Hoping everyone has a scary and safe Halloween!!
When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes--Desiderius Erasmus... A room without books is like a body without a soul--Cicero... You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend--Paul Sweeney...
Saturday, October 31
Thursday, October 29
They're Here
The books I won over at Wendy's arrived today!! I'm very excited and am putting them at the top of the TBR Pile.
Thanks so much to Bronwyn Parry and Wendy :)
Thanks so much to Bronwyn Parry and Wendy :)
A new day, a new list
I seem to be in a list mood...
- We get it, piracy is bad--STOP PREACHING TO THE CHOIR!! We're not the people stealing your ebooks.
- I don't want to hear how romance isn't taken seriously--how do we expect to be taken seriously when so many blogs and websites consist of near naked or in some cases naked men. It seems to me we're doing a great job of living up to the "it's porn for women" label. Book covers are bad enough, but yikes. Okay, that was preachy--I'm done.
- The Child is going to be the Grim Reaper for Halloween.
- Love my new hair cut--a very short bob. My parent are coming to visit this afternoon (bringing Junior a Halloween gift) Mom's going to love that it's short, "long hair isn't appropriate in someone your age". Mom started telling me I was middle aged when I turned 35, now that I'm 45 I'm almost old.
- I have to bake cookies tonight for Grandparents day at school tomorrow. We're having our annual All Saints Day presentation, and the school grandparents are invited.
- I haven't read anything since finishing Indiscreet, and I will definitely get to some sort of review soon.
Wednesday, October 28
Today's List
- I posted something earlier about the discussion that was going on at DA yesterday, but decided nothing I had to say was that revolutionary or different than what was already being discussed. So, I deleted it (actually I saved it as a draft to sit in blogger Never Neverland)
- I have an appointment to have my hair done at a local day spa. Haven't had a good hair cut in quite a while. Everytime I went to my old salon, the stylist (my husband's cousin's ex-wife) didn't really listen to what I wanted, even though I agreed with her that her ex is an *^(#*^%
- I work after care today, so I wont be back on-line until tonight.
- The Yankees play tonight :)
Tuesday, October 27
Barnes & Noble Trip
Saturday the family took a trip to B&N.
The Child has been bugging us to all week. He desperately wanted the newest installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which he got plus one more WK book and 2 Goosebump books. He's already finished one of the Wimpy Kid books and started the other. For the last couple of years we thought he wasn't going to be a reader.
I picked up 4 books... Carolyn Jewel's Indiscreet, Tessa Dare's Surrender of the Siren and A Lady of Persuasion and Beverly Jenkins's Captured. They didn't have Goddess of the Hunt, so the Dare series will have to wait until I can read them in order. Somewhere I'd heard good things about the Jenkins.
Sunday I finished Indiscreet--LOVED it and will hopefully post something tomorrow.
The Child has been bugging us to all week. He desperately wanted the newest installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which he got plus one more WK book and 2 Goosebump books. He's already finished one of the Wimpy Kid books and started the other. For the last couple of years we thought he wasn't going to be a reader.
I picked up 4 books... Carolyn Jewel's Indiscreet, Tessa Dare's Surrender of the Siren and A Lady of Persuasion and Beverly Jenkins's Captured. They didn't have Goddess of the Hunt, so the Dare series will have to wait until I can read them in order. Somewhere I'd heard good things about the Jenkins.
Sunday I finished Indiscreet--LOVED it and will hopefully post something tomorrow.
Sunday, October 25
The List
Because of the fundraiser last weekend I missed most of the top 16 lists romance bloggers were posting, and didn't get a chance to post a list either. This had me thinking about books and authors that have influenced my reading and buying habits over the 30+ years (I swear I'm not that old--I started reading romance in the 7th grade).
I've been thinking about authors who have passed away, retired from writing or who have changed genres or writing styles. Here is a list of authors in no particular order that have shaped my reading habits over the years.
- Kathleen Woodiwiss: The list would have to start with the queen of historical romances, Shanna and The Wolf and The Dove make me smile just thinking about them.
- Jill Barnett: I don't know if she is still writing, but I adored her books especially Bewitching, Dreaming, Wonderful and Just a Kiss Away. Sweet funny stories, from paranormals to medivals to jungle adventure, she had a wonderful writing career.
- Arnette Lamb: As far as I'm concerened she was the queen of Scottish historicals. She has passed away and I found it so sad when SB made fun of her old covers, her books were wonderful.
- Pamela Morsi: Her historical romance back list is fantastic, must reads--Courting Miss Hattie and Heaven Sent.
- Lavryle Spencer: I loved her books, my first was Seperate Beds, my favorite Years--I still reread this on at least once a year, just love Linnea and Teddy.
- Marsha Canham: Retired--LOVED her entire back list, my favorites... Through a Dark Mist, In the Shadow of Midnight and The Last Arrow.
- Elizabeth Lowell: Her romance background is amazing. From historicals to Silhouettes to romantic suspense, her romance novels were great.
- Iris Johanson: Track down her historicals, well worth reading.
- Joan Wolf: She has been getting some attention for her Regencies, which were great, but I also loved her Dark Ages series, her King Alfred the Great book was fantastic.
- Candice Proctor: Every single one of her books were really good. Night in Heaven and Whispers in Heaven are two of my favorite books of all time
- Jane Feather: Her "V" series are classics and I still reread The Accidental Bride once a year.
- Amanda Quick: Long before her Arcane series there were her single word titles, most started with R, D, M or S, Ravished, Seduced, Mischief ... her list was endless and fun, with quirky interesting characters. Her Jayne Ann Krentz category romances were great too.
- Maggie Osborne: When Westerns are being discussed her name pops up. Definitely worth reading her backlist.
- Julie Garwood: Her historicals were wonderful. Loved that there wasn't internal conflict between the h/h, the stood together against outside forces. My favorite--Honor's Splendor--warming of feet, enough said.
- Marilyn Pappano: Silhouettes to die for, going way back. My favorite--Within Reach--It's still on my keeper shelf.
- Judith McNaught: Most people think of Whtney, My Love, but she had other great books, Paradise, Perfect and other historical romances that are worth reading.
- Catherine Coulter: I'm not sure her books hold up that well to the test of time, but when her older historicals were new they were the best. And her historic backlist is huge.
- Virginia Henley: Yes, I am admitting I used to read Henley. Simon deMontfort and Princess Eleanor in The Dragon & The Jewel still sits on my keeper shelf.
- Bertrice Small and Thea Devine: I put these ladies together because where would erotic romance be without them? If you ever get a chance to meet Thea Devine she is wonderful to talk to, she tells great stories about how she got started.
- Rebecca Paisley: I'm putting Paisley on the list because every other member of my Romance Reading Bookclub absolutely LOVED her. I could never figure out why, she never worked for me, but I read her anyway, because everyone else did.
- Megan Chance, Jo Beverley, Laura Kinsale: All were influential and worth finding backlists.
- Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lynn Viehl, Susan Squires, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Mary Balogh, Liz Carlyle, and a few others I can't think of right now are have been autobuys for quite some time now and I expect that wont change anytime soon.
Giving up for now
I spent most of yesterday trying to create a black and white blog with this as the banner...
I'm HTML challenged and blogger doesn't want to resize the jpeg file I created to fit correctly. When you click on the picture it's the exact size I want it to be for the banner, but it's just not working. I'm giving up for a few days and moving on to other things.
Please note it's 4:30 am and I'm up for the day--yikes.
I'm HTML challenged and blogger doesn't want to resize the jpeg file I created to fit correctly. When you click on the picture it's the exact size I want it to be for the banner, but it's just not working. I'm giving up for a few days and moving on to other things.
Please note it's 4:30 am and I'm up for the day--yikes.
Saturday, October 24
Can't get there from here
I started messing with my template and somehow lost the old one. And since it's giving me all sorts of error messages when I try to paste the html back in, I created a new one using bloggers layout options.
Friday, October 23
NJRW
Angie and Megan are going to be at NJRW. Years ago I belonged to a Romance Reading Book Club at my local UBS. The club would go down to NJRW for the Saturday Literacy Bookfair and author signing... Nora Roberts, Anne Stuart, Betina Krahn, Sharon Sala (she signed my Jackson Rule--LOVE that book), Suzanne Brockman... Great memories.
There's a great list of authors at this year's Literacy Bookfair and author signing. Wish I could make the trip, maybe next year :)
***edited***
I just noticed the tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the Literacy Bookfair and author signing link:
Way back when we were allowed to bring books, if I remember correctly it was 4 or 5, then it was 2, now it's none. Ahhh, the good old days :) Jackson Rule wouldn't have been autographed by today's rules.
There's a great list of authors at this year's Literacy Bookfair and author signing. Wish I could make the trip, maybe next year :)
***edited***
I just noticed the tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the Literacy Bookfair and author signing link:
Please note: As in the past, previously purchased books are not permitted in the Book Fair for signing.
Way back when we were allowed to bring books, if I remember correctly it was 4 or 5, then it was 2, now it's none. Ahhh, the good old days :) Jackson Rule wouldn't have been autographed by today's rules.
Wendy's questions of the day...
Wendy's questions today seems very relevent to the conversation yesterday on Dear Author (see yesterday's post)... what are the book buying habits of other readers?
What I Buy New: Paperbacks: I'm very particular about what I buy new. The budget is tight and I stick to auto-buy authors and highly recommended books from bloggers like Rosario and Rosie--my reading tastes seem to be pretty consistantly similar to theirs. Hardcovers: Rarely and I mean rarely do I buy hardcovers and usually I save gift cards that I get for my birthday and Christmas for these.
ARCs: I don't get ARCs anymore. 18 months of not blogging gets you off all sorts of lists, which is fine because I always felt obligated to read and review things as soon as I received them and hated reviewing a free book that I didn't like.
Buying Used: I try to keep a list of books that I want used... new to me authors, recommended reads by blogger other than Rosario and Rosie, and I try to get to my local UBS every couple of months. While there I'll pick up anything that looks good.
What I Get In "e": Right now I'm not getting anything "e". I have an older device that isn't backlit and doesn't have enough memory to store more than a couple of books at a time. BN's Nook looks interesting, but I'm going to wait for prices to come down and put it on a Christmas wish list for next year (let all the kinks get worked out first). I'm not into technology, I have a cell phone, but rarely use it and would probably like an i-phone because of all the apps, but I don't need one.
That's it for my book buying habits.
Have a great day and happy reading :)
What I Buy New: Paperbacks: I'm very particular about what I buy new. The budget is tight and I stick to auto-buy authors and highly recommended books from bloggers like Rosario and Rosie--my reading tastes seem to be pretty consistantly similar to theirs. Hardcovers: Rarely and I mean rarely do I buy hardcovers and usually I save gift cards that I get for my birthday and Christmas for these.
ARCs: I don't get ARCs anymore. 18 months of not blogging gets you off all sorts of lists, which is fine because I always felt obligated to read and review things as soon as I received them and hated reviewing a free book that I didn't like.
Buying Used: I try to keep a list of books that I want used... new to me authors, recommended reads by blogger other than Rosario and Rosie, and I try to get to my local UBS every couple of months. While there I'll pick up anything that looks good.
What I Get In "e": Right now I'm not getting anything "e". I have an older device that isn't backlit and doesn't have enough memory to store more than a couple of books at a time. BN's Nook looks interesting, but I'm going to wait for prices to come down and put it on a Christmas wish list for next year (let all the kinks get worked out first). I'm not into technology, I have a cell phone, but rarely use it and would probably like an i-phone because of all the apps, but I don't need one.
That's it for my book buying habits.
Have a great day and happy reading :)
Thursday, October 22
For a little while I actually followed today's little flare up and found it rather interesting, in a been there done that sort of way. Authors jump to conclusions and readers get annoyed. There's a new concept *rolls eyes*
Fifteen years ago a friend (the owner of our local UBS) went to an RT convention and was blasted for selling used books by a VERY popular author at that time. Not exactly the same thing, but it sounds rather similiar, doesn't it?
Can anyone take a middle of the road approach to this?
Authors need to realize readers share books, whether it's print or ebook. Isn't it more important to be read by more people, hopefully this will guarantee more sales in the future.
And readers need to realize that authors especially mid-list ones rely on book royalties to pay their bills, writing is their job, just like being a bookkeeper is mine.
In this case it seemed the authors in question were over reacting, but a little sensitivity on both sides would go a very long way.
Fifteen years ago a friend (the owner of our local UBS) went to an RT convention and was blasted for selling used books by a VERY popular author at that time. Not exactly the same thing, but it sounds rather similiar, doesn't it?
Can anyone take a middle of the road approach to this?
Authors need to realize readers share books, whether it's print or ebook. Isn't it more important to be read by more people, hopefully this will guarantee more sales in the future.
And readers need to realize that authors especially mid-list ones rely on book royalties to pay their bills, writing is their job, just like being a bookkeeper is mine.
In this case it seemed the authors in question were over reacting, but a little sensitivity on both sides would go a very long way.
Wednesday, October 21
Current Reading
Currently I'm reading Karin Tabke's Master of Torment. Book two of her Blood Sword Legacy series. I read book three first then went back for one and two. The Blood Swords are William the Conqueror's elite fighting force.
I'm enjoying the series, it's been quite some time since there has beena strong voice writing medieval romances that sound as realistic as I would expect. Not being a scholar of the period, I go by what I think sounds real in speech cadences and story structure. Honestly, I can't say how realistic or true to history they are, but they're working for me.
I wont be getting much reading in today. I have work this morning, after care at school from 3 to 6 and then I'm back for a parent association meeting at 7.
Have a great day and happy reading.
Monday, October 19
Back...
Well, I'm back. The fundraiser is finished for another year. THANK GOD.
Last night I finished Stephanie Lauren's Mastered by Love. Rosario had an interesting review and I thought it was worth giving a try. I haven't read Lauren's in years and years. She used to be a favorite, but after a while I found her rather repetative and the silly nicknames were very annoying.
It was okay. Something that could be enjoyed in the moment, but it certainly wasn't a keeper. I find she has interesting vocabulary choices, almost as if she writes with a thesaurus. It's almost as if her writing hasn't evolved at all--plot, characters are still very similar to her other books.
Royce and Minerva were very interesting and smart characters, they flowed very well together. I didn't particularly like some of the secondary character (Royce's sisters) and there seemed to be too many of them (secondary characters--not sisters), and I was somewhat disconcerted by how the "last traitor" met is ultimate demise.
A totally readable book, but Lauren's wont be going back on my reading list.
The Yankees come on in 30 minutes, so have a great day/night and happy reading.
Last night I finished Stephanie Lauren's Mastered by Love. Rosario had an interesting review and I thought it was worth giving a try. I haven't read Lauren's in years and years. She used to be a favorite, but after a while I found her rather repetative and the silly nicknames were very annoying.
It was okay. Something that could be enjoyed in the moment, but it certainly wasn't a keeper. I find she has interesting vocabulary choices, almost as if she writes with a thesaurus. It's almost as if her writing hasn't evolved at all--plot, characters are still very similar to her other books.
Royce and Minerva were very interesting and smart characters, they flowed very well together. I didn't particularly like some of the secondary character (Royce's sisters) and there seemed to be too many of them (secondary characters--not sisters), and I was somewhat disconcerted by how the "last traitor" met is ultimate demise.
A totally readable book, but Lauren's wont be going back on my reading list.
The Yankees come on in 30 minutes, so have a great day/night and happy reading.
Friday, October 16
Gone but not forgotten...
I'm busy with a school fundraiser this weekend. I'll be back on Monday.
Have a great weekend and happy reading.
Have a great weekend and happy reading.
Tuesday, October 13
Random discoveries...
I've been blog hopping again and just following links to different places, and have made some random discoveries...
I've got Bingo today, I wont be back until tonight. Have a great day and happy reading :)
- It doesn't matter who talks about ereaders--the mind wanders, the eyes glaze over and the ringing in the ears sounds like every adult in a Peanuts cartoon... wah, wah waaahh. I know it's the future of books and reading, but I'm waiting for technology to even itself out and prices to start to come down. And ebook prices aren't always that great. And everyone is talking about them.
- There are some really good review sites out there. I've been running Kristie's sidebar and have been lurking on interesting review and commentary blogs with some gorgeous graphics. The first few times I ran Kristie's sidebar there were an awful lot of contests and things that didn't interest me, but for the last week I've been finding some good stuff.
- I need to update my sidebar to include all the good stuff I've found (see #2).
- I must be a prude, but Holy Cow, there are a lot more sites that need consent warnings. Not that consent warnings actually mean anything. But at least I'd be forewarned.
- I'm not ususally bothered by book covers, but I've seen a few that I would have to cover for public reading and I NEVER do this--one didn't even have people on it and it definitely would need to be covered in public, I'm leaving it at that.
- Covers again, I know I just said I'm not usually bothered by covers, but everyone is bothered by AVON covers... Why do we get sucky AVON step back covers here in the States but in England the AVON covers are lovely and artsy?
- RT doesn't like me. I've tried registering several times and I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER get the registration confirmation. And yes, I've checked the SPAM mailbox. Not that I need to be on the RT message boards--it's just annoying.
- There are several bloggers obsessed with Lisa Kleypas heros--Kristie started a trend :)
- Some of the interaction between writers and bloggers is interesting and some of it is cringe worthy. I guess that never changes.
- The next time you go to Walmart make sure you don't look like a freak and if you're going to wear a pink micro-mini please wear underpants. Someone will take your picture and post it online for all the world to stumble across. And no, I don't know where I found this one, it was a link, from a link, from a link thing.
I've got Bingo today, I wont be back until tonight. Have a great day and happy reading :)
Monday, October 12
Lightened Up
Taking a break from romance blogging wasn't planned, but it did have some good side effects. During my self imposed exile I learned to lighten up and not take romance reading so seriously. Most of us read for escape and entertainment, not for enlightenment or to find a life plan, yet so many of us take the process of reading and blogging so seriously, in the past myself included.
The other day there was a review Carolyn Jewel's Indiscreet on Dear Author. It seemed like a good review, sounded like a book I'd enjoy, like one I'll be adding to my TBR pile (I'd already decided on this one, Rosie's review had already convinced me to pick this one up). The woman who posted the first comment apparently is married to a Kurdish man. This is from her initial comment...
My husband is Sicilian American, should I not watch The Godfather movies or the The Sopranos because they are sterotypes of Italian/Sicilian American culture, or do I allow myself to escape and be entertained.
Several years ago I read Scottish Historicals on a fairly regular basis. After numerous discussions on message boards, it was brought home how inaccurate so many of these books were in historical information and culture, to the point that I gave up on them, rather than focusing on the story between 2 characters I was focusing on the details. I've probably missed some great books because of this.
I'm not trying to diminish the need for historical and cultural accuracy or personal preferences. I'm annoyed about historical inaccuracies when I find them and I have definite preferences but these days first and foremost I want to escape, be entertained and believe happily ever after is possible.
The other day there was a review Carolyn Jewel's Indiscreet on Dear Author. It seemed like a good review, sounded like a book I'd enjoy, like one I'll be adding to my TBR pile (I'd already decided on this one, Rosie's review had already convinced me to pick this one up). The woman who posted the first comment apparently is married to a Kurdish man. This is from her initial comment...
I just can’t stand cultural appropriation. So I will have to pass. Middle Eastern/Persian/Arabic culture has become taboo, so it will be popular for exploitationI flinched. It had nothing to do with the review or the book. For several comments it looked like the review might be hijacked, morphing into something that might cause another controversy. Was she entitled to make this comment--of course. Was this the forum for discussion--maybe, maybe not. Sarah Frantz is looking for papers, wouldn't this be a perfect topic?
My husband is Sicilian American, should I not watch The Godfather movies or the The Sopranos because they are sterotypes of Italian/Sicilian American culture, or do I allow myself to escape and be entertained.
Several years ago I read Scottish Historicals on a fairly regular basis. After numerous discussions on message boards, it was brought home how inaccurate so many of these books were in historical information and culture, to the point that I gave up on them, rather than focusing on the story between 2 characters I was focusing on the details. I've probably missed some great books because of this.
I'm not trying to diminish the need for historical and cultural accuracy or personal preferences. I'm annoyed about historical inaccuracies when I find them and I have definite preferences but these days first and foremost I want to escape, be entertained and believe happily ever after is possible.
Saturday, October 10
Home Alone
The hubby and child are camping.
Cub Scout camping.
Cub Scout camping in the POURING RAIN.
They're camping locally at one of the county parks. I stopped last night to see how they were doing. When I left it wasn't raining yet and everything was set up and the 3 man tent looked quite cozy with sleeping bags, blanket, air mattress and pillows. When I got home there was a call from the hubby, I apparently when I closed the door of our mini-van... "you locked the van with my keys in it." I had to go back and unlock it.
So, with all this alone time do you think I did any reading?? NOPE! I watched the Yankees go into extra innings and promptly fell asleep after Teixeira's home run in the bottom of the 11th. Honestly, the Yankees didn't win as much as the Twins lost, but we'll take it :)
Back to the campers... I get a call this morning at 6:30, that's right 6:30--good thing I was already awake. They're in the van drying off. It poured non-stop from about 10:00 last night until about 6:00 this morning. They were nice and dry in the tent until the child needed to go to the bathroom at 5:30 this morning. Not a dry spot in the entire camp, no place to sit and almost no dry firewood. It took hours to cook breakfast. I sent towels and a storage box that was to stay in the car with dry clothing. It looks like they may need it.
I'm heading over this afternoon. Junior needs his Cub Scout uniform by 2:00 and our Pastor is coming to say a fireside Mass, that is if they can get a fire going. I was planning on staying for dinner, but I think I'll come home, eat something and read--no Yankees.
Did I mention they're forecasting FROST tonight?
Cub Scout camping.
Cub Scout camping in the POURING RAIN.
They're camping locally at one of the county parks. I stopped last night to see how they were doing. When I left it wasn't raining yet and everything was set up and the 3 man tent looked quite cozy with sleeping bags, blanket, air mattress and pillows. When I got home there was a call from the hubby, I apparently when I closed the door of our mini-van... "you locked the van with my keys in it." I had to go back and unlock it.
So, with all this alone time do you think I did any reading?? NOPE! I watched the Yankees go into extra innings and promptly fell asleep after Teixeira's home run in the bottom of the 11th. Honestly, the Yankees didn't win as much as the Twins lost, but we'll take it :)
Back to the campers... I get a call this morning at 6:30, that's right 6:30--good thing I was already awake. They're in the van drying off. It poured non-stop from about 10:00 last night until about 6:00 this morning. They were nice and dry in the tent until the child needed to go to the bathroom at 5:30 this morning. Not a dry spot in the entire camp, no place to sit and almost no dry firewood. It took hours to cook breakfast. I sent towels and a storage box that was to stay in the car with dry clothing. It looks like they may need it.
I'm heading over this afternoon. Junior needs his Cub Scout uniform by 2:00 and our Pastor is coming to say a fireside Mass, that is if they can get a fire going. I was planning on staying for dinner, but I think I'll come home, eat something and read--no Yankees.
Did I mention they're forecasting FROST tonight?
Thursday, October 8
For the first time in my life the words "I'm going to burn that book" came out of my mouth. That book being The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes. The child reads it every day, spending 1/2 an hour every morning in our only bathroom. My husband took it out of the bathroom to help get the child moving in the morning. The child found it and it's back in the bathroom.
The child actually asked the teacher if he could use it for his October book report. He's reading a Goosebump book instead.
The child actually asked the teacher if he could use it for his October book report. He's reading a Goosebump book instead.
Wednesday, October 7
The evolution of a romance reader
Wendy has a great post up on Romancing the Blog today about romance genre ground breakers. Definitely worth a read and a thought today.
This got me thinking about my ground zero of romance. Where did my addiction to romance start and how did it evolve?
Westerns--real westerns, without love interest westerns, Zane Grey type of westerns. I was horse crazy as a kid. What is the backbone of westerns? To an 11 or 12 year old kid it was the horse--yes, I said the horse. But, even then I thought something was missing. I also read other things like The Little House Books and Anne of Green Gables please note these books also had horses and ponies :)
Harlequin Presents--HPs came next. Harlequin Presents with horses that is--LOL. I inhaled anything written by Janet Dailey (which I hate to admit since her plagiarism scandal). That is anything written by Janet Dailey with horses.
In the 8th grade I read Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman--this was my epiphany. It was a true love story. The school librarian gave me the book at the end of the school year because I'd taken it out over and over again. It's probably in box packed away in my attic.
Then I started reading anything with a romantic theme. Anything published by Harlequin (the Silhouette lines hadn't started yet).
The discovery of Kathleen Woodiwiss (borrowed from an aunt) was mind-blowing. History, romance, adventure--OMG, she had it all, and they were epic--more than 150 or 180 pages. At this point I was reading other genres equally. Stephen King was getting popular and I read Carrie and The Shining, and other adult books, some books a young teenager should never have read.
Up until the mid 80's I was simply looking for romance books. Then I really started to discover "authors" other than Kathleen Woodiwiss, Barbara Cartland (even then Cartland readers didn't admit to being Cartland readers, my Regency romance passion started with Cartland and Georgette Heyer) and Janet Dailey (though at this point I'd outgrown Janet Dailey--I was amazed by her Calder series when it was new). The discovery of other authors sent me into autobuy mode... Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, Judith McNaught, Jude Devereaux, Sandra Brown, Julie Garwood, Jill Barnett, Lavryle Spencer... I can remember the day I discoverd Lavyrle Spencer. I'd stopped in a local drug store for something else, stopped at the book display and found Seperate Beds, the main characters were my age--it was amazing.
I'm still hooked, much to the dismay of my husband--books overrun our house, if there is a flat surface, there's probably a romance novel sitting on it, actually more than one :)
This got me thinking about my ground zero of romance. Where did my addiction to romance start and how did it evolve?
Westerns--real westerns, without love interest westerns, Zane Grey type of westerns. I was horse crazy as a kid. What is the backbone of westerns? To an 11 or 12 year old kid it was the horse--yes, I said the horse. But, even then I thought something was missing. I also read other things like The Little House Books and Anne of Green Gables please note these books also had horses and ponies :)
Harlequin Presents--HPs came next. Harlequin Presents with horses that is--LOL. I inhaled anything written by Janet Dailey (which I hate to admit since her plagiarism scandal). That is anything written by Janet Dailey with horses.
In the 8th grade I read Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman--this was my epiphany. It was a true love story. The school librarian gave me the book at the end of the school year because I'd taken it out over and over again. It's probably in box packed away in my attic.
Then I started reading anything with a romantic theme. Anything published by Harlequin (the Silhouette lines hadn't started yet).
The discovery of Kathleen Woodiwiss (borrowed from an aunt) was mind-blowing. History, romance, adventure--OMG, she had it all, and they were epic--more than 150 or 180 pages. At this point I was reading other genres equally. Stephen King was getting popular and I read Carrie and The Shining, and other adult books, some books a young teenager should never have read.
Up until the mid 80's I was simply looking for romance books. Then I really started to discover "authors" other than Kathleen Woodiwiss, Barbara Cartland (even then Cartland readers didn't admit to being Cartland readers, my Regency romance passion started with Cartland and Georgette Heyer) and Janet Dailey (though at this point I'd outgrown Janet Dailey--I was amazed by her Calder series when it was new). The discovery of other authors sent me into autobuy mode... Linda Howard, Nora Roberts, Catherine Coulter, Judith McNaught, Jude Devereaux, Sandra Brown, Julie Garwood, Jill Barnett, Lavryle Spencer... I can remember the day I discoverd Lavyrle Spencer. I'd stopped in a local drug store for something else, stopped at the book display and found Seperate Beds, the main characters were my age--it was amazing.
I'm still hooked, much to the dismay of my husband--books overrun our house, if there is a flat surface, there's probably a romance novel sitting on it, actually more than one :)
Sunday, October 4
Time for Eternity by Susan Squires
I started the Sommerfield and decided it needed to wait until I finished Susan Squires' Time for Eternity. I've been reading Susan Squires for a long time, starting with Body Electric. I didn't read Body Electric new, I had heard good things from another blogger a few years ago and enjoyed the concept. If you haven't read it, hunt it down it's a curious read--I'll leave it at that.
Believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of most vampire romance. Most of the vampire romances I've read aren't frightening enough, I find myself comparing them to Salem's Lot,and nothing I've ever read scared me as much. And honestly, I can't stand vampire comedy. I have several Sizemore vampire books on my TBR pile, I haven't read any yet.
None of the 3 vampire series I read are very scary, but there's something in each that I enjoy: 1. JR Ward (she continues to suck me in her stories--I can't explain it :)). 2. Lynn Viehl--I've enjoyed almost all of her Darkyn series and 3. Susan Squires--she hooked me with The Companion and I loved One with the Darkness.
Time for Eternity was another good book in a series of good books. It has morphed into a time-travel/vampire series, which has been interesting. In her earlier books the source of conflict in the story comes from an almost epic battle between vampires, but with the time travel books the time periods become character like, bringing the conflict in a different direction, simply surviving in a historic period of conflict. One with the Darkness starts in 1821 and goes back to Rome during Caligula's reign (A.D 41--love that time period :)).
Modern day San Francisco is where Time for Eternity starts and goes back to the France during the Reign of Terror, a time period I don't like to read about--the guillotine and the killing of innocent families including children is very disturbing. Frankie (a made vampire) goes back in time to kill Henri (a born vampire) before he can turn her. She believes he abandoned her. Henri would never have left her alone after the transition, we find out on page 7 he was guillotined. Why he was killed unfolds as the story progresses. By going back in time Francoise/Frankie, the heroine, finds strength she lacked during her 1st time in Revolutionary France and Henri, our hero, is the truest of heros, this time survivng the time period.
I've rattled on enough. This one I enjoyed, maybe someone else did too?
Have a great day and happy reading.
Believe it or not, I'm not a huge fan of most vampire romance. Most of the vampire romances I've read aren't frightening enough, I find myself comparing them to Salem's Lot,and nothing I've ever read scared me as much. And honestly, I can't stand vampire comedy. I have several Sizemore vampire books on my TBR pile, I haven't read any yet.
None of the 3 vampire series I read are very scary, but there's something in each that I enjoy: 1. JR Ward (she continues to suck me in her stories--I can't explain it :)). 2. Lynn Viehl--I've enjoyed almost all of her Darkyn series and 3. Susan Squires--she hooked me with The Companion and I loved One with the Darkness.
Time for Eternity was another good book in a series of good books. It has morphed into a time-travel/vampire series, which has been interesting. In her earlier books the source of conflict in the story comes from an almost epic battle between vampires, but with the time travel books the time periods become character like, bringing the conflict in a different direction, simply surviving in a historic period of conflict. One with the Darkness starts in 1821 and goes back to Rome during Caligula's reign (A.D 41--love that time period :)).
Modern day San Francisco is where Time for Eternity starts and goes back to the France during the Reign of Terror, a time period I don't like to read about--the guillotine and the killing of innocent families including children is very disturbing. Frankie (a made vampire) goes back in time to kill Henri (a born vampire) before he can turn her. She believes he abandoned her. Henri would never have left her alone after the transition, we find out on page 7 he was guillotined. Why he was killed unfolds as the story progresses. By going back in time Francoise/Frankie, the heroine, finds strength she lacked during her 1st time in Revolutionary France and Henri, our hero, is the truest of heros, this time survivng the time period.
I've rattled on enough. This one I enjoyed, maybe someone else did too?
Have a great day and happy reading.
Saturday, October 3
The next two weeks are crazy...
In two weeks our school will host a very large fundraiser. In years past it raised half of our yearly fundraising income, but this year it looks like we'll make very little--we're taking a big hit because of the economy. Unfortunately the work load for this event is huge and we're all getting a little tense. It's crunch time and everyone is feeling it. There's snipping and snarling going on all over the place.
Next weekend Junior and the Hubby are going camping with the Cub Scouts. And that's turning into an event too. Usually we pay a fee and the pack supplies the food. This time we bring our own food, but it's specific things that they will "cook as a pack". I don't think it's going to work but I'm keeping my mouth shut. Otherwise there may be snipping and snarling going on all over the place.
This weekend the Hubby has to work and I'm manning a booth at our town's Fall festival. It should be fine. That is unless someone from the town's school board corners me again to discuss "school issues" then there will be snipping and snarling going on all over the place (actually it will only be in my head--I'm very diplomatic and can smile and nod while seething, but that's another tale).
I'm hoping to squeeze in some reading.
Have a great weekend :)
Next weekend Junior and the Hubby are going camping with the Cub Scouts. And that's turning into an event too. Usually we pay a fee and the pack supplies the food. This time we bring our own food, but it's specific things that they will "cook as a pack". I don't think it's going to work but I'm keeping my mouth shut. Otherwise there may be snipping and snarling going on all over the place.
This weekend the Hubby has to work and I'm manning a booth at our town's Fall festival. It should be fine. That is unless someone from the town's school board corners me again to discuss "school issues" then there will be snipping and snarling going on all over the place (actually it will only be in my head--I'm very diplomatic and can smile and nod while seething, but that's another tale).
I'm hoping to squeeze in some reading.
Have a great weekend :)
Thursday, October 1
I didn't need to know that...
This morning I was up early and did a quick blog hop. The last stop before having to get breakfast ready and lunches packed was Dear Author . Now I rarely read Joan/Sarah F's reviews because I'm not really into what she reads and reviews for the Ja(y)nes, but I almost always skim through her reviews, because you never know something may catch my interest.
The cover of the book caught my attention, so I start reading the review. I get about 2/3 of the way through the review and I hit a section that went beyond TMI to I really didn't need to know this :)
I may be a font of useless information, but that was information I didn't need to know and probably wouldn't admit to knowing even if it came up on conversation--LOL
The cover of the book caught my attention, so I start reading the review. I get about 2/3 of the way through the review and I hit a section that went beyond TMI to I really didn't need to know this :)
I may be a font of useless information, but that was information I didn't need to know and probably wouldn't admit to knowing even if it came up on conversation--LOL
Just Curious
Being gone for so long I'm left somewhat confused at times and still out of the loop at other times.
This week Rosie blogged about editorial and opinion blog posts over on Access Romance. My comment was "There’s not much out there that I’d be willing to wade into. There’s more important things in life to worry about." I see most of the attention getting issues as tempests in teacups, and someone else usually posts my thoughts on a subject and probably better than I would have :) .
I came across a few things over the last few days that I wasn't really "willing to wade into", but I did have some thoughts about, so I'm going to comment here instead :)
This week Rosie blogged about editorial and opinion blog posts over on Access Romance. My comment was "There’s not much out there that I’d be willing to wade into. There’s more important things in life to worry about." I see most of the attention getting issues as tempests in teacups, and someone else usually posts my thoughts on a subject and probably better than I would have :) .
I came across a few things over the last few days that I wasn't really "willing to wade into", but I did have some thoughts about, so I'm going to comment here instead :)
- Advertising--if you reach the point where advertising is needed to keep your blog afloat, you have probably ceased being a simple reader blog and have morphed into more of an industry one. This isn't a bad transition for people who have made this their work, part time, full time. It takes real dedication to move from a reading hobby to being part of the industry. Advertising is great, but it needs to be separate from commentary. There's a credibility issue. And to be perfectly honest, I never notice the advertising--that's probably not such a good thing or maybe it is--I'm not sure, I'll have to think about it--someother time ;)
- Yesterday I stumbled upon the "petition" from last year. Wow, I truly missed a big brouhaha with that one--LOL, Nobody likes criticism (myself included), the initial reaction is usually to be defensive--I always hate myself later, whenver I do this. What I found interesting was the shock and disbelief that went with an author behaving badly over a review, even to this extreme and this was frightening in the extreme. This type of behavior has been going on forever. Authors behave badly, readers react and the mean girls on all sides come crawling out of the woodwork. This happens on the blogs now, the message boards of a few years ago, book reviews in magazines and newspapers have you ever read some of the letters to the editors? There are crazy people in the world--and they all have opinions. There will always be fans that feed the egos of authors and we need to remember there are fans of blogs that can be just as ugly. It is what it is--a sad part of human nature.
- Plagiarism--what the heck? Don't authors realize, especially in this digitial age, that they're going to be eventually caught??
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