With the premiere of New Moon looming, suddenly everyone’s talking about vampires. The diehard Twilight fans I know never entirely stop talking about it, but the chatter grows ever louder. I’ve read all the books and I suspect I’ll end up seeing all the movies, but there is so much more to read once you’ve run through Bella and Edward (and Jacob)’s story. If you’re hooked on vampires, there are a ton of good books out there.
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Who’s Your Favorite Vampire?
Thursday, November 19th, 2009A Solution to the Reading Slump
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
I never thought I’d say this, but here’s my answer to the reading slump: Stop reading.
About three weeks ago, I had a period of major crunching, and for two solid weeks I didn’t read a thing. My review books lay sulking on the table. The books I’d borrowed from friends were abandoned. Comfort reads were no longer a comfort – how could they be, when I couldn’t even face opening their covers? No newspapers, no magazines, and had the Bernstein Bears appeared I would have shunned them too. In short, I went into total reading freeze. For me, that’s huge.
The main reason was simply a question of fatigue – I’ve been too tired to do anything except work, eat, and sleep, emphasis on the latter. But when it was over, and after getting a solid ten hours of sleep, I successfully opened a book. And from the ashes arose an interesting realization: I was glad to take a break from reading. I was satisfied that I had stopped. I read that book enthusiastically, even though it turned out to be a dud. I was once again happy in the world of literature. All because I’d stopped reading.
20% Off Avon Books and a Cool Advanced Read Giveway (Contest Closed)
Monday, November 16th, 2009
We’re very excited to announce a special new benefit exclusively for AAR readers, thanks to the generosity of Avon Books.
From now until December 12th, when you shop at Harper Collins online, you’ll save 20% from your total order when you enter the code AARAvon20 at checkout.
And, to keep the good news coming, we’re also excited to announce a giveaway of an exciting package of Avon advanced reading copies for one lucky winner packed in a cute (really, really cute) handmade tote bag. To enter for your chance to win, just post in the comments section of this post by Thursday, November 19th at 12 midnight, eastern time. A winner will be randomly selected and announced here on Friday.
The prize consists of three e-galleys and six print galleys. The actual release date of all upcoming books is included in parentheses, but the prize will be shipped shortly after the contest concludes. Here’s what the winner will receive:
I’m Always a Sucker for This One
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Rike’s post yesterday on plotlines that could use a break got me thinking. I’ve got plenty of kvetches, believe me – many of them mentioned already by Rike – but, to put a Pollyanna spin on things (and, okay, so I am not often Pollyanna-ish, but let’s just run with it) there is at least one plot device that works for me always every time. Put an uptight brainiac seriously in need of having some pins pricked in his or her pretentions together with a casual, laid back type who knows how to deliver a zinger and I’m done for. Totally done for.
A friend of mine says I like “goofball” heroes and, to some degree, I think she’s right. But humor takes fierce intelligence (Jon Stewart, anyone?) and I find it incredibly attractive when someone is confident enough in himself that he doesn’t need to hit others in the face with his brains. It’s fun (not to mention sexually exciting) to discover that someone you initially underestimated is w-a-a-a-a-y smarter than you thought, right?
So, forthwith and with no more verbal diarrhea, here are my fave brainiac/goofball romances:
Plotlines That Could Take a Break
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
On the whole, I don’t mind seeing variations of the same old plot in what I read. Well, I do read plenty of genre literature after all! The finesse and/or psychological depth in which a well-known plot is handled can actually enrich my pleasure in reading a great deal. That said, there are a few plotlines out there that I would really like to retire for a couple of years or so, and which may very well keep me from buying a new publication unless it’s by an autobuy author.
My Reading Habits Wallow in Shame, Apparently
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
I normally adore Bookmarks magazine. While more than half my reading is romance, I read all kinds of other books as well and Bookmarks gives pretty good coverage of the non-romance world. They tend towards covering mainstream fiction without a lot of pretentious B.S., and their historical fiction articles by Sarah Johnson in particular have given me fantastic reading suggestions. However, when I saw their Guilty Pleasures article in the November/December 2009 issue, I was rather taken aback. The article (part I in a series) goes through types of books the author considers “guilty pleasures” and ranks them as Paradise (practically guilt-free, you could even be seen in public with these), Purgatory (nightstand reading) and Hell (books the author says “shame on you” for reading).
Libraries in the Digital Age
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
This confession will probably give some of you a heart attack, but I haven’t read any of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I know, I know. It’s like I’ve been living under a rock buried 3 miles below the surface of the Earth. But lately I’ve been thinking about giving the first book a try. So I sent out a half-joking tweet on the subject. To my surprise, I received a personal response from my local library letting me know that Outlander is available for checkout, should I so desire. Now granted, I’m kind of a dork, but I thought this was really cool. So cool, in fact, that I decided to explore more of the digital/virtual features my local library offers, and get the perspective of the Sacramento Public Library’s Digital Services Librarian Megan Wong on the subject of libraries in the digital age.
And in the End
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
Personally, if only given one choice I’d far prefer a bad beginning to a bad ending. The beginning sets the stage and opens the book, but who are we kidding? We’re romance readers. The ending’s the clincher. The ending’s our couple’s future. It’s the reader’s conviction that everything we just read is legit. If I don’t believe in the happy ending, then the story is sunk.
I’ve read hundreds of romance novels now, and I’ve got them pretty well sorted out. Many romance novels end in a big sexfest, but I’ve never liked these – the book feels like it’s celebrating hormones rather than hearts. Then there are Hallmark endings – you know which ones I’m talking about. They melt in each other’s arms. They declare undying love eternal. They become Lord Virile and Lady Fertile. They are, in fact, so busy being in love I’m more certain they aren’t. Saccharine endings do not appeal to me because they dwell in fairyland, and I like my stories dosed with reality.
Make the Right Choice?
Friday, October 30th, 2009
This spring I listened to the audiobook presentation of Impossible by Nancy Werlin, a young adult novel about a 17-year-old girl whose maternal line has been cursed by an evil elfin knight so that each generation becomes pregnant at seventeen and – unless she can solve the knight’s impossible riddle before she gives birth – forfeits her sanity to him. This sounds like kind of an odd set-up, but the story was quite good. Werlin states on her website that it was inspired by the ballad, “Scarborough Fair” (which the narrator sings this hauntingly throughout her performance of the novel).
Lucy Scarborough is one of a long line of Scarborough women who have gone insane and dropped out of their daughters’ lives. Lucy has two big advantages over her forebears, however: she has her mother Miranda’s diary, written while she was pregnant with Lucy, and she has support. Her foster parents are still in touch with Miranda, to the extent that they can be and they are willing to help Lucy when her time comes to need help. Lucy also has a childhood friend-cum-love interest named Zach who is willing to risk life and limb to make sure this time the curse does not triumph.
One thing that is interesting about this book is that, in a time of paranormal glut, the “hero” is a fairly ordinary human boy who is kind, loyal, and very smart, but not in any way supernaturally powerful. The elfin knight is the guy with all the powers, and he is very definitely the bad guy; Lucy is repulsed by him from the beginning.
Here is a video of Nancy Werlin explaining about her history of reading romance novels and why she made her hero a good guy and not a bad boy:
The Lover Scorned
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Recently, I reread Thornton Wilder’s The Ides of March. It’s a book I’ve read with great pleasure before; this time I was particularly struck by the way the relationship between the poet Catullus and society lady Clodia is portrayed. He loves her with all his heart and writes great poems to her and about her; she sometimes admits him as her lover and spends time with him before jilting him again in favor of a rival. The novel leaves no doubt that Clodia is cruel and capricious; however, at this reading, I suddenly felt that I understood her right to jilt him, and her urge to do so. In spite of the undoubted depth of Catullus’ feelings, it is quite clear that Clodia does not feel as deeply for him. Yes, she might have treated him with far less cruelty, as Caesar points out to her, in ending the affair. But for the first time, my reaction as a reader was sympathy with her desire to regain her autonomy in the face of Catullus’s overwhelming love and of his general wonderfulness.
