Contests
- You have until 11:59 pm PST, January 8, to enter the amazing Desert Island Keepers Giveaway Grand Finale! Make sure your comment indicates whether you’re entering for the m/m or the m/f prize pack.
- Carolyn Crane’s giving away a copy of Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer (non-fiction history) and Merit Badges (Minnesota-based fiction) by Kevin Fenton. Comment by the morning of January 11 for your chance to win!
- Six authors of erotic romances (Devon Rhodes, Bronwyn Green, Kris Norris, Gwendolyn Cease, Suzanne Graham, and Jessica Jarman) are offering the chance to win a NookColor and ebooks from their backlists! Contest closes at noon EST, January 11. Please make sure you read the rules so you aren’t disqualified!
- Amara’s giving away A Beautiful Silence by Lee Brazil (m/m romance) – answer her question in the comments by midnight PST, January 11, for your chance to win.
- Sweet Vernal Zephyr’s giving away two fantasy books by Sean Russell: World Without End and Sea Without Shore from the Moontide and Magic Rise series. Comment by January 23 for your chance to win.
Bookity
- New releases: Lily (m/m romance), SciFiGuy (fantasy, scifi), AAR (romance audiobooks), Tor.com (YA paranormal), Book Lovers Inc (various sorts of romance), Katiebabs (various sorts of romance), and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR).
- Book news and linkity from Dear Author, ReadReactReview, Smart Bitches, and Literary Escapism.
- 2011 reading challenges: orannia’s Big Book Challenge, the M/M Romance Challenge, and the New Author Challenge from Literary Escapism (plus links to several other challenges).
- If you’ve been wanting to mix fiber with your scifi reading, maybe you should check out this excerpt from the new “fashionpunk” novel Yarn by Jon Armstrong.
- From Gizmodo, an interesting post on the impact the Copyright Act of 1976 had this January 1.
- Been wondering which recent books can stop bullets? Wonder no more! (Hint: You’re toast if you have an ebook reader.)
Ebookity
- Smokin’ Hot Books discusses the new Kindle lending feature. So does TeleRead. And Lifehacker. And Gizmodo…
- At Dear Author, All Romance eBooks reports on trends they’ve noticed.
- Are libraries doomed, even though ebook checkouts were up 200% in 2010?
Think, Do, Learn, Make
- Did you know that January 24-28 is No Name Calling Week, aimed at school age children?
- Researchers have discovered that chemicals in women’s tears decrease men’s sexual arousal.
- Ever wondered why the human body temperature is 98.6F?
- Lifehacker discusses some ways to better archive your photos, plus how to keep your computer safe, clean, and backed up.
- Liquid crystal glasses could take the place of bifocals – I hope they come down in price before I need bifocals!
Best of 2010
Cool
- Yarnbombed Volvo, bus, and car with person. (Thanks, Juniper!)
- I love these tile photo coasters, but the process seems awfully fiddly.
- A battery that’s been running for 60 years… so why can’t my cell phone stay charged for more than 48 hours?!
Huh
- Ties for cats? (White button down shirt collar sold separately…) (Thanks, Karen B!)
- Beauty products with bad names – I strangely have no desire to buy “Chicken Poop” lip balm.
- We do not need robot head GPS…
LOL
- Yes! I was the first person to send mail to Ava March using a special and very specific mailing address. 🙂
- How to make your very own furry mascot costume (i.e., where to turn at 11 pm when your kid mentions you’re supposed to provide one for the big game tomorrow).
- Penguin silliness! (Thanks, Jase!)
- This would be a much more useful computer keyboard key than CAPS LOCK.
- This one, too. I really hate all the cabinet locks in the kitchen…
Teh Cute
- Related to Mayhem?! Ferret in a Slinky! Ducklings! Lioness and cub! Lion! Lion and cub! Cheetah! Baby cheetah! Snow leopards! Wee owl in a hat! Penguins! Black kitten! Otter and baby! Swan and cygnets! Baby cougars! Kitten with toy! Kitty staring at snow kitty! Kittens! Kittens!
Reading Update
I read 864 books in 2010, compared to 811 books in 2009. I had six dnf (did not finish) books, which I have not listed. I tagged 858 of the books I read as m/m, 826 as ebooks, 350 as shorts, and 24 as rereads. You can find my reviewettes of these these books in my LibraryThing (in the “Review” or “Comments” field, depending). Please note that not all of my books are in GoodReads, although I’m trying to be better about adding them!
One Real Thing by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox. ebook. Excellent m/m romance about two guys who were best friends in college. One got married and started a career and followed a path of things he felt he should do. The other slowly spiraled down and out of control. This book was, at times, not an easy read. It left me feeling gutted more than once. But it’s so very worth reading to find out for yourself if either of them can be saved…
All She Wrote (Holmes & Moriarity, Book 2) by Josh Lanyon. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense/mystery continuing the story of Kit Holmes and J.X. Moriarity, mystery writers (although not coauthors), as Kit flies across the country to play amateur sleuth for a writer friend who thinks someone is trying to kill her.
Primal Red (Bellingham Mysteries, Book 1) by Nicole Kimberling. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about an investigative reporter for a free weekly paper who hears screaming, then sees a woman die in the arms of an artist that he’d very much like to date…
Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Bellingham Mysteries, Book 2) by Nicole Kimberling. Good m/m romantic suspense continuing the story of the investigative report and the artist – this time, they’re camping in the snow and participating in a New Year’s Eve snow sculpture event when they discover a dead body.
Black Cat Ink (Bellingham Mysteries, Book 3) by Nicole Kimberling. Good m/m romantic suspense in which our artist and investigative reporter search for a stolen penis statue and acquire a black kitten.
Appearing Nightly (The First Real Thing, Book 2) by Cat Grant. Very good m/m romance about a singer/drag queen/bar co-owner who’s fascinated by the cute, skittish guy who recently started working at the bar. You really need to read The First Real Thing before you read this book!
The Stroke of Twelve by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about an aimless young man who wakes up after a night at the bar to find he has a piece of paper with an address and a time written on it and only the vague memory of a handsome older man handing it to him. Curious, he turns up at the address on time… and his life is changed in a way he never expected.
A Change of Tune by J.M. Cartwright. ebook. Good m/m romance about a successful (and deeply closeted, even from himself) rock musician who leaves his band and moves to an out-of-the-way town in West Virginia, where he meets a very pushy sheriff…
Offside Pass (Blue Line Hockey, Book 1) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good m/m romance about a newbie sports reporter trying to figure out the dark secret in the past of three brawling hockey brothers, one of whom he finds very attractive.
It’s Smoking in the Locker Room by Stephani Hecht. free ebook short. Smoking (heh) short m/m romance about a college student whose secret high school crush (and former captain of the high school hockey team) emails him and asks to meet in their old high school locker room.
Burnt Orange: Sooner or Later by Dallas Coleman. ebook short. Good short m/m romance, told in a series of key scenes, that follows two guys who become friends in grade school, despite one being a Sooner and the other being a Longhorn and neither realizing the other is gay… I got sniffly once or twice during this one.
Sagittarius: Mr. November (Boys of the Zodiac, Book 9) by Pepper Espinoza. ebook. I read it because I love the song “Mr. November” by the National, but it’s actually a good (if rather heavy on the dreary football details) m/m romance about an older quarterback who’s been traded to a new team under mysterious circumstances.
Pulling Away (Book 1) by Shawn Lane. ebook short. Reread. Good short m/m romance about a guy who’s isolated himself since his parents died two years earlier, only really talking to a friend he met online.
The First by Rachel West. ebook short. Very good short m/m romance about two guys in college who broke up because one caught the other kissing someone else while very drunk at a party.
“Hey, Stella!!!!” -Chaos
I am afraid not even the silliness can make me happy today 🙁
Mum called to say my cat passed away, I need one big kittyhug.
A recent post from blodeuedd..Review- No Place to Run – Maya Banks
I swear those dudes doing the Nook Color reviews are the same bunch that were trumpeting the Pandigital Novel this last spring.
Till the wi-fi went dead or the screen went black and Pandigital would not replace their hacked up cheapo Android Tablets.
A recent post from Teddypig..Evangeline Anderson- Forever Broken TBR
I’ve got this great set of coasters that I bought in Paris of the Eiffel Tower being built, month by month. I find them strangely fascinating!
And I’m glad you liked the Burnt Orange book! Wasn’t that one I recommended to you?
The Anah Crowe/Dianne Fox book looks good. I’ve liked quite a number of their books (both as a pair and individuals) so I shall go and add that one to the TBR pile. I haven’t been and checked out any of the recent Carina m/m books. Oh well, no time like the present :).
A recent post from Jenre..Tipping the Balance by Rob Rosen
Hey – that sandwich holder is my idea for a hands-free e-reader holder!!!
Love the kitteh stealing souls 🙂
I think I need to read Offside Pass (m/m and hockey? Yum!)
A recent post from Patti..Friday Funk- Grenade by Bruno Mars
First the cacao then the cavendish – what’s next?
A recent post from trek..Come in and play
Stanley! Chaos, who know you were such a great actor?
Smith and his friend (long ago) were very good at opening champagne in such a fashion.
You read 864 books o_0 That’s…that’s…wow! I’m speechless! BTW, I started knitting to keep my mind sane. With all the chaos right now my sister saw the golden oppertunity to get me to knit. I’ve started my first knitting project…a scarf LOL But I got fabulous soft wol and it gives me some peace and quiet in my mind…sis has succesfully converted me 🙂
Have a great weekend Chris and Chaos…those are quite the set of fang *shivers*
A recent post from Leontine..Getting creative – Blog Design for sale
LOVE the yarn bombs – especially the bus, and the yarn monster is awesome!!! I think I’m going to suggest that my sister make the Geological Layers Cake. Maybe she can get enough extra credit to pass the geology course she’s taking for the sixth time this term…
A recent post from Bronwyn Green..New Years Resolutions and Other Awesome Stuff
The stained glass Tardis is also fab, but the self-portrait ski mask is oddly creepy.
A recent post from Bronwyn Green..New Years Resolutions and Other Awesome Stuff
Chaos so needs a grubby undershirt in that photo.
A recent post from K. Z. Snow..Two Bits
Such a nice way to start my morning – I am waiting patiently for the next season of Dr. Who, which I can watch at my leisure with the new Xfinity TV that Comcast has forced upon us (if we want TV service, that it).
Chris- The GPS freaks me out- reminds me of “Max Headroom”.
A recent post from Lorraine..The Happiness Project
What an interesting library. Also, it’s huge!!
Oh no, not the bananas. How will I eat banana bread without bananas? 🙁
By the time the liquid crystal glasses are affordable I’ll probably be using tri or quad-focals.
There’s probably a conspiracy by battery makers so no ever figures out how to use that amazing 60 year and counting battery.
Surely there’s something more important to work on than toothpaste that’s weather related.
Hands-free sandwich holder… what will they think of next? What a waste!
864???? I respectfully bow down to you, Oh Queen of Reading! 😀 That’s awesome!
I’ve only read A Change of Tune, which I enjoyed, and have several others on my TBR/TBB.
Have a great weekend!
A recent post from Lily..Looking backwards and forwards and oh boy- its my birthday!
Just finished All She Wrote and loved it. Main character is hysterical.
Already in bifocals, I am waiting till I get cataracts and then they replace all the broken stuff. And my 10 year old nephew who LOVES winding yarn will enjoy that yarn monster. At least mine isn’t electric, so he can’t try to duplicate.
A recent post from Mary Lou..The Mystery of Tea Towels
The Miracle of Science is a place I pass all the time, because my walk from MIT to Central T passes right by it. I noticed the menu, but have always been in a rush to get home!
I have heard that there are additional locations, but this is the one I know about. Yeah Science!
A recent post from Seanna Lea..a knitting break
An electric Snuggie? Well at least I know what I’m buying Grandma for Christmas next year 😛
Hmmm. Maybe Larry will make a yarn monster for me. It’s right up his alley.
Okay, my beating myself up for only reaching 58 books in 2010 rather than my usual 62 (oddly, w/o trying that is where I ended up for 4 straight years) is seeming woefully underdone…
A recent post from Kristi aka FiberFool..ECF – Literally! Plus Chocolate Dipping Tips
Officially, I must be a geek. I want those lab flask mugs AND a road trip to the Miracle of Science Bar and Grill.
Sigh.
Wow, thanks for the mentions!
Also – I guess if people are using sabers to open chmpagne bottles, then my sister and her husband using a broadsword to cut their wedding cake isn’t too strange, right? … Right?
A recent post from Nicole..On Endings and New Beginnings
Still haven’t made it through all the links in one post in one day. Great linkity. Loved the bookstore cats, and passed around the bananas. Still working on the others…
A recent post from Chrissy Munder..Excerpt Thursday! Drive Me Home
OMG! My head is spinning just thinking of reading that many books in that short a time!
Whoa! I can now die happy. I’ve seen a crocheted Paul Atreides riding a crocheted sandworm! Yay! 😀
A recent post from Val Kovalin..What do you get the urge to do after meeting a deadline
Stella is out helping strangers.
We TOTALLY need a robot-head GPS. Unless you’re willing to wear the mask? rotfl.
That gorgeous shawl is gorgeous!
A recent post from Carrie K..Deliberate
Aww – the happiest penguin is so cute!! Too bad all his buddies are sticks in the mud (or sticks in the snow).
A recent post from Ava March..Meet the New Guys
lalala doot doot doot. 🙂
LOL at the polar bears and the cameras. The penguin made me smile.
I hear you on the cabinet locks. I buy the big multi-pack.
We used to have a bookstore with bookstore cats. They had their own business cards!
A recent post from Sydney..Merry Christmas!
864 books! Good grief, that’s ::counts madly on fingers:: 2.367 books a day! Every day! I shouldn’t be so suprised, given how many books you review and parody here, but still…
A recent post from kmkat..FO Friday
Thank you so much for mentioning The Big Book Challenge!
864 books? *faints* You’re my hero 🙂
OK, I love the Doctor Who meets Star Wars mini-film 🙂 That was brilliant!
And I like the sound of One Real Thing, The Stroke of Twelve and Pulling Away. You’re so not helping my TBR list!
A recent post from orannia..UnComfortable
If I opened a store there would definitely be a kitty 🙂
Love the Dune crochet. Hehe – love the yarn monster!
A recent post from mrspao..Book 2- The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
I love that stained glass Tardis!
BTW, I can’t imagine setting a reading challenge for myself. Reading’s like breathing!
Just bought Offside Pass. I’m going to love it!
A recent post from Patti..Review- How Sweet It Is by Sophie Gunn