Well in paper I finished Crimson City by Liz Maverick last night before bed. Next up in paper is an ARC of Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair. In electronic I started reading a WAY advance copy of Of Man and Monsters by Saje Williams. I’m about 6 or 7 chapters in to it so far and it’s been really good so far. I can’t even imagine what surprises Saje has coming yet. I guess after I finish that one I’ll start over again with the review book I was reading that I just couldn’t get in to so had to set aside for awhile. In audio I finished Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts. I then started Fire Along the Sky by Sara Donati on CD. I’m on disc 9 or 10 of about 19 so far. But I know I’m missing a lot so I’ll have to relisten. This is how pathetic I am… I listened to the first three books in her series on tape, borrowed from the library. They didn’t have Book 4 in audio and when I asked if they could order it, they send they don’t take order requests for audio visual materials. Something about…

I guess this goes along with the movies too, but how does knowing a book took a prize affect your consideration of the book? I just posted the 2005 RWA RITA(tm) winners here and I found that only a few had been entered in the database at all — which means no one else requested them in the past year. Odd, don’t you think? And when I entered them, a good third are no longer in print (the category ones) with no plans to reissue them — even a small print run. So what’s the point? I don’t mean this in a mean way, but is it just a small pat on the head? I’m confused (and have been about this for years). If a movie is nominated for Golden Globes or Oscars or even Palm de Ore (spelled wrong I’m sure, but too busy to go and look it up at the moment), they release, perhaps in small theaters, but at least they do in the big cities, so viewers have the opportunity to go out and check it out. Sorry, cash in on the award so to speak. But the Ritas don’t make that happen at all. If…

Yeah I know we all complain about them sometimes but I had to post about it since one if the books I just recently read that is sitting on the table in front of me, drove me nuts when I read the story. I don’t want to say what book as some of my comments on the cover may give away some spoilers about the story. Anyhow, in this book, a 30’s or so year old man is abducted mistakenly as the kidnappers wanted his brother. The kidnappers brought in the heroine, a psychiatrist that’s best in her field of deprogramming of minds, hypnotherapy and similar stuff. Well on the cover, they have this woman sort of leaning over the man, who is leaning back against the wall and she’s holding up a crystal dangling on a string. The implication being that she is hypnotizing him. Well that is ALL wrong. The man was drugged almost the whole time and in bed lying down, never once until they escape ever referenced as being in anything but pajamas and the cover has him in jeans and a t shirt. And not once in the book did the heroine ever try to…

Well not quite as much reading over vacation as I had hoped, but I did get through several. In paper I finished Oceans of Fire by Christine Feehan while I was getting a pedicure though that was actually last Friday (the day I started vacation). I read The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro (long book and probably a big reason I didn’t get as much reading in this week since that one took a while), the Charmed Destinies anthology by Rachel Lee, Mercedes Lackey, Catherine Asaro. I also read the prequel book to the Family Secrets series by Silhouette, Broken Silence. But it was an anthology of stories by Maggie Shayne, Eileen Wilks and Anne Marie Winston. I also read the first book of the Family Secrets series itself, Enemy Mind by Maggie Shayne. And I started the book Crimson City by Liz Maverick as well. Presently I’m about one third of the way through it. (Don’t worry Sara you got dibs after I finish. I also have Book 2 you can borrow after I finish it too.) After I finished The Charmed Sphere, I was able to knock off almost a book a day. In audio I finished Legends…

Well, I’m still searching for what happened to my summer. If anyone finds it please let me know. While I’ve been searching I’ve also been reading. I haven’t read as many books as this same time last year, but I’m pushing hard to get close. I finished Conspiracy in Death by Robb. I didn’t care for this one as much as I have some of the previous ones. For some reason I had trouble getting my brain to engage, and realize that I did know what the words on the page meant, and even worse than that that I truly did know how to read. At some points it seemed like I was just staring at the page wondering what those marks on the page were. Once I got my brain to function properly(yes, some of you might argue that it’s still not doing so) I was able to read the book. I do firmly believe this brain glitch detracted from my fully enjoying Conspiracy in Death. From there I read First Kiss by Kylie Adams. This is is the second book in the Bridesmaid Chronicles, and one that did nothing for me personally. The heroine is self centered, and…

Every year there is a book that is a “must read” either designated by the critics, the media or word of mouth. The book you either do read or must be seen having in your possession. Well, I succumbed and picked up THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova. After all, the magazines, the buzz, the hype, it can’t be all bad, can it? Oh, my! Well, first it is HUGE and hardcover — thus means buying at Costco when I’ve got some spare change or can hide it along with the bottles of wine and salmon — sorry, Costco means wholesale shopping and they were out of fresh flowers so I compensated with the HEAVY book. And after finishing Harry Potter VI, another heavy book meant aching wrists! Sheesh, can’t they make it lighter? Or aren’t you supposed to lounge when reading? Anyway, I got this big book and it was about a series of historians — thus history, chasing after the theory of Dracula, or Drakula, or some other death defying guy from eastern Europe. By a narrator with NO NAME (shades of Rebecca), and flashbacks with journal entries and lots and lots of history. If you’re a fan of…

Over the weekend I was in the mood for what we all call a “comfort read” but still didn’t want to re-read something, so I pulled out Linda Howard’s TO DIE FOR. Quite a few book-clubbers said the “voice” that the author used in this one was different from her usual and I have to agree. The first person style let me be a little more tolerant of a lead character, bouncy cheerleader, than perhaps I would have otherwise. What do you all think about this one? Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

I realized I haven’t posted in here in a couple weeks. I’m not going to backtrack the past couple weeks but I’m going to try to remember to keep doing this weekly at least. Well my vacation officially started this past Friday and I have great plans for reading this week. I pulled out about 10 books that I’m hoping to get through. So next week my reading list may be large if all goes according to plan. 🙂 I finished Harry Potter 6 on CD this past week and I loved it! I was stunned a few times with the turns events took. And yes she did kill someone else off, but that’s no secret since she’s not been hiding the fact that would happen this book. But I’m not saying anything as to who since I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. All I can say is when the person died I actually yelled “NO you CAN’T do that to us!!” Fortunately no one was here to hear that except my cats and they are used to me bursting out with some reaction to something. LOL I’m still working on Volume 3 of the Legends anthology too….

After the potter, it’s hard to get terribly enthused about anything, but I still try 🙂 and I’ve also settled for some shorter books to rest the need of hauling around a heavy book and finding a comfortable place to read. Unfortunately, I haven’t read any books I can really talk about — they are books coming out in September and October — so it would be cruel to chatter about them now. However, do put THE SMOKE THIEF on your purchase or at least check-it-out-in-the-store list. It is well worth a second or third look. I know it is expensive but this is a GOOD story! Great fantasy, decent romance, familiar plot but very well done, interesting side characters. And it’s about dragons! Believe it or not! Cool! Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Once again we all met at Sara’s and gathered around her dining room table for food, drink, and of course conversation. The guest Lois Greiman was very nice to speak with, and even had questions for all of us. Of course, I had to remind everyone I like women’s fiction, and don’t mind if a book doesn’t have a happy ending. I’m the oddball…the rest of the group has to have the HEA. Ok..I’ve been on a whirlwind of travel. Often I can read while I travel, and accomplish a lot of good reading, but this trip I was busy playing with my anniversary gift of a new laptop instead. Yes, it could be used to read e-books, but I didn’t. So now to the good stuff…what I’ve read. Since my last update I have read Unzipped by Lois Greiman. It’s her debut mystery, and was an enjoyable read. It was the first book in what promises to be an entertaining series. I also read Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs and author who I’m fast beginning to really enjoy. Lakeside Cottage does have romance in it, but I would consider it more women’s fiction. Lakeside Cottage is one of my…