Bitchin' Blog Posts
: People
May 05, 2011 | Thursday | 33 Comments
I was invited to present a session on romance collections and romance readers at the Connecticut Library Association conference in Stamford this week, and I learned two key things: 1. I was SO wrong 2. Librarians are even more awesome than I thought I figured that at a state-wide conference of librarians from all different types of libraries, which are STAID and QUIET and INSTITUTIONS of QUIET STAID BOOKISHNESS, I had to be formal. I NEEDED PIE CHARTS. And graphs! And sexy numbers with decimal points when talking about romance. Note above: I was SO wrong. Much like romance readers…
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May 04, 2011 | Wednesday | 31 Comments
There is a staggeringly small amount of media attention being directed at the horrific devastation and continued difficulties of the Southern US following hellabad tornadoes from storms that hit the region 25-28 April 2011. Over 300 people were killed from the confirmed 189 different tornadoes - excuse me, according to the NOAA, 305 tornadoes from the storm, and with flooding, destruction, rain, and so many missing, the situation isn’t getting better any time soon. But I haven’t heard anything about it on the tv as much as I have on Twitter. The news hasn’t changed since the storm, though things…
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January 31, 2011 | Monday | 46 Comments
A message from Sally: “Please talk about Downton Abbey. I just saw the season finale and am about to faint. And I’m not even wearing a corset. Must. Discuss.” Well, I can’t write about my own reaction yet because I know of SO many people who haven’t seen it yet who taped it on their DVRs. LIKE ME. Heh. So how about this: Downton Abbey folks, this is your comment thread. Spoilers aloud. Spoilers also allowed. BUT if you haven’t seen it, DO NOT READ the comments! I’ll even take down the “Recent Comment” section in the sidebar for today…
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January 05, 2011 | Wednesday | 34 Comments
This is another I Read This To Push It On The Unsuspecting Bitchery. It’s older, and not totally a romance, but it is a favorite of mine. It takes place in Feudal Japan, and is a version of the story of the 47 Samurai. I remember someone in the comments of… something… asking if both characters in Impulsive were Asian, and that’s it’s rare to get both main characters to be a minority. So here we are (although I planned to do this one long before that conversation even happened). Cat is the daughter of a daimyo and…
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December 07, 2010 | Tuesday | 454 Comments
Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, I’ve eaten my body weight in gelt, so it’s time to go lift weights - or books. Or both! To continue the festive merriment to celebrate reading, both paper and digital, I have a collection of contemporary romance - hardcovers and paperbacks! All you have to do to win is leave a comment, and I’ll select a winner each day. These contests are open to international winners, and I will do my best to ship this week, provided people send me their addresses promptly. Standard disclaimers apply: I’m not being compensated for this giveaway. If anything, my…
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September 13, 2010 | Monday | 38 Comments
Time for another nosy survey! You’ll notice that I keep my surveys short and neat, like shots of fine tequila. So grab some salt and a lime, and let’s talk pre-ordering. I personally rarely pre-order books. I’m so forgetful, I’d see books turn up on my Kindle or in my download library online and wonder who had hacked my account. If I read a book review before the book is released, I might place it on my wish list or leave a note for myself, but I rarely preorder unless the preorder price is supremely good. But many people I…
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August 24, 2010 | Tuesday | 24 Comments
First, a link to NPR’s article on Digital Overload: Your Brain on Gadgets. According to the article, The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day and can switch programs 36 times an hour. “It’s an onslaught of information coming in today,” says New York Times technology journalist Matt Richtel. “At one time a screen meant maybe something in your living room. But now it’s something in your pocket so it goes everywhere — it can be behind the wheel, it can be at the dinner table, it can be in the bathroom. We…
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August 14, 2010 | Saturday | 52 Comments
At RWA, so many people told me how much they love the HaBOs - or that their spouses and partners love hearing about them. You guys are like oracles of romance: you freaking know every one of these things. So here’s another from Janice, who has one from waaaaaay back in the day. I read a book about 24 years ago. yeah I know a real long time ago. Anyway it was probably one of my first time travel romance. Let my sister in law read it and never got it back. Starts off in modern France with and american…
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June 07, 2010 | Monday | 17 Comments
I had such a good old time reading this book. There were some flaws to the plot but while reading it, I was charmed and giggly and totally absorbed. This book made me happy. That’s probably the best way to put it: it made me smile. A lot. Books like this are why I read romance. Keri Daniels is an entertainment reporter in LA who left her hometown in New Hampshire a long, long time ago, breaking it off with her high school sweetheart Joe right after graduation and heading as far west as she could. She’s been back before,…
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May 06, 2010 | Thursday | 47 Comments
Elise Logan was kind enough to send me a snapshot collection of some of the finest covers among her library of old skool romance. Among the many, many amazing covers?
Fabio.
According to Elise, this is her secret shame. Well, it’s not so much a secret any more, since I’m telling The Whole Internet.
Behold: the Fabster:
Yeah, yeah, that’s not a big deal. Many people own this book. Heck, *I* own that book.
But you know what they say about romance. And Fabio. It’s what’s inside that counts.
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May 03, 2010 | Monday | 97 Comments
First, the brainy and still making my head spin around with the ideas: Why there is no Jewish Narnia from the brand new Jewish Review of Books. The author, Michael Weingrad, examines why there is no Jewish fantasy author on par with Tolkein and Lewis, particularly given the depth and history of Jewish mysticism. His answers and ideas are so thoughtful and interesting I am still pondering, and I had to share. If you’re a fantasy or science fiction fan, this article looks at the genres from allegorical perspectives, and draws some conclusions as to why Jewish writers number very…
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April 21, 2010 | Wednesday | 20 Comments
Lindsay writes: It was a historical single title that I read around 2003/04. The heroine is a Saxon lady, and the hero is a Norman knight who has been given the land that used to belong to her family. She’s hiding out at a nunnery, and he seeks her out to offer her marriage - I think because he thinks it’s the decent thing to do, and also because he doesn’t speak the language and needs someone who can actually communicate with all the people he is now in charge of. They get married and have a few weeks or…
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March 04, 2010 | Thursday | 24 Comments
First, from Rebecca: heads up Harlequin, Harper’s Index is watching you.
One question: what’s the stat on Greek vs Sicilian tycoons?
You’ve seen why people pirate DVDs - here, have the Brads take on why DRM doesn’t work for audio books, either. Thanks to Gry for the link!
How much of a Sweet Valley High fan are you? I scored an 80% (*SOB*) on this SVH quiz. Can you beat my score?
Heck, can you resist the temptation of all those other luscious quizzes that are advertised at the end of the SVH quiz?! (thanks, Miri!)
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February 18, 2010 | Thursday | 103 Comments
Grab a flask and play along: it’s time to get head-weaving drunk with “Someone Without A Clue Reviews Romance: the Drinking Game!” While multiple-mullet salutes have been found with increasing frequency, it’s still cheap and easy humor, akin to blonde jokes and snide comments about overweight people, to slap at romance novels, and of course the women who read them. So let’s see how many lame and tired points of insult Kimya Kavehkar comes up with before she runs out of column inches: Judging Romance Novels By Their Steamy Covers! Comment about the covers: DRINK! We’re going to judge the…
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February 18, 2010 | Thursday | 22 Comments
We’re back with Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Romance Novels, where, with ample romance backlist and as much objectivity as caffeine can provide, I give advice. Today’s letter: Hi: I am a long time lurker and I am in need of some advice. I have recently met a guy through an online dating site. We IM’d every day for 3 weeks (we also talked on the phone) and then met in person. That meeting lasted the entire day. We continue to talk almost everyday and have gone out again. I keep getting mixed signals from him. When…
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