April Book Journal

I can't seem to break my nine books in a month...Have I hit a reading plateau??

NINTH KEY:THE MEDIATOR SERIES-Book 2 - Meg Cabot, BOCD, supremely cool

SUCCUBUS BLUES - Richelle Mead, TPB, what a ride!

SOMETHING FROM THE NIGHTSIDE - Simon R Green, MPB, will read more, but will be a while

SHADOW SPINNER - Susan Fletcher, HB, superb YA tale

PERSONAL DEMONS - Stacia Kane, MPB, yo-yo effect of mostly fab

CLUB DEAD: Book 3 Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series - Charlaine Harris, fab

DOG DAYS - John Levitt, MPB, absolutely great

THE BODY IN THE CAST - Katherine Hall Page, MPB, Superb

LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL - Linda Barnes, BOCD, excellent

BOCD: 3

Books: 6

Total for year, so far: 37

LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL - Linda Barnes, narr C J Critt

It's been way too long since I've read or listened to a book from the Carlotta Carlyle series and I don't know why it's taken me so long to get back. The last one I read was THE BIG DIG and I wasn't overly enamoured of it, so that might be the reason for hesitancy. No matter, I read great reviews for this one and it went on my RecordedBooks wishlist. I am glad that I did, I was not disappointed. A little startled halfway through when Carlotta stopped telling the story and Mooney picks up when Carlotta goes to ground after being accused of a hit and run murder. To the best of my recollection, the books have always been told through Carlotta's voice and it took me a little (creature of habit that I am) to catch up and like the new eyeballs. Just after I got really comfy with Mooney, Carlotta took up the viewpoint again.

Carlotta is hired by a woman to follow the woman's fiance on a Friday night. She has suspicions that he might be unfaithful and wants to make sure before going ahead with the wedding. As in all good mysteries, all is not as it seems on the surface. Carlotta's client is found dead, a victim of a hit&run. Carlotta is a prime suspect after more and more coincidences start to surface.

To say more would be to reveal some spoilers of this honkin' fab story. It's my favorite of the twelve so far in the series. The narrator, CJ Critt, is the perfect gritty voice of Carlotta. I can't think of anyone else who would fit the bill.

Four Boston beans.......

THE BODY IN THE CAST - Katherine Hall Page

I enjoy the heck out of reading cozies, especially well written ones like the ones I've read in this series. I have chosen to continue reading them out of order and it hasn't diminished my enjoyment.

Faith Fairchild is the wife of a minister, mother to two adorable younguns, owner and head chef of a catering firm, Have Faith. And she still finds time to stumble over dead bodies and mysteries galore in the small town of Aleford, Massachusetts.

This episode has Faith hired to cater the film crew of a possible blockbuster movie, A, based on THE SCARLET LETTER - Nathaniel Hawthorne. The town of Aleford is abuzz with the excitment of movie stars, a big named director and the local election heating things up.

Faith also has to contend with the possibility of having her catering business closed down due to some of the cast members suffering from food poisoning after having some of Faith's Black Bean Soup (recipe included in back of the book).

This is a nicely tight book with interesting characters that I liked and some I loathed just like I was supposed to.

Four fine kettle of soup beans.....

BittenByBooks and Jim Butcher and a Book Contest!

TripleB is interviewing Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files series. There's a superb interview, as well as a chance to win one of 10 copies of Jim's newest, #11 in the series, TURN COAT. And there might be a $25 Amazon gift card in it for you from Ms BBB......
Contest runs through Sunday 3 May 09...hightail over there. Think about who your favorite character is, feel free to ask Jim anything, well you know, almost anything....looks like he might be there for a while.

Wishlist Wednesday

Another 20 or so from the Wanton Book List:

HELLBOY: ODDER JOBS – Christopher Golden and many others
THE ANATOMY OF DECEPTION – Lawrence Goldstone
NIGHT RISING: Vampire Babylon Book One – Chris Marie Green
MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TORC #1 in Secret Histories series – Simon R Green
UNZIPPED – Lois Greiman
HADES PROJECT – Justin Gustainis
THEM BONES (Sarah Boothe Delaney cozy series)– Carolyn Haines
UNCLEAN SPIRITS: Book One Black Sun’s Daughter – M L N Hanover
GHOST WRITER – John Harwood
20 DAYS WITH JULIAN AND LITTLE BUNNY BY PAPA – Nathaniel Hawthorne
IN OVER YOUR HEAD – Larry J Hillhouse
ON THE WRONG TRACK – Steven Hockensmith
KINGMAKING – Helen Hollick (Arthurian legend)
SEABORN – Chris Howard (Urban Fantasy)
THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH – Charlie Huston (when MPB)
POSTED TO DEATH – Dean James
GHOSTS IN THE SNOW/THREADS OF MALICE/VALLEY OF THE SOUL - Tamar Silas Jones
BUTCHER BIRD: A Novel of the Dominion – Richard Kadrey

DIE TWICE: THE BUSINESS OF DYING & THE MURDER EXCHANGE – Simon Kernick
AFRAID – Jack Kilborn (aka J A Konrath)

Lady K-ism of the Day

Out of the blue...as many of Lady K-isms begin.....

Lady K - "Mommie, how old is Daddy?"

Me - "Ummmmm...50, why?"

Lady K - "Because I think I am going to be 50 before I start saying sonofabitch."

Me, trying to keep a straight face - "Okay, why 50?"

Lady K - "Because sonofabitch is one of those words you should be 50 to say, so I am going to wait until I am 50 to say sonofabitch. Don't you think I should wait until then to say sonofabitch?"

Me, still working on that straight face - "Well, you know you're saying it an awful lot right now."

Lady K - "Yeah, so I'll stop saying sonofabitch now. Well, one more...sonofabitch. Okay, that's it. That's the last time until I am 50."

BittenByBooks and Maria V Snyder Interview

TripleB is at it again this week. She has an interview with author Maria V Snyder and there's a chance to win one of fifteen copies of STORM GLASS. Contest runs through Friday 1 May 2009 @ 2359 (11:59pm), so get on over to BittenByBooks and see about winning a good book!

Amberkatze Celebrating a Blog Move and.....

.... an interview with characters from J F Lewis' series, REVAMPED and STAKED, Eric and Tabitha. Amberkatze has, dare I say, okay, I will....revamped her blog and is celebrating in style with the interview and a fab contest. You can win a signed copy of either book and a Welcome to the Void T-shirt. To enter, come up with a possible new title for J F Lewis' next book. Reckon there's a dirth of past-participles out there, so the author is looking for some help.
The contest stays open through Sunday 3 May 2009, 1600 CET.

Finders Keepers Monday

Used my RecordedBooks Buy it for $12 and bought DEAD TO THE WORLD - Charlaine Harris, BOCD.
Had an offer from Lisa Scottoline that since I subscribe to her newsletter, I could buy her newest, LOOK AGAIN, send her the receipt and get a free MPB my choice of her books. I also had a B&N coupon eating a hole in my purse, so Lady K and I went over yesterday morning, found LOOK AGAIN as well as BLUE DIABLO - Ann Aguirre, that's been on my wishlist for a little while.


ONE HOT MESS - Lois Greiman came from my cozy mystery buddy, Ann, last week. We trade out cozies from time to time. She highly recommended this one.

And my buddy Becky at No More Grumpy Bookseller has been recommending THE LITTLE SLEEP - Paul Tremblay for the longest time. I ordered it from Cynthia, the High Crimes goddess and it arrived last week.

What Are You Reading Monday - 27 April 2009

Keeping it simple this week to see about finishing one or two more for my monthly book journal before the end of the month...my self competitive streak showing it's fuzzy self:

Purse/Bedside/Bike book is THE BODY IN THE CAST - Katherine Hall Page, a great cozy mystery series.
The BOCD in the car is still LIE DOWN WITH THE DEVIL - Linda Barnes. It's a very intriguing turnabout as I don't remember Barnes using anyone else to tell the story besides Carlotta Carlyle, her main character. Reaching the second half of the book, I found that Mooney is now telling the story as Carlotta seems to have run to ground.....
Go see what everyone else is reading this week over at JKaye's blog, she hosts the What Are Your Reading on Monday fun.

DOG DAYS - John Levitt

Good lord! What a great book to read! I mean, if you like to read a book that includes excellent action, believable magic, well written characters, and have the characters (aka practitioners) working their magic and all of that leads to exciting action of good guys versus bad, truly evil....then this is the book to read.
Mason is a jazz musician with magical practitioner abilities. He used to work for a magical enforcer agency, but he really doesn't take well to organization and management. When magical friends start disappearing or coming up dead, he is drawn back to the agency to help out.
Louie is Mason's Ifrit, a magical creature and a dog. Or a dog with magical creature mixed in.
This is a well told story and I could compare it to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Loosely looooosely similar. Mason is like Harry Dresden in doing the right thing and chafing at management characters, but Mason and Louie make a team that can definitely stand on its own without the comparison to Harry and his companions. I can't wait to read the next in this series, NEW TRICKS.

Five dog named Louie beans....

TGIF!!

Beer lamp lit at 1500!!!

Wishlist Wednesday..some more from the Wanton Book Yearn List

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW – Mike Carey
CITY OF BONES (the Mortal Instruments Series #1) – Cassandra Clare
SOME LIKE IT HOT-BUTTERED – Jeffery Cohen
DIG – C R Corwin
UNSHAPELY THINGS- Mark Del Franco
NIGHTWALKER:THE FIRST DARK DAYS – Jocelynn Drake
THE CITY OF EMBERS – Jeanne DuPrau
RAIN FALL – Barry Eisler
KARMA GIRL / HOT MAMA / JINX – Jennifer Estep
BLOODY GOOD – Georgia Evans first in a series (Jun 2009)
JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE – Beth Fantaskey (YA)
BABY SHARK – Robert Fate
BEASTLY – Alex Flinn (YA)
ACCEPTANCE #2 Servant Series – L L Foster
THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER – Angie Fox
CIRKUS – Patti Frazee
AT GRAVE’S END – Jeaniene Frost
MOON IN THE MIRROR – P R Frost
DARKLING / DRAGON WYTCH – Yasmine Galenorn
MATCH MADE IN HELL – Terri Garey
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER CASE BOOK – Joe Gentile

TBR Tuesday...a wee bit late....Side 1 of Drawer 1 of Chest 1

This portion of Mt Git'r'Read is in the Candy Room, a spare bedroom named by Lady K. There are two chest of drawers that have been empty....not so much now that I have taken them over for Mt Git'r'Read.

THE HONK AND HOLLER OPENING SOON - Billie Letts

THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY - Trenton Lee Stewart

DEAD OVER HEELS - MaryJanice Davidson

THE HOUSE - Bentley Little

AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE - Jacqueline Winspear

GHOST DANCE - Mark T Sullivan

SPLINTERED ICON - Bill Napier

A FAINT COLD FEAR - Karin Slaughter

FIFTY-TO-ONE - Charles Adai

SUMMER KNIGHT - Jim Butcher

NIGHT LIFE - Caitlin Kittredge

PURE BLOOD - Caitlin Kittredge

DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK - Harper Allen

Tooth Fairy Will Be Paying Her First Visit.....

Patricia's Vampire Notes Interviewing Alex Bledsoe...

Ooooooo....Patricia at PVN is at it again! She interviewed author Alex Bledsoe on her blog, so there's the cool interview and the chance to win a signed copy of Alex's latest, BLOOD GROOVE. Vampires in the 70's....can you dig it?

Contest ends Friday 24 April 2009, so get on over there!

Amberkatze has a Guest Blogger this week....

...there's a book giveaway over there, too. Amberkatze has a guest, author Angie Fox, blogging. Premise of Angie's series is fab, a pre-school teacher finding herself to actually be a demon slayer...and oh there's more, but go on over to Amberkatze's blog and read for yourself. Chance to win a walk-on in the next Accidental Demon Slayer book, a chance for a copy of THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DEMON SLAYERS, and a little side survey to see if you are part demon slayer...that's got to be worth the trip, yeah? It's one of the best guest blogs I've read. Contest is good until next Sunday, 26 April 2009.

What Are You Reading Monday

JKaye has her link up for what the participants are reading this week. Here's mine:

Finders Keepers Monday

Thank you Maryann on Booktalk for sending the 11th in the Scumble River cozy mystery series.

PERSONAL DEMONS - Stacia Kane

Dr Megan Chase is trying out a new gig as a radio psychiatrist. She took the job so that the other candidate, a veritable soul-sucker of a man, wouldn't get the chance to harm on a wider scale. Megan's catchphrase, "I'll help you slay your personal demons" catches the ear of the demon world. The demons feel the need to either control Megan or take her out of the picture.
Along comes Greyson Dante, handsome, dangerous, and a demon. He's sent to persuade her to work for his 'family' (read demon Sopranos). He even brings in some bodyguards, demon brothers Malleus, Maleficarum and Spud. These three Cockney brothers are my favorite characters, I just want to hug them.
Megan, with the help of her hottie demon, Dante, and the three brothers, has to battle her past she has fought to leave behind and her present that could mean the death of her.

Three very promising demon fighting beans....

What a Difference a Day Makes...and some sunshine

The sun came out this morning and it was warm all day....water from yesterday...mostly gone...DH got the tiller out and harnessed up......I dug out the compost bin and opened bags of soil..no pics of that lovely scene, suffice to say, I was grubby.

Tomato bed....

Satisfying end result of the day...8 tomato plants, 4 jalapeno plants, four rows of peas, green beans, and corn. We planted those in the same mounds. We hope the peas and green beans will use the corn stalks to climb up. We are also trying cucumbers this year. We have space for more tomatoes and hot peppers. It's been a good day.....

Why We Won't Be Doing Any Tillin' o' the Garden This Weekend....

So we're getting the much needed moisture we so love here in Colorado. It started Thursday night in the form of snow/rain and we were keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a snow day on Friday....no such luck. It alternated between rain and snow for who knows yet how many inches. It's all good moisture, it just needs someplace to go. It's supposed to stop tomorrow, but this is according to the weather fibbers who promised a blizzard of epic proportions. Ah well.....
So tilling next weekend maybe.

RedLady's Reading Room Book Giveaway!

My buddy, Bonnie, over at her blog RedLady's Reading Room has a book giveaway going for Kate Jacob's COMFORT FOOD. Along here are the two covers, one is the original hardback release and the other is the trade size. For the giveaway shots, she asks your opinion on which cover you prefer and a couple of other shots at the shiny prize. Bonnie will do the drawing on 24 April 2009.

TGIF!!

Have a sparkly day!!!

CLUB DEAD - Charlaine Harris, narr Johanna Parker

I know I have likely said this before, I've read 1-8 of the series and now I am working my way through listening to 1-8 of the series. Listening to Johanna Parker telling the story is a lot better than what my mental narrator comes up with.

I've listened to the last few of this series with DH on our commute for work. The boy is hooked. His favorite character is Eric for obviously highly way different reasons than mine (thankful am I or Lady K would not have happened to this world)....Eric makes DH laugh when Eric expounds on his various views on this world. Eric just makes me shiver deliciously. Woof. And laugh...but mostly shiver....

CLUB DEAD is #3 in the series and has Sookie once again, at the behest of Eric, helping out the vampires by going down to Jackson, Mississippi to locate her boyfriend Bill. Bill has been working on a super-secret project for the Queen of Louisiana and has now gone missing, possibly kidnapped, while doing research for the project. The last anyone has heard or seen of Bill, he was enthralled by and with Lorena, evil bitch vampire who made Bill. This breaks Sookie's heart, but good person that she is, she goes in search of the cheating Bill.

The search leads her into danger, of course. Wouldn't have it any other way. She's just healed from her injuries from her trip to Dallas and here she is working on possibly getting her ass handed to her again. Thank goodness for Bubba, (vampired Elvis), Eric, Alcede, and a trusty stake, so the ass-handing isn't fatal.

Not my favorite of the series, but it has some excellent parts to it...and there's Eric.....

Four vampires in Mississippi beans.....

Award day for me....

I have received the Zombie Chicken Award again. I love this award, thankin' you Bookfan Mary. I believe my "Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse".......is still intact......yep, that's me to a Tee. = )

And thanks again to Mary for giving me the Friends Award. We've been online friends for lo, these many years.

The description: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. "

Mary, you are too sweet!

Wishlist Wednesday (20 from the Wanton Book-Yearn List)

JAILBAIT ZOMBIE – Mario Acevedo
THE EYE OF NIGHT – Pauline J Alama
AND ONLY TO DECEIVE – Tasha Alexander
NO HUMANS INVOLVED – Kelley Armstrong
BLOOD TIES – Lori Armstrong (myst)
LORD OF SNOW AND SHADOWS: Book One of the Tears of Artamon – Sarah Ash (fantasy)
RAVENOUS – Sharon Ashwood
THE LACE READER – Brunonia Barry
GHOSTS OF ALBION – Amber Benson & Christopher Golden
DEATH’S DAUGHTER – Amber Benson
SEBASTIAN – Anne Bishop
BLOOD GROOVE – Alex Bledsoe (Apr 09)
SHATTERED – Jay Bonansinga
HUNT – Alison Brennan
MOON CALLED – Patricia Briggs
DEMON BOUND – Meljean Brook
PRIEST – Ken Bruen
GRAVE PERIL #3 Dresden Files – Jim Butcher
AVALON HIGH – Meg Cabot
LORDS OF MISRULE: Morganville Vampires #5 – Rachel Caine

BittenByBooks Has a Jim Butcher Contest

Rachel at BittenByBooks has a contest on her blog this week. It's a chance to win one of 10 copies of Jim Butcher's newest Harry Dresden book. Then she'll be interviewing Jim on 29 April. Very COOL!

TBR Tuesday

Maybe if I do this once a week, it will encourage me to find more time to read and clear some of Mt Git'r'Read. This stack is half of what is on my nightstand.....
Just in case it's not exactly focused, from bottom to top:
WORLD WAR Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars - Max Brooks
DROP DEAD GORGEOUS - MaryJanice Davidson
UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA: Felix Gomez Vampire PI series, Book 3 - Mario Acevedo
MANY BLOODY RETURNS - anthology of how vampires spend their birthday
THE WINE OF ANGELS: Merrily Watkins, Book 1 - Phil Rickman
BLACK MAGIC WOMAN: Quincy Morris Supernatural Investigations - Justin Gustainis
NIGHT PASSAGE: Jesse Stone series, Book 1 - Robert B Parker
MISTRESS IN THE ART OF DEATH: Book 1 - Ariana Franklin
THE LOST TOMB - David Gibbins
CHINA LAKE - Meg Gardiner

What Are You Reading Mondays

So very close to finishing BOCD of CLUB DEAD - Charlaine Harris in the car. I am on the 3rd chapter of bedside book PERSONAL DEMONS - Stacia Kane and on Chapter 2 in purse/bike book DOG DAYS - John Levitt. Looks to be a paranormal reading week....
You can catch up with other bloggers over on JKaye's blog...