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.