Tag: books and reading

Stacking the Shelves (14)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

I have to keep reminding myself that this is two week’s worth of shelf-stacking, in the hopes that it will make me feel just a bit less overwhelmed, at least on the review side. What’s even more daunting is that I’m already scheduling into November. Where’s the summer gone, and why is it still hot outside?

But I can’t say enough good things about the Baen Free Library. One of the places where my husband’s and my reading addictions join is at space opera. A friend mentioned that the David Drake RCN series was good, and lo and behold, the first three ebooks are available free at Baen. (Of course, once they get you good and hooked, the other six books you have to buy. Think of it as a gateway drug. Baen definitely does)

Galen and I liked the sampling so much, we listened to the first book on our trip last week. Audible isn’t free, but we knew what we were getting into thanks to Baen. If you enjoy SF and/or fantasy, check them out. They will happily get you hooked on a lot of excellent series.

Here’s the results of my shelf-stacking for the last couple of weeks. What’s been stacking up on your shelves?

For Review:
The Devil’s Match (The Devil DeVere #4) by Victoria Vane
Senator, Mine (All Mine #1) by Kerry Adrienne
Druid, Mine (All Mine #2) by Kerry Adrienne
The Memory of Roses by Blair McDowell
The Asylum Interviews: Trixie (The Asylum Tales #0.6) by Jocelynn Drake
Few are Chosen by Storm Grant
A Demon and His Witch (Welcome to Hell #1) by Eve Langlais (review)
How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren (print ARC)
A Place Called Armageddon by C.C. Humphreys
Until There Was You (Coming Home #2) by Jessica Scott
Tudor Rose (Tudor Dynasty #1) by Jamie Salisbury
Crystal-Balls and Croissants by Ami Samuel
Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay (print)
The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
Untamed (The Amoveo Legend #3) by Sara Humphreys

Purchased:
With the Lightnings (Lt. Leary #1) by David Drake (ebook from the Baen Free Library and audiobook from Audible)
Lt. Leary, Commanding (Lt. Leary #2) by David Drake (audiobook from Audible)
Two for Sorrow (Josephine Tey Mysteries #3) by Nicola Upson (99 cent sale from Harper for any ebook version at Amazon or B&N! Lots of sale books available!)
Heart Secret (Celta’s Heartmates # 11) by Robin D. Owens
The Geek Job by Eve Langlais

All are ebooks unless specifically stated otherwise.

The Sunday Post AKA What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? 8-12-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | blog tours> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Have blog, will travel. I’m in Pittsburgh, PA, and the HP Notebook Smart Power Adapter turns out to be both smart and pretty darn adaptable.

We’re in Pittsburgh for a family re-union (part of me wants to type family “re-onion”–layers, tears–and it’s not even my family) and I only packed half the power adapter for the laptop. These things happen in the best families.

Best Buy is everywhere. Us geeks really have taken over the world. Spare power adapters don’t actually SAY they cover a two-year old laptop. But the HP turns out to be universal. Here we are.

And is there ever a ton of stuff going on at Reading Reality! After the usual Monday Madness that is Ebook Review Central, there will be three author interviews this week. What was I thinking?

Tuesday my guest will be Jane Kindred, the author of The Fallen Queen and The Midnight Court, the first two parts of her House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy. Jane’s going to talk about angels and demons, politics and history, love and kink, and the Snow Queen. Intrigued? Stop by on Tuesday.

 

While this isn’t quite Russia week, my guest on Wednesday will be Irina Lopatina, who doesn’t just write about Russian folklore, she actually lives in Siberia. Really, truly. As part of a tour from TLC Books, I had the opportunity to interview her as well as review her debut fantasy, White Raven: The Sword of Northern Ancestors.

 

Things should warm up a bit (a lot!) on Thursday, when my guest will be Eve Langlais, for an interview and a review of her latest book, A Demon and His Witch. All of Eve’s stories are on the steamy side, but Demon is the start of Eve’s new series, Welcome to Hell, so, I expect things to be nice and toasty heading into the weekend.

As if Atlanta hasn’t been hot enough this summer!

What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? AKA The Sunday Post 8-5-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Looking at the calendar, it’s pretty clear that the break is over. Three tours this week AND three next week.

Oh, and I’m going to a family reunion over the weekend. Can I schedule or what?

Lucky for me, my friend Cryselle from Cryselle’s Bookshelf will be guest reviewing on Friday! Thank you, Cryselle!

But between now and Friday, what’s going on?

Monday’s Ebook Review Central features Dreamspinner’s June titles. This was the month they released their Time is Eternity Daily Dose collection of short stories, novellettes and novellas. Let’s just say it felt like eternity compiling the review list with all the added titles. You’ll see tomorrow.

Tuesday I’ll be interview Sheri Fredrick’s about her contemporary fantasy Remedy Maker, as well as reviewing this fun new book. Her Remedy Maker, Rhycious, is a centaur with PTSD after a century-long war against the wood-nymphs. One of the cooler things about this story is that the mythological creatures live in real-world Pennsylvania, in Amish country.

Wednesday is the day that Laurie Frankel will be giving away a copy of her new book, Goodbye for Now, in conjunction with an interview and a review of that absolutely fascinating story. I’m still trying to find the right words to describe the story. It’s a love story for the 21st century, absolutely. What happens when a geek decides that he doesn’t want to let go?

Thursday’s guest is Nana Malone. She’ll be at Reading Reality to talk about Forsaken Protector, the second book in her Protectors series. (The first book, Reluctant Protector, is available free for Kindle, check it out!) These read like superhero romances to me, and they’re fun!

And if this week isn’t awesome enough, there’s next week to look forward to!

Jane Kindred will be here early next week to talk about her wicked angels and protective demons series, The House of Arkhangel’sk. The first book in the series, The Fallen Queen, was amazing and intense, and the second book, The Midnight Court, promises more of the same. Along with convoluted angelic court politics and demonic love. Reviews will be posted with the interview. Yum!

Speaking of yummy, I couldn’t resist Adrienne Giordano’s Relentless Pursuit when it popped up on NetGalley. I’ve read the entire Private Protectors series, and I’ve loved every single one of them, so a new one is a real treat. If you like romantic suspense of the security-agency persuasion, give Giordano’s series a try. Start with Man Law. (Not thrilled with the title, but the book was terrific!)

That should be enough for one week. Or even two. But it’s not. The next Robin Owens Celta book, Heart Secret will be out on August 7. Yep. Already pre-ordered.

What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? AKA The Sunday Post 7-29-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

Mid-summer blog break part deux (a word which totally flummoxed the online dictionary, however flummoxed did not!)

The above only adds to the never-ending stream of anecdotes (anecdata, which is not a word but should be) that online dictionaries are not all they are cracked up to be.

Monday is the day for Ebook Review Central. And the calendar has come back around to Carina Press’ June 2012 titles. Carina always has a lot of candidates for the featured book slots, and this time was certainly no exception. (I will give you a hint about this week’s features. I feel sorry for everyone else if Shannon Stacey ever publishes three titles in a single month!)

On Thursday, August 2, I’ll be interviewing author Jamie Salisbury about her contemporary romance Timeless Sojourn, and, of course, reviewing the book. Ms. Salisbury is coming to Reading Reality as part of Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour.

 

Now next week I have something really neat coming up. I’ll be interviewing Laurie Frankel, the author of Goodbye for Now, as well as reviewing her new book. Goodbye for Now is both high-tech and a love story. And it’s about letting go. And not letting go. Think of One Day with a touch of A.I. thrown in. I can hardly wait.

 

And I always have new books. I know I’m going to download An Officer’s Duty by Jean Johnson, the second book in her Theirs Not to Reason Why military science fiction series, the minute it’s available. I thought the first book, A Soldier’s Duty, was utterly awesome, so July 31 can’t come soon enough for me.

 

Speaking of fantastic series, the second book in James R. Tuck’s Deacon Chalk series is due out next week. That’s Blood and Silver. The mid-series novella, Spider’s Lullaby, has been out for a while. I’ve read them both, I just need to post reviews, because if you like dark, gritty and snarky urban fantasy, this series is fantastically good. Start with That Thing at the Zoo for background and immediately follow with Blood and Bullets. Rock ’em, sock ’em urban fantasy with guns and attitude instead of spells and attitude.

Something I’m looking forward to reading next week is Julie Ann Walker’s Hell on Wheels. It’s the first of a series about a defense firm posing as Harley mechanics and motorcycle buffs. So all the books are going to have that utterly delicious bodyguard crush thing going on. And they’re set in my favorite home town, Chicago. So you’ve got alpha ex-military males, hot bodyguards, cold city, bad bikes, and the first story is all about breaking the guy code rule dating your best friend’s little sister. The series is Black Knights, Inc. Books 2 and 3 are In Rides Trouble and Rev It Up. If they are as good as they sound, I think I’m going to be glad I already have them all from NetGalley.

What exciting books are you looking forward to in this long, hot summer?

Stacking the Shelves (12)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

This week’s edition of Stacking the Shelves (hosted as always by Tynga’s Reviews) is brought to you courtesy of Marlene’s iPad.

I say that because every title is an ebook this week. No print.

Now my husband has just re-discovered the joys of visiting a bookstore on his lunch hour, but this is not stacking HIS shelves, it’s stacking my shelves. Of course, he called me one lunch to ask if I was interested in one of the books he was thinking of buying. But I wasn’t there, so I firmly maintain that it doesn’t count. Not even if I was interested. Which I was.

These are the books I took in this week. What about you? What new books have found a home on your shelves (or in your ereader) this week?

For Review:
Timeless Desire by Gwyn Cready
Ghost Planet by Sharon Fisher
Aliens, Smith and Jones by Blaine D. Arden
Fissured (The Pipe Woman Chronicles #2) by Lynne Cantwell
Yesterday’s Heroes by Heather Long
Seducing Cinderella by Gina L. Maxwell
Demon Hunting in the Deep South (Demon Hunting #2) by Lexi George
Blaze of Winter (Star Harbor #2) by Elisabeth Barrett
Relentless Pursuit (Private Protectors #4) by Adrienne Giordano
The Guardian of Bastet by Jacqueline M. Battisti
The Last Victim by Karen Robards

Purchased from Amazon:
Demon Hunting in Dixie (Demon Hunting #1) by Lexi George

What is a Teen Novel? Vote for your Favorites at NPR

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | best book lists

NPR is at it again! It’s summer, so they’re in the midst of what looks like it’s becoming an annual tradition. And what a terrific annual tradition it is.

Last year they asked their readers to nominate, and finally vote on, the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books for adults “ever written”. Talk about endless debate amongst the fans. I had a lot of fun with that one. I love both genres.

I said it’s a tradition. In the summer of 2009, NPR asked for the Best Beach Books Ever. Great theme for the first time out. In 2010, they asked for “Killer Thrillers”, and made a killing on the poll, with 17,000 ballots turned in.

In last year’s poll, when they asked about SF/F they were very specific that they only wanted adult books in the nominations. NPR promised that young adult books, teen books, would feature in a later poll.

This is that later poll.

There’s a problem of the first part. It turns out that not everyone can agree on exactly what makes a YA book a YA book. Some of the titles that many people think of as classic YA books didn’t pass the expert panel’s muster. A Wrinkle in Time didn’t make it. Neither did Ender’s Game, considered too young and too mature, respectively. The report on the panel’s decision making process is posted at NPR  if you’re interested in how they decided.

Just like the Top SF/F poll last year, the Best-Ever Teen Novels poll is just that. A poll. You can vote for the ones you think are the best, even if your teen years are a few decades behind you.

Even though these are teen novels, I read most of the books I voted for when I was an adult. Some of them quite recently, like Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series. And the Harry Potter series is on the list. But it only takes up one entry, not seven (thank you NPR, thank you!)

These are great books. Some of them are greater than others. You get to vote for 10 of the books that you think are greater than the others. I’ve already cast my ballot. What are you waiting for?

Let the debate (and the nostalgia about the much beloved books we read as teens) begin!

ARCs, Stacks and Hauls

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | ARCs> books

“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

The quote is from Desiderius Erasmus. How totally appropriate, but also one I’ve lived by long before I knew it existed. My mom would tell you I spent my allowance on books when I was a kid. And generally owed her future allowances.

I’ve always collected books. More books than I could read at any given point in time. I love having the choice of what to read next. It’s not the object, it’s the content. Ebooks suit me just fine for most things, and they take up less space. This is a big deal when you move as often as we do, and when you own as many “dead tree” books as we do.

Still over 2,000. We haven’t even unpacked them all from the last move. In December.

About ARCs. I’ve worked in libraries that received ARCs in lots of different ways. One of my former places of work (FPOW) was in a major metropolitan area. The city newspaper still had a significant book section on Sundays, and received books for review. The newspaper donated their review copies to the library. About once a month we received an industrial pallet-load of books, mixed ARCs and “real” books. The “real” books often went into the collection. But the ARCs, never. Staff had the pick of the ARCs for collection development, reading copies, whatever we liked. But they were never put in the collection. If you are wondering what the newspaper got out of this arrangement, they got a tax write-off.

Other libraries I have worked at do sell ARCs at book sales, or they end up in the Friends of the Library book sales. I haven’t worked at a library that has put them in the collection, but I know it happens.

But what does any of this have to do with ARCs now? I can hear the question from here. The recent #ARCgate mess brought up a lot of questions and it made me think about the present and future of ARCs in general, and what any mailbox-type post looks like in particular.

I do get a lot of ARCs. More in one week than I can read in a week. I’ve always picked up more books in a week than I could read that week. The difference now is that I’m getting a lot of eARCs instead of deliveries from Amazon and B&N or borrowing books from the library.

But the ARC “stack” can look like a book haul, and that isn’t the purpose of it for me. I choose eARCs because eARCs are a win/win. My eARC does not automatically deny any other reviewer the same eARC. That’s the beauty of NetGalley and Edelweiss. No print, no postage, not necessarily a limited number of ARCs the way that a print run by its very nature limits the number of ARCs.

And no print ARCs left on my shelves at the end that I’m not quite sure what to do with. Because the last thing my house needs is more print books. One of the clear messages of the whole ARCgate mess is that what you should do with your ARCs after you’re finished is very, well, unclear.

What I’m curious about, dear readers, is how you feel when you see mailbox-type posts on book blogs. Do you see them as the blogger doing a bit to promote books that she or he might not have time to review? Do you see them as bragging? Do you find them useful for adding to your own TBR pile? Do you care?

Please share your thoughts! I’ve been having a serious re-think on this topic after ARCgate, and I’d love to hear from you.

 

Stacking the Shelves (11)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

This week’s Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga’s Reviews) is a double-stack.

That kind of makes it sound like something from Steak ‘n Shake, doesn’t it? Probably a good thing I had a nice brunch with friends.

But I mean a different kind of double-stack. A double-stack of books. Last Saturday’s post was all about the Small Blogs Big Giveaways Hop. If you’re reading this on Saturday, you  still have a few hours left to enter.

Last week’s books plus this week’s books equals a double-stack. I picked up a few things from Amazon, there were some great sales. And a couple of times where I gave in to my compulsion to get book one, where I’d received book two for review. It wasn’t required, but I just couldn’t stop myself.

As always, unless it says otherwise, it’s an ebook.

And about that very last book…We’re both playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning right now. When we have a spare few hours to kill. Or are willing to stay up way, way, way past our bedtimes. It’s awesome if you love video Role-Playing Games. I didn’t need the guide, but I love having the guidebooks. Mining all the complexity out of it will be loads of fun. Especially on the second play-through. And maybe the third…

So what will be keeping you up late at night this week?

From the Author/Publisher/Publicist:
Better than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts (print ARC)
Accidental Love by Lacey Wolfe
The Devil You Know by Victoria Vane
Intern with the Vampire (Vampire General #1) by Kit Iwasaki

For Book Lovers Inc.:
A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry
Before Versailles by Karleen Koen (print ARC and ebook!)

For Library Journal:
Feeling Hot (Out of Uniform #7) by Elle Kennedy

From Penguin First Flights:
A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins

From Edelweiss:
The Asylum Interviews: The Bronx (The Asylum Tales #0.5) by Jocelyn Drake

From NetGalley:
Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3) by Julie Ann Walker
Monster in My Closet by R.L. Naquin
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
A Season for Sin by Vicki Dreiling
When We Touch (Whiskey Creek #0.5) by Brenda Novak)
When Lightning Strikes (Whiskey Creek #1) by Brenda Novak
Death Warmed Over (Dan Shamble, P.I. #1) by Kevin J. Anderson
Finding Magic (Downside Ghosts #0.5) by Stacia Kane

Purchased from Amazon:
The Girl Who Disappeared Twice (Forensic Instincts #1) by Andrea Kane
An Affair with Mr. Kennedy (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #1) by Jillian Stone
Geekomancy by Michael Underwood (it was on sale for $1.99!)
Her Cyborg Awakes (Diaspora Worlds #1) by Melisse Aires
Alien Blood (Diaspora Worlds #2) by Melisse Aires (two-day freebie sale on Kindle!)
A Sorcerer’s Treason (Isavalta #1) by Sarah Zettel (I caught it when it when it was free)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, The Official Guide by Future Press (print)

What’s On My (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand? AKA The Sunday Post 7-15-12

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | blog tours> Small Blogs Big Giveaways> The Sunday Post> Virtual Nightstand

It’s going to be a very busy week here at Reading Reality. And I’m not just talking about the blog.

For those of you in the library world, I’m going to do one totally shameless plug. I’m speaking at the ALA Virtual Conference on Wednesday, July 18. My topic is one that is near and dear to my geeky little heart. Of course I’m referring to ebooks. “Beyond the Bestseller List: Filling Patron Demand for Great eBooks Without the ‘Big 6 Publishers'”.

Back to the blog. I have two tours scheduled this week.

Tuesday, Donna Del Oro will be visiting, and guest posting, to talk about her very cool paranormal romance/romantic suspense novel, The Delphi Bloodline. I’ll also have a review. A psychic female meets her match when a family friend becomes her guardian. Then the skeptical FBI wants to use her as bait in a plan that nearly turns deadly. Oh, and the Pope is involved. Lots of surprises in this one.

And on Thursday, Jeffe Kennedy stops by to answer a few questions about Rogue’s Pawn, the first book in her new urban fantasy/paranormal romance series, Covenant of Thorns. Of course, I’ll also have a review of this twisty new book, where a woman from our world crosses into fae.

Looking ahead to next week, there are a few books on the radar that I’m really looking forward to diving into.

I’ll be reviewing The Virgin Huntress, the second book in Victoria Vane’s Devil DeVere series over at Book Lovers Inc. on July 27. The first book, A Wild Night’s Bride, was an absolute hoot, a glorious romp. (BLI review here, Reading Reality here) If you want to laugh along with your sexy romance, give AWNB a read. I’m hoping The Virgin Huntress is even more delicious fun.

Series set up expectations. That true for Laura Anne Gilman’s Dragon Justice, the next book in her Paranormal Scene Investigations Series book. The publication date is July 24. Again, I enjoyed the rest of the series (Hard Magic, Pack of Lies, Tricks of the Trade (Tricks reviewed here). I loved Gilman’s Retrievers series. I’m seriously looking forward to the night I’m going to spend reading Dragon Justice. Enough said.

Last but definitely not least. I’m in the next upcoming BlogHer Book Clubs. Those bring interesting books that I might not otherwise read. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty starts next week. That book I did want to read. Not just because the book is a hot pick on a whole lot of lists, but because the Roaring 20s are so fascinating.

The Small Blogs Big Giveaways Blog Hop will be running all this week here and and on all of the participating blogs. So don’t forget to pop on over to the entry post and get your name into the hopper for all of the prizes. There are gift cards, books and ebooks. One riffle down the rafflecopter gets you entered into all the hop stops.

That’s enough for one week (or two weeks!) on this blog. Whew! What’s happening at your place?

Stacking the Shelves (10)

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Stacking the Shelves

It’s Saturday! And that means it’s time to take a look at the books that have been added to the stacks here at Reading Reality.

That’s right. It’s Stacking the Shelves time again. (If you want the details about STS, it’s hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. You can learn all about the history and mystery of this fabulous feature there)

Most of my books this week came with commitments attached, so I tried to keep the extras down to a trickle. Especially since I’m still behind from that pesky flu bug from last week. (Imagine me inserting a pitiful coughing sound here)

After my post this week about ARC hauls at conferences, I thought I would make a brief comment because I usually do get more books than a person can manage to read in a week. Even me. (I usually take one a day. Like vitamins only more fun)

This is part of the reason I like ebooks so much, e-ARCs in particular. No muss, no fuss, no shipping costs, no printing costs. I always request an e-ARC. The print ARCs I receive either arrive unsolicited, or that’s the only way a book I’ve committed to review is available.

And we already have over 2,000 print books in the house. The slower we increase that number, the better. Even if neither of us plans to ever stop reading!

From the Author/Publisher/Publicist:
Wicked Nights by Gena Showalter (print)
Return to Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs (ebook)
Sweet Chaos (Kali Sweet #2) by Misty Evans (ebook)
A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #2) by Jillian Stone (print ARC)

From TLC Book Tours:
White Raven: The Sword of Northern Ancestors by Irina Lopatina (print)

From Library Journal:
Lexie (Triple X #1) by Kimberly Dean (ebook)

From Pump Up Your Book Tours:
Blood and Whiskey: A Cowboy and Vampire Thriller by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall (ebook)
Willow Pond by Carol Tibaldi (ebook)

From Sizzling PR:
Forsaken Protector by Nana Malone (ebook)

For Book Lovers Inc.:
A Night of Southern Comfort by Robin Covington (ebook)

For the Blogher Book Club:
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty (ebook)
The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway (ebook)