Contests
- Cecile’s giving away a signed copy of Elizabeth Amber’s latest, Dane. The contest closes sometime today (June 25), so hurry!
- Julia Barrett’s giving away a tote bag covered with book covers featuring model Jimmy Thomas. Leave a comment by June 27 for your chance to win.
- To celebrate Vampire Wire’s third birthday, Marta’s giving away a signed set of the first three Casa Dracula novels or a signed galley of the fourth book, Haunted Honeymoon. Contest is US-only and runs through June 30.
- Ralph’s giving away an ebook copy of A. B. Gayle’s forthcoming m/m romance, Mardi Gras. For your chance to win, make sure you answer the two questions in your comment. Contest closes midnight EDT, June 30.
- Patti’s giving away an ARC of Emilie Richards’s forthcoming romance, Fortunate Harbor (Happiness Key, Book 2). Contest is US-only and runs through July 5.
- The Paperback Dolls are giving away a signed copy of Carolyn Crane’s urban fantasy, Mind Games! Make sure you read through all the different ways to enter the contest, which closes July 10.
- All Things Urban Fantasy listed 170 contests this week.
Bookity
- New releases: Lily (m/m romance) and Literary Escapism (UF, PNR, plus interviews and more). Plus you can now subscribe to a UF/PNR new release update feed from Donna Fantasy Dreamer.
- Several really good posts at American Editor this week. The first wondered whether we find physical bookstores less interesting after becoming immersed in ebooks. The second asked why readers should bother investing in crappily done ebooks when the author or publisher doesn’t believe in the book enough to put out a good product.
- Some good linkity posts from Dear Author this week, particularly this bit about how publishers are keeping books in print by making them print-on-demand (and thus very expensive) so that rights don’t revert back to authors.
- Jessica’s back with the Monday Morning Stepback at ReadReactReview.
- The EU has a great initiative underway to make sure “digital devices don’t lock consumers into proprietary tech”.
- Have you been following Ava March’s new m/m romance feature, the Story Behind the Story? Highly recommended.
- If you aren’t using Calibre yet to manage your ebooks, this article will help you get started. Kindle users, you’ll need to be careful about transferring too many books at once or moving lots of books into collections.
- Stuck on what to read next? YourNextRead might help you decide.
- If you’d like to improve your reading speed, you might want to give the free Speed Reader Enhanced application a try.
- Doesn’t the Bookshelf Apartment sound cool?! Check it out if you’re in or near London.
Learn, Make, Do, Think
- Is the reason that no one seems able to figure out whether the internet’s making us dumber or smarter or whatever simply because “we’re still too close to the Internet revolution to see the full extent of the effects it will have on society”?
- Lifehacker explains why it’s important to keep your computer from overheating and what you can do to prevent overheating.
- Lifehacker also has a great post on setting up an automatic backup plan.
- This is a really cool way to deal with those stupid three-prong plugs that stick out so far from the wall.
- I definitely agree that printed phonebooks are close to obsolete and hope that they are phased out very, very soon.
- Dog owners, are you familiar with the foods (beyond chocolate) that are poisonous to dogs?
- Anyone who’s seen my handwriting will hope that I don’t take advantage of this free web service that turns your handwriting into a font.
- Lifehacker’s got all sorts of summer meal ideas.
- You might be reducing your chances of head and neck cancer by drinking coffee. Although you should beware this dangerous aphrodisiac coffee…
- Talk about a novel way to prevent rape…
Huh
- I actually didn’t make it past the picture of the clear-sided toaster.
- The National Pork Board wants to stop the sale of canned “unicorn” meat…
- You’ll now be able to buy single-serving glasses of wine, if those single-serving bottles of wine weren’t classy enough.
LOL
- What do you remember most about LEGOs? (Thanks, Jeanne!)
- The battle between good and evil looks exhausting.
- Oh dear – Basement Cat gets specific about what’s going to happen to your soul and it ain’t pretty.
- As Jeanne noted, Chaos would so steal food off the grill, if ever given the chance.
Teh Cute
- Some kittens, plus a puppy in pearls and bunny ears.
Reading Update
Sleepwalker by Jordan Castillo Price. ebook. Very good m/m romantic suspense about a night watchmen at a decrepit natural history museum who has a weakness for the skatepunk taxidermist brought in for some last minute exhibit cleanup. (Jordan reports that the followup book will be called Insomniac.)
Reasonable Doubt (The Boys in Blue, Book 2) by Mia Watts. ebook. I would’ve thought this m/m romance was very good, even if I hadn’t been mentioned in the dedication. 🙂 I loved the first book (Bad Boys, Bad Boys) and I was thrilled to read more about Geo and Mack!
Life After Joe by Harper Fox. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a medical intern who’s been living in a haze of booze and one-night stands in the six months since his boyfriend of years left him for a woman. I got sniffly while reading this one.
Marrick’s Promise (Thrown to the Lions, Book 2) by Kim Dare. ebook. Very good kinky paranormal m/m/m romance about a young man who’s determined to live life to the fullest and try everything once (but not necessarily twice). Will he change his mind after getting thrown to the (were)lions?
Miles and the Magic Flute by Heidi Cullinan. ebook. Excellent dark fantasy m/m romance about a man who’s lost his job and his dream life and been forced to return to his small home town in Minnesota. When he finds a mysterious silver flute in the pawn shop where he now works, he becomes caught in a series of fantastical events he could not have predicted… or have believed.
Word on a Wing by Jamie Craig. ebook. Very good kinky m/m romance about a directionless young man who gets pulled over by the infamously tough sheriff and offered a dangerous deal that will keep him out of jail…
Number Theory by Noah Bogdonoff. ebook short. Ok very short, somewhat literary feeling m/m about a boy who sees the world in binary/black and white.
From the Dreamspinner Midsummer’s Nightmare Daily Dose…
I Fell in Love with a Zombie by Sean Kennedy. ebook. Very good post-apocalyptic m/m with which I had two problems: the ending is abrupt (is there going to be a sequel?!) and I kept hearing this song in my head the entire time I was reading.
Raiders by Evan Gilbert. ebook short. Enjoyably wicked m/m paranormal short about two homophobic hustlers. I’m not saying anything more about this one, because the surprising twist was a big part of the fun!
Enter the Succubus by Kate Roman. ebook short. So so m/m paranormal romance short about a gay college student who’s accosted by a creepy woman who won’t take no for an answer.
66 Hours in the Devil’s House by Jamie Freeman. ebook. Pretty good paranormal menage about a celebrity trio and their best gal pal who stay in an allegedly haunted bed-and-breakfast for a weekend to determine whether the hauntings are real.
“You put your right paw in, you put your right paw out, you put your right paw in and you shake it all about…” -Chaos
Haha, that wtf page, yeah will not read that manga anytime soon
I want the toaster. But I have a feeling that if had it I’d just watch the toast…umm…toast rather that actually eating it!
Oh, so many pretty books I want to read this week. Word on a Wing, Life After Joe and Miles and the Magic Flute. And you’re in teh dedication of Reasonable Doubt? WOW!
Chaos – you’ve got to watch those feet 🙂 Tricky things *grin*
A recent post from orannia..Obligation
I have the Heidi Cullinan book on my tbr pile and am looking forward to it even more now.
I think Sean said there was a possibility of a sequel for his zombie book. The ending was supposed to be in keeping with the genre where the heroes head off into a uncertain, yet hopeful future – a bit like the end of Terminator, I suppose.
Is the Jamie Freeman book a m/m/f? In which case I’ll give it a miss. I’m intrigued by the Evan Gilbert book. I must add JCPs book onto my TBR pile but I’m a bit snowed under with reviewing at the moment – how did that happen? I gave up my blog and I’m STILL spending hours writing reviews (just don’t tell hub *g*).
I just love the names they give the kittens over at Love and Hisses!
A recent post from Brigitte..Really, This No Knitting Content Is Getting Old
This is some kind of delicious link orgy. I am going to go make coffee then come back and descend into the decadence as I caffinate.
Thanks for the link love!
That rape condom is just :O
I need one of those three-prong thingys. Nice LOLs, thanks!
Have a great weekend!
A recent post from Patti..Review: Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl
I guess then there is an extra verse for the kittehs: put yr long tale in, taek yr long tale owt…
A recent post from trek..WWW – Running edition
Love the lego graph, even if it isn’t exactly accurate for me!
A recent post from Jennifer..Planning and preparation
I had no idea you could do the hokey pokey, Chaos!! You have one over on Mayhem!
A recent post from margene..The Shawls! The Shawls!
I love your linkity posts. The articles you posted Bookity section sound very interesting – my father and I just had a quite in-depth conversation about publishing houses and the e-book revolution; I’ll definitely be forwarding some of those articles to him.
That Lego comic made me totally LOL – that’s EXACTLY what I remember about Legos – digging for an eternity to find that teensy tiny little piece, and stepping on it afterward. OUCH!
Coming back to check out all the interesting links – thanks for the good word. Right now my cat Yoshi is chirping at me to feed him. My cat chirps, my bird speaks English. This morning, at 6:45, the bird said – “Wake me up.” This is a new sentence for her. She usually says “Wake up” every morning.
A recent post from Julia Rachel Barrett..Mia Watts pours her heart out.
Hey honey! Oh wowowow, I love all the links! And I hardly have work today… so I will be linkity linking link it today! =)
And look at my black kittie…. So cute!!
Did you let May go play at my place the other day… May… I had the black kittie at my place…
TGIF!!!!!!!!!
A recent post from Cecile..Review: Kane by Eliza Gayle A Black Night Owl Review
Chaos you Hokey pokey queen!
and I downloaded the kindle app for my iphone, but haven’t bought any books yet.. still trying to figure out how to use it!
A recent post from Teyani..What’s been goin’ on here?
It is always nice to see that others know that the Hokey Pokey is what it’s all about.
Yeah, doing that right outside of a grocery store was one of the most embarassing experiences of my life.
A recent post from Seanna Lea..chronic overscheduling
Yep. I have a Yellow and a White Pages sitting on my doorstep at this very minute. Going directly into the recycle bin.
Chaos, you are not shaking anything at all!
Jenre: The Jamie Freeman book is m/m/m. 🙂
Guinifer: I hear ya. They leave 20 copies of each on the front steps of our building and no one wants the accursed things.
I’m sure that rape condom thingy would be totally illegal in the U.S.
Looks like another great reading week for you.
Spent a considerable amount of time clicking and reading this morning. Interesting finds as usual. And thanks for the mention.
A recent post from Lily..Weekly Update #25 and The Friday 56
Great links. I especially appreciated the article about pubs not listening to readers or not understanding what it is readers want – entertaining books at a reasonable price – this ain’t brain surgery. The big pubs put so much money into so few authors they really struggle to provide that service.
Oh – poisonous food for pets – and there are quite a few. Some dogs do tolerate chocolate. My dog was one who could eat quite a bit of milk chocolate and he loved it. My vet told me he’d have to eat something like 72 ounces of bitter baking chocolate to get poisoned – considering his size.
A recent post from Julia Rachel Barrett..Mia Watts pours her heart out.
I am having a very hard time taking those Misdummer’s Nightmare covers anything close to seriously… :p
I think I have a copy of the phone book in my car. “Just in case.” Of course, this is ignoring the fact that if I need the phone book it means my iPhone isn’t working, which means I can’t call any number I locate in the phone book, anyway.
Wouldn’t it be great if this hit North America…But I highly doubt it.
“The EU has a great initiative underway to make sure “digital devices don’t lock consumers into proprietary techâ€.”
I wonder how effective they’ll be.
A recent post from Anna Shah Hoque..Some of my fave men…
Chaos, what’s on your nose? Something tasty?
Love Canned Unicorn Meat…why would anyone want to stpo the sale.
A recent post from Rebekah..Ode to Four Kitties
When can I move into that bookshelf apartment??? Now? Please?
The JCP sounds great!
More about Geo and Mack? I’m there.
The Harper Fox and Heidi Cullinan and the Sean Kennedy and the Jamie Craig all sound wonderful too. Dear heavens the TBB is growing!
A recent post from Tracy..How Do I Love Thee?
I spent way too much time on the itty bitty kitty committee site *g*
You had a great reading week. I added some to my tbb and others I read too. LOL re that R.E.M. Zombie song – I’m glad I didn’t hear it in my head while I read Sean Kennedy’s story. 😉
A recent post from Janna ErotRomReader..Happy Gay Friday & This and That
I didn’t know Chaos was into doing the Hokey Pokey. Does May join in? 😉
Thanks for the link love and sharing! You’re the best.
A recent post from Donna-FantasyDreamer..New Book Release Calendar
So will my unicorn meat now be left to spoil on the hoof?
A recent post from Mary Lou..Girls in their Summer Dresses
Oh wow I can’t decide to buy Jamie Craig’s new m/m book or try and find a coming of age m/m like S. Blaise short story in Curious and JP Barnaby Little Lost Boy.
Chris, make the decision for me!
LOL Chaos – good game and tune. 🙂
Wonderful links as always Chris.
Hey I downloaded a Jordan Castillo Price Psy-Cop book at your recommendation. I got a little freebee by her too.
I like that “hug a plug” thingy – cool.
I hope you have a great weekend!
A recent post from Lea..Blogging Dry Spell… but there are pictures of books.. o_O
The condom with teeth…. :-O
Next time I get my oil changed, I’ll be tempted to reply ‘Hello Kitty oil’ when the guy asks if I have a preference for which type of oil I want in my car.
…and thanks for the linky love 🙂
A recent post from Ava March..Story Behind the Story – Convincing Arthur
The offices around here usually get a stack of phone books but only one or two ever get used. The rest sit on a shelf somewhere.
I like that Hug-a-Plug thingy!
I guess I’ll never get my unicorn meat order now. 😉
A recent post from Sydney..The Food Edition
I screamed in agony last night while stepping on a lego. Damn it hurts!! Why do we have 50,000,000,000,000 of them all over my house? Why???
I’m reading Sean Kennedy’s new one this week!
A recent post from Mandi..This Week at Smexy and Winners
Wow, impressive list. I thought of you the other day, as I consider it your fault that I have two Sophie Katz audio books on my mp3 player now
Deep fried butter? WTF?
I think Sean’s is the only one of those I’ve read. I must get that Mia Watts set of books. Sigh. I keep saying that then … poof … my brain eats the idea and I forget.
A recent post from Tam..The Puntabulous World Tour Continues
Hehe – do the hokey cokey Chaos!