If you're in the US, it's a four-day weekend, unless you're in the US AND located in western Pennsylvania, where I grew up. Then you might also have Monday off because it's the first day of deer season. I had off school when I was a kid, anyway, and was all afronted when I had to go to work the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. Don't you people know it's the first day of deer hunting … Continue reading Whatcha Reading? Holiday Long Weekend Edition (If You’re, You Know, in the US)→
As I mentioned in my review of A Stolen Season, I went from reading because I was convinced I was missing the Magic Thing that had created positive reviews for this book, to reading because I just had to find out how the plot was resolved. As I said on Twitter, there's almost an annoyed affection I feel for a book that I really dislike but am compelled to finish. I just had to know … Continue reading Compelled to Finish a Book You’re Not Enjoying: What do You Call That?→
by SB Sarah · Oct 30, 2012 at 2:40 am ·
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At last week's book club chat for What I Did for a Duke, one of the participants who went by the excellent name of 'CutMyTeethonKleypas' said that she was looking forward to Julie Anne Long's next book, A Notorious Countess Confesses ( A | BN | K | S | iB ). That book releases on 30 October (today!) and 'CutMyTeethonKleypas' said during the chat: To which I said, “That is brilliant and why didn't I EVER think … Continue reading Reading Excuses→
by SB Sarah · Oct 26, 2012 at 11:46 am ·
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What's on your reading schedule this weekend? Are you reading some of the holiday romances that are everywhere of late? I'm skipping Friday this week. I leave Jersey on Thursday afternoon, and arrive in Sydney on Saturday morning, skipping Friday altogether. Seriously, this is messing with my head. What was I supposed to do today? What if TODAY was the day Publishers Clearing House showed up on the porch with a big ass check and … Continue reading Whatcha Reading?→
by SB Sarah · Oct 18, 2012 at 2:53 am ·
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There are two words I keep running into in romances, and I have to talk about them. First: when a heroine is barefoot and she's ambulating from one location to another, what verb will be used to describe her movement? Padded. All barefoot people pad. Count on it. I searched “padded” on all books on my Kindle, and came up with 20+ examples referring to people walking barefoot. Because it's new, I have a total … Continue reading The Following Cliches Are Brought to You by the Letter P→
Back in the day, many romances were very much focused on the heroine,and the hero was a somewhat nebulous, possibly menacing figure whose motivations weren't known, and whose actions were often only excused by the fact that the back cover copy proclaimed him the hero. Actions frequently included ravishing, bodice ripping, and generally being a rapetastic assclown. Then, things began to change. We readers were treated to more and more of the hero's point of … Continue reading Returning the Hero to Secrecy→
I received an email from Shawny about a problem she had that's rather common — and a similar problem her uncle had that is both hilarious and sad: Can I make a topic suggestion? Books that sound like one thing, but are actually another? Or maybe books with identical or very similar titles? I've read 2 books called A Kiss at Midnight this year, one was a fairy tale, one was vampire angst. Fortunately, I'm … Continue reading Midnight in the Garden of Book Title Confusion→
by SB Sarah · Sep 28, 2012 at 10:14 am ·
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I don't always do open threads, but when I do, I make sure they become…. THE MOST EXPENSIVE BOOK SUGGESTION THREADS IN THE WORLD. I love asking y'all what you're reading, mostly because when someone gets all excited about a book I relinquish control of myself and go buy it, and another one and that one too and oh, crap. I hope I'm not alone in that. This past week I've read two books based … Continue reading Whatcha Reading?→
When I started reviewing all the 50 Shades-esque covers, particularly the Lora Leigh book (“Oh, come ON, now”) I started wondering what things might have changed in Ye Olde Publishing Houses in the weeks and months following 50 Shades' domination of the bestseller list. For example: cover art is changing, especially covers for contemporary romances that are explicit or tagged as erotic. Sexuality within books has also become a more prominent part of the pitches … Continue reading Changes Brought About by 50 Shades→
With all the business cards and email addresses exchanged at RWA and at other summer conferences, I thought an examination of the rules and best practices governing newsletter distribution might be a good idea. Really, this is inspired by my own annoyance. I've noticed an increase in the number of email newsletters I'm receiving that I absolutely did not sign up for. This is making me insane and very angry, and I want to explain … Continue reading Unwitting Newsletter Douchebaggery And How to Avoid It→
by SB Sarah · Aug 3, 2012 at 11:43 am ·
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If you went to RWA last week, you likely came home with a big ol' selection of books. I saw many a person making the trek to the FedEx office in the hotel on the last day! And if you didn't go, I'm betting you learned about new books this week that you're really excited about. I made the mistake of starting FOUR different books and not finishing one of them yet – I hate … Continue reading Whatcha Reading?→
