tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-115974222024-03-14T05:29:11.470-04:00Random Thoughts of the Reading ObsessedWhen 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...Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.comBlogger844125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-40711487781309401522012-04-22T16:29:00.001-04:002012-04-22T16:29:28.486-04:00Mystery Series<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been on a historical mystery kick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I discovered Deanna Raybourn. I know where have I been :) The Lady Julia Grey Mysteries have been fun reads, though most of them bog down in the middle, but I've discovered that seems to be the case (at least for me) when it comes to "historical mysteries". I've read almost all of Ashley Gardner's Captain Lacey Mysteries and several of the Nell Sweeney Mysteries, and consistently I get bored in the middle while we're introduced to the different mystery scenarios, before the mystery is actually solved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But even with being a little bogged down, I still seem to be enjoying these series. I like the character development that goes on from story to story, so even if I'm bored or already figured out who the murderer is I like where the series seem to be going. With the exception of the In Death series, which could be considered mysteries, we don't see many real series books in romance, spinoffs, but not series with the same main characters in each book. I guess romance doesn't really lend itself to this sort of story and mysteries do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's it for now. Have a great day and happy reading.</span>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-3949662252391855552012-04-09T09:51:00.000-04:002012-04-09T09:55:32.535-04:00A little crazy<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last week was a little crazy around here. Junior is an altar server at our church and he served at Holy Thursday's Last Supper Mass, on Friday for the Liturgy of the Passion and on Easter Sunday. Throw in 2 soccer practices and 2 baseball practices and we were done for the week. He's been on vacation all last week and is still on vacation this week. This week is just as nuts. Today we are waiting for my old minivan to be picked up. We've donated it to a local non-profit. I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Junior has soccer practiceo n Tuesday. Wednesday he goes to his best friend's birthday/sleep over party, and Thursday he has play practice, soccer practice and baseball practice--I figure he'll be crashing on Friday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even though it has been busy, I still got in some reading. I found a review for <strong>Susan Sizemore's <em>The Price of Innocence</em></strong> at Dear Author and decided it was worth a try, and it was very good. I also read a review of <strong><em>Sweet Enemy</em> </strong>by<strong> Heather Snow</strong> (I don't remember where I found that one) it was good too--a little drawn out, but not enough to kill it. <strong>Jo Goodman's</strong> <strong><em>Kissing Comfort</em></strong> was a nice read, even though I wasn't completely thrilled with the heroine, but the story was pretty good, but not nearly as good as <strong><em>Never Love a Lawman</em></strong>--which I thoroughly loved. I started <strong>Lynn Viehl's <em>Nightborn</em></strong>, but I'm not really in the mood for a vampire story and I may have to go back and reread some of the other books to bring me back into the <strong><em>Darkyn</em></strong> series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have a couple of mysteries I think I'll read and I'm still vacillating about the new JR Ward. Part of me wants to finish out the Black Dagger Brotherhood, but I'm not really interested in moving on to the Band of Bastards. In the grand scheme of life--it's not important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Have a great day and happy reading :)</span>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-81535182330574952162012-03-30T07:48:00.000-04:002012-03-30T07:48:01.517-04:00Living in a BubbleI finished reading the three Victoria Dahl books this week. As I was reading them I realized I now live in a rather insulated bubble, that revolves around home, school and church. This bubble is probably why I had massive issues with all three of these books, the first one in particular.<br />
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To be perfectly honest, I did NOT like any of the Donovans. When you dislike 3 of the 6 main characters it's not likely you're going to be overly fond of the books. I understood their motivations, but I still couldn't warm to any of them.<br />
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I don't have enough time this morning to go into details, maybe I'll get back to it later. In the mean time...<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-51606383739768321552012-03-22T06:00:00.001-04:002012-03-22T06:07:32.249-04:00Rambling<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not much reading going on this week. Junior is now in the 5th grade and is playing soccer, baseball and has a speaking part in the school's spring play. Yes, I know he's a little over scheduled this spring, but the rest of the year isn't as bad. In the fall it's only soccer, winter is basketball, and summer is basketball again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It has been incredibly warm in our area, today we are expecting temperatures in the 80's. Junior gets to wear his "summer" uniform, which is shorts and a polo/golf shirt. The kids love getting out of their white dress shirts and ties--though the other day he admitted to me that he thinks the dress uniforms make him look "snazzy".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm vacillating on whether or not to get the new JR Ward Black Brotherhood book. Hated the last one, but maybe not enough to put me off the series completely, and isn't this book Tohr's?? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just hopped over to Kristi's blog and she is also recommending the Victoria Dahl books that Rosario liked. I'll be heading over to Amazon for downloads sometime soon :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Life is good, have a great day and happy reading.</span>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-22294219550984921752012-03-16T15:56:00.005-04:002012-03-16T16:04:08.292-04:00New Reading<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I finished<strong><em> When Maiden's Mourn</em></strong> by CS Harris and <strong><em>Hunting Season</em></strong> by Liz Carlyle. <strong><em>When Maiden's Mourn</em></strong> is part of the Sebastian St. Cyr series and once again CS Harris is wonderful. Hunting Season is an older book/novella. I don't remember ever reading it before, so I'm thinking it was part of a "novella" book with 2 or 3 other stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I finished Hunting Season this morning and expect to start the new Madeline Hunter tonight--I've no clue to the title, I've discovered since I've started reading on the kindle I seem to have become very vague to book titles, probably because I don't physically have the book in my hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I checked out the Cecilia Grant book that Rosario recommended, it reminded me of the Lorraine Heath book that was out last year--the title escapes me (the kindle is downstairs and my computer is up, and I'm too lazy to run down and get it :) It sounds good, so that may be next. After that I might try the Courtney Milan books, but the first has a courtesan heroine, not my favorite storyline, but I think I'll give it a try anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I just visited Wendy's TBR Challenge post and holy cow, there are a whole bunch of blogs I've never heard of, I'm truly out of the loop, but at some point I'm going to try to visit all of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Book recommendations are always appreciated, have a great day :)</span>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-77618956069866213532012-03-10T12:47:00.000-05:002012-03-10T12:47:03.009-05:00<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been 11 months since I visited my own blog--truly pathetic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd like to say I'm super busy, I'm reading--not a lot of new romance, rereading old favorites and I've started reading more mystery, but the reality is I've had no real interest in blogging. I occasionally visit old favorites, like Wendy and Kristi, and I do go to Dear Author several times a week, to see what's going on in the romance reading world. Unfortunately when I read the reviews at DA, I have no interest in the books--is it me or is mediocrity ruling romance right now? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I miss my on-line friends and I'm sure I'm missing some great reads and would love to get back into the swing of things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, if any one happens by leave a book recommendation--it will be greatly appreciated.</span><br />
<br />Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-87254145384472061822011-04-15T16:43:00.001-04:002011-04-15T16:43:31.344-04:00So, what happened to Dear Author??Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-65438688579697963892011-04-06T16:04:00.000-04:002011-04-06T16:04:56.729-04:00Read the first 2 PB Ryan booksSo, I read the first 2 PB Ryan historical mysteries--not as good as CS Harris, but certainly not the smutty stuff implied in my last post. I'm back to playing Scrabble, but have plenty of books to read--I wonder what one calls their TBR pile when it's in their e-reader??<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-8721139474041310452011-04-01T16:10:00.001-04:002011-04-01T16:17:37.399-04:00PB Ryan aka Patricia RyanI recently discovered some of my favorite authors have had their books "reprinted" for the Kindle, in particular Marsha Canham and Patricia Ryan. I downloaded Canham's <i>The Wind and the Sea</i> (never read) and Ryan's <i>Silken Threads</i>, which is one of my favorite Ryan books. I then discovered Patricia Ryan wrote a series of historical mysteries under the name of PB Ryan--of course, others probably already know this, but what can I say, I was a little romance crazy for the last 25+ years. I read the little blurb for <i>Still Life With Murder</i> and read the following review...<br />
<blockquote>...P. B. Ryan's Nell Sweeney's mystery was ruined for me by the inclusion of tasteless sexual details, which as they continued to surface, had to be a chosen device of the author to titillate and keep her audience reading. Since I don't voluntarily read soft-core porn, I stopped reading after the prostitute Pearl's salacious account of a very satisfying transaction in an alley with a customer; he was so "good" that Pearl was practically breathless recalling it--GIVE ME A BREAK! I should have realized the book's "slant" sooner, when the "heroine" is revealed in the first few pages to be having an affair with her employer and mentor, Dr. Greaves. Enough is enough, so I threw the book in the recycling bin. This isn't the kind of "escape" reading I enjoy, and I plan to skip the later books too. </blockquote><div></div>As soon as I read "...Since I don't voluntarily read soft-core porn, I stopped reading... when the "heroine" is revealed in the first few pages to be having an affair with her employer and mentor... I threw the book in the recycling bin..." I decided this book was definitely for me. Don't you just love the condescending review??<br />
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Whenever I read Amazon reviews I always read the the ones with 1 or 2 stars, never 5 stars. This one was a 1 star. I'll let you know how it turns out.<br />
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Have a great day, and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-31577998238418510462011-03-31T14:47:00.000-04:002011-03-31T14:47:38.476-04:00That Crazy ScheduleJunior plays Little League. That's probably enough information to understand what havoc this creates with our already over scheduled lives. Right now it's practice on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30 pm-7:00 pm. Right smack in the middle of dinner time. We also have practice Saturday from 11-1, can anyone say lunch time. Add to this on Thursdays I teach a CCD (religious education) class from 3:45 until 5:15. I have one child--how do people with more deal with this?? I guess it explains fast food meals.<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-17944310311495952152011-03-30T08:31:00.001-04:002011-03-30T08:56:20.997-04:00No MoreWell, there is no more C.S. Harris to be read until next year. I finished <strong><em>Where Shadows Dance</em></strong> at 4:00 this morning. LOVED IT. Totally enjoyed all 6 books and am completely ready for number 7. I read somewhere that the next book wont be out until next March--that's a really long wait. I guess it's time to move on to something else.<br />
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It may be noticed that I renamed the blog to "Random Thoughts... Reading Obsessed". I'm admitting that I've moved on from Romance. Don't get me wrong, I still read romance, but I seem to be picking up other genres more often these days. Last Christmas I went on a Women's Lit binge. Then moved to rereading old favorites, which by the way were mostly romance.<br />
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What to read next?? I don't know yet.<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-74013459791242050062011-03-28T04:57:00.000-04:002011-03-28T04:57:18.280-04:00C.S. HarrisI've officially discovered C.S. Harris' Sebastien St. Cyr Mysteries. I'd heard wonderful thinks about these books, but had not read any of them. I've read the first four books in the last 3 days. I guess that would be called a reading binge. I've started number five.<br />
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Somehow I knew I would be a fan, I absolutely adore her writings as Candice Proctor--I can't even count how many times I've read her romance backlist. <br />
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Got to go, have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-25449477425922985522011-03-23T06:17:00.000-04:002011-03-23T06:17:29.351-04:00The Kindle Makes Me Very HappyThree weeks ago I mentioned to my husband I was thinking about ordering a Kindle; and since he didn't object, make a face or ask my what's a Kindle, I ordered it.<br />
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This has to rank really high on my good decisions list. <br />
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A few years ago, I had asked for an "e-reader" for Christmas. My brother-in-law is supposed to be the king of gadgets in our family and he told my MIL to order a Franklin Bookman. What a waste of money. If memory serves correct, Meljean sent me Demon Angel, which I promptly downloaded onto the Bookman--it was a huge yikes to discover it took up all the space. This swore me off e-readers for quite a while.<br />
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The Kindle makes me very happy. As soon as I received it, I promptly downloaded all sorts of books--including Stephen Kings UR, which I loved. Downloaded a biography of Amelia Earhart that Junior read for a book report that is due this week. I even downloaded the Bible. And still have an amazing amount of space available. But what has me completely hooked--SCRABBLE. Yeah, happy dance, I've read nothing since downloading that last week.<br />
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Got to go, I should have been in the shower 15 minutes ago.<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-25172918014212268932011-03-19T09:58:00.000-04:002011-03-19T09:58:12.758-04:00ThingsWhen I look at the posts listed below, there seems to be some continuity to them. They go from March 1 to March 18, the only problem--March 1 was 2010 and March 18 is 2011. What happened? Is it possible to catch up an entire year? I'll hit a few highs and lows...<br />
<ul><li>Very Low... March 6, 2010--the only date I'll note. My husband collapsed at home and spent 10 in the hospital--3 in intensive care with diabetic ketoacidocis. Heck of a way to discover your diabetic. He had been sick for days and ended up going to the hospital by ambulance. We spent the first 6 months just learning to deal with diabetes. My husband has a tendency to be obsessive, so he took to the low carb, no sugar diet with a vengeance--losing more than 40 lbs. He now has a 30 inch waist. He's a little less obsessive now and the doctor says he can splurge once in a while. He does eat a no sugar added ice cream sundae every night after dinner, which makes him very happy. </li>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LtV53rJE2pQ/TYS1PsSIHcI/AAAAAAAAApU/hTniqjGIw-M/s1600/puppy+pictures+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LtV53rJE2pQ/TYS1PsSIHcI/AAAAAAAAApU/hTniqjGIw-M/s200/puppy+pictures+003.JPG" width="161" /></a></div><li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We got a dog in October. She's very sweet. So sweet we named her Sweet Pea. She's a beagle mix. Our local animal shelter has an arrangement with a pound in Georgia, we take their dogs that are going to be euthanized. We figured beagle mix would give us a "smaller dog" to live in our "small house". Not our luck. Turns out she is a beagle/fox hound mix. She's a clumsy, smelly hound dog and we love her. Well, Junior and I love her, my husband isn't so sure. She's proof that a bored foxhound is a dangerous thing. During her teething stage she literally ripped apart anything that wasn't nailed down, though she didn't chew on furniture, just everything else. The picture is from the day we brought her home.</li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QH0StXTK1NY/TYS11Krn2EI/AAAAAAAAApY/tSb2Je64i50/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QH0StXTK1NY/TYS11Krn2EI/AAAAAAAAApY/tSb2Je64i50/s200/011.JPG" width="150" /></a>Junior got his first dirt bike for Christmas. He's ridden it once--Christmas Day. Since Christmas we had snow on the ground until last week and now everything is too muddy from all the melting. He's hoping to ride today--I'm not so sure. He's sitting in our home office with his helmet on right . If he does get to ride, it will be without goggles--Sweet Pea ate his during that teething stage.</li>
<li>High Note--I bought myself a Kindle a couple of weeks ago--went on a reading binge and downloaded Scrabble yesterday--makes me very happy.</li>
</ul>So, that is basically it. I still work for our church, Junior still goes to Catholic School, little league started this week. I'm spending some time following links through romanceland. It seems that in real life and on-line things change and yet things stay the same.<br />
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Hope all are well, happy reading and have a great day.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-28013892561498129512011-03-18T16:28:00.001-04:002011-03-18T16:30:32.193-04:00Back... MaybeI disappeared for a year, and wonder if it's worth starting up again. Can I dedicate enough time to keep anyone besided myself entertained? Not that entertaining myself is a bad thing.<br />
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Hope all my on-line friends are happy and healthy.<br />
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Maybe I'll be back later.<br />
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Have a great day and <strong><em>Happy Reading!</em></strong>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-51272829515038372322010-03-01T17:03:00.002-05:002010-03-01T19:56:50.325-05:00Holy Cow--that's a lot of snowWell, it snowed for 4 straight days last week. Tuesday and Wednesday weren't that bad mostly accumulating on the grass and sidewalks, the roads weren't too bad, but Thursday and Friday--YIKES--30" of snow later and Holy Cow--that's a lot of snow. The snowbank left at the end of our driveway by the plow was over 6' tall.<br />
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We lost power Thursday night, it was back on Friday night. When the power is out there's no heat, no hot water and no stove. The house was 50 degrees by the time the power came back on. We can't complain, we know several school families are still without electricity.<br />
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When we weren't shoveling, I was reading. Finishing 3 more books from my recent UBS visit, including Meredith Duran's <em><strong>Written on Your Skin</strong></em>, which was very good. I haven't been able to get <em><strong>Bound by Your Touch</strong></em> used, so I may have to order it new. I'm currently reading Marianna Jameson's <strong><em>My Hero</em></strong>, I found this one at the UBS after reading a really good review by Rosario.<br />
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The child finally went back to school today, they had 3 snow days in a row--unheard of around here. The school's science fair that was scheduled last Thursday has been rescheduled for tonight. The child made an electromagnet with the help from Dad. So we're busy tonight.<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-1487575545025205142010-02-18T14:36:00.000-05:002010-02-18T14:36:06.714-05:00Another bingeI picked up books at the UBS on Monday and have been on another reading binge, finishing 4 Kristin Higgins books in 3 days and am now rereading a Laura Lee Guhrke.<br />
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Next week is very busy at work, so I probably wont be around much.<br />
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Have a great day and happy reading :)Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-77247149925310679932010-02-15T09:09:00.003-05:002010-02-15T09:10:59.916-05:00Valentine's Day Card from the hubby...<div align="center"><br />
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<em><span style="color: red;">In the whole world,</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">each person is assigned</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">one other person</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">to be their</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">special soulmate,</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">their Valentine</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">Ha-ha!</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">You got stuck</span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: red;">with me!</span></em></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;">We laughed ourselves silly :)</div>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-66400400916447093212010-02-15T08:27:00.001-05:002010-02-15T09:05:41.775-05:00Some random thoughts...It's been a very strange winter in our neck of the woods. Very little snow, but very cold. The river behind our house is frozen over. We're expecting some snow tonight (4-8"), but certainly nothing like the Mid-Atlantic States have seen this winter.<br />
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With the snow coming tomorrow, I'll have to drag the poor child with me to work on our day off. Though I think we may make a trip to the UBS first. I made a list and realized most of the books fall into the Regency-Victorian period. I need to go outside of my current comfort zone and maybe I'd read with more consistancy rather then in reading binges, with massive dry spells in between.<br />
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Is anyone watching the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/?gclid=CJby-ey19J8CFaAO5QodGmRWfw">Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.</a> series on PBS? We watched last week and it was very interesting. Gates (the Gates of the beer summit) researched the geneology of 12 well known Americans. The first episode was very interesting and we (the hubby and I) are looking forward to the rest of the series.<br />
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When I was a child I LOVED the olympics. I can barely work up luke warm enthusiasm now. And it seems like children aren't as interested in them either. I wonder did the end of the Cold War ruin the olympics?? No more us vs. them.<br />
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Now that I've bored anyone that stopped by... Have a great day and happy reading.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-36708539525102656152010-02-14T12:43:00.001-05:002010-02-14T12:43:55.146-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3g1fakjJPI/AAAAAAAAAo0/aKyAh-OYihE/s1600-h/vladstudio_knight_lady_1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3g1fakjJPI/AAAAAAAAAo0/aKyAh-OYihE/s400/vladstudio_knight_lady_1024x768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully you've found your Knight in Shining Armour :)</span></b></div>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-91537171208436764122010-02-10T11:09:00.004-05:002010-02-10T13:31:00.924-05:00Binge ReadingOnce again I disappeared for longer than I expected, having said that I have been lurking every few days on a few blogs as time allowed. <br />
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It's snowing in NY and we have a snow day. It's giving me some time to post about my recent reading binge. I've realized like the binge drinker, who may not drink for long periods of time and then go on a bender, I binge read. A couple of weeks ago I went on a reading bender finishing 7 books in 4 days...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LMHrXrvtI/AAAAAAAAAok/5xNjcDvJ_ws/s1600-h/sth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LMHrXrvtI/AAAAAAAAAok/5xNjcDvJ_ws/s200/sth.jpg" width="123" /></a><b>Book one: Seducing the Heiress</b> by Olivia Drake was the first book of my reading binge. Olivia Drake was an auto buy for me when she wrote under the name of Barbara Dawson Smith. It was a rather inauspicious start to a reading binge as it wasn't a book that I enjoyed. Never warming to either of the leads, I was left rather blah with the whole story line and concept. Probably explains why BDS has been off my auto buy list for quite sometime.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LKPjq58-I/AAAAAAAAAns/_KryXKznNJY/s1600-h/rir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LKPjq58-I/AAAAAAAAAns/_KryXKznNJY/s200/rir.jpg" width="123" /></a><b>Book Two: Ravishing in Red</b> by Madeline Hunter. Madeline Hunter is an author I know will always provide a well written story. This was a great start of a new series. There was a wonderful balance of tension between the hero and heroine and the story left me looking forward to the next in the series. The hero is the second son living out his handicapped brother's life, a fascinating dynamic which was beautifully written.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LL1cG_crI/AAAAAAAAAoc/EkLPsatLpIU/s1600-h/shadowlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LL1cG_crI/AAAAAAAAAoc/EkLPsatLpIU/s200/shadowlight.jpg" width="149" /></a><b>Book Three: Shadowlight</b> by Lynn Viehl. Like Madeline Hunter I know Lynn Viehl will always come through with a well written and interesting story. Once again she does not fail. <b>Shadowlight</b> is the first in a new series <b>(The Kyndred), </b> a spin off from her <b>Darkyn</b> series. LOVED IT!! Not only are we learning more about the orphans that have been genetically altered, like Alex and Samantha from the Darkyn series, they are finding one another and piecing together their history.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LKHJd-ejI/AAAAAAAAAnk/lmnapC8Aq98/s1600-h/LEADMEONshadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LKHJd-ejI/AAAAAAAAAnk/lmnapC8Aq98/s200/LEADMEONshadow.jpg" width="130" /></a><b>Book Four: Lead Me On</b> by Victoria Dahl. There was a review of this book on Dear Author a while ago and I think it got a C+ or there about, but there was something about the story line in that review that caught my attention. And, I have to say this book worked for me. Was it perfect? No. But for some reason I understood Jane, not that I'm anything like Jane IRL. And what was not to love about Chase? The funny thing is I have no interest in the rest of the series, but this one worked for me.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLIljDSaI/AAAAAAAAAoM/j5Pej8GqYog/s1600-h/anwar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLIljDSaI/AAAAAAAAAoM/j5Pej8GqYog/s200/anwar.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Book Five: All Night with a Rogue</b> by Alexandra Hawkins. Have you ever read a book that didn't have one likable character, not the leads nor the secondary characters are likeable, and still actually like the story? That's what happened to me with this book. It's the first book in the <b>Lord's of Vice</b> series and I have to admit that the "Lord's of Vice" are over indulged, obnoxious over the top rakes with bad nicknames a la Stephanie Laurens, though in this case the nicknames all seem to tie to their titles. He is the Marquess of Sinclair and his nickname is Sin, it's a concept anyway :) Maybe the fact that they are real "rakes" is what makes the book rather compelling. Maybe it goes back to my love of good redemption story. I'm currently rereading this book to try and figure out why it worked for me. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLBsIi1aI/AAAAAAAAAoE/bMD7hWE6DkI/s1600-h/lfasl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLBsIi1aI/AAAAAAAAAoE/bMD7hWE6DkI/s200/lfasl.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Book Six: Lessons from a Scarlet Lady</b> by Emma Wildes. I have to admit this book made me laugh though I'm not sure it was supposed to :) The main characters are already married. The young bride wants to bring some spice into their relationship and reads and follows the directions from "Lady Rothburg Advice", a courtesan's memoir. The hubby loves the changes and yet is left wondering how his wife acquired her new knowledge and this leads to a rather forced conflict. Even with the forced conflict the story was rather fun.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLq0GOSSI/AAAAAAAAAoU/p--6m0jH8ec/s1600-h/faith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5mU6aBSjLO8/S3LLq0GOSSI/AAAAAAAAAoU/p--6m0jH8ec/s200/faith.jpg" width="123" /></a><b>Book Seven: Faith</b> by Deneane Clark. This book slammed the door on my reading binge. The story is Regency set and yet there seemed to be a familiarity between the characters that seemed too contemporary, they never referred to one another by their titles, strange complaint but is just seemed odd. The heroine was too uptight and the conflict too forced.<br />
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So there you have one massive reading binge. Did you notice my obvious attraction to red covers?? While I was reading like a lunatic my husband was telling me to pace myself, that I would run out of things to read. Apparently he doesn't realize that huge basket next to the bed is filled with books I haven't read yet. Just waiting for my next reading binge :)<br />
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Hope all are well and happily reading :)Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-87997703444359858142010-01-13T15:29:00.000-05:002010-01-13T15:29:32.010-05:00Busy, Busy, Busy<ul><li>Things get very busy at work this time of the year. </li>
<li>So, I'm not even blog hopping right now. </li>
<li>I hope all are well and reading.</li>
<li>because, I'm not reading anything new.</li>
</ul>Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-12272888299927023692010-01-03T12:03:00.000-05:002010-01-03T12:03:49.995-05:00Christmas BreakOn Christmas Eve I decided to give up the computer for Christmas. Turned it off and didn't turn it back on until this morning. I was hoping to make it until Little Christmas (Jan. 6th), but I needed to print out a report for the church's Rosary Altar Society.<br />
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It was great. Didn't even check emails.<br />
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Hopefully all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-67047339606564757762009-12-18T06:26:00.001-05:002009-12-18T13:59:20.955-05:00Coming up for airThis is my second Christmas working for our church. I don't remember last year being so busy. <br />
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At home the tree is up and decorated, the cards are out and I started the candy making and baking last night. <strong>Nothing</strong> is wrapped.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11597422.post-86134430670971831802009-12-15T06:06:00.001-05:002009-12-15T06:08:22.797-05:00Nothing NewThat is I'm not reading anything new. I've given up on the TBR pile. I'm sure there are some great books in there, but nothing is screaming "READ ME." <br />
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I did finish Jude Deveraux's <strong>The Taming</strong> and <strong>The Conquest</strong>. Both were written more than 15 years ago. Both are old school style romances. I didn't expect to still enjoy them, but I did. Deveraux hits all my "redemption" buttons. Both have a bit of <strong>The Taming of the Shrew</strong> thing going on. In <strong>The Taming </strong>it's the Peregrine oldest brother that needs taming/redemption and in <strong>The Conquest</strong> it's the only Peregrine sister that is tamed. The Peregrine family title and lands have been stolen by a manipulative Howard going back two generations. They are taught to hate, to the point of obsession, all things Howard. Considering what the Howards have done to them over the last two generations, it's probably understandable. Slaughter, starvation and utter poverty drives everything the Peregrine's do, from how they treat each other, to how they treat their peasants. <br />
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And of course, it's love that heals them. <br />
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Ultimately, that's why these stories worked for me. They are wallpaper historicals with story holes you can drive a Mack truck through, with massive inconsistancies within each book and between the two books. And yet they still worked for me, because Deveraux took me by the hand and walked me through a story about strength, love, growth and family. And--Happily Ever After.Tara Mariehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15963704767440694312noreply@blogger.com1