I have returned
Well, got back late last night. Of course, now the apartment is a mess and I must clean. I haven't even finished unpacking. I should probably do that. In fact, I am going to go do that. Maybe I won't be so damn cold then. Will blog more later.
Now I'm really saying goodbye
Adios, adieu, Auf Wiedersehen, bye... Time to shut down the computer and finish packing. I hate packing. I always think I'm going to forget something. And the books....I need to bring enough books!
Bye! See you on Monday.
Bye! See you on Monday.
Bleck, and a short goodbye
UH...can you tell I couldn't think up a title for this post? Well, finished Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris this afternoon. It was an okay book. Not mind-blowing, but I think I'll pick up the next book (or at least check it out from the library). Not sure I'd've liked it as much if I'd actually paid for the hardback, but since I got it from the library...
Now I'm starting Codename: Baby by Christina Skye. So far it's good, though I'm not too far into it yet.
Tomorrow afternoon until Sunday evening I'll be gone. Going back to North Dakota to see some hockey games and friends and family. Gah, I need to decide on what books I'm bringing. I hate choosing vacation books.
Now I'm starting Codename: Baby by Christina Skye. So far it's good, though I'm not too far into it yet.
Tomorrow afternoon until Sunday evening I'll be gone. Going back to North Dakota to see some hockey games and friends and family. Gah, I need to decide on what books I'm bringing. I hate choosing vacation books.
Lovely day
So saw Proof. Loved it. Very good movie. I definitely recommend it. Didn't even eat the candy I bought while I saw it. *g*
Read Butcher's Summer Knight and enjoyed it. Will start the next one soon.
Also read Private Demon by Lynn Viehl and really enjoyed it.
So...lots of enjoyable things today. It's been a great lazy day. Nick's been playing Vice City while I sit out there with him in the living room and read. Now what to read next....
and...don't have to do the dishes. Nick's doing them. Yay.
Read Butcher's Summer Knight and enjoyed it. Will start the next one soon.
Also read Private Demon by Lynn Viehl and really enjoyed it.
So...lots of enjoyable things today. It's been a great lazy day. Nick's been playing Vice City while I sit out there with him in the living room and read. Now what to read next....
and...don't have to do the dishes. Nick's doing them. Yay.
Lazy Sunday
I really should write a post about how much I absolutely loved The Naked Truth by Amy J. Fetzer, but I really don't have the energy. It's cold and all I want to do is curl up with a book on the couch. So there.
Going to see Proof later this afternoon with Nick. Hope it's decent after all these weeks of us wanting to see it.
Currently reading: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (cuz well, it's due back at the library soon)
Going to see Proof later this afternoon with Nick. Hope it's decent after all these weeks of us wanting to see it.
Currently reading: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (cuz well, it's due back at the library soon)
Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire
OOoh....good book alert! This one is thoroughly entertaining. Well, at least enough that when I started it early this afternoon I had to finish it. Good romantic suspense and I loved that although it has the twin sisters switching places, there were no misconceptions about who the heroine was to the hero.
Book blurb off Amazon:
Good romantic suspense here. It's more romance than suspense, which I'm sure lots of people will appreciate, but still had plenty of action. Lots of sexual tension between Jazz and Alex. And Alex is hot. I liked Jazz too. Well, I liked the whole book. Lots of fun and made the time just fly by. So...go out and read it. I can't wait for the next Bullet Catchers book which will feature Max. The excerpt in the back of this one made me really want to read it and find out more about the next couple.
Book blurb off Amazon:WATCH YOUR BACK
Alex Romero is the hottest "Bullet Catcher" in the business. Tall, dark, and deadly if necessary, this high-priced bodyguard's got the muscle and the moves -- especially when it comes to the ladies. Alex can keep his beautiful clients out of danger, but sometimes they can't keep their hands off of him. Now Alex has one last chance to prove he belongs among the elite force known as The Bullet Catchers, but his assignment is stacked...against him.
WATCH YOUR HEART
Private investigator Jasmine Adams is fiercely independent and fearless under pressure -- she doesn't need some hunk-for-hire's help to catch the creep stalking her twin sister. But when Jazz uncovers bigger forces targeting her sister for death, she's glad to have Alex's brain and brawn handy. From the steamy streets of Miami to the sultry beaches of Key West, Alex and Jazz try to fight temptation as they race to keep a madman from fulfilling his promise to kill not just once, but twice. And some temptations are too powerful to resist....
First in the new "Bullet Catchers" series by Roxanne St. Claire
Good romantic suspense here. It's more romance than suspense, which I'm sure lots of people will appreciate, but still had plenty of action. Lots of sexual tension between Jazz and Alex. And Alex is hot. I liked Jazz too. Well, I liked the whole book. Lots of fun and made the time just fly by. So...go out and read it. I can't wait for the next Bullet Catchers book which will feature Max. The excerpt in the back of this one made me really want to read it and find out more about the next couple.
La Di Dah...
Well, I was going to make a post about all the mysteries I've been reading lately, but I got sidetracked on the WW message boards. So I'll finish that later. Now I need to run out and get the ingredients for my vegetable beef soup. Yummmm... It's an Alton Brown recipe and simply delicious. And I need to get some more honeycrisp apples.....yum yum.
I think I'm going to go get my brows waxed, too. Shouldn't be any trouble getting in at this time in the morning.
I think I'm going to go get my brows waxed, too. Shouldn't be any trouble getting in at this time in the morning.
Banned Books
Found from Jay:
List of the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you've read part of. Read more. Convince others to read some.
#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
#12 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
#36 Das Kapital by Karl Marx
#37 Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 Separate Peace by John Knowles
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Emile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Okay, so it's long, but I didn't feel like figuring out how to only put part of it up.
List of the top 110 banned books. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you've read part of. Read more. Convince others to read some.
#1 The Bible
#2 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
#3 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
#4 The Koran
#5 Arabian Nights
#6 Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
#7 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
#8 Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
#9 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
#10 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
#11 The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
#12 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
#13 Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
#14 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
#15 Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
#16 Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
#17 Dracula by Bram Stoker
#18 Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
#19 Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
#20 Essays by Michel de Montaigne
#21 Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
#22 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
#23 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
#24 Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
#25 Ulysses by James Joyce
#26 Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
#27 Animal Farm by George Orwell
#28 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#29 Candide by Voltaire
#30 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
#31 Analects by Confucius
#32 Dubliners by James Joyce
#33 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
#34 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#35 Red and the Black by Stendhal
#36 Das Kapital by Karl Marx
#37 Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
#38 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
#39 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
#40 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
#41 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
#42 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
#43 Jungle by Upton Sinclair
#44 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
#45 Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
#46 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
#47 Diary by Samuel Pepys
#48 Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
#49 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
#50 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
#51 Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
#52 Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
#53 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
#54 Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
#55 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
#56 Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
#57 Color Purple by Alice Walker
#58 Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
#59 Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
#60 Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
#61 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
#62 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#63 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
#64 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
#65 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
#66 Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#67 Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais
#68 Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
#69 The Talmud
#70 Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
#71 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#72 Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
#73 American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
#74 Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
#75 Separate Peace by John Knowles
#76 Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
#77 Red Pony by John Steinbeck
#78 Popol Vuh
#79 Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
#80 Satyricon by Petronius
#81 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#82 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
#83 Black Boy by Richard Wright
#84 Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
#85 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
#86 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
#87 Metaphysics by Aristotle
#88 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#89 Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
#90 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
#91 Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
#92 Sanctuary by William Faulkner
#93 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
#94 Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
#95 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
#96 Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#97 General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
#98 Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
#99 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
#100 Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
#101 Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
#102 Emile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
#103 Nana by Emile Zola
#104 Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
#105 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
#106 Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
#107 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
#108 Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
#109 Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
#110 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Okay, so it's long, but I didn't feel like figuring out how to only put part of it up.
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Read this book. Read it, read it, read it. If only so we can discuss how much I loved Valek.
Book blurb from Amazon:
This is such a fun fantasy novel. I loved Yelena's character. And Valek....*sigh* I want Valek. How can you resist him? Lots of intrigue here and I had a hard time putting this one down. There is some romance in here, but I wouldn't call the book a romance. It's pretty firmly fantasy. There are some issues with the world-building and some questions about the whole country setup, but I enjoyed the main story so much that I was able to ignore that as I read. It's only when I think about it afterwards that I wonder about some things. They don't really take away from the story, though. I really can't wait for the next book in the series, whenever that may be. So, go read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.
Book blurb from Amazon:
Choose: A quick death . . . Or slow poison . . .
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace -- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust -- and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear . . .
This is such a fun fantasy novel. I loved Yelena's character. And Valek....*sigh* I want Valek. How can you resist him? Lots of intrigue here and I had a hard time putting this one down. There is some romance in here, but I wouldn't call the book a romance. It's pretty firmly fantasy. There are some issues with the world-building and some questions about the whole country setup, but I enjoyed the main story so much that I was able to ignore that as I read. It's only when I think about it afterwards that I wonder about some things. They don't really take away from the story, though. I really can't wait for the next book in the series, whenever that may be. So, go read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.
Well, I plan to finish them someday....
I'm so bad about starting books and then taking forever to read them. So here's a rundown of the books I've started and have sitting around the house with bookmarks in them. They've all been started to some degree. We won't even get into the ebooks I start and forget about.
Sitting on my desk:
Double-Cross by Meredith Fletcher
The Golden Girl by Erica Orloff
Sitting on my nightstand:
Jigsaw by Kathleen Nance (and damn, I remember not wanting to put it down that night)
Missing Marlene by Evan Marshall
She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Mew is for Murder by Clea Simon
In the library basket:
Creature Cozies by lots of people
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Revenge Gifts by Cindy Cruciger (she really needs to work on her site, it kinda stinks with Firefox)
Ultimate X-Men vol. 2
Meridian vol. 4
Sitting on my desk:
Double-Cross by Meredith Fletcher
The Golden Girl by Erica Orloff
Sitting on my nightstand:
Jigsaw by Kathleen Nance (and damn, I remember not wanting to put it down that night)
Missing Marlene by Evan Marshall
She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Mew is for Murder by Clea Simon
In the library basket:
Creature Cozies by lots of people
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
Revenge Gifts by Cindy Cruciger (she really needs to work on her site, it kinda stinks with Firefox)
Ultimate X-Men vol. 2
Meridian vol. 4
Just a quickie, lots of thoughts
Leg is looking much better. Of course, it doesn't help that my legs are deathly pale (comes from my Norwegian heritage, I'm sure) and so the colors stand out even more. Though there is a lovely shade of purple in there in spots. Wonder if I could get it color-matched at Sears.
Fashion Don't seen at SuperTarget: If you're not 5'9"+ and a size 2 or below, do NOT wear cropped pants with knee-high stiletto boots. You just look stupid. Trust me. I don't care if it's the trend right now. You look like you've tried waaaaaay too hard. Please, retire the cropped pants now that fall is arriving.
Car Don't seen on the way back from the cat show: Skull decal on the windshield doesn't really go with a wood-paneled minivan. It just looks well....stupid.
Read a interesting gothic mystery (and mostly set in 1973 London) from a new-to-me author. Got Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler from a Bantam Dell reader-reviewer contest. Fascinating book and hard to put down. I'm going to have to find the previous two books in the series. I also liked how I didn't feel like I missed anything by not having read them before this one. Comes out the end of November. Highly recommended.
Other than that, haven't been reading too much it seems. Well, read some Doc Savage. Whenever I can't think of anything to read at night after the lights are out, I turn to those. They just don't seem to really get old.
Walked to SuperTarget on...hmmm...yesterday? We were trying to find some specific blank dvds, but didn't find them. I did have a weak moment and bought It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas. I really was going to get Learning Curves by Cindi Myers, but I keep putting it down. I like books that deal with weight and weight loss, but well, lol I can't bring myself to take this one too seriously when they say she's a size twelve on the back blurb.
Also went to the bookstore a few days ago. What did I buy? Erm, a Next book. Pelican Bay by Charlotte Douglas. I'd heard it was an interesting mystery. Also Purrfect Love, an anthology with a seriously cheesy cover. Hey, cats, couldn't resist. Oh, and Double-Cross by Meredith Fletcher. I keep collecting the Athena Force Bombshell books, but have only read the first three. Figured out I was missing this one and now I really have no excuse not to read them and get it over with. I'm a nut.
I think I need to make a blog post about all the bookmarked books I have lying around the house. And dammit, someone from PBS needs to post the new Lunas. I'm first in line on the wishlist, but no books. *sigh*
Fashion Don't seen at SuperTarget: If you're not 5'9"+ and a size 2 or below, do NOT wear cropped pants with knee-high stiletto boots. You just look stupid. Trust me. I don't care if it's the trend right now. You look like you've tried waaaaaay too hard. Please, retire the cropped pants now that fall is arriving.
Car Don't seen on the way back from the cat show: Skull decal on the windshield doesn't really go with a wood-paneled minivan. It just looks well....stupid.
Read a interesting gothic mystery (and mostly set in 1973 London) from a new-to-me author. Got Seventy-Seven Clocks by Christopher Fowler from a Bantam Dell reader-reviewer contest. Fascinating book and hard to put down. I'm going to have to find the previous two books in the series. I also liked how I didn't feel like I missed anything by not having read them before this one. Comes out the end of November. Highly recommended.
Other than that, haven't been reading too much it seems. Well, read some Doc Savage. Whenever I can't think of anything to read at night after the lights are out, I turn to those. They just don't seem to really get old.
Walked to SuperTarget on...hmmm...yesterday? We were trying to find some specific blank dvds, but didn't find them. I did have a weak moment and bought It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas. I really was going to get Learning Curves by Cindi Myers, but I keep putting it down. I like books that deal with weight and weight loss, but well, lol I can't bring myself to take this one too seriously when they say she's a size twelve on the back blurb.
Also went to the bookstore a few days ago. What did I buy? Erm, a Next book. Pelican Bay by Charlotte Douglas. I'd heard it was an interesting mystery. Also Purrfect Love, an anthology with a seriously cheesy cover. Hey, cats, couldn't resist. Oh, and Double-Cross by Meredith Fletcher. I keep collecting the Athena Force Bombshell books, but have only read the first three. Figured out I was missing this one and now I really have no excuse not to read them and get it over with. I'm a nut.
I think I need to make a blog post about all the bookmarked books I have lying around the house. And dammit, someone from PBS needs to post the new Lunas. I'm first in line on the wishlist, but no books. *sigh*
I'm a klutz
Which is why I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my poor leg. I've got about a two-inch wide bruise and swelling and damn, it hurts. Bah, I'm an idiot. I don't even remember what exactly I did to do it. I think I rammed the full laundry basket into it, but not positive. lol I vaguely remembering thinking that "that was gonna hurt" and then going on my way. See, I'm a klutz. I also have a habit of bumping my arm into the doorknobs in our apartment.
Not much else going on. Going to bring the car in for an oil change later and head to the library as some books I had on hold have come in. And more laundry.
In the meantime... Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow.
Not much else going on. Going to bring the car in for an oil change later and head to the library as some books I had on hold have come in. And more laundry.
In the meantime... Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow.
Colds, books, and other things
Well, today has been interesting. Nick ended up staying home from work sick with a cold. Poor guy. Hopefully he'll be feeling better tomorrow. And thank goodness he's so nice when he's sick. Not a single whine. Really. Now he's playing GTA in the living room.
On the reading front, I finished Killer Blonde by Laura Levine, The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow (god I love this woman's storytelling), and Shoes To Die For by Laura Levine in the last two days.
I liked the Laura Levine books, but I did notice how similar each one is since I've read them so close together. Fun cozy mysteries. And a cat named Prozac. Well, the cat's just a cute character, not the main one as in the Joe Grey mysteries. They are fun books though and recommended if you like light mysteries.
I'm not quite sure what I'll read next. I'm still chugging through Conversations With the Fat Girl, but I can't seem to read it for any length of time. Almost done with In the Cold and enjoying it. Good spy thriller.
I might take Touch Me off the sidebar. I'm really not in the mood for a historical right now. I think I need to grab something that's been in my tbr pile for awhile. The bad thing about this whole LibraryThing thing is that I realized just how bad the pile was getting. It's very hard to realize it when they're nicely on shelves. Now I need to figure out what to do with the books I've decided I don't want that the people in the BooksLost group don't want.
On the reading front, I finished Killer Blonde by Laura Levine, The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow (god I love this woman's storytelling), and Shoes To Die For by Laura Levine in the last two days.
I liked the Laura Levine books, but I did notice how similar each one is since I've read them so close together. Fun cozy mysteries. And a cat named Prozac. Well, the cat's just a cute character, not the main one as in the Joe Grey mysteries. They are fun books though and recommended if you like light mysteries.
I'm not quite sure what I'll read next. I'm still chugging through Conversations With the Fat Girl, but I can't seem to read it for any length of time. Almost done with In the Cold and enjoying it. Good spy thriller.
I might take Touch Me off the sidebar. I'm really not in the mood for a historical right now. I think I need to grab something that's been in my tbr pile for awhile. The bad thing about this whole LibraryThing thing is that I realized just how bad the pile was getting. It's very hard to realize it when they're nicely on shelves. Now I need to figure out what to do with the books I've decided I don't want that the people in the BooksLost group don't want.
I've got a lot of books
Well, I spent a lot of Saturday adding books to my catalog at Library Thing. Adding the tbr tag was rather depressing. I'm at 448 books to be read and counting. Um, yeah. Ouch. I still haven't added all of them. Conversation with husband went something like this:
Me: Dear, I've got like several hundred books that I haven't read! Maybe I should stop buying books. At least none next month.
Him: But you've got to buy some. At least the couple hot ones that everyone's talking about so you can have something to chat about with your online friends.
Me: I love you.
So it didn't go exactly like that, but that was the gist of it. But I do think I need to stop buying the books I'm not sure I'll like. I tend to buy books that look semi-interesting at the library bookstore cuz they're cheap, but really, they just seem to take up space. And the categories? Agh!
Of course, it doesn't help that I can't seem to get rid of a book once it gets into the house without reading it. So even though I don't feel like reading something, I can't get rid of it because someday I might want to read it. Bad bad bad habit.
But on Sunday...I had a good day. Spent it relaxing on the couch with a book. Started and finished Only With a Highlander by Janet Chapman (from the library). Review coming up.
Also started and finished Killer Blonde by Laura Levine (also from the library). So Sunday was a very good book reading day. Also read more of Lilith Saintcrow's The Demon's Librarian after I finished Killer Blonde.
Me: Dear, I've got like several hundred books that I haven't read! Maybe I should stop buying books. At least none next month.
Him: But you've got to buy some. At least the couple hot ones that everyone's talking about so you can have something to chat about with your online friends.
Me: I love you.
So it didn't go exactly like that, but that was the gist of it. But I do think I need to stop buying the books I'm not sure I'll like. I tend to buy books that look semi-interesting at the library bookstore cuz they're cheap, but really, they just seem to take up space. And the categories? Agh!
Of course, it doesn't help that I can't seem to get rid of a book once it gets into the house without reading it. So even though I don't feel like reading something, I can't get rid of it because someday I might want to read it. Bad bad bad habit.
But on Sunday...I had a good day. Spent it relaxing on the couch with a book. Started and finished Only With a Highlander by Janet Chapman (from the library). Review coming up.
Also started and finished Killer Blonde by Laura Levine (also from the library). So Sunday was a very good book reading day. Also read more of Lilith Saintcrow's The Demon's Librarian after I finished Killer Blonde.
I've found a new toy!
So I'm blog hopping last night off Romancing the Blog's reader blog section and hop onto Skulls n Bats which I don't do too often. And there I found a link to The Library Thing in this post.
Oh, I'm in love. It's the coolest thing ever. Well, I think so anyways. It's mostly just for my own enjoyment, but I still love it.
So here's my catalog: Kelley899 I'm going to have fun today adding in more of my books and figuring out how I really want to do the tags.
Oh, I'm in love. It's the coolest thing ever. Well, I think so anyways. It's mostly just for my own enjoyment, but I still love it.
So here's my catalog: Kelley899 I'm going to have fun today adding in more of my books and figuring out how I really want to do the tags.
Chills and thrills and books
I'm cold. It's only 43 degrees out right now. And I swear my apartment isn't much warmer. I think I'm going to have to change into something more comfortable. Like oh sweats and soft, warm socks. Anyone want another sock pic? :-)
In other news, Zach Parise (former Fighting Sioux hockey player) got a goal and an assist in his first NHL game for the New Jersey Devils. Yay! Especially since the poor guy left UND last year to play and then well, you know what happened. Get to see his brother in the net in three weeks or so when we head back to ND to see some games.
Also today, went to the grand opening of Half-Price Books here in town. Came out with less than I thought I would, but I will definitely go back when I have a better idea of what I'm looking for. I picked up Cold Feet by Brenda Novak, Loving Mercy by Teresa Bodwell, and Jemima J by Jane Green for $4 total. Also picked up Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams for my husband and two audioCDs for my grandmother.
Of course, then I headed to Barnes and Noble. There I got A Singular Lady by Megan Frampton, Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O'Shea, and Private Demon by Lynn Viehl. I guess it was support the authors day since I "know" all these ones and that's pretty much why I picked their books over others I was interested in.
And then...to the library to pick up some books I had on hold. They are Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire, Only With a Highlander by Janet Chapman, and Shoes to Die For by Laura Levine.
Wow...I'm all booked out today.
In other news, Zach Parise (former Fighting Sioux hockey player) got a goal and an assist in his first NHL game for the New Jersey Devils. Yay! Especially since the poor guy left UND last year to play and then well, you know what happened. Get to see his brother in the net in three weeks or so when we head back to ND to see some games.
Also today, went to the grand opening of Half-Price Books here in town. Came out with less than I thought I would, but I will definitely go back when I have a better idea of what I'm looking for. I picked up Cold Feet by Brenda Novak, Loving Mercy by Teresa Bodwell, and Jemima J by Jane Green for $4 total. Also picked up Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams for my husband and two audioCDs for my grandmother.
Of course, then I headed to Barnes and Noble. There I got A Singular Lady by Megan Frampton, Through a Crimson Veil by Patti O'Shea, and Private Demon by Lynn Viehl. I guess it was support the authors day since I "know" all these ones and that's pretty much why I picked their books over others I was interested in.
And then...to the library to pick up some books I had on hold. They are Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire, Only With a Highlander by Janet Chapman, and Shoes to Die For by Laura Levine.
Wow...I'm all booked out today.
More socks!
This is for Kate. Well, she doesn't know it's for her, but she's the one I got the socks from. They were a win from her at a chat last year when she was promoting one of her books. I love these socks. Warm, comfy, and unique. I like unique.
And if you want your very own pair, she has a link off her blog as to where you can buy your own.
Courting Claudia by Robyn DeHart
And yet another historical! And all Avon. Hmmmm.... This one wasn't as good as the others, but I actually liked it much better than I thought I would. I do so enjoy being pleasantly surprised when reading something.
With all the cookie-cutter Avon stuff going around, I was a bit apprehensive about reading Robyn DeHart's Courting Claudia. Was it going to be stupid? Was it going to have a TSTL heroine? Was the hero going to be a complete jerk?
Happily, not really. There's a scene at the end where you wonder why Claudia put herself in danger, but she honestly had no clue what was going on. So I didn't really think of that as a TSTL moment. I rather liked Derrick, it's obvious he comes to enjoy Claudia.
And Claudia...hmmm...well, you've got to like a heroine who's described like this at the beginning from the hero's viewpoint:
So...it's not anything remarkably new and different, but it is a pleasant romance and I enjoyed reading it. I think I might just have to get the sequel when it comes out, too.
A dutiful woman, a desirable man ...
An artist with a keen eye for the beauty surrounding her -- yet none for her own -- duty-bound Claudia is resigned to marrying the man of her domineering father's choosing. First, though, she must resign the job she has held in secret as society illustrator "C. J. Prattley." But dashing newspaper owner Derrick Middleton is instantly captivated by Claudia's talent, wit, and sweet nature -- and the passionate inner fire she unknowingly possesses. He has other plans for this extraordinary woman.
Until Claudia first entered his London office, Derrick cared for only his paper and the wild bachelor life he has long enjoyed. Now saving Claudia from a dismal marriage -- and winning her for himself -- becomes his main concern. But courting a woman like Claudia will not be an easy undertaking for a handsome cynic who has always believed true love is not for him -- especially after they succumb to an indiscretion that could lead two hearts to ruin ... of a most delicious variety.
With all the cookie-cutter Avon stuff going around, I was a bit apprehensive about reading Robyn DeHart's Courting Claudia. Was it going to be stupid? Was it going to have a TSTL heroine? Was the hero going to be a complete jerk?
Happily, not really. There's a scene at the end where you wonder why Claudia put herself in danger, but she honestly had no clue what was going on. So I didn't really think of that as a TSTL moment. I rather liked Derrick, it's obvious he comes to enjoy Claudia.
And Claudia...hmmm...well, you've got to like a heroine who's described like this at the beginning from the hero's viewpoint:
She lifted her ahnd to her chest, and he couldn't help but notice the ample bosom it rested upon. She was a plump woman with curves in all the right places, and apple-round cheeks with just the hint of an extra chin.It was rather refreshing to have a heroine who's said to be curvy actually show that she's plump (and not just large-chested) instead of just getting the impression that she's got curves, but no fat. So I guess I liked her a bit more because of that. She doesn't think of herself as attractive and hides behind overly flouncy, ruffly dresses because of it.
So...it's not anything remarkably new and different, but it is a pleasant romance and I enjoyed reading it. I think I might just have to get the sequel when it comes out, too.
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
Yeah, I know this came out last year and that the sequel is out this month. It's been sitting on my shelf for almost that long, too.
You know, I think this is actually my first Lisa Kleypas book. Good thing I actually liked it since I've heard very good things about some of her other books and some meh things about others. Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed Secrets of a Summer Night. I liked Simon and even though he was determined to get Annabelle, I liked that he wasn't made out to be a complete alpha-ass. There were times when I thought he might be, but then he went and surprised me. I liked how things were done as far as how Annabelle and Simon got together. I truly thought that these two were in love and lately that doesn't seem to have happened in many of the books I've read. Can't wait to read the next one and don't think I'll wait quite a year to read it this time. But I think I need to not get too burned out on historicals and read a bit of other stuff before I jump into It Happened One Autumn.
Oh, another thing I liked was that although I believe we had glimpses of characters from previous books, I wouldn't have guessed that from reading the book. And I really liked feeling that I wasn't missing some inside information while reading it. Though I do think I'll be trying some more of her books in the future.
Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband.So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.
Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing -- and persistent -- admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition ... but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.
Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon -- and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses ... and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.
You know, I think this is actually my first Lisa Kleypas book. Good thing I actually liked it since I've heard very good things about some of her other books and some meh things about others. Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed Secrets of a Summer Night. I liked Simon and even though he was determined to get Annabelle, I liked that he wasn't made out to be a complete alpha-ass. There were times when I thought he might be, but then he went and surprised me. I liked how things were done as far as how Annabelle and Simon got together. I truly thought that these two were in love and lately that doesn't seem to have happened in many of the books I've read. Can't wait to read the next one and don't think I'll wait quite a year to read it this time. But I think I need to not get too burned out on historicals and read a bit of other stuff before I jump into It Happened One Autumn.
Oh, another thing I liked was that although I believe we had glimpses of characters from previous books, I wouldn't have guessed that from reading the book. And I really liked feeling that I wasn't missing some inside information while reading it. Though I do think I'll be trying some more of her books in the future.
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
I love this book. I really really do. I'd been in a romance rut for awhile, you'll notice that there aren't many in my books read from last month. And I've been in a historical rut for quite awhile. Now...I think I've come out of it. All thanks to rereading this wonderful book. I laughed, I grinned like an idiot, I told my husband numerous times how much I enjoyed this book.
I think I might even like this book more after this reread. It's just so much fun. So...if you haven't read The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, what are you waiting for? Go, get it! Reading it also got me out of my historical funk and I have already read and finished Lisa Kleypas' Secrets of a Summer Night and am now reading Courting Claudia by Robyn DeHart.
1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, This Author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London's most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry. And in all truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better...
--Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, April 1814
But this time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry--he's even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield--the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams...
Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes to not make the best husbands--and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate's determined to protect her sister--but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony's lips touch hers, she's suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself...
I think I might even like this book more after this reread. It's just so much fun. So...if you haven't read The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, what are you waiting for? Go, get it! Reading it also got me out of my historical funk and I have already read and finished Lisa Kleypas' Secrets of a Summer Night and am now reading Courting Claudia by Robyn DeHart.
Books read in September
Er, I guess it's now the beginning of October. Where'd September go??
Bullseye by Jessica Andersen (Harlequin Intrigue)
This Pen For Hire by Laura Levine
Whipped Cream and Handcuffs by Shiloh Walker
Cat Fear No Evil by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Operation: Midnight Tango by Linda Castillo (Harlequin Intrigue)
Kissed by Cat by Shirley Jump
Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
The Funeral Planner by Lynn Isenberg
In Stone's Clasp by Christie Golden
Cat Under Fire by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Cat Raise the Dead by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Dead End by Mariah Stewart
House of Secrets by Tracy Montoya (Harlequin Intrigue)
Last Writes by Laura Levine
Marital Privilege by Ann Voss Peterson (Harlequin Intrigue)
Well, that brings things up to roughly (I know I've forgotten a few) 196 books read so far this year. And bah, I have reviews to write for all those Intrigues. And the Luna. ergh.
Bullseye by Jessica Andersen (Harlequin Intrigue)
This Pen For Hire by Laura Levine
Whipped Cream and Handcuffs by Shiloh Walker
Cat Fear No Evil by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Operation: Midnight Tango by Linda Castillo (Harlequin Intrigue)
Kissed by Cat by Shirley Jump
Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
The Funeral Planner by Lynn Isenberg
In Stone's Clasp by Christie Golden
Cat Under Fire by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Cat Raise the Dead by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Dead End by Mariah Stewart
House of Secrets by Tracy Montoya (Harlequin Intrigue)
Last Writes by Laura Levine
Marital Privilege by Ann Voss Peterson (Harlequin Intrigue)
Well, that brings things up to roughly (I know I've forgotten a few) 196 books read so far this year. And bah, I have reviews to write for all those Intrigues. And the Luna. ergh.
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