Wednesday, April 4, 2012

March 2012: Reads + Updates

March, the month when "real life" kicked my ass and drew me deep into that black hole we all refer to as a reading slump. Don't let the numbers below fool you, most of my reads were short stories, novellas or short reads. I couldn't concentrate for long periods of time and those books are all I was able to manage, particularly during the first 3/4 of the month.

As a result, I began and didn't finish an enormous amount of books this month. I'll get back to them when I settle down. I also book shopped like a mad person and I ended up buying books that I've had on my wish list for a long time, all in the hopes of finding books that would grab my attention and hold it for more than a mere hour. I found a couple.

Here's my list:
Total books read: 14  Re-read: 1 
Contemporary: 4 (Romance: 2 Erotica: 2)
Historical Romance: 1
Urban Fantasy: 2
LGBT: 8
    Erotica: 4
    Fantasy: 1
    Romance: 2
    Historical Erotic Fiction:1

1.   Maybe with a Chance of Certainty by John Goode: B-
2.   Brorotica by Guy New York: C-
3.   Chicks are for Fags by Guy New York: C-
4.   Hana: Polyamory and Erotica in New York by Guy New York: C-
5.   The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh: A
6.   A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Re-read): B+
7.   History's Passion: Stories of Sex before Stonewall edited by R. Labonté: B+
8.   Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War by Jeff Mann: A-
9.   Dalton's Undoing (Cowboys of Cold Creed #3) by RaeAnne Thayne: B
10. The White Knight by Josh Lanyon: C+
11. Chance of a Lifetime by Joey W. Hill: B
12. Point of Knives: A Novella of Astreiant by Melissa Scott (Review to come)
13. Doubletake (Cal Leandros #7) by Rob Thurman: (Upcoming Buddy Review)
14. Woodrose Mountain (Hopes Crossing #2) by RaeAnne Thayne: B-
15. Discount Armageddon (InCryptid #1) by Seanan McGuire: B

Reading:
I'm reluctant to list what I'm reading at the moment because I've been jumping around so much, but I'll list the following two books:


The first book I'm reading is Point of Hopes by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett, the first book of the original duology that was just re-released by Lethe Press. The book I'm reading is actually a copy of the old edition I happened to have in my book shelves, but click on the title of the book to check out the new cover. Also, last month I read the eARC of Point of Knives: A Novella of Astreiant, a brand new novella by Melissa Scott that will release in July and that chronologically falls between the two books, Point of Hopes, Book 1, and Point of Dreams, Book 2.  Expect my review of Point of Knives closer to the release date. ;P


The second book I'm reading is About That Night by Julie James. This is a contemporary romance that I've been looking forward to reading for a while. The set up for Kyle's story during the previous book in this series was fun and I can't wait to find out exactly what's going on with the Twitter Terrorist.

That's it for my March update. I read some great books, however it really was the most frustrating month reading-wise for me so far this year. How about you? How did your March go? Any great reads?

8 comments:

  1. It can be so frustrating, not being able to find something that will hold your attention. I think my problem comes from having too much to choose from so I end up getting frustrated and not choosing anything.

    Well, my March was pretty good, some really good reads and a couple not so good. Hope April is going better for you. :)

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    1. Hey Leslie! I think I share that problem sometimes -- too much of a good thing sometimes? Don't know. I just think "real life" has interfered with my reading mojo. :)

      I'm so glad your march was great. I have high hopes for April :)

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  2. Well given with everything you have on your plate, Hils, it's not surprising that you reading took a hit. And even if you say not to be fooled by your number, it still looks impressive. I think you still read more than me LOL.

    I'm going to try to put the buddy review together soon ;)

    And hopefully, About That Night will pull you out of your funk :)

    As for my reading for March, a lot of good books in the beginning of the month, but nothing much at the end ^_^; So loopside! I blame the release schedule LOL.

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    1. Nath, I did my best! It has been tough. Some of those reads are really short. :( But I did find some good ones that I loved, and that's always great.

      LOL on that release schedule, it has been brutal this year! I found some great reads toward the end of the month. :)

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  3. Hi Hils,

    I think these types of reading slumps are natural and cyclical for folks who read as much as you do. After a while you do hit a saturation wall and when real life is concurrently kicking your butt it makes it worse. Still though, 14 books in one month (reagrdless of length) is pretty impressive.

    Although I'm not in a reading slump per se I am experiencing a similar restlessness of sorts and as you am finding it difficult to concentrate on any given book. I'm reading for sure, but also jumping around. This happens to me at least once a year and when it does what I usually do is some re-reads to get me back on track again. It usually works. Last week I re-read some of the early BDB books which I'm even thinking of reviewing! Never thought that would happen in a million years! LOL

    I hope things on the real life front ease up for you and April proves to be a smoother and more productive reading month.

    Take care,

    Indie

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    1. Indi! I think you're right. Burn out? It happens! Real life has a lot to do with it though. It has really affected my concentration. :(

      I hate the restlessness in reading. I'm sorry you're going through the same cycle. I usually re-read too! But I haven't tried that remedy yet... I should! The BDB? Really? LOL! I would love to read your reviews about the Brothers... are you going to read Tohr's book? I was tempted to read it, just to finish off the series about the brothers, but hmm.... I think I'll wait for the paperback, LOL!

      Thanks for the good wishes. :)

      (((Hugs)))

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  4. Hi Hils, First off.. hugs to you for real life kicking your butt. I hope things are calmer and you had a lovely Easter. Secondly, sorry about the reading slump! That's the worst! I dislike those weeks when I sort of flitter between books--reading 20 pages in this one, a chapter in that one, a dozen pages in another one... and never quite getting pulled in by any of them, usually not to the fault of the book but to my ability to concentrate! Anyway, hope that's better this week, too.

    I had About That Night in my hands at Target last week and put it down. I don't know what's wrong with me other than I knew I had it in my amazon cart already. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I want to read the twitter terrorist's story, too! LOL! Maybe you finished it already? If so, what's the verdict?

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    1. Thanks, Christine! I hope you had a wonderful Easter with your family.

      I think I've read more 20 pages and chapters this last month than ever. Oh... and single short stories within anthologies that I have not finished. It's frustrating.

      About That Night is worth reading. I know you like Julie James, and I think you'll like this one. I did finish it and enjoyed it. :) Although I admit to enjoying A Lot Like Love more. Review to come, lol!

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