Flight into Fantasy

Darlings,

I know you look forward eagerly to a new update on this blog, and will no doubt be gnashing your teeth and crying in abject sorrow because last week and this week are midterm weeks, which means that I haven’t had much brain power for anything not strictly school-related. This includes reading and, for that matter, scheduling reviews.

Luckily, the Internet provides us with content.

The other day, Marg wrote a post about the Book Blogger’s Hop. Here are the instructions.

Hey book bloggers! Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on!

I put my blog down on the list. Have you signed up? I’ve already found several blogs that look like ones I need to add to my feed reader promptly.

In other news, I have been swamped with review requests. (By which I mean, I have 3 that came to me unsolicited and I signed up to review two. I’ve decided to make spring break the week I spend reading these review books, because they all look awesome. More on all of them when the time comes.

I’ve been resisting the urge to read The Hunger games by Suzanne Collins for a long time, mostly because of the hype. I’ve been burned too many times by overhyped books that did nothing for me at all, and I can be a picky reader.

However, last year, Maree, Memory and I decided that we should get it over with and read the book together. That way, if it sucked, we could console each other by, I don’t know, maybe pasting horrible lines of the book into Twitter. (OK, maybe I’m the only person of the three of us who would do that.)

Anyway, we all emailed each other questions that we answered about the book. So go over to Memory’s blog and read what we thought of it.

For the record, I’m not sure this was quite an A book for me, but it really was quite good and I hope to read the second book soon.

You wouldn’t think that Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet and V C Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic would be two tastes that would taste great together, would you?

Well, you would be wrong.

This was my favorite offering from this year’s Yuletide. It becomes even more awesome when you consider that the fic was written for me by one of my BFF’s!

P.S. In other random news, I’ve decided that my best of 2009 list is not getting written. Just go out and read Tender Morsels , which I didn’t ever manage to review, and you’ll have read my favorite book of 2009. (Sadly, no one wrote Tender Morsels fic for Yuletide. Next year, however…)

You really, really do not want to know the state of my RSS reader. Last time I checked, I think I had 666 unread posts, which just means the darn thing is possessed and determined to eat my soul. But my issue is your gain, as I’ve found interesting things to highlight from my blog reading.

• Jason Henninger makes those awkward conversations about books you haven’t read much easier to deal with by telling us how to lie about books. Check it out if you’re at all an SF fan. You will laugh.

• Jim C. Hines, whose The Stepsister Scheme is on my tottering TBR pile, answers the all-important question: Is your book appropriate for my child?
• Holly over at The Book Binge has an interesting post about why she buys from amazon.com. I have to admit that I agree with what she says. I don’t buy books from Amazon unless I’m buying gifts, but I do buy music from them all the time because it’s simply a better use of my limited funds.
• Over at The Good, the Bad, and the Unread, which you should all be reading, if you’re not already, for my own infrequent commentary, there was a fascinating discussion about reader and writer expectations in historical romance. I think I fall in line with Lawson on these things, but I’m not a history geek, and historicals aren’t my preferred genre, though there are always exceptions.
• Anime June, one of my newest blogging discoveries and all-around smart and articulate chick, writes about the author’s attitude re: negative reviews. I have only one thing to say about this post: word.
• Jessica, whose blog you should also be reading because she is smart and funny and your humble link gatherer wants to be her when she grows up, is hosting a retirement reception for some of her *ahem* favorite romance tropes. She also predicts some new romance tropes we’ll be seeing in the future, including my personal favorite:
  

  Our courtship has been conducted on Twitter. What if he expects me to use more than 140 characters at a time in conversation?

  I know I, for one, would read that book.

• And lastly, another of my blogger friends and one of the coolest people on Twitter, Jen B posted a recipe for homemade laundry soap that I am dying to try myself, and which I include here so I can find it again for whenever I get my lazy ass around to buying a food processor.

So, got any interesting links lately? Feel free to share in comments.

I’m back from my weekend of uncomfortable oral surgery. (As fun activities go, I think this one ranks slightly above bathing in battery acid.) I’m mostly not in pain anymore, and am trying to finish recovering. I go back to the oral surgeon’s office so they can remove my sutures on Thursday, and then, I hope never to see that man again.

A couple of bloggy links of interest, because you should all definitely check out other blogs than this one:

• Dear Author has posted a FAQ about the text-to-speech issue for authors. I have written about this issue quite enough myself, but it’s still one that interests me, and, hey, at least the comments section didn’t make me want to tear out my hair. Much.

• I reviewed Say goodbye by Lisa Gardner for TGTBTU. I’m going to try to be better about linking to my TGTBTU reviews over here, because if I can’t promote my own writing on my own blog, where can I? Anyway, make with the clicky and see what I thought of the book.

Speaking of books, I actually managed to finish several this weekend. I wasn’t good for very much besides reading after the surgery, and I tried to pick books that were fun. I know I’ll keep saying that I’ll get reviews written, so I won’t promise that this time and we’ll just hope for the best.

• Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling: You know, I’m still struggling with my thoughts on this book. I didn’t really like the characters, and it’s pretty obvious that this is a debut work. But there was something about the writing style that kept me interested enough to probably read the second book in this duology.

• The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley: There was a lot of buzz in romancelandia about this book. It deserved all the buzz it got, too. The hero is yummy and tortured, the heroine is surprisingly well-developed considering that the hero’s name is in the title, which seems to be a hallmark for poor characterization of the heroine. It just really worked for me, and I haven’t read a historical romance in a long time that I’ve been this satisfied with.
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest: I’d heard really good things about Ms. Priest’s writing, and they were well-founded. I really like Southern Gothic stories, and this one definitely fits the mold, being very atmospheric. I also really liked the narrator’s voice and her snarkiness, and I want to read more from this author.
• the Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman: You know, years and years ago, someone recommended Tony Hillerman to me as an author I’d like, and I do remember liking the previous book of his I read. This one, though? Not so much. Mostly I was bored, and there wasn’t nearly enough Joe Leaphorn in it.

Right now, I’m nearly finished with Burning Alive by Shannon K Butcher. It’s one of those books where the cheesiness is part of its charm. The hero is over the top alpha, which isn’t normally my thing except, apparently, in paranormal romance. The heroine is… basically useless, but likeable enough most of the time. Sadly, having lived near the area in which the story is set, I keep getting yanked out of the writing every time the author gets a bit of Kansas geography wrong.

Anyway, it’s good to be back online, and I’m still going through my bloglines to see what you all did in my absence. (A lot, apparently.)

I couldn’t help myself. After having read a really intriguing review of Slob by Ellen Potter, I bought it. I cried a little at paying $14 for a hardcover since I made my purchase at Fictionwise, but I am weak-willed. I mean, there is absolutely nothing not to love about the book’s opening lines.

My name is Owen Birnbaum, and I’m probably fatter than you are. This isn’t my low self-esteem talking. This is pure statistics. I’m five foot two and I weigh 156 pounds. That’s 57 percent fatter than the national average for a twelve-year-old-boy.
I’m also probably smarter than you. I don’t mean that as an insult. Again, statistics. They had my IQ tested in the second grade. I won’t tell you my score. Actually, I can’t tell you my score because I promised my mother I wouldn’t do that anymore. I used to tell everyone. My mother said that was obnoxious. I think she was also worried about giving my sister, Jeremy, a complex. Jeremy is a year younger than I am and not the brightest crayon in the box. She’s a good kid. Just very so-so in the cerebral cortex region.

Already I love this kid, and I can’t wait to let him tell me his story. Here’s the book’s blurb:

Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he’s also a genius who invents cool contraptions – like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can’t outthink. Like his gym coach, who’s on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He’s sure that if he can only get the TV to work, things will start to make sense. But it will take a revelation for Owen, not science, to see the answer’s not in the past, but the present. That no matter how large he is on the outside, he doesn’t have to feel small on the inside.

With her trademark humor, Ellen Potter has created a larger-than-life character and story whose weight is immense when measured in heart.

Um, OK, maybe don’t look at the blurb. It is kind of cheesetastic, now that I paste it in here. But seriously, this does look like a book I’d have enjoyed back in my days as a middle-grade reader.

Naturally, I’ll let you know if the book met my expectations. I’m off to start reading it now!

Some of the new to me book bloggers I’ve been reading have been all abuzz with anticipation for the 24 hour readathon being held this Saturday. I think the idea is a cool one, and I would love to participate. Normally, I even could manage it, except I have plans this Saturday.

Anyway, if you, unlike me, have the day free and are a masochist, feel free to visit that site for all the detes. And because I truly am a masochist, I emailed the organizers and plan on hosting a surprise mini challenge on the day in question. (I have no idea what the challenge will be. Hence why it will be a surprise.)

There’ve been a few posts on the blogosphere recently that I find interesting enough to highlight. So, in lieu of content today, have some links!

• Tumperkin has a guest post on Racy Romance Reviews on what romance is really all about. I haven’t figured out a satisfactory answer to this question for me. I do wonder sometimes if I fit the stereotype of the romance reader who reads romances because I’m not involved with anyone, and I have some trust issues involving actual members of the male gender that have kept me from actively pursuing relationships. But I don’t think that’s entirely it, and it’s a simplistic explanation anyway.

• Ann Aguirre, who is one of only about five authors whose blogs I actually read, has some thoughts about inspirational romance. They pretty much mirror mine, so amen, sister!
• Especially for Primavera, Mrs. Giggles has had a makeover this April 1. I don’t actually know that Primavera has ever heard of Mrs. Giggles, but I figured she would appreciate anything that linked to cute bunny pictures. Because I’m a good friend like that. However, if your name is not Primavera and you like cute bunny pictures, you, too, should feel free to make with the clicky.
• And, more for me than for anyone else, have a link to Fantasy Book Critic’s spotlight of books released this month.

I haven’t owned a television in my entire adult life. I have lived in apartments where televisions also happened to be, but for myself, I’ve never seen the need, because I’m addicted to the Internet, which is a differently completely passive activity. Anyway, I’m mostly OK with this lack of TV, because I still absorb important pop culture through interacting with the rest of the human race.

Which is why, last night, I found myself embracing the latest kitchy thing to take America by storm. Oh, I’d heard about it. I mean, how could I follow Katiebabs on Twitter without knowing about this?

I am, of course, referring to the snuggie. Katiebabs recently blogged about the snuggie, and my reaction was a mildly amused “…OK?”

Then I actually watched the commercial. And a strange thing happened. For a brief moment, I found myself thinking, “Oh! My! God! It’s a blanket! With sleeves! I must have one!” I don’t even particularly care that one commenter on a blog somewhere described them as fugly choir robes. It’s a blanket! With sleeves! What’s not to love about that? Never mind the fact that the Snuggie is made in China, probably with sweatshop labor from people who, in their entire life, couldn’t make enough to *buy* a snuggie. Never mind the fact that it is almost April, and therefore too warm to even be thinking about buying a blanket. The utter cheese of this commercial makes me want to own one.

Well, I suppose, better the snuggie than the Shamwow!

So does anyone out there in bloglandia own a snuggie? Come on, you can admit to it! Meanwhile, I will be huddled, cold and without a blanket with sleeves, under my rock.

P.S. I intensely love this parody commercial.

I’m afraid there isn’t going to be much content today, and probably won’t be for most of tomorrow, because life has become… interestingly busy. So here, have a meme.

Grasping for the Wind has an interesting meme going on.

From his blog:

Here is how it works: Find a favorite book, movie, or videogame review (Science fiction and fantasy related) that you have written, no matter where it was posted, and add it to the following list. Make sure to repost the whole list, because in doing so, we accumulate what the reviewers themselves think is their best work, and give each other some linkages, increasing everyone’s rankings.

I wasn’t actually sure what to post as my best review, and I think I’ve grown quite a bit as a reviewer. Actually, as of this writing, I think my best review is one that’s pending approval at TGTBTU, but since I have no idea yet what that link will be, I think I’ll pick my recent review of American Gods.

The Book Review Meme @ Grasping for the Wind
1. Grasping for the Wind – INFOQUAKE by David Louis Edelman
2. Age 30+ … A Lifetime of Books – A COMPANION TO WOLVES by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
3. Dragons, Heroes and Wizards – ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb
4. Walker of Worlds – THE TEMPORAL VOID by Peter F Hamilton
5. Neth Space – TOLL THE HOUNDS by Steven Erikson
6. Dark in the Dark – GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY by M.R. James
7. A Dribble of Ink – THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
8. Fantasy Book News & Reviews – EMPRESS by Karen Miller
9. Fantasy Debut – ACACIA by David Anthony Durham Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Overall Review Afterthought
10. All Booked Up – THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley
11. Fantasy Cafe – THE BOOK OF JOBY by Mark J. Ferrari
12. AzureScape – ANATHEM by Neal Stephenson
13. The Book Smugglers – THE INFERIOR by Peadar O’Guilin
14. Besotted Bookworm – PARANORMAL FICTION FEAST by Christine Feehan, Julie Kramer, and Jayne Castle
15. Renee’s Book Addiction – WANDERLUST by Ann Aguirre
16. SciFiGuy.ca – THE BLACK SHIP by Diana Pharaoh Francis
17. Literary Escapism – FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE by Kim Harrison (with spoilers)
18. Speculative Horizons – THE TERROR by Dan Simmons
19. Stella Matutina – NEW AMSTERDAM by Elizabeth Bear
20. Variety SF – MISSION OF GRAVITY by Hal Clement
21. WISB/F&SF Lovin’ Blog – SEABORN by Chris Howard
22. Highlander’s Book reviews – A MADNESS OF ANGELS by Kate Griffin
23. The Old Bat’s Belfry – THE CROWN CONSPIRACY by Michael J. Sullivan
24. Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews – THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
25. Flight into Fantasy – American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Put yourself in a Harlequin romance story

Here is mine:

Cowboy Jonathan grieved the loss of his wife and baby. Then he discovers his son is alive—and living with an adoptive mother—award-winning writer Shannon. Despite the secrets and lies, Jonathan can’t deny the truth: brainy Shannon loves the boy. Yet Jonathan grew up without a father and won’t do that to his own child.

When someone dangerous comes after them, cowboy Jonathan takes Shannon and his son into hiding in the unknown reaches of Mars. As he grows closer to them, he discovers much about family life. After his dark, troubled past, he’s finally found faith and family. And he’ll do anything to protect both.

Sadly, if I were reviewing this, I’d have to say that the heroine seems much less interesting than the hero. Which is a crime in my own damn book.

Today I upgraded Wordpress. No idea if this makes the site look any different, but I like some of the new features.

Later today, after I finish a few other things, I hope to have a review posted. But for now, mostly to test my twitter feed, have some linkage.

• Dear Author reports on Kindle 2.0. It has a text to speech engine now. Which still makes it useless for an actual, y’know, blind consumer. But, hey, whatev. It’s not like ebook companies actually want my money or anything.

• Dear Author also had a post about social DRM which was fascinating. Note that the two things these links have in common is the fact that I am in the comments, wanking on my soapbox.
• Not that I care overly much about book covers (the being totally blind thing sort of prevents this), but over in the fantasy blogosphere there’s been some wank about one. Me, I kind of want to read the book now. Because I like both epic fantasy and paranormal romance, and I love well-written strong female characters, and all of those tastes taste great together.
• And also via Andrew Wheeler, a hillarious review of a book I am never likely to read. And, hey, it’s from a Kansas City blog, and that’s… kind of local. I will let the author of the book in question speak for himself.
  

  “Killinger turned to face her. There was a definite interruption in the pattern of his white shorts.” (page 95)

  and

  “Killinger hung up quickly to cut off complaints and because Marja-Liisa had moved his hand to her golden grove and had begun quivering against his fingers and her sighs had become deep.”

  I’d have posted the bit about prunes, but, y’know, some things you just have to discover on your own.

Some months ago, I ran into Sybil on a yahoo group. It soon became clear that we have exactly the opposite taste in books, and so, armed with this knowledge, Sybil has begun twisting my arm, reletlessly, for book reviews. She’s even sweetened the pot with offers of free books–as many as my little heart desires.

So I’ve officially become a staff reviewer for The Good, the Bad, and the Unread.

What does this mean for all four of you who read my blog? Well, I’ll still post reviews over here, especially series books that people have already reviewed at Sybil’s. And there are a few books I do intend to read this month that I wouldn’t post up over there, like Tabitha King’s Candles Burning which is a horror book I’ve started and would love to finish if I didn’t stop being distracted by shiny objects.

Anyway, I do have a few reviews posted over at Sybil’s, so I’ll go ahead and round up those links.

my review of Last Wolf Standing by Rhyannon Byrd. As you may recall, my friend Alecia guest reviewed this book over here. I mostly agreed with her, although I remember trivial crap like characters’ names far better than she does.

My review of Personal Demons by Stacia Kane. Ms. Kane gave me an E-Arc before I realized I was selling my soul to Sybs, so I chose to review her book on TGBTU because I figured that TGBBTU has a larger readership than I do, hence more book sales.

I should have a couple of other reviews posted up on TGBTU in the next few days, so I’ll try to come back here and link back to them whenever I get a chance.

Shannon C.,’s note: My blogging partner, Jaliya, apparently has an adversarial relationship with Wordpress, so I’m posting this on her behalf.

So, I have been telling myself that while Shannon has been out living life to the fullest this weekend, I was going to keep all of you lovely people company. I’m the other half of Team Awesome, except that I have a whole heck of a lot to catch up on because Shannon knows how to give the content like nobody’s business. Also, as she said somewhere below, I keep geting distracted by shiny things. Maybe she won’t be home by the time I remember how to post again and then you all can say that I kept you from boredom the whole weekend long.

I am making an effort to try to be better. I put the pro in procrastination and am working on my follow through! One of the shiny things distracting me is this huge to be read pile. I was going to write out a list but I don’t know how to make it look all shiny and blogtastic, so I’ll mention it the next time around.

The lovely folks at Joyfully Reviewed has a very kickass interview of Lauren Dane whom I love like a kid loves candy. It also helps that she lives in my neck of the woods. Woohoo, go Washington state!

In the interview, she gives the best writing advice ever. It’s especially great for those like me who really really want to write an EBook but are procrastinating out the yinyang or have some serious confidence issues in their writing. “STFU and Write”

I can totally dig that. I have read her Witch’s Knot series and will be gobbling up the next one. I’ve loved that entire series and wish I could have sold the lovely Shannon on the awesomeness that is her books. Reading that interview was a great start to my weekend of which I essentially didn’t do very much. You know how it is…shiny things!

And now for my request. It is rumored that I wish a certain part of a time period which seems to be featured in many romance novels would fall off of a cliff. It’s true. I have tried reading novels set during Regency England. I want to enjoy them. I swear I want to devour such books and talk about the awesomeness that is Regency England. Except I can’t because I really, really hate everything I’ve read. Admittedly, it probably isn’t all that much in the grand scheme of things. But there’s only so many virginal heroines yearning to be touched and then getting all pissy when our daring hero looks at them crosseyed. I hate the excessive amount of exclamation points because it really really bothers me. I am not a grammar guru by a long shot, but if I am noticing it then there’s something wrong. The women in the novels that I have read seem so very shrieky and angry and hateful and it makes me want to spit nails. Poor Shannon has had to deal with my rants over the phone.

So I’m asking you all to help me. Please give me some ideas of a novel with a hero and a heroine that I can love and want to take home for ravishment. Please make me love a genre that everyone else seems to squee over while I stand on the outside making a sour puss face. I will make you cookies. alright, so you might not want me baking anything that you’re likely to consume, but still, I will be a happy Jal. And then I’ll review that book and comment you up the kazba.

Alright, I’m done now. I always feel like I need to write some spiffy closing remark to these things. I can’t just stop. How do I end a blog post? Peace out? Catch you on the flip side? Word to my maternal unit? Happy trails on the internet express? Time to fizzle in the hizzle? This is really hard. I’m done now!

I meant to blog about my amusing discoveries at Fictionwise the other day, but every time I sit down to write a blog post, someone invariably distracts me with a shiny object.

Anyway, I was shopping over at Fictionwise last Saturday and came up with a shopping list of books I must have. I spent too much money there, because it turns out that thanks to the Internet, my ability to impulse shop is hard to curb.

That, however, is not the point. The point is that I did a search of the books on Fictionwise from longest to shortest. As I’ve said, if I’m going to spend over $5 on an ebook, I want something I can sink my teeth into.

Anyway, what I discovered was that the longest title they sell on Fictionwise is an audio book which doesn’t interest me in the slightest. The third longest book they sell at Fictionwise is the Bible.

What, you may ask, is the second longest multi-format book on Fictionwise, and did I buy it?

The second longest book on Fictionwise is Tempering, which is the second book in the
Jarheads series by Sean Michael.

So, yes, Shannon bought some gay romance. She may even read it one of these days. If I do get around to reading that book, I, too, can participate in Man Love Monday, which has suddenly become a goal in life. *G*

The thing that startled me about my experience on Fictionwise was that it was happening while I was chatting up some blind friends of mine, exactly none of whom realized that they could buy easily accessible ebooks from there for reasonable prices. Which really burns my toast, because if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, blind people would be damn good customers for ebooks. We should really be being marketed to way more than we are.

Ann Aguirre has a great post today In praise of the idiot. I totally get where she’s coming from, because I’ve always loved reading about guys who are cute but dim. (Conversely, I also love me some nerds, but that’s a whole other post.) I went through this phase a couple of years ago where I got really into Bonanza reruns, and I realized that my favorite Cartwright brother was Hoss, the slightly dim but good-hearted one.

Also, I clearly need to read more Loretta Chase, given that I had to reread Lord of Scoundrels for a paper I wrote for one of my classes, which made me realize just how awesome that book is.

Too tired to do much blogging, so here’s this week’s Booking through Thursday.

Sometimes I find eccentric characters quirky and fun, other times I find them too unbelievable and annoying. What are some of the more outrageous characters you’ve read, and how do you feel about them?

I love quirky characters, honestly, as long as their eccentricities aren’t their entire personality. One of the things I’ve liked about both the Susan Elizabeth Phillips books I’ve read recently was that the heroines really did seem like quirky people. with odd little ticks. Most authors would have made them come off as completely wacky, but SEP humanized them.

I also have to bring up Charles de Lint, which just goes to show it’s really time for me to read one of the de Lint books I’ve not gotten to. I love how he does quirky. The Crow Girls in Someplace to be Flying are arguably some of his more interestingly eccentric characters, and they’re a large part of the reason why I love that book so.

Authors that didn’t handle quirky well? A lot of them, actually. Particularly ones who write characters who are supposedly Pagan, because no self-respecting Pagan would get within 50 feet of some of these characters.

What about you? Care to share any of your more quirky characters?

Also, speaking of quirkiness, instead of blogging, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time listening to the archives of this obscure NPR show. It is a psychology geek’s wet dream, and I highly encourage y’all to download and listen to some of their episodes the next time you need something entertaining yet thought-provoking to listen to for an hour.

Ugh. School starts back up in about a week, including my Global Women’s Studies class. Given that feminism and romance novel reading tend to result in kerfuffles of ginormous proportion, we’ll see how long it takes for the phrase “perpetuating patriarchal misogyny” to come up in conversation.

In other news, I do believe that Lilith of Demon Angel by Meljean Brook might be one of my favorite romance heroines of all time. Ever. I have a serious girl crush on this chick. I love her unashamed wickedness and her complete badassery.I do not want this book to be over, though I’m determined to finish it before the week is out so I can say I’ve been productive instead of, well, the complete lazy slob I, in fact, am.

Oh, and in Cassie Edwards: Plaigiarizer or simply misunderstood news, the situation has made Fandom Wank. I personally liked their summary of things, although that could just be because pointing and laughing at trainwrecks amuses the hell out of me. However, my favorite F_W comment is this one, in which rowleyorama suggests some further self-plaigiarizing Ms. Edwards could do. (Quoted here for the link-impaired, safe in the knowledge that I’ve sited my sources.)

“I am having a divine vision of her 2008 novel Savage Wank:
“His penis, majestic, was a long, narrow structure, fashionable and appearing to
be sixty feet or more in length and about twenty feet wide. The balls were beautifully
rounded and the sack gracefully arched. The snow-white thighs were decorate with
striking totemic designs in brilliant harmonious colors. Slow spirals of splooge
rose from one of the four and landed on an Indian guard standing by the door.”

Disclaimer: Yes, plaigiarism is important. No, I don’t think it’s especially funny. But some of the reactions to the situation are pretty laughable.

I have no content for you today, because I lack motivation to do much more than contemplate the idea that I should do something productive. I meant to immerse myself in Meljean Brook’s Demon Angel which will require lengthy squeeful posts later, but mostly I’ve been blogsurfing.

• Just a reminder, today is Man love Monday The link contains awesome book recs and hot men for people who ppreciate some eye candy.

• In more serious news, the Smart Bitches have uncovered some serious cutting and pasting done by romance author Cassie Edwards. You can find links to the original posts from the summary at Dear Author. I’d link to the posts themselves from here, but the SBTB site has been kind of wonky for me today. I feel awful for the people whose works Ms. Edwards copied and pasted from, but I have to admit that what I really love about these posts every time they come up is that everyone has his or her unique way to spell the word “plaigiarism.”
• One of my favorite author bloggers, December Quinn has a thought-provoking post about sex in American culture. I mostly agree with her, although a lack of sleep makes it difficult for me to formulate a more cogent response.
• Last but not least, completely off-topic, my mom sent me a link to a blog written by her neighbor. I’ve been reading the archives, and I just want to say that I wish I could be half as funny and passionate as Amy is.

I feel like this ought to be an eventful post because according to my stats this is the 666th post I have made to this blog. Naturally that doesn’t take into account all of the stuff I didn’t keep when I imported my book reviews from my LJ, but it still amuses me.

I feel like I ought to celebrate this fact somehow, but I can’t think of a way to do that, so I’ll just point it out.

Anyway, Lisabea is going to be hosting Man-Love Monday. I’m not much into the man-love myself, since I wish there were more F/F romances personally, and also I am sadly not capable of appreciating the eye candy,. But I am willing to be persuaded about good M/M romance.

Sadly, they let me out of my cage, and I have a post over at Sybil’s blog as part of their duodecimal holidays, where they asked a bunch of readers and bloggers to come up with various top twelve lists.

Here is mine.

Go forth and enjoy.
In other news, I am a little under halfway through Anne Bishop’s Daughter of the Blood. I would absolutely love this book if I’d sat and read it cover to cover without stopping for a break. Sadly, a little perspective makes the book’s flaws pretty clear, like that our protagonist hasn’t once gotten her own PoV, or how her eventual love interest was borrowed from romance novel central casting. And seriously, what is it with dark fantasy and incest? Someone tell me there is a book classified as dark fantasy that managed to completely leave out creepy women who want to have sex with their brothers/sons/nephews.

After finishing the term paper from hell (which is due tomorrow) I have spent my time playing over at Free Rice. I love the word game, and I have gotten up to level 43. Thanks to my reading of some bad erotic romance novels, I was able to ascertain that tumescent means swollen.

So I leave you tonight with this benison: Before you criticise someone iniquitously, it is always best to reconoiter a mile in that person's brogues.

First of all, my guest review for Dear Author has been posted. Go forth and read it.

Second of all, NPR did a story this morning about great science fiction and fantasy books. Sadly, I’ve not read any of the books they mentioned, although I have a copy of The Forever War TBR one of these days.

So I was surfing the hinterlands of blogland this morning and came across a review for a book I have decided I must read because of what the reviewer said about it.

The amusing thing was, it was a bad review, and the reviewer’s beef was a pretty shallow one. Seems the hero of the book is a slightly femmey dandified gentleman in Georgian England, and our reviewer couldn’t get past that. So I did some looking on my own, having been intrigued by the idea of reading a romance that didn’t feature a beefcake hero. Hmm. Seems our Georgian fop is also somewhat amoral, and decides to seduce the virginal heroine simply because he can. And he’s a notorious thief. Sounds intriguing.

The book, incidentally, is Prince of Swords by Anne Stuart. And I’m sure I’ll be reading it soon.

Also, I have a couple of reviewing gigs elsewhere on the blogosphere. I wrote up a guest review for Dear Author, because they’re having people write up reviews of their favorite books, and so I did. And Sybil has set me a book to guest review.

Also, I’m evaluating a book about mp3 players and their accessibility for the blind. I’m listed in the acknowledgements section, so if you’re blind and you need an MP3 player, you should totally buy this book, because my helpful feedback will make it what it is today. Or, um, something. Yeah.

Researchers Dream of Humanizing Androids

This makes the SF geek in me quite excited!