What did I Read? Ritas, Lammies, Hugos...Oh My!

Every year after all the lists of nominees and finalists for the various awards around town are released, I'm always amazed that after reading massive amounts of books, there are just so many out there that I manage NOT to read! No, no, no... I'm not going to list them here, although I will provide a link to each complete list, but, yes... it is time to figure what or if we read any of those books.

First let's talk about RITA -- take a look at the complete list of the finalists at Wendy's blog, The Misadventures of Super Librarian, it's rather extensive. Out of that list, I read a total of 9 books, and have 1 in my TBR. ONE! The rest of the books in that list are not even in my radar!

Books read & reviewed: (click on titles to read reviews)

Contemporary Single Title Romance:
  Slow Dancing on Price's Pier by Lisa Dale
  Summer at Seaside Cove by Jacquie D’Alessandro*

Historical Romance:
  The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
  The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley
  Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt*
  Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase*

Paranormal Romance:
  Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh
  Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

Romance Novella
  "Angel's Wolf" by Nalini Singh in Angels of Darkness

Book in my TBR Pile:
Historical Romance:
  Unveiled by Courtney Milan

*All the above books were great reads for me. However, Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt and Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase made it to my 2011 Favorite Books list, and Summer at Seaside Cove by Jacquie D'Alessandro was a favorite and an Honorable Mention. And I'm particularly happy for favorite author Lisa Dale! Congratulations and good luck to all!

Have you read many of these books? If so, which books do you recommend?
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Going on to the LAMBDA Literary Awards! Take a look at the complete list at the Lambda Literary Review Blog. When we talk Lammies my percentage is even lower. There's a good reason for that as the Lammies include some sub-genres that I have yet to explore -- but dang! However, although I didn't read most of the books on that list (many of my favorites didn't make it to the finals), it makes me feel better that a couple of my favorite reads made the final cut, and I already had a few on my TBR. :)

Books Read and/or reviewed:

  LGBT-SF/F/H: The German by Lee Thomas*

  Bisexual Non-Fiction: The Horizontal Poet by Jan Steckel

  Gay Erotica: History's Passion: Stories of Sex Before Stonewall Richard Labonté 

Books in my TBR Pile:

  Gay Fiction: Leche, by R. Zamora Linmark

  Gay Fiction: The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov by Paul Russell 

  LGBT-SF/F/H & Bisexual Fiction: Triptych by J.M. Frey

*The German by Lee Thomas made it to my overall 2011 Favorite Books list and my LGBT 2011: Favorite Books and Authors list. Congratulations and good luck to Lee Thomas and Jan Steckel whose books brought me hours of enjoyment!

Have you read any of the books on this list? If so, which books do you recommend?
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Now HUGO!

The Hugo Award nominees won't be announced until April 7, 2012. However, I can tell you that I read two excellent science fiction novels last year that are worthy of a nomination and both could make the cut:

Possible Finalists - Books Read:
  Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
  Embassytown by China Miéville

Possible Nominees - Books in TBR: (Must reads)
  Grail (Jacob's Ladder Book #3) by Elizabeth Bear
  Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for James S.A. Corey and China Miéville!

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Congratulations to all the finalists!

... On Erotica: Reading + Recs (LGBT / Het / Ménage)

While posting my thoughts about Jeff Mann's Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War I noticed that although I read plenty of erotica throughout the year, I have not been posting regularly about my erotica reads. As a matter of fact going through my blog and list of reads, it seems that sometimes I even neglect to list as read some of those books or novellas.

I think I stopped blogging regularly about erotica sometime in 2010?  I'm not sure if this happened because I tend to read this sub-genre in the form of collections or anthologies. I read anthologies slowly (short stories in between other books), and sometimes it takes me so long to finish them that by the time I'm done, I just don't post a review, or maybe it's something else altogether, but I DO read and enjoy them.

Gay Erotica:

For example, right now I'm reading Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits by Jerry L. Wheeler, his latest collection of erotic reads. Wheeler did a terrific job of editing Tented and just seems to have such a great handle on erotica that I couldn't pass up reading his collection. I don't have it up under the "Currently Reading" list of books on my sidebar, but I'm about 25% through this book already. Wheeler also edited another anthology recently (December 2011) that I want to read, Riding the Rails: Locomotive Lust and Carnal Cabooses. That book includes some of my favorite erotica writers: Jeff Mann, Gavin Atlas, Jay Neal, Dale Chase,William Holden, Rick R. Reed, 'Nathan Burgoine, Jeffrey Ricker and Erastes! A great group of writers.

And, I've read the following gay erotic anthologies or collections, but either never listed or blogged about them here.

Frat Boys: Gay Erotic Stories edited by Shane Allison (Cleis Press)
My Name is Rand by Wayne Curtois (Lethe Press)
Bearotica: Hot & Hairy Fiction edited by R. Jackson (Bear Bones Books)
The Back Passage by James Lear (Cleis Press)
The Secret Tunnel by James Lear (Cleis Press)
A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann (Bear Bones Books)
Tented: Gay Erotic Tales From Under the Big Top edited by Jerry L. Wheeler (Lethe Press)

I've read more in this category, but am not going to list them all. Of the books listed above, I highly recommend  A History of Barbed Wire by Jeff Mann and Tented: Gay Erotic Tales From Under the Big Top edited by Jerry L. Wheeler. Also for those who enjoy the unusual, My Name is Rand by Wayne Curtois is a trip and a half!

I actually recommend all the stories listed above: Frat Boys: Gay Erotic Stories edited by Shane Allison is hot and sexy and it has a great mixture of stories about college boys and their sexual adventures (Lambda, Lambda, Lambda). Bearotica edited by R. Jackson has some favorite writers of erotica in there: Jay Neal, Dale Chase (love Chase!), and Thom Wolf . From the James Lear books I recommend The Back Passage over The Secret Tunnel. These are fun erotic mysteries set in England -- BUT, expect lots and lots of sex in these stories. Note that "erotic" comes before "mysteries," so don't be surprised at the amount of sexual scenes in the books.

Erotica and Ménage/Multi-Partnered Erotica:

I'm still reading Samantha Kane's Brothers in Arms series. I read the last two books in that series at the end of last year, and I also read my first book by Megan Hart:

Love's Surrender by Samantha Kane
Love's Fortress by Samantha Kane
Tempted by Megan Hart

The Brothers in Arms series is long and one that I believe tends to be repetitive because in some ways they all end up with the same or similar (M/M/F) type of happy ending. However, those first few books are so good that the whole series becomes addictive, particularly once the characters become familiar and readers connect with them, and that's something that Kane does quite well. She establishes that connection between the reader and her characters. So read on... I know I will!

Megan Hart is a writer whose works came highly recommended. Unfortunately Tempted just didn't do it for me. I didn't really find this story erotic, and although I enjoyed her writing style it felt more like a women's fiction book that attempted to be erotic but failed -- at least it did for me personally -- perhaps because I was expecting the story to be geared towards erotica. I think I gave it an average grade because Hart's prose is excellent and as something besides erotica, the story works well enough. However, I have not given up on Megan Hart. I have Dirty in my TBR and have been told that this is THE book. So I will give Ms. Hart one more shot.

TBR:

I also have quite a few books in my TBR and I'm always buying new books (old and new releases).  For example I just purchased two old releases, Between Dances by Erasmo Guerra, a gay Latino writer who has two interesting books (different genres) that I want to read -- this book is a Lambda Award winner for erotica, and Tales From The Sexual Underground by the prolific and ever-popular writer Rick R. Reed.

And I have ménage and het erotica in droves, and a few polyamorous stories too. I have books lying around the house all over the place, plus quite a lot in my Kindle -- some of them are PNR erotica which I tend not to read. I also have a couple of series to catch up on --  Lorelei James. However, I do have other types of pretty raw erotica from authors whose works are well known and others whose works I've never read and whose names I've never heard before. Maybe I'll just post about my erotica reads once in a while again, some of them are pretty wild, while others are tamer than you might expect, and depending on taste, most of them can be lots of fun to read! :D

My new precious is here!

New computer time, people! My new iMac is here, I got it yesterday. It's shiny and delicious and everything an apple should be. Now I don't have an excuse not to blog, although I'm still getting it all set up (my way), and don't have a review ready yet. But, since I've been whining for a couple of weeks and I do miss all of you, I figured I would give you an update. :)

This puppy is bigger than my old one (it feels huge), and well... I guess because it's newer there are lots of great updated features for it -- so this geek is excited. I'm still playing and finding out what it can do.

In the meantime, I've been reading. Yes, Purgatory pulled me out of that reading slump. I hope it holds. Later!

This n That: Computer Woes + Jeff (the) Mann

Okay my friends it's official: my computer is dead and ready for a funeral. There's no saving it this time. I've been without my trustee friend now for almost two weeks and am going through severe withdrawal symptoms.

I do have an old laptop at home that's so old and slow it is more frustrating than worth the time to try using it for anything. And for posting here, I've borrowed my daughter's laptop a couple of times, but that doesn't really work out on a regular basis. So, yes... time for a new computer. [sigh]  Barring unforeseen complications, I will have a brand new iMac in my hot little hands by Wednesday of this week. Thankfully, hopefully!

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My reading has suffered too, people! I've been flitting like a bee going from flower to flower, back and forth between books. I haven't been able to concentrate for long on one book lately, and that's not due to the books I assure you, it is ALL me! The best I've done so far this month is finish two complete novels, and the rest have been novellas (a couple of them re-reads). The good news is that the two novels I finished were excellent. The first one was The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh, which I loved and already reviewed.

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The other novel I finished was Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War by Jeff Mann. Yes, I read that book yesterday (the Kindle edition. I'm still waiting for the print edition to arrive so I can pet the gorgeous cover, but couldn't wait to read it), and it was worth it. 

The novellas that I read during the week were also mostly by Jeff Mann. I re-read some the short stories from his Lambda Award winning collection A History of Barbed Wire, and also read his novella "Camp Allegheny" from the anthology History's Passions edited by Richard Labonte which I've had ever since it released back in November 2011. Reading both the novella and re-reading some of the short stories served as a refresher in Mann's style before reading his latest release, Purgatory.

Purgatory: A Novel of the Civil War (Bear Bones Books, 2012) turned out to be terrific blend of historical fiction and BDSM erotic romance. Jeff Mann has studied American Civil War history  -- I think he eats it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with some of that excellent Southern cooking he loves -- and in Purgatory the reader can smell and taste war, as well as the hatred, desperation, hunger, and even the ambivalence that the soldiers in this story experience in camp or on the run as they march toward Purgatory Mountain.

I love that aspect of Mann's writing, just as I absolutely appreciate the fact that he is the one author that can really make me understand why his characters need to be part of the gay BDSM bear sub-culture. He is part of this community, and his own passion and understanding for it come forth clearly and powerfully through the pages of this novel, as well as through all his previous works. I love the unabashed passion he conveys for both the gay bear sub-culture and for his Southern roots.

But coming back to Purgatory, Mann blends aspects of BDSM seamlessly in this novel. I wondered how he would approach it in a realistic way because of the historical setting, and was not disappointed. Instead of forcing the issue, Mann beautifully uses the historical setting as a platform to develop this aspect of the story. He does a terrific job of separating and showing the reader the differences between torture and the passionate, erotic, and loving aspects of BDSM. I was particularly taken with his rendering of the captive's character. Understanding his motivations as the submissive in this story is key, and Mann makes certain this is unquestionably clear to the reader. Kudos all around.

Besides the highly recommended Purgatory, and the other stories I mention above, if you're interested in reading and understanding a bit more about Jeff Mann and his writings, I strongly recommend that you also read Binding the God: Ursine Essays from the Mountain South.

ETA: I highlighted the cover for this book earlier because I love it so, and I wanted to add that the cover fits the story and characters perfectly! 
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Well my friends that is it for me on this Sunday. I am hoping to have that computer and some reviews that are long overdue for all of you this week! I'm also hoping to finish a few books that I began reading and have not finished: Songs for the New Depression by Kergan Edwards-Stout, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction edited by Grace L. Dillon, The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne by Madeline Hunter, A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh, Strawberries and Other Erotic Fruits by Jerry L. Wheeler, Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold, and Doubletake by Rob Thurman.

Wish me luck with my reading mojo! I need to get it back!

This n' That: NJ Bloggers + Surprises & Thanks!

A week ago today, I had the pleasure of meeting with my fellow New Jersey bloggers. We are trying to meet at least once per season, if not more often, depending on our busy schedules. It was a pleasure meeting with Christine, Mariana and Natalie again!

This time Mariana chose the place and we met at The Melting Pot in Hoboken where they serve everything fondue! Cheese fondue -- just look at Christine's smile in the picture above! ;p We ended up having a yummy lunch filled with ooohs and ahhhs. Lunch was good, but the dessert was the piece de resistance! The Yin & Yang combination of melted white and dark chocolate was a sight to behold and I don't think there was enough left at the end to lick the bowl. LOL! We all loved it, and I walked away dreaming of strawberries and cheesecake dipped in chocolate. Check out my grainy pictures, doesn't that dessert look yummy?

Of course we also discussed books and our latest reads. Christine shared how much she enjoyed her latest read Eon by Alison Goodman, and she and Mariana recommended it to the rest of us. Natalie shared her surprise with her enjoyment of latest read Homefront by Kristin Hannah, and that turned out to be great because I just happened to have a book by this author in my bag of goodies that she took home with her! Mariana was all about our latest Internet Book Club read The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan, and I was waxing poetic about He Will Laugh by Douglas Ray and the merits of poetry (lol), plus the latest release by Victoria Alexander, My Wicked Little Lies.

We didn't exchange books this time, instead I just brought something for everyone and that helped me make room in my bookshelves. It worked out perfectly for all of us. :)

Thank you ladies for a great time! It was a wonderful, wonderful afternoon!

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I do have two other great ladies I would like to thank. Back in November I put up two posts -- one post was about Pamela Morsi books I purchased and the other post about Mary Balogh books I received from my friend Reny. In one I mentioned that I had been looking for a particular book by Ms. Balogh, and in the comments area of the other there were some great recommendations from the wonderful readers/bloggers that visit.

As a result, I received two books in the mail from two generous and thoughtful ladies!

In the comments area of the Morsi post, JenM recommended The Charm School by Susan Wiggs (1999). When I mentioned that I had only read contemporary romances by this author, but had never read her historical romances, she offered to send me the book and did so immediately. I was quite touched by Jen's generosity!

At that time Jen also recommended Conor's Way by Laura Lee Guhrke, the latest rage around the web (going by all the reviews, lol). Hey Jen! I finally got that book at a great price... 0.99 cents for my Kindle. Thanks for the recommendation. :D

Then! I mentioned that I was missing Indiscreet (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse #1) by Mary Balogh (1997), to complete the series, but that it was next to impossible to find the book at a reasonable price. Well, I received a wonderful surprise on Valentine's Day when a copy of this book arrived at my door all the way from Canada from sweet Ames! She found it at a used book store and thought of me. She made my day!

Thank you JenM and Ames for your generosity and thoughtfulness!

This 'n That: Blogger Friend & LGBT News + Reading Update!

What has everyone been up to this past week? I've had one of my disabling migraines, believe it or not, and have been bedridden for most of the week. I guess stress and everything else got to me, finally! Thankfully, I'm up and running again.

A few things happened this past week that made me happy though, and I'd like to share them with you.

Did you all know that our old blogger friend and all around great reviewer Brie dusted off Musings of a Bibliophile and she's back after a long hiatus? If you didn't know, well... now you do! Go on over and give her a big welcome back! I know we all missed her insightful and thorough reviews. From me to you:

Welcome back, Brie! 

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Then there's the release of the 2012 Over the Rainbow List. This is a list of 74 books chosen by the GLBT round table of the American Library Association. Here's a quote on their mission:

"The committee's mission is to create a bibliography of books that exhibit a commendable literary quality and significant authentic lgbt content and are recommended for adults over the age 18."

Now, I love this list because I can gather titles that I missed reading last year -- I'm always gathering titles. However, I was also rather happy that I not only recognized a few of the titles in that list as books read, but three of those titles made it to my top 10 LGBT books of 2011: The Abode of Bliss by Alex Jeffers, The German by Lee Thomas, and Wilde Stories 2011 edited by Steve Berman.

There are two other books in that list that I read. The young adult graphic novel a+e 4Ever by Ilike Merey was honored as one of the ALA's top ten favorite LGBT books. I read and chose to highlight instead of reviewing this graphic novel about young adults dealing with gender identity and sexuality issues. However if you check out this book, I'm sure you'll find that it has been garnering excellent reviews. And for those of you, who like me, loved A Companion to Wolves, its sequel The Tempering of Men by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear was also chosen under Speculative Fiction! So if you're interested, take a look at the whole list. I've already made my list. :)

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I'm also happy to report that January has been a great reading month so far. Even with last week's bout with migraines. I read three science fiction novels and four science fiction novellas! With one exception, the rest of them were by John Scalzi, an author that I've been putting off reading for quite some time. So now that I've cleaned out some of his books from my TBR, I'm ready to begin reading the very popular Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'll be concentrating on that series in February. So bear with me and my science fiction obsession for one more month.... *g*

What am I reading at the moment? Right now I'm reading a book for the Internet Book Club I joined with Mariana and a few others, The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic... remember that movie?). So far so good! I have a few books by Hoffman in my TBR, but decided to recommend one of her 2011 releases.

This 'n That: Reading Update, Romance & Scifi

Happy weekend everyone! I'm back at work and well... working! Already missing my wonderful, lazy, vacation days and very glad that the weekend is finally here.

My blogging has been spotty these past couple of weeks due to all the beginning of the year craziness, but I have found time for reading. And what have I been reading? Lots of science fiction! Yes... By participating in Carl V's 2012 Science Fiction Experience I've developed a craving for all things sci fi, and I'm the type of reader that obsesses. Sci fi and/or Fantasy can do that to me. :)

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So far this month, I've read lots of Scalzi! From the Metatropolis anthology edited by John Scalzi, I read his novella, "Quiritationem Suis." I also read Scalzi's first novel Old Man's War, and the second book of the Old Man's War trilogy, The Ghost Brigades. I followed that up with a novella set in this same world, After the Coup. Right now I'm reading The Sagan Diary in preparation for the third and last book of the original Old Man's War trilogy, The Last Colony. After I finish that book, I'll write up an overview about the trilogy. What I can tell you is that so far the first book is my favorite, it is definitely quick paced military science fiction with great action and flow. Scalzi also gives the reader something to think about without beating him/her over the head with a hammer, and yes... there's actually a love interest in there! Can you believe it? :)

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Also as a follow up to reading Leviathan Wakes in December, I read the novella The Butcher of Anderson Station: A Story of The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. This novella focuses on an incident that defined the career of (and eventually the man) one of the characters that plays a key role in Leviathan Wakes. Fred Johnson is the leader of the OPA (Outer Planets Alliance) by the time we meet him in Leviathan Wakes. Throughout the book he was referred to as the Butcher of Anderson Station, however that was never explained.

This story goes back in time and focuses on that story, giving the readers and fans of this new series a terrific first person account of exactly what shaped this character. It also gives the reader further insight into how Earth viewed Belters and why Fred eventually turns from hero to traitor. The story feels rather incomplete, though. By the end there's a sense that there's more to Fred, or that there should be more. The political implications are touched upon lightly in this novella, and I'm hoping that the second book of the trilogy will give us more Fred. Of course, to me this was just an appetizer before the main course. That would be Caliban's War (Expanse #2), coming in June 2012.

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And sticking with the subject of sci fi, if you like old style pulp sci fi, you need to check out Carl V's post on Hunt the Space Witch! by Robert Silverberg. I haven't read anything by this author and after reading that post of course I immediately purchased the book. I love pulp, plus hmm... check out that cover!

I also joined the 2012 TBR Challenge, hosted by our Super Librarian Wendy. However, between the Science Fiction Experience and Wendy's TBR Challenge, so far this year I've added more to my reading pile than I've read! How is that helping me? Well, hopefully it will help me gather some great titles instead of duds. Right? Isn't that a wonderful way to rationalize my recent book-buying spree? Check out my recent additions:

• Hunt The Space Witch! by Robert Silverberg
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• The Breach by Patrick Lee
• The God Engines by John Scalzi
• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
• Ghost in the Machine by Barbara J. Hancock (SFR)
• His Secret Past by Ellen Hartman (Phyl's Review)
• Because of the List by Amy Knupp (Lori's Review)

After reading Scalzi's Old Man's War I experienced a bit of nostalgia, so to re-read a couple of books I no longer own, I also purchased in ebook format two old classics:

• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

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In other news, I broke the sci fi spell I was under by reading a couple of contemporary romances. One of those books was by Emily March. She's a new-to-me author and for some reason I kept looking at her latest release Lover's Leap: An Eternity Springs Novel and going back to it, until I bought it and read it this last week.

This book is part of a series, but it's pretty much a self-contained romance, so it was not too tough reading it and getting into it. It's basically a story about second chances at love, errors in judgment, redemption, and forgiveness. It's an interesting series, although there's something 'quirky' about it. A lot of talk about the 'angel inside' and 'miracles.' I wasn't too taken with this aspect of the book... plus there's this character, Celeste who comes off as kind of "new-agey," who seems to be the center of the whole series. I know there was something about her that I missed. Definitely. For me, it was an okay contemporary romance with a couple of frustrating moments provided by one character that turned out to be particularly immature. Has anyone read the other books in this series? I'm curious because I liked some of the secondary characters.

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I read a few other books, including Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis, but I'll be reviewing those books later on. 

2011 Moments and Final Recap!

Well, my overall recap for 2011 is here at last! It was a very good year! I read more than expected considering my crazy work schedule and family's health problems, but best of all I read some excellent books along the way and had a good time too.

Favorites:

• 2011 Year-End: Favorite Books: All done!
• LGBT 2011: Favorite Books and Authors: All done!

Best Moments of 2011: Meeting friends (old and new), bloggers, and authors.

• Meeting a Friend, NYC, Dinner, and Books!
• Meeting Nalini Singh!
• RWA Literary Signing
• Catching Up June's Events, Books & Bloggers
• NJ Bloggers: Dinner, Books and the Heat!

Favorite Posts/Reviews:

• The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa - Talk about obsession, I actually wrote THREE posts about this book: The review, plus two posts at my side blog Quotes & Thoughts, with my favorite of those two being Sex and Power in the Feast of the Goat. 
• The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam by Alex Jeffers: I loved this book and writing the review was a pleasure, but then came the cherry on top. I'm not a fangirl, far from it, but when Mr. Jeffers came by and left a comment on my review, there was a flutter of the fangirl about me for a minute there... I admit it! LOLOL! 
• John Donne - The Good Morrow: This was a totally self-indulgent post that went up after I spent weeks perusing some of my favorite works by Donne. If left up to me I would probably have posted about ten pages on his poetry and essays, but I figured you would all be snoring by the time I finished. LOL! Instead my post became a very small summary. To all those Donne-crazed fans who came by and made it my second most visited post of the year, a BIG thank you!! ;P

Worst moment of 2011:

• Deleting ALL the numbers for previous years from my Stat Counter! Yes... in January 2011, I accidentally deleted my Impressions "project," lost all my numbers, and was not able to recover them. My numbers started anew as of the second week of January. Again! Oh... the idiocy! 

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2011 Challenges:

As far as Challenges go, I only joined two in 2011: I continued the In-Death Challenge hosted by The happily ever after... where I failed miserable by not reading any books during the whole year! I mean, not ONE -- see my summary page. Fail! [Hangs head in shame]

I also joined the 2011 Book Club: The Women of Fantasy hosted by Jawa Reads, Too! I did a better job there. I chose four books to read for the year. Unfortunately as you will see on my summary page, I completed one book and "DNF" (did not finish) two of the books. The book club did not continue with reading and discussions after June, so the fourth book is still in my TBR.

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Numbers

Total books read: 202

Total Posts: 153

Total Reviews/Minis: 156
Books by Categories:
  LGBT (Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Thrillers, YA): 57
  Contemporary (Romance/Fiction/Erotica): 48
  Historical: (Romance/Fiction): 44
  Paranormal Romance: 11
  Urban Fantasy: 11
  Fantasy/Speculative Fiction: 10
  Science Fiction/Science Fiction Romance: 8
  Mysteries: 5
  Misc (Fiction/Children's/Poetry/Non-Fiction): 7

During 2011, I kept better records at Goodreads than I did at my blog. I actually had to reconcile my books read titles and numbers between the two sites! LGBT is my highest number for the year and that is a surprise (TY 57 vs. LY 36), especially since I read very few books in that category during the first half of the year. And I'm quite happy with the increase in the historical romance numbers (TY 44 vs. LY 26). I didn't quite reach my personal goal of reading 12 books for the year in the Fantasy category, but did increase the number (TY 10 vs. LY 2).

Observations:

• A noticeable change from 2010 to 2011 is the fact that I read more new releases and less books from my TBR or "to be read" pile of books. As a matter of fact, I added quite a bit to that pile! 
• In 2011 I also accepted more books or ARCs for review. That's unusual for me, but even through all the stressful family emergencies somehow I found the time to keep up with most of the commitments I accepted during the year, and discovered some favorite reads and authors there! So, it turned out to be a good overall experience. 
• This was the year of the anthology for me too. I read approximately 15 anthologies that included everything from 3 to 29 novellas or short stories! That's a record for me. 
• And last, but not least, I joined Twitter after much bellyaching. I still don't really use it much and only think of using it after the fact, but I'll get there, someday. *g* 

That is it!! Now I'll look forward to 2012, and start fresh with the new year. :)

Happy New Year! 2012... Yikes!

Happy 2012!!!

Wishing you all, health, happiness, success and

all the best for the New Year! 

Hilcia

Christmas Eve Traditions... La Noche Buena

It's Christmas Eve, and tonight my family will get together for our traditional "Noche Buena" dinner.

Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) is when we have our big celebratory dinner with all the trimmings. All our family and friends who don't have close family in the area eat, toast, and dance (yes, dance) and celebrate while teasing the kids as they wait on pins and needles for Santa to show up after midnight. Of course, we borrowed Santa. Traditionally, Santa Claus was not part of our culture.

It used to be that the kids had to wait until January 6th, El Dia De Los Reyes or Three Kings Day, to receive presents. I remember leaving water and grass for the camels, and something special for "my" King -- we each chose our own. I used to love that anticipation when I was a little girl.

The celebration is usually done by midnight when adults exchange gifts and children (if they're awake) receive a token. They still have to wait until Christmas morning to find out what Santa left for them. Some adults go to a midnight service, others celebrate a bit longer, and still others will go home to get ready for Christmas day. It's a long night! A beautiful night that we look forward to all year long, and a cultural tradition that we have passed along to our children throughout the years.

Here's a great book I found about this tradition. It's a children's book and quite appropriate:

La Noche Buena: A Christmas Story by Antonio Sacre, illustrated by Angela Dominguez

Nina is visiting her grandmother in Miami for Christmas. Usually she spends it in snowy New England with her mother and her family, but this year is different. She isn’t certain what to make of a hot and humid holiday, until she learns the traditions of her father’s side of the family from her Cuban grandmother. She helps prepare for the evening and takes part in all their traditions—the intricate cooking for the feast, the dancing, the music, and the gathering of relatives and neighbors. It all comes together for a Noche Buena that Nina will never forget.

Antonio Sacre and Angela Dominguez have created a wonderful story that everyone who celebrates Christmas will enjoy. The book includes a glossary of Spanish words.

About the author
Antonio Sacre is a Cuban-American writer, storyteller, and performance artist. He lives in Los Angeles. Visit him online here.

Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City and lives in northern California. She illustrated Ava Tree and the Wishes Three and Carmen Learns English. Visit her online here. 

Twas the Night Before Christmas,

When all through the house

There were sounds of laughter,

Rumba, Mambo, Son

and joy all around.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hilcia

What Am I Reading? The Hunter by Theresa Meyers, Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, and...

Hey y'all, I disappeared this week! It has been all about work, work, and no play this last week. And I mean work. I haven't even had time to read, and that should really say it all because that's rare unless I'm suffering from reader's block.

I've been halfway through Sweetwood Bride by Pamela Morsi for over a week now, and still haven't finished it! That's a shame because although the story is not a favorite so far, it is still Morsi worthy. :) 

I'm also in the process of reading a gorgeous science fiction opera book that has been in my TBR since June when it first released! I'm highly enjoying it and can't believe I waited so long to start on it.  Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse) by James S.A. Corey is a mammoth 592 page book with unforgettable characters, incredible action (so far), and great science fiction details. This is science fiction, though... not sci-fi  romance. It has been a while since I read straight sci-fi and forgot how wonderful it can just... be. I promised myself this book would be finished before the end of the year, and it will! It's a personal challenge, lol.

I have been carrying another book around with me this whole week though... and  I've read a total of five pages! The thing is that this book really caught my eye and I can't wait to get into the meat of it... so, I. am. so. frustrated! You ask... "why aren't you reading right now instead of blogging?" Well, I only have a few minutes break and want the time to enjoy the book... I don't want to read it two pages at a time. I hate doing that.

Which book is it? Well, it's one of those books that arrived on my doorstep late November. Here it is:

The Hunter by Theresa Meyers

Colt Jackson has gotten his name on many a wanted poster with success in the family business: hunting supernaturals across the frontier. Lately, though, there's a sulfur stink in the wind and the Darkin population is exploding. A rift in the worlds is appearing. To close it, Colt will have to do the unthinkable and work with a demon to pass arcane boundaries no human alone can cross.

Except when he summons his demon, he doesn't get some horned monstrosity: he gets a curvy redheaded succubus named Lilly, who's willing to make a bargain to become human again. He also gets Lilly's secret expertise on the machinations on the dark side of the rift. And her charm and cleverness help to get them out of what his silver-loaded pistol and mechanical horse can't. Of course, when all hell breaks loose, he might have to sacrifice his soul. But what's adventure without a little risk?

Why this book? Well, how could I resist? It's a combination western, steampunk, paranormal romance! Can you imagine me passing up a cowboy hero in a steampunkish western set up? Hmm... nope! I love the cover too! I love that clockwork horse in the background. The Hunter is Book One of The Legend Chronicles, so if I like this book where foes are vampires and the heroine is a succubus, then there's a new series in the offing for me!

ETA: How could I forget this note... there are three brothers, this book is about Colt, but the other two brothers' names are: Winchester and Remington -- they all share names with famous brands of guns or rifles. I love that detail. ;P

I hope to catch up with my reading, as well as post a few reviews! For now... thank goodness it's Friday!

This 'n That: Catching Up, Kindle Fire Likes & Concerns

Hi everyone! Last week I posted almost every day and was rolling and this week I was only able to post one review. Well, yes... this year continues to plague my family with lots of emergencies. My dad was hospitalized for an emergency heart-related procedure. Although it was quite stressful at the time, the good news is that all is well, thank goodness! I am lucky enough to have three wonderful supportive brothers, a husband, sister-in-law and daughter that are there to help deal with the stress. My boss has been quite wonderful in allowing me the time to deal with all the family situations that have cropped up this year as well. Kudos and thanks to her! We are all trying to relax this weekend and hopefully will catch a break for a little while so we can be ready for whatever lies around the corner.

Throughout last week I did have a few distracting, happy moments provided by the arrival of my very special birthday present -- the Kindle Fire. Let me see... so far I have great news and some reservations about this wonderful toy. And it is quite a toy! It's a combination eReader and Pad (very similar to the iPad).

Reading and Device Features I like: 

• Size -- it's the size of a paperback and it fits in my bag easier than my other Kindle (K2).
• Bigger reading screen that allows me to read in portrait or landscape formats by just turning the device.
• Easier and faster paging. 
• Color covers for books arranged on shelf - makes it feel as if you're picking them off your own bookshelves. Seeing those beautiful covers makes me want to read books that have been in my old Kindle TBR FOREVER. 
• The books keep the "New" label until they are opened and read. When sorting books by "most recent", the new books always appear first along with the books just read or recently opened. Love this! 
• Cloud: Downloading books to the cloud allows me to download them to multiple devices (to both Kindles + my computer) and it allows me to see all my books, but download only what I want to read in a particular device. Love this feature!
• Highlighting and Dictionary features are better than in old Kindle. Plus, there's the option of going directly to Wiki.
• I love the touch screen (no breakable knobs parts), but there's a catch to this (see below).
• Amazon Prime Member Free Library -- WOW, love books in that library.

Other features I love:

• Music! Uploaded all my music to the Cloud
• Newsstand -- Already have magazines and newspapers in there
• Videos -- Great stuff! No videos yet.
• Docs -- Can have documents in there. I still don't have any
• Apps -- There are free apps and interface with Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Can download more! I especially love that I was able to load all my email accounts and am able to read and answer them from the device. I also loaded my office calendar into the device already -- yeah, well.... *g*
• Web -- Fast and easy... I've bookmarked all my favorite blogs, Goodreads and other sites.

Reservations or Concerns so far:

• Books can't be sorted by collections. This is a great feature available in other Kindles. If this feature is available for the KFire, I haven't figured out how to use it yet.
• No PDF Files! The Kindle Fire does NOT read PDF files. The other Kindles read PDF files that are loaded free of charge via USB cable. For the KFire they have to be sent to amazon via email for "conversion" so they can then be read. I have loads of books in PDF format still unread. Why change this feature at this point in the game? 
• WiFi, not 3G: Books, magazines, music, etc... are downloaded to the device via WiFi services or USB cable. This is easy enough at home or if you have passwords for specific locations (office/friends & family's homes) or free public access, but if there are dead zones or there's no free public access there's no using the Web or multiple apps.
• Screen is backlit: The screen to the reader is back lit just like a computer, which is great for reading in dark places. BUT, I haven't read a complete book yet so I'm not sure if this is going to affect my vision or give me a headache. This is a concern for me even though I've been told it's all good.
• Glass-like screen: The screen is glass-like which makes it fragile and breakable (see warranty for this). I have a great case for it with a hard back but it's a concern for me since I take my Kindle everywhere with me. Also because it's like glass, it is reflective (unlike the old Kindles), it's not too bothersome but something I need to get used to.  
• Battery Time: Charge on the battery only lasts for eight hours of straight reading and it takes four hours for the device to charge fully. Now, I know this is a long time for someone to read, but I read for eight hours straight (and more) on the weekends and if you're listening to music, running other apps, or have the WiFi on at the same time the battery runs down fast.
• Distractions: I know this is a new toy, but so far I find that having all the different apps together with the reader distracts me from reading. My concentration has been shot! I begin reading a book but then I want to look or hear or see something else -- a bit too much stimuli! Maybe this will change later for me. 

So you ask, have I finished any books in the Kindle Fire yet? Well yes, I finished the one book I was reading when the device arrived, Chulito by Charles Rice-González, and I'll be posting all about this book later on. However, I've not been able to read any other books even though I've begun a few of them. Hopefully this weekend that will change.

The Birthday Gift!

The best ever birthday gift for a reader born under the Scorpio sign this year. The Kindle Fire!!!

Score!!!!