Dearest, darling readers: I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your loved ones. My day began quite unexceptionally, at school with those sweet children in my class, and all I planned to do when I got home was start Gaelen Foley’s One Night of Sin. But guess what, cupcakes? Before long I was sighing and shaking my head. There was one thing, O Best Beloveds, that was driving me to near insanity – much as I am probably doing to you currently, my poor angels. And that was the proliferation of endearments.
I have a hard time dealing with them, especially the flowery ones, and especially when they’re used often. One Night of Sin has them in abundance and I find them nauseating. But are they nauseating because it’s actually overkill, or is it just because I’m not used to them?
I’ll admit it: I like to play with my books. I have far too many books. And as with most of us, that means I have 
In a bit of serendipity my blog piece this week mimics Blythe’s 
It All Ends. An end of an era. The end of childhood. I’m pretty sure everyone in the industrialized world knows that the final Harry Potter movie came out on Friday (in the U.S.). This is it. 
I don’t remember much from Psych 101, but I do remember 
Jane Eyre had her painting. Marianne Dashwood played piano. Often the heroines in our favorite romance books have interests other than finding husbands and running households.
My first review here at AAR was published May 17, 2007 — almost exactly four years ago. When I first started reviewing here, I was finishing up my senior year in high school. My first package of books coincided very closely with my AP tests — what a dilemma! Now, four years and 200 reviews later, is another landmark in my personal life: on Sunday, I graduated cum laude from American University with a degree in International Studies. 
As I was reflecting this week on elements that unify us as readers, it occurred to me that many of my reading colleagues are also fellow animal lovers. I live in a house filled with rescued cats and dogs, which is by turns delightful and frustrating. Delightful because life doesn’t get much better than snuggling with a book and a kitty in my lap. Frustrating in that many of my books are now missing covers courtesy of a certain coonhound who has an affinity for ripping them off when my back is turned.
According to the experts, there was very little or nothing particularly new at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. Well, pooh on you, you jaded roosters – I found it plenty fascinating.
