Miss Me, Maybe?

So Many Books, So Little Time is going to be on hiatus until May 1st.

For the first time in YEARS, it looks as if my Read in April (or any month) list will be in the single digits. This month, I simply do not have time to read and I'll have even less to write about books. I am in my ninth day with Angelology and I am trying to read it but I'm not getting to read much until bedtime and even though I'm enjoying it, I'm too tired lately to get through that many pages and it is frustrating me.

I also am having difficulty with the writing part. I can't think of interesting topics to talk about and I'm super jealous of other bloggers who are kicking ass on their blogs.

So, I'm taking a break and will be back (hopefully) in a better frame of...blog? I'll be around a little so don't expect me to disappear but I just won't be writing. See y'all May 1st!

Good Stuff Coming Out This Month

This is a new feature I've been thinking about starting recently. I already have a page dedicated to release dates but I thought I might pick a few coming out each month that I want so badly I'm dreaming about them. I'm putting all these behind a jump since there's some spoilery things that some people might not want to see.

The Vampire and the Virgin by Kerrelyn Sparks **spoilers**

As I was recently telling someone, Kerrelyn Sparks won me over when I read book three in her Love at Stake series, Be Still My Vampire Heart. That book made me laugh but it was Angus, the big bad vampire highlander who just had to check under his kilt to make sure Junior was still there after each time he teleported, that I found especially delightful. I love that one in particular but pretty much every book in this series has been enjoyable and The Vampire and the Virgin is no different, if you can get past the title (it certainly didn't keep me from buying it).

Lynn Viehl wrap-up, part 2

We're still going with the Darkyn reviews after the jump.

A Lynn Viehl wrap-up, part 1

Here we go, finishing off the rest of these Viehl reviews. I hope my attitude about this self-imposed assignment hasn't turned anyone off these books. I liked them enough to keep reading them so please take that into account when reading what I've written here today.

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

Heather Webber was a new author for me when I got this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I was expecting, well...I'm not sure what I thought. I do know this: I liked this book. So much that I read it in one sitting. There's a few spoilery things after the jump so click at your own peril.

I'm still here

Where did this weekend go? Yard work, laundry issues, and North and South ate up much of my Easter weekend. I have only worked my way to page 70 in Angelology btw. This is a dense book (451 pages total) with 10, maybe 8 pt text, so I can't rip my way through like usual. I'm taking notes with this one; I want to make sure I don't forget anything by the time I reach the end.

I watched North and South today - the BBC production not the Civil War miniseries - while I did the mountain of ironing I had accumulated (my ironing lasted through N&S and about half of A Room With a View). You gotta love the BBC. They make some the best tv EVER. I've written about the wonder that is Lost in Austen and beauteousness of Elliot Cowan but hold on ladies! Richard Armitage. I watched all four or so hours of this movie and when it was done I wanted to get on a train. I also have ordered it from amazon - I watched it today via Netflix through my Wii. Not the best picture for a HDTV but it was good enough :) I just wish it was out on Blu-ray. And I've had Cranford for months, sitting under the tv and while it's not like N&S, I definitely need to make an appointment so I can park myself on the couch with Cranford.

State of the Month - March 2010

Let's see here...What did I do here on So Many Books, So Little Time? Well...

I've joined my first Challenge that didn't originate from that part of my brain that forgets that I already have a million things to do. But I guess that's the point of this blog, isn't it? This Challenge is to finish unfinished series in your library. As with most things, I'll probably put it off until the end of November or the middle of December and then try to cram all eleven books on my list before New Year's.

I started finishing Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. Too bad I didn't add that one to my Challenge list. The two I have left both arrived this week - Kiss of the Highlander and The Highlander's Touch. After Dageus's book, The Dark Highlander, I figured I would just blow off his twin Drustan's book but now I want to read it. Maybe Adam's in it? That would definitely be worth my time.

I've begun to dress up this blog a little more with the widgets and pictures in the sidebar. I love those Sprout widgets but they're a hard to find and if I do happen to trip over one somewhere, it's out-of-date. What's also annoying is that now that I've found a template I can live with, Blogger has added new template possibilities. Grrr.

I caught up with my LibraryThing obligations. Technically, I still owe them a review for Truly, Madly by Heather Webber since they sent it to me even though I had already won another book for that month. I might still do one if I can remember enough details of the book. I do know I liked it. I wish I had liked Dead Pan by Gayle Trent as much.

I met Kelly Meding! Kelly, if you read this, know that I might look you up in the summer when As Lie the Dead comes out. Remember, I know where you work :) Also, the vets at Berlin Animal Hospital totally rock. They saved our kitty too.

I now have Carolyn Crane's Mind Games on my bookshelf, calling my name. I love supporting new writers and after reading about Rob Thurman's tirades involving book sales and release dates, I figured that if she's right and amazon sales don't work in the writer's best interests I would hie myself over to the local B&N and do my part. I just realized that I've been doing that for the new Deanna Raybourn books I buy. Yay me!

I caught up with Jessica Andersen's Mayan Doomsday series just in time for book four, Demonkeepers, to come out on Tuesday. Anybody looking for a fantastic pararom series that will suck you in, start with Nightkeepers. I will be amazed if you are a big fan of this genre and don't like it.

Now for the negative stuff: I tried to win a nook from Book Binge. Nope. I read a disturbing (and not in a good way) YA book about zombies. So disappointed. I had several books in March that got grades of C or lower and that's unusual for me. I'm pretty forgiving. One of those C books was an Amanda Quick novel, Deception. I did not like Olympia, the heroine. Her interaction with Jared left me shaking my head throughout most of the book. She was clueless and naive, forgave Jared for pretty much anything he did or said (he lied a lot), and was book-smart but lacking common sense. I have been working my way through Krentz's Quick novels since I like her historical romances more than her contemporary ones and Deception was a major misstep.

Here's what I hope to do in April:

1. Catch up with Harry Dresden. Amazingly, I have not read Turn Coat. You know, the Harry Dresden that came out a YEAR ago? Well, I am dying to find out what happens in Changes so I better get on it.
2. Read The Reckoning and Radiant Shadows (and the short stories I just downloaded). I have been devouring the preview chapters from The Reckoning that have been released. I have also been recently psyched up for Radiant Shadows :)
3. Read Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer's Wild Ride. Follow with lengthy post about Crusie's books and the wonderfulness thereof.
4. Consider the possibility of continuing with my lame fascinating reviews of Lynn Viehl's Darkyn series. Can you tell that I'm not excited about doing them? Maybe just one more that lumps them all together. Maybe do Shadowlight separately? Hmm.
5. I'm not going to impose any challenges on myself this month. I read plenty in March. As it is, I've had Angelology by Danielle Trussoni for two days already and have only managed to start the first page.
6. Work on the flower beds in my yard. Right now they look as if nobody has lived here for two years. So much for reading tomorrow :)
7. Get some sleep. Night!

What is the Best Book of March?

This was a tough one. I had four books in March that I found worthy of an A. Well, that number isn't exactly accurate since I changed some grades after the afterglow of reading a wonderful book had faded. Occasionally I'll change a grade for a book when I'm adding another to the list. Here are the semi-finalists: