Too Darned Hot...

It has been too hot to do anything besides swim, lounge and read. In the past 2 days I finished 4 books.

• Day of Fire -- Kathleen Nance
• The Power of Two -- Patti O'Shea
• The Scarlet Empress -- Susan Grant
• Love According to Lily -- Julianne MacLean

The first three are the last of the 2176 series. I had already read the 1st and the 3rd from the series (The Legend of Banzai Maguire and The Shadow Runners.) Though I enjoyed all of them I think TLOBM and TSR were somewhat better.

I was surprised by Love According to Lily, I don't know why I thought it was Regency period because it's Victorian and I think it was better than her other books, not spectacular, but good.

I'm being lazy, I could be giving synopsis, but I'm not good at them and it would require too much thinking.

Have a great day, happy reading.

A Little of This and a Little of That From the New RT

Instead of reading last night, I flipped through the new Romantic Times. A few books caught my eye.

• Brenda Joyce has a new book coming out, The Masquerade. It's a "secret baby" story set in Regency England. I'm not really sure I buy into this, but I may have to get it just to see if it works.
• Unmasked by Virginia Henley has a "strong willed and highly determined" heroine, does anyone else think this is synonymous with "fiesty" and probably TSTL??
• Some Like it Wicked by Deborah Raleigh is described as a "delightful regency romp", but the hero's nickname is "Hellion". Please, am I the only person this drives crazy?? I hate nicknames like this. I have no idea if they are historically correct and to be honest, I'm not sure I care. I stopped reading Stephanie Laurens because of the stupid nicknames, well and the fact the books got boring.

Joan Wolf's To The Castle was given 3 stars and that is probably the right on target, I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago.

Books that look interesting:

• A Ladies Guide to Rakes -- Kathryn Caskie, I've read her other two both were good, I like her writing style. I know, I know, it's a regency...
• Reckless -- Shannon Drake, it's partially set in Egypt, which I love, but I've not liked her "Victorian" period books, and the synopsis didn't really appeal, but it's set in Egypt. Did I mention it's set in Egypt??
• After Midnight -- Theresa Medeiros, a vampire historical.
• Into Temptation -- Penny Vincenzo, a historical fiction set post WW II.
• Out of the Night -- Robin T Popp, how about this, it's a "chupacabra" story, that's one I didn't think could be done, but I thinks it's mixed with a vampire story which makes it rather curious.

Three authors I've not read, but think I may try:

1. Karin Gillespie -- TheBottom Dollar Girls series.
2. Sophia Kinsella -- The Undomestic Goddess
3. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro --The Saint-Germain novels.

And there was one "Historical Erotic Romance" that caught my eye--literally, I liked the cover in the ad for the publisher (which I can't remember). A Week of Pleasure by Christie Kelley. It got a good review and had an interesting synopsis. It's an ebook, since I don't have a hand held device, I'd have to read it on the computer, I'm not so sure I want to do that. I'll see if I can load a picture of the cover later.

That's it for now.

Have a great day and happy reading.

Funny Email

I received this today, and thought I'd share it.

You live in Arizona when.....

1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.
2. You can open your car without touching the door and you can drive your car without touching the steering wheel.
3. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
4. You would give anything to be able to splash cold water on your face.
5. You can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
6. "Dress Code" is meaningless at high schools and universities. Picture lingerie ads.
7. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
8. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
9. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!
10. You know that "dry heat" is actually comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.

You Live in California when...

1. You make over $250,000 a year and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The high school quarterback calls a time out to answer his cellphone.
3. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
4. You know how to eat an artichoke.
5. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
6. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.

You live in New York City when...

1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.
2. You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire StateBuilding.
3. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
4. You think Central Park is "nature."
5. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
6. You've worn out a car horn.
7. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.

You Live in Maine when...

1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.

You Live in the Deep South when...

1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "ya'll" is singular and "all ya'll" is plural.
3. After twenty years you still hear, "You ain't from 'round here, areYa?"
4. "He needed killin' " is a valid defense.
5. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jim Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc.

You live in Colorado (or Washington State) when...

1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and he stops at the day care center.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.
5. Morning cannot start until you've had your Mint Mocha Frappaccino Grande at Starbucks.

You live in the Midwest when...

1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day and backagain.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at?"

You live in Florida when...

1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist, cardiologist, proctologist, and/or ophthalmologist, and learn that English is not their primary language.
4. Road construction never ends, anywhere in the state.
5. Cars in front of you are often driven by headless people.
6. The bumper sticker of a car driven by a teenager says "When I get old, I'm going to move North and drive slow..."

I thought these were pretty funny, no offense intended.

The Reading Binge is officially over...

Well, I'm completely out of my great reading binge. Between birthday parties and issues with my husband's side of the family, my reading groove is shot to hell.

I've finished all of 3 books this month. I started Elizabeth Vaughan's The Warprize Tuesday and finally finished it this morning. I didn't get all the hoopla, it was good, but maybe it's just me at times I felt like I was reading through a fog. The book is written in the first person and since at times the heroine didn't always understand what was going on around her, we were supposed to be as questioning as she was. I'm not that into fantasy so maybe that was my problem.

Good news, my Barnes and Noble order came, it finishes the 2176 series for me.

• Day of Fire -- Kathleen Nance
• The Power of Two -- Patti O'Shea
• The Scarlet Empress -- Susan Grant

I also picked up 2 Patricia Cabot's at the UBS (Educating Caroline and Kiss the Bride.

I also picked up the new Romantic Times--like I need to order more books. There's a cranky letter to the "Mailbag" about the "offensive" covers in some of the advertisements and a response that's just as cranky from RT. I'm never quite sure why people complain about the ads in RT, if you feel the need to hide your RT because of the book covers, do you have to hide your books too?

Have a good night and happy reading.

Will I Ever Get to Finish a Book???

Well, I've pledged 15 books for the RT TBR pledge.

So far this month I've read a big whopping 1 1/2 books. Yes, it is August 8th and I have finished one book. Last month I read 24 books, this month I'll be lucky if I get half way to my pledge.

The Perfect Rake--by Anne Gracie, sorry Sybil, I wasn't all that impressed, another Regency romance in a long string of regency era pieces. I'm really giving up on these--I swear, I really mean it this time.

The Companion--by Susan Squires is turning out to be a very good book, but my reading time has been next to nil. I'm hoping to finish it after Junior goes to bed, which should be in about 5 minutes, so I really need to go.

Have a great night and happy reading.

Oh, one more thing for Kristie and Wendy--GO YANKEES, GO YANKEES, GO YANKEES. Next Monday we're going for a tour of Yankee Stadium, The Clubhouse, Monument Park. I'll tell you ladies all about it.

Appreciating What I Have...

It's been a week since I've had enough time to actually sit down and blog about anything. I was going to whine and complain about how busy I've been and having no time to myself, but I'm sure nobody wants to hear my griping. I realized if all I've got to complain about is being "too" busy, I'm rather blessed.

Junior turns 4 tomorrow, I'm not really sure where the time has gone. But, I really love being home with him. Right now he is sleeping in my spot on our bed. I'll move him to his bed in a few minutes. I know we "shouldn't" let him sleep in our bed, but he was watching the Yankees with Daddy, both are sound asleep.

I doubt I'll have time to get on-line tomorrow (lots of company coming), and Sunday we're going to the County Fair.

Have a great weekend, and happy reading.

Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot

I ran over to the Town Recreation Center to sign Junior up for 3 weeks of camp (2 days a week--this starts Monday). The Rec Center's offices are right next door to the library. Junior loves this library because "Thomas" tapes are within his reach, so we go in, he picks out 3 tapes (which have to be back on Sunday) and out of the corner of my eye I seeBoy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot. I remember hearing some buzz about this so I took it out.

Started reading while I was supposed to be cooking dinner (we did eat, but later than normal.) I finished reading it after Junior went to bed.

What a funny book. Monday I'm going to look for some of her other books at the UBS. Loved how the story was told with emails, IMs, phone messages etc. Very cleverly done. The "heroine" is kind of whiney, and dippy, but she's sweet. The Emails between the "hero" and his family are just hysterical. I loved the sister's email address--IH8BARNEY@... I can appreciate that sentiment..

I didn't connect Meg Cabot and Patricia Cabot--I've always enjoyed her books.

Have a good night, happy reading.

One Good and One Not So Good...

I finished 2 books in the last 24 hours. One good and one not so good.

Unmasked by C J Barry was a very good book. You can get a good synopsis over at RT. At first I thought it was going to be another book with a "kick-ass" heroines who turns out to be TSTL, one who reacts without thinking her actions all the way through. This is how the h/h meet, after that she turns into a truly strong, yet sensitive heroine. The hero is an alpha hero with a good heart and soul. Action packed and fast paced, a really good book. Even if you don't like futuristics, this one is worth reading.

I wish I could say the same thing about To The Castle by Joan Wolf. I was so looking forward to this book, I wanted it to be fabulous. Medievals are few and far between right now and I had such I hopes for this book. The story line is very good, the review over at AAR is accurate and yet there is a certain disconnect you feel from the characters, everything seems lukewarm and somewhat boring. The writing at times seems almost to simple:

Nell turned to her husband. He looked all gold as he stood there in the afternoon sunlight: gold hair, gold eyes, gold skin. She realized she liked to look at him. She thought he was beautiful.

I can't believe the same person who wrote The Dark Ages series wrote that paragraph. I'm thinking this is probably my last Joan Wolf, I think I need to go and mourn a favorite gone for good.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Barnes and Noble Trip

After the peepee incident yesterday (see previous blog), I decided I deserved a trip to B&N. It was really too hot (97 degrees and horrendous humidity) to do anything else, by the time we left the downstairs of our house was 85 degrees and upstairs was over 90. We needed to search out air conditioning, B&N sounded good to me.

I picked up:

• Unearthed -- CJ Barry
• Unmasked -- CJ Barry (which I'm currently reading)
• Love According to Lily -- Julianna MacLean
• Crimson City -- Liz Maverick
• The Companion -- Susan Squires
• Warprize -- Elizabth Vaughan

They didn't have the books I really wanted, so I ordered them (the rest of the 2176 series):

• Day of Fire -- Kathleen Nance
• The Power of Two -- Patti O'Shea
• The Scarlet Empress -- Susan Grant

I should have these within the week, they'll go right to the top of the TBR pile

I don't know why I bought the Julianna MacLean book, I'm sure it will be interchangeable with all the other Regency historicals I've read or already have on my TBR pile. I've been good this month, usually full-size Regencies account for close to half of the books I read, this month I've read 22 books and only 7 are Regencies, and 2 of those were re-reads of good books, so I actually only read 5 new ones.

I picked up Warprize, because somewhere I heard it was a great book. I'm not that impressed with the blurb, hopefully it will be good (I'm not even sure what the sub-genre it is--kingdoms, warrior kings, and warlords are all mentioned in the blurb, and it's published by Tor Romance. I don't want to over due the Futuristic thing (3 in a row is probably enough for now--finished The Shadow Runners Tuesday night.)

The heat finally broke last night, the house is now 68 degrees and today's high will be around 80, we're heading to the playground with a picnic and meeting some friends. Got to go.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

The Joys of having a Boy

My son plays really nicely by himself, which is good considering he's an only child. Our house is small, so we don't have a family/playroom. He plays in his room and we've set it up to give him lots of floor space. He's an incessant talker and story teller, he comes by this genetically, if his dad's awake, he's talking. If he's playing he's talking and making up stories. It's when he's quiet I know he's up to something, and when he's quiet and closes his bedroom door, I know he's REALLY up to something.

Well, yesterday while I was blogging, he closed his bedroom door and it was way, way too quiet. I opened his door and this is how the conversation went:

me: "What are you doing??"
him: Blinking stare
me: A little louder, "What are you doing in here?"
him: With a big smile, "I peepeed in Max." Max is a toy dump truck (every toy has a name, it usually connects to the "Thomas the Tank Engine" series.)
me: I'm getting a little louder now, "What do you mean you peepeed in Max? Where is Max now?"
him: Still smiling, "In the bathroom."

I run to the bathroom and discover a puddle in front of the toilet. He spilled it while "dumping" Max into the toilet. Junior got a crash course in how to clean a bathroom floor.

I'm rather proud of myself--I wasn't a raving lunatic, and didn't even yell. My husband thought it was hysterical. My sister thought it showed imagination--yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

Political Correctness, Perceptions and Writing Styles

I've been semi-following the different discussions about PC on message boards and blogs.

Let's be honest, we may tolerate certain behavior in a historical romance that we would abhor in a contemporary. Is this because it IS more accurate to history or is it we PERCEIVE it to be more accurate? I don't know.

On a societal level it's only been in the last 100 years that we have gained "equal" ground to men, and I say that loosely. We can vote, own property and businesses separate from husbands, we should be paid equal for equal work (though this rarely is true) and domestic violence is something that is no longer tolerated and ignored. Men don't have a right to beat and rape their wives/girl friends. Is it because in the past a man did have the right that we accept it in historical romances, probably.

I wrote on Anne E's blog that I think some women who like books with domineering men and weak woman are looking to escape the responsibilities of everyday life, and want to see someone else in control--most of the women I know hold together every aspect of their families lives. It's not my choice in reading material, but I can understand someone wanting to escape to a place where someone else is "in control" and the heroine is a "damsel in distress" needing rescuing by the "knight," and it doesn't matter to them whether he's good or bad.

Personally, I like alpha hero's but not because I like weak heroines, but because I like strong women who can hold their own with a strong man.

At what point do we expect political correctness to kick in when we're reading historicals? I don't want to see a rape or beating in any book, but if it's included, I first need to see the context, it's never justified, so how does the author handle the hero's repentance and change and does it work. If the hero believes it's his right to "control" the heroine can the author show his change in thinking and behavior and make it believable.

I'm left to wonder if those who prefers the bodice rippers of the past are really looking for a hero who rapes and plunders or are they looking for a style in writing that is gone. Kathleen Woodiwiss writing style of (OMG) 30 years ago is completely different from anyone's writing style today. Whether you call it lyrical or full of purple prose, it's different. I personally like her writing style enough that when I re-read her books, I skip scenes I don't like because I like the overall style of the book. I do the same thing with some of Catherine Coulter's earlier books.

So, that's my take on political correctness, perceptions and writing styles.

Have a great day, and happy reading--and those of you sweltering like us--stay cool and safe.

Feeding The Addiction

Do you know the rush you get when you read something new and exciting and it leaves you wondering why didn't I read this before?? That jazzed up, adrenaline rush that you get when you know you've opened yourself up to a brand new reading world??

Futuristics hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday.

Can anyone say Susan Grant??

Can anyone say The Legend of Banzai Maguire?

Can anyone tell me why I waited over a year to look for this book when the buzz was so big around it last year??

Yesterday morning I pulled this one off my nicely reorganized TBR shelf and started it before I took Junior to my parent's so I could go get my hair done--I desperately needed a cut and color, and was almost late for my appointment. I had 40 minutes to sit with color on my head and struggled to read without my reading glasses. I finally got to pick it back up after Junior went to bed, and finished it around 10 o'clock.

I was so excited, I got up and start searching out reviews for the rest of the books in the series, hop to RT, Mrs G, and AAR (the links are in the sidebar). And decide first thing this morning I'm dragging Junior to the UBS and look for the rest of the 2176 series.

Now, I start to calm down, I've got a plan and decide to blog hop a little before going back to bed. I reach the K's and what is Kristie blogging about--futuristics and I have even more books to look for.

Kristie names a few books that I've read and enjoyed, but I've not read that many futuristics. I guess Susan Squires Body Electric is a futuristic too--liked that one too. For some reason I don't think of the ...in Death series as futuristic--obviously it's set in the future, but I see them more as romantic suspense/crime/mysteries, a strange distinction I know. And to be honest, I've stopped reading the series, there just seems to be a sameness to the books--they've lost my attention. And, the Jayne Ann Krentz futuristics are like reading her contemporaries (they're all basically the same book--just different settings.)

It really is an addiction, hey at least it's a good addiction--it's not going to kill me.

Have a great day and happy reading.

Carved in Stone by Vickie Taylor

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of the paranormal sub-genre, but I'm finding there are some that I enjoy. I'm always pleasantly surprised when the buzz around a book is true. Carved in Stone by Vickie Taylor is one of the better books I've read this year, not just paranormal, but everything.

Kristie gives a great synopsis of this book in her review (better than I would). The concept and premise that drives the book is a good one. Before reading it I wasn't sure the "gargoyle" thing would work, but Ms. Taylor makes it work beautifully. I loved the baby dragon learning to fly scene. And at the end of the book, I found myself completely disappointed that the next book in this series wouldn't be out until next April.

I've come a long way this year I've added a vampire author (Lynn Viehl--I loved If Angels Burn) and a gargoyle author to my "to look for list" and to be honest, they're probably "autobuys" at least for a while--as long as the series don't get too long. For some reason anything more than 3 or 5 books is too many for me.

I find myself waiting patiently for Maili's list of vampire romances, maybe with my dislike of the "popular" vampire series, I've thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Have a great day and happy reading.

The Night Stand From Hell

Yesterday morning I took a look at my side of our bedroom and decided it was a disaster, it didn't really look bad, but there were piles of books not only in my night stand, but also in baskets next to the bed.

So after a couple of hours of organizing and cleaning up I found a permanent home for my TBR pile in my night stand/bookcase.



So out of this little corner of our room I found:

• 75 books to give to my sister
• 2 dozen "keepers" that I re-read on a fairly regular basis, 10 were Linda Howard books.
• I discovered I had duplicates of 4 Eloisa James' books, because I couldn't find my copies and bought new ones.
• Book covers (protectors)--3 for MMPB and 2 for TPB
• 10 pieces of jewelry that I've gotten as gifts in the last 2 years still in their boxes never worn.
• 6 Pennypress Puzzle books, 3 mechanical pencils, 2 pens and a handful of Romantic Times Magazines all but one were 3 years old or older.
• An ARC of Laura Van Wormer's The Last Lover that I never read

Now, my TBR pile has a lovely home, the books are in alphabetical order and are nicely organized.

I had these night stand/bookcases specially built for us, they can hold up to 300 paperbacks and/or video tapes (hubby loves to tape old movies, sporting events etc.) Please note I'm not showing a picture of my husbands because it literally has close to 300 video tapes in it and looks like one big black hole.

I wonder how long it's going to look this good. I should have taken a before and after picture--LOL, next time.

Have a good one.

Mythological sign??

I lifted this from Alyssa who found it on Angie's blog.


You are Form 0, Phoenix: The Eternal.
"And The Phoenix's cycle had reached
zenith, so he consumed himself in fire. He
emerged from his own ashes, to be forever
immortal."
Some examples of the Phoenix Form are Quetzalcoatl
(Aztec), Shiva (Indian), and Ra-Atum
(Egyptian).The Phoenix is associated with the concept of life,
the number 0, and the element of fire.His sign is the eclipsed sun.
As a member of Form 0, you are a determined
individual. You tend to keep your sense of
optomism, even through tough times and have a
positive outlook on most situations. You have
a way of looking at going through life as a
journey that you can constantly learn from.
Phoenixes are the best friends to have because
they cheer people up easily.

Which Mythological Form Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Found this over at AAR...

Looking for a medieval romance with historical accuracy and characters who belong in their time? Joan Wolf delivers in satisfying fashion with To the Castle.

That's all I needed to read and stopped reading the review (the grade was a B by the way). I'm ordering it today.

Joan Wolf and medieval in the same paragraph makes me one very happy camper.

I picked up Vickie Taylor's Carved in Stone, and I'm about 1/2 finished. It's very good, with a great premise.

Have a great day and weekend, and HAPPY READING!!!

A Few Questions

What is the likelihood that a 75 year old man from Georgia, would hit a black bear while riding a motorcycle in upstate New York? Happened yesterday, my husband sat in the traffic jam it caused for about an hour on his way to work. The motorcylce rider is fine, the bike was totalled and the poor bear died at the scene.

How is it possible to have 60+ books on a TBR pile and not have anything to read? Absolutely nothing is holding my interest right now--I hate that.

I wonder what can possibly be going through a man's mind when he tells his son "As long as you don't touch anything, you don't have to wash your hands after peeing"? The strange thing is my husband is fastidious about things like this, and is completely grossed out by men who don't wash their hands when they use a public bathroom. He leaves the seat up each morning for our son so he can go into the bathroom without touching anything.

And, does anyone know how long it takes to re-train a 3 year old to wash his hands after peeing? I've been working on this one for weeks. New rule in our house--if you go into the bathroom you wash your hands. "But, Daddy said..." is the last thing I want to hear these days.

Reading Binge Slowing

It's been hot and I've not been reading much.

I did get Mary Balogh's Dancing with Clara read Monday night--a traditional regency that was good, but "Freddie" really pissed me off in the end. I like "marriage of convenience" plots and of course, Mary Balogh does it great, I can accept a cheating husband as part of the story when he's not truly committed to the relationship--it is a marriage of convenience after all. But, I don't want to hear the hero say "I'm not sure I can change..." after he's "fallen in love" with the heroine, I expect commitment and monogamy. He would have been added to my gallery of favorite bad boys, if he'd actually changed and promised real commitment.

I'm about a third of the way through Bad to the Bone by Debra Dixon, it's copyright is 1996 and I'm sure I've read it when it was new (the prologue and beginning of the books seem very familiar) but my memory is shot, I don't remember the ending, well the ending is a given, but I don't remember how they get to their HEA, so I'm enjoying it again.

Yesterday, in the mail I got BTTB, What Do You Say to a Naked Elf? by Cheryl Sterling and Passion's Springtime by Lauren Wilde. I'm going to probably read them in this order unless some of the books I ordered at the UBS come in, then these go back to the TBR pile.

Kristie has promised to send me Susan Carroll's The Midnight Bride. I can't say how long I've waited for this book to be released in mass paperback. I was getting ready to order the darned thing new when she offered it for trade. Why I didn't get it in hard cover when it was released? I don't know, I've got the other 2 in the series in HC already. Thanks to Kristie I've been doing a very happy dance.

We've got a pool play date at someone elses house today, so I've got to go shave me legs.

Have a great day and happy reading.

Not In The Mood...

for blogging. It's been too hot to do anything besides swim.

I hate to whine about the heat because there are other parts of the country going through horrible heat waves, but during the day it's been in the 90's with horrendously high humidity (you know, the type of humidity that fogs up your glasses when you leave an air conditioned house or car.) We don't have central air conditioning--it's an old house, and running the duct work would be hell.

I'm also PMSing, not that I've been overly grouchy, but I had malted milk balls for breakfast--not a good thing.

I'm done whining. I'm going to actually try blogging about something I'm reading.

Have a great day and happy reading.

"We're a Train Family" aka Practicing Linking and Posting Pictures

That's a quote from our son (pictured here, sound asleep, wearing a pair of Mommy's sunglasses) after spending yesterday afternoon visiting Catskill Mountain Railroad.

The railroad sits right on the Esopus Creek. Between the towns of Boiceville and Phoenicia. The Esopus is renowned for fly fishing and is a very popular little waterway for tubers, rafters and kayakers.

Supposedly, Dutch Schultz hid 5 million dollars somewhere in the woods outside of Phoenicia that has never been found.

Just outside of Boiceville, is a really cool sculptor/furniture maker Steve Heller's Fabulous Furniture. I took some pictures outside his shop.



The back of the space ship says "Roswell Or Bust", I should have taken a picture of that, but I wanted to make sure you could see the aliens inside--LOL.

I have dial-up and this is just too much work and takes too damn long.

I didn't get to do any reading this weekend, so I'm heading out to the pool to cool off and do a little reading (Junior's coming with me.)

Have a great day, and happy reading.

PS--My car is out of park and all it needs is a wire replaced, nothing expensive and our mechanic will do it while we wait tomorrow--isn't he great!!!

Kids Birthday Parties and Stuck in Park

Yesterday my son went to his second "Chuck E. Cheese" birthday party in the last month. I'm not big on these "theme" parties. Two hours of pure hell. Three and four year olds running around like little lunatics, then are told to sit down eat pizza, dance with "Chuck," eat cake and leave, so the next round of parties can start. There were seven parties going on at the same time, one of the parties was for a 2 year old, he's going to remember this--why waste the money? It's utter chaos. Chaos I tell you.

Junior will be 4 next month, we're having two family parties and that's it. I would have one party, but our nephew's birthday is the week after Junior's and we'll have their party together (husband's side of the family.) We did this last year for the first time and the kids liked it and it was fun. There are enough 1st cousins to make up for not having a "kids" party. We do a craft table and a pinata, and the kids have a great time. Either the following day or the next week, we have a nice quiet birthday with my family. My dad's not up to anything too chaotic.

When we went to leave Chuck's I couldn't get the van out of Park. I hate automatic transmissions. Finally, after playing with it I got it into Drive and had no problems driving home. But, now it's stuck in Park in our driveway and if I can't get it out, we'll have to have it towed to the garage. So, we'll be stuck in the house again. Wonderful. Hopefully it wont need a transmission.

Have a great day, and happy reading. Reading is my plan for the day--it looks like rain.

Still Stuck & The Pot Luck Book...

Well, for the third day running, we'll be stuck in the house--paving today.

When Junior and I went to leave yesterday, I realized the drop off the end of the driveway to the unpaved road was too big and I would have scraped the bottom of the mini-van. The DH drives an SUV and clearance isn't a problem for him.

So instead of re-organizing the home office, which is in desperate need of doing, I've been reading and floating around the pool--tough life, I know--LOL. Hey, it's too humid to do anything else.

In yesterday's mail I received my "Pot Luck" book, thank you "Secret Santa". Since I couldn't decide what to read yesterday morning I read this one.

The Man For Her by Alice Valdal

I had seen this book at the grocery store and loved the cover, but I'm not a huge "westerns" fan, so I had passed on it, but it wasn't bad, liked that it is set in Western Canada (British Columbia) and I like the back drop of a ranch (farm) and the "Gold Rush".

My problem with the book came from the heroine (Lottie). She has waited 10 years for her lover/fiance to return to her and has allowed her son from this relationship to believe his father is coming back. This is the driving force of the plot and almost all the book's conflicts revolve around this.

The hero (Sean) is the missing man's cousin (the cousins could pass for twins). Sean felt duty bound to stay behind in Ireland and care for his cousin's famine stricken family, and then feels bound to help Lottie and her son. Right from the start she is mad at Sean for wanting to follow his cousin to the gold fields and yet still waits for her 1st love to come back (she writes him letters that she keeps to give to him when he returns.)

Honey, he ain't coming back. It takes her 10 years to figure this out??

The book climaxes with the son running away to find his father.

Sean is a good man. Unfortunately, Lottie at times lives up to her nickname "Crazy Lottie," and because of her eccentricities and choices she makes life harder for her child--I've got a problem with this.

After finishing this one, I decide to read a favorite. Jane Feather's The Accidental Bride. I kow it has some problems with historical accuracy, but I like it anyway.

• I like May/December romances and there's at least 15 years between them.
• Phoebe (the heroine) is funny and strong willed, yet not TSTL.
• Cato (the hero) is completely dumb founded by Phoebe and her natural sensuality.

I enjoy the interaction between them.

I'm hoping the paving is done early enough that we can escape, I'm starting to crawl the walls, and Junior is beyond bored.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Trapped

The village decided to tear up our road and have basically left us trapped. We live on a dead end street and can't get out because they're "reclaiming" the road, tomorrow they're paving.

The good side of being trapped is I've finished 3 books in the last 2 1/2 days. I finished

1. Last Girl Dancing by Holly Lisle--excellent book and would highly recommend it if you like romantic suspense, an "out of the box" read.
2. Daisy's Back in Town by Rachel Gibson--well, I can now say I do NOT like secret baby stories especially ones that take 15 years to tell the father.
3. Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke--this is a re-read. It's one of my favorites from last year, and I still enjoyed it, but not as much as the first time I read it. I guess I was nit picking it a little and found the "Duke" to be too controlling (as if a duke he's not supposed to be controlling). I don't know, I just didn't like him as much as the first time around.

I don't know what to read next, I'm really trying to mix things up a little, so I'm basically not reading the same sub-genre one after another. I ordered three more books through the UBS, and, of course, 2 of them are Regency historicals--smack me in the head.

Tuesday, after our pool play date, I loaned 3 books to one of the other mothers. We'd never talked books before, turns out she is a huge historical romance fan but since she's been home for the past 4 years having babies (3 under the age of 4 and want to have another in the next year), she does little reading. She borrowed Marsha Canham's Robin Hood Trilogy. I'm praying I get them back, though I did threaten her ("I know where you live.")

I'm praying I can get out while the work crews are on lunch. I've got some errands to run. Including picking up a birthday gift for a kids party--I hate these things, but I'll rant about them on another day.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Just Call Me Lizzie

Lifted this from Alyssa's Blog :

You scored as Elizabeth Bennet. As one of Austen's most beloved characters, Elizabeth Bennet represents what most women would like to become: strong, independent, and loyal. Of course, she has her faults including a stubborn will of iron and a clinging to first impressions. Overall, Lizzie is bright and lovable...something to admire and aspire to.

Which Jane Austen Character are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Last Girl Dancing by Holly Lisle and No Time To Read

I'm 160 pages into Last Girl Dancing by Holly Lisle, it's an absolute page turner. I was so tired last night, I only got about 40 pages read. Woke up early and read until Junior got up.

We've got 5 kids and 3 moms coming for a "pool" play date. I still have to make the beds, wash the breakfast dishes and run to the grocery store for salad fixings for a grown-up lunch.

And, all I want to do is read.

Got to go.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

My Backyard

Today's column over at RTB got me thinking about my backyard.

I live in The Hudson Valley of New York. Actually it's the "Mid" Hudson Valley and the foothills of The Catskill Mountains. The "Lower" Hudson Valley is part of the NYC suburbs--very crowded and has been growing steadily since 9/11. The "Mid" is an area in flux--changing from "bedroom" communities to suburbs.

The little town I live in has 4000 people, it includes

• 2 stop lights
• 3 gas stations
• 4 churches and 1 synagogue
• 1 ice cream stand
• 3 pizza places
• 1 Mexican and 3 Chinese food restaurants
• a family owned grocery store
• 1 Chevy dealer
• NOT ONE fast food restaurant and NO movie theaters
• The nearest Krispy Kreme donut is 25 minutes away and the closest B&N/Starbucks is 25 minutes in the other direction.
• But, we've got a great USED BOOK STORE

Small town America at it's best--LOL.

Not very exciting, but I can look out my bedroom window and see a river slowly meandering north (yes, it flows north and not south). Deer and wild turkey wander our backyard and come up to our back door. We can see bald eagles flying over the river searching for fish. Majestic blue herons stand perfectly still on the river's banks. If I look north I can see the "Trapps" (cliffs) outside of New Paltz. If I listen I can hear birds, bull frogs and woodpeckers.

In the fall, I'll see leaf colors so beautiful, they're breathtaking. And, if I take it for granted, the steady stream of "Leaf Peepers" from NYC, with their picnic lunches of wine, cheese and baggettes (rather cliche isn't it--but true), are a constant reminder. Locals laugh, but I understand the draw.

It may not be as exciting as NYC, but I wouldn't live anywhere else.

So, it sounds bucolic and grand doesn't it? Gee, it seems like I forgot to mention

• The skunks we had to evict from under our front porch.
• Woodchucks that eat my flowers and my husbands vegetable garden.
• Raccoons breaking into the garbage pails.
• Deer that eat the bushes down to nubs and bring ticks carrying Lyme Disease right to our back door (my husband's had Lyme Disease--worse than any flu you can imagine.)
• Squirrels picking the black walnut tree clean and throwing the shells into the pool.
• The bull frogs I hear live in the mosquito ridden swamp that used to be a swimming pool two doors down.
• The lady next door who rakes leaves into our yard because the tree is ours, therefore the leaves are ours too.
• Black bears and coyotes that occasionally wander out of the mountains and get lost.
• How about the snakes that range from harmless to poisonous?
• And what about the winters that start with a just few flakes in October and November and end with snow banks that don't melt until April.

I'm amazed by the amount of people who, when they move out of the "City" or more established 'burbs, think it's the towns responsiblilty to take care of all these little nuisances instead of just living with them like the rest of us. They forget that the little nuisances come with the perks.

Hey, it's not glamorous, but it's my backyard.

So, what's in your backyard??

Whine, Bitch, Complain...

Well, it's 5:53 in the morning and I've been up for an hour and a half. Junior had a bad dream and is now asleep in our bed, in my spot (that's okay--I love watching him sleep.)

My reading binge is slowing down, I've hit a few "not great" books, though I did finish The Shadowy Horses, which was very good.

• Julia Quinn's It's In His Kiss was kind of boring, nice banter, but I never really got into the story or the h/h's relationship. Gregory was very funny and I'm relieved that his story is next and last. Julia Quinn is a guest squawker over at Squawk Radio this week.
• Double Trouble by Claire Cross is written in the first person, which I like, normally it's a nice change from 3rd person. This book gave me a headache, I found myself rereading paragraphs, passages and pages, because at times it seemed rather convoluted--funny coming from me the queen of convoluted.
• The Book of the Seven Delights is Betina Krahn's new book. I started it yesterday, and it's not bad, but at times it's dragging. It gets big points for being set in Victorian Morocco. The hero is English/French and the heroine is American. It reminds me of "The Mummy" movies--which I love.
• Last night I started reading The Wedding Night of an English Rogue by Jillian Hunter when I realized I'd left TBOTSD downstairs and was too lazy to go down and get it. After about 5 pages I turned off the booklight, took off my glasses and watched Cold Case on CBS with my husband, it's one of his favorite shows, but I always find it rather sad and usually much rather read.

There you go, the books that have pulled me out of a really good reading groove. Don't get me wrong, TBOTSD isn't bad and I haven't analyzed it enough to decide what's not working, and the Julia Quinn is well written, just boring.

I forgot to mention, last week I saw some of the new-sized paperbacks. To be honest, they look awkward, kind of tall and thin (about an inch taller than regular paperbacks, but no wider.) I wasn't impressed.

I think I'm finally done with the RT message boards (except for the General Board--I'll keep checking on how Jenster is doing). This was the question that finally put me over the edge:

"...Blank Pages at back of books...does it bother you?...Okay i may be getting just a bit picky here, but I've been noticing these 2-3 blank pages at the back of book more and more lately ... and wondered how you felt about this trend...."

Who the %$&%$$ cares!!! Is this inane crap or what?? I had to get that off my chest, I was going to post it over there, but figured it would offend someone. I know better than to go into this person's threads, but it's like rubber necking, I can't help but look. Oh, I feel much better.

On a much nicer note, Beverly's interview is up on mcvane this morning.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Confession Time and Guilty Pleasures

I prefer alpha heros--ack, not much of a confession, is it?

But, occasionally, I like historicals with alpha anti-heros--obnoxious men who not only need redeeming, they need serious soul searching, behavior modifications, attitude adjustments... And, they, of course, need the perfect woman to save them from themselves.

The other day Wendy blogged that Thea Devine was a guilty pleasure. Well, books with anti-heros are my guilty pleasure. Here are a few more memorable anti-heros:

• Gralaem--Firesong by Catherine Coulter
• Lucien (Lucky)--Dark Wager by Mary Spencer
• Cato--The Accidental Bride by Jane Feather
• Rees--Your Wicked Ways by Eloisa James
• Rolfe--The Conqueror by Brenda Joyce
• Rogan--The Taming by Jude Deveraux
• Spencer--The Marriage Bed by Stepanie Mittman
• Hugo--Vixen by Jane Feather
• John--The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke (newest to the list)
• I'm sure there are other, they're not coming to mind now.

Drunks, adulterers, clueless idiots, self-involved morons, villians in their own right, but everyone had an epiphany of love, that made their book worth reading.

Are all the books keepers? Nope.

Do I even believe an epiphany of love can truly change someone? Nope, but for some reason in each of these books, I believed it possible.

Would I personally want any of them? Nope.

Would I want to see one of them a hero in a contemporary? Absolutely not.

Contemporaries can and do have anti-heros (Anne Stuart writes the best), but they're somehow different and most women today would kick these historical type anti-heros to the curb without a second thought .

OMG--I Bought More Books...

I can not believe this, but I caved and bought more books today. Four new and Four used.

New:

1. The Wedding Night of an English Rogue--Jillian Hunter
2. The Book of the Seven Delights--Betina Krahn
3. Last Girl Dancing--Holly Lisle
4. Bait--Karen Robards

Used:

1. Lady of Desire--Gaelen Foley
2. Daisy's Back in Town--Rachel Gibson
3. His Every Kiss--Laura Lee Guhrke
4. Searching for Venus--Ella Broussard

I already read His Every Kiss, but loaned it out to someone and never got it back. I decided to go back and re-read Guilty Pleasures and His Every Kiss. Right now I'm reading One Night of Sin by Gaelen Foley and realized I hadn't read Lady of Desire.

As I'm typing this I'm banging my head against the screen. Do I really need anymore books and did I need 2 more set in Regency England, after I swore I was done with the time period?

Have a good night, and happy reading.

Thoughts and Prayers...

Thoughts and prayer go out to our friends and families in the UK.

Auto Buys...

Maili's column over at RTB yesterday got me thinking about my different lists--Auto Buys, Almost Auto Buys and Used to be Auto Buys. I honestly thought my "used to be" list would be the smallest--alas I was wrong.

Auto Buys-- Authors I will buy without reading the blurb and will always buy new:

• Mary Balogh
• Marsha Canham
• Liz Carlyle
• Jane Feather (getting close to being on the "used to be..." list)
• Diana Gabaldon (the only one I buy in hard cover)
• Juliana Garnett
• Linda Howard
• Madeline Hunter
• Eloisa James
• Laura Kinsale
• Maggie Osborne (I know she's retired, but I can still hope)
• Susan Elizabeth Phillips (may end up on the "almost..." list)
• Candice Proctor
• Julia Quinn
• Nora Roberts (what can I say--she's a comfort read)

Almost Auto Buys--Authors I buy after I read the blurb, occasionally I'll pass on what's new and wait for it to be used:

• Jane Ashford (not a lot of books out there, but I like her writing style)
• Adele Ashworth
• Elizabeth Chadwick (I forget to look for her books, but I always enjoy them and there hard to find new or used)
• Katherine Deauxville
• Rachel Gibson
• Lisa Kleypas
• Karen Ranney
• Karen Robards
• Anne Stuart
• Joan Wolf (if she continues to only write contemporaries, she'll be moved to the "used to be..." list)

Used to be an Auto Buy--Authors I occasionally buy used or have absolutely given up on:

• Jo Beverly
• Suzanne Brockmann (current series got old fast for me)
• Sandra Brown
• Catherine Coulter
• Jude Deveraux
• Janet Evanovich (tired of Stephanie Plum and wont read the romances)
• Julie Garwood ( I think I out grew her writing style, though I still get her books used)
• Susan Johnson (I liked her old historicals with all the footnotes)
• Brenda Joyce (eek--her contemporaries are horrible)
• Katherine Kingsley
• Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick... (tired of the same book over and over again)
• Stephanie Laurens
• Elizabeth Lowell
• Pamela Morsi (love her historicals, wish she was still writing them and not contemporaries)
• Mary Jo Putney
• JD Robb
• Kathleen Woodiwiss

I was going to be obnoxious and do a list of the "Just Shoot Me If I Ever Buy Them Again", but decided that was rude, even if it is my blog.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

What Can I Say--Kristie Inspired Me

I'm not a polka dot person and those dots were driving me crazy. This was the third template I tried this morning. Sage green is one of my favorite colors, in fact, the blog now matches my bedroom very nicely.

The Marriage Bed... aka The Book Junkie Strikes Again!

Last week I ordered 3 books through the UBS (they also sell new books).

1. The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke
2. It's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
3. Carved in Stone by Vicki Taylor

The first two were in yesterday, so of course I ran right out and picked them up. Now, I'm sure Carved in Stone will be in today, but I wasn't willing to wait to pick up them all up at the same time (that damned book junkie thing again).

Neither of these books ever hit the TBR pile. I started The Marriage Bed as soon as I finished Double Trouble and didn't stop reading until I finished it at 12:30 this morning. It's in His Kiss had a place of honor sitting on my night stand over night.

The Marriage Bed by Laura Lee Guhrke

He charmed her, wed her, and betrayed her ...

But now the repentant lord must

entice his enchanting wife back to the marriage bed.

That little quote is borrowed from Amazon.com, and is a rather simplistic description of the plot. This book is extremely well written, it has a great plot and the pacing is perfect, you could have gotten all of that from Mrs. Giggle's review.

Spoilers: Don't go any further if you don't want details...

There is a lot going on in this book. If you can't deal with adultery or long separations this book is NOT for you.

At 26, John Hammond is in desperate need of an heiress. After assuming his title he's in need of money quickly. He finds Viola (a Duke's sister) and charms her into marrying him including telling her he loves her, though he doesn't. After they are married she discovers he has kept a mistress right up until the wedding day and mistakenly believes he is still visiting her. She locks him out of their bedroom for a month and he leaves, basically for good, and she lets him.

Fast forward 8 years and now Lord Hammond is in desperate need again. Now he needs an heir, the two he has lined up for the job have died of Scarlet Fever.

John has had numerous mistress over the 8 years, and on some level he blames Viola because she locked him out--men have needs you know. Somehow Ms. Guhrke is able to show him as a charming scapegrace, he doesn't come across as the pig he is, because on one level he doesn't feel he's wrong, but at the same time when confronted he has guilt.

When he says "I never meant to hurt you..." I believed him. If you view life in black and white, you're probably not going to like this book, but if you can see through shades of grey, you will be able to believe Viola can forgive him and he does finally find redemption when he realizes how wrong he has been, how lousy he's treated women and that he does love his wife. All of this comes very late in the book.

I read this entire book with a lump in my throat. You feel for Viola, and even some of the mistresses, at times you hate John. If this were my life I wouldn't have let him back in, but this isn't my "love" story, it's John and Viola's. If you believe she's able forgive him and that he loves her, you'll believe in their HEA--I did.

I'm now 50 pages into It's in His Kiss. It's a nice lite read, much needed after spending 4 hours perpetually on the verge of tears.

We're Home Early...

We decided to make the Berkshires a day trip, it's less than a two hour drive, so the hubby decided he'd rather sleep in his own bed. Junior got to go on another train ride, so he enjoyed our little trip. Berkshire Scenic Railroad and The Norman Rockwell Museum were our two stops. There is an amazing amount of things to do while visiting the Berkshires, but since it's so close to home, I think we'll be making more day trips and maybe a mini vacation. Scenically the area reminds me of home (New York's Hudson Valley and Catskills).

We got home last night in time to watch Dirty Dancing. I've not watched the whole thing in years. I still enjoyed it even though it's campy and the dialogue is horrendous. I can't believe it's almost 20 years old. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." made it into the top 100 movie lines.

Well, I'm left wondering whatever happened to Baby and Johnny (not in real life Jennifer Grey had a nose job and ruined her interesting face and Patrick Swayze, well, I guess he's somewhere in Texas.)

So, what does everyone think? Did they get married or go their separate ways? Did she save the world? What does he do after "dancing"?

I rarely watch TV at night, but after watching DD my husband put on a video of 12 Angry Men. It's one of my all time favorite movies. I'm always left wondering, did the kid do it?

Got a ton of reading done this weekend:

1. The Bane Affair--Alison Kent
2. The Shaughnessey Accord--Alison Kent
3. The Samms Agenda--Alison Kent
4. To Pleasure a Prince--Sabrina Jeffries
5. One Night with a Prince--Sabrina Jeffries

And, I'm half way through Double Trouble by Claire Cross.

I traded for the Kent books and to be honest I probably would have been really annoyed if I had bought them, not because they weren't good, they are but they would have been expensive. All of them are trade paperbacks, both TSAs are 117 pages long and cost $7.99 new (that's 7 cents a page.)

Will someone please explain why so many of us feel the need to finish books that are part of a series? The 2 Jeffries books are the last 2 in The Royal Brotherhood Series, I read the first one last week and thought it only so so. The second was the best of the lot and dammit I'm left wanting the hero's sister's story, which is so annoying, because I'm going to have to keep an eye out for it. Now I'm 1/2 way through Double Cross and I realize there's a book before it--again annoying I'll search it out even though I'm not loving this one.

I really am a pathetic book junkie.

Hope everyone had a great and safe weekend.

PS--Megan, I didn't finish Into the Fire yet. Somehow I've missed placed it and haven't had time to rip the house and car apart looking for it. I was enjoying it, but I like just about everything Anne Stuart writes.

One more thing--my son picked up a variation of an expletive I hadn't heard before... H-E-double fish sticks.

Happy 4th of July...a few days early

Happy 4th to one and all.

We've got a busy weekend, so I'm not sure I'll be on again--well, I'll probably be on in the morning to blog hop, but probably wont have enough time to post anything.

Picnic at one of my BILs tomorrow, and Sunday after Mass we are heading up to the Berkshires for a couple of days.

I'm planning on reading the first 4 books in Alison Kent's SG-5 series. I finished Drive Me Crazy last night and haven't started anything today.

Junior and I went to a local Farm Market with my sister today, the produce is amazingly fresh, the baked goods are unbelievable and we can even pick up homemade soaps. Almost all of the villages and towns in our area are doing a weekly farm markets which is great, it helps the small local farms and small businesses. We live in the fastest growing county in NY and we are within driving distance of NYC, so the small farms in our area are fast disappearing to developments of McMansions.

Have a great weekend, be safe and happy reading.

TBR Challenges And The Other Thing

It's the last day of the month and I've reached my TBR challenge, I pledged to read 15 books and have actually read 23, a really good month. I've been in such a good reading groove that I hoped to reach 25, but I may get 24. I'm half way through Anne Stuarts Into the Fire.

I swore I wouldn't buy anymore books for a couple of weeks, but I couldn't keep to it. I somehow managed to squeeze a little bit out of the food money this week and picked up 3 new books and 1 used at the UBS yesterday.

One of the books I picked up was Kathy Love's Wanting Something More. This is the last in the "Ugly Stepp Sisters" series. Which I, of course, had to read immediately. I liked it, but was somewhat disappointed. I new it was going to be about Marty and Nathaniel (Nate), but I was expecting to see his transformation from AH to decent person. The transformation happens before the start of the book. She always tackles interesting subjects as part of the plot, this times it's near death experiences.

Can someone recommend a good message board?

I hate to admit it, but AAR's message boards give me a headache, I hate that you can't just follow down the list of messages, without going "back". I like discussions, but some people get down right combative, it's like being on RT's Political Board.

And, the RT boards seem to have been hijacked by aliens, I'm sick of lists and inane questions. I think most the interesting posters have gone to blogging because of this, not that I'm saying I'm interesting, but Anne E, Amanda, Erika, Holly... are blogging and they really aren't posting anymore. At this point I'm popping in on RT to check on Jenster and see how she is feeling.

Why is it my husband can't put a dirty, empty dish in the sink to be washed (they always go on the counter or the table), but he will put a dish with stuff on it (like cherry pits or a banana peel) into the sink, instead of dumping the garbage in the trash which is literally 2 feet from the kitchen sink??

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Not Much of a Link Slut...

I'll do my best to help keep Maili entertained, but I'm not much of a "Link Slut."

This is actually lifted from Maili's blog a while ago--Peter Pan, personally I find this man a little frightening. Can this guy be for real??

Daily Confessions, someone my husband works with visits this site everyday, and he believes everything he reads.

Dear Reader--I get emails from them everyday, each week they give you 5 small installments of a book so you can decide whether or not you're interested.

Baghdad Girl is a 13 year old girl from Baghdad who loves cats.

Hasidic Reggae-- I've posted this one before, but I like this guy and would love to see one of his shows.

Another link stolen from Maili, but always worth a revisit--My Husband's Crap.

The Reading Binge Continues...

Since my last blog I've finished 3 more books and started a 4th.

The Trouble With Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson was a good book, I liked Kate and Rob and the story was a fun read. But, if Ms. Gibson used the words "HUMMER" and "Duchon Lounge" one more time I would have thrown the book at a wall--for some reason this was real distracting for me. I also knew the "Hummer/HUMMER" joke was going to show up somewhere in the book. I love the Tom Jones references, one of the mothers of a childhood playmate was President of the Tom Jones Fan Club when we were kids and they had Tom Jones stuff all over their house.

In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries, I can officially say I am sick of full-size Regencies and REALLY, REALLY need to start avoiding them. I've always been hit or miss with SJ, but this was neither hit or miss, just kind of so so.

Remember My Heart by Janis Reams-Hudson, I enjoyed this, but I like reincarnation stories, the fate and finding each other through time thing always gets me drawn into the story. For some reason the stalker part of the story reminded me of Karen Robards' One Summer, one of my all time favorite books.

I've not only been on a reading binge, but I've been binge cleaning the house, spent all day Monday cleaning like a lunatic.

Have a great day, happy reading.

My Crazy Family

I know we all have crazy families, but sometimes mine makes me laugh out loud.

This past weekend we celebrated one of my Aunt's birthdays. She's closer in age to me than she is to her sister, my mom, Aunt C is more like a sister than an aunt. Did that make sense?

Mom is a full charge, type A personality, which she would never admit to. She constantly tells anyone who will listen she would like someone else to make decisions, but when someone else does, she overrides anything anyone comes up with. And even worse, she tells you you're wrong when you've not asked her opinion. She does this with cooking and decorating too--constantly tells us what we should have done instead, but that's another tale.

My sister decides we need to have a birthday party, but she doesn't want to have it at her house, and to be perfectly honest, no one really wants to go to her house, because she's got the most annoying Jack Russell Terrier that you just want to muzzle, but she does have central air conditioning which would make visiting okay if she locked up the dog (please note, I would like the dog more if he didn't try to bite my child and my sister would be less annoying if she didn't talk baby talk to the thing and feed him bites of food off her plate). Mom doesn't like coming to my house during the summer because we don't have air conditioning (well, we do in the bedrooms, but we can't entertain there.) Hey, the house is 100 years old, it has other charms and with a pool, we really don't feel hot, but Mom wont use the pool. Mom had everyone for Father's Day and doesn't want to have company again for a few more weeks.

So, my sister comes up with the bright idea of bringing the party to my Aunt's house, only she doesn't tell my Aunt. Two days before "The Party" my sister tells me to call Mom and tell her to tell my Aunt we're all coming on Sunday for her birthday. Now, my sister is planning on bringing the food, so at least she wasn't expecting my Aunt to throw her own birthday party.

Of course I do as I'm told and I call mom and tell her what my sister wants her to do and get a "WHAT???" Mom's not happy, I knew this before I even called. I got an "I'll talk to your sister" and she hung up.

Friday night I get a message from my sister. The party is now at my sister's, the dog will be kept outside and I am to bring lemonade and something else that I couldn't get from what my sister is saying, so I call her back. I'm to bring lemonade, potato chips and fruit. This is per my mother, through my sister.

Sunday we get to my sister's and the dog is outside on a run with his very own swimming pool and a reflective tent for him to sleep under and the dog is much happier than he would have been if he had been in the house playing alpha male against my three year old.

The party would have been perfect except my husband played bartender. My husband can drink like a fish and not get drunk, but I can't say the same for my Aunt. He makes this drink with vodka, lemonade and an orange liqueur that's blue--it's called "Chris' Blue Drink." I'm sure it has a real name, but that's what everyone in the family calls it. Well, the husband has a real heavy hand with the booze and my Aunt is a maudlin drunk, not a good combination.

The next birthday is Junior's, and Mom wont have a choice she's coming here. And, the hubby wont be allowed to play bartender--he'll be too busy barbecuing, or maybe I'll keep him busy deep frying a turkey. I'll have to think about it, but wont be asking Mom's opinion, I don't have to she'll give it anyway.

Sweet Lullaby

I just finished Lorraine Heath's Sweet Lullaby. I can't say how long it's been since I cried this much reading a book. Great, wonderful, fantastic book, but I don't know who I was more pissed off at Rebecca for leaving or Jake for letting her go. And, why did it take her 3 months to realize she shouldn't have left?

Off to pick another book, with all the books I now have waiting for me, I really want to read Laura Lee Guhrke's The Marriage Bed, which I don't have.

Sex and the Serial Killer

Jay (for some reason this isn't linking and I'm really html challenged) suggested I read this one next, she's looking for it. So I did. It falls under the "Bad Review Test" umbrella. Mrs. Giggles gave it a 28. I just checked AAR's review. They gave it a C+, and RT gave it 4 1/2 stars. So maybe it doesn't really fall under the "Bad Review Test". My thoughts fall somewhere between AAR and RT. It was a pretty good read, funny elements and worth picking up.

Got to go busy day ahead.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

Some More of This and That...

Book Buying Freeze

After telling Maili to squeeze (embezzle) extra money out of household expenses to buy books, I've managed to squeeze every last dime I could out of our budget and now am putting myself on buying hold for a few weeks. But, because I am a weak book junkie, I'm not sure I can do it. Avoiding stores that sell books might help, but not an easy task. Though I did go to Wal*Mart yesterday and managed to get in and out without looking at a book. But, why is it I can't get out of that store without spending a minimum of $80.

I know there are people who consider WM "The Evil Empire" at times myself included, it's not my first choice for shopping, but I needed a birthday present for a little girl from my son's class (his first real kids only party is this weekend) and the little girl's mom is a regular WM shopper, I figured if she needed to return the gift (a "Sky Dancer" and a "My Little Pony", it would be easier for her to return them to WM.)

Fallen From Grace

I finished this Wednesday night. It is an excellent book, and I'm passing it on to my sister tomorrow. I'm curious if the roles were reversed and the heroine was the prostitute, would a man not be affected by this and would he be able to get past it? I don't know--we may be liberated, but are men truly liberated enough to accept a woman's sexual history (good, bad or ugly).

The TBR Pile

Well, thanks to the trade group I now have a very nice TBR pile. I'm not like most romance readers, I don't keep hundreds of books on my TBR pile. For me, it's normally about 10-20. Now, it's 40-50, which is absolutely huge for me. After I buy a book if it no longer interests me, I move it out, usually to my sister (that way I can get it back if she likes it.)

Between buying books and books showing up in the mail, new books are appearing on an almost daily basis. I realized if I related my TBR pile to an inventory system I'm a LIFO (last in first out or maybe it should be LIFR, last in first read) reader. Not a great method if you have a lot of books, you never make it to the "bottom."

"I'm supposed to like this author..."

We all blog hop and check in on message boards and hear about hot authors we're supposed to absolutely love. But, sometimes we come across an author that it seems everyone else in the romance reading world loves and we are left with a great big HUH!!

I hate when this happens. I always feel like something is wrong with me and my tastes, and wonder what I'm missing. After finishing FFG, I picked up a "highly" recommended Harlequin Temptation and WHAM, I hate the writing style. This is the 3rd book by this author that I've read and I really wanted to like her books. And, no I'm not going to tell at this point, because I have a couple more that I'm going to try before giving up.

So with all these books...

Why can't I decide what to read next. This is probably why I don't keep a huge TBR pile in the first place, too many choices. I'm taking Junior to the playground this morning and then we'll spend the afternoon floating in the pool. I need a book for that, so I need to decide on something quick.

Have a great day (and weekend), and happy reading.

Feeling a Little Guilty

Today's column over at RTB is a good one. It's interesting to see things from an agents perspective.

“Publish to the market” is how I’ve heard this philosophy described at one company. “We must publish to the market, and we can’t ignore the dictates of the market.”

Don't you just want to smack the publisher that says this?

But where was “the market” when the first person wrote the book that created said trend? Simple, it didn’t exist. It took the forerunner—the Big Risk Taker—to pave the way. If I’ve heard it said once, I’ve heard editors say it a zillion times: “We want to find something fresh and different.”

I picked up Laura Leone's Fallen From Grace yesterday at the UBS, and I'm now feeling guilty about not ordering it new. It obviously falls under the "Big Risk Taker" category and is published by a small publisher. Her dedication says it all:

This book is dedicated to my editor, Russell Davis, who is smart enough to believe that romance readers want a good story more than they want a safe one.

I started reading this last night but got side tracked watching the AFI Best Movie Lines. And, of course, I feel asleep right before they did the last 10. I picked the book back up this morning and since it's raining and Junior now has a full blown cold, I'll try to get some reading in between the whines and complaints.

Have a great day, happy reading.

Junior has the Croup

He's not really sick, we caught it really early. He barked a couple of times yesterday and had a low grade fever. The pediatrician thinks it wont get any worse. Today he's not even coughing. I'm taking him to the UBS and the Supermarket, hopefully somewhere along the way he'll take a nap.

FYI--Junior isn't really a Jr. He's actually named for both his grandfathers, it's a tradition on my Italian side to name the first born son after the grandfathers, and the second after the father--of course, if I didn't like the names I'd have come up with something else. Using this tradition one of my DH's cousins would have been named "Julius Caesar." Junior actually comes from an old Bill Cosby skit "Junior Barnes You Gunky," it's one of my husbands favorites. We don't actually call him Junior, we only use it when we're talking about him, strange I know. He also has a whole host of other nicknames that we do call him (including Bumbles--which completely offends my SIL from hell, the Oliver Twist thing, but "Bumbles" is actually short for "Bumble Bee"--don't ask--LOL.

Aren't you all glad I shared this with you--LOL.

Have a great day, happy reading.

Bad Dialogue--Just Shoot Me...

A few weeks ago I picked up five contemporaries (romantic comedies) by the same author. I've read her blog, she IS very funny, I thought I would love her books. I went through a run of really bad contemporaries earlier this year, but I thought I would give this author a try--eeeekkkk. My complaint is once again the same--the dialogue is horrendous.

Do women who write romantic comedies actually ever talk to men? Listen to men talking to other men? I've come to the conclusion that the men in my life must be odd and speak differently than other men, because the men in almost all contemporary romantic comedies sound like women.

Words my husband (or any other man I know) wouldn't use when talking to other MEN:

1. chagrin
2. gee whiz--please, you've got to be kidding.
3. relationship
4. pray tell
5. impotent--I'm sure men use this word, but only with a doctor.
6. creepy--it would be "f*cking creepy.

Two words I don't ever want to hear out of a hero's mouth, "Ooo, ooo..." Is that actually considered two words or one?

Do authors believe men sit down and talk about "relationships" the same way women do? No way.

See, It's not About Sex, and The "Bad Review Test"

Well, I finished A Countess Below Stairs. A sweet book with an interesting time period (post WW I, England) and a heroine who is a Post-Russian Revolution emigre. And, it was "sweet"--no sex, it didn't need it. The next time someone tells me romance is about sex, I'm handing them this book. Romance is about relationships and HEA, sex is a fringe benefit.

I'm still on a reading binge, I finished ACBS before we left for school, started and finished Patricia Grasso To Catch A Countess for my "Bad Review Test" and am about 100 pages into Ruth Wind's In the Midnight Rain, so far it's great. I love rainy days. Junior plays beautifully by himself and doesn't require entertaining and I can curl up on the sofa and read.

The Bad Review Test

I have read two books that qualify for this test, one I read on purpose and the other I read before I saw the reviews.

1. To Catch a Countess by Patricia Grasso--Mrs. G gave this book a 03, it deserved it. The heroine is dyslexic and in Regency England this probably would have qualified her as "stupid". The problem with this book is she really is stupid and her inability to read has nothing to do with it. She simply does and says stupid things, this may be because she's a sheltered 18 year old, but I hope I wasn't this stupid at 18. And, the hero is a bully. I like alpha heros, but he's not only alpha, he's just plain mean. And, his redemption comes too little too late.
2. The Cobra & The Concubine by Bonnie Vanak--This book fell into my Bad Review Test by accident. The review over at AAR came out after I read the book, the reviewer there gave it an F. I understood the reviewer's complaints about this book, but it still entertained me. Even if it wasn't entertaining, it would have gotten a higher grade from me simply because of setting and time period (Egypt/England in 1898--is this period considered Victorian or Edwardian?).

So, what does all this show? Who knows?

A Little of This and a Little of That

I've been reading like a fiend for the past two days. Seven books from the trade group have arrived and I have read 2 and am half way through a third.

The Vampire Viscount--by Karen Harbaugh
I really enjoyed this book. It makes me realize I'm missing out by not reading more traditional Regencies. This book was fast paced and extremely entertaining and all of 227 pages.

Amber By Night--by Sharon Sala
For some reason I like librarian plots. I know they're stereotypical and not realistic, but I like them anyway. This wasn't the best one I've read, but it was a quick read.

A Countess Below Stairs--Eva Ibbotson
I am really enjoying this book, I'm only half finished, but can see why it's on Maili's keeper list. Though I do think the villianess is being used as an extreme foil for the lovely Anna.

Today is Moving Up Day at my son's nursery school. I'm hoping to have A Countess Below Stairs finished before we leave at 9:45. For some reason the Grandparents and 2 Aunts have all decided to come to this little ceremony. We're taking Junior out for a Chinese Food lunch. He's very excited, Chinese is is favorite and he would eat it every day if he could (he's his mother's son--LOL--I'd eat it every day too).

Yesterday, Junior and I went shopping for Father's Day gifts. Somehow we managed to get in and out of Barnes & Noble without buying any books for Mommy. Of course, we didn't get out without Junior having to eat at the Starbucks in the back of the store. I don't drink coffee, but I had to have a Chocolate Fudge Caramel Brownie. I needed that like I needed a whole in my head or another inch on my hips, which is probably where the brownie settled. The store is new and this was the first time I've brought Junior with me. He was very excited as soon as we walked through the doors. "Mommy, they have food here. I'm hungry I need lunch."

We spent the whole day running around, and I realized, while in Lowes, I'm almost as addicted to flowers as I am to books. I couldn't get out of that store without buying 2 more plants for my perennial beds.

Got to go, I want to finish reading and still have to make breakfast for the DH and Junior.

Have a great day, and happy reading.

I'm So Weak

I'm pathetic. I can not go into a store that sells books without buying one or two or three...

Yesterday, I ran into the supermarket to pick up a couple of things and came out with three books. Now, I know I've got over a dozen books coming in the mail within the next week or so. Why did I buy these books? I'm weak.

And what makes this even more pathetic 2 books are part of series that I'm only slightly interested in continuing reading. I certainly could have waited to get these books used.

But, one of the books I picked up was Victoria Bylin's Abbie's Outlaw. I finished it last night and really enjoyed it. I read very few western romances. It's been years since I've read them on a consistent basis. There was a period of time that every hero in a western was a Confederate ex-patriot, with lots of baggage. I've always had a hard time with these heros, but I'm saving all of this for a blog about being a PC romance reader.

No more time, Junior has school this morning.

Have a great day, happy reading.

The Memory is Shot!!! aka "Crap, I Already Read This!!"

So far this month I've finished 9 books, which is pretty good considering today is the 13th. But, I've started and skimmed another 5 books and realized "Crap, I already read this." The memory is shot, for years I've relied on my memory to keep track of books, and usually when I picked up a book and read the blurb, I remembered it--good, bad or ugly. If I thought it was "great" it would already be on my keeper shelf.

I now need lists. I've got TBR lists, To look for lists, trade lists, wish lists, keeper lists. And, that's just the lists related to books. I've got shopping lists and phone call lists and list to keep track of when bills need paying. I keep schedules for school, doctors, hairdressers.

OMG, I've become my mother, how is this possible. I used to make fun of my mom with all her lists and calendars--what the heck happened.

Book Contests and Stupid Cows

I'm prefacing this by saying I am not a writer nor do I ever wish to be a writer. 1. I'm not sure I could handle the rejections and 2. I have absolutely no writing talent. But, book contests fascinate me.

One of the first RTB columns I read referred to contest reviewers as "stupid cows". Twice a year I become a "stupid cow." I do this through my local UBS. The UBS used to have a romance reader book club and several members volunteered for this, myself included, and we've been doing it for years. This week I picked up copies of the prologue and first chapter of 6 different historical novels. One of the question the contest asks is "What would it take to get you to recommend this book?" I'm paraphrasing the question because I don't have the work sheets in front of me. HOW ABOUT LETTING ME READ THE WHOLE FREAKIN' BOOK?!!? How can anyone recommend a book based on 25 pages?

So, this year I got historicals, which was nice considering last year I reviewed category romances and boy all but 2 were really bad, you have no idea whose books your reviewing because the authors name is not included, which is fine. But, 2 or 3 months after the contest you start getting thank you cards and you have no idea if someone is thanking you for liking their manuscript or really saying "nah, nah you stupid cow, I sold my manuscript."

Sorry, I think I got off track there. Like I said, this year I got historicals, 3 Regency periods, 1 Victorian, 1 Medieval and 1 Native American/Indian. I actually like 4 out of the 6, and would have liked to have finished each manuscript. One of the ones I didn't like was a Regency with so many characters introduced in the first chapter my head was swimming and I needed a score card. The other was the Medieval which breaks my heart because it really is my favorite historical time period. Within the first 25 pages you realize the heroine is a feisty, TSTL idiot who runs off to the Cruscades to "help" her father. I've come to the conclusion that feisty is synonymous with stupid.

I really did enjoy the first 25 pages of two of the manuscripts and will probably write a note to the coordinators and see if I can get the entire manuscripts. One was set in 1898 England and I liked the heroine from the first time she opened her mouth. And the other was a Regency set in Egypt. I would really like to finish both of these books.

This "Stupid Cow" is signing off, have a great day and happy reading.

This and That, I Should be Asleep

Well, it's 11:30 at night and I should be asleep, my son gets up at 5:30 every morning.

I've been picking over Maili's keepers list and just finished reading Theresa Weir's Cool Shade. And all the way through it I thought it was kind of depressing, until I reached the last page:

"There was one more thing she had to ask him. 'Your old music. Most of them are love songs. Who did you write them for?'

'You.'

'Just how gullible do you think I am?' she asked,even though she'd thought the very same thing. 'You've only known me a few months.'

'I've known you a lifetime. Here' He touched his chest, his heart. 'you've always been right here.'

She smiled up at him through her tears...."

Does it get any better than that???

Sybil has a link to Alison Kent's blog, which has the RWA graphical standards letter of explanation. My first thought was what a load of crap...but Maili made a comment about covers (we know how much Maili loves covers--LOL). Is it possible the RWA is trying to persuade publishers to improve romance/romantica/erotica covers. If so they're really pissing off some of the membership in the process. If they don't care about the "content", what's the big deal with the covers? Isn't that what all this comes down to? Though it does have a Nazi "we've set the standards, therefore you must goosestep and follow our lead" feel to it.

My brain is hurting from too much thinking, I'm going to bed.

Is this true???

Thank you Maggie Osborne!...I read that you are retiring.I wish you all the best that life has to offer you. Your excellent stories,which by the way are "keepers" for me,will be sorely missed.Thanks for the hours of happy reading you've given me.

I just lifted this from RT's Favorites Board. Is this true?? I don't read many westerns and my favorite western writer is retiring, it's just not right!!

The Day From Hell

I'm not going to go into much detail, but yesterday was the day from hell. It started out at 5:30 in the morning with the our internet server dumping out every couple of minutes and went down hill from there. It ended at a wake/memorial service for a 49 year old man. Just not a good day.

Today has to be better, right?

Surviving the Picnic and Procrastinating

Well, we survived the picnic. It was more like 300 children and almost as many adults, what a zoo. All the kids from the school were wearing white t-shirts and most had blue jean shorts, it was almost impossible to find a child in the sea of white and blue. Junior had a great time and I had to drag him out kicking and screaming. It was 90 degrees, thank God for the breeze and the temperature under the pavilion had to be 10 degrees cooler. One of my girlfriends (my son's "best friend's" mother) swore she would be there 1/2 an hour early, I knew this was impossible (she's never on time), so it was a good thing I got there early because I snagged 2 picnic tables under the pavilion for our group.

When we got home we received bad news. One of our BIL's brothers passed away. He'd had a massive heart attack and open heart surgery 10 days ago, he was in desperate need of additional surgery (he had an infection that they couldn't get under control and his blood pressure with medication was only 60/40) and would have needed a heart transplant if he had survived. The really frightening part of all this he was only 49, no history of heart disease in the family and he died on his son's 25th birthday. So, so sad. Tomorrow is the wake, my mom will watch our son so we can go.

On a much, much lighter note, I've realized books are overrunning our lives and space. I need to reclaim our home office, the shelves in here are a jumbled mess as well as the 8 boxes of books that at one point had been in some semblance of order, but now are an absolute disaster. In addition to the shelves and boxes in the office I have about 1000 books library organized on shelves on our back sun porch. I'm going to be going through everything and deciding what is really a keeper and what can be traded, sold or donated. If I can actually get the office taken care of we may be able to put in a futton and a couple of tables and voila we have a home office, reading room and guest space. I'd love to turn the space into nursery, but I can't convince my husband he's not to old at 47 to have another baby and he also has the nerve to tell me "you're eggs are too old." Hey, I'm only 41, my grandmother had my aunt when she was 44. I also can't convince him to put heat on the sun porch so we can use it as a library/home office in the winter.

I reread Eloisa James' His Wicked Ways last night. I know so many people don't like "long separation" and "adultery" stories, but for some reason this book so works for me.

I've got to go.

Have a great day and happy reading.

School Picnic

Today is my son's 1st school picnic, 250 children all under the age of 5. The whole thing is a little frightening for me--LOL. The picnic starts at 10:30, he was ready to leave at 7:00, of course, he still has his pajamas on, but this doesn't matter to him--He's ready to GO, NOW.

I wont be doing any reading today, but I hope everyone has...

A great day, and happy reading.

Books, The Pool and a Little Guilt

I finished Madeline Hunter's Lord of Sin, over the weekend. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about 19th century engravings. I'm one of those readers who likes historical info in a book, but for me this was a little overkill. She (MH) keeps adding characters who will probably will get "stories/books" in the future. I guess she's not going back to writing Medievals.

It was a good book, but I think there may have been to much mixing of the classes for the time period. I'm not really sure this would have been very accurate, but it did make the book different. And, no one will ever be able to accuse MH of writing fluff. She also dealt with the sad subject of the "clearances", which I may blog about separately.

After finishing LOS, I started Jane's Warlord by Angela Knight. It's a little out there, but so far it's a fun read. The talking wolf threw me, at first I was expecting him to turn into a werewolf, probably because the only other AK book I've read was a werewolf story. I also think the cat's name was thrown in for shock value, which all things considered isn't really shocking and just seems a little silly and immature.

The pool is finally open, of course, our weather has now gone from early spring like to mid-summer, in less than 10 days. Which is typical for the North East. The air temperature will be between 85-90 degrees and humid today, but the pool is only 66, as of this morning, a little cold for swimming.

I'm feeling a little guilty about my comments about bad reviews in my last blog. I do enjoy reading these reviews, they can be funny, but I should have qualified it by saying I don't like to see writers insulted and hurt. Of course, reviews are individual, but writers must know that it's only one persons opinion. If a reviewer rips a book, it doesn't necessarily mean they are ripping the author, but I guess it would be hard to differentiate (spell check says I spelled that correctly, but it looks wrong--LOL) between the two.

Have a great day, and happy reading.