Well, I thought I'd see how a person could make any money offering books, CDs and DVDs for a penny on Amazon. I mean, I'm competing against that price whenever I list stuff.
So, I listed a book I got free for a one penny sales price. And the experiment worked.
I just listed the book yesterday as soon as I'd finished writing the review, and it sold this evening.
With the Amazon built-in shipping, I made a whopping $1.66 for that book. But wait, there's more! I also had to pay for shipping to ship it to its new owner, to the tune of $3.07.
Basically, I can list books (let's just leave it at books, OK?) for a penny, but I lose about a buck and a half on the transaction.
Bottom line? My minimum price for a break even transaction is about $1.50 for a book. That's good to know.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Facebook Friends
There are some people with whom I do not wish to be connected on Facebook. My ex-husband is among them. I really wish that when I clicked the little X, he really would disappear from the people Facebook suggests, but no such luck. He keeps popping up.
Book Review: The Miracle of Mercy Land
The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan.
The author's name makes me giggle, just so you know.
Like the author, River Jordan, Mercy Land is a person, not a place.
Miracle sounded interesting when I chose it at booksforblogging.org, but once I got it, I had second thoughts. I spent the first few chapters of this book wondering if I would be able to finish it. The writing style is very talky, and not one I generally like in my reading material. For most of the first half of the book, the story is told from the perspective of Mercy Land, a young woman from Alabama. Alternating throughout the book are journal entries by her boss at the paper, Doc Philiips, with one or two as John (another character) thinking. These alternating points of view are easily identifiable and are in no way confusing. A couple of them are used as venues for exposition, and I guess by now, you know I fail completely to be a fan of tell-not-show. I did finish the book, though, and while I wasn't wowed by it like some others seem to be, I did enjoy the read.
Mercy Land is born on a riverbank (literally), during a freak thunderstorm in not-even small-town Alabama. Though she relates some of her childhood, the story actually takes place during her adult life, after she has moved to Bay City, Alabama, which is big enough for a Woolworth's and a couple of restaurants, but definitely not Mobile or Atlanta, Georgia. The sequence of events she relates occurs during her tenure at the Banner, the local newspaper, in the mid to late 1930s.
While I don't generally enjoy talky books, Mercy is a unique enough individual that I got a kick out of her. She was born to parents on the upper side of the riverbank, as opposed to the lower classes who lived on the other side of the Bittersweet River. She talks to herself some in the book, and sometimes lapses into her country-speak while giving herself pep talks, and this is sort of entertaining. Mercy is also unique in that her childhood, while not one of plenty, is a happy one. She is a grown woman, and a smart one, not necessarily naive, and without an ugly bone in her body. I'm talking about pretty-is-as-pretty-does, not physical beauty.
The heart of the story is that a few years into her work with Doc at the Banner, Doc magically (again, literally) comes into possession of a miraculous book of light that contains people's lives - the choices they made, the paths they did take and the ones they might have taken. Doc entrusts Mercy with the safekeeping of the key to this book, and as a team they protect it from others who might use the information in the book for harm. In reaction to the book, Doc pretends to plan for retirement and invites a strange man to town allegedly to take over the paper. Mercy picks this man up at the train, and knows almost right away that he's not here for the newspaper, though she continues to be confused as to why he IS there.
The remainder of the book is the story of connections: to past, to present, to Bay City, to Bittersweet, and how those connections create and destroy trust between the characters, most notably between Mercy and her "family" of people.
In the end, I'm still not sure why the book came to Doc Phillips, what purpose it served other than to be the center of the story. I enjoyed Miracle enough to finish reading it, and I will probably not be searching out another by River Jordan anytime soon.
You can read the first chapter free by clicking on the image of the book and clicking on "read first chapter free" to the right of the page.
FTC Disclaimer: Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, who shipped this book to me at no charge for the purpose of reviewing it for my blog and for their website.
The author's name makes me giggle, just so you know.
Like the author, River Jordan, Mercy Land is a person, not a place.
Miracle sounded interesting when I chose it at booksforblogging.org, but once I got it, I had second thoughts. I spent the first few chapters of this book wondering if I would be able to finish it. The writing style is very talky, and not one I generally like in my reading material. For most of the first half of the book, the story is told from the perspective of Mercy Land, a young woman from Alabama. Alternating throughout the book are journal entries by her boss at the paper, Doc Philiips, with one or two as John (another character) thinking. These alternating points of view are easily identifiable and are in no way confusing. A couple of them are used as venues for exposition, and I guess by now, you know I fail completely to be a fan of tell-not-show. I did finish the book, though, and while I wasn't wowed by it like some others seem to be, I did enjoy the read.
Mercy Land is born on a riverbank (literally), during a freak thunderstorm in not-even small-town Alabama. Though she relates some of her childhood, the story actually takes place during her adult life, after she has moved to Bay City, Alabama, which is big enough for a Woolworth's and a couple of restaurants, but definitely not Mobile or Atlanta, Georgia. The sequence of events she relates occurs during her tenure at the Banner, the local newspaper, in the mid to late 1930s.
While I don't generally enjoy talky books, Mercy is a unique enough individual that I got a kick out of her. She was born to parents on the upper side of the riverbank, as opposed to the lower classes who lived on the other side of the Bittersweet River. She talks to herself some in the book, and sometimes lapses into her country-speak while giving herself pep talks, and this is sort of entertaining. Mercy is also unique in that her childhood, while not one of plenty, is a happy one. She is a grown woman, and a smart one, not necessarily naive, and without an ugly bone in her body. I'm talking about pretty-is-as-pretty-does, not physical beauty.
The heart of the story is that a few years into her work with Doc at the Banner, Doc magically (again, literally) comes into possession of a miraculous book of light that contains people's lives - the choices they made, the paths they did take and the ones they might have taken. Doc entrusts Mercy with the safekeeping of the key to this book, and as a team they protect it from others who might use the information in the book for harm. In reaction to the book, Doc pretends to plan for retirement and invites a strange man to town allegedly to take over the paper. Mercy picks this man up at the train, and knows almost right away that he's not here for the newspaper, though she continues to be confused as to why he IS there.
The remainder of the book is the story of connections: to past, to present, to Bay City, to Bittersweet, and how those connections create and destroy trust between the characters, most notably between Mercy and her "family" of people.
In the end, I'm still not sure why the book came to Doc Phillips, what purpose it served other than to be the center of the story. I enjoyed Miracle enough to finish reading it, and I will probably not be searching out another by River Jordan anytime soon.
You can read the first chapter free by clicking on the image of the book and clicking on "read first chapter free" to the right of the page.
FTC Disclaimer: Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, who shipped this book to me at no charge for the purpose of reviewing it for my blog and for their website.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Book Review: Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield
Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield was a book that made both a positive and a negative impression on me. Parts of the book were very well-written, and other parts were cliche-ridden.
The main male character, the hero, is a dragon-man. I'll admit to a fascination with dragons that started in my early teen years with the first Pern book I ever read (though these dragons' resemblance to Pern dragons ends with the word dragon). Declan is a strong figure, physically attractive, and head of the dragon clan after his parents' deaths. He's full of angst over their manner of death and his unexpected ascendance as head of the clan.
Alexia is a 125 year old vampire, daughter of the current Queen, and heir-apparent. In some places, she's smarter than she appears to be, and in others, she's just dumb as a rock. I don't really understand why she puts up with Lotharus at all, except to appease her mother, whose "lover" he is.
There's a feud between dragons and vampires, a la Underworld's vampire/lycan struggle, and the background for this feud is scattered about in little bits and pieces, with not much organization. Ultimately, all I really understand is that the vampires hate the dragons and vice versa, with no real inkling as to why exactly this is so. Maybe there's a previous book or story I missed reading before this one.
The villain of the piece, Lotharus, is easy for me to hate, as he is abusive (verbally, physically, sexually) and a bigot. His secret plot to take over the vampire clan is threaded throughout the story, until the denouement decides his fate once and for all.
Alexia's mother, the Queen of the vampire clan, is mostly an afterthought tucked into chapters here and there, though she does play a major role in the climactic fight for "survival" of the clan.
The chemistry between Alexia and Declan fairly crackles, and this is a part of the book with which I'm pleased. Their growing care for each other, and the internal struggles each experiences, create obstacles with which most of us can identify from our own romantic hobgoblin-strewn past.
The most obvious place for my displeasure in this book is one single word: conscious. In no less than six places, this word is incorrectly used instead of conscience. As the daughter of an English teacher, I tend to see mistakes like this in blinking neon letters, and it not only irritates me that a mistake of this kind passed the editing process, but also these mistakes tend to take me out of the story in a highly abrupt manner. Thus does even an otherwise nearly perfect book lose a star, or even two, in my own personal rating system (not that this one was nearly perfect). No, I do not use the English language perfectly, though I do try to keep my errors in the spoken arena of use, rather than the written. I have high expectations of a published work, and this one fell down on the job. Conscious and conscience just aren't interchangeable in the English language, and the repetition of the mistake really chapped my hide.
Fight scenes are an obvious part of the plot, both between the dragons and the vampires, and internally amongst the vampire sects. For the most part, the fight scenes are well-written, though sometimes they do spring up from practically nowhere. The private scenes with Declan and Alexia are probably the most engaging, and there are enough to keep the reader interested in finding out how this relationship resolves in the end.
In this universe, dragons have powers, and sometimes those powers (such as telepathy) appear out of nowhere to move the overall arc forward, but in reality as a form of exposition. It's not overused, but often enough that I remember it.
One of the biggest wtf's (and yes, I am aware that is not proper English, lol) in this book is an entire chapter dedicated to Declan's sister, Tallon, and her newfound attraction to lone wolf Griffon. Had it been interwoven into the book from the beginning, it might have worked. As written, though, one single chapter in the middle of nowhere, it stuck out like a sore thumb, and did nothing whatsoever to impact the plot in any way. It deserves its own story, not being stuffed into the middle of Declan's, particularly as this chapter shows Tallon and Griffon dancing around her sprung-out-of-nowhere attraction, and finally falling into a fairly hot love scene. Turn the page, and we're back to Declan and Alexia.
Bottom line: I enjoyed parts of this book, but none of it was really memorable beyond reading, with the exception of the word conscious and the fact that the villain was an abuser. I remembered those two points! In order to write this review, I had to open the book a couple of dozen times to random pages and rescan to remember names or plot points. If you like dragons or vampires or feuds or paranormal in general, you might enjoy this book. If you read with a critical eye, you will probably not enjoy this book.
I got this book as a sample-pack of four paranormal/suspense/thrillers from Harlequin. I got nothing else from this except the on-again, off-again pleasure of reading this book.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
To Do List
Today was a very busy day. I had a To Do list a mile long. Thankfully, I managed to drag my ass out of bed and get it all done, and still have time for a nap. :D
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Taxes
So, I filed my taxes this morning. Due to unemployment for the second full year, I was not eligible for the Earned Income Credit. Due to Mrs Potatohead getting married, I lost my status as Head of Household. I neither owed anything nor got a refund. But it's done.
I used TaxAct for the third year. It's also the one I use for the few clients I have left who ask me to do their taxes for them. It's inexpensive if you need more than just the basic return, and it does all the calculations for you.
I've linked to the Deluxe version here, but I just use the free online version. So far, I've had no need to use any of the extra forms or archival services.
I used TaxAct for the third year. It's also the one I use for the few clients I have left who ask me to do their taxes for them. It's inexpensive if you need more than just the basic return, and it does all the calculations for you.
I've linked to the Deluxe version here, but I just use the free online version. So far, I've had no need to use any of the extra forms or archival services.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Book Review: Torn Apart by Sharon Sala
Katie and J.R. are a married couple in Bordelaise, Louisiana. The couple has a deep love for one another and solid commitment to the marriage and to raising their son together. They are experiencing some realistic problems - he's away from home a lot for his job, and she's still grieving over her parents' deaths.
Life throws in a monkey wrench, as life is wont to do, and this seemingly tiny thing puts a serious crimp in the marriage, leaving the two living apart, with neither willing to move forward on a divorce.
On Dad's weekend with Bobby, a big storm hits, one that does serious damage in the Gulf of Mexico, and touches down twisters in other parts of Louisiana, including Bordelaise. As this twister rocks through Bordelaise, Katie and J.R.'s son, Bobby, goes missing.
Now, we get to the meat of the book.
What happens next is heartbreaking, and yet shows the lengths to which people will go for each other in times of life-threatening peril. The story of how Katie finds herself, and how J.R. returns to Bordelaise, and how together they find Bobby is gripping and heart-wrenching and life-affirming, and unstintingly straightforward. Sala tackles two incredibly difficult subjects - child abuse and mental illness, and does it without hesitation.
If this book is a random sample of the caliber of Sala's writing, I cannot recommend her highly enough. I'd never read anything by Sharon Sala before, and I'm going to hit the library to find some more, as quickly as I can. I hope the rest are as good as this one.
I got this book in a free sample pack of books from MIRA. MIRA offers these trial packs to anyone, and had no expectation that I would do anything for them in return.
Life throws in a monkey wrench, as life is wont to do, and this seemingly tiny thing puts a serious crimp in the marriage, leaving the two living apart, with neither willing to move forward on a divorce.
On Dad's weekend with Bobby, a big storm hits, one that does serious damage in the Gulf of Mexico, and touches down twisters in other parts of Louisiana, including Bordelaise. As this twister rocks through Bordelaise, Katie and J.R.'s son, Bobby, goes missing.
Now, we get to the meat of the book.
What happens next is heartbreaking, and yet shows the lengths to which people will go for each other in times of life-threatening peril. The story of how Katie finds herself, and how J.R. returns to Bordelaise, and how together they find Bobby is gripping and heart-wrenching and life-affirming, and unstintingly straightforward. Sala tackles two incredibly difficult subjects - child abuse and mental illness, and does it without hesitation.
If this book is a random sample of the caliber of Sala's writing, I cannot recommend her highly enough. I'd never read anything by Sharon Sala before, and I'm going to hit the library to find some more, as quickly as I can. I hope the rest are as good as this one.
I got this book in a free sample pack of books from MIRA. MIRA offers these trial packs to anyone, and had no expectation that I would do anything for them in return.
Got a lot done today...
When I got up, Mr Potatohead had rearranged the living room, again, making it more accessible in several ways.
This update freed up several boxes I had been unable to get to before, and I was able to sort several and empty at least two entirely.
My donate/freecycle bin is overflowing. I have someone coming over probably on Wednesday to look through the stuff and see what she can take home with her. Someone picked up a bagful of school supplies yesterday, and also took some stuff off the front porch, so it's going away.
Also got several new items listed on Amazon, neither books nor CD/DVDs. We'll see how that branching out thing works for us. Kids had some diapers and other stuff they got as gifts that they can't or won't use, so I'm listing it on Amazon, since it's easy as pie to sell it there.
On a less positive note, those roaches are starting to impinge on my reality again. That "cleanout" the apartment pest control did was not effective. So far, it's mostly the tiny ones, just hatched and easy to kill, but I've seen a few grown females, and I am not looking forward to having to climb furniture to kill the ones that like to walk around the edges of the ceiling after Mr Potatohead's gone to Basic. Just kitchen and bathroom, as far as I've seen. I could maybe handle the ones in the bathroom, as they've been very sporadic, but the ones in the kitchen just creep me out. I feel compelled to wash everything I take out of the cabinet before I use it, because I just don't know what's been crawling in it. Well, enough of that. I'm starting to get the creepies.
This update freed up several boxes I had been unable to get to before, and I was able to sort several and empty at least two entirely.
My donate/freecycle bin is overflowing. I have someone coming over probably on Wednesday to look through the stuff and see what she can take home with her. Someone picked up a bagful of school supplies yesterday, and also took some stuff off the front porch, so it's going away.
Also got several new items listed on Amazon, neither books nor CD/DVDs. We'll see how that branching out thing works for us. Kids had some diapers and other stuff they got as gifts that they can't or won't use, so I'm listing it on Amazon, since it's easy as pie to sell it there.
On a less positive note, those roaches are starting to impinge on my reality again. That "cleanout" the apartment pest control did was not effective. So far, it's mostly the tiny ones, just hatched and easy to kill, but I've seen a few grown females, and I am not looking forward to having to climb furniture to kill the ones that like to walk around the edges of the ceiling after Mr Potatohead's gone to Basic. Just kitchen and bathroom, as far as I've seen. I could maybe handle the ones in the bathroom, as they've been very sporadic, but the ones in the kitchen just creep me out. I feel compelled to wash everything I take out of the cabinet before I use it, because I just don't know what's been crawling in it. Well, enough of that. I'm starting to get the creepies.
Yes, I did just do that, and...?
Dude, I so need my medication.
I just got so mad that I threw plates in the sink. One broke. I have managed to resist all such impulses for years. Universe, please toss me the resources to get back on my meds. Thank you.
I just got so mad that I threw plates in the sink. One broke. I have managed to resist all such impulses for years. Universe, please toss me the resources to get back on my meds. Thank you.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Behind on Book Reviews
OK. I've got eight book reviews I need to get out, plus a book to read for booksforblogging.com.
In the order I read them: Torn Apart by Sharon Sala, Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield, Wages of Sin/Grave Sins/Bound by Sin by Jenna Maclaine, Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love, Thief of Hearts by Christopher Golden, The PMS Outlaws by Sharyn McCrumb.
I have not yet read the booksforblogging book, but it is supposed to be next on my list. Damn if I'm not having a tough time being in the mood to read it now that I've got it. Murphy's Law. lol
In the order I read them: Torn Apart by Sharon Sala, Shadow of the Vampire by Meagan Hatfield, Wages of Sin/Grave Sins/Bound by Sin by Jenna Maclaine, Silent Truth by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love, Thief of Hearts by Christopher Golden, The PMS Outlaws by Sharyn McCrumb.
I have not yet read the booksforblogging book, but it is supposed to be next on my list. Damn if I'm not having a tough time being in the mood to read it now that I've got it. Murphy's Law. lol
Nothing Important Happened Today
Bonus points if you know from whence that came.
I got a little bit of stuff out the door to a new owner, who knows several families recently affected by fire in their homes, so more stuff may go soon from her referrals.
Moved some stuff around to make it easier to access once Mr Potatohead leaves for Basic Training tomorrow. OMG, it's tomorrow! :(
Held Baby Potatohead while he slept. I love doing that. He also helped me list things on Amazon by pounding on the laptop, and helped me hold my Snapple bottle so it wouldn't run away from me.
Made some guacamole in the middle of the night. It tasted better than the chips, so I ate it by itself. I may have already told you this.
Got my car fixed and got the title in my hot little hand.
Got a couple dozen new items listed on Amazon, and shipped something to Norway (!).
I got a little bit of stuff out the door to a new owner, who knows several families recently affected by fire in their homes, so more stuff may go soon from her referrals.
Moved some stuff around to make it easier to access once Mr Potatohead leaves for Basic Training tomorrow. OMG, it's tomorrow! :(
Held Baby Potatohead while he slept. I love doing that. He also helped me list things on Amazon by pounding on the laptop, and helped me hold my Snapple bottle so it wouldn't run away from me.
Made some guacamole in the middle of the night. It tasted better than the chips, so I ate it by itself. I may have already told you this.
Got my car fixed and got the title in my hot little hand.
Got a couple dozen new items listed on Amazon, and shipped something to Norway (!).
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Just a random post
I'm up at a ridiculous hour of the night because I've been cleaning out (also known as decluttering, lol) my email inbox. I've got two packages ready to leave my house (stuff that's long overdue to go somewhere) and another couple of First Class things to mail. Now, if only I can get enough sleep and wake up in time to get my car fixed at 1400 on Saturday. This daytime sleeping is for the birds.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Somebody's been working on me....
The pain and the weird feeling in my hip is almost gone. My elbow still hurts, but definitely not in the same way it has been.
Whoever you are, Thank YOU!
Whoever you are, Thank YOU!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
latest on health 01/19/2011 - mild tmi alert
Well, I have been sleeping pretty crappily for weeks now. I stay awake all night, sleep all damn day, don't get anything done (except sell things on Amazon, thank goodness it's open 24 hours!).
For a long time (more than four years), I've been experiencing an alternating pain/numbness in my left leg. It's got something to do with spinal stenosis, and life just goes on, as it does no matter what. This p/n was once just a small section of my outer thigh, and is exacerbated when I stand for more than about 20 minutes. Lately, the p/n has encompassed my entire leg, down to the left side of my foot and the bottom of my toes, and happens whether I'm standing, sitting, or gallivanting through the tulips. And you know I gallivant remarkably often. :D
Add to that, I've been having pain in my left hip. This pain makes it harder than usual to get moving if I've been sitting down, and makes it painful to put weight on it or to lie the wrong way in bed (or to change position if I'm in the wrong one!) or stand in the wrong position, like in the shower or in front of the bathroom sink. This afternoon, this pain woke me up from a dead sleep. Seriously!
So, now I have a bum left elbow and a bum left hip, and it's beginning to get more than a little annoying. And yes, it does concern me. But without health care, what does a person do? If I were a member of Congress, I could answer that differently.
The swelling in my feet seems to have gone down, though not completely away. And yes, I still have the hemorrhoids from hell. OMG.
For a long time (more than four years), I've been experiencing an alternating pain/numbness in my left leg. It's got something to do with spinal stenosis, and life just goes on, as it does no matter what. This p/n was once just a small section of my outer thigh, and is exacerbated when I stand for more than about 20 minutes. Lately, the p/n has encompassed my entire leg, down to the left side of my foot and the bottom of my toes, and happens whether I'm standing, sitting, or gallivanting through the tulips. And you know I gallivant remarkably often. :D
Add to that, I've been having pain in my left hip. This pain makes it harder than usual to get moving if I've been sitting down, and makes it painful to put weight on it or to lie the wrong way in bed (or to change position if I'm in the wrong one!) or stand in the wrong position, like in the shower or in front of the bathroom sink. This afternoon, this pain woke me up from a dead sleep. Seriously!
So, now I have a bum left elbow and a bum left hip, and it's beginning to get more than a little annoying. And yes, it does concern me. But without health care, what does a person do? If I were a member of Congress, I could answer that differently.
The swelling in my feet seems to have gone down, though not completely away. And yes, I still have the hemorrhoids from hell. OMG.
Book Review: The Other Side by J. D. Robb, et al
J.D. Robb's Possession in Death - Eve finds herself compelled more than is usual to stand for the dead.
I LOVE Nora Roberts' alter-pen-ego J.D. Robb and her In Death books. I love the near-future she's created, I love the regular characters, many of whom make an appearance in this short. I love the relationships these characters have created, which evolve over time, ebbing and flowing with the vagaries of life in the 2050s and 2060s. I love that she just pitches right in to the story without worrying about explaining every single damn thing about the Eve-verse. A frequent visitor to the 2060s will note a few nods to long-time readers. A first-time visitor won't be put off by inside jokes she doesn't get. Possession in Death is a perfectly-sized bite of Eve Dallas' universe. And that's all I'm gonna say.
Mary Blayney's The Other Side of the Coin - that sparkly little coin with a mind of its own weaves a little more magic into some mischief. An earl and his countess get to know each other (and each other's friends) a whole lot better than they imagined was possible.
This is a funny and intriguing look at life in another century, and the relationships between husbands and wives.
Patricia Gaffney's The Dancing Ghost - a ghost draws a very early paranormal investigator and a forward-thinking woman into a partnership to prevent a house from selling.
This particular story failed to capture my attention. It's the longest of the five stories in this collection, and the two main characters just never gelled for me. They seemed vaguely out of character, not comfortable in their own skins. I just can't explain it better than that.
Ruth Ryan Langan's Almost Heaven - a couple watch their son and daughter cope with the aftermath of the parents' unexpected death.
Almost Heaven was a short and sweet glimpse into the stopoff between dying and going into the light and the desires of good parents to see their offspring happy. Ted and Vanessa devise a plan to find the right Mr Right for their daughter, who's already engaged to another man. It was the tiniest bit convenient how the right ghosts kept showing up to help them at the right moment, but cute and enjoyable, nonetheless.
Mary Kay McComas' Never Too Late to Love - a grown woman with lots of better things to do has to visit her deceased mother's last home herself to find out why no one can clean it out.
M.J., who uses those initials so no one, but no one, finds out her given name, is extremely put out to have to make the trip from Alexandria to Loudon County to unlock the house her mother died in. How hard can it be to get a few things out for shipping, give away the rest and demolish the eyesore? She gets into the house, only to find that the house has its own ideas about what's going to happen to it.
This is a funny and touching little romp with the demons of MJ's relationship with her mother, and her memories of her mother's sisters. Along the way, she meets a little boy who gets really put out when his father won't let him go to the house next door to visit the lady who bakes apple pies. She thereby meets little boy's father, who doesn't pay any attention to MJ's bitchy attitude. The ending is sweet, not a bit sappy, and leaves room for the imagination to take the story farther (or for the author to do so), and is true to the personalities of both people.
Stories ranged from about 70 pages to just at 100 pages, so it was easy to put the book down to do something else that needed to be done without stopping in the middle of a good read. That's one of the things I love about these story collections. Another is that while I get a taste of familiar universes (I almost always get a book with an In Death story), there's nothing plot-impacting about them. I can miss them if I don't find them without fearing I'm missing a birth or death or planet exploding. When I do find them, I can place them anywhere in the universe, no matter what year is mentioned.
This book was a gift from my little sister VC.
I LOVE Nora Roberts' alter-pen-ego J.D. Robb and her In Death books. I love the near-future she's created, I love the regular characters, many of whom make an appearance in this short. I love the relationships these characters have created, which evolve over time, ebbing and flowing with the vagaries of life in the 2050s and 2060s. I love that she just pitches right in to the story without worrying about explaining every single damn thing about the Eve-verse. A frequent visitor to the 2060s will note a few nods to long-time readers. A first-time visitor won't be put off by inside jokes she doesn't get. Possession in Death is a perfectly-sized bite of Eve Dallas' universe. And that's all I'm gonna say.
Mary Blayney's The Other Side of the Coin - that sparkly little coin with a mind of its own weaves a little more magic into some mischief. An earl and his countess get to know each other (and each other's friends) a whole lot better than they imagined was possible.
This is a funny and intriguing look at life in another century, and the relationships between husbands and wives.
Patricia Gaffney's The Dancing Ghost - a ghost draws a very early paranormal investigator and a forward-thinking woman into a partnership to prevent a house from selling.
This particular story failed to capture my attention. It's the longest of the five stories in this collection, and the two main characters just never gelled for me. They seemed vaguely out of character, not comfortable in their own skins. I just can't explain it better than that.
Ruth Ryan Langan's Almost Heaven - a couple watch their son and daughter cope with the aftermath of the parents' unexpected death.
Almost Heaven was a short and sweet glimpse into the stopoff between dying and going into the light and the desires of good parents to see their offspring happy. Ted and Vanessa devise a plan to find the right Mr Right for their daughter, who's already engaged to another man. It was the tiniest bit convenient how the right ghosts kept showing up to help them at the right moment, but cute and enjoyable, nonetheless.
Mary Kay McComas' Never Too Late to Love - a grown woman with lots of better things to do has to visit her deceased mother's last home herself to find out why no one can clean it out.
M.J., who uses those initials so no one, but no one, finds out her given name, is extremely put out to have to make the trip from Alexandria to Loudon County to unlock the house her mother died in. How hard can it be to get a few things out for shipping, give away the rest and demolish the eyesore? She gets into the house, only to find that the house has its own ideas about what's going to happen to it.
This is a funny and touching little romp with the demons of MJ's relationship with her mother, and her memories of her mother's sisters. Along the way, she meets a little boy who gets really put out when his father won't let him go to the house next door to visit the lady who bakes apple pies. She thereby meets little boy's father, who doesn't pay any attention to MJ's bitchy attitude. The ending is sweet, not a bit sappy, and leaves room for the imagination to take the story farther (or for the author to do so), and is true to the personalities of both people.
Stories ranged from about 70 pages to just at 100 pages, so it was easy to put the book down to do something else that needed to be done without stopping in the middle of a good read. That's one of the things I love about these story collections. Another is that while I get a taste of familiar universes (I almost always get a book with an In Death story), there's nothing plot-impacting about them. I can miss them if I don't find them without fearing I'm missing a birth or death or planet exploding. When I do find them, I can place them anywhere in the universe, no matter what year is mentioned.
This book was a gift from my little sister VC.
Apple-flavored pot...
roast.
That is what I am eating. Yes, at 2:30 in the morning. The Potatoheads made it in the crockpot (their new one from christmas), and it's ready now, so we're eating it now.
We are indeed a weird family.
Want the recipe? I'll ask Mrs. Potatohead.
That is what I am eating. Yes, at 2:30 in the morning. The Potatoheads made it in the crockpot (their new one from christmas), and it's ready now, so we're eating it now.
We are indeed a weird family.
Want the recipe? I'll ask Mrs. Potatohead.
Book review: Killing Me Softly by Maggie Shayne
I count on Maggie Shayne to give me a thriller with hot sex scenes thrown in. Some of the book was a bit cliched, and I still enjoyed reading it.
Dawn is a specialty mechanic in California. Bryan is her former high school sweetheart back home in Vermont.
Off-duty cop Bryan finds a dead body in his bed - apparently killed by a copycat of the Shadow Falls Strangler, said Strangle having recently died in prison.
Dawn's mom, now married to Bryan's dad, calls Dawn to come home for moral support. She hems and she haws, but eventually she returns home, as we know she must, because Bryan is a primary suspect.
Bryan and Dawn's reunion is by turns tense and easy, as they fall into the old habits of friendship. Over the course of the murder investigation, Bryan and Dawn remember why they were in love, confront relationship ghosts and go on the lam together when the Strangler strikes again.
They run their own investigation while they're on the run, thanks to the original police reports on the Strangler, which Bryan happened to have in his garage before the copycat struck.
And so, thrilling action ensues and some romance is to be had, old friends are rediscovered and new friends are found in unlikely places.
What I didn't like: I met the killer in the first few pages of the book, and I knew who he was the minute he stepped onstage. When I turned out to be right, I was deeply disappointed, because this sort of foreshadowing, for lack of a better word, falls short of Shayne's best. I knew what the "witness" twist was very shortly after said witness was first discussed when reading a police report. The sex scenes were tame in comparison to what I know Ms. Shayne can write.
What I did like: The friendship of Dawn and Bryan was fairly realistic. It moved tensely from the first re-meeting, when both parties remembered their mutual attraction, to the culmination of their story, with a supercorny but appropriate to the relationship resolution. Shayne avoided the too-easy love at second sight immediate rebonding that some storytellers insist on using.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read. It wasn't the best of Maggie Shayne's books, but it was better than the last one I read a week or so ago.
I bought this book sometime last year, and got nothing out of it but reading a good book. I'll list it somewhere, and it's in like-new condition. No, really. I am more than a little OCD about my brand new books. lol
Dawn is a specialty mechanic in California. Bryan is her former high school sweetheart back home in Vermont.
Off-duty cop Bryan finds a dead body in his bed - apparently killed by a copycat of the Shadow Falls Strangler, said Strangle having recently died in prison.
Dawn's mom, now married to Bryan's dad, calls Dawn to come home for moral support. She hems and she haws, but eventually she returns home, as we know she must, because Bryan is a primary suspect.
Bryan and Dawn's reunion is by turns tense and easy, as they fall into the old habits of friendship. Over the course of the murder investigation, Bryan and Dawn remember why they were in love, confront relationship ghosts and go on the lam together when the Strangler strikes again.
They run their own investigation while they're on the run, thanks to the original police reports on the Strangler, which Bryan happened to have in his garage before the copycat struck.
And so, thrilling action ensues and some romance is to be had, old friends are rediscovered and new friends are found in unlikely places.
What I didn't like: I met the killer in the first few pages of the book, and I knew who he was the minute he stepped onstage. When I turned out to be right, I was deeply disappointed, because this sort of foreshadowing, for lack of a better word, falls short of Shayne's best. I knew what the "witness" twist was very shortly after said witness was first discussed when reading a police report. The sex scenes were tame in comparison to what I know Ms. Shayne can write.
What I did like: The friendship of Dawn and Bryan was fairly realistic. It moved tensely from the first re-meeting, when both parties remembered their mutual attraction, to the culmination of their story, with a supercorny but appropriate to the relationship resolution. Shayne avoided the too-easy love at second sight immediate rebonding that some storytellers insist on using.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read. It wasn't the best of Maggie Shayne's books, but it was better than the last one I read a week or so ago.
I bought this book sometime last year, and got nothing out of it but reading a good book. I'll list it somewhere, and it's in like-new condition. No, really. I am more than a little OCD about my brand new books. lol
Monday, January 17, 2011
Scream!!!!
I hate not having a washer and dryer. I either have to go to the laudnrymat or go to my in-laws to do laundry, and for a while we did not have a car to go either place. Now that we have a car, I can't get the laundry down the stairs, there's so much of it. And I'm down to my last pair of underwear and my last clean towel! Ugh. Where's the darn laundry fairy?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bzz - Dymo Labelmaker - followup
OK. I got this at the end of December and Bzzed about it then with a preview.
I've used this labelmaker for several weeks now and LOVE it, with one caveat: it's not qwerty.
It holds well in my hand, being neither too heavy nor too light. It runs on either batteries (Li-Ion replaceable battery) or AC power, and the battery recharges quickly. It uses the same DYMO label cassettes that other DYMO products use and the cassette is clearly labeled with color and size.
I can change the font (three choices) or the size of the font. I can print multiples of the same label. I can save the label to use later. The label can have multiple lines of print. I can italicize, bold, underline, put letters in a box. The labels are clean and crisp.
In short, it's a pretty amazing labelmaker! For me, though, it's supertough to find letters on the "keyboard" when it's it's in alphabetical order with an arbitrary seven letters on each line. I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting to that. Because of that one small thing, making a label is a bit time-consuming, and it seriously detracts from my enjoyment of this labelmaker.
I'm going to keep working with it while the BzzCampaign is going on, and then I might have a little giveaway. Would you be interested in winning this labelmaker?
I've used this labelmaker for several weeks now and LOVE it, with one caveat: it's not qwerty.
It holds well in my hand, being neither too heavy nor too light. It runs on either batteries (Li-Ion replaceable battery) or AC power, and the battery recharges quickly. It uses the same DYMO label cassettes that other DYMO products use and the cassette is clearly labeled with color and size.
I can change the font (three choices) or the size of the font. I can print multiples of the same label. I can save the label to use later. The label can have multiple lines of print. I can italicize, bold, underline, put letters in a box. The labels are clean and crisp.
In short, it's a pretty amazing labelmaker! For me, though, it's supertough to find letters on the "keyboard" when it's it's in alphabetical order with an arbitrary seven letters on each line. I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting to that. Because of that one small thing, making a label is a bit time-consuming, and it seriously detracts from my enjoyment of this labelmaker.
I'm going to keep working with it while the BzzCampaign is going on, and then I might have a little giveaway. Would you be interested in winning this labelmaker?
Songmaster by Orson Scott Card
This was one of four or five books that I started the year with, all reading at the same time, in different spots in my home. Once I got past the first chapter or two, I felt compelled to finish this, to the exclusion of others.
Songmaster is set in a world with Earth, but significantly different from the world we know. Earth is both the armpit of the universe and the home of the Emperor of Everything. What a dichotomy! Earth is a government of continents, not countries, and the US is divided into Western and Eastern America. Some American nameplaces are familiar, and a few references are made to other places on Earth.
Communication at its best is done by Singers, and Singers are trained in the Songhouse on Tew, which is a planet. People still talk, but Singing communicates at a subconscious or subsonic level and affects people's feelings, attitudes, actions. Frankly, I'd hate to live in a world where I could not sing (I CAN sing, but you really don't want to have to listen to it), even to myself. In this world, only Singers can sing (unless you are very small and don't know better), and you can only become a Singer by being raised in the Songhouse.
OK, enough about that.
The book follows main character Ansett, a supremely gifted Singer, from his beginning as he is separated from his mother, to his death, and slightly beyond, in vignettes, some longer, some shorter. Details are never glossed over, but neither are unimportant things included. I don't need to know the minutiae of his life, endlessly recycled, to know that three years have passed. You understand?
At times I found myself identifying with Ansett. He was by turns pampered and abused, praised and vilified. I was able to get into his skin, so to speak, and memories would scamper across my mind, much too quickly to be conscious, but passing through and leave food for contemplation. Reading this was similar to reading Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein many years ago. I find myself mentally chewing on something days after reading, and learning things about myself I did not know.
Orson Scott Card is famous for his Ender books in particular. I've read Ender's Game, which left me glad I'd read it, though I was confused throughout. I've tried reading other Orson Scott Card books and been unable to get into them. Without a doubt, he has a way with words, and sometimes, my brain is just not ready for that train yet.
If you've liked other Orson Scott Card books, I recommend this one without reservation. If you've never tried an Orson Scott Card book, this might be a good one to start with.
I have had this book for quite some time, in a box of other books I wasn't ready to read yet. I probably got it at a used book store, or from my mom, or from a library discard sale. I definitely didn't get it free, and got nothing out of it, but reading a good book. My book is in fair to poor condition, and I'll send it to anyone who wants it, in exchange for shipping (probably a couple of bucks for media or first class)
Songmaster
Songmaster is set in a world with Earth, but significantly different from the world we know. Earth is both the armpit of the universe and the home of the Emperor of Everything. What a dichotomy! Earth is a government of continents, not countries, and the US is divided into Western and Eastern America. Some American nameplaces are familiar, and a few references are made to other places on Earth.
Communication at its best is done by Singers, and Singers are trained in the Songhouse on Tew, which is a planet. People still talk, but Singing communicates at a subconscious or subsonic level and affects people's feelings, attitudes, actions. Frankly, I'd hate to live in a world where I could not sing (I CAN sing, but you really don't want to have to listen to it), even to myself. In this world, only Singers can sing (unless you are very small and don't know better), and you can only become a Singer by being raised in the Songhouse.
OK, enough about that.
The book follows main character Ansett, a supremely gifted Singer, from his beginning as he is separated from his mother, to his death, and slightly beyond, in vignettes, some longer, some shorter. Details are never glossed over, but neither are unimportant things included. I don't need to know the minutiae of his life, endlessly recycled, to know that three years have passed. You understand?
At times I found myself identifying with Ansett. He was by turns pampered and abused, praised and vilified. I was able to get into his skin, so to speak, and memories would scamper across my mind, much too quickly to be conscious, but passing through and leave food for contemplation. Reading this was similar to reading Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein many years ago. I find myself mentally chewing on something days after reading, and learning things about myself I did not know.
Orson Scott Card is famous for his Ender books in particular. I've read Ender's Game, which left me glad I'd read it, though I was confused throughout. I've tried reading other Orson Scott Card books and been unable to get into them. Without a doubt, he has a way with words, and sometimes, my brain is just not ready for that train yet.
If you've liked other Orson Scott Card books, I recommend this one without reservation. If you've never tried an Orson Scott Card book, this might be a good one to start with.
I have had this book for quite some time, in a box of other books I wasn't ready to read yet. I probably got it at a used book store, or from my mom, or from a library discard sale. I definitely didn't get it free, and got nothing out of it, but reading a good book. My book is in fair to poor condition, and I'll send it to anyone who wants it, in exchange for shipping (probably a couple of bucks for media or first class)
Songmaster
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