One of my favorite Heinlein quotes is “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get”. Which is probably a signal for me to stop writing about the weather. It is what it is.
I have an overly full nightstand this week. And as usual, it’s my own fault. I’ve always collected books. I see so many I want to read, then I forget that egalleys have either deadlines or the permission timebombs.
And then there are these other fascinating books over here…
But the ones I’m supposed to read are over in this corner. So without further ado, here is my pile of upcoming reading.
There were two books from Carina Press that I couldn’t resist. Synthetic Dreams by Kim Knox looks like SFR of the cyberpunk persuasion. Science fiction romance is always a draw for me, and this looked interesting, and I confess, short. The other is Under Her Brass Corset by Brenda Williamson. With a title like that, it had to be steampunk. Based on the cover image, this may mix steampunk and pirates. Sounds like quite a ride!
I get most of my egalleys from NetGalley, but I am also able to get a few from the other egalley service, Edelweiss. Sarah MacLean’s latest book, A Rogue by Any Other Name, is one of the first I was able to get from them. It’s her first in a new pre-Victorian series, The First Rule of Scoundrels, and it looks like fun.
C.E. Murphy is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. I love her Walker Papers series. The only problem is that I can’t remember where I left off. Raven Calls is book seven. I’m sure I’ve read the first three, but after that I’m fuzzy about where I left off. I sense a marathon Walker Papers session in my future and I’m looking forward to it.
Speaking of marathon reading sessions, one of the other books I have coming up is The Traitor in the Tunnel, the third book in The Agency series by Y.S. Lee. The Agency is a YA mystery series about a girl named Mary Quinn who works undercover for the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls in Victorian London. I’m fascinated enough by the premise to be willing to read all three books, so I have A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower as well as Traitor. They sound delicious.
On Twitter last week Tobias Bucknell was asking for reviewers who would be interested in taking a look at his upcoming science fiction novel, Arctic Rising. It’s about the effects of the melting of the Arctic Ice Cap, global terraforming on Earth, and corporations who want to take advantage of the opportunities. It’s a science fiction techno-thriller, and it’s set in Alaska. I asked if I could have a copy, and he sent me one. Cool! Or warm. Both.
Last and absolutely not least. I have been reviewing ebook romances for Library Journal for quite a while now. It’s neat to say I’m a Library Journal reviewer, and it probably helps me get egalleys at both NetGalley and Edelweiss. I applied to also review for Library Journal the magazine in December, and now I’m officially a reviewer for the print magazine too.
I received my first assignment this week. I got a print galley of Dark Magic by James Swain in my mailbox along with a very detailed set of instructions. Ironically, this is a book I had requested from NetGalley, so I also have an electronic copy. I have about the same amount of time to write my review as I do when I receive an assignment from my editor for an ebook, about 10 days. But the lead time on the print magazine is way longer. The ebook reviews are usually for books that are about to come out any day now. Dark Magic has a publication date of May 22, but my review is due to my editor on February 28.
And with all these books on my “plate” I can stop thinking that Celebrity in Death is coming out on February 21. If I’m still awake at midnight, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist the impulse to dive right into it. Some escapes are just too tempting!
Tomorrow will be Dreamspinner Press’ spin at Ebook Review Central. Don’t you just love Mondays?
