Tuesday, June 1, 2010

May 2010 Reads, New Digs & Catching Up

May was a good month! I celebrated my 1st Anniversary at Impressions, wrote a bit more than usual, read a little less, but overall there was balance.

I also redecorated just in time for the celebration and am enjoying the new set up. My old template was giving me problems and it was time for a change. I took the opportunity to create new pages and now My Reviews, Reviews at Musings, 2010 Reads, 2009 Reads, and Disclosure & Rating can be accessed by clicking on the above tabs. 2010 reads are kept by month and 2009 Reads are in alphabetical order by author. There are links everywhere! Yes I know... the organizational bug bit me and I'm enjoying it.

Then last week the Book Expo America and Book Blogger Con were held in New York City, and although I was NOT able to attend either, I did have the opportunity to meet up with KMont of Lurv a la Mode (and hubby) for drinks and a few hours of conversation. It was a treat and a half meeting up with such a warm and wonderful couple. We had a great time just shooting the breeze. :)

When it comes to reading, I was a bit lazy. I didn't make two of my challenges this month. I'm late posting my review for the Re-read Challenge, and I'll be doing a two/fer for the In-Death Challenge in June. But hey, a certain little book thief stole Ceremony in Death right from under me so I couldn't read it on time. My daughter has become a huge fan of Eve and Roarke and is devouring the books at an amazing speed. ;P On the bright side, I did a bit of catching up on the M/M Romance Challenge and read and posted a few reviews this month.

On to my May reads!  Total books read: 15  (complete list here)

My favorite reads this month? Well, there were quite a few and three of them by Josh Lanyon:
  • Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews: A 
  • The Endearment by Lavryle Spencer: A
  • The Hell You Say (Adrien English Mysteries, #3) by Josh Lanyon: A
  • Death of a Pirate King (Adrien English Mysteries, #4) by Josh Lanyon: A-
  • The Dark Tide (Adrien English Mysteries, #5) by Josh Lanyon: A
The biggest surprise for me in May?
  • Romance of Lust or Early Experiences by Anonymous: NG*  Romance of Lust or Early Experiences by Anonymous is a Victorian erotic tale published in 1873-1876 in four volumes. It is believed that it was written by either William Simpson Potter or Edward Sellon and it is considered an erotic literary classic. However, I found the subject matter to be quite controversial and I'll be posting my thoughts on these volumes later on.
My biggest disappointment?
*NG means "No Grade." I have two NG books this month, Labyrinth by Lois McMaster Bujold and Romance of Lust or Early Experiences by Anonymous. 

Labyrinth by Lois McMaster Bujold is part of the Borders of Infinity novel. After reading this short story, I decided that unlike The Mountains of Mourning, it doesn't stand well on its own. I definitely need to start reading the Vorkosigan series from the beginning in order to do this short story justice. 

How about you? This was a great month for new releases... did you read lots of good ones?

10 comments:

  1. I see you had to keep reading the Adrien English books...addictive, aren't they? *grin*

    Oh, and I have Magic Bleeds to pick up from the library on the weekend - I can't wait!

    As for me I adored Breath & Bone (Carol Berg) and Tigers & Devils (Sean Kennedy!)

    BTW, love the redecoration :)

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  2. Love the AE by Lanyon. Just adore that series.

    I just finished Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale. It doesn't come out until August but when it does you MUST read it. So good.

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  3. You already know what I read, lol, but I wanted to tell you that I went to the library and hunted down a copy of The Endearment based on your review. I'm looking forward to reading it this month!

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  4. I love your new look! So simple and elegant. :P

    Good stuff on the AE books. I love them. I keep picking up my e-reader at work and re-reading my favorite passages. Obsessed much? LOL

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  5. Orannia, I am SO addicted to the AE books, I re-read a couple after finishing them. :D Tigers & Devils has been on my radar for a while now, but you know... it takes me a while to get to the books. I'll definitely be reading it, though. So glad you loved it!

    Tracy! I am SO looking forward to Lord of the White Hell by Hale! It's great to hear good things from you. Yay!

    Oh Phyl, I hope you enjoy The Endearment, I look forward to reading your thoughts. I just received Wild Oats by Morsi and can't wait to read it. :)

    Ames, thanks, I'm glad you like the new curtains and the paint job. *g*

    RE: AE books. OMG! I do the same thing... It's wonderful to have these books on the eReader isn't it? I keep going back and re-reading my favorite parts of the books. They really are addictive. :D

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  6. I look forward to hearing what you think of Tigers & Devils when (no pressure) you read it :)

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  7. Hey Hils! :)
    I'm sorry I've been a little MIA on my blog hopping. I don't know where the last couple of weeks disappeared to. I'm so busy. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I love your new tabs! I'm so impressed! I will check out your 2010 Reads often. You are sneaky and read about 3x more books than you blog about. ;)

    I love that you have a resident book thief! ^_^

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  8. Oh, you completed the Adrien English series! And, it looks like you enjoyed it. :-D

    I just finished Magic Bleeds, too, and it lived up to my very high expectations. Very satisfying read.

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  9. Hey Christine! I'm loving those little tabs... they're a great way to keep track of everything. :D

    LOL, and that little book thief cost me a Challenge review and read this month (just kidding). I'm really glad she's so into that series. :D

    Renee, I devoured the AE series! I read them one after another and loved them. Talk about addictive. :) And YES on Magic Bleeds! A great read after all that anticipation.

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  10. @Orannia... I'll definitely post on Tigers & Devils once I get to it -- I'm really looking forward to reading it. :)

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