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The Shape of Books to Come–and Those That Came Already

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All this week on Risky Regencies we’re going to discuss books we’ve read in the past year and books we plan to read in 2010.

It’s been a great year of “must-reads” for the Riskies, book-wise, Amanda’s and my (and Deb Marlowe’s) Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, Amanda’s High Seas Stowaway, Spirited Brides, The Winter Queen, The Maid’s Lover, my Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, The Unlacing of Miss Leigh; Janet’s A Most Lamentable Comedy, Carolyn’s Scandal, Indiscreet and her paranormal, My Forbidden Desire.

Even more exciting, this was the year I got my Kindle! As you might have heard me say, I LOVE MY KINDLE! I can take my Kindle anywhere. (Colleen Gleason aka Joss Ware even takes hers into the bathtub–in a ziplock bag)

Regency Historicals I’ve read on my Kindle include:
Lavinia Kent’s A Talent for Sin (nominated for Best First Historical by RTBook Reviews)
Mary Blayney’s Stranger’s Kiss (nominated for Best Innovative Historical by RTBook Reviews) – Way to go, Lavinia and Mary!

NonFiction books about the Regency that I’ve read on my Kindle include:
Regency England by John Plowright – a history about the life an times of Lord Liverpool.
Wedlock: The True Story of the Disastrous Marriage and Remarkable Divorce of Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore by Wendy Moore – a fascinating story of a woman tricked into marriage and how she got out of it, pre-Regency, actually.
Waterloo Days by Charlotte Anne Waldie Eaton – a memoir that’s been very helpful in writing my Soldier books.

I’ve also been on a self-help kick. My Kindle Self-Help books include:
Finally Thin! How I Lost Over 200 Pounds and Kept Them Off–and How You Can, Too by Kim Benson – I love an inspirational weight-loss story
Breaking Murphy’s Law by Suzanne C Segerstrom PhD – a book about Optimism. I was sure it wouldn’t be good, but it was!
The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn – a 1925 book foreshadowing The Law of Attraction.

For Christmas my sisters and I buy each other Gift Cards and I asked for Amazon.com gift cards. So now I have a tidy sum of $$ to purchase some 2010 books!

I’ve downloaded some samples to consider:
Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by Peter S Canellos – a departure from my usual sort of book
The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley – I think Janet (or Amanda? maybe Megan…) recommended this one, about a woman who lived in the 1700s
Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling – about Mary Anning, who found the first ever dinosaur skeleton in 1811.

I’m just scratching the surface of possible books to buy. I’ll save some of the money for Romance books, more self-help (because I need a lot of it), and, of course, nonfiction, research books relating to the Regency.

I’m open to suggestions!

What books did you get for Christmas? If you got gift cards, what books are you planning to buy? And, most important, what books should I buy???

Come to my website. I’m about to pick a grand prize winner in my contest. There’s still time to enter!

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It’s Not A Luxury, It’s A Necessity

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And now, some GOOD news:

According to the New York Times, sales of romance novels are outselling other categories and are, in fact, keeping the publishing market somewhat stable even in these difficult economic times. The romance category was up 7 percent after holding fairly steady for the previous four years.

The New York Times observes, “Romance readers are considered among the most loyal fans, sticking to a series or an author once they have grown attached to one. ‘It’s a very dedicated audience who doesn’t see it as a luxury as much as a necessity,’ said Liate Stehlik, publisher of William Morrow and Avon, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers.”

Instead of the lipstick index, then, should we be keeping track of the romance novel index?

For my part, I came into a few extra bucks (no thanks to the IRS!), and immediately bought Amanda and Diane (and Deb‘s) anthology, Lilith Saintcrow‘s The Demon Librarian, Alisa Sheckley‘s The Better To Hold You and Elizabeth Hoyt‘s To Beguile A Beast. Plus I’m already waiting for Carolyn Jewel‘s My Forbidden Desire, Anne Stuart‘s Silver Falls and J.R. Ward‘s Lover Avenged.

How about you? What books are you treating yourself to while you’re scrimping on everything else?

Megan

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Reading Habits

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In Megan’s recent post on To Have and to Hold she talked about needing to have just the right bookmark before starting a book. It got me thinking about reading habits.

I am afraid my children and I are not fussy at all about bookmarks. In fact, all of us are so eager to dive into a good book we forget to provide ourselves with one. In my kids’ books I’ve found “bookmarks” including facial tissue (unused, thankfully!), doll clothing, hair ties. I’m not much better. If I can’t find an appointment reminder postcard, I just search all of our current books. Yesterday I thought I lost the case for my reading glasses; later I found it stuck in a book. The silly thing is that I have so many nice bookmarks: beaded and bejeweled ones I’ve gotten as gifts, author bookmarks I’ve gotten at conference booksignings. Every once in a while I make an effort to remember to use them…

In our household, the bathroom is a favorite reading location. Where else can you be truly alone? My oldest stayed in the bathroom over 45 minutes after bringing home the first Harry Potter. We finally had to send a search party… I also like to read in the kitchen, if I’m eating a meal by myself (we’ve got a rule about trying to be sociable at meals) or if I’m waiting for water to boil. I’ve come close to ruining dinner a few times but the good thing is my kids would understand and forgive me!

Sometimes on the weekends when I’m sick of the honey-do list, I will actually sit down, either on the couch in our family room or (now that the weather’s nice) on our closed porch, and just read for an hour or two. Heaven!

I can read any number of non-fiction books at a time but I can only read one novel. I can’t read romance at all while I’m actively writing. It’s not because I worry that someone else’s voice will infect mine. (I’ve never caught myself writing like someone else–I’d have to work really hard to do that, I think.) It’s really because when I’m reading or writing romance, I like to identify with the heroine and fall in love with the hero. I just can’t do that with two couples at once! So I read romance in between drafts.

I used to finish every book I started. If I didn’t like the beginning, I always hoped (for my sake and the author’s) that it would get better. I’ve finally realized that it hardly ever does. I don’t mind if the plot develops slowly but the characters must interest me. If not, I don’t bother finishing. Life is too short and my TBR list is too long!

So how about you? Do you have any reading quirks? What are your favorite places and times to read? Can you read multiple books at once? Do you always finish? Do share!

Elena

http://www.elenagreene.com/

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Looking Forward

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A few weeks ago, I blogged about my favorite books of 2007. A bit later, I blogged about New Year’s Resolutions, one of which was to reduce the size of the TBR pile. Well, I got a bit of cash for the holidays, and instead of putting it sensibly into my ongoing house renovation, I went a little nuts at Amazon.

So let me share what I am looking forward to in 2008:

Sabrina Jeffries‘ Let Sleeping Rogues Lie (School for Heiresses)
Lilith Saintcrow‘s To Hell and Back (Dante Valentine, Book 5)

Julie Anne Long‘s The Perils of Pleasure
Diane Gaston‘s The Vanishing Viscountess
Colleen Gleason‘s The Bleeding Dusk: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles
Meljean Brook‘s Demon Night (The Guardians, Book 5)


One of my moral imperatives is to purchase books by authors whom I wish to support, despite the proximity of the library and my cash-strapped self (see house renovation, above).

So if an author consistently wows me, I will continue to buy their books. In the years since I’ve made my commitment, authors have fallen off the list, but I’ve added more that I’ve dropped, which is a good thing (except for Lee Child; his books now come out in hardcover, and I don’t do hardcover. I’m not that moral).

I am looking forward to plenty of good reading in 2008, and yes, perhaps, a smaller library? (stop chortling, you guys!) What new releases are you looking forward to?

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Stuff Diane Has Read

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First of all, let me tell you why Megan has been absent from the blog for two weeks. Sadly, her father passed away, very unexpectedly.

Our Riskies community knew Megan’s father through her eyes and most movingly from the Mother’s Day tribute she gave to him here . Wasn’t this blog post voted a Megan favorite? For good reason.

Megan assures us she is doing well, but our hearts go out to her and her family. Her dad was only 65, so it feels like he’s been snatched from her way too soon.

Megan’s personal blog has been keeping us informed. For those who wish to offer condolences, why don’t you leave a message for Megan there? I do encourage you to scroll down on Megan’s blog and read about the amazing man who was her father (or click here).


Very special thanks to Myretta Robens, Regency author and friend to Megan, who graciously jumped in to blog about Pride & Prejudice last Friday. We’re still getting comments!

Megan will return to the Riskies when she is able, maybe even by Friday. In the meantime, hugs to her from all of us.

This week we’re talking about our favorite reads of the year.

Sigh.

Compared to the other Riskies and, I’m sure, our entire Riskies community, I am definitely the least well read. I just don’t read many books at all and I rarely keep track and I have a horrible memory. So this is a hard blog.


I can say that of the fiction I’ve read two of my very favorites are Amanda’s A Notorious Woman and Janet’s Rules of Gentility. A Notorious Woman had the rich atmosphere of Venice and was an exotic and different read for me. Rules of Gentility was sooooo clever, sparkling and bright. I’m proud as I can be that my fellow Riskies wrote such wonderful books.

I’ve been mostly reading nonfiction this year, reading for research and inspiration. My favorite book about the Regency (well, BEFORE the Regency) was Paula Byrne’s biography of Perdita. I knew virtually nothing about Mary Robinson and I found her life very remarkable. Lovely to know that there were strong, complex, talented, surviving women in that time period!

I’ve also been reading some other sorts of books for research, books about psychic ability. I’ve read Allison Dubois’s books, We Are Their Heaven and Don’t Kiss Them Goodbye. The TV series Medium is based on Allison Dubois’s life. Verrry interesting.


Because Amanda saw it on a library shelf, I also read Terry Iacuzzo’s Small Mediums At Large: The True Tale of a Family of Psychics. Really fascinating!

I’ve read a couple more books in the same vein. Why? you ask. Well, I have this idea for books which include what I consider “real” psychic phenomena-clairvoyance, psychic healing, mediums, telepathy. Real, as opposed to things like vampires, werewolves, and shape-shifters.

Hee hee. I’ll bet my reading list is unique!
What have you been reading this year? Have you read any of these books? What did you think of Rules of Gentility and A Notorious Woman?
What books are you buying for gifts? I’m thinking of buying The Dangerous Book for Boys for my son…who is an adult.

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