Bitchin' Blog Posts
: Habo
January 31, 2012 | Tuesday | 11 Comments
It's HaBO-Thon time! HaBO stands for "Help a Bitch Out," and is a segment wherein folks write in looking for books that they cannot find, usually becuase they remember many details about the plot, but not the title or author. This is, by the way, how I remember most books. Our first request comes from GoldenDarter: After the latest round of HaBOs, and another fruitless internet search, I have decided to ask the Bitchery if they might know of this book... I read it several years ago, in the infancy of my romance obsession, but I have no idea when it…
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December 06, 2011 | Tuesday | 10 Comments
Back in 2008, An Goris wrote to ask for our help in finding copies of Nora Roberts' older novels for her PhD dissertation, which was an author study of Roberts' career and backlist.
As of last month, Goris is now Dr. An Goris, having successfully defended her dissertation. Mazel tov!
She sent me the following note and asked that I share with you, the most awesome romance readers on the planet:
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October 31, 2011 | Monday | 24 Comments
Lindlee is looking for a romance she got a bare taste of 15 years ago: I have a HaBO request that’s a bit unique. I know most people request help finding their first romance. Mine is more for the first romance that might have been. Long ago, I was shopping with my grandmother and found a book that sounded interesting. I wanted it but I also knew it was a grown-up book. I remember asking my grandmother if it was too grown-up for me. I think I wanted her to say “Oh no, you can read that!” but she agreed…
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September 20, 2011 | Tuesday | 62 Comments
This was a HABO that Laura asked about back last spring, and I ordered it back then and didn’t even open the package until this week. (This semester is even crazier than last spring, I’m doing an internship that’s 15-20 hours a week, plus 4 other classes and it’s kind of insane.) Okay. So. This is full of whatthefuckery. Really. With a side dish of anachronism stew. (I’m also writing this while watching the pilot of Ringer which involves a twin-switch scenario, and it’s actually pretty good. If you like film noir-y drama, give it a shot.) So our story…
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September 15, 2011 | Thursday | 22 Comments
This HaBO comes from NerdyLutheranChick who writes: HABO! I’m looking for a Historical Romance that I read when I was in middle school (so somewhere between 1993-1996), I originally found it in a box of books someone gave my mom. I was secretly reading them and paranoid that my mom would take them away, and so I would read one and put it back in the box. I wish I hadn’t put this one back in the box! Here’s what I remember from the plot: A lowland noble girl (she might have been the daughter of a border lord -…
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September 10, 2011 | Saturday | 31 Comments
Courtney is looking for a book. I know you can help her. I’ve wanted to submit a request to HaBO for awhile now, but I couldn’t recall enough details about the book I’m looking for to think anyone could help me. Probably once I describe what I DO remember, the general response to my query will be, “Why in all of God’s creation would you want to find this book?” Fair question and I’m not entirely sure myself. So, my tale begins when I was a tender twelve year old. My mom was an avid (Oh lord, SO AVID) reader…
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September 07, 2011 | Wednesday | 28 Comments
This book is being sought by Kelly. I think this sounds like one of the most bizarre old skool plots I’ve heard of in a long time. I read this way back in the late 80s/early 90s, probably the first romance I read. Set in Scotland, the book starts with an arranged marriage that is not consummated because, to the surprise of the wife, our heroine, her new hubby only gets it on with his sister. I think there’s even a creepy line implying his mom is ok with this. It is at her wedding where she meets her eventual…
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September 07, 2011 | Wednesday | 21 Comments
This request comes from Faellie, who is looking for a book she read a long, long time ago.
My HABO is a paperback which I read some years ago and which I think I came across in a holiday rental, because it would still be on my shelves (who am I kidding, in one of my boxes) if it had been my own copy. The book is set in a country village in Yorkshire, in winter because there is a lot of snow around.
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September 07, 2011 | Wednesday | 16 Comments
If it’s Wednesday and not Tuesday there must be HaBOs (and not Dildos, please God), so I’ve saved up some of the mostest craziest Help a Bitch Out posts for you. Get ready! Robin is looking for a book: I’ve been watching your blog for a while now and have been impressed with how often readers manage to help others find a book they’ve been looking for. I was hoping to get some help looking for a book I can’t find despite numerous searches for it and I can’t remember the author or title. The book starts with a girl…
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September 03, 2011 | Saturday | 53 Comments
This query made me LOL like AOL and ROFLMAO like Chairman Mao. Enjoy A’s request with me, won’t you? Let me start by saying I have NO idea why I want to re-read this book because it just sounds awful, but that seems to change nothing because the darned thing sticks in my head and I want to read it anyway, even if it’s probably going to hit the wall 10 times before I finish it (so I’d rather not use my e-reader). The book had to have been published prior to 2000 because I remember reading it in high…
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August 27, 2011 | Saturday | 11 Comments
This request comes from Anne, who clearly read one hell of a book. I’m looking for a book I read about a year ago at a friend’s cottage. I cannot for the life of me remember the title or the author, but I’d really like to find it again. So, it was a fairly recent book (I’d guess 5 years?). The heroine has been kept under lock and key in a secret underground layer by her parents after her sister is killed (possibly also a brother? There was a bunch of sibling death) The book opens with her escaping and…
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August 14, 2011 | Sunday | 31 Comments
I am looking for a book I stole and read in junior high, by stole I mean borrowed from my mom’s romance collection. Don’t remember the author or title but perhaps the plot will ring a bell?? So the book starts off with a girl running away from her family in London before an arranged marriage. That same night she is mistaken for a prostitute by a captains first mate and brought to his ship to pleasure him. Etc etc.. I don’t remember if it was really a rape scene on the boat or if it was consensual…but in the…
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August 14, 2011 | Sunday | 12 Comments
This request comes from Tanya, who thinks this may be a recent book: I’m hoping you can help, I think it will be easy but I read this book not too long ago (maybe within the last 2 years?) and pretty sure that is has come out recently but can’t recall title or author - here’s what has stuck in my mind: Hero is somewhat tortured and plays an instrument (violin/cello?) but not for public enjoyment and the heroine is also a musician, piano I’m pretty sure. They play a duet at a house party, some of which is music…
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August 13, 2011 | Saturday | 3 Comments
This request comes from Librarian Emily, who is searching for a book on behalf of a patron: You are the experts, so I am coming to you. A patron asked me to find this romance book. She doesn’t know the title or author. This is all she has to go on: The main character’s name is Cara. She’s engaged to a Frenchman. Her male best friend set her up with said Frenchman, but really the best friend is in love with her. I have googled this up one side & down the other but I can’t seem to find it.…
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August 13, 2011 | Saturday | 7 Comments
This request comes from K, who read this book a long time ago - but it sounds fascinating! I read a historical romance somewhere between the late 1970’s or and mid 1980’s. It was set in Australia as it was being founded as a penal colony. Of course the usual theme, she hates him but is attracted to him. It was really interesting because it incorporated a lot of early Australian history into the romance, and in the end the hero names the town Adelaide after her. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Does anyone remember the name or author?…
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