I overextended my brain

You know how parents always tell their kids "Your eyes were bigger than your stomach?" I find myself doing this with books a lot lately. I can read one on audiobook and one in print with ease. I can even stretch that a bit and read two print while doing an audio IF the print books grab my attention sufficiently. But when so many titles and ARCs come out at the same time? I truly over estimate the amount of time it will take to read them all. That's the situation I'm in right now. MUST READ ALL THE BOOKS NOW!

That's why there's no review this week. I over committed my brain and it's shutting down in retaliation. Anyone know how to do a hard mental reboot?

Book List: RWA's 2014 RITA Award

Since January I've made an effort to try and vary my reading material up a little. Getting out of my genre ruts means exploring and sharing titles and authors and subjects that I wouldn't normally choose. However my first love will always be romantic fiction. When I was a tween I discovered old Harlequin novels. You know the ones: around 200 pages, sexy without being explicit, and invariably involving handsome, hunky millionaires, innocent and intelligent women, and easily solved misunderstandings that led to true love and happiness. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized there were romances with more complex plots, often with subgenres involving history, sci-fi, vampires and werewolves, and even steampunk.

Yet, as much as I love romances, sometimes I'm at a loss for what to read. There's just SO MUCH out there. A quick Google search shows that in 2008 over 7,300 romance novels were published (1) and the various subgenres boast a readership of 29 million fans. (2) It's understandable then, that I sometimes get overwhelmed by the selection and don't know what to read next.

That's why last week's announcement by the Romance Writers of America (RWA) made me so happy.

RWA announced the finalists of the 2014 RITA Award on March 26th. This is the most prestigious award for romantic fiction. (3) The traditionally published and self-published titles that final in the contest have been evaluated based on the romance, the plot/story, the writing, and the characters, with a total possible score of 50 points. (4) Only titles that score 45 points or higher advance to the final round of the contest.

When the finalists of the 2014 RWA RITA Award were announced I was excited to see some of my favorite authors on the list, but I was even happier to see names and titles I've never read before. My Goodreads to-read list is about to expand...

Sources:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel
2) http://publishing.about.com/od/BookAuthorBasics/a/Romance-Novels-About-The-Romance-Fiction-Genre.htm
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel
4) http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=814

A new direction

I've been having a lot of trouble keeping up with this blog. When I stop and try to think of why, it's very easy to come up with the answer - writer's block. I can never seem to come up with ideas for posts. My life seems very...uninteresting.

In contrast, the area of this blog that is updated weekly - sometimes more - is the section detailing what I'm reading. That content is always fresh. And it's something that I can always talk about if you give me half a chance. I'm not so great at remembering to write up reviews of all the books I read, though.

If A is the need to write and B is something I love to talk about and constantly have new material to discuss, then obviously they equal C - this blog needs to turn into a book blog. I know, there are a million book blogs out there and is there really a need for yet another? Probably not. But since when has that mattered?

Stay tuned for more content...more often...on a variety of titles and subjects! I'm getting all goose pimply just thinking about it!

We're a two-Sookie family

Dead Ever After, the final Sookie Stackhouse novel, was released on May 7th. To my surprise, I had two copies show up on our library hold shelf on May 8th! TWO! I have no idea how this happened, and I considered canceling my hold on one of the copies. However, my husband is also a Sookie fan. I knew that if I didn't take the second copy home I would have to hide the single copy until I could finish my current novel. Or start reading Sookie immediately, thereby officially staking my claim on the novel (something we disgustingly refer to as "licking the book." Don't judge. At least we don't call it "peeing on the book."). Weighing the pros and cons, and slightly ashamed at my greed, I nevertheless took both copies home with me.

Husband immediately abandoned his novel (the cad) and started in on Sookie. I finished up what I had been reading (though probably at a slightly faster rate) and started reading Dead Ever After the next evening. Husband was ahead of me, and I couldn't stand it. This, combined with the better quality of writing and a page-turning plot, made me race through the book like a NASCAR driver. I finished it two days after I started, and have already turned it in for the next reader (which totally helps my feelings of two-copy guilt). It was a fun read and a satisfying finale to the series. Sure, the ending was tied up in a nice, neat bow, but I can overlook that. I won't say more...spoilers, Sweetie!

How I became one of Kenyon's Menyons

Me & Sherrilyn Kenyon

Wow. Has it been a week since my last blog already? Time flies when you're...exhausted. Seriously. I came straight off of my SAFF trip into work on Monday morning and barely made it through to Friday. Fortunately, I had something to look forward to: the Southern Magic Romance Readers Luncheon.

Yes. I read romance novels. So do tons of women across the country, so I'm in great company. Once a year  Southern Magic, my local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, puts on a luncheon and invites local authors to come down to meet and mingle with their readers. They also have a "headliner." A major author is invited to speak and sign books. This year that author was Sherrilyn Kenyon.

To say Sherrilyn Kenyon was amazing would not do her justice. She was inspirational because she was real, true, kind, and appreciative. She overcame what, statistically, should have been impossible odds and became a multi-bestselling author with a stable, loving home life. Her motto, which I will be emblazoning across my work bulletin board as soon as I can find someone with better handwriting than me, is "over, under, around, or through." She went on to say "There is no obstacle you can throw at me that I can't overcome. I am the mighty cockroach." And while this may sound cocky (rather than cockroachy), you have to have heard the preface to that, where she grew up in rural Appalachia to a single mother. How she had eight older brothers and a younger sister with Cerebral Palsy. That she had to wear her brother's hand-me-downs and was constantly ridiculed for it. That "romance novels saved [her] life" because they showed her a world where women could pursue their dreams, have jobs, and make lives for themselves. She worked three jobs to put herself through college. She raised a family while writing her bestsellers. So when she says "over, under, around, or through" I believe her.

Kenyon is also known for her devotion to her fans (though I didn't know it - another author who did know told me). Whenever possible (which means whenever she has any control over it) she will sign books until there is no one left in line. Even if that means signing books until 1am or later. At this luncheon there were less than 200 present, so she didn't have to stay that late. It was while waiting in line myself that I saw her kindness and appreciation. She looked into the eyes of each fan who got a book signed. She shook their hands (with her making that first move toward contact, mind you). If someone gave her a gift, she rejoiced. If she saw a camera she jumped up without having to be asked by the fan if she would take a picture with them. She chatted. She appeared to be in no hurry and she never looked at the line to see how long it was or moved her gaze to the next person in line until that person had moved up to the front of her signing table. It was amazing to watch. I became a hard and fast fan that day. I became one of Kenyon's Menyons.

Random Review of an Unfinished Book...

I don't usually post on Fridays, but I wanted to share my thoughts on J.K. Rowling's newest title, The Casual Vacancy.

I was looking forward to this novel. I wanted to see how Rowling would handle the transition of writing for an older audience. I was intrigued by the idea that this book was all-Muggle - no magic or fantasy at play in any way, shape or form. I put this book on hold in anticipation - believing that I would enjoy it. I was so wrong.

Not only could I not finish the book. I couldn't get past fifty pages. The writing is good - probably better than Rowling's first couple of Potter books. It's obvious she's a more experienced author. And there's nothing inherently wrong with the plot or the pace of the book. My problems with the novel are more about what I enjoy reading and what I don't.

In the first fifty pages of this book Rowling introduces us to the townspeople of Pagford - seemingly every single one of them. Seriously. She's throwing in a new character every other paragraph or so. And not a one of them has a redeeming quality. They're full of hate and anger, abusive, petrified, self-satisfied, gossipy and, oh, lots of other blechy qualities that I really don't like in people. In fifty pages I didn't find any characters that elicited my sympathy, that I could cheer for, or that I wanted to follow through the remainder of the book. So I put the book down. Done. Not finishing it. I'll pick up her next one and try again, but this one is over for me.

Note: This is most definitely an adult book, with mature language and content. 

A Short Reading Ramble

Someone asked recently what my favorite books were. Get real - I'm a librarian. My list of favorite books is ever-changing and too long to remember off the top of my head. I directed them to my Goodreads account. That's where I post my thoughts and reviews about what I read. While it doesn't cover everything I've ever read in my life (that would be HUGE), it does sum up the past four and a half years I've been using the site...that's 419 books, by the way!

Typically I have at least two books going at the same time. I read a lot of teen fiction, some history and historical fiction, bodice rippers, fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal fiction, mysteries, thrillers, satire, steampunk, etc. I definitely have favorite genres, but I will read just about anything you put in front of me. Fiction, nonfiction, magazines, blogs, cereal boxes, you name it. I'll read it. I had to buy an eReader to take on vacation just so I could transport enough books to keep me calm (I was always afraid I'd run out of things to read).

So you could say I'm a voracious reader. Or a librarian. Same thing, really.

And because I'm a librarian, I'm driven to share what I read. Check out the new gadgets on the right where I'll be posting what I'm reading and what I've read. And/or check out my Goodreads page - if you haven't joined it's a great site for book lovers!