Happy Easter! Photos of yesterday and this morning

Above....Yesterday......Below.....this morning......

We are thankful for the moisture in whatever form it takes....maybe more of these little beauties will make a show soon...thanks to the snow...

THE DEVIL'S FOOTSTEPS - Amanda Stevens

Just this very second finished THE DEVIL'S FOOTSTEPS. I read this one like THE DOLLMAKER, practically in one sitting. I had one whole shift of not much going on and I took extreme advantage of the situation and read 98% of this dark thriller. I even tried to stay up and read it when I got home, but this book and just before sleep was not a good mix for me. Very mental image inducing, so I put it back in my purse for after sleep reading time. That time was just now.
FOOTSTEPS takes place in the South like DOLLMAKER did. A good setting for thrillers, I think. Certain areas in the South, especially Louisiana, lend a deep, dark, murky aura to suspense and thrillers. Magic, gators, cypress, swamps....it's all conjured when you read a book set in this area.

Sarah has had a time of it, trying to find her way in the world since her sister was murdered 14 years ago. Sarah has always loved being an artist and seeing the world for what it is and portraying it as such. Much to some folks discomfort. She became a tattoo artist and this expertise is what her ex, Sean, a cop, calls upon to help in a murder investigation. This event triggers memories long supressed in Sarah's subconcious. Can she go home again and continue this search for her past? Especially when Ashe Cain is still around. And what about the bells? And the Devil's footsteps?

AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH - M C Beaton

Well done, M C Beaton, well done!! This is a super fun beginning of a series I've long ignored for some dumb reason. I love Agatha Raisin. I think I like her and this series better than M C Beaton's other with Hamish Macbeth.

Agatha moves from fast paced London to slow as a turtle pace Cotswolds after selling her very popular public relations firm. She is soon regretting the move, but works through to become accepted by the community. The rest is funny along with a murder or two.....

I HAVE to read the rest of this series!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!

THE MERMAIDS SINGING - Val McDermid

HUMDINGER! That's the first descriptive word! This is a new to me author and I am definitely looking for more of her, especially of this series. The characters are well drawn and I had no idea who the bad guy was til the end.

It gets a little heavy on the Brit slang, but I could follow along. Amazing if it's true how long it's taken for the cops over there to cotton onto profiling. It made a very good part of the story. There is teamwork and discomfort, an interesting mix.

I will claim ignorance as I don't have any idea what the title of the book has to do with the storyline, but I don't care. It's a good one! Go get it!!

DRAGON'S BREATH : Tales of the Frog Princess #2 - E D Baker

Cute as can be book in a really sweet, funny, magical series. I am not listening to them in order, only as RecordedBooks sends them out. I can keep up as they are short sweet books to listen to and very easy to follow.

Princess Emeralda is back in human form after being a frog in the first book and is in training to be a better witch. Emma finds herself helping her Aunt, the Green Witch, turn Haywood back to a human. Haywood is the Green Witch's long lost love, who had been turned into an otter many years ago by the Green Witch's mean mother.

Many adventures follow in the quest for all of the ingredients for the potion to make Haywood human again. Dragons, witches, wizards, seawitches, singing swords....all kinds of fun. Highly recommend for a fun fast read....or listen....

THE BODY IN THE IVY - Katherine Hall Page

I finished this finely written cozy this morning, again thanks to the stomach giving me issues, but the reading (and the Nexium) helped calm me. I read and finished and slept. I hope to read more of this series. This is my first and won't be my last.

The main character, Faith Fairchild, is hired to cater a week long reunion for a group of women who were friends at an all girl college in the 60's. She soon finds that all is not as it seems. It is a sort of Agatha Christie like story and Faith is caught in the middle. She also doesn't appear in the book very often. It's a refreshing change to the cozies, or any of the other mysteries I read, and I liked it.

I Will Miss High Crimes Mystery Bookshop

A sad weekend for local area mystery book lovers....High Crimes Mystery Bookshop in Boulder CO closed its doors. The very last day of store business was Saturday. I was able to make it in last Wednesday after my root canal. I thought some shopping therapy might help and I was right. I came out loaded to the gills with two bags of used books ($1 per bag), free ARCs and 5 or 6 she had from my wishlist as well as THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS - Amanda Stevens that I had asked Cynthia to order for me. It arrived in time for my visit.

The wonderful thing is Cynthia will still be available via the internet. We can order books through her and she will gladly help us out. I will miss the wandering of the shelves and finding treasures and new to me authors, though. Cynthia will still have her book-a-month subscription available, YAY. I love having that for my gifts for my dad and my sister.

I won't need to go book shopping for a while. I can catch up with Mt Git'r'Read and make a dent, but I don't like the reason. I will miss High Crimes.

HULU.COM

http://www.hulu.com/

This has been added to my favorite sites!!! Watch TV episodes, movies, whatever they have in their files. It's free, with minimal commercial interruption to let you watch for free. I have the first episode of Firefly on as I type this.....I can also watch my other favorite show Eureka. Now if they have Bones, I am set!

KISSCUT - Karin Slaughter

WOW! Another powerfully written story from Karin Slaughter. It is not for the faint of heart, especially if you have children. I don't know of too many authors who could take this awful subject and portray it and the characters in such a way that makes the reader need to keep reading if only to ensure the bad guys get what's coming or not.

The good guys are tortured souls, the bad guys are tortured souls and then there's the truly horrendous who have no soul, just a black pit.

All that said, I can't wait to get the third in the series. I will read this one in order. The characters intertwine and move apart and I need to know the reasons. It will definitely have to be a while before I can read the third one.

THE BALLAD OF FRANKIE SILVER: An Appalachian Ballad Mystery - Sharyn McCrumb

I highly recommend this book. I have enjoyed Sharyn McCrumb's work in the past, so much so that I have begun to collect her books for my keeper shelves. This one is second in being my favorite only to SHE WALKS THESE HILLS:An Appalachian Ballad Mystery. That one will remain my favorite, it was my introduction to this series and to Sharyn McCrumb.

Sharyn McCrumb gave an interview at the end of the audiobook, sharing with the listener her process of taking the ballads and legends from her upbringing and breathing them to life. Frankie Silver was a real person, she lived and died just as in the book. Sharyn places present day along with the past to show how things really haven't changed all that much even we'd like to think that we are more enlightened and evolved. We aren't.

Barbara Rosenblat shared narration with Jeff Woodman and both gave a superb performance.

Pleeeeease Tune in to Today's Lipstick Chronicles

http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/

If you love good blogging and have a yen to read a very good viewpoint on what the Guv in NY has been up to (and into) please tune over to Lipstick Chronicles for today, 11 Mar 08. Lordhavemercy! Sarah hit it right ON!!

KILLER INSIGHT: A PSYCHIC EYE MSTERY - Victoria Laurie

Now if you want a highly enjoyable mystery series, this is one of the best. I really like this one. I've read several and I think in order. They are a quick read and this one especially was. I started last night before bed and read more upon my early morning wake up thanks to that lovely thing called Daylight Savings Time (please note sarcasm). In this instance, it was a good thing. I woke, couldn't go back to sleep, decided it would be a fab time to get back to this super cozy mystery. It's a little grim, but not in a deep dark way. I love Abby Cooper's character. She is a person who has come to terms with her gift of being a psychic. It is her career. I like how Victoria Laurie explains how Abby gets her messages.

Another plus aspect in this particular book was the locale. Abby gets invited out to Denver CO to be a bridesmaid. I live here and like reading books set in the local area. Call me goofy....yeah, whatever.

PACIFIC VORTEX - Clive Cussler

Reading Clive Cussler, especially this first Dirk Pitt, is like watching a really good Johnny Quest show. There's a mysterious message canister found in the ocean, an exotic woman, work with the US Navy looking for a missing nuclean submarine, evil frogmen.....This is a good thrill ride, action beyond belief, last minute reprieves of death. Makes me tired, but a good kind of tired.

This is only my second Clive Cussler, third if you count watching Sahara many times. I'll read more later, some time in my life. Need a vacation from the thrill ride, something mellow....maybe a vamp or werewolf book......

First Sign of Spring!!!

Albeit a teeny tiny itty bitty sign, it's a sign and I'll take it!

PREACHING TO THE CORPSE - Roberta Isleib

I finished this morning while I was waiting for my stomach to feel better. It was actually soothing as I finished the rest of the book. And then the Nexium kicked in and I felt even better.

I think I liked the first one better, but this one was a good follow up in the series. I should have waited to read in December as it takes place in the holiday season. Or in the summer when it's smokin' hot! This takes place in a friggin' cold in the winter state, so reading it in February/March in Colorado was maybe a mistake. Couldn't seem to get warm....

CHRISTIETOWN - Susan Kandel

What a super fast read this was! Very entertaining, fun, intriguing, with two stories going at the same time. The main character, CeCe, is an author who writes books of mystery writers. This one is about Agatha Christie. The back story is the 11 days she went missing from her life and the public eye.

The present day story revolves around a planned community on the outskirts of LA. Said community is based on Agatha Christie's novels. Shades of the movie 'Chinatown' appear from time to time.

This was one of the ARCs I picked up from High Crimes last week. Cynthia saw me browsing the titles and told me they were free ARCs and to please help myself. I took her up on the invite.

I have read one other Susan Kandel, NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE (about the author/s of the Nancy Drew mystery series), and immediately put her other books in the series on my wishlist.

If you want a smart, funny, sassy cozy this series is for you. I especially like the cozies that teach me something. This one has a background of vintage clothing as much as the background of the mystery writers premiered in the books.

FEBRUARY BOOKS

Books read in February:

THE DOLLMAKER - Amanda Stevens, MPB, SUPER!

CIRCLE OF QUILTERS - Jennifer Chiaverini, BOT, my favorite of the series (so far)

DEATH'S ACRE - Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, TPB, non-fic, very good book on how the Body Farm came to be

CITY OF MASKS - Daniel Hecht, TPB, WOW!

HOUNDING THE MOON - P R Frost, MPB, very good start to this series

THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS - Mario Acevedo, TPB, very fun vamp book

STRIPPED - Brian Freeman, BOT, SUPER, more please!

STORM FRONT - Jim Butcher:Book One of Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, MPB, yowzah!

ONCE UPON A CURSE - E D Baker, BOT, cute

DROP SHOT - Harlen Coben, MPB, sigh...I love Myron....

Books - 7 Audio - 3 Total for the year - 21

I'd be hard pressed to choose the favorite of the month. Best title goes to NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS. It would be a tie between THE DOLLMAKER - Amanda Stevens and STRIPPED - Brian Freeman. Both are new to me authors and both had well written gripping suspense. The one I am most proud of myself for reading of the two would be THE DOLLMAKER. I had to get over the cover. I have a dread fear of clowns and those lifelike dolls.....here, you take a look....

DROP SHOT - Harlen Coben

Still in love with Myron Bolitar. And possibly a teensy crush on Win. This is a series that behooves me to read in order, as well as take my time with. I could get very greedy and read them one after another, like M&Ms (all green ones.....), so I pace myself. This way my time with Myron and Jess and Win and Esperanza is a treat to savor and look forward to.

For those who don't know, Myron is a sport's agent and finds himself righting wrongs for those who need it, whether they realize they need or not. Or want it or not.

Myron is representing Duane Richwood, an up and comer tennis player. A fellow tennis player is murdered. Myron feels compelled to investigate. Enigmatic Win assists. There is a torrid past, input from the Mob, some more killing, a lot of smart-aith remarks that endears Myron to my quirk-lovin' self.

I have placed an addendum to my 'list'. . You know 'the list'....the one where if someone from your 'list' should show up in your life and want to be with you for a short time, your significant other has to oblige gracefully. Anyway, fictional characters can now be added. So Myron joins Matthew McConaughey, Kurt Russell, Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Chris Isaak, Harry Connick Jr, John Hannah, Lyle Lovett (hey, it's MY list!).....

ONCE UPON A CURSE - E D Baker

This is third in a cute faery story series. Emma is a princess who is also the Green Witch. Which means she is charged with the care of the realm. She's fairly happy even though she is an only daughter and her mother despairs of her actions and lack of style and general clumsiness in the past.

There's a catch to Emma's life, though. If she should touch a flower of any type after her 16th birthday, she turns into an evil hag witch until the kiss of a true love touches her lips. It's affected the Green Witch in her family for hundreds of years. Currently, her grandmother and aunt are in this predicament.

Emma decides to do something about stopping the curse and that is the story, short and sweet. She can talk to animals because she'd been turned into a frog in the first of the series. This is she met her honey, Prince Eidrick, who had also been turned into a frog.

Very sweet and funny story, highly recommendable for short and sweet listen or read.

STORM FRONT: Book One Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

Forgot to add the book cover!!!

STORM FRONT: Book One Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

This was a very good book, especially as I was reading in tandem with Harlen Coben - DROP SHOT. Not sure if Harlen and Jim have met, but their two respective characters are so wonderfully similar in a very good way. So much so, that as I read DROP SHOT, I keep expecting Myron to begin talking in first person like Harry Dresden in STORM FRONT. Both are funny, smart, out there righting wrongs, smartass comments abound, keep going even when the possibility of bodily harm is on its way.
Harry Dresden is a wizard in Chicago. He is on retainer with the local police for any odd occurences that cannot be explained any other way. Harry has the White Council, watchers of all things magic, on his back for something he was acquitted, but they are still cautious. Harry is hired by a woman to find her husband, he is hired by the detective in the police department on whom all of the unexplained cases get dumped, to find who killed a local mob boss' right hand man, apparently by magic.
Dresden Files series is more than a series of books of the magic world. It's written like a Chicago private eye boiler. It makes for a super combo.
My favorite peripheral characters are Bob, the skull/spirit and Mister, the 33 pound cat.

Having fun with all of my books....

Every once in a while, all of my books I am reading are really good. This is one of those times. Not to say that I read bad books, I don't have time for that. Life is short, read good books....
But sometimes the books are just so-so or just reasonably likeable. One will be fab, one will be good and one will be ehhhhh...or any combo thereof..it happens. This time is like book gold. I am reading STORM FRONT - Jim Butcher, the first in the Harry Dresden Files series, DROP SHOT - Harlen Coben, second in Myron Bolitar series, and listening to ONCE UPON A CURSE - E D Baker in the car. All are really good and making me want to stay in the car or on the recumbent bike or in bed for just a little while longer so I can read just a teensy few chapters more. As it happens, I am almost done with all three, so that will make me do just that, wake early or stay up later to have that time with Myron or get in some extra activity minutes with Harry, drive around the block one more time or so and see what Emma is up to.
The only issue with three super books is that there is then the choice of what to read next....

6 Word Memoir MeMe.....

Two areas of Mt Git'r'Read.....

Life is short, read good books.

Mary at Bookfan Blog tagged me for this meme. It sounds easy enough but it's not.
Here are the meme rules:
1. Write your own 6 word meme.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4. Tag 5 more blogs with links.

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I could only think of one other book bud who Mary hadn't already tagged, so I tag J Kaye....

STRIPPED - Brian Freeman

What a fab read/listen! I didn't miss anything by starting with second in the series, but now I can't wait to read the first in the series, IMMORAL.

This, like all of my favorites, is a character study as much as it is a thriller. I empathized with the good guys and one or two of the bad. There were several back stories going on at any given time and they all meshed.

My favorite part was that just when you thought the story had been told....yeah...it kept going and it made sense and it wasn't just to fill out a few more pages. The stories had to be told.

My favorite character: Amanda. Loved her bite and humor.

THE NyMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS - Mario Acevedo

Oooooo-kay! What an interesting romp in the rack. Very irreverant and funny and twisty turny vampire novel. I bought it because of the title and subject matter (the vampires, NOT the nymphos!) and I was happily pleased with the whole read. Well, had some ick issues with the pouring of blood over perfectly yum Mexican food or whatever else they were crunching on. Gah!

The story starts with how Felix goes to Iraq a soldier and comes back a vampire. He is hired as a private investigator to find out why the women at Rocky Flats Nuclear Arsenal are turning into nymphos....nice gig, I reckon.....The story takes place in Denver, so I had fun with the locales.

Looking forward to the rest of the series, if only for the titles.

Skimming....not reading....MURDEROUS GLAZE - Melissa Glazer

I used my Life is Too Short rule....

Not diggin' it, so gave up. I won't count as a book read as I was skimming more than I was actually reading. I didn't care about any of the characters! Knock 'em out, put 'em out of their misery!
I'm glad I've read other cozies, well written and entertaining cozies, before this. If I had to base my opinion on the cozy genre based on this one, I'd have tossed every single one in the collection on Mt Git'r'Read. And I have a lot of those wonderfully slender, perfect for purse sized, titled-like-a-country-song books. So thank you Cleo Coyle, Elaine Viets, Kate Collins, M C Beaton, Nancy Atherton, Sarah Stewart Taylor, Casey Daniels, Denise Swanson, Sarah Strohmeyer, Susan Wittig Albert, Laura Childs, etc....for writing wonderful cozies and lighting the way.

HOUNDING THE MOON - P R Frost

Finished this morning. I am already looking forward to the next in the series, MOON IN THE MIRROR. All of the characters are interesting, especially the bad guys - the demons. Tess makes for a fab heroine with emotional baggage galore and wanting to fix the world, one demon portal a time. My favorite character is Scrap, her imp. He's a delight and needs a good pop upside the head every once in a while. He is devoted to his 'babe', Tess, emotionally and psychically.
The book is laced with demons who have apparently been around for a long while on Earth, with sightings in Washington state. Big, furry, manlike creatures....yeah, those guys of folk legend....
I recommend this book to any who enjoy a good paranormal romp, good mix of humor and a dash into the fantasy/sci-fi conventions.

THE TRUTH ABOUT FAIRY TALES - K T Casha

Thankin' you, J Kaye!! THE TRUTH ABOUT FAIRY TALES showed in the post container today! I am so looking forward to reading this. I may challenge myself to read books where the main character is an author. Reading HOUNDING THE MOON - P R Frost now. Main character writes fantasy novels based on what she is doing in 'real life' in the book.
TRUTH...features a romance writer and discovers her life is turning into a romance story, at the age of 40-ish. At least that is what it looks to me from the cover. I can identify with this one, absotively. Life didn't get really cool until I turned 40. This book is up next.

I Won a Prize!! I Won a Prize!!

http://thoughtsofjoyblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-in-series-give-away-winner.html

Whoo Hoo!!! I won a book from Joy! I joined her super fun First in Series Challenge and I won the February drawing for one of the series books she'd read in the past, or BB, Before Blogging ( I think this is getting added to the dictionary). She posts that it is not a typical series style, but series nevertheless.

I'd added this to my wishlist to buy immediately after my self-imposed no book buying time-out ends. And now something else gets moved up the list ladder.

I won a boo-ook...I won a boo-ook....

Had to Give up on Harlen for a bit....not his fault

Had to give up on TELL NO ONE - Harlen Coben for next up bedside book. Not Harlen's fault, nope, nope, nope. Love Harlen. The book was falling apart. I got it at a used bookstore and I was so excited about getting newly discovered to me Harlen Coben, that I didn't check the condition of the actual book. I was reading it last night and some of the pages started falling out. Le sigh....SO, I will put that in the donate pile and it looks like next up is A MURDEROUS GLAZE - Melissa Glazer. Time for a cozy I think....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

There, that's what I wanted to post!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I Feel the Need....the Need for Root Canal.....AGH!!!

*whimper*.....I can feel that dadgum back tooth, really below the tooth start the flare up. It does this from time to time ever since that lame-o dentist tore the living (literally) heck out of my nerves while trying to dose me with novacaine (is that a capitlized word??). Went for one appt and he shot me up 7 times trying to numb the area enough to drill and fill. Nope, not gonna happen, so we made a new appt. He made a 'cocktail' and it worked....mostly. I basically just sucked it up and let him have his way with the drill and fill (that does sound so wrong in so many ways) and we finished it up.
This was all while I was active duty Air Force and this was a contracted dentist as Buckley did not have its own dental office on base. I retired from the Air Force and started using DH's dental plan and dentist. LOVED HER! I told her the deal of the last time after she told me that a new filling was needed as the first one was caving. She told me that likely the dentist really couldn't find the right place to numb. She said she would do a better job. And, guess what?? She did! The shot felt like honkin' big bee taking aim at my gum, but I felt nothing afterward. She did the work and all went well. She did tell that I would likely have issues later due to the damage from the previous scenario of the dentist in the past who should burn in Hades.
And, guess what....she was right!! Every couple of months, that area in the back of my tooth-al area, lower right side of my face, starts its little throb which builds to a nice crescendo and then it subsides after a day or so. The last episode was just before Christmas and I told DH about it. He took a look-see and pronounced the need for root canal. The area looked pretty shadoobie. He prescribed Motrin and a Listerine rinse and I actually felt better soon after. But he made me promise to make a dental appt as soon as the holidays were over. Okaaaaaay!
No flare ups since then, but I did make the appt and the doctor saw the root canal and the need for two crowns. OH BOY!!
So, secondary insurance is called for. Applied and got it, now to use it. Working up the nerve to fix the nerve.

CITY OF MASKS - Daniel Hecht

CITY OF MASKS....A disturbing, dark, great paranormal character study. There were so many things going on in this dense, dank, murky book. And I do not mean any of this in a bad way. I highly recommend this book to all who love a good ghost story with a strong dose of deception and decay.
Even though the cover states that it is "A Cree Black Novel", Daniel Hecht does share the wealth of story telling with all of the characters, good, bad, and shades in between.

My least favorite was Charmian. She valued her position in society above all else, even her daughter's mental health.

My most favorite character, besides Cree, was Lila. Bless her, she was the bravest of all of them. Terrified and she still needed to confront her ghosts, literally.
A second favorite character is Joyce. Just love her balance of humor and love for Cree and Ed.

I cannot wait to read the next Cree Black Novel and see who all we meet, alive and ghost alike.

DEATH'S ACRE - Dr Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson

Finished another super book on non-fiction style, DEATH'S ACRE, was a greatly informative read. I had heard of The Body Farm before while reading Patricia Cornwell (before she turned to shite). Her book of that name was superb and just made me want to visit this site of forensic discovery and study. Kind of gross, maybe, but I found it fascinating. I will never be a forensic scientist, but I love reading about it. Up to now, it's been fiction. I found Jefferson Bass while looking for medical mysteries for a summer challenge last year. Found and read and totally dug CARVED IN BONE. I found that Jefferson Bass was really Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson and that they had written some non-fiction as well as some more of what was going to be a series. Found DEATH'S ACRE and FLESH AND BONE for my ever increasing TBR.
I highly recommend DEATH'S ACRE if you like the background of some of the medical mysteries we read. I have a new appreciation of the science and the work and dedication and time it takes. I love CSI shows to pieces, but the bad guys don't get caught that quickly!

CIRCLE OF QUILTERS - Jennifer Chiaverini

This is my favorite of the Elm Creek Quilters series, so far. I loved all of the stories/chapters, some more than others. Anna and Gretchen were my favorite characters. When you want to reach in a slap a character or two or three (Gordon, Theresa, and Heidi), then the book is well written in my opinion.
And this series always makes me want to go sign up for quilting classes!! There is a quilting shop a few blocks from my house......

CIRCLE OF QU

THE DOLLMAKER -Amanda Stevens

If you are looking for a rather fast paced well written thriller, well cats and kittens, THE DOLLMAKER is the one for you! It was recommended on BookBitch a while back, I bought the book and it sat on Mt Git'r'Read for a while. The cover just freaks me the hell out! It's the quarter face of a porcelain doll and I really can't stand those things. Too much Twilight Zone as a child maybe, but there it is.
So, I put it on my TBR Challenge list and that would make me have to read it. It fit perfectly in this time frame, I tucked it in my purse this morning (Saturday) and I finished it this evening (still Saturday) while waiting for the system I work with to cooperate and work. It didn't, so I read. I started this morning while Lady K was in swim lessons, then on the bike for 46 minutes, then finished it in less than four hours at work. Sunday night I am bringing two books, just in case. Which will, of course, ensure that the system will work properly and I won't have as much time to read.
THE DOLLMAKER has a lot going on, storyline wise. But it isn't convoluted, rather you just go, "OOOOOOO, that's intriguing! Must see what happens next!".
Highly recommend and I do hope that Amanda Stevens has other books out there and/or up her sleeve.

January 2008 Reads

CHANGELING - Yasmine Galenorn, MPB, good paranormal, get all of this series!
SHADOW DIVERS - Robert Kurson, TPB, So good and I am not always a fan of nonfiction
JUDGEMENT OF THE GRAVE - Sarah Stewart Taylor, MPB, Good!
ILL WIND: WEATHER WARDEN Book One - Rachel Caine, MPB, Super good!
BUBBLES ALL THE WAY - Sarah Strohmeyer, BOT, not my fave, but good
THE MONKEY's RAINCOAT - Robert Crais, MPB, Good series Start, love that Elvis Cole!
BLIND DESCENT - Nevada Barr, BOT, very very good. Felt like I was right there in the claustrophobic spaces
DEAD GIRLS' DANCE: Morganville Vampires Book 2 - Rachel Caine, MPB, Supah dupah!!
THE ARCHITECT - Keith Ablow, MPB, humdingah!
DEXTER IN THE DARK - Jeff Lindsey, BOCD, #3 is #1
THYME OF DEATH - Susan Wittig Albert, MPB, super cozy start of series

THYME OF DEATH - Susan Wittig Albert

So I actually finished THYME OF DEATH in time for just one more book in January. This is good for First in Series, What's in a Name and A-Z Challenge. Very nice start to the series. I love learning something as I read and cozies are the trick. You learn herbs and makes me want to dig in the dirt. Can't wait for spring. This is almost as good as looking at High Country Garden and Wayside Garden catalogs.
China Bayles is a believable character. She is a lawyer who has moved to a small Texas town to have an herb garden and shop and have a new life. The book catches up to her after she's been in town for several years, enough time to make a name and make some friends. One is a firecracker and is discovered dead in her home. Murder or the suicide as claimed by all? China to the rescue.

So next up....

I began THYME OF DEATH - Susan Wittig Albert as my next purse book. It's for First in Series Challenge, What's in a Name Challenge and should fit the A-Z Challenge as well.
Next audiobook for the car is CIRCLE OF QUILTERS - Jennifer Chiaverini. I love this Elm Creek series. This one is just right after the fun with Dexter. Mellow and soothing with a hint of mystery.
I may take THYME OF DEATH up with me as a bedside book as well as the purse book and maybe I can finish one more for the month of January.

DEXTER IN THE DARK - Jeff Lindsey

Dexter is back and in trouble. His 'dark passenger' is in hiding, his sister wants help with a serial killer who is beheading and burning his victims, and he is getting married. And his soon to be stepkids want him to mentor them in the ways of killing.
Sardonic wit always with, Dexter series makes for a good read.

THE ARCHITECT - Keith Ablow

SCHNIEKEES! What a ride this book was. The reader almost immediately knows who the killer is, but you just don't care! You want to stay with it to see how they get him. And it's not like you think.
Frank Clevenger, the main character, the 'good' guy, is a forensic psychologist with issues of his own. He's a wannabe recovering alcoholic, he has an adopted son he is trying to be there for and unsure how to go about it. The son is damaged and does his best to push Frank away. They are like magnets who connect then repel.
I read DENIAL, the first in the series, several months ago. It didn't take me long to acquire more of Ablow's books, but it took me awhile to work up the courage to read another of them. I will read more of the series and look for his nonfiction works, too.

Highly recommend if you like a thrill ride.

Slooooowly I read.....page by page.....

I can't seem to find the time required to read as much as I would like. I am working out on the elliptical these days instead of the recumbent bike, so no reading THE ARCHITECT - Keith Ablow there. Meetings or errands are taking longer, so no early to home to get in reading that way. Too flippin' sleepy to read at night. I did wake early this morning and read a chapter in CITY OF MASKS - Daniel Hecht. This has just been a slow reading kind of week.
I at least have my 50 mile RT commute for work, so quickly making my way through BOCD DEXTER IN THE DARK - Jeff Lindsay. I could finish early next week, depending how the weekend goes. I'd like at least one more book completed for January, especially if I want to keep on track for the 100 Book Challenge for 2008 on Shelfari.
So many books, so little time....

DEAD GIRLS' DANCE: The Morganville Vampires, Book 2 - Rachel Caine

Sat on the recumbent bike for an extra 30 minutes this morning just so I could finish this book. The first of the series, GLASS HOUSES, was fantastic and my introduction to Rachel Caine's work. I couldn't wait to read the rest of the series, but I also wanted to savor them. They are like dark chocolate. So now I have the third on in the series on Mt Git'r'Read and not sure how long I can stay on this diet. I will have to move MIDNIGHT ALLEY up to near top of the stack. I think I can wait until next month. Maybe a good Valentine's Day read....

Synopsis from B&N:
Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

Without giving any sneakpeeks, I think the above synopsis says it all and you will have to read it for the whole wicked cool story.

TWO BOOK FINISHIN' DAY!! WHOO-HOO!

SWEEET! I finished two books today! It happens that way sometimes. Finished BLIND DESCENT - Nevada Barr BOT on the way home from work. It was very good and easy to get into. Nevada Barr makes you feel like you are the one going through the experience and Barbara Rosenblatt is the perfect narrator. Anna Pigeon is the main character of the series and her murder solving is believable. It's not like when Jessica Fletcher shows up on you doorstep and you just want to run away screaming since murder follows her. No, Anna Pigeon goes for at least a year or two and different national parks before murder shows. I like that she is a flawed person and I love her sister Molly and the relationship the two of them have.

The other book finished today was THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT - Robert Crais. I was going to read and finish while on the recumbent bike, but I thought better of it when I got home from work. I took advantage of the quiet house and changed into (theoretical) workout clothes and snuggled under the fleece blanket on the spare bed in the Candy Room and read for an hour and finished the book. It was another very good read and a good intro to Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. I have read other books in the series and really enjoyed them. Robert Crais' writing has developed wonderfully through the years, but this first one was a great read, if a little rough. I love the humor of Elvis and stoicism of Pike. More please!

So now I am listening to Jeff Lindsey - DEXTER IN THE DARK that has been waiting since November for me to get to it. And I will continue with DEAD GIRL'S DANCE: Morganville Vampires Vol 2 - Rachel Caine for my next purse book.

What am I reading now??

Tape 9 of 9 BLIND DESCENT - Nevada Barr in the vehicle, not sure what will be next. Maybe the third Dexter. It's been waiting patiently since November. I am almost finished with purse book THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT - Robert Crais and I started my preview of DEAD GIRLS' DANCE - Rachel Caine last night. I know it's going to be good, but I want to keep up with my previews. Don't want to get caught in line or at the gym with a bad purse book! I read myself awake this morning with DEATH'S ACRE - Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Just did not want to get out of bed just yet, so read until I was reasonably more awake. Didn't want to go back to sleep or I'd have overslept and missed my workout (and time with Elvis Cole).

ILL WIND: WEATHER WARDEN Book One - Rachel Caine

I finished Rachel Caine's ILL WIND in next to no time. My reading time has become rather limited lately, so this was no mean feat. It was a joy to read and I very much can't wait to read the rest of the series.
I want Jo's two cars. Delilah a very sweet '76 Mustang Mach 1. O..M..G!...sadly that one gets destroyed and Jo has to move on to Mona, a '97 Dodge Viper GTS. Lordy, this woman knows how to pick 'em!! I'd read the series if only for the cars. Yay that the series is super even without the cars.

Book progress....

I am on tape 5 of 9, side 1 BLIND DESCENT - Nevada Barr in the vehicle, I finished JUDGEMENT OF THE GRAVE - Sarah Stewart Taylor last night while Lady K played her Noggin.com games on my laptop. I started the newest purse book, ILL WIND - Rachel Caine. This is the first book in her Weather Warden series and I am already diggin' it. I didn't read anything last night in bedside book, DEATH'S ACRE - Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson, due to not feeling so whooptee-doo. I'm feeling bettah.
I'll get some listening time in today with the back and forth driving of Boulder to work and back to Boulder back to work and back to Boulder. I am looking for the silver lining, glass is half full thing and being able to listen to the lovely Barbara Rosenblatt read me a story is that silver lining.

JUDGEMENT OF THE GRAVE - Sarah Stewart Taylor

Judgement of the Grave - Sarah Stewart Taylor is a very good mystery. It could be called a cozy only in that the main character, Sweeney St George, is a Harvard professor and finds herself investigating murders or at least helping. I love this series. Sweeney has the coolest career choice of all of the 'cozies' I've read. She teaches funerary art at Harvard, studying and teaching all that that entails. In this book she is researching tombstones from the pre-Revolutionary and Revolutionary period in Concord, Mass. And stumbles upon a murdered man. It's a good character study as much as it is a mystery story.

NOW...I can begin my challenges....

I can now begin my challenges:
TBR Challenge
What's in a Name Challenge
A to Z Challenge
First in a Series Challenge
Chunkster Challenge

I wanted to actually begin the challenges in the new year and not with something I'd been reading in 2007 and finishing in 2008. So here I go.

Death's Acre - Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson (TBR Challenge, A - Z Challenge)
Blind Descent - Nevada Barr, narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt (A-Z Challenge)
Judgement of the Grave - Sarah Stewart Taylor (TBR Challenge, A - Z Challenge)

SHADOW DIVERS - Robert Kurston

Finished Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II - Robert Kurston. It's nonfiction and I am not always drawn to nonfiction, let alone WW II books. Granted this didn't take place in WW II, rather about a U-boat that deep wreck divers found off of the coast of New Jersey and what these two men did to find its identity and all that the journey entailed. A very good book and I could only wish for more time to read it through the last part of December and into this month.
I felt for the two main characters, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, in their quest (it can't be described as anything else) for the identity of the U-boat and the toll it took on their personal lives. Loss of marriages and deaths of friends and fellow divers. The very warm and sad epilogue was perfect.

And Another Challenge Rises...Raises...??

So, here we go again. Dagnabbit Joy!!! Chunkster Challenge...who can resist that title??
Some possibles from Mt Git'r'Read:

City of Masks - Daniel Hecht, 464 pages
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer, 498 pages (already on TBR Challenge and First in Series Challenge)
Book of Air and Shadows - Michael Gruber, 466 pages (already on TBR Challenge)
Hood - Stephen Lawhead, 496 pages (could very well make it to First in Series Challenge)

I Resolve.....

For 2008, I resolve to keep better track of my challenges I join!! Books I read in the challenges, links to the challenges, and whatever else I can think of for said challenges.
I was lured into joining a few in 2007 and highly enjoyed them all. However, once the challenge was finished, I deleted the entries from my sidebars....for my own good reason at the time of making room for more of my ramblings. I will now find a way to keep track of all of (what I said in the first sentence).
I just now saw my book buddy Joy's blog of her year end wrap-up for 2007 and I just shook my cranium at how organized she is. She kept all of her info available at her fingertips. I vow now (brown cow) to attempt to do the same.

So sworn by my hand on this 2nd day of January!

First book in 2008

CHANGELING - Yasmine Galenorn is the first book finished in 2008. It was a very good story. Second in a series and I will definitely read more, preferably reading the first in a series WITCHLING and then the third released this month DARKLING. I do enjoy Yasmine's writing.

Since I am a Big Dork...a repeat of yesterday's post

Blue Christmas - Mary Kay Andrews, HB, very good and can't wait to read more!
Aunt Dimity's Christmas - Nancy Atherton, MPB, nice holiday cozy
On Strike for Christmas - Sheila Roberts, TPB, wonderful
Silent Night - JD Robb, Claire Cross, Susan Plunkett, Dee Holmes, MPB, surprisingly good anthology, all stories were enjoyable
The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell, BOT, start of a trilogy, bit of a stretch for the holiday theme...some of it took place in the holiday timeframe...
The Dolls' Christmas - Tasha Tudor, BOT, short and sweet
Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury, TPB, decent, not sure but might read more
Tumbling Blocks - Earlene Fowler, HB, good holiday book and good addition to the series
A Highland Christmas - M C Beaton, HC, good cozy Christmas story
A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg, HC, my favorite of the month

8 books, 2 audio = 10
118 for the year

December Books - All Holiday All Month Long

Blue Christmas - Mary Kay Andrews, HB, very good and can't wait to read more!

Aunt Dimity's Christmas - Nancy Atherton, MPB, nice holiday cozy

On Strike for Christmas - Sheila Roberts, TPB, wonderful

Silent Night - JD Robb, Claire Cross, Susan Plunkett, Dee Holmes, MPB, surprisingly good anthology, all stories were enjoyable

The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell, BOT, start of a trilogy, bit of a stretch for the holiday theme...some of it took place in the holiday timeframe...

The Dolls' Christmas - Tasha Tudor, BOT, short and sweet

8 books, 2 audio = 10, 118 for the year

Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury, TPB, decent, not sure but might read more

Tumbling Blocks - Earlene Fowler, HB, good holiday book and good addition to the series

A Highland Christmas - M C Beaton, HC, good cozy Christmas story

A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg, HC, my favorite of the month

Almost the New Year...Are you Ready?

Everyone has been asking about New Year resolutions and I have noticed the annual glut (perhaps poor choice of words) of diet plans, exercise aids, workout programs, etc....
I learned not long ago that it does not behoove me to make resolutions, especially at the New Year. I don't keep them because I always make the ones that are icky in concept. Never eat more Cheetos, drink more wine, have more ice cream. Nope, it's always eat less 'bad' food and exercise more. I did a re-think in September when I went to day shift and off of shift work for the foreseeable future. I began exercising more, eating better choices (there are no good or bad foods, just better choices and smaller portions) and I recommitted to Weight Watchers. By golly, it's working.
If I do have a New Year resolution, it would be to make more time for me, reading, alone, movies, whatever. That old saying, 'If Momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy' holds grains of truth. So Momma is gonna be happier!

We paid a visit to B&N and bought some DVDs with the gift card we received for Christmas. The Die Hard boxed set to catch us up with the first three and Kelly's Heroes. Then we wandered the book sales. A lot of books 50% off and I picked up some holiday books for Lady K's collection and Jeff Long - DEEPER, the sequel to THE DESCENT which scared the badoobees out of me. Also AN ICE COLD GRAVE - Charlaine Harris, the third in this series. THEN there was the 3 for $9.99 sale tables.....GREAT SOUTHERN MySTERIES that DH picked out for me and THOU SHALT NOT KILL edited by Anne Perry. Gotta go find room for my additions. Also found PREACHING TO THE CORPSE - Roberta Isleib in my mailbox that I won a couple of weeks ago. It's second in a series and I know this one will be as good as the first. Thanks J Kaye!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope everyone is having a great day. Were books under the tree? I had four and Lady K had many many many thanks to my Booktalk friends and her Auntie Deb. I organized a Secret Santa book exchange and had two names, so received two packets of books and DH gave me the Paula Deen biography. I am very much looking forward to all of them. They are upstairs and I cannot for the life of me remember the titles. We are in the middle of Christmas dinner prep or I would go up and check the names.
We went from having just DH, Lady K and myself for the day as my parents were hesitant to drive out in the crappe weather Kansas was having. They called Sunday night and said they'd come out Monday. About 10 minutes later, our friend Jaime called and said he and his DS would be over for Christmas dinner and possibly his wife and MIL. And today DH's friend called to wish Happy Christmas and (my thought) hope to get invited for dinner with his DD and girlfriend. Sadly they were going to have pizza if they didn't come over here....sigh.....
So....we now have five more adults and two kids coming over at some point this afternoon for dinner at 5pm to go with DH, myself, Lady K, my mom and my dad. I am looking forward to tomorrow and holiday time is basically over. Might take my mom shopping if the snow (that the weather fibbers said we weren't going to get and now we have 6 inches on the ground and it's still coming down) lets up any.

A Redbird Christmas

I finished A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg yesterday morning. I really didn't want it to end. What a lovely book! I had never read Fannie Flagg before and I am going to add more of her books to my wishlist from now on.
Oswald discovers his ailments are rapidly increasing his likelihood of dying. While at the doctor's office he finds a flyer for a retreat for better health. There really isn't anything keeping him in Chicago, so he calls the number on the flyer. He finds himself in Lost River, a town that time seems to have forgotten. We meet the residents in all of their sweet quirkiness. My favorites are Jack and Patsy. Jack is a redbird nursed back to health after being injured by crapweasel boys and now a pet of the local store owner. Patsy is the sweetest little girl, smart as a whip, and twisted of body due to a birth injury.
This was my absolute favorite of the group of holiday themed books I read in December.

So You Wanna Win Some Books....

No, I don't give away books, but I know someone who raffles books once she and her family are finished reviewing them! JKaye and her fam read and review books and they raffle them on Sunday. All you do is visit her site and comment on the books she reviews pretty much each day. I've won four or five and added some pretty spectacular titles and authors to my wishlists and shelves thanks to JKaye.
http://www.j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/

Books I have won (what my brain can remember anyway):
Preaching to the Corpse - Roberta Isleib
Sexiest Man Alive by Diana Holquist
The Last Jew Standing by Michael Simon
The Overlook - Michael Connelly

What's in a Name Challenge List

1. A book with a color in its title. (The Black Echo – Michael Connelly)
2. A book with an animal in its title. (The Monkey’s Raincoat – Robert Crais
3. A book with a first name in its title. (Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death – MC Beaton)
4. A book with a place in its title. (Pacific Vortex – Clive Cussler)
5. A book with a weather event in its title. (Storm Front – Jim Butcher)
6. A book with a plant in its title. (Thyme of Death – Susan Wittig Albert)

Calling it Good.....Joy's Seconds Challenge

Joy's Seconds Challenge October thru December

What I Listed I'd Read
Jacqueline Winspear - Birds of a Feather
Beverly Connor - Dead Guilty
Karin Slaughter - Kisscut
Larry J Hillhouse - Shot At and Missed: A Cody J Bryan Mystery
Katie MacAlister - Fire Me Up: An Aisling Gray, Guardian, Novel

Joy's Seconds Challenge Books Actually Read
Grave Secrets - Charlaine Harris (2nd in Grave series) Oct
Deep in the Woods: The Beginning - Larry J Hillhouse (second I have read by this author) Oct
Whole Lotta Trouble - Stephanie Bond (second of this author) Oct
Fire Me Up: An Aisling Grey, Guardian Novel - Katie MacAlister (second of this series) Nov
Birds of a Feather - Jacqueline Winspear (second in series) Nov
Blue Christmas - Mary Kay Andrews (second by author) Dec

A Highland Christmas - M C Beaton

A very warm and fuzzy holiday book. Very very quick to finish, two sessions on the recumbent bike. Superbly enjoyable if you like light cozy mysteries. No murders in this one, just some intrigue and warm wishes for the holiday season and what Hamish does to bring it about for several characters.
Calvinist roots run deep, so the village of Lochdubh does not celebrate the holidays in a showy fashion, at least in public. Hamish does his best to help bring the holiday spirit to all and sundry. There is a missing cat belonging to a reclusive 'witch' on the hill, a perfect child of rather strict parents, a new schoolteacher, missing fairy lights in a nearby village, an unhappy retirement home. All of these, not so oddly, come together for a nice story.
This was the first time I've handheld read a Hamish Macbeth book. I have only listened to them in the past and I could hear the lovely voice of Davina Porter, the narrator of this series, in my cranium as I read. This was definitely not a bad thing to hear this voice in my head. = )

Tumbling Blocks - Earlene Fowler

I finished Tumbling Blocks - Earlene Fowler this morning thanks to early morning wakeup due to muscles utilized yesterday that hadn't been utilized in quite that fashion in some time. Snowshoeing yesterday in the woods up at Eldora Ski Resort up and down some pretty decent hills. Anyway, the quads and calf muscles were giving me grief this morning and I turned to my bedside book. It was a very peaceful morning under the covers and I finished the last 60 or so pages.
I have always listened to Earlene Fowler's books before, so this was a variation of a treat. Earlene uses quilt names in her titles, but doesn't focus much on actual quilting. The particular quilt makes an appearance somewhere in the reading, but it's more of a metaphor for what will occur in the book. This one has several stories, all tied to mega-tasked Benni Harper. She is the wife of the town's police chief and she runs the town's folk art museum (a place I would dearly love to visit if it actually existed), and friend to many. I love her grandma Dove, her father, her friend Elvia, her cousin Emory, her dog Scout. Her husband is a rugged and sometimes troubled soul, but is devoted to Benni as Benni is to him.
The benefactress of the museum demands that Benni take on an investigation of the death of her best friend, another rich woman. Constance thinks Pinky (she's rich, the rich sometimes have silly names) was murdered. The police chief thinks otherwise and asks Benni to take on a fake investigation to keep Constance off his back.
Into this beginning, Benni's mother-in-law appears. She is someone who was not happy with Benni marrying her only son. Tension....perhaps.
A painting by an 'outsider artist' has been donated to the folk museum. We learn what outsider art is. The painting is by an reclusive artist which makes the artist's work that much more valuable.
All of this is going on throughout the book. One block falls in each and the tumble begins.
A good Christmas themed mystery.

Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury

Finished Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury this morning on the recumbent bike. Perfect timing of 30 minutes on the bike and just the right amount of pages to carry me to the finish line of the ride. This was a fairly decent holiday cozy mystery. I might look for more by this author if she has written other holiday themed cozies for this series.
Main character has a pretty understanding husband to let her sleuth around and not tell the police who only seem to get in the way. Three deaths in as many days at the holiday timeframe and mini-mysteries going on as well. Is there a ghost in the inn? Who killed the three men, seemingly unconnected to each other? Why is that singer woman after the husband?
Thankfully a fast read and I can move on to something else.

The Dolls' Christmas - Tasha Tudor

World's shortest audiobook!! Or in my experience anyway. But I am counting it to my book journal for the month and I am counting it for the Christmas Challenge. I finished The Archer's Tale on the way home from work today and immediately began The Dolls' Christmas and it was immediately over after less than 30 minutes of story. The delightful Davina Porter narrated it.

The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell

I was both intrigued and hesitant when this arrived from RecordedBooks from my wishlist. I'd listened to my first Bernard Cornwell - Stonehenge not long ago and I really didn't like it much. The Archer's Tale is a search for the Grail and I love the King Arthur stories, so that was the intriguing part and that won me over the hesitation.
I began listening to it and wasn't too impressed, but I persevered and so very glad that I did. Thomas is a sympathetic character with flaws aplenty to make him very human. He is a bastard, in the birth sense, not character flaw sense. His father is killed for the lance that Sir George used to kill the dragon. He becomes embroiled on his own reluctant quest for the lance as well as the man who killed his father.
I found out midway through the listening that this is the first book in a trilogy. I am very glad of this and immediately have added the second in the series to my wishlist on RecordedBooks.

So very close!!!

I am sooooo close to finishing two books, The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell, audiobook in the car and Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury, my current purse book. I have 30 more pages in the purse book and I am on the last side of The Archer's Tale. I have Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir, Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay, Fluke - Christopher Moore, Circle of Quilters - Jennifer Chiaverini, The Doll's Christmas - Tasha Tudor, and Bubbles All the Way - Sarah Strohmeyer to choose from.
Okay, just read the synopsis of Bubbles All the Way and it takes place at Christmas time....choices made....The Doll's Christmas as it is only one tape and can be finished by tomorrow, I think, and then Bubbles All the Way!! I can keep with my holiday themed books only in month of December even in the car.

AGGHHHH! I Could be READING!!!

....but no, I am working on Christmas cards! I wish I had the same shift position I had this time last year. It was quiet on nights and I could get these accomplished in no time at all. Now I have to do them at home with all of the little things that seem to interrupt or I make them interrupt. Like posting here on the blog...
Back to The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell tomorrow. Should finish this week and get to choose something new. Oh boy! I am enjoying this story the more I listen. It's a strong tale and it's a beginning of a trilogy.
I am about halfway through Slay Bells - Kate Kingsbury, my purse book. I will likely finish this week too with the rides on the recumbent bike. I'll just make them last longer.
I seem to be making headway in bedside book Tumbling Blocks - Earlene Fowler. I wish I could stay awake longer or in bed longer in the mornings.

Silent Night - JD Robb, Susan Plunkett, Dee Holmes, Claire Cross

Silent Night was a very pleasant surprise. I don't usually have good luck with compilation books or whatever one labels a book with four stories by four different authors. I have been on the reading end of these and generally there is one good strong story, one pretty good story and the other two are weak. Silent Night started strong and stayed that way all the way through. I kind of hoped it would be so because the book led with (unknown to me) Claire Cross and her story A Berry Merry Christmas a very amusing story of a Christmas elf sent from the North Pole to help a mortal girl get her wish for a new mom. Next came Dee Holmes' The Unexpected Gift, a good story of bad boy coming home and making good. Next up Christmas Promises Susan Plunkett. This one might be the weakest of the group, but still a very readable tale of a woman, once rich, now doing good things for battered women. The man from her past comes in and helps. Last story was JD Robb Midnight in Death. Eve and Roarke and company always a good tale, but this was a humdinger. I read this one last year, but re-read it and enjoyed it just as much the second time.

On Strike for Christmas - Sheila Roberts

This was such a good book! Talk about your life lessons. I did feel for these women who felt the need, for various reasons, to go on strike for the holidays. One because the husband didn't like the partying kind of celebrations, one because her husband liked it too much, others for reasons in between. They all put their significant others in charge of the holiday. To include cooking, decorating, getting the costumes for the holiday pageants, gift purchase, etc. All with varying degrees of very amusing results. All lessons learned on all sides of the households.

It made me very glad to be married to my sweetie-pie who loves Christmas as much as I. We decorate and bake and cook together. He did mention that we might not have to buy decorations any more except maybe the ones we can place around the house. Then the containers were empty and the tree still had room for more decorations. He conceded that it will be okay to keep getting them each year.

This is a highly recommendable book!!

Aunt Dimity's Christmas - Nancy Atherton

The Aunt Dimity series is an uneven kind of ride. Some of them (Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil) are awesome and others (Aunt Dimity and the Duke) are so-so.
Thankfully Aunt Dimity's Christmas was on the up side. I have a feeling I have read it before, but I continued on with it anyway. I usually get disgusted with my forgetful brain and throw the book in the trade stack as soon as I recognize that I have indeed seen the words before. I didn't feel compelled to do so with this one. It may have had, in part, to do with it was the only other book I had in my purse after finishing Blue Christmas while I waited to sign Lady K up for swim lessons and I still had a 2 hour wait. Mostly, though, it was because it's a charming book. There are times when I want to whap the main character upside the cranium, but then she comes through after realizing she is being a pewpcranium.
I'm tellin' ya, I want her life. She was raised poor, but came into a crappeload of $$ and then married a rich fella, too! Then she had twin boys, apparently kept her figure, and has her father in law there at beck and call to watch the boys at a moment's notice.

Blue Christmas - Mary Kay Andrews

This was a very good start to December and holiday type reading. Yes, I started the challenge with some paranormal and futuristic mysteries, but this one actually set the tone. Very easy and light and fun. Mary Kay Andrews is such a funny person and writes how I wish I could. More funny warm characters with interesting flaws.

Sigh.....Another Challenge to Join....Cannot Resist...

What's in a Name Challenge as challenged by Words by Annie
Dates: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008
The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.
1. A book with a color in its title. Examples might include: The Amber Spyglass, The Red Pony, Blue Blood
2. A book with an animal in its title. Examples might include: The Hound of the Baskervilles, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julie of the Wolves
3. A book with a first name in its title. Examples might include: Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter books, Anne of Green Gables
4. A book with a place in its title. Examples might include: From Russia with Love, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Out of Africa
5. A book with a weather event in its title. Examples might include: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Red Storm Rising, Tornado Alley
6. A book with a plant in its title. Examples might include: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Name of the Rose, Flowers for Algernon
--You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category. (For example, you can use The Red Pony for either a "color" book or an "animal" book, but not for both.)

Working on my list of books now. Have to go check on Mt Git'r'Read and see what I might already have....

Holiday Gift Suggestion for the Booklovers in Your Life

Still at a loss for what to get that lover of books in your life. Yes, there's always asking for the wishlist or getting a giftcard to B&N or Borders.
My new favorite is a subscription to my favorite little mystery bookstore, High Crimes in Boulder CO. It's a book a month for my sister and one for my dad. It worked wonderfully last year for my sister, so I renewed for her. I thought it might work well for my dad, too, so started a subscription for him. I told Cynthia what tastes my sister and dad have and what they don't like (cozies are ick to my sister and female authors are a big bleck to my dad) and she goes from there. She chooses books from the not overly read authors, ones that the giftee might not choose for themselves.
So check with your locally owned bookstore and see if they have something similar. You can always give Cynthia a jingle and she would be more than happy to hook you up.
http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/

November Books I Read

Bubbles in Trouble - Sarah Strohmeyer, BOT, just love this series and this is my favorite

Fire Me Up: An Aisling Grey, Guardian, Novel - Katie MacAlister, MPB, a super paranormal romp, Joy's Seconds Challenge

Birds of a Feather - Jacqueline Winspear, TPB, a keeper book..just wonderful, Joy's Seconds Challenge

What's a Ghoul to Do? - Victoria Laurie, MPB, who you gonna call? This was a good start to another good series

An Acquaintance with Darkness - Ann Rinaldi, TPB, so-so, Unread Author Challenge

Holidays Are Hell - Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M Liu, Vicki Pettersson, MPB, 50/50 decent, first two were the best, Christmas Challenge

Hissy Fit - Mary Kay Andrews, TPB, what a FAB book! More! Unread Author Challenge

Memory in Death - JD Robb, MPB, Love love love this series! Christmas Challenge

Coldheart Canyon - Clive Barker, BOT, once was enough, I was exhausted, Unread Author Challenge

7 books, 2 audio, 108 so far for the year