Best of 2010 - So Far...

The reading for the first half of 2010 has been up and down. Some great reads that I know will stay with me for a long time while others will fade from my memory, if they haven't already.

I got out the spreadsheet, sorted by grade and looked over all the A grades. There were 27 A grades with only one A+. Fourteen As and twelve A-s. I decided to pick 5 8 to spotlight of the Best So Far. I picked the ones that really stood out for me and are still stuck in my head. Titles are linked to my review.

Here they are in no particular order ~


Silver Borne by Patrica Briggs

One of my top 5 favorite Urban Fantasy series. I love the world that Briggs has created. The characters are so vivid for me. The phrase "they come alive" really applies to this series.


My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

An excellent Young Adult series that continues to give the reader great character development and story lines. If you are looking for a new YA series, give this one a try.


A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

Ah, my love for Balogh's writing goes way back, twenty years or so. She delivers such beautiful characters with intriguing stories and A Matter of Class was no exception.


Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair

This is the second book in the Dock Five series as well as the second book about Sully and Chaz. I liked Gabriel's Ghost(book 1) a whole bunch but I liked Shades a bit more. Amazing characters, fascinating setting.


Cowgirl Up and Ride by Lorelei James

Oh, boy! So damn happy to have finally started this series. I've enjoyed all the books but this one stands out as being such a funny and emotional read. Loved AJ and Cord!


The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas

This was a re-read of Jodi Thomas, another author who I read years ago. She can write some wonderful westerns with unique characters that you wouldn't expect to find in a historical romance.


Roadkill by Rob Thurman

Another top 5 Urban Fantasy series. This is UF and there is a lot of action but Thurman can write relationships like nobodys business. She is truly a gifted author and you're missing out if you're not reading this series.


Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu

Liu's writing is the type that pulls you into the world she's created and makes you to feel what her characters are feeling, whether you want to or not. A dark, gritty series with equal parts action and emotion. I love Maxine's boys. :)


I know I said 5 then changed it to 8 but I had to include the following 2 because they were very good and I would certainly recommend them. And that makes it a top 10 list and isn't that what people usually do? :)

I'll have the review for The Iron Daughter up next week. The review for Chimera is a buddy review with Nath that will be posted at Breezing Through. Titles are linked to the author's website.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa ~ A+

You can tell from the grade why I included this in the list. Lets just say I had some serious love for this book. It blew me away with its intensity. Definitely one to read.




Chimera by Rob Thurman ~ A

Another brother/brother story, focused on their relationship but different enough from her Cal Leandros series to make it stand apart.








An overwhelming majority of Fantasy. I did read some good contemporaries but it looks like for now at least, my heart belongs to the Fantasy genre. Here's hoping the second half of the year brings us all some great reads!

Reading, Sneezing and Blogging...

So, it's been really quiet in blogland. Wait, that's Nath's line. LOL

One of my goals for the year was to post more about me and RL. This isn't exactly what I had in mind but, for now, it's all I've got. :)

I’ve been quiet and way behind on blog hopping. Friday night I started getting that icky feeling in my throat. Then the sneezing started. But I was determined I wasn't going to get sick. Nope, not happening. The weather is too pretty to be stuck inside and it’s spring break here. Lots to do.

Saturday found me feeling worse and a giant box of tissues as my constant companion. I still didn’t feel terrible and thought it would just be a mild cold. I did read my TBR challenge book, Karen Rose’s Have You Seen Her? Started it Friday night and finished it Saturday night. I couldn’t believe it’s 499 pages! But considering I didn’t do much more than read and snooze Saturday, it’s not surprising I was able to finish it quickly. Plus it’s a good story.

Yesterday I woke up with a pile of tissue on the floor next to the bed. Yuck! Horrible night, very little real sleep and probably breathing through my mouth the whole night. Lovely. Turns out it could get worse with my eyes now teary and itching, my throat hurting and lets just throw some pms in there for fun. I had to wear my glasses all day, no way could I wear my contacts. I hate wearing glasses. I did start Pamela Clare’s newest, Naked Edge. It’s good but I only managed to read about 70 pages, the eyes watering and headache made reading difficult. I did get my mp3 player fixed, sort of, so I started listening to KMM’s Beyond the Highland Mist. I will say the voice of Phil Gigante made me feel sooo much better. Love his brogue!

Today is better. Definitely more energy and my throat isn’t as sore. So I hope to get around to the blogs today and find out what I’ve missed. And now that I’m on Pacific coast time because of DST, I feel like I’m an hour behind. We don’t spring forward where I live but since everyone else does our time zone changes. Weird.

Oh, I did see that dabwaha has started and picks can be made until Wednesday. So I need to do that since I plan to win it this year. :P Anyone not familiar with the craziness that is dabwaha can head over here and learn all about it. It's a lot of fun, surprisingly exciting and there are some great prizes.

I hope if anyone else out there has the sickies that you are feeling better!

February Reads...

Why Batman? IDK, never was a fan but maybe if he looked like this...

February was short and sometimes a very sweet month. I managed a total of 12 books and only one audio because, *sob*, my mp3 player broke. I'm suffering withdrawal while dealing with trying to get a replacement. So tempted to go to Sam's Club and get an IPod. Anyway... here's the list. ~

Slow Heat/Jill Shalvis/Contemporary ~ A
Hunting Ground/Patricia Briggs/Urban Fantasy ~ B+
Tell Me Lies/Jennifer Crusie/Contemporary (audio) ~ C
Crazy Beautiful/Lauren Baratz-Logsted/YA Contemporary ~ A
My Soul to Lose/Rachel Vincent/YA Fantasy ~ B+
My Soul to Take/Rachel Vincent/YA Fantasy ~ A
Kindred in Death/J. D. Robb/Futuristic ~ B+
Lord Ruin/Carolyn Jewel/Historical ~ B
Open Season/Linda Howard/Romantic Suspense ~ A-
The Iron King/Julie Kagawa/YA Fantasy ~ A (review to come)
The Texan's Wager/Jodi Thomas/Historical ~ A
Shades of Midnight/Lara Adrian/PNR ~ B (review to come)
What the Librarian Did/Karina Bliss/Contemporary ~ A (review to come)

Overall a very good month. Lots of wonderful reads. I attribute that to the great reviews from all of you book pimping bloggers. So I thank you and my ever growing TBR pile thanks you. :D

Oh, I almost forgot. Bookcases - Abby got a new one and I managed to be good for nearly 2 weeks, then I got a new one too. I swear I didn't plan it, it just happened. :)

March looks to be a great month for new releases. Take a peek at the Slide widget on the right side bar and see what I'm looking forward to for March.

Numbers and Favorites of 2009...

2009 marks the first year that I actually kept track of what I read. I used a simple Excel spreadsheet, keeping track of basic information. I plan to do the same thing for 2010 with maybe a few more columns of information - like date reviewed and grade. I'm still playing around with it but it's getting there.

Total books read- (includes ebooks and audio books): 156

Out of those 156 there were 5 ebooks (I think I missed a few and this is higher) and 33 audio books. Which leaves 118 print books. What surprised me are the number of audio books. I did get a new mp3 player for a birthday present last month and it is wonderful! I download the books from the library website and then upload to the mp3 player all in under 5 minutes. It's so much better than lugging the CD's around. And I can do it all from home!

My favorites of 2009:

Since I didn't review every book I read I decided to use the spreadsheet. As it turns out, I reviewed all but one on the list. I went through and selected my 10 favorite reads of the year. Why 10? I had to stop somewhere and 10 is a nice round number. Most do a top 10 list so I figured why not me? I decided not to include re-reads since many of those are keepers and would have probably taken up half the list. :)

When choosing, I picked the books that stood out and left the most vivid memories. Not all are A+ books but they all left an impact on me.

Stranger/ Megan Hart

Moon Called/Patricia Briggs

Magic Strikes/Ilona Andrews

Gabriel's Ghost/Linnea Sinclair*

Deathwish/Rob Thurman

Dream a Little Dream/Susan Elizabeth Phillips

A Reason to Live/Maureen McKade

The Hunger Games/Suzanne Collins

How I Live Now/Meg Rosoff

Joe’s Wife/Cheryl St. John

Special Mention ~ Promises in Death/J. D. Robb (audio) - this book was such an emotional read(listen) for me. It's definitely one of my favorites in the series.

*I don't know why I didn't review Gabriel's Ghost. I do remember reading it and getting sucked into the amazing world that Sinclair created. If you haven't read it, you're missing a wonderful story.

And that's it for 2009. Here's to some great reads for 2010!

Reading Resolutions...

I'm not one for making New Year's resolution since I seem to make the same ones, over and over ~ more family time, eat healthier, lose weight, save money, etc. The usual ones that many people make. But as this year is coming to an end I've been thinking about what changes I would like to see concerning my reading and blogging. So I've come up with a few and while I won't guarantee that I'll still have them by the end of 2010, because things do change, I will try my best to make what I consider improvements on both the reading and blogging.

Reading ~

1. Read What I Like - While this may sound simple it really isn't. This is mainly concerning DNFs (Do Not Finish) books. I've gotten better and actually had a few this past year but I have a hard time giving up on a book, especially when it's from a favorite author or when the peer pressure hits and everyone else loves the book but I just... don't.

2. Review Faster - That's not to say write the reviews faster but to write them shortly after finishing the book. I guess it should be review sooner. When I write a review within a day of finishing the book, it takes a much shorter time to write the review. I have a tendency to move on to the next book as soon as I finish one. I need to stop, write the review, then move on. Otherwise I end up with a bunch of books to review then I feel guilty about not reviewing them because by that point I've got a bunch of new books I just finished reading and need to review. It's a vicious cycle!

3. Challenges - Reading challenges that is. I wasn't planning to join any in 2010 because I really need to get the tbr pile down to manageable. It's hovering around 400 - 500, and that's not counting the 70 or so books I have out from the library at any given time. Plans change and it turns out that so far all the challenges I want to join can be fulfilled from my tbr pile! Win/Win for me!

4. No Guilt - This has to do with reading and blogging. Shit happens. It's an old saying but true. I need to be able to let it go. As in, "OMG, I haven't posted in 4 days, I have to write something!" And there I sit at the computer, after midnight, trying to think of something to write. Or trying to write that review of the book that I finished reading weeks ago (see #2). I also have all these books that fellow bloggers wrote wonderful reviews about. I commented and said how I would get that book and read it because they loved it and I know I would too! So I get the book and there it sits on Mt. TBR Pile. I see the book, months later and feel guilty that I haven't read it yet. Got to let it go.

Blogging ~

1. Commenting - I have this habit that if I read a post and see that a bunch of comments have already been made, I think, "They don't need my comment. I don't really have anything to add". Which is so wrong because I know when people comment on my blog, even just to say a few words, it means a lot! So I will try very hard to comment more.

2. Lurking - This goes hand in hand with commenting. I have a tendency to lurk a lot. Princess Lurks-A-Lot could be my title. LOL But I also have a shy nature. I tend to be the one in the background, watching instead of joining. It takes me a while to feel comfortable posting a comment on a new blog. So if you notice I lurk on your blog, it's not that I don't like your blog, it's just that I'm still getting comfortable. I'm going to try to find that comfort a little quicker and stop lurking so much! *Those that lurk here at the Psyche, all are welcome here. Comment away! But if you don't, believe me, I understand. :)

3. More Than Just Books - This one will be hard because, like I mentioned, I tend to be shy and not one for sharing a bunch. But I've tried to be a little better about RL stuff. Posting more about family etc. I'll continue to add little bits of RL in with the books. It makes sense because I love reading about other bloggers RL. It's another side of them I enjoy seeing. The one thing you haven't seen here are posts on the many kerfuffles, cat fights and just plain old stupidity that sometimes goes on in blogland. Part of the reason I don't blog about it is because there's plenty out there that do. Trust me when I say that it isn't hard to find out what this week's latest drama is. That's not to say I don't have strong opinions on some of the topics but for now I just don't want the drama here. But that could change if something really gets to me.

4. Do I Have To Have A Fourth? - Because I had 4 for reading I guess I need a fourth for blogging. My type A personality is showing here. *grins* I think this one should be - Post What I Want To Post, even if I don't think anyone will find it funny or amusing or will have any interest in it at all. There are a number of posts that I've started writing and are still in the "draft" folder. Why didn't I finishing writing them and post them? Because I thought they were boring or stupid or no one will want to read it. Or no one will get my warped sense of humor. Or they'll think I have no sense of humor at all. Self doubt really sucks! I should just finish writing them and post anyway. (I'm already thinking of maybe not posting this post. Stop already and post but use spell check first.) Okay...

So, who's making some resolutions for 2010? And if you're not, is it because you like what you're doing now? If so, good for you! If it works for you then I say keep doing what you're doing.

And what do you think of my resolutions? Any that you might try? Or any that you would suggest for the Psyche? I'm open to any improvements I can make here.

Here's to another wonderful year full of good friends and good books!

Update and Reminder...

I got to take my mom home today. She was so happy just to be home again. My Auntie Fran, mom's older sister, came over early so I could go get mom's meds and some fresh fruit. Auntie Fran is the one that I took with me to the hospital and is a hoot!

The resident who took care of mom was extremely good looking, as in cover model good looking. The nurses all made sure to stop in when he was around. Tall, about 6'3, dark hair, great smile and bedside manner. Auntie Fran said she wants him as her boy-toy!

On the reading front I've got 4 books to review. I'll take them tomorrow to mom's along with the laptop. I might be able to tap into an unsecured network, if not I hope to get a couple of reviews written while mom naps. In recent days I've managed to read Catherine Spangler's Touched by Light and Lisa Hendrix's Immortal Outlaw which were both wonderful reads. And Sarah Mayberry's She's Got It Bad. Read that in one day. Mom saw me putting it away and asked me if I was already done with it. When I told her yes she asked about it. ~

Mom: So what's she got that's so bad?

Me: Umm... she's got it bad for the hero.

Mom: Does he have it bad too?

Me: Yes, he's got it bad too.

Mom: Did they get it good by the end of the book?

Me: Yes, mom. They got it good by the end. :)

Of course the whole time we're talking I'm thinking of the hot sex scenes. Zoe and Liam do it pretty much everywhere. They can't keep their hands off each other. I didn't feel the need to mention that part. ;)

I've just started Robyn Carr's Virgin River series and love it! I have 7 of her books that I'm preparing to glom. I also need to pick my re-read for this month. Maybe a historical. Dare I pick a Johanna Lindsey? One of those Malory books....

***Reminder*** Only one more day for a chance to win Immortal Warrior and some goodies from author Lisa Hendrix. Click on the book cover on the left sidebar for details.