Thursday, April 1, 2010

Coffee, Dessert, NJ Bloggers & Books

March was a long month for me... so many things happened that it just seemed to go on forever. It has been a tough first quarter for me personally in 2010 -- tough changes, family health issues and other events -- but, I'm hopeful things will get better, afterall Spring is here!

However, March ended on a high note for me. After many emails, scheduling and re-scheduling, I finally met three beautiful, sweet and wonderful New Jersey bloggers in person! Last Saturday, Christine (The happily ever after...), Mariana (Hips Like Mine), Natalie (Reading 2 Learn) and I met for coffee and dessert and had the best time discussing books, blogging and just getting to know each other. I'm afraid we didn't take pictures to share with you. :( We were all so busy talking, talking, talking none of us thought of it -- I know I didn't. After my tough month, I really needed that. Thank you ladies for driving all the way up to meet me!

I came home with some books too. :) Mariana was getting rid of some books and I chose a few (didn't want to be too greedy, lol). And, I borrowed a few books from Christine. Here they are:



Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Getting Lucky by Susan Andersen and Summer in Eclipse Bay by Jane Ann Krentz are all backlist books from these authors that I've been wanting to read, and for one reason or another didn't buy or get to yet. So now I have them!


I read Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island Trilogy a looong time ago. At the time, I decided to exchange all three books at a used book store for other Nora Roberts books I wanted to read. Mistake! For years I've been meaning to buy them again so I can make them part of my Roberts collection and so I can re-read them, now I can. Thank you, Mariana!



AND, because I don't have enough to read, lol... Christine, sweetheart that she is, offered to lend me Stolen Fury, Stolen Heat and Stolen Seduction by Elisabeth Naughton. I've been wanting to read this author for quite a while and now I have the opportunity. Thank you, Christine!

Note ALL the books are contemporaries. I'm still craving those a contemporary romances as you'll see when I post my March reads list later on. :)

Meeting Christine, Mariana and Natalie was a great experience. It's amazing how we just all sat around and talked as if we had been doing so forever. It was lovely to experience how the love of books and reading can bring people together in such a comfortable way. Hopefully we'll be doing it again soon. :D

13 comments:

  1. You beat me to it! LOL! I've been meaning to post about our get together every day since the weekend. I think I still will. I was thinking of posting the never ending list of books that Mariana gave me, but I feel guilty. Oh my goodness, was I greedy!? ^_^

    I, too, had a wonderful time on Saturday, Hils. I'm so glad we finally got that meet up off the ground. Now it should be easier to do it more often.

    I hope you enjoy the Stolen trilogy! : )

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  2. No pictures?! :( Still, so cool to be able to talk, in person, to other book lovers.

    Oh, you got some good books Hils. I listened to the Nora trilogy not too long ago. It was pretty good.

    I finished Stolen Fury and hope to get the review up in the next few days. Let's just say I'm happy I've got the next two books on the tbr pile. :)

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  3. The Three Sisters Island trilogy is one that I very much enjoyed! And wow, what a collection you came back with! It's great that you got to meet some bloggers. I'm shy and a social klutz...not sure if I can ever meet bloggers face to face. But I love hearing about these meets! Lol. I know, such a hypocrite!

    I hope things will get better for you in all regards. It's tough with any changes. But it's great that you have optimism! :)

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  4. I hope Spring is a far better season for you!

    And you got to meet Christine, Mariana and Natalie? WOW! So jealous :) Oh, and Natural Born Charmer was my first SEP book and I loved it!

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  5. Leslie, I know!!! I can't believe we sat together for nearly three and a half hours--or was it more? and we didn't even snap a photo. Not even from one of our cell phones! Next time.

    Tabitha, these women are so lovely. Kind, warm, generous and so open minded and open hearted. They could make even a "shy social klutz" feel at ease. You would be safe and comfortable in their company.

    orannia, Hils got Natural Born Charmer from Mariana, but I think I came home with every other SEP book ever published! LOL. You should have SEEN the library Mariana had under her bed and in her closet!!

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  6. It looks like I commented as if this were *my* blog. LOLOL! Sorry, Hilcia.

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  7. Christine! You need to post... no guilt, remember I'm getting the In Death books, these were extras, sooo... hmmm... greedy? lol! I want to see your haul. That WAS a great time, right? Now it will get easier to do it again. *g* I can't wait to read that trilogy. Thank YOU!

    LOL! You answered the questions better than I would have! :D

    Leslie, The Three Sisters Island trilogy is not a favorite, but I've been wanting to re-read it for a long time, and it completes my NR trilogy collection. :) Next time... pictures!

    And yes, we decided on coffee and dessert to make it a short meeting the first time and next thing we knew it was about 3 1/2 hours! Tabitha, I bet if we met and began talking about Karen Rose or Nora Roberts you wouldn't be shy at all. *g*

    Orannia, thank you. I wish you were closer (in this hemisphere) so we could meet you too. :)

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  8. How fun for you guys! That's awesome that you guys got together. I can't speak for Mariana and Natalie since I've not met them but I LUBS Christine - glad you got to meet her Hilcia! :)

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  9. Great for you ladies to meet!! Really cool :D Next time, we want pictures though! :D

    Hmmm, I only read the two last books of that NR trilogy. Perhaps I should go back and read it...

    I have Stolen Heat in my TBR pile. Should try getting to it soon :P

    and ohhh, I hope you enjoy Getting Lucky. It was an okay book :) Not the best, but okay.

    And Tabitha, even being a social klutz, when you meet other bloggers, it's kind of magical. You know right away what to talk about: books :D So it's really easy to interact :)

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  10. Tracy, it was SO nice! I can see why the SoCal bloggers meet all the time. *g*

    Nath, it WAS cool! Next time... pictures!
    I only read that NR trilogy once *gasp* a long time ago. It's going to feel new to me. :) You know I'm making my way slowly through Andersen's backlist, so I'm so glad to get my hands on Getting Lucky.
    I can't wait to begin reading the Naughton books...

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  11. Awww, Tracy! I LUBS you, too!!!
    One day you and I will meet in person as well. :)

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  12. Seriously, you've only read this trilogy? Ohhh, Hils, you need to read the Chesapeake Quartet!!

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  13. Nath, I've read all the NR trilogies. I meant to say that this is the only NR trilogy I've never re-read. *g* I LOVE, love, love... the Cheasapeake trilogy! ;D

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