In the back room at Turn the Page books is this poem: Why I Have A Crush On You, UPS Man by Alice N. Persons. I had to share it here. Since that's a link to a picture, and isn't readable by screen readers, there is also a version of it read by Garrison Keillor. I don't have permission to reproduce it here so I didn't, but oh, please, click either link and enjoy. … … Continue reading Weekend Notes from Maryland
Were you a Sunfire romance reader? I totally was. And even after I cracked the code of the cover art – whomever the heroine was pictured with in the cover art was usually NOT the dude she ended up with – I still read them. I loved Caroline, and read that book so many times I looked up the author, which led me to one of my msot favorite YA reads ever, The Girl with the Silver … Continue reading Sunfire Romances and Scholarly Projects
If you follow me on Twitter, you might remember that I ended up in Twitter jail for tweeting so much about Tools of Change two weeks ago. You likely already heard a lot about the conference. The last day of ToC, I received a message that a friend of mine suffered a death in his family, so immediately after leaving Tools of Change, I traveled some more for the funeral, and thus this recap is … Continue reading Tools of Change 2013: My (Somewhat Delayed) Wrap Up
For the past two weeks, my inbox has been bombarded with an unrelenting bonanza of Valentines-related content submissions from people I do not know. I received several link bait lists of 25-Things-That-Do-Things-Plus-Sex, a full week's worth of dating advice guest columns, and requests for line advertisements for dating sites, sexual health supplements, and a guide to surviving divorce. Valentine's Day, if you're at all related to the world of romance, is a very big day. … Continue reading Romance Novels and Valentine’s Day: Worth the Reminder
Here in the northeastern US, we're getting ready for a big ol' blizzard, a Nor'easter that is likely to bring an epic dumpus of snow to New England. Here in the NY metro area, the forecasts range from 3-40+ inches (7-101cm). (Wow. Snow in cm is WAY more impressive!) So I've been preparing by making sure the crock pot is clean, the cars have gas, we have shovels and salt… and I have BOOKS TO READ. … Continue reading Whatcha Reading?
I noticed this weird thing when I was updating my own bio (something you should probably do at the start of every calendar year, just to make sure it's up to date and doesn't talk about upcoming books that came out in October 2011, not that I am guilty of that… no, not at all): most author biographies start with geography. Is it me, or is that a little bizarre? I mean, I'm guilty of … Continue reading Biography Geography: WTF?
So many of us remember our first romance novel, and many more of us received (or stole) that novel from a relative. Passing down a much-loved book, romance or no, is something pretty common. Last weekend, I shared The Princess Bride with my kids for the first time. It's 25 years old (gosh, I'm ancient) and it's still 90 minutes of movie awesome. I think my husband and I could quote most if not all … Continue reading Movies that Get Passed Down
Back at RT in 2012, Molly O'Keefe and I got to talking at the bar (like you do) (no, really, that's what you do at RT) and she told me she had to leave the convention early because her husband had scored tickets to see Bruce Springsteen live, and, well, yeah, she had to leave early. Because… Bruce. As y'all know, I live in Jersey, and I spent every summer here as a kid. Springsteen … Continue reading Molly O’Keefe on Romance, Springsteen - and a Giveaway
Once again, it's holiday travel time. With Christmas Eve and Christmas Day falling on a Monday and Tuesday respectively, I'm betting there's a whole lot of moving around going on between yesterday and today – and waiting. Always waiting! Which would mean that we're carrying books with us, right? I mean, when are we NOT carrying a book? I'm currently between books and trying to figure out what to read next. I took a break … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? More Traveling Edition!
I've been researching series orders and connected books, and have noticed a few times the author on GoodReads or elsewhere giving her own book five stars. I'll be honest: I pretty much always roll my eyes when I see an author giving each of their books a five star rating, not the least of which because it's disingenuous. But I also ask myself (every time I see this happening), would I give my own books … Continue reading Giving Five Stars
Recently, after reviewing a book I finished only because I wanted to know how it ended, we discussed the term we would use to describe a book we're finishing not out of compulsion but due to morbid or frustrated curiosity. Thinking about why I finish books and how I feel about them while I'm reading made me realize some things about how I grade books. In many cases, I begin identifying the grade while I'm … Continue reading Reading Compulsion
