Giving In

I'm finally reading this.



I've heard so much about it; it will be interesting to see what parts of the plot (if any) surprise me.

May 2007 Romantic Times

I've had the May Romantic Times for a while and thought I'd thumb through it for the blog and point out things that jump out.

• Cover: Every time I look at this cover, the picture seems odd. Maybe the background is a little too busy.
• Page 15: Here's an ad for Cerridwen Press and their traditional Regency line. I've got to check out some of these books.
• Page 18: Looks like Bonnie Dee's got more work out. I liked Bone Deep, so I'll stop by Liquid Silver to check these out.
• Page 20: The urban fantasy article is the first one I read instead of skim. It's an interesting genre.
• Page 22: I like the Q&A with urban fantasy authors. In the next few weeks, watch for an interview with one of these authors . . .
• Page 24: I've heard Jim Butcher's name a lot, but haven't read any of his books. They might be worth seeking out . . . but then I look at my current TBR list. Maybe if I ever whittle that list down, I'll think about it.
• Page 29: Interesting article about Shanna Swendson. I liked Enchanted, Inc., but still have the second book in that series TBR. Must get to it soon since the third book is out now.
• Page 30: Author Toni Blake announces she also writes as Lacey Alexander. I don't think I've read either author. Anyone have any recommendations?
• Page 53: I like the cover of Jade Lee's Tempted Tigress.
• Page 69: Julie Kenner's The Prada Paradox receives a lukewarm review. I'm still going to read the book, because I liked the first two. I also find myself disagreeing with a lot of RT's reviews in general, so the rating doesn't often keep me from trying a book.
• Page 102: I read and enjoyed Sharon Cullars's Again, so I'm intrigued by The Object of Love. I bought the book this week.
• Page 109: I want to get Stephanie Rowe's He Loves Me, He Loves Me Hot.
• Page 110: Must get Nalini Singh's Visions of Heat.
• Page 111: Here's a good review of Erin McCarthy's Bled Dry. I read the first two books in this series. While I like them, they don't have the same punch as her straight contemporaries. I hope she doesn't stop writing contemps.
• Page 111: A couple of books on this page look interesting: Jenna Black's Secrets in the Shadows and the anthology Wild Thing.
• Page 113: Here are reviews for two of Bonnie Dee's books: Measure of a Man and Fruits of Betrayal. Yes, I need to check these out.
• Page 115: A glowing review of Kelley Armstrong's No Humans Involved. I've preordered this book, and I'm dying to read it.
• Page 115: I'm stuck on this line in the summary of All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris: "Eric the Norseman begins making moves that suggest he's still interested in Sookie." Yay! Looks like I may get my Eric fix. We'll see. :)
• Page 118: Here's a review of a book by one of my autobuy authors, Sarah Mayberry. I wonder what this means: "the overall tone if this book is somewhat depressing." I love Mayberry's writing, and I love angst, so I'm buying it.
• Page 129: How is RT defining Erotica? The list of reviews for this section is a full page long, in stark contrast to several of the other sections. I'm curious . . .
• Page 134: I'm interested in Samhain's Talons anthology. I'll have to get this.
• Page 146: Can't remember the last time I saw a one-star review in RT, and here are two in a row. Wow.
• Page 150: Looks like there are good reading opportunities ahead--new books from Julia Quinn, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Kelley Armstrong, and Marjorie M. Liu.
• Page 152: Kate Douglas's Wolf Tales series must be popular. She's on book IV. Based on the story I read in Sexy Beast, I don't think these are for me.

That's it for this issue.

Stuck

Did a little blog surfing last night, and I stumbled across a few reviews for the latest book in a popular series. This reminded me that I've read only #1 in the series and haven't read any more. And that got me thinking--there are several series I've stopped reading because I'm stuck somehow.

Black Dagger Brotherhood
I read J.R. Ward's Dark Lover and loved it. I own Lover Eternal--an autographed copy, no less--but haven't even started it. Why? I'm not sure. I think it's partly because I've seen so much written about them that I wonder whether they'll live up to the hype. Not sure why I'm concerned, since I enjoyed Dark Lover, but oh well. There's also the cliffhanger aspect that I'm not too fond of. I imagine I'll get back to the series sometime. I'm just not sure when.

Harry Potter
I bought book #6 within days of its release but haven't read it yet. At first, it was because I didn't want one of my favorite characters to die, and I figured it was his time. Turns out I was right. I still haven't read the book, but a coworker let that one slip. Now I'm not reading it because of the rumors that Harry will be killed off in #7. I may get to it . . . or not. We'll see.

Troubleshooters/Team 16
I love Suzanne Brockmann's books but stalled completely once I hit Breaking Point, Gina and Max's story. I didn't love the direction the couple took in Gone Too Far, so I've been reluctant to read Breaking Point. I've picked up the book half a dozen times but keep putting it back on the TBR shelf. I've considered skipping that book and moving on to the next one, but haven't had luck with that, either. One of these days, I'll start reading Breaking Point, and once I do that, I figure I won't stop. Until then, there are so many TBR options . . .

Anyone else have a series they've stopped reading not because they stopped liking the series, but because they are stuck somehow?

Harlequin Marathon

As I previously mentioned, this month I'm reading a book from as many Harlequin/Silhouette lines as I can. Here's an update, with the books I've read marked in bold. I've also added a few books to the list.

• Dawn Atkins: Wedding for One/Tattoo for Two (Harlequin Duets)
• Jessica Bird: Beauty and the Black Sheep (Silhouette Special Edition)
• Donna Clayton: Thunder in the Night (Silhouette Romance)
• Justine Davis: Midnight Seduction (Silhouette Desire)
• Janelle Denison, Tori Carrington, and Leslie Kelly: That's Amore (Signature Select Collection)
• Pamela Ford: Dear Cordelia (Harlequin Superromance)
• Virginia Kantra: Stolen Memory (Silhouette Intimate Moments)
• Leslie Kelly: Her Last Temptation (Harlequin Temptation)
• Reading now: Alison Kent: Kiss & Makeup (Harlequin Blaze)
• Miranda Lee: Fugitive Bride (Harlequin Presents)
• Jo Leigh: Not-So-Secret Baby (Harlequin Intrigue)
• Susan Mallery: There's Always Plan B (Harlequin Next)
• Tanya Michaels: Spicing It Up (Harlequin Flipside)
• Gena Showalter: Jewel of Atlantis (HQN)
• Deborah Simmons: The Squire's Daughter (Harlequin Historical)

Must get reading.

Harlequin, Harlequin Everywhere

I've accepted a challenge to read at least one book in as many Harlequin/Silhouette lines as possible this month. If I succeed, I will read 13 books from my TBR shelves this month. Here's what I've selected:

• Jessica Bird: Beauty and the Black Sheep (Silhouette Special Edition)
• Donna Clayton: Thunder in the Night (Silhouette Romance)
• Justine Davis: Midnight Seduction (Silhouette Desire)
• Janelle Denison, Tori Carrington, and Leslie Kelly: That's Amore (Signature Select Collection)
• Pamela Ford: Dear Cordelia (Harlequin Superromance)
• Virginia Kantra: Stolen Memory (Silhouette Intimate Moments)
• Leslie Kelly: Her Last Temptation (Harlequin Temptation)
• Alison Kent: Kiss & Makeup (Harlequin Blaze)
• Miranda Lee: Fugitive Bride (Harlequin Presents)
• Jo Leigh: Not-So-Secret Baby (Harlequin Intrigue)
• Susan Mallery: There's Always Plan B (Harlequin Next)
• Tanya Michaels: Spicing It Up (Harlequin Flipside)
• Deborah Simmons: The Squire's Daughter (Harlequin Historical)

I've read Fugitive Bride already and have started Stolen Memory. Still, I have a fair amount of reading ahead of me. Anyone want to take up the challenge with me?

In other news: check out my new website!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My blog images are back! Well, mostly. I ended up having to transfer them again using FTP, and there are some I haven't transferred yet. But at least my blog has stopped looking like a big blank screen with red Xs where the images should be. I'll get the rest transferred this weekend, I hope.

I'm closing in on my 50,000-word NaNoWriMo goal; I'm at 45,596 words and counting. I will probably get a fair amount of writing in tomorrow as well. I'm having a hard time imagining life post-NaNo, simply because I've gotten into a routine. However, my housecleaning will probably improve immensely.

This month's TBR challenge has been to read review books and to finish books I started in the past. I'm not doing so well with either goal. I'm in a reading slump, it seems. I've picked up half a dozen books in the past week, read a few chapters, then set them down again. I think it's me. I just haven't been sure what I'm in the mood for. I am about halfway through Susan Donovan's Knock Me Off My Feet, and I'm optimistic that I will finish this one, even though it isn't a review or a previously started book. Oh well, at this point, I will be grateful to finish something.

Tomorrow I will be enjoying Thanksgiving holiday with my family. If you're celebrating it, hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Books and Book Signings

I've been looking at lists of books that are coming out early next year, and I'm asking myself: Do I buy the ones I want when they come out? Or do I wait and get them at next year's RWA signing? I haven't actually made a decision about next year's RWA signing, but this seems like a good time to decide.

Last year, I decided that holding off on buying books would be a good way to work on my TBR pile. It didn't work. I still bought some books, and my TBR list kept growing. It exploded after the RWA signing, too. At this point, I think I could easily not buy another book and still have reading material for two years.

So, I've decided to get serious about this. I'm going to cut down on the books I buy and save the money for the RWA trip. This means I'll be turning to the library for more books, or attempting to trade for them through my trading group. And I'll be reading from my TBR pile.

I'll also be cutting down on my trips to the used bookstore. I love going, and I enjoy finding books for other people in the trading group. But I keep using up all of my credit finding books for others, so I'm going to cut back both on trips and on buying for others.

As for upcoming book signings, I learned that Carrie Vaughn will be signing in Denver on December 4. Driving would take almost eight hours, so that's out. The flight is more money than I want to spend right now. So I'm planning to check out last-minute flights as the day approaches to see what I can find. I'm not sure if I'll make the trip or not, but it's fun to think about it.

There is a nearby multiauthor signing in February, so I'm definitely planning to attend. I'm not sure if there are enough authors to warrant an appearance of the cart, but I have plenty of time to decide.

I Don't Need Any More Books

. . . but I can't seem to stop buying them anyway. Today's purchases include the following:

• Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
• Blood Kiss by Mechele Armstrong
• Tease Me by Dawn Atkins
• Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
• The Demon's Daughter by Emma Holly
• Partners in Evil by Steve Jackson (true crime; not a romance)
• A Darker Crimson by Carolyn Jewel
• Red Letter Nights by Alison Kent
• Promises Keep by Sarah McCarty
• Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

I think it's official--I'm crazy. I have two bookcases full of books I haven't read yet. And I could use a third one. Three bookcases for books I haven't read. If that isn't craziness, I don't know what is.

Moving Furniture

I just finished assembling another bookcase. This will be the second one for my to-be-read books. I can't believe how many books I have. I must get them under control.

Speaking of which, my general surroundings are typically cluttered; that's just me. This week, I realized that things are beyond cluttered at this point. This is not completely surprising since I have been feeling low lately, and I tend to let things go when I get depressed. So it's official: I'm depressed.

Eventually I'll get things worked out. In the meantime, I have to figure out where to start cleaning.

I'll try to write reviews of Hungry Tigress and Blood Moon in the next few days.

Exploding Books and Shopping Sprees

The books themselves aren't exploding, but I have books almost everywhere. I thought I had the TBR pile under control, but no. So, I'm going to buy a second bookcase for the TBR books. I already bought and assembled another bookcase for my keepers, since I was starting to pile them up on the floor. Again. Once I get everything assembled, I will post pictures.

While I'm out, I'm going to make a few other shopping stops. I found some great Labor Day sale ads. I hope I have some money left when I return home.

Ultimate Surrender

I've completed my rearrangement of the TBR books. Auto-buy books are on top of the bookcase by my bed. Non-auto-buys are in the TBR bookcase (which is now full). True-crime and Nora Roberts TBR are on top of the TBR bookcase. I'm pretty pleased with the new arrangement, although I worry that the auto-buys will crush me if there should be an earthquake. Oh well, I will brave the danger since the result is more organized books.

I recently read Ultimate Surrender by Jill Shalvis. It's one of her Loveswepts, and it's about a woman named Kayla who falls in love with her dead sister's husband, Ryan. She and her sister, Lauren, weren't close. In fact, the sister was a selfish woman who claimed that Ryan abused her. As for Ryan, Lauren told him that she aborted his child. He doesn't know that she never had an abortion, and Kayla is raising Lauren's one-year-old baby girl, Lindsay. Talk about built-in conflict. The conflict is evident from the first chapter and continues to build.

I have to admit that I don't usually seek out books with children in them, but I ate this story right up. There's plenty of angst on Kayla's part, as she gets to know him and realizes that he's not the person Lauren made him out to be. Now she must decide how to tell Ryan the truth. She knows that she's falling in love with him, and she believes that she will lose him and Lindsay when he learns the truth. For his part, Ryan is frustrated that Kayla seems to fear him and highly attracted to her all at the same time. The story brought tears to my eyes more than once.

For whatever reason, I love these kinds of stories, where characters fall in love with people they shouldn't. There's a forbidden love element I find appealing. Some of these kinds of stories are better than others, and this one is especially good: 4.5 out of 5.

Now I just have 13 other Jill Shalvis books in my TBR . . .

Book Move in Progress

After spending time at my sister's house, I came back and started to put the new TBR book organization idea into practice. I originally thought I would put books by auto-buy authors in my TBR bookcase; then, I would move books by non-auto-buy authors and authors I hadn't tried before on the bookcase by my bed. Well, that didn't quite work. It turns out that I had more books in the latter than the former category, so books by auto-buy authors didn't fill the shelves. There was a ton of room left over.

So, change of plans. The auto-buys are now on top of the bookcase by my bed. I've started to put the others on the shelves. I should finish that tomorrow. The good news is that they fit better this way. The bad news (if you want to call it that) is that the auto-buy books are all too easy to reach now, so I will have to make a conscious effort to read a book by a new-to-me author. That's where the TBR challenges come in, I guess. I could also try and read a non-auto-buy for every one or two auto-buys I read.

At any rate, my soul is pleased that the different book sections are alphabetized by author.

TBR Books and a Contest

I had a cunning idea about a new way to organize my TBR books. Actually, it sounds cunning in theory; now I need to put it into practice and see if it works. If I like it, I'll blog about it in the next few days.

In the meantime, enter Jo Leigh's contest! You can win a copy of one of her books. The only reason I'm not entering is that I already have this book. Go forth and enter!

Weekend Recap

Tomorrow you'll find my next column at Romancing the Blog. The topic is one I think many readers can relate to. As usual, I wrote one column, then ended up writing another on a completely different topic. This appears to be my writing pattern for these columns. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

In book news, I've set aside Lady in Waiting for the second time; I'm really having trouble getting into it, in part because the heroine is driving me crazy. Back to the TBR pile it goes. Perhaps the third try will be the charm, but for now I'm moving on to review books and books I'm reading for a contest.

Back to work tomorrow. The weekends are always too damn short. The day's packed with six hours of meetings, too. I haven't decided whether that's good or bad. I guess it's good because I'm sick of doing the same thing every day, and bad because my work doesn't go away just because I'm in meetings. Just thinking about it makes me tired already.

Off to do laundry. Hope you had a good weekend!

Alyssa

Taking Time to Read the TBR

I have time to write only a quick blog entry.

As I've been anticipating a trip to Reno for the RWA signing, I commented that it was going to be challenging for me to keep from buying new books between now and then. Then, I saw Rosario's recent blog entry about reading a title from her TBR pile, and was reminded that I could take a different approach to the whole thing. Instead of being frustrated that I won't be buying new books, I can view this as an opportunity to make a dent in my own TBR list. It certainly can't hurt, since my TBR bookcase is overflowing.

Now, I just need to pick one to start with . . .

Alyssa

Exercise in Frustration

Yesterday's trip to the gym didn't go as well as I'd hoped. My new crosstrainers are just fine--no more squashed toes for me--but I pulled a leg muscle early in my walk around the track. I ended up walking for about 30 minutes, but it hurt so much that I had to walk slowly, and my heart rate didn't really increase. My leg is feeling fine today, and I brought my gym clothes with me to work, but I'm debating whether I should try again tonight or tomorrow. Getting back in the habit of exercising has so far been an exercise in frustration.

In some good news, yesterday I got a book order I've been waiting for, and now I'm reading Charmed by Nora Roberts. I'm looking forward to reading Erin McCarthy's Houston, We Have a Problem (another book from the order), though I won't get to that until later this week.

In the meantime, wish me luck at the gym.

Alyssa

About Organization

I can't count the number of books I've collected over the years. I'm trying to sort them, but I have a hard time letting go, especially when I pay full price. It doesn't help that I'm a packrat to begin with. I moved into my first house last year and discovered that I have boxes of books that I barely remember reading. I must go through these boxes and decide what to keep so I can get things organized.

Used books are a little easier to let go. I frequent two used bookstores: one is 15 minutes away and the other is 30-40 minutes away. I've also started using my local library. Often I'll be intrigued by a book because of its plot or a book review. Now I search the library catalog first unless it's an author I buy automatically. I check out a book, read it, and make a decision about whether I want to buy a copy. I've saved a lot of money with this method. Still, I can say with honesty that I have too many books. Going through them will take time.

I have a considerable pile of books I'm waiting to read, sometimes called TBR (to be read). On Saturday, I resigned myself to the fact that I needed a larger bookcase for them, so I moved one upstairs. This has reduced the piles of books in my bedroom. I'm now using the smaller bookcases to hold my collection of audiobooks and the duplicate copies of books I have for my mini lending library. Now I'm hoping to make a dent in my TBR pile. This, too, will take time.

Alyssa