...yeah, well - I never said I could sing, did I??

Anyway, the fiendish Devon tagged me for the book MeMe that's been floating around so here we go:

1. Total number of books I own:
According to the fabulous Readerware, I currently own 904 books (318 in the TBR and 586 Keepers or waiting to go to the UBS). Wanna make something of it??

2. Last Book I bought:
Jo Goodman's If His Kiss is Wicked

3. Last Book I read:
Suz's Heartthrob

4. Five books that mean a lot to me:


> Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses - I have an old, falling apart copy that was mine when I was little and I found a new copy of the same version (pictured on the left) before Thomas Kincaid's version took over the world.






> Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time - I believe my love for paranormals began here when I was 12 or so.










> Lynn Kurland's Stardust of Yesterday - just because it's my favorite. :o)








> Suz's Hot Target - the most balanced and cohesive of her books (and the first big supporting role for Jules...darn it, where are my Snoopies??).






> Emma Holly's Menage - well, reading that just opened up a whole new world of stuff, didn't it. Who knew I would like the kink? LOL











Anyone else who wants to do this one, consider yourself tagged!

Labels: 2 cents, book stuff, linkage, meme

So, there I was, minding my own business...reading in bed on Friday night (early Saturday morning, if you want to be technical) and I began to hear thunder in the distance. No big deal, right? I knew we were expecting rain - Flash Flood Watch - so, whatever. But it kept getting closer and closer and louder and LOUDER. Now, I like distant rumbly thunder but the great big wall-shaking kind?? Not so much. Anyway, suddenly there was a very bright flash of lightning (bright enough to see in my room, even with the lights on) and an immediate BOOM of thunder...and I heard a distinct *pop* somewhere in my house. Uh-oh.

So, long story short - cable modem? Blasted. Ethernet card in the PC I never use? Fried. DVD player. Dead. Outlets in the guest bath? Unresponsive. Phone service? Out until Thursday. And, I find out today (when dude came to replace the cable modem), wireless router? DOA. Blah.

Still, it could have been worse. Most of the electronics, etc. are fine. It wasn't scary windy or anything. We needed the rain (and still need tons more). All in all, it's mostly annoying. At first, one of the TVs wasn't working but I unplugged it and plugged it back and it started working again. Rats! I was kind of looking forward to getting a flat panel. Ah well...

How have I managed to be online all weekend? I'm piggybacking off the neighbors. Shame on me. ;-)

In other news, I'll be off to visit the 'rents this weekend (Labor Day, here in the States) but I'll be around some. Thank goodness they finally got DSL!

Also, I read Devil May Cry over the weekend. It was better than the last book in the series, I must say, and does seem to be drawing us closer to Ash's books - thank goodness! And it introduced an intriguing new character (Xypher) - a dead Skoti (bad Dream Hunter). This book seemed to be more about setting up Ash's books than a story that needed to be told for its own sake, if you know what I mean. But I'm okay with that. :-D And I feel vindicated in the fact that Kat will not be Ash's heroine. Yay!

I started reading Lisa Marie Rice's Dangerous Lover but I put it aside about 1/3 of the way through. I wasn't in the mood for dark, tortured, angsty-ness. It was good...just not what I was wanting to read, right then. I'll pick it back up soon.


By the way, no my hair does not look like this:

The lighting wasn't that close! LOL

ETA: linkage and Xypher's name...yikes, imagine why that didn't immediately spring to mind.

Labels: 2 cents, book stuff, computer stuff, gadgets, roaming

...aren't usually my thing. But this one I like - and I love Jayne Castle's Harmony books, so I'm excited! :-D



What about it, peeps?

Labels: 2 cents, book stuff, linkage

I was chosen as one of Cindy's Share the Love winners! Yay! Go me!! She (and her lovely assistant Bob) captured it all on video, even. So fun!


In other interesting bits - I ran across this over at USA Today:

Ever question an author's plot decisions? Now, romance novel readers will get to hear why Victoria Alexander made the choices she did when Avon Books publishes Lady Amelia's Secret Love (on sale 9/4/07, $3.99). It's an e-book with embedded video starring the author. Much like a DVD extra, as readers makes their way through the downloadable e-book, Alexander will pop up onscreen at various points to talk about the plot’s turning points and her characters.

Fascinating.

Labels: book stuff, contest, cyber friends

Yup, peeps - I finished Force of Nature last night and it's a keeper! :o) It was ever so excellent! I'm going to put my thoughts in white so those who don't want to read spoilers can avoid. If you want to read more, highlight away.

So, I'll admit, going into the book I didn't think I would be very interested in Ric and Annie's portion of the story. I was reading for Jules and Robin! But I really liked Ric and Annie - way more than I expected. And it helped that the plots were woven together so much. Still, the big reason it's a keeper is because of Jules and Robin. *sigh* I have always been a Jules/Robin 'shipper so I'm so glad I was right. ;-) Watching them both struggle with the reality of what their relationship would be, if they went for it...and each one thinking that the other one deserved a chance to succeed while knowing that any relationship they might have would make success difficult...and fighting the chemistry and the attraction and ultimately losing the fight. *big sigh* Fabulous! Yes, the love scenes between them are a bit vague. It's a shame, really. I know Suz has to balance on a fine line but I think most readers could have dealt with a bit more, even if they aren't normally fans of MM romances (and those of us who are, could have handled lots more LOL). Anywhoo, as I said, I really enjoyed Ric and Annie, too. Annie was one of Suz's best heroines, says me. Girlfriend kicks ass! No shy retiring violet here, peeps! And that Ric had always wanted her and didn't think he would ever get her (thanks to her ratfink brother)? I love that! Childhood crushes that carry over into adulthood are a fave plotpoint of mine. :o) And Martell was fabulous - Suz has already said that we will be seeing more of him. And how cute was Pierre?

I can't wait for All Through the Night! I hope we see lots of Jules and Robin in the future and I'm so glad they get their own special book! Yay!!!

It goes without saying that there will be SPOILERS in the comments, so read at your own risk.

Labels: 2 cents, book stuff, Suz

I bet you know...so for the next little while I'll be missing in action. :-D



I'll lurk around a bit later, probably.

Labels: book stuff, silliness, Suz

So, I mentioned that I was going to steal the Book Bitches' idea of listing the best books of 2007 (so far). As I looked back over my notes - that were sadly behind, btw - and looked at the pile of books I hadn't any notes on, I could only come to one conclusion. Although I have read many good books this year, I haven't read many that were excellent. I knew I had been re-reading a lot of old faves but I hadn't exactly realized why...

Anyway, with that disclaimer out of the way, here are my top 7 of 2007, so far:

#1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling - I mean, honestly, could it have been anything else?! I think not. ;-)
#2 Natural Born Charmer, Susan Elizabeth Phillips - always excellent! Now if she would only give me Teddy's story...
#3 When I Fall in Love, Lynn Kurland - she's one of my very, very faves and doesn't get as much buzz as she could, says me.
#4 The Billionaire Next Door, Jessica Bird - proof that category romances don't have to feel flat or rushed or mediocre.
#5 Atlantis Rising, Alyssa Day - a strong start to an interesting series
#6 The Secret Diary of Miss Miranda Cheever, Julia Quinn - I'm a sucker for childhood crush stories. :o) I was afraid I would miss the Bridgertons but I didn't.
#7 Dead Witch Walking, Kim Harrison - enjoyable and intriguing. I haven't read the second book of the series but I have it on the pile, near the top.

Anyone else want to play??



And speaking of...Ames tagged everyone for a middle name meme, so I'll do that one - because my middle name is short. LOL Here we go:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

LOU (Oh yeah, like I would make that up.) Anywhoo...
L - LOLcat addict (my middle name...let me show you it)
O - Origami-challenged...seriously, I got an origami-a-day calendar last year and didn't make it past March. Sad.
U - Uncontrollable reader. Just try and stop me from reading...anything, anywhere. If nothing is available, I'll go back over favorite scenes in my head.

By the way, did I happen to mention that Force of Nature comes out in less than 2 days?! Break out the Snoopys!!


ETA: Hey, CindyS - where are you?? Your blog isn't loading on My Netvibes. :o( Nevermind, Ames explained. :o)

Labels: book stuff, linkage, meme

Just zooming by to let mah peeps know how weak I am - Suz posted an alert on her BB that there were spoilers floating around about her next book that would also spoil FON. Now, she did this so we, her loyal subjects readers would avoid them. What did I do?? Immediately went searching, of course, but I didn't find anything so I went back to the thread with everyone arguing both ways and someone had posted a link to the spoiler blurb. Guess what I did then? Went directly there, of course! I'm so weak!! But I'm happy about the next book (way happy, jumping up and down, Snoopy dancing happy, actually). Wheeeeee!

See - this is me (I'm beside myself):



ETA: Thursday's countdown interview at Romance Novel TV is all about JULES! Yay!

Labels: book stuff, linkage, Suz

...my top books (so far) of 2007. I stole borrowed the idea from the Book Bitches. My mom came to visit today so it might be a little while before I get to it, though.

In the meantime, for you lolcat pleasure:



Later, peeps!

Labels: book stuff, lolcat

...I found this on USA Today's Pop Candy blog:

"Fauxbits" for the characters who died in HP7. I got your linkage right here.














In other news, it's August! That means Suz has started her countdown for the release of Force of Nature. W00t!!!

Labels: book stuff, HP, linkage