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Harper Lee Comes Out of Hiding??

Apparently a former Chicago Tribune reporter wrote a book about Harper Lee, the well known but very reclusive author, claiming to have had input from the author herself. The New York Times briefly mentions this in THIS ARTICLE. According to the NYT Ms. Lee has repudiated any involvement. Even Jezebel, the fashion & celebrity gossip site has picked up this story. Several newspapers & websites, the Chicago Tribune among them have picked the story up, and some articles claim Penguin (the new book's publisher) has insisted that Lee did indeed cooperate with Ms. Mills in the writing and researching of the book. According to the Tribune article linked to above, Penguin claims to have a letter stating that Lee did indeed cooperate.However, I've done a search on the Penguin Press website and can't find a mention of Marja Mills.

SO- who knows? Did Ms. Lee really cooperate with Ms. Mills? Or not? Will we ever know or will it be buried by the lawyers?

Personal Life Update

Well you guys, I passed my 2nd exam in the computer class I'm taking. I totally screwed up the tabs (& thus the formatting) by neglecting to hit the set button before I hit ok..I passed, but my ego-such as it is, lol, is bruised. This was also a poignant reminder that I really do need to devote more time to this portion of the class. I'll cop a plea to being neglectful and a procrastinator.

What else? Younger son Maestro will be confirmed next Saturday, the Great Vigil of Easter. I love the Holy Week services, old and quiet and dark, almost primitive feeling. My husband will be reaffirmed at the same service. I hope family will come, but at this point I don't know who will or won't be be there.


More Links:

1. Happy birthday Beverly Cleary

2.Books that inspired author Elizabeth Moon

3.News about the Dragonriders of Pern movie adaptation

And in more erm..ADULT news, if you could call it that:


Iceland has a Penis Museum! Yes, I'm only 12 years old.

Links for Today

The Orange Prize (an award for women) shortlist is out, list available HERE.

In other book news a 600 year old copy of The Nuremburg Chronicles has turned up in Utah, story available HERE. I'd love if it could tell us how it got there, that must be quite a story!

World Book Night tonight

Tonight is the first annual World Book Night, held in the UK & Ireland. The participants will give away copies of 25 titles, link to list here. I'm ashamed to admit, I've read only 2 of the 25 listed: All's Quiet on the Western Front and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. The about page for the site says some will be given to places like hospitals and prisons, so I think in honor of World Book Day I'll donate some books to a hospice facility in our area.

Today's Quote

Writing eases my suffering..writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.


~ Gao Xiangjian, author


Me too!!


No real news on the book front. I decided last week I will 'earn' my book money by going to the gym. 1 hour at the gym = $1 for books. Do you think I've been to the gym since then? NOT. LOL. I do have a big TBR pile to keep me going though. :)

Coming Soon

I'm currently reading:

1. Blood Born by Linda Howard and Linda Jone I can't find an "official site" for Linda Howard, but here is the publisher page for herher.

2. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James.


Reviews next week. After that I don't know what I'll read.

Nothing to Read?

Ok, I know I'm way behind in book news, after all I've been on hiatus for a year, but this is ridiculous. Really. The The Guardian is my favorite book site by far. Lots of info, reviews, news and more on a daily basis. Imagine that- not just once a week, but daily! Such luxury. Book pages in American pages are becoming as scarce as hens' teeth. ANYhow.

I normally read the Guardian book pages on my feed reader. Less content, but easier for my lazy butt to keep up with. Tonight I actually go the page &, lo & behold, I find THIS!!! Holy cow. Yes, I really am a dumb Yank. A page full of book stuff: reviews, news, crit, bios. Enough book things to keep me occupied for ages.

SO- if you have nothing to read quel horreur!!, go to the page linked in the paragraph above & your woes will be over.

You're welcome

Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

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It has been a whole entire year since I've posted here. I can't believe it has been so long, yet I thought about my blog every day. Wistfully, you know? Remember when you were little and you wanted something just out of reach and no one was there to help you get what you wanted? I've felt that way about this blog for a very long time now. So here I am. I'm going to redo the look a little bit, with Maestro's help. Customize the template & patch up some old stuff. A lot of old stuff.

Meanwhile I've emailed an editor asking for a galley to review an historical set in pre WW I Britain. I hope I get a copy, despite being down for so long. The book sounds good & I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things here.

I hope the book blog world is still out there somewhere. I've missed wandering around and having impossibly long TBR lists.

Annus Horribilis

You guys know that the title phrase comes from HM Queen Elizabeth, right? It means horrible year in Latin.


So much has happened this year- not much of it fun or happy, I'm afraid. I've not read a single book to the end. I've gotten about half way through & given up on quite a few. I associate my blog with happiness & fun but my personal life isn't matching up and I can't figure out how to blog here while 1) not reading and 2) feeling very unhappy & stressed. Thus I'm on hiatus.

I'm really sad. This is my 5th year blogging. I should be celebrating.



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see more Lolcats and funny pictures



Semester Hiatus


Due to my chronic inability to be organized enough to both post on the blog, take classes and maintain my sanity, posting here will be sporadic at best until the end of the semester, which is early May. I will post occasionally but generally I anticipate greatly reduced activity here until late spring. I'm sorry to do this but it's inevitable I'm afraid. See you then!

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Therefore today's post will come tomorrow! :p

Best of 2009

All of the authors and titles are hyperlinked to reviews I've written or author's pages. In the case of Georgette Heyer I've linked to pages that detail her work or the specific title I'm referring to. I hope 2009 was an enjoyable reading year for you too!




Best Book of 2009~


The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds; Scott Westerfeld



Best New to Me Authors~

1. Ariana Franklin
2. Georgette Heyer
3. Linnea Sinclair


Best Mystery~
Contemporary~ The Midnight Choir; Gene Kerrigan
Historical~ Mistress of the Art of Death; Ariana Franklin


Best Fantasy~ Scar Night, Alan Campbell


Best Science Fiction~

1. The Risen Empire, Scott Westerfeld (duology)
2. The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro
3. The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro



Best Romance~ Hope's Folly- Linnea Sinclair



Best of the Rest~

1. Death Wore White; Jim Kelly
2. In Defense of Food; Michael Pollan
3. The War of the Flowers; Tad Williams
4. Devil's Cub; Georgette Heyer
5. Frederica; Georgette Heyer
6. These Old Shades; Georgette Heyer

2009 Annual Statistics

And the grand total for the year is......65! Not too bad considering going back to school totally sank both my reading statistics and my blog. Not reading much romance these last few months, and these next few aren't looking great either, at least for romance reading. Vampires, though, are totally on the upswing.


2005~ 102 2006~ 104 2007~ 64 2008~ 88




General Fiction~

Chick Lit- 1
Children's Fantasy- 1
Christian Thriller- 1
Christian Women's Fiction- 1
Diet & Health- 0
Erotica- 1
Fantasies- 11
Fictionalized Memoir- 2
Historical Fiction- 1
Historical Mysteries- 2
Horror- 1
Humor-0
Literary Criticism- 1
Literature- 0
Manga- 2
Metaphysics- 1
Mystery, Contemporary- 5
Mystery, Historical- 4
Science Fiction- 4
Sociology- 2
Thrillers- 0
Travelogue/ex-pat adventure- 0
Women's Fiction- 2



Romances~


Contemporary Suspense- 0
Fantasy- 1
Historical- 13
Medieval- 1
Mythology- 0
Paranormal Vampire- 3
Science Fiction- 1
Time Travel- 0
Traditional Regencies- 2



YA Paranormal/fantasy- 1
YA romance- 0
YA Chicklet- 0


DNF- 6

I Heard a Bird Sing; Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember:

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

December Monthly Synopsis

This month I read:

1. Devil's Cub~ Georgette Heyer

2. Frederica~ Georgette Heyer

3. The Untamed Bride~ Stephanie Laurens

4. Quatrain~ Sharon Shinn.

5. Divine Misdemeanors~ Laurell K. Hamilton

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo~ Steig Larsson

ETA: 7. These Old Shades~ Georgette Heyer



Notes:


I can't believe it has taken me so long to read Georgette Heyer, as much as I love traditional regencies. She's wonderful & I'm rapidly glomming the new Sourcebooks Casablanca qp size releases. Untamed Bride is a wonderful Laurens, kind of a historical romantic suspense. I plan to read the rest of the series. Sharon Shinn's book is a collection of short stories, each one set in one of her worlds. They're all quite good. The one set in Samaria finally convinced me to read that group. I've bought them all at the UBS. The LKH is fine, as far as it goes. It's an episode in Los Angeles, wherein Merry & her crew must solve a mystery & Merry must learn a little more the role of a ruler, as opposed to simply being the heir. Less carefree and more responsability and more choices between what she personally wants and what id best for the group or for Faerie as a whole. I read the Steig Larsson book earlier this fall, but forgot to list it.

Note, pt.2

These Old Shades is paired with Devil's Cub, I read them in reverse order (which I don't recommend, as subtle interactions are lost if you are unfamiliar with the characters). They do stand alone though, if you're interested in reading them. TOS made me cry & therefore earns an automatic place on my keeper shelves.

2010 Releases

Below are a few books I'm looking forward to hunting down next year. I'm quite sure the to be bought list will grow significantly as the year progresses, but as of now this is it. List is linked to author's sites.

1. Rebels and Lovers~ Linnea Sinclair February

2. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms~ N.K. Jesmin March

3. Except the Queen~ Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder February

4. Shalador's Lady~ Anne Bishop March

5. Foiled~ Jane Yolen April Graphic novel about a teenage girl fencer!! How cool is that?!!

6. Naamah's Curse~ Jacqueline Carey June

7. Dark Peril~ Christine Feehan September

8. Cryoburn~ Lois McMaster Bujold No date available yet, possibly November This is a Miles book.

9. A Kiss at Midnight~ Eloisa James No month listed Described as a Cinderella theme


10-12. The Black Cobra Quartet~ Stephanie Laurens February, July & end of the year First title is The Elusive Bride

13. The Chalice of Blood~ Peter Tremayne July, UK release





Other News

Both Scott Westerfeld and Juliet Marillier are writing new books. Marillier's title is said to be Seer of Sevenwaters formerly Song of the Island, I couldn't find a pub date for it though. Westerfeld's new book is supposed to be titled Behemoth, second in the trilogy that began with Leviathan, and is currently being worked on.

October and November Synopsis

Listed below are what I've managed to read between 1 October and November 30, none of which are reviewed or listed in the archives. I hope to slowly work my way through them and review them, but am not overly hopeful that I will be able to achieve this in any timely fashion.


1. What Remains of Heaven~ C.S. Harris

2. The Taming of the Duke~ Eloisa James

3. Kiss Me Annabel~ Eloisa James

4. On the Way to the Wedding~ Julia Quinn

5. Desperate Duchesses~ Eloisa James

6. The Disdainful Marquis~ Edith Layton

7. The Abandoned Bride~ Edith Layton

8. The Untamed Bride~ Edith Layton

The angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary, mostly highly favored lady", gloria!

"For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be, all generations laud and honor thee, thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,most highly favored lady," gloria!

Then gently Mary meekly bowed her head, "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said, "my soul shall laud and magnify his holy name." Most highly favored ,lady, gloria!

Of her Emmanuel, the Christ, was born in Behtlehem, all on a Christmas morn, "Most highly favored lady," gloria!







This is the text of a Basque hymn, one of my favorites, that our church plays during Advent although it is also appropriate for the Annunciation (March 25th). The painting is La Vierge au Lys by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. I love to hear it at this time of year.

Merry Christmas

May God grant you the light in Christmas,
Which is Faith;
The warmth of Christmas,
Which is Love;
The radiance of Christmas,
Which is Purity;
The righteousness of Christmas,
Which is Justice;
The belief in Christmas,
Which is Truth;
The all of Christmas,
Which is Christ.

~Wilda English~

Found on the website of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn Photo is from an album posted by fwz on Webshots