Well, Since It's End of the Month....

Books I Read in March (and some comments, cuz I gotta)

Hermit of Eyton Forest Ellis Peters, BOT. Lost my concentration, but finished and I love Ellis Peters!
Who Let That Killer in the House? Patricia Sprinkle, pbk. Getting more of this author and series!!!
I, Richard Elizabeth George, HB. Good short stories and I just love this amazing author
Sleeping With the Fishes MaryJanice Davidson, pbk, Yummy-Funny-GOOD
Sunshine and Shadow Earlene Fowler, BOT, good story-good series
How To Marry a Murderer Amanda Matetsky, pbk, good-but distracting use of parentheses to a teense extreme
A Charmed Death Madelyn Alt, pbk, This was good-looks to be a good series
Death of a Charming Man M C Beaton, BOT, such a good series
Better Read Than Dead Victoria Laurie, pbk, I just love this series
Shakespeare's Champion Charlaine Harris, pbk, I just love this author and this is such a goooood series!
High Heels are Murder Elaine Viets, pbk, funny well written 'other' series. This is my first of the mystery-shopper series and won't be my last (I finished today in time to make the March list)

BOTs I gave up on:
The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield, just depressed the crap out of me
The Holy Thief Ellis Peters, too many medievals in a row I guess....
Dark Demon Christine Feehan, just yucky

Tough to Give Up, but.....

I had to give up on The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield. I was listening to it in the car and got to tape 7 of 13, side 1 and I just could not go on with it. Intriguing as it was, it depressed me no end. And I can't explain why.
My philosophy is that life is too short to continue with bad books or books that aren't keeping me sparked for whatever reason. This one was losing the spark.
I am moving on to We're Just Like You Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle Celia Rivenbark. I think it will be like a sorbet between courses, cleanse my palate.
My other book choices are banner. I am moving right along in bedside book Aunt Dimity and the Duke Nancy Atherton and hope to get more reading soon in purse book High Heels are Murder Elaine Viets.
Because I couldn't help myself, while I was B&N picking up gift cards for two teachers who are favorites of Lady K and are leaving the school she attends, I meandered the stacks and found Jim Butcher Dead Beat a Dresden File book. I enjoy the series, but haven't read any of the books yet. Figured Mt Git'r'Read could stand an addition.....
Okay, back to cleaning the floors like I am supposed to be....then the afternoon is mine.

Banner Reading Days for Me

Very good reading days for me the last two or so...I finished Better Read than Dead Victoria Laurie last night and I finished Shakespeare's Champion Charlaine Harris today when I woke from my nap. Both outstanding books in my own opinion. Well written and enjoyable each in their own right. I haven't really started anything yet to replace them as purse book or bedside book. I do have Aunt Dimity and the Duke Nancy Atherton for bedside possibility and I sort of started High Heels are Murder Elaine Viets. It's a Mystery Shopper mystery. I've not read anything from this series yet, but I enjoy the Dead End Job series. Gotta say that cozies are the way to go for me while on mid shifts.
I have a visit planned to my favorite mystery bookstore in Boulder, 'High Crimes', this break. I have two signed books I must pick up and then browse for some Larry J Hillhouse and something from Mo Hayder. I am about ready to read something in the non-cozy and those would fit the yen.

Finished Another....

Finished another audiobook yesterday. A quick M C Beaton Death of a Charming Man. Just love this series. I tried starting The Knocker on Death's Door Ellis Peters, but couldn't get drawn in and mailed it back to RecordedBooks with Death of a Charming Man. Started The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield. It took me a bit to get into it, but I think I will like it.

I am almost done with bedside book Shakespeare's Champion Charlaine Harris and I read quite a bit today in my purse book Better Read Than Dead Victoria Laurie. I hope this author is a prolific writer as I just love her work. Funny and tense and good dialogue. My favorite for dialogue is still MaryJanice Davidson as she writes how I think and sometimes use in my outside voice.

Busy Book Filled Week

I guess busy wouldn't be the best word, but I did finish quite a few more than I thought I would. Finished Sunshine and Shadow Earlene Fowler BOT in the car and tried starting The Holy Thief Ellis Peters. That one didn't catch my interest, so sent it back to RecordedBooks and started (and liking) Death of a Charming Man MC Beaton. I finished A Charmed Death Madelyn Alt as bedside book when I woke from my nap to prep for this mid shift. First I've read of the series and I will be getting more. I will now go back to Charlaine Harris' Shakespeare series I was reading while DD was taking her bath....Not sure yet what book I will choose for next purse book. I finished How To Marry a Murderer Amanda Matetsky. Good first of this series I've read as well and will be looking for more of this Paige Turner series. Not a play on words, it's the name of the character. Set in the 50s and makes me glad I wasn't born back then. Chicks can biotch how bad it is now to be a chick, back then it was the pits.
I will now go choose my next purse book. Have two in the lab. If it stays quiet again tonight, I can put a goodly dent in whatever one I choose.

Wednesday Morning-ish...

Found a follow on purse book after the deeee-lightful Sleeping With the Fishes MaryJanice Davidson. I tried reading Winter Rose Patricia A McKillip, but it didn't grab my interest. A good chickie buddy sent a box of books my way a week or so ago (which contained the above mentioned SWTF) and I found another fun one, How To Marry a Murderer Amanda Patetsky. Takes place in the early 50s. Fun fun fun already.
On tape 6 of 7, side 1 Sunshine and Shadow Earlene Fowler in the car. No significant reading lately in bedside books. It's late and the titles escape me. The books are at home and I am at work.

Finished a Book....

Finished Sleeping With the Fishes MaryJanice Davidson about an hour ago. Funny and quick. Just right for what I needed today. Thank you MaryJanice for all of your series. I will always be partial to Betsy and Sinclair, but this new one is a pip!

Happy Early Daylight Savings Time....sigh...and they do this WHY?!

Please to note the sarcasm...I, and many others, wonder why this country still does this godawful thing to people each and every year. And this year, hey let's do it earlier and cause havoc with computers, schedules, etc, not just mess with sleep patterns. I am a shift worker with an almost 4 year old daughter....nuf said.....at least for me.....

I did get my quality time with Sunshine and Shadow Earlene Fowler this morning on the way in to work. I stayed up last night with my bedside book A Charmed Death Madelyn Alt. I am halfway through that one and hope to get a lot of reading accomplished in purse book Sleeping With the Fishes MaryJanice Davidson. All great choices I made this time around. Sometimes one of the three will be good enough to finish, but not great to pay attention to. Some I just stop reading completely. Of that group, I will bookmark and put back on Mt Git'r'Read OR I will give up on it and put it in the giveaway pile. Thankfully, all three of these are worth paying attention to as well as keep on keepin' on. I think this is my favorite Earlene Fowler so far. And I absolutely adore MaryJanice Davidson. She could write the phone book funny. (bad grammar...yeah, yeah, yeah)

January and February Books Read/Listened To

January 2007 Books from my Journal:

Morrigan's Cross - Nora Roberts, pbk, bk 1 of trilogy. Good start.
The Ghost and Mrs McClure - Alice Kimberly, pbk, very fun cozy series..will be looking for more
The Search - Iris Johansen, BOT, good spinoff from Eve Duncan series
Broken Dishes - Earlene Fowler, BOT, love this wonderful quilting mystery series
O Artful Death - Sarah Stewart Taylor, pbk, really good book 1 of a very good series, very intriguing premise
Candy Apple Dead - Sammi Carter, pbk, mostly finished and did not dig at all. Main character pissed me off
Skeleton Man - Tony Hillerman, BOT, okay, not great. Loved the past work of Hillerman. Now going through the motions...
In Over Your Head: A Cody Bryan Mystery - Larry Hillhouse, TPB, GOOD GOOD GOOD!! Looking for more (the author posted a response on this blog and emailed in response to my whoo-hoo email to him)
The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman, BOCD, what a fetchingly sad book
Sex, Lies and Vampires - Katie MacAlister, pbk, just love this author and this book met my expectations


February Books from my Journal:

The Only Good Yankee - Jeff Abbott, pbk, good book and will get more of this author.. have Panic on Mt Git'r'Read....
Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen, BOCD, scary good
Death of a Snob - MC Beaton, BOT, just love this series
Biggie and the Quincy Ghost - Nancy Bell, BOT, pretty decent funny cozy series
Death of a Darklord - Laurell K Hamilton, TPB, like Anita Blake/Meredith Gentry series better
Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs, BOCD, SUPER!!
Size 12 is Not Fat! - Meg Cabot, TPB, OMG funny book!! More of this author!
Last Scene Alive - Charlaine Harris, pbk, very good Aurora Teagarden mystery series

Saturday and I Yam at Woik

So, my last mid this rotation and hoping to kick the crap out of this cold the pros from Shriever brought with. I bought and started taking Cinnamon Flavored Zicam this morning. It doesn't taste too great, but it's doing the trick. I found if I hold it under my tongue for a bit, it chews up mo' bettah and isn't as yuck tasting.

I finished Break No Bones Kathy Reichs BOCD this morning. It was a long wrap-up, but seemed necessary for closure. This one redeemed Dr Reichs in my sites again. The last book or two, she seemed to be heading down the same crap path Patricia Cornwell has in her series. Break No Bones is well written and had me going back and forth and showed Tempe as a human with mistakes. She's eased up on the scientific descriptions that caused me to skim until the action began again. Minutae (sp?) was a drag. Now it's integral and minimal.
Started tape 1 of 12 of Christine Feehan Dark Demon. Richard Ferrone is the narrator and is perfect for this. All dark and gravelly voiced. Perfect for my night drive in for mids. Yum.

Gotta say, I am listening to the soundtrack of Flushed Away and Tina Turner is rockin' on Proud Mary. I love my CCR, but Ms Turner is JAMMIN' and no one does this song better. do-do-do-do, oh yeah!!!

An Author Read and Posted on my Blog!!

Gotta say, I am still quite stunned that Larry J Hillhouse commented on my blog site! Very thrilled and stunned. A good way to get me to look for more of his books more quickly than I'd planned. Mt Git'r'Read is hewgah anyway, but a few more can slide in there I reckon.

I have two purse books going now, Charlaine Harris Last Scene Alive-Aurora Teagarden Mystery and The Templar Legacy Steve Berry. Not as crazy about the Aurora Teagarden series as I am the Southern Vampire series or the Grave....series or the Shakespeare series, but Aurora is spunky and sad and funny and they are fast reads. I wouldn't collect them like I seem to be collecting the Southern Vampire series.

Bedside book is Size 12 is Not Fat Meg Cabot. Super book! Granted, my own humble opinion, but there it is. Nice fast story with interesting characters that I like or intensely dislike. Some books I find myself just gliding through and other, more memorable ones, stick with me. In Over Your Head was one of those. (see above guh post on Larry J Hillhouse).

Car audio book is Break No Bones Kathy Reichs. She is back in my good graces with this one. Not too crazy about the last one or two, but Tempe is back well in BNB.

Okie-doke. Back in the hole I go. At least I can read for a while.

Monthly Postings.....

Alrighty then.....and I'm back...and front.....I'll have to post another day on my January books. The journal is at home on my nightstand and I am here at work...or at least occupying space for money. I went to the library to fill my need of audio books as I was in a drought from RecordedBooks. Timing is everything dontcha know. Snow storms and slow mail kept my returns from getting back to the company and they won't send anything out until some start returning. They sent out and more snow storms ensued, so no audio pleasure from them for over a month or more. Library hooked me up for a bit and then the deluge started showing up on my doorstep. I have 8 or 9 audiobooks to listen to now. I ended up using my coupon from them to buy The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue. That one is on standby in case anything like the nature caused mail delay happens again. I am listening to Biggie and the Quincy Ghost Nancy Bell now and have Break No Bones Kathy Reichs, Dark Demon Christine Feehan, Villa of Mysteries David Hewson, Hermit of Eyton Forest Ellis Peters, The Holy Thief Ellis Peters, The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield, and Sunshine and Shadow Earlene Fowler all waiting in the back seat. Just finished Death of a Snob MC Beaton.

I didn't read very much last night as I had to be up and at work early this morning. Tomorrow is swing shift, but I know Lady K will wake early as it will be me home and up with her. DH can sleep in....dagnabbit. So I will be up early with Lady K and a fargin' huge pot of coffee. Chocolate Velvet is the flavor this week. Yummo.
Blogging of coffee...a book bud on WW Booktalk turned our message thread chickies onto a great coffee roasting place in her hometown. They have a website and dontcha know I just placed a hewgah order with them. Can't wait to try them and try to pick a favorite. Maybe I'll keep the box in my clothes closet and I can smell yummo all the time. http://www.greencastlecoffee.com/ is the site.

And it's time to go HOME!!

It feels wonderful to be able to post that phrase. It's been a loooong six day rotation and mids can be the most difficult. I did read quite a bit this shift as nothing much going on and made it to about the halfway point of O Artful Death Sarah Stewart Taylor. I may take this one upstairs for my bedside reading this morning. I have In Over Your Head - A Cody J Bryan Mystery Larry Hillhouse as a standby purse book. Not like I don't have many many mucho many more on standby on Mt Git'r'Read, but this particular one is actually in my purse.

We have made up for the weird warm weather we were having in December and have had three snowstorms in as many weeks. Approximately 3 feet of snow just in our suburb. Every area has received varying amounts. Good moisture and great for Lady K to go sledding. We will be doing that when I wake from today's little nap. Should be perfect for it.

Time to get out there and try not to slip slide home.

It's 0416....I Don't Care Where You're From....That's EARLY

Schnikees!!! Will this mid shift never end??!!! I have hit my wall and I can't enjoy even my purse book O Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor. Hot tea, ice cold Diet Pepsi....nothing is working. Maybe a trip out in the snow and balmy 8 degree morning chill. Went to the gym earlier and read while on recumbent bike and it's still difficult to stay awake. I have the serious church nods goin'.....and I still have to friggin drive home. Have Broken Dishes Earlene Fowler to listen to on the way.
Time for walkabout to wakeupabout.

Sleepy Reading...Does it Count??

It is December now, though you wouldn't know it when you go outside here in Colorado. It's going to be 60 degrees again today. We had a sad end to our November. My stepmom lost her battle with mesothelioma on 30 November. My dad will miss her with every fiber in his being, but knows that she is now out of pain and is with God and helping him organize Heaven's computer systems.

OOOOOO....Almost Daily Posting....

Wowsa! Almost a daily blog.....I am already unenamoured of Queen's Play Dorothy Dunnett, so that is going back to recordedbooks later today or sometime tomorrow after my shift. It's a huge return mail container, so will likely actually have to take it inside to a mail carrier. Oh well, I have books to mail out to friends and family, two birds with one stone and all that...

So very close to being done with Bethlehem Road Murder Batya Gur and I am so very ready to start something easier on the brain to decipher. I am meandering through the last two chapters and hope to finish it this week.

Have been moseying through Laura Child Death by Darjeeling and hoping to finish it tonight or tomorrow night. Ready to move on to a new purse book as well. December is soon here and I am thinking I may be reading only holiday themed books for the month. We'll see how long that lasts. I know it won't be in the audio book department.

Happy Day After Turkey Day

I hope all had a good Thanksgiving, or a close facsimile thereof. I spent mine at work, which means holiday pay as well as regular shift work pay. More $$ for Christmas presents and books. Good thing to have the extra $$ as the husband is digging on some expensive gifts. His will be few and costly where I prefer many and inexpensive. Don't like the word cheap....Quality does not have to cost so much, at least for me to enjoy. I am looooow maintenance.

I finished Definitely Dead Charlaine Harris BOCD on the way in to work this afternoon. I started BOT Queen's Play Dorothy Dunnett and I hope I can keep up with it. It is very large in characters and language. 1600s and a lot of time spent at sea so far. If there is something from RecordedBooks when I get home, this one might be going back tomorrow......Life is too short for convolution. I do love the narrator's voice and accent. Maybe leaning more to the accent as it is Scots. Yummy.

Hoping for time to read this shift.

Jan: You asked what I bought for my birthday books, I didn't. Buy anything that is. I do have an order in to B&N and the next Jacquline Winspear book with Maisie Dobbs series is in that order.

Possible Renaming of Blog to WEEEKLLEEEE Reads

What in the world? I never get to post when I want to. I am reading new books now, except I am still making my way through Bethlehem Road Murder Batya Gur. It is taking me a while to read it and get used to the different politics of this mystery. It is getting better the more I read it, thank goodness. I am halfway through it and hope to finish it by the end of the month. I am now listening to Definitely Dead Charlaine Harris, one of my most favorite authors. I may have to do a blog one day on those ladies and gents, favorite authors I mean. I am reading a new purse book The Bohemian Murders Dianne Day, another mystery coming of age set in the early 1900's. Very good and it is part of a series, so will likely be looking for more of Dianne Day. I have some fall back books on standby in case I actually get the time to finish this current purse book. Can't recall the titles offhand, they are in the car and I am in here nice and toasty warm. It's my birthday today and I feel the need to go shopping for books to gift myself.

3AM and I am Reading

Darkly Dreaming Dexter Jeff Lindsey is a well written book and the reader, or at least this one, feels for the serial killer. This is a difficult task for writer and for the reader without feeling guilty for feeling this way....how many times can I write feeling, feel, etc....
Dexter admits to being a sociopath and is content, as much as he can have this, with putting on a human mask and working with feeling humans. His need to kill has been channeled in a productive way and I think this is how we are allowed to be okay with his habits.
To offset this book, I am not reading anything of the cozy ilk. I am reading three fairly disturbing books at the same time. I usually try to balance them against the other, something light, something disturbing and one sort of tie-breaker. Right now I have Batya Gur Bethlehem Road Murder as bedside book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter Jeff Lindsey as my purse book and Aftermath Peter Robinson as my audiobook in the car. All disturbing in their own way, DDD is actually the lightest of the three with comic relief bits.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear is WONDERFUL!!

Maisie Dobbs is a great book. Granted, this is only my own opinion, but I am keeping this book and getting the rest of the series. I seldom if ever keep books. I read and move on, give them to the used bookstore for trade for more books or to Goodwill for tax receipts. Won't do that with this one. Plan to get the series for my sister if she doesn't already have it. ,......note to self....must email or call sister......
Now moving on to Elaine Viets Just Murdered, A Dead End Job Mystery. A nice little cozy and will be a quick read. Must remember to pack another book in purse just in case......