Reading List

On my bedside table, waiting to be read or in the process of being read:
Single white vampire / Lynsay Sands.
Every which way but dead / Kim Harrison
Mummy dearest / Joan Hess
Greedy bones / Carolyn Haines.
Girl's guide to witchcraft / Mindy Klasky
The Lost / J.D. Robb et al.

Read this year:

99. Animal appetite : a dog lover's mystery / Susan Conant.


100. Sword and sorceress XXXIII. / Multiple authors.


101. Sword and sorceress XXXII. / Multiple authors.


102. Wild boy : my life in Duran Duran / Andy Taylor


103. Nightingale's lament / Simon R. Green.


104. Hex and the city / Simon R. Green.


105. The glasswrights' progress / Mindy L. Klasky.


106. The glasswrights' apprentice / Mindy L. Klasky.


107. Magic and the modern girl / Mindy Klasky.


108. The glasswrights' test / Mindy L. Klasky.


109. The glasswrights' journeyman / Mindy L. Klasky.


110. Heir to the Shadows / Anne Bishop.


111. Dreams made flesh / Anne Bishop.


112. Patterns in the sand / Sally Goldenbaum.


113. Daughter of the blood / Anne Bishop.


114. The testament / John Grisham.


115. Grave secret / Charlaine Harris.


116. Bed of roses / Nora Roberts.


117. The shadow queen : a black jewels novel / Anne Bishop.


118. Kindred in death / J. D. Robb.


119. Dark slayer: a Carpathian novel / Christine Feehan.


120. Frostbitten / Kelley Armstrong.


121. Never after / Laurell K. Hamilton ... [et al.].


122. Just one sip / Katie MacAlister ... [et al.].


123. 206 bones / Kathy Reichs.


124. While my pretty one knits / Anne Canadeo.


125. To light a candle / Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.


126. When darkness falls / Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.


127. Valor's trial : a Confederation novel / Tanya Huff.


128. The outstretched shadow / Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.


129. Legends : short novels by the masters of modern fantasy / edited by Robert Silverberg.


130. The heart of valor : a Confederation novel / Tanya Huff.


131. Must love hellhounds / Charlaine Harris ... [et al.].


132. The Enchantment Emporium / Tanya Huff.


133. Everlasting bad boys / Shelly Laurenston ... [et al.].


134. I only have fangs for you / Kathy Love.


135. Garden spells / Sarah Addison Allen.


136. Goddess of the rose / P.C. Cast.


137. Dragon wytch / Yasmine Galenorn.


138. Demon Mistress / Yasmine Galenorn.


139. Noah / Jacquelyn Frank.


140. Dragon heat / Allyson James.


141. Hidden currents / Christine Feehan.


142. The perfect poison / Amanda Quick.


143. Casual hex / Vicki Lewis Thompson.


144. Crate & peril / J.D. Warren.


145. Dragon actually / G.A. Aiken.


146. Unusual suspects : stories of mystery & fantasy / edited by Dana Stabenow.


147. Reader and raelynx / Sharon Shinn.


148. Black Hills / Nora Roberts.


149. Elijah / Jacquelyn Frank.


150. Dead and gone / Charlaine Harris.


151. Huntress / Christine Warren... et al.


152. Jacob / Jacquelyn Frank.


153. The shape-changer's wife / Sharon Shinn.


154. Fortune and fate / Sharon Shinn.


155. Sword and sorceress XX / edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley.


156. The thirteenth house / Sharon Shinn.


157. Dark moon defender / Sharon Shinn.


158. Mystic and rider / Sharon Shinn.


159. The darkest night / Gena Showalter.


160. Espresso shot / Cleo Coyle.


161. Dropped dead stitch / Maggie Sefton.


162. Undead and unwelcome / MaryJanice Davidson.


163. Forbidden nights with a vampire / Kerrelyn Sparks.


164. Skin trade / Laurell K. Hamilton.


165. Vision in white / Nora Roberts.


166. Turn coat : a novel of the Dresden files / Jim Butcher.


167. Summer on Blossom Street / Debbie Macomber.


168. Borderline / Nevada Barr.

And yes, I broke down and read the Twilight series. That's all I am saying about that...

This list is only the books I checked out from the local library (they keep the records for me, lol). It doesn't count the ones I requested from other libraries, or anything I've bought myself this year. I read everything I could get my hands on by Tanya Huff, Sharon Shinn, Anne Bishop and Madelyn Alt. I easily broke the 200 book mark this year ;)

Getting close to 100, lol

96. Running Hot / Jayne Ann Krentz
    Part of the Arcane Society series (written as both Krentz and Amanda Quick), now I have to start from the beginning, lol.


97. Murder List / Julie Garwood
    Not as good as the second book in the series, but not bad either.


98. Kitty Raises Hell / Carrie Vaughn
    This one took me a while to get into, but by the time I hit the third chapter I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I love Kitty!

I've got 4 more books waiting at the library to be picked up today, woot! Two are in the Arcane Society series, one is in Tate Halloway's Garnet Lacey series.

More Twilight and other things

88. New Moon / Stephenie Meyer.
    Did not love this book. In fact had very little like for this book (but please, don't tell my co-workers! Lol). I've been told the third book is better. We shall see.


89. Mona Lisa Darkening / Sunny
    Not my favorite of the series, I really struggled to get through it.


90. Drop-dead Blonde / Nancy Martin, et al.
    Four different mysteries by four different authors. I've even found a new series out of it. Woot!


91. Fire and Ice / Julie Garwood
    I enjoyed this book. Not great literature but entertaining. This book is actually a sequel to Murder List, which I am now reading.


92. Wicked By Any Other Name / Linda Wisdom
    This was a bit of a disappointment. Same universe as the Jazz stories, but Jazz has only a small role. I missed her, lol.


93. Mr. and Miss Anonymous / Fern Michaels
    Totally improbable plot, but an ok book ;)


94. Thai Die / Monica Ferris
    My least favorite in this series so far. I just wasn't interested in the characters this time around.


95. Confessions of a Shopaholic / Sophie Kinsella
    Fluff. Pure and total fluff. Very much a Bridget Jones wannabe, and since I didn't care much for Bridget I'm not sure what the fuss is about.

Not enough time

to do everything I want and read everything I want to read, lol. May is a good month for me, with several of my fave authors coming out with new books. Authors like Michele Bardsley, Charlaine Harris and MaryJanice Davidson. And the next Anita Blake book (it's a train wreck, I can't turn away! There's always this tiny hope inside of me that the old Anita we knew and loved could come back, and Edward's in this one so...) is out next month.

So anyway, here's what I have been reading. It's been a slow week, I'm working evenings and that's cut into my reading time.

86. While My Sister Sleeps / Barbara Delinsky.
    I knew I was going to be in tears by the end of this one. The sister isn't sleeping after all, she's in a coma. And I did cry at the end. It was a good book though and a quick read. It's also the first Barbara Delinsky book I've read in ages, so I shall likely read more.


87. Hex Appeal / Linda Wisdom.
    Ms. Wisdom is one of the Witchy Chicks that I so love. Hex Appeal is the second book in her series about 700 year old witch Jazz and her on again/off again vampire boyfriend, Nick. It's a cute, fun read.

I broke down and read it

80. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer.
    A couple of ladies at work talked me into reading it, they both loved it so much and when one offered to loan it to me, I thought why the heck not. It seems to be a book that polarizes people. You either love it or hate it. Or at least the most vocal people anyway. Me, I didn't hate it, but I can't say I loved it either. I'll likely read the rest of the series, just because I want to know the rest of the story now, but if I didn't ever read the rest that would be ok too.


81. Wormwood / Susan Wittig Albert


82. White Witch, Black Curse / Kim Harrison


83. Oolong Dead / Laura Childs

I've read better by all three of these authors.


84. The Accidental Werewolf / Dakota Cassidy
    There were times I wanted to smack the main character, Marty, right upside the head. It was a cute book, but she was a bit too inane for me. One more mention of the bloody color wheel of life and I think I would have screamed.


85. Accidentally Dead / Dakota Cassidy
    Second book in the Accidental Friends series and I enjoyed it much more. The m.c. was smart mouthed, feisty and strong and much more likable than her girly-girl make-up freak friend in the first book. And third friend Wanda seems to be coming into her own now as well, so I can't wait to read her story, even if she's another damned color-wheel freak.

Hi!

75. Lords and Ladies / Terry Pratchett


76. Lavender Morning / Jude Deveraux


77. Sun in Glory / Mercedes Lackey, et al.
    How did I miss this anthology? Not as good as Sword of Ice, but good to see Talia's story of how she became a sunpriest.


78. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    More re-reads. With the next movie coming out in July I thought the timing was good.


79. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
    Re-read. My very least favorite book of the series, lol. Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite, but it's been pushed aside for the moment by a new batch of library books

I've skimmed several other books as well, but I truly thought most of them atrocious (hence the skimming) and don't consider them true reads.

I read my first Danielle Steele book in years, A Good Woman, and it was awful. Depressing and IMNSHO, dreadfully boring. Perhaps this is the reason I stopped reading her books...

I'd seen Kresley Cole books on a vamp booklist and thought I'd give it a go. Put one on hold and when it came in imagine my surprise when I discovered I'd checked it out once before and returned it days later after deciding it wasn't my cup of tea. I gave it another try and I have to say it still isn't my cup of tea. The second book of hers I had was returned to the library, unopened. *Sigh*

More re-reads

73. Wyrd Sisters / Terry Pratchett
    This starts my favorite sub-series of the Discworld series, the witches. Every time I read these books I laugh.


74. Witches Abroad / Terry Pratchett
    My favorite Pratchett book, ever! Lol.

Since I read Foundation recently, I decided to reread more of the Mercedes Lackey Valdemar books:

59. Arrows of the Queen


60. Arrow's Flight


61. Arrow's Fall


62. By The Sword


63. Winds of Fate


64. Winds of Change


65. Winds of Fury


66. Storm Warning


67. Storm Rising


68. Storm Breaking


69. Owlflight


70. Owlsight

I've also reread the previous short story anthologies with multiple authors:


71. Crossroads


72. Sword of Ice

I'm now thinking about digging out my copies of Vanyel's trilogy, as well as the two Alberich books and my favorite books of the lot, the Tarma and Kethry books (I read my first Tarma and Kethry story in a Sword and Sorceress anthology and was hooked!).

Blizzard!

We've had a seriously mild winter this year, and now we know why! Mother Nature was storing it all it for a March blizzard! And me with only one unread library book, oops. Lucky for me, I've got my own personal library to dig through if needed and a knitting project on the go as well.

But anyhoo, here's what I have read in the last few days:

58. Foundation / Mercedes Lackey.
    The first new Valdemar novel in 5 years! And I found it just as engrossing as any of the previous books. This one is set after Vanyel's time, but well before any of the others, at the very foundation of the Heraldic Collegium. I would say that this is more of a young adult book than previous books in the series, it is a bit simplistic. But I enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down and now I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, because I need to know what happened, lol.
    
    If you've read other reviews of this book (say on Amazon) I suggest getting the book from your local library and reading for yourself. A lot of the reviews I read were nit-picky and annoying. Yes, they played children's games. Yes they eat fondue (no fondue is not a modern day food, it's been around a long time). Yes they have machines that split logs (but Valdemar has always had artificers and you have to remember they also had magic until fairly recently, why wouldn't artificers come up with ways to replace magic now that it's gone?). Yes, the people no longer remember Vrondi. But hello, if you've read the entire Valdemar series, you'll know that in first the Mage Winds trilogy and more in the Mage Storms trilogy it's explained that knowledge of magic was magically suppressed by Vanyel to keep people from panicking at no longer having Herald-Mages, hence the pained look on Herald Nikolas' face when talking about them. Sheesh.

I've read a few more books lately as well, but this post is long enough for the moment, lol.

Knitting more, reading less. And this last week we were on vacation, so I didn't really read as much as usual, since there was so much to do :)

50. Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun / Victoria Laurie
    I love this series. Laurie has me absolutely hooked with her quirky ghost busting characters.


51. Deadly Housewives / Nevada Barr, et al.


52. Carrot Cake Murder / Joanne Fluke.


53. You're The One That I Haunt / Terri Garey
    Not my favorite in this series. I enjoyed the first two books a lot more. In fact, I will admit to skimming this book more than reading it, because I just didn't care for it.


54. Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar / Mercedes Lackey et al.
    Love the Valdemar stories and it's interesting seeing other author's take on the world. I've two more Mercedes Lackey books for this next week, including the new Valdemar novel.


55. Baby, Don't Go / Susan Andersen.


56. The First Death / Laurell K. Hamilton
    This is the first of the newish graphic novels based on Anita Blake. I picked it up out of curiosity at the library. good to see the old Anita again, but not my thing.


57. Six Geese A-Slaying / Donna Andrews.

Needless to say, that more than fulfills my 52 books in 52 weeks quota. And I read every last one of them, not a single audible book in the bunch! (Sorry, audible books just seem like a cheat somehow, and besides, I prefer the way the characters sound in my head, lol).

I'll still continue to read (DUH!) and post them here. Now it's all about just how many books can I read in a year. ;)

Several books to add...

...No time to add them! We are leaving on vacation in just a bit, so you all will just have to wait until I have more time. My mother has internet, so I may catch up with y'all then ;)

46 - 49

46. Dead and Berried / Karen MacInerney.
    Second in a series.


47. Murder With All the Trimmings / Elaine Viets.
    This wasn't my favorite of the series. I really didn't like many of the characters, including the main character's wishy washy but hunky boyfriend.


48. Witch Hunt / Shirley Damsgaard.
    Another good story in the Abby and Ophelia series.


49. Murder is Binding / Lorna Barrett.
    I was disappointed, not because it was a bad book but because I'm an idiot! I saw the title at the bookstore but didn't pick it up to read the back. When it came in at my library I checked it out and started to read it as soon as I got home. Umm. Oops. I've already read this one. Lol. Maybe I can try the second book in this series next time.

44 and 45

44. Brimstone Kiss / Carole Nelson Douglas
    This is the second in a new series for Ms. Nelson. She's better known for her Midnight Louie mysteries (of which I am not a huge fan, I prefer her Irene Adler mysteries, but anyhoo...). This series features Delilah Street, a paranormal investigator in Vegas where vamps, weres and other things that go bump in the night are common.
    
    This has been an odd read for me. Normally when I like a book I don't want to put it down, but this one I've read in fits and starts. And I do like the book. Maybe it's that the pace of the story itself is slow, so I am taking it slow to read it? I don't know, maybe it's that I just kept getting tempted away by other reads!



45. Casting Spells / Barbara Bretton
    I highly enjoyed this book, starting it yesterday and reading well into the night to finish it, lol. I truly hope we see more of this town. it's was a good, light, romantic mystery. And for all you knitters out there, the main character owns a wool shop, the kind we all wish truly existed, where the wool never tangles and stitches are never dropped ;) There really isn't a huge amount of knitting going on though, so non-knitters should be fine (although Barbara Bretton really does knit along with several other authors. See the blog.

Books 39 - 43

39. Fed Up / Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant.
    Not my favorite in this series. I had trouble actually getting into it this time around, which was too bad, because I liked the previous 3 novels.


40. Immortal Bad Boys / Rebecca York, Rosemary Laurey, Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
    All I can say about this book is WOW. And not in a good way. The first story did in the rest of them for me. It was a total, "Oh no you didn't!" moment. Vampires on Viagra? No, no, no! And the third "light romance"? It was complicated and dull and not very romantic at all.


41. The Snow Queen / Mercedes Lackey.
    This one was slow to get moving and then ran right up to the very end. I like this series and its twists on common fairy tales.


42. Fish Out of Water / MaryJanice Davidson
    This, in my opinion, is the best Fred book so far. Too bad it's also the last Fred book :(


43. A Veiled Deception / Annette Blair.
    A good first to the series for me, it left me wanting more. Now! Lol. I didn't want to put it down while I was reading it, which is always a good sign.

Perennial Favorites

The Anne of Green Gables series. I've literally just begun reading Anne to my 8 year old. I hope she loves Anne as much as I do.

Terry Pratchett. I especially love the Witches sub-series. I've read each and every one more than once. Well, not The Truth. I just never could get into that one, and never actually finished it. How sad.

Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb. I've read all of them, lol. And most of the J.D. Robb books I've read more than once.

Charlaine Harris. Everything but Lily Bard (sorry, just can't get into those). I'm very sad that she's stopped the Aurora Teagarden series due to lack of time. I love Sookie. I like Harper.

MaryJanice Davidson. Queen Betsy cracks me up. And the last Fred the Mermaid book is likely the best.

Dean Koontz. I love the Odd Thomas series. I'm jonesing for more, lol.

I still read every one of Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series even though I think they lost their way several books ago. I read out of hope, lol.

I've read all of Annette Blair's witch stories, Madelyn Alt's Bewitching mysteries, Victoria Laurie's Ghost Hunter mysteries, Carrie Vaughn's Kitty stories, and Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series.

And there's so many more that I can't keep up, lol.

More books

I've been reading several of these at a time, lol. Several contain novellas, which make them good reads for work and just plain quick. Most of my choices this week were just okay. Nothing special, which is likely why I switched around a lot on them this week. Anyhoo, here's my list:

29. Never Been Witched / Annette Blair
    I love Annette Blair's witches, but this is my least favorite of the Triplets trilogy. I honestly didn't like the characters much. But the book had a very open ending, so perhaps we will see more of all the sisters?


30. Furies of Calderon / Jim Butcher.
    I didn't like this as much as I like the Dresden books, but an interesting read none the less. I've picked up the next several books in the series.


31. Before I Wake/ Kathryn Smith.
    A first in the series book again. It was ok. I'm hoping things get better as she goes


32. Ultra Violet / Nancy Bush.
    Again, an ok book. Nothing special.


33. Free-range knitter / Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
    It's the Harlot. She makes me laugh. What else do I need to say?


34. I'm Your Santa / Karen Kelley, Dianne Castell
    Very light and fluffy short romances.


35. Murder on the Rocks / Karen MacInerney.
    A good first outing for the series. I am waiting impatiently for the arrival of book 2 from our loan program at the library.


36. Irish Magic / Roberta Gellis et al.
    Light and fluffy and short romances again. Nothing stood out.


37. The Reinvented Miss Bluebeard / Minda Webber.
    This book made me laugh. I like Ms. Webber's take on the old fairy tale world, lol. I'd previously read The Daughter's Grimm and laughed out loud.


38. Accessory to Murder / Elaine Viets.
    I think it must be my mood this week, because this book just didn't do a lot for me. I wanted to smack the main character's best friend for constantly parroting her husband and for generally being a fool. Really, the one character was enough to make me lose interest.

Popular reads

I don't read them. I've yet to find one that lived up to all the hoopla.

It started with the copy of The Bridges of Madison County that my mom gave me. She and my sister raved about it and insisted I read it. I barely made it through. I just didn't get it.

I've read The Nanny Diaries. It was ok. Not spectacular. Just ok. And Wicked. I tried to like it, really I did. I even read Son of a Witch, but just found it too boring, lol. I've not read another in the series.

The same thing with The DaVinci Code and every book on Oprah's list, lol.

This is the reason I've never read the Stephenie Meyer's books. I will normally grab any vamp book, but I just can't find the enthusiasm for these(That and from what I've heard of the bossy Edward character and the wimpy Bella, it would probably end up really annoying me anyway).

So what book have you read lately that was a huge disappointment?

Bookstores

What makes a good bookstore? We have the big box stores around here, Barnes and Noble and Borders. I definitely prefer B and N over Borders. I really have a hard time finding things in Borders, and for some reason I find it awkward to browse there. And Seattle's Best Coffee is so bad that I don't even want to sit down in their cafe and browse. Very bitter. Because of this I tend to grab a book and go (Book 29, Never Been Witched / Annette Blair, this time).

At B and N we will normally browse a bit and then head to the cafe and get coffee and maybe a nibble whilst we read a chapter of the latest book to catch our eyes or page through magazines. Although I must admit, since the cafe stopped offering all of the Starbuck's menu I've not been nearly as fond of them. They don't stock the syrup flavors I like so I get grumpy, lol. (And I'm not sure what they do when they make their espresso, but the quality is never consistent, which is what makes me crazy about most coffee shops. Say what you will about Starbucks, but they are consistent. I like that I can get a mocha in Denver and a mocha in Podunk, Wherever and they will taste the same).

My favorite bookstore though, has to be The Tattered Cover. The feel of the place is unique. It feels like a cozy little bookstore but it's HUGE. I can't even put my finger on what it is exactly that I like about it, I just like it. Lol.

Anyhoo. What do you think makes a good bookstore?

I know

I posted this one before, but I've actually finished

27. Men of the Otherworld.
    I really liked it, because it answered questions I didn't even know I had, lol. It's a collection of shorter stories and very much a prequel to Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. I find myself wanting to go back and reread the series, specifically Bitten and Stolen.
    
    I'm thinking that now that I have more of the back story they will appeal to me more. See, I didn't actually like Elena and Clay all that much. I enjoyed the series much more from book 3 on, when other characters took the lead roles and Clay and Elena were there as background figures.
    
    So Bitten and Stolen go back onto my reading list.


And on I go to the next book:

28. Devil May Ride / Wendy Roberts.
    This was book 2 in the Ghost Dusters series about a crime scene cleaner who also happens to be able to see and hear the dead. It was quite a bit darker than the first book. And early on in the book I thought I had it all figured out. Which pissed me off actually, and I nearly put the book down because of it. Turns out I was way off base and I'm sure Roberts meant for that to happen.
    
    But in my not so humble opinion, she hooked us on that line way too quickly, 'cause I would bet I'm not the only reader who put the book down in disgust over the seemingly easy solution. The question is, how many people picked it back up and finished anyway?
    
    Anyhoo. Once I got over my fit of pique and just decided to let the author tell the story her way I was drawn back into the storyline, especially the second part of the plot.
    
    I did enjoy the story, though it never fails to make me shake my head a bit when seemingly unrelated things so very conveniently become intertwined.
    
    I know, I sound rather oblique, but I really am trying not to give anything away! My biggest complaint is that book 3 won't be out until December, lol.

Reading...

Moving right along...

24. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand / Carrie Vaughn
    Yes, I finally finished this one. Not my fave Kitty book. Maybe I subconsciously deliberately left it in the daughter's loo?


25. Electric Blue / Nancy Bush
    Book 2 in this series. Better than book 1, need to get my hands on book 3 soon.


26. Irish Magic II / Multiple Authors
    Mostly short, simple and enjoyable stories.

Tomorrow I want to finish Men of the Underworld. I'm liking this book a lot because it fills in a lot of the holes in the back story about Jeremy and Clay, but I've had to read it in bits and pieces. It explains A LOT about Clay, lol.