Opposite ends of the viewing spectrum...

Sunday I took Junior to see Curious George. A cute little movie, rather innocuous, not how I wanted to spend Sunday afternoon, but Junior liked it and that's really all that mattered. You may have noticed I said "I" took... Yes, the darling husband bailed on us. Decided his knees hurt to much to sit in a movie theater for 2+ hours. And yet, when we returned home we found him comfortably lounging on the sofa watching The Godfather. So of course, I plopped myself down and watched with him.

Now, you may be thinking these are the opposites I mentioned in the title, and actually they could be, I could be writing about the sweet innocence of George and Ted and the dark violence of the Corleones. But I'm not...

No, the other end of my viewing spectrum was Grizzly Man on The Discovery Channel. Has anyone seen this "critically" acclaimed documentary? Holy Crow, this man was crazy, literally. But as one of his friends points out how could he not be nuts after spending so much time by himself in the wilderness.

My first thought was "narcissistic nut job" but that would be snarky and not very good on the nice scale. So I'm coming up with a different first thought...give me a minute... Okay "sad, narcissistic nut job and in need of some major psychological help."

Of the 13 summers he spent with the grizzlies he brought his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, for the last 2 seasons. And yet all the "footage" he shot was of him alone in the wilderness "protecting" and living with the bears. She was virtually non-existent. She was also terrified of bears--what the heck was she doing there?

Curious George--cute little monkey. Grizzly Man--crazy man who thought he was a ferocious grizzly bear, until the bears ate him and poor Amie. God rest their souls.

I've got to get back to reading, have a great day.

Tara

One more thought, does anyone watch Survivorman? It's my husband's new favorite show--I think he's crazy too. Survivorman, not my husband, well, my husband may be too, but I better not go there.

Finally...

Finally, a Lisa Kleypas that lives up to the expectations of Dreaming of You. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I like it and it may even be better than DOY. Is that possible?

Evie and Sebastian are well matched right from the first page. I was half expecting Evie to be to shy a character, but she holds her own with the scoundrel. Their banter and dialogue is splendid, the story moves and isn't bogged down through all the little twists and turns it takes.

Lisa Kleypas is an author that falls into the hit or miss category for me. I either thoroughly enjoy them or am left disappointed the book didn't reach it's full potential. This one lives up to it's potential and then some. Yeah--happy dance time.

I can honestly say... This is my Favorite new book of the year. Makes me wonder where the last one in the series will be going. I'll have to check out her website.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

Found...

A real quick one before we leave my SIL's. While Junior was in school yesterday I found Devil in Winter and Lady of Sin at Walmart. Had another of those nights where I'm up at 3:00 for the day and started reading. Finished DIW before having to make breakfast at 6:30.

I'm hoping to have enough time to comment about it tomorrow, but we're taking Junior to see Curious George.

Have a good one.

Tara

I had something else planned...

I woke up early this morning, and in the quiet time before the child and cat invade our bedroom, I planned an entire blog post about authors reviewing other authors. I may still get to that one later today. But, TWO things came up that are now bugging the heck out of me, so I'm blogging about them instead.

The First:

I saw only one story on Good Morning, America this morning. The one about SAHM being sellouts to the Women's Movement. Well, I guess I'm a sellout. For years I owned my own retail business, but I knew when I got pregnant that I wouldn't be able to give the business or my child enough attention, splitting my days and week between the two wasn't going to work for me. I chose to be a "Mom" and have never regretted it. Next year when my son starts school full time I plan to go back to work, in fact I've been putting together a business plan that will hopefully allow me to work for myself and fit it into my son's school hours.

If we are lucky enough, why can't we choose what will work for us and our families, why do people on either side of this issue feel the need to criticize those who make different choices? Isn't that what we are looking for? Options and choices, not to be pigeon holed? Ack--I'm done...this is one subject that just pisses me off.

The Second:

I'm rather confused about reviews. Once a book reaches the bookstore shelves are reviews geared for readers or the authors? My thought is constructive criticism comes from agents and editors before a book is released, once a book is released reviews are for readers, to help them decide if it's something they want to read or pass on.

Today's column over on RTB is comparing some reviewers to Simon from American Idol.

Here's a quote from the columnist:

I used to review books. If I read a book that I truly didn’t like, for one reason or another, I didn’t review it. I figured that author got to where they were for a reason and what I didn’t like someone else would. Plus, I knew how hard that author had worked to first get published, then stay published. I was honest in my reviews, but skipped writing reviews of “wallbanger” books. I figured it was my way of staying honest, but not becoming Simon.

...skipped writing reviews of “wallbanger” books????? How does a reviewer only write reviews for books they like??? Someone needs to tell Ebert & Roeper they can only review the movies they're giving a thumbs up. Forget all those movie goers that will see a dog--we wouldn't want to hurt the director's or the actors' feelings.

There's a huge difference between being "honest, but not becoming Simon."

You don't like snarky reviews? Don't read them.

I'm done.

Have a good one.

Tara

***Edited--I'm starting to think we are once again talking about Amazon Book Reviews and they are a dime a dozen and should be taken with a grain of salt. At what point do authors forget what is written on Amazon and move on to legitimate reviewers and review sites.

Now, I'm really done.

Play Along...

I'm wasting time again and lifted this from Sam...

Play Along!

Current Clothing: Jeans and a long sleeved Tee, just back from running errands

Current Hair: Headband and bangs in desperate need of color

Current Mood: cranky, can't decide what to read

Current Refreshment: Water

Current Annoyance: Sunny and cold

Current Avoidance: Washing dishes

Current Smell: Spicy potpourri

Current Thing You Ought to be Doing: Washing dishes

Current Thing or Things on Your Wall: Bookshelves, and lots and lots of books

Current IM person You’re Talking to: IM turned off, it hangs up my system

Current Jewelry: wedding ring set, a picture charm pendant of by beautiful Junior and earrings.

Current Book: can't decided, can't decide, can't decide


Your turn!

Bi-Polar Reader

I've come to the conclusion that I'm a bit bi-polar when it comes to reading. Either I'm on a reading high, reading everything in sight, or I'm at a low, and not able to finish anything. And these reading swings can come within days of each other.

Last week I was on a reading high, this week it's a low. I can give excuses and explanations:

1. I'm having problems with the size of print. I had to put Anne Stuart's Catspaw down because even with my glasses I'm having trouble focusing. I then picked up Jane Grave's I Got You, Babe and I think that print is even smaller.
2. I've read everything from my TBR pile that I was remotely interested in.
3. I'm anticipating all the great reads for March and nothing is living up to those expectations.

The glasses thing is bugging me, our insurance covers glasses every 2 years. I only got these last year, but I know they're not strong enough. I'm going to have to pay for a new pair out of pocket. My husband has virtually had the same prescription for 20 years--can you believe that? He goes has his eyes checked and they never change--of course, he's terribly near-sighted and probably can't get much worse.

Maybe, we'll head to B&N and see if any of the March releases are out early.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY

Discovered this over on Jay's blog. And, it only took me 3 days to figure out how to copy my own to my blog and not have to order a t-shirt.

Today is Jay's Birthday--Let's all sing Happy Birthday...

Have a good one,

Tara

Still Wasting Time...

My March Wish List:



I've been waiting for this book since I finished Dark Lover. I can admit, I've not been real patient about it.




Another book I've been cooling my heals for, I enjoyed The Dark Queen and loved The Courtesan and can not wait for this one.



Mr. Impossible was one of my favorite reads from last year, actually I think I read it in December of 2004, but who's keeping track. I certainly hope this one lives up to MI.


For some reason I have to have this book new. I enjoy Lisa Kleypas' books, they're rarely keepers, with a few exceptions. Love her storylines and plots, and yet I'm never completely satisfied with her books as if the actual writing doesn't live up to my expectations, I know it's weird, but what can I say?



Nothing lives up to Madeline Hunter's medievals, but I keep trying her thinking at some point this series will be as good.



I like Kasey Michaels, once in a while I'm disappointed, but that's okay. And this looks interesting.



I have no idea where I saw this book reviewed, but it sounded great, so it's on my wish list.




There were a few other books, but I'm going to look for them used.

A dash of this and that...

We got a fuel delivery this morning--it's a good thing we're on a budget and pay monthly, 450 gallons would have been a little over $1,000. I guess we can't complain home heating oil is cheaper than heating with natural gas and propane.

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of the emails in my bulk mail box over on yahoo? There's 7,075 of them, when deleting 25 at time I'd have to go in and out 214 times--not happening. I guess it's a good thing they're not included in the space allotment.

Our son has decided he wants sleep dressed like his daddy. Which means sweatpants and no shirt. Pajamas are no longer part of our clothing budget, it just doesn't seem right--he's only 4. We register him for kindergarten March 2nd. I can't believe he's starting to read. Where does the time go?

For some reason I've become the family accountant and end up doing tax returns for just about everyone in the family. I promised my mom I'd be over this Friday to do theirs and asked her to get all her info together. She calls last night to tell me she missed a huge medical deduction for 2004 and she want to know if we can add it to her 2005. Of course, I'm not really an accountant and when I told her I'm pretty sure we'll have to file an amended return, she got mad at me. I don't know why she's annoyed I'm the one who does the work (well, me and Turbo Tax)--she's going to call the IRS, better her than me.

I'm reading Anne Stuarts Catspaw, I'm positive I've read it before, but it's entertaining so I'm going to finish it. I didn't feel like finishing Candice Hern's The Brides Sale, I put it back on the TBR pile.

Aren't you glad I shared all this useless info? Can everyone tell I'm procrastinating? I should be cleaning--how exciting.

Have a good one and happy reading.

The Memory fails me again

I listed Candice Hern as my new to me author for Angie's February Challenge. After picking up four books from her backlist, I'm pretty sure I've read her before. Right now I'm reading The Bride Sale and I'm almost positive I've read it before.

Is this a lousy cover or what? Kristie's complained about the Avon covers before and since I have 4 of Candice Hern's backlist in front of me I can say they all stink.

I've been on a bit of a reading binge and yet I don't feel like reviewing anything, so I'm posting the covers on the sidebar and that's the extent of my actually posting a comment about them. I will say Diane Perkins/Diane Gaston is going on my autobuy list. I've read 3 of her books and they are all nice solid stories, not keepers but entertaining reads.

The last time I was in the UBS I picked up February's and March's Romantic Times. I don't know why I bothered with the February one as I've read everything front he February releases that I was interested in, but I was hoping I'd missed something.

Maybe I'll post my March Wish List as there seems to be a lot coming out next month that I'll be interested in.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara

Men, romance authors and a mini rant

There's a column over on RTB today talking about who's more romantic men or women. In my marriage it's definitely my husband, which I hate to admit since I'm such a sucker for all things romantic and cry during Hallmark and AT&T commercials.

My husband is without a doubt a romantic, he writes beautiful love notes and always signs cards with beautiful thoughts, I on the other hand struggle to write "I'll love you forever and always" in new and refreshing ways. And yet, the same man who can express himself so wonderfully has no problem scratching and farting without uttering an "excuse me". Of course, that's only in my company, he'd never do this in front of his mom or sister, he says he's comfortable being a "man" around me. Gee thanks, I'd still like to see better manners.

I picked this quote out of Bam's blog review of Dark Lover: "This book is even blissfully free of supposed big-shit tough guys who sound as if they’re high school valley girls."

So, where am I going with all this?

I have one pet peeve with romances, it's not secret babies, or amnesia stories (though I'm not a huge fan of either of these plot devices)--I hate men who don't sound like men. I find this is a huge problem in contemporaries, but you see it in historicals too. I absolutely, positively hate seeing an author use a conversation between men to bring out how they're emotionally dealing with their relationships. Maybe my real world is different, but if my husband is out with the "guys" the last thing they're going to be talking about is their "feelings". Men DO NOT talk to each other the same way women do, why is this so difficult for some authors to deal with?

Okay, men can be and are romantic, but it seems to me that what they express to us is completely different from what they will express to other men. Am I the only one who notices this, or am I out in left field**?

Tara

**please note the baseball reference--pitchers and catchers report to spring training this week--GO YANKEES, Kristie and Wendy I thought you'd appreciate that--LOL

This, that, other thoughts...and a Challenge...

Of late my brain seems to have problems focusing. I'm left wondering whether it's this cold that has me fuzzy headed or maybe I've got adult ADD, I'm leaning towards fuzzy headed myself.

The snow from last weekend is melting and my son enjoys rolling around in the slushy, muddy mess. He was an interesting sight yesterday in snow pants, oversized sweat shirt, winter boots, hat and mittens. Somewhere my dad found a toy truck that's a salt spreader, you would think this is the greatest toy ever invented.

Last night's LOST left me, well, lost. I still haven't seen last season with the exception of a few episodes, so I had no idea Sayid tortured Sawyer last season, I found this out over on Kristie's this morning. I also didn't know Claire went missing for 2 weeks last season, saw that info in the coming attractions. I've put in a request for season one from the library, but I'm 38 in the queue, that makes me think I have at least a six month wait. I need to breakdown and actually pull out the old Blockbuster card and rent this.

I finally got around to joining Paper Back Swap. I listed 12 books this morning.

Over on Book Lovers' Nook there's a post about our evolving reading tastes. I know my tastes have evolved and changed over the years.

This week I reread Mary Balogh's The Secret Pearl. Of course, I wasn't planning on doing a reread, I didn't remember reading it in the first place. But, as soon as I started reading I knew I'd read it before and remember thinking it was way over the top melodramatic. So I guess it falls into the "didn't 'Love'" when I first read it category. I still didn't love it, but I have to say I love Mary Balogh's writing style and voice even if I didn't love this particular story.

So, here's my Challenge, pick an old favorite, something you haven't read in years and see if it's still a favorite. And/or maybe read something you didn't exactly love in the past and see if it improved with age.

Last year I reread Whitney, My Love which had been an absolute favorite and struggled to finish it. I'm thinking I may need to read Kathleen Woodwiss' Shanna or The Wolf and the Dove, at one time these were my all time favorite romances, now I have a feeling they're going to be filled with "Purple Prose" and probably not as enjoyable.

And one final thought, question, does anyone else feel guilty when they hate something that a friend "highly recomends"? I always feel like I must have somehow missed something, what's wrong with me that I didn't "get it"?

Happy Valentine's Day And Other Odd Thoughts...

Today is Valentine's Day. The one day a year we prove our love by being romantic--shouldn't we be doing this everyday?? Isn't this why we read and love romance novels?? I have a cold that's settled into my sinuses, it's making me grumpy and sarcastic.

I was in B&N the other day and they had a "Valentine's Day" table set up in the front of the store. It had some cutesy things on it all in pink and red and my first thought was "You've got a whole section dedicated to Valentine's already--it's called romance." You know they didn't have one romance novel on that damned table.

Junior made the most adorable pin in school, a heart with buttons glued all over it, he was very creative with those buttons. He also made a card with a picture of a little boy, he told me he colored the hair brown so I would know it was him, isn't he cute. The hubby and I exchanged cards, flowers and candy, and Junior received "The Breakdown Train" for his Thomas the Tank Engine set--better than candy according to our little boy.

While shopping yesterday I picked up the reissue of Mary Balogh's The Secret Pearl, I was sure I hadn't read it--ack, of course I had. Fifty pages in I recalled the entire story. Once again this reminds me that the memory is shot, I can't remember storylines and characters from books I read last month, how the heck am I supposed to remember something I read 15 years ago. I do remember why it didn't go on my keeper shelf then--too melodramatic. I'm going to finish it and see if my reaction is the same. Though she is an autobuy for me and has been for years, I thought many of her books from the 90's were way too dramatic.

Once again, I've let the laundry get away from me, so I'm going to the laundromat to do all the comforters, sheets, blankets, etc...all those things that don't fit in the home washer. I might as well do the rest too, I can get a weeks worth of laundry done in a couple of hours. I know it's an exciting way to spend Valentine's Day, buy hey, nothing says I love you like clean underwear. I also have to go to the library, they have 3 books and a dvd in for me--I'm hoping the DVD is the first season of LOST and not the Fantastic 4 that I requested for Junior, I'll have to check the library website before we head out.

I've started purging books again, I've got a bag for the Library, a bag to list on the trade site, a bag for the UBS and another for the thrift store. I also have a much larger official TBR pile, maybe I'll actually get to them.

Well, I should stop procrastinating and get my day going.

Have a good one and happy reading.

Tara

Please republish your blog in 10 minutes.

This post has been saved and your blog is still publicly viewable while we perform system enhancements.

Am I the only person sick to death of seeing this!!! What the heck is up with Blogger??

Snow, Snow and More Snow...

Well, we can't complain. NYC got over 2 feet of snow, we're a couple of hours north of the City and we only got 8 inches, but Junior had a great time helping us shovel out.

Two more new to me...

I've finished 2 more books by new to me authors.

Title: In The Thrill of the Night

Author: Candice Hern

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? The blurb sounded interesting and I've noticed others read her on a regular basis.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and yes, I'll search out her back list.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it until the series is finished.

Anything else? This is a good book, but it didn't completely live up to the potential of the storyline. There are times I didn't like where the writer took the story, but eventually everything seems to work out, I know that sounds vague, but I don't feel like going into spoilers.


Title: Calamity Jayne

Author: Kathleen Bacus

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? It's had some good recommendations so I decided to pick it up.

Do you like the cover? Yes

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and I'll read her again

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it for now, waiting to see if it becomes a "Calamity Jayne" series.

Anything else? This is not a romance, it's really a Chick Lit/Mystery with a little flirtation included, it left me wanting more for Tressa (Calamity Jayne) and (Ranger) Rick.

The Wagering Widow by Diane Gaston

This is my first book for Angie's February TBR Challenge


Title: The Wagering Widow

Author: Diane Gaston

Year published: 2006

Why did you get this book? The first in this series received rave reviews and since I'm having a hard time finding it, I had to order it. I decided to pick this one up, and then decided to read it even though I knew it was part of a series.

Do you like the cover? Yes, I liked the cover.

Did you enjoy the book? Yes

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? New to me and I would definitely read her again

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it at least until the series is finished.

Anything else? This is one of those books the more I thought about it the more I liked it. Rarely do I prefer the heroine to the hero of a book, but this book has a great heroine, the hero is good too, but I really liked Emily and thinking about how she bullies her brother makes me laugh, probably because I can still bully mine.

Not impressed

I must say Bam saves me from having to write a review for this.

It doesn't even come close to living up to the original book. Unlike The Wagering Widow which the more I thought about, the more I liked, the more I thought about this one the more I disliked it. At this point it may end up listed under "Not Worth My Time."

A real quick one...

I should be in the shower, we need to be out of the house in half an hour.

I don't watch much TV--LOST, Survivor, CSI and Without a Trace. Thursday night's my night to control the remote.

Did anyone watch Without a Trace last night? Can you imagine realizing your husband is a serial killer? Great episode.

Have a good one, back to book blogging this afternoon.

Tara

Not Worth My Time...

You know that great scene in Rear Window when Grace Kelly gets pissed off with Jimmy Stewart and starts to walk out giving the impression she wont ever be back and then announces she'll be back tomorrow--that's the kind of relationship I have with Julie Garwood these days. I repeatedly swear I'll never read her books again and yet at some point I've gone on to read every single thing she's written.

Out of respect for the woman who wrote Honor's Splendor I've listed this book as OKAY, alas it really was NOT WORTH MY TIME. I'm relieved I picked this one up at the library even buying it at the UBS would have annoyed me. I'm not sure I can even read her historicals anymore, with the exception of Honor's Splendor, I've not read one of her historicals in years. At one time I enjoyed her fluffy, fun and entertaining historicals. Okay, so they weren't historically accurate and the heroines are all perfect and the heros all have a certain smirky acceptance of the cute little person now in their lives, like they're planning on patting the little lady on the head. This may have worked in historicals, but in a Contemporary Romantic Suspense it pisses me off. I do not like RS Lite, and yet I liked Rachel Gibson's Sex, Lies and Online Dating which has a RS Lite feeling to it. I'll have to think about it, hmm. Maybe it's just Julie Garwood's RS Lite I don't particularly like.

I don't want to actually write a review so go check RT if you're looking for a positive review, not that I've actually checked, but they seem to be JG fangirls over there, and there probably is a more honest review over on AAR.

After basking in the glow of the fabulous Anne Stuart anti-hero, Christian Montcalm, I discovered Candace Camp's So Wild A Heart...Devin Aincourt, Earl of Ravenscar, makes no apologies for who he is--a drinker, a womanizer, a gambler. Having been cast aside by his disapproving father years before, Dev is content to live out his cursed life in this hedonistic manner... yada yada yada, blah blah blah.

So dear old Dev isn't really an anti-hero and his heroine, Miranda, at first is a refreshing bit of American heiress fresh air, but turns out to be a pain the behind.

The sad part to this book, I was more interested in the untold stories of Dev's sister Rachel and her husband Michael and Dev's widowed brother-in-law Richard. So I'll probably look to see if they have stories, and that just leaves me wanting to bang my head on my desk.

Vicky Taylor's Flesh and Stone is supposed to be out, maybe I need a trip to B&N.

Have a good one, and happy reading.

Tara