Another Place You Can Find Me

I belatedly direct you to my latest Romancing the Blog column, where I talk about creating a list of my 100 favorite romances.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope you're enjoying the holiday. If you're headed off somewhere fun, stop by Romancing the Blog before you go to read a post from me.

And don't forget to enter the latest contest! You know you want to.

Coming soon: a review of Innocent in Death.

Audiobooks

I've got a column about audiobooks at Romancing the Blog today. I came up with the topic because I've been shifting my audiobooks from the flimsy paper boxes they come in to vinyl containers from AudioEditions.com. Kind of expensive when you add the cost of the audiobook and the binder, but based on how often I listen to my audiobooks, I think it will be worth it. At the very least, I'm hoping it will help me keep better track of my cassettes.

Yes, it's true, I have more than a dozen books on cassette. The reason--my car has a tape deck, not a CD player. I've still switched to CDs, but I don't want to buy CDs for the ones I already have. Most of my audios are of the In Death series, although I have several others as well. I use them a lot from the library as well.

Anyway, I hope you'll stop by and read the column.

My contest is still running. Visit this blog entry to read the details.

What Have You Read This Year?

I posted a column yesterday at Romancing the Blog. Hope you enjoy it! I'd love to hear if you keep track of your annual reads.

Take This Plot and . . .

I'm at Romancing the Blog today, talking about a plot that drives me insane. It might be my first ranty blog there about plots. Read it and see what you think.

Crossroads

I hadn't intended to drop off the face of the earth. The main thing I can say about this month is that things are a-changing. After a few days of not hearing from the doctor about my test results, I called the doctor's office and learned that my doctor is out for back surgery. Yikes! So the doctor on call reviewed the test results and had his assistant call me.

The bad news is that there is an issue. The good news is that it's one I think I can do something about. I have an appointment on Tuesday, so I don't have details, but my internet research turned up the same thing I expected: I need to change my life, starting with exercise and a change of diet.

Any change is difficult, but these will be good in the long run. It would be nice not to be tired all the time, for one thing. I've started walking and will continue to do so every day. It's a good start.

This month I've also learned about some restructuring at work. With some companies, this is a polite term for layoffs. That's not the case for the company I work for. In this case, restructuring is restructuring. I don't love change, but I hate being in limbo, which is where things will be for a few months until the dust settles and we figure out who's going where. There may be a few opportunities for me if I decide to pursue them. Ah, decisions.

What all this means is my energies have been focused elsewhere. Most of my online stuff has been slipping through the cracks. I haven't written a review for TRR for almost two months. I did manage to post a column at Romancing the Blog and was pleased to see it received some comments. Still, I need to think long and hard about accepting any any more responsibilities. And about whether I should keep the ones I have.

As for reading, I find myself turning to my comfort reads, which now include Kelley Armstrong as well as Rachel Gibson, and Julia Quinn. I've read a few new books, too, and hope to post short (possibly very short) reviews sometime.

What are you reading?

Find Me at RTB

For some reason, I thought my next Romancing the Blog column wasn't until June. Imagine my surprise when I checked the schedule yesterday and saw that I had a column due today. Oops. I'm just glad I decided to check, or there would have been no column. This column was a bit rushed. I need to do what I did last year and come up with a long list of topics to write about so I'm not caught unprepared again.

In any case, I'm there today.

I'm also working on blog entries about Charlaine Harris' Definitely Dead and Kelley Armstrong's Bitten. Watch for them this weekend if not sooner.

Posting Everywhere but Here

I have posts up today at Romancing the Blog and the Cobblestone Press Author blog. Both were written in haste.

I'm pleased to say I've finally finished reading a book yesterday. This isn't normally a great cause for excitement, but I've been in a serious reading slump lately. Will post a review soon.

Short Attention Span

I'm having difficulty finishing books these days, and I'm pretty sure it's not the fault of the books. Instead, I'm busy trying to fit reading in along with everything else I'm doing. The problem is that it's hard to get into a book when you're only reading for 15 minutes at a time. It's hard for me, anyway.

I've got a Romancing the Blog column coming up later this week (and some reviews to write!), but after that, I'm going to carve out more reading and blogging time.

On an unrelated topic, is anyone familiar with the UK version of Touching Evil? I've seen two episodes now, and it's a fascinating show. I caught one episode on BBC America and have checked out the first DVD set from the library. I'm sensing a Millennium-like obsession ahead.

Quick Blog

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I've been working on my Romancing the Blog column, reviews for The Romance Reader, and my fiction. I've also been reading, though, so when I have a minute in the next few days, I'll post a blog entry or two.

Reviewing Revisited

Seems like the topic of reviewing comes up in the online romance world every few months. There's a lively discussion today at Romancing the Blog stemming from Angie's column. It would take too long for me to discuss each point that's been raised so far, but I want to write about a few issues I haven't mentioned here before and respond to a few comments.

Angie wrote:
There are other things that lead to my inability to trust in a review on a site dedicated to that purpose: past and present reviewers who have reported being told not to write a negative review, seeing, as I skim a list of reviews, no rating lower than a three has EVER been given (why bother having the 1 and the 2 available?), reviewers reviewing books of authors they chat with daily and are, if not friends, than friendly with (it's more difficult to say honest, not so lovely things about a book than it is to gush far and wide about it, especially when you "know" the author).

When I first got online and started looking for sites that review romance, All About Romance (AAR) and The Romance Reader (TRR) were two of the first ones I found. Since I learned more about some of the other review sites, I'm glad I applied at TRR. I've never been asked to discuss only positive aspects of a book, and I remember being surprised when I heard that some review sites did. I've written one- and two-heart reviews.

Have I written reviews about books by authors I am friendly with? Yes. If I'm writing a review for The Romance Reader, I write what I think. Period. If I like it, great. If not, I'm still obligated to write a review explaining what works and what doesn't. As difficult as it is to write a negative review--and that's true even if I don't know the author--it would be 10 times as difficult to write a positive review I didn't really believe.

My blog is a slightly different matter. I read between 250 and 350 books a year. I don't have time to review every book I read, and I don't even try. Quite honestly, my blog wouldn't be fun any more if I felt like I had to review everything I read.

Of course, that brings up the issue of what books I choose to review. I pick some to meet TBR challenges, some based on timeliness, and some because I feel strongly about them. Others I review because they are unique or aren't getting a lot of buzz.

Circling back to the issue of reviewing a book by an author I'm friendly with, I'll be honest. There have been a few times I chose not to blog about a book I didn't particularly like. If I were writing a TRR review of the book, I'd set aside everything else and write my honest opinion about the book. But not mentioning a book is as far as I go. I don't gush about something I don't genuinely believe is gush-worthy at TRR or here on my blog.

Stacie wrote:
I review on my blog. I try very hard to be honest. If I had a problem with something, I state it. But I review with the purpose of sharing my thoughts on a book, not stroking the author's ego. I feel the same way about my blog reviews.

I feel the same way. (Note to self: check out Stacie's blog.)

Marianne wrote:
Many of their comments didn't really read like reviews - they didn't explain what was so original or engrossing about the work. If I'd come across those in the normal course of events, they're exactly the sort of reviews I'd discount.

Marianne's opinion is one I share. So many of Amazon's reviews don't offer specific reasons for liking or disliking a book, they just say that they love, love, love or hate, hate, hate a book. When I read Amazon reviews, it's usually because they are the subject of some controversy. I don't use them when selecting books to buy.

Sybil wrote:
Well I guess you could say I am hardhearted but really I don't see liking or not liking a book as a view of the author. I have read books I love by authors I like and books I hated by authors I like. And I have liked books by authors I don't like.

If you know someone well enough to call them a friend, they should be able to value your honesty or call you a bitch and move on because you are friends.

I love this idea, and I've found that the few authors I'm friendly with know they'll get an honest review from me.

MaryJanice Davidson wrote:
As a published author (Undead and Unwed, The Royal Treatment, etc.) I'm sort of amazed that *other* authors even care about Amazon reviews. Doctors can only be reviewed by other physicians, you can't supervise teachers without a graduate degree, you can't get a doctorate without the help of someone else who has one . . . or, more likely, a whole committee . . . the list is endless. But any asshat can post a review on Amazon and trash a book. Or love a book. So who cares? It's never going to be an even playing field. I've gotten gushes and I've gotten the "axe to grind" kind, and I pretty much ignore 'em all and keep my head down and write.

And later:

I'm just saying, if the barely literate (we've all seen those wildly misspelled reviews, right?) don't like your book, who cares? They don't know you. They haven't a clue what your life is like. And you don't have a clue about theirs. Ships passing in the night, and all that. Let them rant. Get your ass back in the chair and do YOUR job . . . write. The rest will work itself out.

I didn't interpret these comments as saying that you have to be a writer to review someone else's writing--although I can see how someone might reach that conclusion. I saw these comments as more about credibility. The sad thing about Amazon is that it really can be "any asshat" who posts a review. It might be the author's mother or brother, the author's worst enemy, a professional reviewer, someone who has never read the author's book, an impartial reader, etc.

I interpreted Davidson's comments as being more about the fact that an Amazon reviewer doesn't have to say anything about who he or she is to post a review rather than that a reviewer also has to be a published author. But maybe that's because I found other parts of the post funny. Plus, take my opinion with a grain of salt, since I've reviewed several of the Undead books.

Wendy wrote:
At this point in my life, I feel like I've been reading long enough to know what I'll probably like. So, I tend to buy based on plot descriptions.

When I do go by reviews, I'm looking for a clear concise analysis of why the book did/didn't work for the reviewer. That's it really. . . .

And to go with the Amazon review thing - don't read 'em, don't pay attention to 'em. So often they're biased - either gushy glowing or axe to grind. It's very hard to find even-handed, unbiased reviews at Amazon IMHO

I don't have much to add here, other than amen.

Megan wrote:
I think MJD is right about ignoring reviews on Amazon, but I don't think other writers would do anything close to an objective job in terms of reviewing their peers. I know when I was writing reviews AND fiction, an author told me I had to make a choice: either I was a reader/reviewer or a writer. If I continued to do both, I would face awkward situations and possibly snubbing, etc. in the authors' community.

I found Megan's comment to be especially timely. I don't know if I want to make a career out of writing fiction, but I'm writing four to six days a week. At what point should I make a choice? If I keep writing at least five days a week and don't pursue publishing? If I start looking for an agent? If I publish an e-book? If I get a contract with a NY publisher? On the one hand, separating my reviews from my fiction is one (admittedly small) reason I chose a pseudonym.

On the other hand, speaking as a reader, I view author recommendations with some skepticism because I always wonder if the authors or friends or have an information agreement about promoting each other. I don't think my opinion is less valid because I'm writing fiction, although one could argue it makes me prejudiced. But what reviewer isn't biased? That's why reviews are opinions. I know there are a few authors reviewing at AAR, although they use a pseudonym and don't review books in their subgenre.

None of this really addresses the "awkward situations and possible snubbing" Megan mentions, though.

Daria wrote:
Why so few bad and average reviews? Easy. If you didn't care that much about the book, why waste your time reviewing it when you could spend those twenty minutes reading a new and more enjoyable one?

There's definitely an element of this. When I have a pile of books I can review for my blog, it's easier to pick up a book I'm enthusiastic about. This is one reason why I particularly enjoy Rosario's blog. I think she does a terrific job of reviewing a variety--the good, bad, and the ugly.

Today's Column

My Romancing the Blog column is up. I think next year I need to start coming up with more interesting topics to write about. Maybe I just need to let my inner ranter free. But in this case, I took a column I had already started, spent half an hour finishing it, and posted it. Honestly, I'm just happy I met the deadline.

I'm still recovering after the freelance job. It was very strange not to go home and transcribe last night. Instead, I went home and crashed for a couple of hours. It may be a slow recovery process.

Coming Soon

I had a lovely Thanksgiving and am now going to bed to collapse. First, though, I wanted to mention that I am a participant in a discussion about erotic romance at Romancing the Blog. There are two parts of the discussion, and they will be posted on Friday (tomorrow) and Saturday. Three other readers participated, and I think the resulting discussion is interesting. Hope you'll stop in and check it out.

Romancing

My column is up today at Romancing the Blog. Go forth and visit!

Ack!

I just realized that my next Romancing the Blog column is coming up in a few days, and I haven't written it. That's a bit of a problem. Hopefully I'll come up with an interesting topic tomorrow.

In the meantime, I feel like my house is coming down around me. In my latest home repair news, my washing machine apparently isn't a problem. There might be a clog in the downstairs drain. Time to call a plumber. I couldn't help but laugh when I turned on a downstairs light and the light bulb blew. At least that problem was easy to fix.

I'm not going to ask what's coming next. My goal after the next round of repairs is to make it through the rest of the year with no incident. {Crossing fingers.}

In reading news, I'm reading Only for a Knight for review and a true-crime book, Monster. I'm finishing up the latter now, and it's been a fascinating read. Watch for a blog entry about it after I finish the book and my RTB column.

Quiz

My Romancing the Blog column has received one comment so far. Here are my guesses about the reason.

• The column was so exquisitely expressed that there is nothing left to add.


• Readers are so busy nodding in agreement that they can't add a comment.


• Everyone is suffering from blog boredom, and my boring column simply pushed readers over the edge.


• Readers are refusing to comment in protest of my lack of blog updates.

Any guesses? I'm not soliciting comments, really. I have already decided my first guess is correct. Ha ha! But perhaps I should have gone into more detail about the other thing Roy does with one hand in Contact . . .

If it's actually the last guess, then I apologize. Really! I have a number of writing projects on my plate that aren't work related, so I've been doing those in the evening. I hope one day soon to have a normal schedule again.

Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo

I haven't been blogging, but I did get my Romancing the Blog column finished. First, I wrote one column, then decided I didn't want to address this topic now. I've set it aside and will likely use it later. Then, I got halfway through writing a second one and realized it wasn't really coming together. I wasn't feeling passionate about the topic. It led me to another idea, though, so I wrote a third column, and this is the one I'm using. It goes online tomorrow.

Miscellaneous

A few bits of miscellaneous news:

• I never heard from the person who originally won my last contest, and she didn't leave an e-mail address. I have therefore picked a new winner: Robyn! Robyn will receive an autographed copy of Eloisa James's Much Ado about You. Congratulations, Robyn!
• Ellen Fisher explained how to activate a blogger feature where people must enter a series of numbers to make a comment. I have followed the steps and hope that this will foil the spam I've been getting recently. Thanks, Ellen!
• I'm cutting it close on my Romancing the Blog column . . . OK, I just checked the schedule and I'm not in as much trouble as I thought. My next column is scheduled for Thursday, so I have a little time to play with the idea I've started working with. We'll see how it goes.

More book posts will follow.

Back Away from the Computer

I found myself a bit depressed last night, perhaps because I've watched eight episodes of Millenium in the past two days. In 2000, I watched a marathon of the series and was fascinated by several of the episodes. I found a used copy (How's that for irony? Keep reading.) of the first season on Friday and settled in to watch. I'm still fascinated, although I'm thinking I might need to spread out my viewing for my emotional health.

This morning I settled in front of the computer to catch up on blogs. Angie has a column for Romancing the Blog about trading e-books. It's an intriguing topic and excellent column. Unfortuntely, I got frustrated with one of the responses. Here's what I replied.

Interesting column, Angie. Especially since I've started reading e-books this last year and can relate to many of the points you bring up. I wish there were a way to trade e-books, but I can understand the issue's complexities, since, as Elizabeth points out, you can trade an e-book and still have a copy.

A few comments about the comments.

To assume that every person who read a loaned or resold book would have bought it or paid the full price is to assume a great deal.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for bringing up this point. Many readers, myself included, frequent the library, especially for books or authors they haven't tried before. I do the same thing with used books or books I have borrow from friends. In fact, there are several authors whose books I now buy new because I once bought them used: Michele Albert, Mary Balogh, Karen Harbaugh, Jill Shalvis, to name a few.

An author may wish I had always bought her books new, but I suspect she'd prefer I buy some books new than none at all, which is what would happen with many readers like me if we stopped buying used books. If I had all the money in the world to spend on books, I'd be happy to buy all new ones. Since I don't, I would stick with my autobuy authors if told I had to buy new.

Obviously I have strong feelings about this issue.

(Edited part of my response for length)

It is unethical to resell print books as well as ebooks. It is still the same concept. . . . Technically, you are not just trading paper vs. bits, you are trading a story that a person put blood, sweat and tears into so he or she can make a living.

Doesn't this same logic apply to anything you buy? House, clothing, jewelry, cars?

I understand authors who feel strongly about wanting people to buy their books new. I really do. But it's one thing for an author to say she'd like readers to buy books new and another to say it's unethical to sell a book. (I'm talking print books, not e-books now.)

Anyone else who thinks it's unethical, do let me know. I'll make sure I never buy your books used. If you're lucky, my book budget may stretch to cover buying it new. If not . . . well, take comfort in knowing you won't be one of those soon-to-be-autobuy authors I discover through used copies.

As I said, I understand why some authors feel strongly about this issue. I feel just as strongly about the fact that I discover many authors through used books that I would never buy new first. Period. There's a simple reason for this: finances. Surprisingly enough, there are limits to how much I can spend on books if I want to eat and pay my mortgage.

What I don't understand is why an author would say it's unethical, even if that's what she believes. Some things are obviously unethical, but buying and selling used books isn't one of those things. Using a word like that can alienate your audience, also known as the book-buying public. I suspect that's why there are a number of "anonymous author" comments on the subject.

I don't do a lot of experimenting when I buy new books. I used to, but I got burned too many times. However, you'll see that I bought books from new-to-me authors at the literacy signing. If I like a library book I read, I buy a new copy. And as I've already mentioned, I've bought books by several authors that I first bought used.

As you can see, I'm getting all worked up about this, which is a problem. And I'm hijacking the comments away from Angie's topic. So I'm going to back away from the computer, nice and slow.

Maybe I should go make lunch and watch a few more episodes of Millenium.



P.S. Would I have bought the first season of Millenium if I'd had to buy it new? No. But I'm probably going to buy the second season. Damn it.

Quick Update

This will be a quick entry. Sorry I don't have time to blog about a book just now, but I thought I'd provide a quick update.

• Seven days until air conditioning. It doesn't seem quite so long now that the number is in the single digits. It helps that I've abandoned ship, so to speak. I'm staying with a sister. Her swamp cooler works incredibly well.
• Eight days until Reno. Ack! How did that happen? I'm excited about the signing and about getting away, but I need to start packing. I also need to figure out how many books I should really take with me.
• My next Romancing the Blog post is scheduled for Saturday. I'm very glad I wrote it earlier this month, since I haven't had the time or interest to write much of anything lately. My topic is one I've spent too much time on and written several drafts. Now I can get it out of the way. :)
• I've almost finished a review for The Romance Reader. It won't go online until late July, but at least it's done. The heat was really making it difficult for me to want to read and write a review.
• I received Origin in Death on audio before receiving it in hardcover. This is a first for me, and I've set everything else aside to listen to it.
• My favorites page seems to be working better now that it's been going a few days. I can see this being a wonderful time-saving resource, since I can go one place to see what blogs have been updated instead of checking all of them one or more times a day. Yay!

I won't be online at all tomorrow because I'll be working a 15-hour shift. Oy. Wish me luck.