Contests

• Leave a comment by March 19 with your favorite first line from a book at LesleyW’s Book Nook and you could win a copy of Sparkle Hayter’s Naked Brunch.

• Largehearted Boy’s giving away another $100 Threadless gift certificate (plus assorted books and cds) this week – answer his question in the comments before midnight CDT, March 19, for your chance to win.

• Nalini Singh’s giving away the British versions of Angel’s Blood and Slave To Sensation (Psy-Changeling, Book 1) – answer her question in the comments by 4 pm New Zealand time, March 21, for your chance to win one of her books.

• Anna’s giving away a copy of Alexandra Hawkins’ historical romance, All Night with a Rogue. A winner will be selected from the comments on March 21.

• Romance Reviews today is giving away a $10 gift card to Amazon, B&N, or Fictionwise – leave a comment with the first line of the book you’re currently reading, along with the title and author. Contest closes 6 pm EDT, March 21.

• Jane of Quiddity is celebrating her sixth blogiversary with a contest – guess how many pairs of socks she’s made since she started knitting and you could win yarn, a project bag made by Jane, and a calendar of her gorgeous flower photos. Contest closes at midnight EDT, March 21.

• Book Binge is giving away a nook ebook reader to a lucky US resident. Make sure you read the rules! Contest closes 11:59 pm, March 21.

• SciFiGuy’s giving away two ARCs of Devon Monk’s forthcoming urban fantasy, Magic on the Storm. For your chance to win, leave a comment by midnight EDT, March 22. He’s also giving away two prize packs featuring Christopher Moore’s Bite Me: A Love Story – leave a comment by midnight EDT, March 23.

• Book Junkie’s giving away three copies of Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom – leave a comment by March 23 for your chance to win.

• Donna’s giving away both books in Diana Rowland’s Kara Gillian series (Mark of the Demon and Blood of the Demon) – leave a comment by midnight CDT, March 26 telling her which book you’d like to win.

• All Things Urban Fantasy’s weekly contest post had 145 contests when I checked yesterday!

• Author Carolyn Crane (aka my pal CJ) is celebrating the forthcoming release of her urban fantasy, Mind Games, with the Trapped in a Restaurant Meme Game. Head over to her blog for details on how to enter for your chance to win ($100 restaurant gift certificate for first place and $50 for second place!).

Books & Reading & Beyond

• For info on new releases, contests, and more, make sure you check out Fantasy Dreamer’s Ramblings (fantasy, urban fantasy, & YA), SciFiGuy’s Urban Fantasy Weekend Report, and Lily’s weekly list of m/m releases.

• Librophile helps you find free audiobooks (and ebooks, supposedly, but I didn’t see any there).

• Smart Bitches took an informal survey to find out where people buy their books and the results are now available.

• Like Dear Author, I do worry about Apple’s propensity toward censorship…

• Joanna of TeleRead does an ebook reader spring cleaning and reports back.

• Are ebooks more environmentally friendly than paper books?

• Interesting post at TeleRead about the future of publishing.

• This Gizmodo article about the dwindling future of record labels (and not just because of piracy) seems to have lessons in it for the publishing industry.

• Wired reviews ten different ereaders.

• I’m quite intrigued by the Spring Designs Alex eReader, but I’ll be waiting a while so I can read some reports from users after it ships mid-April.

• Eeep! Paranormal mashup victims now include The Wizard of Oz, Mansfield Park, and Huckleberry Finn…

Learn Stuff

• Check out Gizmodo’s list of ten ways to improve your memory.

• Hmm. When was the last time you cleaned your earbuds? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Me, too.

• Lifehacker’s tip to use foam packing peanuts to hold a nail so you don’t smash your fingers is brilliant in its simplicity.

• CJ found some more info on the stinky water in Minneapolis.

Geekery

• Who wouldn’t have done better in chemistry if we’d studied the Periodic Table of Sci-Fi Film and Television instead of those pesky elements?

• The things that cities are doing to compete for Google Fiber are just weird.

• Gizmodo explains why data dies (yup, DRM is one reason) and how it can (sometimes) be saved.

Huh

• When you’re desperate for that caffeine fix, you might want to try the Coffee Inhaler.

• Arachnophobes might want to avoid this gadget stand (and completely skip the spider story in the post about the stand).

• Simulate driving a runaway Toyota?!??

Moment of Silence

• Yesterday, Janna had to say goodbye to her black kitty, Binny. *sniff*

LOL

• Do you read Hyperbole and a Half? Why not?? This is one of my favorites, because I, too, am a Finder.

• Wren posted a great list of random thoughts. Here’s one of my favorites from the list: “MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.”

• Love xkcd’s take on romance novels… (as always, hover your mouse over the cartoon for additional amusing text)

• Awful Library Books found a truly puzzling dog training book – what’s with all the turtles?

• Excellent yarn barf cartoon.

• What your kittehs are doing while you sleep…

• Basement Kittens and peer pressure – I believe it.

• Cat owners who can relate to this, raise your hands.

• You know they’re planning this.

Teh Cute

• Awww – isn’t she about the cutest tabby kitten girl you’ve ever seen?

• Chaos does the same thing, only he manages to splatter a much larger area.

• Yay!! Myron tested Feline Leukemia negative!

Reading Update
A to Z by Marie Sexton. ebook. Very good m/m romance about a video store owner who hires one of his customers. They become best friends and… 🙂 I would definitely recommend that you read Sexton’s Promises first, as there’s a bit of character congruence. Definitely shouldn’t be a hardship, since both are good reads (although I think Promises is the stronger book). And after you’ve read both, there’s a free short story about the guys from Promises – it takes place shortly after A to Z.
Only in His Dreams by Shawn Lane. ebook. Sweet m/m romance about a law firm billing manager who has a crush on one of the seemingly unattainable partners at the firm.
And Call Me in the Morning by Willa Okati. ebook. In this very good m/m romance, two straight doctors, whose friends always tease them about being a couple, kiss each other just to prove there isn’t anything like that between them. Whoops. (And, as many others have mentioned, neither of the characters is described as looking as old as the guys on the cover look.)
Saying I Do (Quinn Security, Book 3) by Cameron Dane. ebook. Pretty good m/m romance about the two guys from Finding Home (Quinn Security, Book 1) during their hotel stay in Vermont the week before their wedding.
Finding Home (Quinn Security, Book 1) by Cameron Dane. ebook. And then I had to reread this one. Still smokin’ hot.
Netting Neptune (Southern Cross Resort, Book 1) by KC Kendricks. ebook. Ok m/m romance about a resort owner who helps out a stranded and skittish traveler on the beach.
Damn Gorgeous by Jaye Valentine. ebook. Decent paranormal m/m romance about a tabloid reporter doing a story on Lizzie Borden’s house who gets involved with the mysterious owner of the inn where he’s staying.
The Wedding Planner by G.A. Hauser. ebook. An m/m romance about a stockbroker and his wedding planner that started strong, but about 2/3 of the way through deteriorated down to preteen girl gushing. *sigh*
Calling Dr. Love by G.A. Hauser. ebook. Disclaimer: This was a free m/m romance from ARe over the holidays, or I wouldn’t actually own it. So why did I read it? Um, I figured, since I already had low expectations based on how the previous book panned out… It didn’t help. Gah. And then… I kept reading out of sick fascination. I’m so ashamed. Especially after reading “Phil cuddled Phil…” and continuing.
Lifting Spirits by Alexandria Rayne. ebook. Um, should I confess that I bought this m/m romance simply to see if the continuity error in the excerpt was actually in the book? Yup, it sure was. Might’ve had potential, but with editing issues and way too much weird self-referential stuff from the author, it was a confused mess.
Nowhere Man by Jamie Craig. ebook. Good m/m romance about a grad student who tracks down a reclusive writer and works to break through the writer’s shell. (Yup,  you’re right – that is Neck Crick Guy on the cover!)
Calendar Boys March: Kiss Me by Jamie Craig. ebook. Ok sort of holiday (St. Patrick’s Day) m/m romance about a photographer who starts to date a p0rn star.
Carey’d Away by J.M. Snyder. ebook. So-so m/m romance about two guys working at a comic book convention who hook up. I could definitely have lived without the slanguage.
A Feral Christmas (Lost Shifters, Book 2) by Stephani Hecht. ebook. Good paranormal m/m romance being the continuing story of a family of jaguar shifters searching for their lost siblings.
Sex, Lies and Wedding Bells by E.M. Lynley. ebook. Reread. Very enjoyable m/m romance in which a snarky Manhattan columnist researching a runaway bride story finds himself falling for groom #4.

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“I love you, pink fluff, even if you aren’t sparkly!” -Mayhem