Anyone who stops by on Friday knows that Organization is not my middle name (for the record, it’s Alyssa).
So trying to remember what media I’ve loved during 2007 is hard; as usual, I’m going to freestyle:
Meljean Brook had two amazing books this year: Demon Angel and Demon Moon. Wow. Brook writes intense, complicated, just insanely good books filled with terribly wonderful characters.
Not to be all sycophantic, but I also loved Jane Lockwood‘s Forbidden Shores. Who knew a menage a trois could be so fun? I really liked this one, and also Amanda McCabe‘s A Notorious Woman, which blends just the right amount of romantic angst, setting, and intriguing characters. Go us! (Note: I have Diane‘s Innocence and Impropriety yet to be read on the shelf, and I still haven’t read the Rules of Gentility, hence no props to them yet).
I continued my love for Elizabeth Hoyt with the Leopard Prince and The Serpent Prince. My biggest complaint about historicals these days is that they keep a distance between the reader and the story–not so Hoyt. Her writing is lively and fresh, and I love her flawed characters.
Although I didn’t love Lover Revealed and Lover Unbound as much as previous J.R. Ward books, I still devoured them like dark chocolate on a hot night. Yum.
This year, Myretta Robens introduced me to Julia Spencer-Fleming. The first book is In The Bleak Midwinter, and read this opening line: “It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby.” Wow. The series continues on, with a new hardcover slated for March, 2008.
Although their first collaboration was a DNF for me, I loved Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer‘s Agnes And The Hitman. Totally delicious, breakneck prose with crazy-fun characters.
Anne Stuart had two releases this year, only one of which I’ve read: Ice Blue. Not her best work, but still pretty damn impressive. Sign me up in the Stuart fan-girl list, for sure. I am saving Ice Storm for when I really deserve a treat.
Liz Carlyle‘s Never Deceive A Duke was up to Carlyle’s usual standards, which is to say the book was lush, dense, complex and compelling. I liked Never Lie To A Lady, too.
Of course, media means more than books (ha! See how clever I am?), so I have to say Eastern Promises was an amazing movie, not just for the nude Viggo scenes. I am loving the David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen collaboration (first in A History of Violence, now here), and Eastern Promises was easily the best movie I saw in 2007.
In music, Alice Smith‘s For Lovers, Dreamers & Me blew me away. She has as rich and soulful a voice as Alicia Keys, with some of the same earthy elements, but her soul is more elemental, less poppy. I can not stop listening to this record.
Also in music is stripped down hip-hop artist Lady Tigra, whose Please Mr. Boombox is excellent throughout, no fancy tricks or gizmos, just honest, basic beats with her skillful rhyming.
I know that once I publish this I’ll think of a baker’s dozen more media I loved this past year, but this was what sprang to mind this busy Friday morning. Thanks for sharing YOUR favorite media with us, too!
