Spiders' Lunch

Hiked yesterday in Spiderland. It was the spiders' lunchtime too- struggling flies & bees frantic to escape. Poor unsuspecting hikers who can't see you until its too late. Strands of spidersilk in your mouth, your hair, across your fingers. Crawly stripy penny sized little buggers crawling up & down my legs. Have I mentioned how much I hate spiders? Especially when they're on my person? My heart rate soared for ages after that walk, let me tell you!

Quite toasty here at Bookwormom Central. The weatherguys are constantly whining about the heat index- temperature & humidity combined. To be honest with you, it doesn't seem hotter than your average summer. Then again, I have been hiking & running outside in the park for the last two months. Perhaps I have acclimated to the temperatures. Supposedly the heat wave will last until Friday, at least locally. Who knows? How hot has it been where you live?

Started Anne Stuart's Black Ice last night. A little late for AngieW's Challenge, I know. Black Ice is one of the very, very few Romantic suspense novels I've read. So far, Ms. Stuart manages to captivate me in a subgenre I often toss into my DNF pile. It's quite good although I find the heroine a little ..I don't know. Something about her niggles. I'm hopeful it'll jolt me out of the reading doldrums. Cross your fingers for me.

Thursday 13 #10- Keeper Authors M-Z

Finishing last weeks's theme, this week rounds out the alphabet M-Z on my romance keeper shelves. I've only listed authors who have two or more titles on my shelves.

1. Amanda McCabe

2. Judith McNaught

3. Nadine Miller

4. Karen Ranney

5. Marylyle Rogers

6. Anne Stuart

7. J.R. Ward

Obviously I've six more to go so I've decided to list authors in my TBR who have two or more titles on the shelves.

8. Rexanne Becnel

9. Jo Beverley

10. Marsha Canham

11. Loretta Chase

12. Claire Delacroix

13. Christina Dodd

Click on the link above to see a list of other Thursday 13 participants. If you leave a link in the comments I'll link to you here~

The ever efficient Doug at Balls & Walnuts has his 13 up. Fickle Fiona has hers up too!

Sidebar Addition

Please stop by Fickle Fiona's & say hello.

Thursday 13 #8- Fav. Themes

Romance novel themes that is. Clink the link above to see more participants & their lists. Ready? Set..go!

1. Emotionally wounded hero
a)Lord of Ice Gaelen Foley
b)The Duke & I, Julia Quinn
c)Once A Warrior, Karen Monk

2. Guardian & Ward
a)Kissing Cousins, Nadine Miller
b)Four in Hand, Stephanie Laurens

3. Abduction/Captive
a)Promise the Moon

4. Highwayman/thief
a)My Lady Notorious, Jo Beverley

5.Time Travel
Any Lynn Kurland

6. Paranormal
a)Vampires- Susan Squires, JR Ward, a few Christine Feehan
b)Fairies- Marylyle Rogers, The Fairy Godmother Mercedes Lackey
c)Other Creatures- Melanie Jackson; Dream of Me, Lisa Cach; Smoke Thief, Shana Abe

7.Spies
a)An Arrainged Marriage, Jo Beverley

8.'Bluestockings'
a) Guilty Pleasures, Laura Lee Guhrke
b)Lord Stanhope's Propsal, Jessica Benson

9.Second Chances
a)The Bedeviled Duke, Judith Lansdowne
b)Borrowed Dreams, May McGoldrick

10.Adventure/road
a)My Lady Notorious, Jo Beverley
b)Promise the Moon, Linda Lea Castle

11.Governesses
a)Scandal, Brenda Joyce

12.Marriage of Convenience
a)The Reasons for Marriage, Stephanie Laurens
b)The Deception, Joan Wolf

13.Medieval
a)Dark Champion, Jo Beverley
b)Lord of Danger, Lady Fortune- Anne Stuart
c)Wild, Wonderful- Jill Barnett
d)Secret Swan, Shana Abe

IMO, what this list proves, more than anything else, is that sometimes even the most overused Romancelandia cliches can be well &/or uniquely done. Sidenote- none of my Laurens titles are the Cynster series. Hmmm.

Thursday 13, Thursday Thirteen, Books, Romances

Thursday Thirteen #7- 13 Heroes

From my romance keeper shelves, the following are thirteen of my favorite heroes. Chosen at random & listed in no particular order. Click the link above for more Thursday 13 participants.

1. Fitzroger of Cleeve from Dark Champion by Jo Beverley

2. Nicholas Delany from An Arranged Marriage by Jo Beverley

3. Valentine Corbett from Sin & Sensibility by Suzanne Enoch

4.Simon of Navarre from Lord of Danger by Anne Stuart

5. Lyon Pennington of Borrowed Dreams by May McGoldrick

6. Rudolph Denbeigh of The Bedeviled Duke by Judith Lansdowne

7.Nicholas Daventry of No Greater Love by Katherine Kingsley

8. Nicholas Sverayov of Splendor by Brenda Joyce

9.Durand de Marle of Lord of the Mist by Ann Lawrence

10. William of Miraval of Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

11. Gareth Harcourt of The Emerald Swan by Jane Feather

12. Malcolm MacFane of Once A Warrior by Karen Monk

13. Michael Hawthorne of After the Kiss by Karen Ranney

Thursday Thirteen, Thursday 13, Books, Romance Novels

AAR 2005 Poll Results

The AAR 2005 poll results are up. I've only read a few, which is a purposeful tactic on my part. I try very hard to avoid the hype associated with many titles & to accomplish this I often hold books for nine months or a year before I read them. I look at it as my attempt (poor though it is) to base each book on its own merits & not the buzz. On the other hand, it could be said I'm not independant enough to read them while they're new & still be unbiased. Whichever.

Of the titles and authors mentioned I only have: Anne Gracie, Karen Ranney, Lisa Valdez & Lydia Joyce. Never read any of the others, except Gabaldon who lost me two books ago & Brockmann who I dropped just before Sam & Alyssa's book. I rarely read contemporaries or categories or anthologies (unless they're paranormal or Anne Stuart novels), so none of those authors or titles mean anything to me.

The one thing I get out of this poll is that I really need to add Loretta Chase to the glom list. That & the fact that, if I judge my taste by the list, either I'm the odd woman out or I dance to my own drum or I don't know what I've missed. Some sort of cliche like that anyway.

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Follow Up: The Autobuy ?

This is a follow up to the Thursday February 2nd post on Book Lovers' Nook titled The Autobuy Question. AG raises many thought provoking questions which I decided to answer here so as not to hog her comments. I found AG via Kristie(J).

For me characterization outweighs nearly all. Slow pacing is no big deal. Loose plotting is ok as long as other factors keep me involved. Sexual tension is important although I do read 'sweet' romances & most of the time I don't miss the sex. Once in a while I've read a sweet romance & fell so in love with the hero I wished they would get it on. *blushes* It is enough that the couple ends up together & committed at the end.

As to series, I tend to be loyal until I feel either a) I can't relate to the heroines (Christine Feehan), b) they all blend in together (Bridgertons), c) one of them TOTALLY turns me off (Slightly) or d) I'm ready to move on. Hope springs eternal though. Some authors, especially ones whom I've heartily enjoyed, I'm very reluctant to give up on. I do not read anthologies, I find the quality too inconsistant & books are too expensive.

I have followed autobuys into other subgenres, ie: Elizabeth Lowell & Julie Garwood. I am a huge fangirl of Anne Stuart & I read her romantic suspense. She is the only romantic suspense author I read. I no longer read Garwood or Lowell mysteries, but that's mostly because I prefer international spy thrillers, which neither of them write.

An autobuy, for me, means I do not: read the blurb, read the first chapters, ask friends for reccs or read reviews. My romance autobuys are: Gaelen Foley, Anne Stuart, Adrienne Basso, Susan Squires, Lynn Kurland, P.C. Cast, Melanie Jackson, Shana Abe. A partial list of romance authors I follow, but who are not autobuys are: S. Laurens, J. Quinn, J. Beverley, M. Balogh, E. James, C. Dodd, C. Feehan, among others.

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