hollow--Nora Roberts
The Folk Keeper--Franny Billingsley
Snowfall-Mitchell Smith
The Rules of Seduction--Madeline Hunter
Emergence: Labeled Autistic--Temple Grandin and Margaret M. Scariano
Total: 164 books at 45,853 pages
JANUARY
Cry Wolf--Tami Hoag (audiobook)
Sheep--Valerie Hobbs
Isabella's Above-Ground Pool--Alice Mead
The Old Willis Place--Mary Downing Hahn
Snow Blind--P. J. Tracy
If His Kiss Is Wicked--Jo Goodman
Singing Hands--Delia Ray
Shadow Fires--Catherine Springer
Revenge Gifts--Cindy Cruciger
The Report Card--Andrew Celements
Morrigan's Cross--Nora Roberts
The City of Ember--Jeanne DuPrau
American Dreams--John Jakes, read by Edward Herrmann
North By Night: A Story of the Underground Railroad--Katherine Ayres
Darkfever--Karen Marie Moning
Gossamer--Lois Lowry
FEBRUARY
Sun Kissed--Catherine Anderson
The Book of Story Beginnings--Kristin Kladstrup
About Face--Fern Michaels
Paper Doll--Elizabeth Feuer
Blood Brothers--Nora Roberts
Silver Master--Jayne Castle
The People of Sparks--Jeanne DuPrau
Chocolate Fever--Robert Kimmel Smith
Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter--Arnold R. Brown
Cold Mountain--Charles Frazier, read by Dylan Baker
How to Eat Fried Worms--Thomas rockwell
Dream Soul--Laurence Yep
MARCH
Heart Dance--Robin D. Owens
Messenger--Lois Lowry
Love at First Sight--Sandra Lee
Someone to Love--Jude Deveraux
The Orphan Train Adventures: Circle of Love--Joan Lowery Nixon
Ten Big Ones--Janet Evanovich
The Far Side of Evil--Sylvia Louise Engdahl
The Winter Room--Gary Paulsen
Eleven on Top--Janet Evanovich
There Goes the Bride--Lori Wilde
Red and Rover: A Boy, A Dog, A Time, A Feeling--Brian Bassett
Miranda--Grace Livingston Hill
APRIL
Split Image--Mel Glenn
Fablehaven--Brandon Mull
The Prophecy--Hilari Bell
King's Property--Morgan Howell
Creation in Death--J. D. Robb
The Red Badge of Courage--Stephen Crane (audiobook)
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Norway--Virginia Haviland
His Runaway Son--Dee Holmes
Where Are the Children?--Mary Higgins Clark
Dragon Lovers--Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Karen Harbaugh, and Barbara Samuel
Dance of the Gods--Nora Roberts
MAY
The Boy Next Door--Meggin Cabot
Love, Ruby Lavender--Deborah Wiles
Kisscut--Karin Slaughter
The Last Chance Cafe--Linda Lael Miller (audiobook)
Ammie, Come Home--Barbara Michaels
Sea-Cat and Dragon King--Angela Carter
Solay--Mark Jonathan Harris
What Happened to Lani Garver--Carol Plum Ucci
The Dungeon--Lynne Reid Banks
Clan Daughter--Morgan Howell
No Humans Involved--Kelley Armstrong
Royal Destiny--Morgan Howell
Stalker--Faye Kellerman
While Angels Sleep--Judith Kelman
JUNE
Encyclopedia Horrifica--Joshua Gee
Deliver Us from Normal--Kate Klise
Happy Trails: The Story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans--Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Carlton Stowers
Dead of Night--J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas
One Bite Stand--Nina Bangs
Texas Princess--Jodi Thomas
If Only in My Dreams--Wendy Markham
High Noon--Nora Roberts
Valley of Silence--Nora Roberts
The Darkest Night--Gena Showalter
The Panther and the Pyramid--Bonnie Vanak
The White--Deborah Larsen
Dragonflight/Dragonquest--Anne McCaffrey, read by Adrienne Barbeau
Tornadoes--Anne Schraff
Too Late to Say Goodbye--Ann Rule
Flush--Carl Hiaasen
The Executioner's Daughter--Laura E. Williams
Blizzard!--Jim Murphy
Highland Promise--Hannah Howell
The Good Fairies of New York--Martin Millar
The Darkest Kiss--Gena Showalter
JULY
Secrets--Jude Deveraux
Shadow Music--Julie Garwood
The Darkest Pleasure--Gena Showalter
Mistaken Identity--Lisa Scottoline (audiobook)
When Patty Went to College--Jean Webster
Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
New Moon--Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse--Stephenie Meyer
AUGUST
Uncertain Summer--Betty Neels
The Faerie Path--Frewin Jones
Breaking Dawn--Stephenie Meyer
The Chocolate Touch--Patrick Skene Catling
Lottery--Patricia Wood
The Named--Marianne Curley
The Sacrifice--Kathleen Benner Duble
Exploring Historical Fiction--Scholastic, Inc.
Kindred--Octavia E. Butler
The Marriage Game--Fern Michaels
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083--Andrea White
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903--Kathryn Lasky
The Ghost Sitter--Peni R. Griffin
The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma--Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje
The Stone Flower Garden--Deborah Smith
Every Fixed Star--Janew Kirkpatrick, read by Barbara Rosenblat
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865--Joyce Hansen
SEPTEMBER
The Five Little Peppers Midway--Margaret Sidney
Haunted--Meg Cabot
Wizard's Daughter--Catherine Coulter
Breaking Free--LouAnn Gaeddert
Strangers in Death--J. D. Robb
Lost Magic--Berthe Amoss
Esperenza Rising--Pam Munoz Ryan
The Ghost's Grave--Peg Kehret
Wait Till Helen Comes--Mary Downing Hahn
Morning Light--Catherine Anderson
OCTOBER
The Two Princesses of Bamarre--Gail Carson Levine
The Bright Forever--Lee Martin
Dark Magic--Cheyenne McCray
His Captive Lady--Anne Gracie
Stone Fox--John Reynolds Gardiner
The House in the Snow--M. J. Engh
The Lotus Cup--Jane Louise Curry
The Devil Who Tamed Her--Johanna Lindsey
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume--Julia Quinn
Coming Undone--Susan Andersen
The Angels of Morgan Hill--Donna Van Liere
NOVEMBER
The Devil's Possession--Heather Waters
Colony Girl--Thomas Rayfiel
Missing Magic--Karen Whiddon
Letters from Rapunzel--Sara Lewis Holmes
Train from Marietta--Dorothy Garlock
317 Beulah Street--Sandra Steffen
The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins
The Journey of the Shadow Bairns--Margaret J. Anderson
Clara Barton and the American Red Cross--Eve Marko
Deadly Seduction--Wensley Clarkson
Our Only May Amelia--Jennifer L. Holm
The Dark--Marianne Curley
The Key--Marianne Curley
The Rogue Report--Barbara Dawson Smith
The Host--Stephenie Meyer
Boundless--Alexandra Thorne
Switched, Bothered, and Bewildered--Suzanne McPherson
Blue Clouds--Patricia Rice
DECEMBER
Somewhere I'll Find You--Lisa Kleypas
The Lottery Rose--Irene Hunt
The Witch Herself--Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Solomon Snow and the Silver Spoon--Kaye Umansky
Never Romance a Rake--Liz Carlyle
When a Texan Gambles--Jodi Thomas
Marry Christmas--Jane Goodger
A Season to Be Sinful--Jo Goodman
Twelve Sharp--Janet Evanovich
The Hollow--Nora Roberts
The Folk Keeper--Franny Billingsley
Snowfall-Mitchell Smith
The Rules of Seduction--Madeline Hunter
Emergence: Labeled Autistic--Temple Grandin and Margaret M. Scariano
Total: 164 books at 45,853 pages
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
FEELING SHEEPISH
So I was Christmas shopping with the kids this week and saw Kim Harrison's new paperback, White Witch, Black Curse, on display and decided to treat myself to it because I really enjoy the Rachel Morgan series, and I knew this was one book that wouldn't gather dust on my shelf before I get around to reading it.
But wait! I just took this one out from the library last week. Color me chagrined!
But wait! I just took this one out from the library last week. Color me chagrined!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Too Many Books, Redux
When I last wrote six months ago, I was upset at all the complaints and comments people make about my book collection. Now, after six months of my husband being unemployed, I've been listing my books for sale on amazon. I sell a few every week, and while it doesn't make me rich, the extra money I get every month fills the gas tank or buys groceries or lets me take the kids to a movie. It's been a blessing. I try to spend an hour a day listing books and logging them in my inventory notebook. (I know, I know, a spreadsheet would work wonders, but I'm more comfortable with my notebook.)
It's really interesting to see what sells, though. I put Bill O'Reilly's latest book on amazon, and it sold within half an hour. New paranormal romance jumps right off the shelf, too. Books I think will sell languish for months, and books I'm dubious about go really quickly. My master plan is to leave a book on the list for six months, and if it doesn't sell, I'll take it to the library swap shelf and trade it for something else. If anyone else sells on amazon and has any advice, feel free to post here.
It's really interesting to see what sells, though. I put Bill O'Reilly's latest book on amazon, and it sold within half an hour. New paranormal romance jumps right off the shelf, too. Books I think will sell languish for months, and books I'm dubious about go really quickly. My master plan is to leave a book on the list for six months, and if it doesn't sell, I'll take it to the library swap shelf and trade it for something else. If anyone else sells on amazon and has any advice, feel free to post here.
Monday, June 08, 2009
TOO MANY BOOKS?!
I have a lot of books. Okay, that's kind of an understatement. There are five full bookshelves downstairs (two of them are my husband's), and each of my kids has a bookcase in their room. Small potatoes to some people, I know, but the real stash is stacked in brown paper grocery bags in our storage shed. At my current rate of reading, which has slowed considerably since I work two jobs, it will take me about five years to read all the books on my paperback bookshelf, and maybe another two to finish the hardcover shelf. So basically, I have enough unread books to last the rest of my life (assuming it's a long one!).
So what's the problem?
In a nutshell, people are constantly urging me to get rid of my books. Why don't you have a yard sale? Why don't you bring those to Goodwill? My husband got mad at me one day because he bumped into my bookshelf and some books fell off, so not only did he throw those books awayl but he went further and chose a bunch of books at random from each shelf and threw those out, too. I was furious, and he was smugly self-satisfied. He thinks I have a mental illness and should seek treatment because I hoard books.
It got worse, though, when my son's friend said, "You have all those books in your house and you still check out books from the library?!"
Why do people feel so free to comment on this? I know from my online groups and my teacher friends that lots of people have way more books than I do. Why does it bother people that I like my books and that it makes me happy to have them?
So what's the problem?
In a nutshell, people are constantly urging me to get rid of my books. Why don't you have a yard sale? Why don't you bring those to Goodwill? My husband got mad at me one day because he bumped into my bookshelf and some books fell off, so not only did he throw those books awayl but he went further and chose a bunch of books at random from each shelf and threw those out, too. I was furious, and he was smugly self-satisfied. He thinks I have a mental illness and should seek treatment because I hoard books.
It got worse, though, when my son's friend said, "You have all those books in your house and you still check out books from the library?!"
Why do people feel so free to comment on this? I know from my online groups and my teacher friends that lots of people have way more books than I do. Why does it bother people that I like my books and that it makes me happy to have them?
Thursday, January 01, 2009
A NEW YEAR OF PAGES AND STAGES
Every year, I make all sorts of resolutions, usually about reading and email and keeping in touch with people. I guess this year is no different, but I'm trying to keep my goals achievable. If you're reading this, I would love for you to share your goals and/or resolutions via a comment on this blog.
First, I have three stacks of books on my shelf, all in varying stages of reading completion. I don't really know what makes me put a book down unfinished, but usually it's because I'm not totally absorbed in it. It's very hard for me to sustain reading when I'm not completely engaged in a particular book. However, I came up with a goofy little plan that is already working for me, so I'm going to commit to it for the whole year and see what happens. I read two books at a time now, not counting my bathroom book and my purse book. I alternate reading a chapter in one book, then a chapter in the other. When one of them really grabs my attention and I feel compelled to keep reading, I do that until I finish the book or my interest level drops again. Using this method, I've alread finished three books that I had started and put down. (Oh, the other trick is to make sure that one of the books is something I actually want to read.)
Another goal I've set for myself is that I cannot buy another book until I've read 10 of the books I already own. Since I literally have thousands of books I haven't yet read, I'm hoping this will help me whittle down Mt. TBR. If you know me really well, you know I'm going to struggle with this one, so I have allowed myself one option: I can take books from the various swap shelves I visit, but I actually have to have a book to swap out for each book I want to take.
My reading goal remains the same: I want to read 183 books this year, and I'd like to average 300 pages per book. I fell short in 2008 by almost 20 books, and my page average was 279.5 (I read a lot of YA and listened to a few audiobooks), so I'm going to have to work harder this year to reach those goals.
The good news is, my dual book reading plan will mitigate my reluctance to tackle reading really long books. I kind of resent reading books over 500 pages, because it's a lot of time to invest on one book, and it skews my numbers. Reading two books at once, though, I'll be able to keep adding to my books read while at the same time tackling some of those super-long books that I keep petting but putting down.
Here's to a prolific reading year in 2009!
First, I have three stacks of books on my shelf, all in varying stages of reading completion. I don't really know what makes me put a book down unfinished, but usually it's because I'm not totally absorbed in it. It's very hard for me to sustain reading when I'm not completely engaged in a particular book. However, I came up with a goofy little plan that is already working for me, so I'm going to commit to it for the whole year and see what happens. I read two books at a time now, not counting my bathroom book and my purse book. I alternate reading a chapter in one book, then a chapter in the other. When one of them really grabs my attention and I feel compelled to keep reading, I do that until I finish the book or my interest level drops again. Using this method, I've alread finished three books that I had started and put down. (Oh, the other trick is to make sure that one of the books is something I actually want to read.)
Another goal I've set for myself is that I cannot buy another book until I've read 10 of the books I already own. Since I literally have thousands of books I haven't yet read, I'm hoping this will help me whittle down Mt. TBR. If you know me really well, you know I'm going to struggle with this one, so I have allowed myself one option: I can take books from the various swap shelves I visit, but I actually have to have a book to swap out for each book I want to take.
My reading goal remains the same: I want to read 183 books this year, and I'd like to average 300 pages per book. I fell short in 2008 by almost 20 books, and my page average was 279.5 (I read a lot of YA and listened to a few audiobooks), so I'm going to have to work harder this year to reach those goals.
The good news is, my dual book reading plan will mitigate my reluctance to tackle reading really long books. I kind of resent reading books over 500 pages, because it's a lot of time to invest on one book, and it skews my numbers. Reading two books at once, though, I'll be able to keep adding to my books read while at the same time tackling some of those super-long books that I keep petting but putting down.
Here's to a prolific reading year in 2009!
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Somewhere I'll Find You, by Lisa Kleypas
Ordinarily, Lisa Kleypas is one of my go-to authors for romance novels set more or less in Britain's Regency era. This book, however, had so many problems that I can't actually say I loved it. I wanted to love it; I wasn't bored by it; but it just didn't hold together when everything was said and done.
The premise of the book is quite interesting: Julia Hargate and Damon Savage were married as children to fulfill their parents' respective needs: Damon's family needed money, and Julia's father wanted her to be a duchess. Julia, being a 21st-century heroine, bitterly resents her father's machinations and so runs away to become an actress. Meanwhile, Damon has been searching for Julia to address the issue of their marriage, but he has a mistress who claims to be pregnant with his baby, and he's deep in lust with the hottest actress in town, our own Julia under a stage name.
Kleypas's setup is flawed from the start, because she herself seems uncertain about whether or not this arranged marriage would hold up in a 19th-century court of law. Since the characters also seem to waffle back and forth on the issue, the average reader is likely to be thoroughly confused. The solution that Julia is presented with toward the end of the book has little impact because several hundred pages of uncertainty are summarily dismissed with a firm, unequivocal answer. It just doesn't work. Kleypas should have given the reader some insight into her research on the issue, for clarity's sake. If she didn't research it, she should have, because this detail was integral to her plot.
While Julia is a thoroughly modern heroine, Damon really ought to have been used in a medieval romance. Once he figures out that Jessica the actress is Julia his wife, he spends the rest of the book ranting about how she needs to give up her career and focus on him. He was so positively primeval that I really began to wonder if his name was actually Gaston. Julia and Damon allegedly fall in love, but the circumstances of this development are extremely murky, because they never DO anything together. What is the basis of this great romance? He hates her career and she can't imagine life without the theatre in it. The solution to this conflict is eminently predictable and completely unsatisfying, despite Kleypas's best efforts to force readers to accept it. It just doesn't work.
Yet another flaw is the "other man," Julia's boss at the theatre. It's a big mistake for an author to make another character more compelling than the heroine. I spent much of the book waiting for Kleypas to turn Logan into the real hero of the book, and while it seemed like that might happen, Kleypas opted to pick the humdrum route. This is clearly a case of the characters and plot wanting to go one way, with the author forcing them down a different path, much against their will. Logan's devotion to the theatre and his pragmatic approach to love and life invited a turnaround in the name of love. His interests and Julia's dovetail perfectly, and it would have been far more satisfying for Julia to have humanized Logan through her love and their mutual interests. Logan made such an impact before Damon even showed up in the novel that he shouldn't have been thrust to the side. Kleypas could save the situation by giving Logan a book and true love of his own, but the likelihood that it will still feel forced, because readers are still likely to think that this book didn't end as it should have. Alternately, Kleypas could have let Logan have Julia and come up with another heroine for Damon, but Damon just didn't hold up as a hero in his own right; he was more a type. All the ingredients are there, but the execution fell short.
Just for the heck of it, can we have a moratorium on the use of Savage for the hero's name? It's been done to death, done unto cliche. Let it go, already, authors!
Finally, and this actually has very little to do with Kleypas, I deplore the lack of capable editing at most publishing houses. While I would like to believe my favorite authors are cognizant of basic rules of grammar and turns of phrase, I know that that's why we have editors. I'm especially disappointed by the number of times the pronouns I and me are used incorrectly. That's Grammar 101, people. And when there's a mistake on the back of the book (in this case, combining the heroine's real first name with her assumed last name), it's even worse.
I almost always rate books an 8 or a 9, but I give this one a 6. I'll always remember it, but more for what it could have been than for what it actually was.
The premise of the book is quite interesting: Julia Hargate and Damon Savage were married as children to fulfill their parents' respective needs: Damon's family needed money, and Julia's father wanted her to be a duchess. Julia, being a 21st-century heroine, bitterly resents her father's machinations and so runs away to become an actress. Meanwhile, Damon has been searching for Julia to address the issue of their marriage, but he has a mistress who claims to be pregnant with his baby, and he's deep in lust with the hottest actress in town, our own Julia under a stage name.
Kleypas's setup is flawed from the start, because she herself seems uncertain about whether or not this arranged marriage would hold up in a 19th-century court of law. Since the characters also seem to waffle back and forth on the issue, the average reader is likely to be thoroughly confused. The solution that Julia is presented with toward the end of the book has little impact because several hundred pages of uncertainty are summarily dismissed with a firm, unequivocal answer. It just doesn't work. Kleypas should have given the reader some insight into her research on the issue, for clarity's sake. If she didn't research it, she should have, because this detail was integral to her plot.
While Julia is a thoroughly modern heroine, Damon really ought to have been used in a medieval romance. Once he figures out that Jessica the actress is Julia his wife, he spends the rest of the book ranting about how she needs to give up her career and focus on him. He was so positively primeval that I really began to wonder if his name was actually Gaston. Julia and Damon allegedly fall in love, but the circumstances of this development are extremely murky, because they never DO anything together. What is the basis of this great romance? He hates her career and she can't imagine life without the theatre in it. The solution to this conflict is eminently predictable and completely unsatisfying, despite Kleypas's best efforts to force readers to accept it. It just doesn't work.
Yet another flaw is the "other man," Julia's boss at the theatre. It's a big mistake for an author to make another character more compelling than the heroine. I spent much of the book waiting for Kleypas to turn Logan into the real hero of the book, and while it seemed like that might happen, Kleypas opted to pick the humdrum route. This is clearly a case of the characters and plot wanting to go one way, with the author forcing them down a different path, much against their will. Logan's devotion to the theatre and his pragmatic approach to love and life invited a turnaround in the name of love. His interests and Julia's dovetail perfectly, and it would have been far more satisfying for Julia to have humanized Logan through her love and their mutual interests. Logan made such an impact before Damon even showed up in the novel that he shouldn't have been thrust to the side. Kleypas could save the situation by giving Logan a book and true love of his own, but the likelihood that it will still feel forced, because readers are still likely to think that this book didn't end as it should have. Alternately, Kleypas could have let Logan have Julia and come up with another heroine for Damon, but Damon just didn't hold up as a hero in his own right; he was more a type. All the ingredients are there, but the execution fell short.
Just for the heck of it, can we have a moratorium on the use of Savage for the hero's name? It's been done to death, done unto cliche. Let it go, already, authors!
Finally, and this actually has very little to do with Kleypas, I deplore the lack of capable editing at most publishing houses. While I would like to believe my favorite authors are cognizant of basic rules of grammar and turns of phrase, I know that that's why we have editors. I'm especially disappointed by the number of times the pronouns I and me are used incorrectly. That's Grammar 101, people. And when there's a mistake on the back of the book (in this case, combining the heroine's real first name with her assumed last name), it's even worse.
I almost always rate books an 8 or a 9, but I give this one a 6. I'll always remember it, but more for what it could have been than for what it actually was.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
GENERAL BOOK CHATTER
I've read a lot of YA books this year. The Twilight series was really good, and I'm waiting for the movie nearly as eagerly as my middle students are. I just finished the third book in Marianne Curley's Guardians of Time trilogy, and I must say, I'm actually disappointed with the ending, which was quite abrupt and deeply unsatisfying. I must find out if there's another book, because there were so many loose ends that I can't believe she doesn't plan to write any more about this group of people.
I'm reading A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN right now. This is one of those classics that I've just never gotten around to before. I'm not very deep into it, but I think it's going to be one of those head-smacking, why didn't I read this sooner kind of books.
I was pretty excited to see that they were making a TV series of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, but I just can't figure out why there's so much sex in it, because I truly don't remember that from the books. Maybe it's just HBO and their need to titillate, but I think the show would have done just as well without it. On the other hand, I would still love to see Kim Harrison's books made into a series.
This hasn't been the greatest of reading years--only 143 books so far, with about six weeks of reading time left to reach my minimum goal of 185 books for the year. I'm sure I can do it, but it's a little disconcerting that even with the large number of YA books read, the total isn't higher. More disappointingly, my total pages average will be well under 300 pages per book. Sigh.
Suzanne Collins, author of the Gregor the Overlander series, hooked me with her latest book, THE HUNGER GAMES. Given the results of the latest election and the recession that seems likely to escalate into outright depression, the premise of the book is not nearly as far-fetched as it might have seemed a year or so ago. After catastrophic civil war, what used to be the United States has been regrouped into twelve districts, ruled by a thirteenth district which conquered all of them. In most of the districts, poverty is rampant and hunger a very real part of everyday life. Each year, each district must submit one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in a reality show where the participants hunt and kill each other. The show's producers intervene to stir things up if the show gets too boring. The last one standing is showered with wealth and privilege. I devoured this book, staying up late into the night when I could hardly keep my eyes open because it was such a compelling story and the characters so interesting. I thought I would die when I got to the end and discovered that it was first in a trilogy! And since the book just came out last month, it will be ages before the next installment! AARGGGHHH!
Another YA book in a similar vein is SURVIVING ANTARCTICA: REALITY TV 2083 by Andrea White. In this one, with a similar socioeconomic condition, a group of teens must recreate Robert Falcon Scott's journey to the Antarctic. This book took a lot more swipes at politics and TV than THE HUNGER GAMES did, but it had many elements in common with that book, too. Both are highly recommended.
Well, that's about it for the moment. Drop me a line and tell me what you're reading these days. There's always room for more books on Mt. TBR!
I'm reading A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN right now. This is one of those classics that I've just never gotten around to before. I'm not very deep into it, but I think it's going to be one of those head-smacking, why didn't I read this sooner kind of books.
I was pretty excited to see that they were making a TV series of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, but I just can't figure out why there's so much sex in it, because I truly don't remember that from the books. Maybe it's just HBO and their need to titillate, but I think the show would have done just as well without it. On the other hand, I would still love to see Kim Harrison's books made into a series.
This hasn't been the greatest of reading years--only 143 books so far, with about six weeks of reading time left to reach my minimum goal of 185 books for the year. I'm sure I can do it, but it's a little disconcerting that even with the large number of YA books read, the total isn't higher. More disappointingly, my total pages average will be well under 300 pages per book. Sigh.
Suzanne Collins, author of the Gregor the Overlander series, hooked me with her latest book, THE HUNGER GAMES. Given the results of the latest election and the recession that seems likely to escalate into outright depression, the premise of the book is not nearly as far-fetched as it might have seemed a year or so ago. After catastrophic civil war, what used to be the United States has been regrouped into twelve districts, ruled by a thirteenth district which conquered all of them. In most of the districts, poverty is rampant and hunger a very real part of everyday life. Each year, each district must submit one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in a reality show where the participants hunt and kill each other. The show's producers intervene to stir things up if the show gets too boring. The last one standing is showered with wealth and privilege. I devoured this book, staying up late into the night when I could hardly keep my eyes open because it was such a compelling story and the characters so interesting. I thought I would die when I got to the end and discovered that it was first in a trilogy! And since the book just came out last month, it will be ages before the next installment! AARGGGHHH!
Another YA book in a similar vein is SURVIVING ANTARCTICA: REALITY TV 2083 by Andrea White. In this one, with a similar socioeconomic condition, a group of teens must recreate Robert Falcon Scott's journey to the Antarctic. This book took a lot more swipes at politics and TV than THE HUNGER GAMES did, but it had many elements in common with that book, too. Both are highly recommended.
Well, that's about it for the moment. Drop me a line and tell me what you're reading these days. There's always room for more books on Mt. TBR!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Summer Reading
I figured being on vacation for most of the month of July would give me the opportunity to get lots of reading done, but that proved not to be the case. I've only read five books so far this month (more or less) and finished listening to one audiobook.
The good news is, I finally got a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and bombed through it in less than two days. I've just started the sequel and will go directly on to book three as soon as possible. I've got about a week to read nine or ten books so my July goals will be met. I don't mind being off by a book or two, but half a dozen or more is just downright unacceptable.
The good news is, I finally got a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and bombed through it in less than two days. I've just started the sequel and will go directly on to book three as soon as possible. I've got about a week to read nine or ten books so my July goals will be met. I don't mind being off by a book or two, but half a dozen or more is just downright unacceptable.
Monday, January 21, 2008
"Respectable" Reading
So I'm thinking today about an incident that occurred a couple of summers ago. I had brought a romance novel to church with me because I had gotten there early and had to kill time until children's choir started. Someone approached me to ask about my book, which I put away before she reached me because I knew what she would say about romance novels. I was right--she wrote a whole blog entry about me, sniffing at my reading choice and just generally being very unkind about it.
Fast forward to today. I'm busy adding books to my shelf at Shelfari (MUST recommend that site to anyone who wants to feel better about giving their books away--you can still have them on a shelf and look at them whenever you want to!), and it occurs to me that the format of a book makes a big difference in people's attitudes. If you read a paperback romance, there are oodles of people who will feel perfectly free to look down on you for it and snipe about your plebeian preferences. Put the same book in a trade paperback format and charge five or six bucks more for it, however, and suddenly it acquires this veneer of acceptability. Like, if you paid that much for it, it must be worthy?!
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar. If you have, feel free to jump in and comment here, because I would love to see what others think about this issue.
Fast forward to today. I'm busy adding books to my shelf at Shelfari (MUST recommend that site to anyone who wants to feel better about giving their books away--you can still have them on a shelf and look at them whenever you want to!), and it occurs to me that the format of a book makes a big difference in people's attitudes. If you read a paperback romance, there are oodles of people who will feel perfectly free to look down on you for it and snipe about your plebeian preferences. Put the same book in a trade paperback format and charge five or six bucks more for it, however, and suddenly it acquires this veneer of acceptability. Like, if you paid that much for it, it must be worthy?!
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar. If you have, feel free to jump in and comment here, because I would love to see what others think about this issue.
Plagiarism in the Romance World Again!
Since it came out lo, these many years ago that Janet Dailey had cribbed entire chunks of Nora Roberts' books, I have not bought another Janet Dailey book or allowed her books to be in my house. I've been very regretful about that, because there were some of Dailey's books that I really liked (mostly in her Harlequin Presents Americana collection).
Well, now it turns out that historical romance author Cassie Edwards has done something similar, although her choice of material to copy is much older. Edwards has plagiarized material for her western romances from some text published early in the 20th century. Her publishing house stood by her at first, denying that it was plagiarism, but as the details came out, had to admit that one of their bestselling authors had, indeed, copied entire passages from this older source.
I've seen the text, and it's clearly copied, right down to the word choices. Yes, she made minor variations here and there, but an author of her experience could have not doubt that what she was doing was cheating. Unlike Dailey, who had the chutzpah to copy one of the bestselling novelists in the world and then be kind of huffy about it when caught (including giving a throwaway "apology" that managed to offend many who read it), Edwards ripped her material from a more obscure source, and must have been fairly confident that she would not be caught out.
Unfortunately, the publishing world is smaller than ever due to the internet, and people have access to a lot more material than ever before. It's just crazy to think you can get away with this type of thing in this day and age.
I'm deeply grateful that I've never been a big Edwards fan, having read only one or two of her books. Nevertheless, she will join Dailey on my list of authors who, under no circumstances, will be allowed in my house. What a pity.
Well, now it turns out that historical romance author Cassie Edwards has done something similar, although her choice of material to copy is much older. Edwards has plagiarized material for her western romances from some text published early in the 20th century. Her publishing house stood by her at first, denying that it was plagiarism, but as the details came out, had to admit that one of their bestselling authors had, indeed, copied entire passages from this older source.
I've seen the text, and it's clearly copied, right down to the word choices. Yes, she made minor variations here and there, but an author of her experience could have not doubt that what she was doing was cheating. Unlike Dailey, who had the chutzpah to copy one of the bestselling novelists in the world and then be kind of huffy about it when caught (including giving a throwaway "apology" that managed to offend many who read it), Edwards ripped her material from a more obscure source, and must have been fairly confident that she would not be caught out.
Unfortunately, the publishing world is smaller than ever due to the internet, and people have access to a lot more material than ever before. It's just crazy to think you can get away with this type of thing in this day and age.
I'm deeply grateful that I've never been a big Edwards fan, having read only one or two of her books. Nevertheless, she will join Dailey on my list of authors who, under no circumstances, will be allowed in my house. What a pity.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Revenge Gifts, by Cindy Cruciger
REVENGE GIFTS
Cindy Cruciger
ISBN: 0-765-35225-7
Romance
Book #08-009
Tara Cole has a successful mail-order business selling an unusual product: gifts for people who want revenge against those who have wronged them. Among her most successful items are lacy pillows stuffed with cat hair (for people who are allergic to cats), boxer shorts guaranteed to set off metal detectors at the airport (for cheating husbands), and Candy-A-Day (a daily chocolate certain to help expand your worst enemy's hips). Tara's friend Kathy warns her that revenge is bad for her karma, but Tara has a pretty good life, even if her house is filled with ghosts who create chaos in her kitchen.
When a very cute guy named Howard shows up, wanting to buy into Tara's business, she's quick to assure him that she works alone, but she can't help being attracted to him. Unfortunately, just about the time Howard enters Tara's life, so does a series of increasingly larger black animals, harbingers of imminent disaster and evidence that someone has laid a curse on Tara. Howard may be attracted to her, but could he also be the one responsible for Tara's change of luck?
Cindy Cruciger has written a charmingly funny romantic suspense caper, redolent with the sizzling heat of the Florida keys in mid-summer. Tara is possibly the most curmudgeonly heroine in the history of romance novels, but her dry wit and acid tongue are hilarious. Tara and Howard (AKA Muffin) are steamy lovers, and Cruciger peoples her novel with other unique characters, such as the improbably debonair but deeply disturbing Darius, demented harpy Miss Good Voodoo, terrifyingly efficient Kimberly Case (Tara's nemesis from her previous job), and taciturn, scary Rique, the cook at Crusty's Bar, which Tara runs for her friend in exchange for free rent and use of a boat. Not to be overlooked are the ghost of Uncle Les, who turns the lights on and off at the most inopportune times, the kitchen poltergeist, who smashes eggs at night, and Zeke the kitten, cuddly and adorable.
REVENGE GIFTS is a perfect beach read, a quick-moving page-turner with something for everyone. This book is highly recommended, and readers will certainly be on the lookout for the next dishy confection from newcomer Cindy Cruciger.
Cindy Cruciger
ISBN: 0-765-35225-7
Romance
Book #08-009
Tara Cole has a successful mail-order business selling an unusual product: gifts for people who want revenge against those who have wronged them. Among her most successful items are lacy pillows stuffed with cat hair (for people who are allergic to cats), boxer shorts guaranteed to set off metal detectors at the airport (for cheating husbands), and Candy-A-Day (a daily chocolate certain to help expand your worst enemy's hips). Tara's friend Kathy warns her that revenge is bad for her karma, but Tara has a pretty good life, even if her house is filled with ghosts who create chaos in her kitchen.
When a very cute guy named Howard shows up, wanting to buy into Tara's business, she's quick to assure him that she works alone, but she can't help being attracted to him. Unfortunately, just about the time Howard enters Tara's life, so does a series of increasingly larger black animals, harbingers of imminent disaster and evidence that someone has laid a curse on Tara. Howard may be attracted to her, but could he also be the one responsible for Tara's change of luck?
Cindy Cruciger has written a charmingly funny romantic suspense caper, redolent with the sizzling heat of the Florida keys in mid-summer. Tara is possibly the most curmudgeonly heroine in the history of romance novels, but her dry wit and acid tongue are hilarious. Tara and Howard (AKA Muffin) are steamy lovers, and Cruciger peoples her novel with other unique characters, such as the improbably debonair but deeply disturbing Darius, demented harpy Miss Good Voodoo, terrifyingly efficient Kimberly Case (Tara's nemesis from her previous job), and taciturn, scary Rique, the cook at Crusty's Bar, which Tara runs for her friend in exchange for free rent and use of a boat. Not to be overlooked are the ghost of Uncle Les, who turns the lights on and off at the most inopportune times, the kitchen poltergeist, who smashes eggs at night, and Zeke the kitten, cuddly and adorable.
REVENGE GIFTS is a perfect beach read, a quick-moving page-turner with something for everyone. This book is highly recommended, and readers will certainly be on the lookout for the next dishy confection from newcomer Cindy Cruciger.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Book Give-away: Nora Roberts audiobook
This week's give-away is a four book audio collection of Nora Roberts' Dream trilogy plus Homeport. These audiobooks are abridged, and the reader generally does a good job (except for little girl voices--hers are ANNOYING). To win this book, all you have to do is comment on this post. If you are the winner (I'll announce this next Saturday), you'll need to send me your mailing info so I can send you your prize.
No one entered last week's give-away, so I'll put Devil in the White City on the swap shelf at work.
No one entered last week's give-away, so I'll put Devil in the White City on the swap shelf at work.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Book Give-away for January 19, 2008
Book Give-away for January 19, 2008
Last week's winner was Vicki. I would really like to see more entrants in my book give-aways, but I'm happy to be sending books off to new homes.
This week's book is THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Erik Larson. This is an excellent murder mystery set during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It's even more compelling because the murders actually happened. If you think serial killers are a modern phenomenon, this book will give you pause.
To enter, all you have to do is make a response to this post. I will choose a winner on the 19th. Good luck, everyone!
Last week's winner was Vicki. I would really like to see more entrants in my book give-aways, but I'm happy to be sending books off to new homes.
This week's book is THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Erik Larson. This is an excellent murder mystery set during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. It's even more compelling because the murders actually happened. If you think serial killers are a modern phenomenon, this book will give you pause.
To enter, all you have to do is make a response to this post. I will choose a winner on the 19th. Good luck, everyone!
If His Kiss Is Wicked, by Jo Goodman
IF HIS KISS IS WICKED
Jo Goodman
ISBN: 0-8217-7777-7
Historical Romance
Book #08-006
Emma Hathaway has made a comfortable home for herself with her uncle, Sir Arthur Vega, and his daughter, the lovely Marisol, by making herself useful in her uncle's painting studio and being something of a companion/servant to her cousin. When Emma is asked to meet with Marisol's lover, the result is nearly fatal: Emma is kidnapped and beaten severely. Battered from her ordeal and in despair at her family's disbelief that she is still a target, Emma seeks help from the mysterious Restell Gardner.
Restell has made a name for himself by helping people solve problems of scandalous proportion. With a combination of cunning and finesse, and an ability to barter favors for information and other intangibles, Restell's unique skills are oddly suited to resolving Emma's issues. As he gets to know Emma, Restell finds himself captivating by her dry sense of humor, her beauty, and her strength. Amidst attempted murder and romantic intrigue, Restell and Emma are drawn into a passion that threatens to consume them.
Jo Goodman always writes with sureness and sensuality, and her talent does not fail to keep things simmering in this romantic mystery. The relationship between Emma and Restell is beautifully depicted, and
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
the fact that they are married halfway into the book gives the romance an extra shimmer of tenderness. Much of the charm of this book is in the development of the trust and affection between the hero and heroine, and for these particular characters, nothing less than matrimony would have been acceptable. Being husband and wife allows Restell and Emma the freedom to explore their growing attraction without guilt or furtive measures tainting their pleasure in each other.
As always, Goodman's supporting cast are three-dimensional, fully believable characters in their own right. Goodman is skilled at layering information in her plots and then peeling it away in just the right increments to move the story forward without revealing too much, too soon. Readers will realize early on that nothing is as it seems in the Vega household, but red herrings and a complex plot will keep readers guessing right up until the final chapter. Marisol, the motherless beauty pampered by her adoring father, is jealous of Emma's closeness to Sir Arthur, yet she depends on Emma to make their lives more comfortable. Sir Arthur, crippled and unable to paint as he used to, relies on Emma to manage his social life as well as his artistic commitments. Marisol's fiance, Neven, was once attracted to Emma before he settled on her cousin, but his management of Sir Arthur's finances is suspect. Restell's family, whom we've met in previous books, are as warm and engaging as ever.
IF HIS KISS IS WICKED is yet another treasure from autobuy author Jo Goodman. Although the title is a bit random, the story delivers everything Goodman's readers have come to expect from her. This book is definitely a keeper.
Jo Goodman
ISBN: 0-8217-7777-7
Historical Romance
Book #08-006
Emma Hathaway has made a comfortable home for herself with her uncle, Sir Arthur Vega, and his daughter, the lovely Marisol, by making herself useful in her uncle's painting studio and being something of a companion/servant to her cousin. When Emma is asked to meet with Marisol's lover, the result is nearly fatal: Emma is kidnapped and beaten severely. Battered from her ordeal and in despair at her family's disbelief that she is still a target, Emma seeks help from the mysterious Restell Gardner.
Restell has made a name for himself by helping people solve problems of scandalous proportion. With a combination of cunning and finesse, and an ability to barter favors for information and other intangibles, Restell's unique skills are oddly suited to resolving Emma's issues. As he gets to know Emma, Restell finds himself captivating by her dry sense of humor, her beauty, and her strength. Amidst attempted murder and romantic intrigue, Restell and Emma are drawn into a passion that threatens to consume them.
Jo Goodman always writes with sureness and sensuality, and her talent does not fail to keep things simmering in this romantic mystery. The relationship between Emma and Restell is beautifully depicted, and
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
the fact that they are married halfway into the book gives the romance an extra shimmer of tenderness. Much of the charm of this book is in the development of the trust and affection between the hero and heroine, and for these particular characters, nothing less than matrimony would have been acceptable. Being husband and wife allows Restell and Emma the freedom to explore their growing attraction without guilt or furtive measures tainting their pleasure in each other.
As always, Goodman's supporting cast are three-dimensional, fully believable characters in their own right. Goodman is skilled at layering information in her plots and then peeling it away in just the right increments to move the story forward without revealing too much, too soon. Readers will realize early on that nothing is as it seems in the Vega household, but red herrings and a complex plot will keep readers guessing right up until the final chapter. Marisol, the motherless beauty pampered by her adoring father, is jealous of Emma's closeness to Sir Arthur, yet she depends on Emma to make their lives more comfortable. Sir Arthur, crippled and unable to paint as he used to, relies on Emma to manage his social life as well as his artistic commitments. Marisol's fiance, Neven, was once attracted to Emma before he settled on her cousin, but his management of Sir Arthur's finances is suspect. Restell's family, whom we've met in previous books, are as warm and engaging as ever.
IF HIS KISS IS WICKED is yet another treasure from autobuy author Jo Goodman. Although the title is a bit random, the story delivers everything Goodman's readers have come to expect from her. This book is definitely a keeper.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
This week's winner, and next week's giveaway
This week's winner, of Emeril's Louisiana cookbook, is toyhabilitation. Congratulations!
My next giveaway is an audiobook, abridged and on cassette. The book is Hot Six (the sixth book in the Stephanie Plum series), by Janet Evanovich, read by Debi Mazar (who does a really good job of it, by the way). I bought it from my library's discard shelf, so it's been through some handling, but it played fine and was a fun listen during a recent trip to Memphis. All you have to do to be entered is to comment on this blog entry. If you'd like, you can email your address to me at magpye29@hotmail.com with a list of your reading preferences, and you could win a random book from me, as I tend to pass my books along as soon as I've read them.
Good luck, everyone!
My next giveaway is an audiobook, abridged and on cassette. The book is Hot Six (the sixth book in the Stephanie Plum series), by Janet Evanovich, read by Debi Mazar (who does a really good job of it, by the way). I bought it from my library's discard shelf, so it's been through some handling, but it played fine and was a fun listen during a recent trip to Memphis. All you have to do to be entered is to comment on this blog entry. If you'd like, you can email your address to me at magpye29@hotmail.com with a list of your reading preferences, and you could win a random book from me, as I tend to pass my books along as soon as I've read them.
Good luck, everyone!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Book Give-away
Last year I tried giving books away, but it turned out to be kind of hard to get people's addresses, and then things got away from me. I'm going to try giving books away again this year, every week, and I'm going to be switching up genres and books.
I'm also going to be doing random mystery give-aways. If you're interested in one of these, email me at magpye29@hotmail.com with your address and a list of your favorite genres and authors. I will not give your address to anyone, and I will not bother you with email; all that will happen is that you might get a random book from me. All I ask in return is that you make a journal entry at http://www.bookcrossing.com/ for any book(s) you might receive from me--there will be a sticker inside the book cover with directions on how to do the journal entry.
The first book give-away of 2008 is an Emeril cookbook. I don't have it right in front of me, but it's a Louisiana cookbook, autographed by the author. The dust jacket has been taped where it ripped down the front, but otherwise, the book is in good condition.
If you would like to be entered into the drawing for this book, please leave a comment on this post. Feel free to look around my blog and check out some of the sites I go to regularly, too. Good luck--I hope each of you will have a year filled with good books and all the things you love best. Check back on Saturday to see who the winner is!
I'm also going to be doing random mystery give-aways. If you're interested in one of these, email me at magpye29@hotmail.com with your address and a list of your favorite genres and authors. I will not give your address to anyone, and I will not bother you with email; all that will happen is that you might get a random book from me. All I ask in return is that you make a journal entry at http://www.bookcrossing.com/ for any book(s) you might receive from me--there will be a sticker inside the book cover with directions on how to do the journal entry.
The first book give-away of 2008 is an Emeril cookbook. I don't have it right in front of me, but it's a Louisiana cookbook, autographed by the author. The dust jacket has been taped where it ripped down the front, but otherwise, the book is in good condition.
If you would like to be entered into the drawing for this book, please leave a comment on this post. Feel free to look around my blog and check out some of the sites I go to regularly, too. Good luck--I hope each of you will have a year filled with good books and all the things you love best. Check back on Saturday to see who the winner is!
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