Author Barbara Bretton is giving away more alpaca silk – you can enter her contest until sometime March 10. (While you’re there, check out the picture of Laced with Magic, sequel to Casting Spells.)

*gasp* Betty Crocker gluten free baking mixes?!

This one’s for Margene and Carole.

I have to make some time to listen to This American Life’s explanation of the current financial crisis.

If you have a weakness for adorable black kittens… Beware. They need homes!

My kitties are more likely to knock the pictures askew… And they would totally kill me in my sleep if I did this to them.

This cat tail USB drive is kind of scary looking, isn’t it? And also? So wrong.

Who knew there were people out there who could certify a place as elf-free (or not)?

I definitely recommend Lynn Viehl’s hysterical post about a 911 hotline for writers and readers.

Dear Author has a nice point-by-point comparison of the Kindle and Sony ebook readers.

Do you ever lie about your reading habits and upscale them somewhat? You aren’t alone.

Reading Update
Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett. This somewhat stream-of-consciousness autobiography from EELS frontman Mark Oliver Everett (more commonly known as “E” or “Mr. E”) was surprisingly readable and moving. Listening to the EELS while reading the book definitely enhanced my experience – there’s something eerie and very right about reading what inspired a particular song and having that song come on. The book’s title is from one of my favorite EELS songs:

I don’t leave the house much
I don’t like being around people
Makes me nervous and weird
I don’t like going to shows, either
It’s better for me to stay home
Some might think it means I hate people
But that’s not quite right

Divine Fantasy by Melanie Jackson. The latest installment in Jackson’s Divine… series features an immortal, lycanthropic Ambrose Bierce. The first book (Divine Fire) was pretty good, but at this point I’m mostly reading these out of a certain sick fascination. (Of course, if you are fond of books written in an eighteenth-century style, you might appreciate these much more than do I.)
Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis. Nicely done contemporary romance set in the Sierra Nevadas at Wilder Adventures and Expeditions. Based on the setup, Shalvis has a few more Wilder Adventures romances planned and I’ll definitely read them. However, there was one thing that kept bothering me throughout this book – the attraction between the two characters was such that every time Cam looked at Katie, her glasses fogged up. As someone who wears glasses, I found that to be silly and unrealistic.
Superb and Sexy (Sky High Air, Book 3) by Jill Shalvis. Haven’t read Book 2 yet. Oh well. This was an ok contemporary romance that finished off the Sky High Air trilogy.
White Heat (The Men of T-FLAC, Book 11) by Cherry Adair. And now I’m all caught up with the men of T-FLAC.
Just Another Judgement Day (Nightside, Book 9) by Simon R. Green. John Taylor is back. What else is there to say? There are so many great lines in this book, such as this one: “Sharon led us down the hallway and ushered us into a nice comfortable parlour, which contained everything you’d expect to find in a cosy vicarage parlour, but rarely do outside of a Jane Austen novel.”
Tiger Eye (Dirk & Steele, Book 1) by Marjorie M. Liu. Nicely done paranormal romance about a woman with a telekinetic connection to/control of metal and a tiger shapeshifter cursed by an evil magician 2000 years ago.
Unfallen Dead (Connor Grey, Book 3) by Mark del Franco. If you enjoy Harry Dresden, I recommend giving this series a try. Connor Grey’s a druid and private investigator in Boston, 100 years after Faery converged with our world. These are involving and enjoyable reads. And I’m sure I’d say that even if Nathan Kamp wasn’t on the covers (sadly, covered with clothing).
Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong. There are three main segments to this book – the first is the story of how Jeremy came to be, the second is a lengthy look at Clay’s backstory (from being bitten almost to meeting Elena), and the last is a more current look at a slice of Jeremy’s life. A must-read if you follow Armstrong’s Otherworld series.
Pleasure Unbound and Desire Unchained (Demonica, Books 1-2) by Larissa Ione. Image ER run by demons, with a few werewolves and vampires thrown in for good measure, inspired heavily by J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. Very good paranormal romance, but be warned – it’s also extremely steamy.

Fun and easy to do:

Karen’s celebrating her new blog home with a contest – guess how many yards of finished 2-ply yarn she’ll get from the pictured bobbins and you could win some fibery goodies. Contest closes at midnight, March 5. Please note that the English translation of the post starts right after the photo.

The Largehearted Boy is giving away a set of Monty Python’s Flying Circus Megaset dvds. Leave a comment about your favorite television comedy character by March 4 to enter.

Just a heads up so there are fewer injuries this time around – I will be posting about knitting tomorrow. You have been warned. 😉

Wow – talk about an amazing transformation from garage to gorgeous crafting room!

Doodling might actually increase focus and concentration. *saves this one for work*

Lifehacker has an interesting list of ten useful tools for your blog.

Here’s an intriguing do-it-yourself cat bed/scratcher.

An ebook LOL that’s probably most amusing to those of us who read some variety of romance.

Hmm, maybe the paranormal romance genre’s a little out of control? Hee hee.

Literary Escapism has a truly amazing summary of forthcoming urban fantasy and paranormal romance releases, upcoming author interviews, and more.

Reading Update
Mine to Possess and Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changelings, Books 4-5) by Nalini Singh. Surely you’re tired of listening me to wax rhapsodic about this author and series? Don’t forget that Angel’s Blood, the first book in the Guild Hunter series, comes out tomorrow. You can also read an interview with Nalini Singh at Bitten by Books and maybe win a copy of Angel’s Blood!
In Too Deep (The Men of T-FLAC, The Wrights: Book 4) and Hot Ice (The Men of T-FLAC, Book 7) by Cherry Adair. Hmm, I think I’m all caught up through Book 10 in this series now. Books 8-10 were definitely my favorites – love those anti-terrorist wizardly Edge Brothers. (But I think Hot Ice has a major plot inconsistency that surfaces nearly at the end, alas.)
The Good, the Bad, and the Sexy by Emily Carmichael. Enjoyable non-paranormal romance about a movie star hiding out at a ranch in Arizona with his incorrigible tween daughter.

Oh no! Be very, very careful passing near the grape ivy as you attempt to water it…

“I am a fierce panther girl, lying in wait for my prey, the wicked and wily furry pink mouse! Quake in fear, FPM!” -Mayhem

Gladys and Dotty are celebrating their blogiversary with a contest. Leave them a comment (by midnight PST, March 1) and tell them about the extremes you’ve gone to for yarn or a project.

Aw, trek posted a purple house picture for me! (More purple houses from 2007.)

Kitty nirvana? Ah, if only it had a sunbeam, too.

Brilliant! O noes! And oh, the cute, it burns…

Remember the Control-A-Cat Remote? Gizmodo weighs in.

Here’s a clever litterbox hack from ikea hacker – if I hadn’t finally managed to find an extra large litterbox for Chaos some years ago, I’d definitely try this out.

Nicola provides some interesting links if you’re wondering what exactly an alpha hero is.

Reading Update
Destiny Kills (Myth and Magic, Book 1) by Keri Arthur. What if there were sea dragons and sky dragons and each had human forms? This totally sucked me in and I’m looking forward to the second book.
The Magic Knot by Helen Scott Taylor. Fairies and piskies and a druid! I picked this up from the library because I’d read a raving review of it. The story was good, but the writing was simplistic. Meh.
The Wild Road (Dirk & Steele, Book 8 ) by Marjorie M. Liu. Excellent non-vampire paranormal romance. I’ve just reserved the first several books of the series so I can read them in order.
The Vampire’s Seduction (The Savannah Vampires, Book 1) by Raven Hart. Told alternately by two vampires, Jack and William, this book drew me in slowly and suddenly I couldn’t put it down!
Kiss and Tell, Hide and Seek, and On Thin Ice (The Men of T-FLAC: The Wrights, Books 2-3, 6) by Cherry Adair. Not paranormal at all, but I’m a sucker for interconnected storylines like this. However, I’m not exerting any effort to read the series in order.
Succubus Takes Manhattan by Nina Harper. The second in this series, it also suffers from the same “ohmigod-I’ve-run-over-my-page-count-and-have-to-end-here-even-though-it-doesn’t-make-a-lot-of-sense” feeling of the first book. It’s a shame, because these are clever and decently written… although plotting the story against a calendar might lead to fewer disconcerting time discontinuities.
Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). A solid Eve Dallas/Roarke mystery. Mmmm, Roarke.

“Blog readers, blog readers, hiding somewhere beyond the vet, who’s the cutest kitty of all?” -Mayhem

If you don’t live in the north country, brace yourselves before you go over to Knitnzu for Lisa’s contest. Big chunks of ice slid off a roof onto her car (no one was hurt! whew) and did a shocking amount of damage. Guess what the estimate will be and you could win a $25 Spunky Eclectic gift certificate or some superwash wool. Leave your guesses and commiseration by 5 pm EST, February 20.

If you’re a cat owner living in the US, you can win a one-year supply of organic soybean-based kitty litter over at moderncat. Drawing will be held February 23.

Tell the Largehearted Boy what book you’re carrying around in your pocket these days (or wish you could get to fit into your pocket to carry around), and you could win some books from Harper Perennial’s new Olive Reader series (specifically designed to fit into pockets). The completely non-paranormal contest closes sometime in the evening of February 18.

If you sign up to follow scrapbook mystery author Joanna Campbell Slan’s Twitter feed, you’ll be entered in a contest to win a big box of mysteries from her shelves.

Brainylady Alison has a nifty tutorial on making a hollow book to hide your special secret stuff.

Definitely not Mayhem – there would be more ends. Anyone who has a cat knows how true this one is!

Not sure if your pet needs to go to the vet or not? This resource might help you decide.

If you use Facebook, you should read a bit more about their new terms of service.

25 Things Meme: The Evil Edition.

Reading Update
Star Quality by Lori Foster, Lucy Monroe, and Dianne Castell. The title of this fluffy/steamy paranormal romance collection set in “Delicious, Ohio” is more than a bit puzzling, since the stories are all about the magic of a blue moon… Not worth exerting any effort to read, although I did giggle over this exchange: “Does everybody around here drive like a lunatic?” “It’s in all Midwest genes.”
Out of Sight (The Men of T-FLAC: The Wrights, Book 5) by Cherry Adair. I swear, the book was about 100 pages too long for the amount of material. I definitely like the T-FLAC books with a paranormal element better than those without (guess which this is).
Edge of Fear (The Men of T-FLAC: The Edge Brothers, Book 9) by Cherry Adair. More anti-terrorist wizards! Woot. And the right number of pages for the amount of story. Bonus.
Visions of Heat (Psy-Changelings, Book 2) by Nalini Singh. This series is definitely growing on me. Telepaths and hunky wereleopards and werejaguars. Yum.
Dark Warrior Unleashed (The Talions, Book 1) by Alexis Morgan. Ancient Vikings who need to absorb human energy to survive – while that sounds rather vampirish, it doesn’t read like it. An intriguing start to this new series set in Seattle.
Demon’s Hunger by Eve Silver. Demons and succubi and sorcerers, oh my! The sequel to Demon’s Kiss is an intense and involving read that kept me guessing until the end. Definitely a recommended series.
Wild & Hexy (The Hex Series, Book 2) by Vicki Lewis Thompson. Fun’n’fluffy’n’sexy paranormal romance about magical matchmakers (and a lake monster and a dragon and a very clever dancing black cat) in Big Knob, Indiana. (The next book in the series will be Casual Hex…)

“I think there’s evil magic afoot around here! Someone stole my legs and I am not pleased at all.” -Mayhem

…Chaos taught himself how to open the nightstand drawer so he could steal earplugs. I discovered this when he dropped one at my feet so I could throw it and play fetch with him. Hmmm. The earplugs are now sealed into a plastic container, but he still rummages around in the nightstand every day. So, do I buy some sort of child-proofing device or simply remove the drawer handle? Maybe his protothumb project is further along than I realized…

For your chance to win the entire Kitty Norville (Colorado werewolf and dj) series by Carrie Vaughn, head over to Blood of the Muse before February 20, 11:59 pm PST. Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist is giving away the Kitty Norville series, too, plus some runners-up will receive a copy of Kitty Raises Hell (not out yet). Not sure what the end date is for this one.

Speaking of book contests, I’ve had a bit of luck myself recently, winning a copy of Hell’s Bells by Jackie Kessler from Urban Fantasy Land and a copy of Tempt Me With Darkness by Shayla Black from Midnight Moon Cafe. I highly recommend following a few book blogs in your favorite genres! And remember – “Reading: Not juz fur innterlectualls.”

Tetris art!

Isn’t this a clever little knitting gadget?

Brace yourself for a cute burn – wee kittens wrapped in knitting. *thud*

Lovely way to hide unsightly cables and cords by disguising them as vines – too bad plants and cables/cords are some of May’s favorite things, making it the ultimate Mayhem SnackPack.

Perfect! A remote control for your cat.

Simply change the cat’s name to Chaos or Mayhem… This could be Mayhem, too. And talk about truth in advertising!

Speaking of cats on the internet, Salon has a short article on “how the lowly cat became an online star.”

Hee hee – too bad you can’t actually rent an author.

Reading Update
Weddings Can Be Murder by Christie Craig. Nicely done contemporary romance/mystery.
Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5) by Carrie Vaughn. Dang, I think it would’ve helped if I’d remembered more of Kitty and the Silver Bullet… I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed the previous Kitty novels. (There are vampires in these books, but they are not the main focus.)
Sighs Matter by Marianne Stillings. You’d think the punnish title would’ve prepared me for the ongoing punnishment of this romance. Alas, no. As a romance went, it was lacklusterly ok, but the punnage, ah, the punnage was painful.
The Mercenary by Cherry Adair. Think this was a reissue of the first T-FLAC novel, without much paranormal to it. This was ok romantic suspense, but I felt that the ending was lacking a particular critical bit. (I’ll ruin the story for you if I mention what it is.)
Edge of Danger (The Men of T-FLAC: The Edge Brothers, Book 8 ) by Cherry Adair. Sexy anti-terrorist wizards. Eat your heart out, Jack Bauer.
Stay the Night: A Novel of the Darkyn by by Lynn Viehl. Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham as vampires (er, Darkyn) in the modern world. This is apparently the last Darkyn novel – looks like the next book will be a Kyndred book. Not sure it will make a huge difference.
The Pagan Stone: The Sign of Seven Trilogy, Book 3 by Nora Roberts. Whew! This was an intense finish to the trilogy.
Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich. If you liked The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, which was another paranormal romance group writing project from Crusie, you’ll probably enjoy Dogs and Goddesses. It was fun and well-written, featuring talking dogs, cookies from a Like Water for Chocolate mold, and a Mesopotamian god and goddess or two. But, sadly, the last third of the book sort of fell apart.
Dream Warrior (Dream-Hunter) by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The latest Dream-Hunter/Dark-Hunter novel (because really, to have any clue what’s going on, you have to keep up on both) is another rather mediocre effort, alas.
Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changelings, Book 1) by Nalini Singh. Telepaths and wereleopards, oh my! I definitely like her new Guild Hunter series better, but maybe I shouldn’t judge this series by the first book… Very steamy stuff.

“I deny everything!” -Chaos

Dust off your haiku-writing skills and write KitKatKnit a humorous haiku about knitting and/or cats before noon PST, February 6, for your chance to win some “fiber goodies.”

Ruth is desperately trying to find some yarn – she’s looking for Berroco Ultra Alpaca Lite (Ocean Mix), Berroco Ultra Alpaca (Carnelian), and Koigu KPPPM P315 (sort of lightish earthtones, heavy on the grey). Let her know if you can help – she’s already tried Ravelry.

Limedragon has some information about knitting comics – one online and one in print. And don’t forget that Natalie Dee often has knitting-related comics – does this encompass the misguided power of denial or what?!

Hmm – is it just my imagination, or does this IKEA hack of turning a doll bed into a cat bed (about $30) result in something very similar to this $300 pet lounger?

Anyone who’s tried to decipher my handwriting probably thinks that this is a very bad idea indeed.

Tea hee! Just when you thought it was safe to drink your tea…

Congrats to my neighborhood co-op, the Wedge, for making the 2009 Saveur Top 100! (It’s in the American Bounty section.)

The Uptown Mpls Blog has more gorgeous pictures of my neighborhood – these are from an evening cross-country ski race (with luminaria) on my beloved Lake of the Isles last weekend.

I’m pretty sure that this primer on Minneapolis skyway etiquette can be applied to numerous mass transit situations. (“Crazy people, y’all have got to stop talking to me.”)

The dismal science indeed – college is 248.4% more expensive than it was in 1990?! Yikes.

Harlequin’s giving away 16 free ebooks to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The paranormal title is Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf. And eHarlequin.com is giving away a trip for two to Mexico. (Do read the fine print first!)

Reading Update
Oceans of Fire, Safe Harbor, and Turbulent Sea (Drake Sisters, Books 3, 5-6) by Christine Feehan. Dear Christine Feehan: You can definitely write a compelling story, but please go back to remedial author school and review the section on s3x scenes. I think you must’ve skipped class that day. Your reliance on the words “channel” and “sheath” (to their occurrence up to six times in two pages!) is distracting and contrived. Thank you.
Edge of Darkness (The Men of T-FLAC: The Edge Brothers, Book 10) by Cherry Adair. Not great, but definitely enjoyable paranormal romance about wizards.
Whisper To the Blood (A Kate Shugak Novel) by Dana Stabenow. I received this book as an advance reading copy through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I’ve been reading this series for a while now, and even in order (so you know I really like it). This is the sixteenth Kate Shugak mystery. I strongly encourage you to read the previous 15 (in order!) before starting this book (the first book is A Cold Day for Murder, just to get you started). If you like Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski mysteries, I think you’ll like the Kate Shugak mysteries.

Kate’s an Alaskan Native, part-time PI, and full-time “Park rat” (residents of a generic national park in Alaska, based on the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park). She’s nearly always accompanied by the mostly faithful Mutt, her half wolf, half husky. In Whisper To the Blood, a gold mining company is buying land and preparing to dig a massive open pit mine in the Park, while the Aunties shanghai Kate (more than the Aunties usually do, that is). During the first half of the book, I found myself getting cranky at Kate and companion (can’t say who that is, as it could detract from your enjoyment of the previous 15 books). But the last half of the book took me by surprise, swept me along, and left me looking forward to Book 17!

I highly recommend this series, not only for the vivid characters and intense action, but also for Stabenow’s clever writing and insights.

Oh yeah, and my favorite quote from this book? “What, you bored? Suffering from a deficiency of mayhem?” Yeah, that’d do it for me. 😉

“Huh. So that’s what’s wrong with her today.” -Chaos