Shoot it! . . . Shoot it!

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As a self confessed book obsessive I was eagerly anticipating the next installment of the Anita Blake series... I should have borrowed my library's copy instead.

Although this is the 19th book in the series, it lacked the pace and storyline of the first books in the series. This book is full of the usual violence - after all, she is a vampire executioner, but the story was lacking and the characters seemed to be repeating the same mistakes over and over and over.... The sexual content of the last few books in the series has put alot of people off as the characters seem to be driven by what happens between the sheets. I want a good story where sex is part of it, not a story that revolves around how much sex they have.

What once had pride of place on my bookshelves is now pushed back behind my Mercedes Thompson, Guild Hunters, Merry Gentry and Kate Daniels books. With Hit List due out in only a few months, I'll be reserving a library copy so as not to make the same mistake again.

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Why don't they like us?

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This was the book that started it all off... I was trolling through author Karen E. Olson's blog this morning reading a post about getting copies of her OOP 'Annie Seymour Mysteries' series.  So I went on Amazon, tried to buy a copy and found out that I wasn't eligible....

WHY THE HECK NOT?

It seems truly bizaar that I can't download an copy of a book that's gone out of print.  Seriously, I can order books online from Amazon (US & UK), Book Depository, etc., but not electronic books.  It shouldn't be that much of an issue for people in other countries to download these items.  It's not like they don't charge us enough for it anyway!  Come on Amazon... Australian's read ebooks too.

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Bookshelf Envy

I don't think I need to say anything more :)
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Sleepless night... Miserable day

It's been such a miserable day, and its not even 10am yet.  Last night, the wind howled through the nearby bushland, and between the gusts hitting the house and the creaking branches... lets just say that I didn't get enough sleep.  Instead, I tried to read using the closest book I could find (which turned out to be Black Hills by Nora Roberts) and spent the next hour or so taxing my already exhausted brain.  So this morning I'm less than stellar.  Thankfully though, the rain has held off but it is so dark and dreary outside that I've had to turn on the lights in the room.  Finger's crossed that I'll be able to get some washing done today.


Unfortunately with all this rain comes boredom.  I spent last night rearranging my huge bookshelf (a converted queen-sized waterbed frame that's wide enough to double up books on each shelf) trying to find a book that I was going to buy from Book Depository.... but thought it looked a tad familiar.  So after pulling out over 150 books, there it was.  Right on the bottom of a stack, in the back of the shelf.  Cheeky little monkey it was. 



Only 3 of the 6 shelves!

So today I've started my next little project.  I'm going to catalogue all my books on the computer so that I can't double up on titles.  Wish me luck people, because the last time I took a stocktake of any description was a few years ago and then I had more than 600 titles... and that was before my paranormal and mystery-suspense phase.  I think I'm going to have to invest in a barcode reader or else my fingers just might drop off after I get through typing all the info.  Oh well, it's good practice for my library course now isn't it.... so my count at the moment is 56, and only the huge bookshelf, and 2 smaller bookcases to go {looks dazed and confused}. 

Thankfully the software program that I found (All My Books) lets me add items by ISBN and then searches Amazon (or Borders, etc.) for the books details.  This will save me hours and hours of typing, and probably my families sanity too :D  Just be aware that if you do searches in batches, and your on dial-up, it has a tendency to freeze.
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... the Order?

For those of you who haven't read any of the Kate Daniels series - hang your heads in shame people - the Order is a faction in the Katieverse that our reluctant heroine, Kate Daniels, used to work for.  I was actually checking to see if the Curran POV 3 was posted (it isn't), but found the "Kate Daniels Quiz 1" instead.  I think I got snookered.  I ended up belonging to the Order!  What the....?  I was at hoping for the Pack.  Although once I read the little blurb that went with it it kind of fitted me.  I'm just grateful I wasn't one of the People :)

If you want to see where you belong in the Katieverse, then hop on over to Ilona Andrews site, or follow the link below.

Order

You are a Knight of the Order of Merciful Aid. You're disciplined, competent, and organized. You serve a higher purpose and you tend to take a rational approach to most problems. Your mission is simply to protect mankind, even if it means protecting it from itself. You are lethal, honorable, and unfortunately, convinced that you are always right.

The Order of Merciful Aid offers exactly what it promises: merciful aid on the edge of the sword or by the burn of a bullet. Powerful and disciplined, the Order is a nation-wide organization, which consists of elite warriors and scholars.

More about the Order and other factions: http://kate.ilona-andrews.com/category/factions/

Which Faction do you belong to?

I mean seriously.... the Order?

Out and About

It's a beautiful day today, and for a change I thought that I'd just have breaky at McDonalds this morning and take total advantage of the free wi-fi.  I needed to do some final internet searching for my assignments and since dial-up is all we have access to at home (in a black zone for mobile phones and wireless) I made an executive decision to come into town.

Okay, it's totally overpriced these days, with an English Muffin at $1.50, and Hotcakes setting you back $3.45, but I don't mind treating myself occasionally.  Today the wi-fi is a little sluggish, but not too bad.  My only criticism about using a laptop at McDonalds is that there is a limited amount of booths - and all the school kids seem to be there first.  Luckily today I was able to snag my favourite booth, and there aren't too many teens around.  There have also been no screaming toddlers this morning which is a boon too.

So after I've finished my cuppa, I'll run a few errands and then take myself home.  Early in and early out suites me just fine.

PS - tried to view my blog here, but won't load all the posts.  Background looks good though :)

Seriously?

I just bought myself the smallest hair straightener I've ever seen.  A tiny VS MiniPro, perfect for travelling.  The only thing that amazed me was that on a huge sticker on the electrical cord was a tag I'd heard about, but never seen on any of my appliances.

Really... Seriously?   It really makes you wonder how many idiots did this to warrant a manufacturers warning doesn't it.

Can't win

Okay, about 2 minutes after I posted the last entry what happens?  I get a background image to actually load!  So it's not the one I really wanted, but for the moment it'll do.  I just can't understand why the one I want is the only one that doesn't seem to be working.  I'm just about to nick off to my other blog and try loading on a new background and see what happens.... whew, I'm back.  Turns out that apart from taking a god awful amount of time to load, it works just fine.  If I was a drinking person this would send me to the liquor cabinet, but I'm not so a cup of tea will have to suffice.  What a day.

Shabby where?



I've been trying all day to get the bloody background up and running again.  I love the Shabby Blogs backgrounds, but am having a devil of a time getting any of the codes to work at the moment.  Once the page loads I get a message that says "Done, but with some errors", and a little box up in the top left corner that looks like this...

The rest of the elements load perfectly.  Right background colour, correct text area... just the background image fails to upload.  GRRRRRR ... Beautiful Dreamer's image, the usual background pic on this blog, seems to be m.i.a.  Okay try once more - visit Shabby Blogs website, go to backgrounds, pick out ideal look, 'get code'.  Copy code and paste into blogs design area (click edit html/javascript gadget).  Paste into content area and save....

Results... NOTHING!

{totally fuming in front of monitor}

 

I'm truly hoping it's a problem on Photobuckets end cause this could drive me nuts pretty quickly.  I'll give it a few more tries and hopefully I'll have some background up ASAP.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

P.S - Aqua Butterfly, a beautiful lineart on a textured aqua background, is totally gone from their catalogue.  I think they've retired it!  Now I'll have to find something else appropriate for my other blog.  Darn it.

Surprise in Mail

I got a surprise in the mail yesterday... a business sized envelope from the US.  Really light, with no pages?  I didn't remember writing to any of the cousins there, but they only ever email anyway.

Turning over the envelope I carefully slit the edge and pulled out.... drumroll please....

A personalised and signed bookplate from Anne Bishop!

my name blurred :P

Woohoo!

I'd totally forgotten that I'd even emailed to her when she asked online if anyone wanted signed bookplates - duh!  I feel like an idiot :)  So now I have a signed bookplate.  I think I'm just going to stick it in my scrapbook album for the moment.  I'll think of someway to display it later.

Heaven to Wudang

Just found out recently that the final book in the Journey to Wudang trilogy, Heaven to Wudang, is out this June.  {skipping around desk... doin' a little Shen dance}  I love this series.  Kylie Chan has done a fabulous job of weaving Chinese mythology into a contemporary setting.  I got lost in the story, and didn't find it odd at all that this celestial world existed underneath the everyday.

Emma Donahoe is a Aussie ex-pat working in Hong Kong when she takes a full time nanny position for the mega rich Mr. John Chen.  She loves his little girl Simone, and gets along great with the bodyguard Leo.  But things keep happening that cause her to get suspicious.  Emma's nobody's fool, and in the end unearths the big secret surrounding the Chen household.  It takes most of book one for Emma to be let in on the secret, but the pace of the book doesn't suffer for this wait.  The backstory is built up nicely, and you need to know this for Emma's early interactions with those in Hong Kong come back into play in later books.

While this is the final book in the trilogy, it has been confirmed that there is a final trilogy to come.  Yes... three more books of Xuan Wu and Emma.  I hope that we see more of Xuan Wu in this final book.  For those who have already read the books, the ending of Hell to Heaven left me wondering why Xuan Wu didn't just locate Emma with his celestial spidey senses.  Hopefully that will be explained in the new book.  I didn't want to give away anything for those of you who haven't read it yet so sorry about the cryptic wording.

In regards to the new book, I don't know if Kylie will be doing any book signings north of Brisbane yet, but will keep fingers crossed.  I can't put a pic of the dust jacket up yet as they haven't released the artwork yet, but as soon as I find a pic I'll shove it up here.

At the moment, there are no audiobooks of this series that I could locate, but I would love to get one if they ever release it.  Not sure who you'd have reading it, but an Aussie is a must. 

If you want to find out more about this truly excellent series, just go to http://www.kyliechan.com/  There is a forum link as well if you want to check out the boards.  Just look for the Dark Heavens forum link on the homepage, up the top under the links.

New Books on the Way

I've been busy online shopping the last few weeks.  With all this rain there's nothing better than curling up on the couch or snuggling amongst my doona on the bed, and reading a great book.  There are so many good books out these days, and buying online I can get titles sooner (and a hell of a lot cheaper) than I can in Australia.

So what do I have in the post you ask?  Well... I can't stay away from a few of the trashy para-romances.  I have to have my Patricia Briggs fix so "River Marked" is definitely on the list.  I should be picking up Eileen Wilkes new offering in her Lupi series today as the nice postman put a parcel delivery notice in my letterbox.  This should keep me occupied this afternoon.  Next to arrive should be "Archangel's Consort" by Nalini Singh.  Now I usually avoid the whole Angel genre, but I was drawn in by her characters.  She makes you just want to reach into the book and give Raphael either a kick in the butt or a hug.  Illium is wonderful and the angel that's fascinated with humans, and Elena sometimes breaks your heart as she struggles to embrace her new immortal life.  Darn, I've just made myself want to read it now.  Have to hold on till next week.

Then yesterday, I caved in and bought 3 - count them three - omnibuses ladies and gentlemen.  I had to have the Aurora Teagarden Omnibus (Vol 1 & 2).  PS - If your reading this in Australia DON'T get them from the major booksellers for $35.99.  Head over to Book Depository for Vol. 2 at $16.95, and Amazon UK for the other volume which with P&H works out to just over $20.  I also bought the Lily Bard Omnibus at Amazon for about £8.40!  That's dirt cheap compared to Aussie bookshops.  I mean what is a bookshelf without these wonderful books by Charlaine Harris?  And since I'm studying to become a librarian, I have to have a least one series with a mystery solving librarian at it's heart now don't I.

I did find one series that may take a little reading to get into.  Phryne Fisher is an independent wealthy woman (28) who solves murders in the late 1920's in Melbourne.  She's a gun totting, alcohol loving lady who seems to find more cases than Miss Marple.  I've got 2 of the books so far.  They seem okay, but I think I'll have to get the first one 'Cocaine Blues' before I truly decide that this is a new series to get.  Kerry Greenwood writes well, and you do loose yourself in the world of 1920's Melbourne.  One of the audio books I borrowed from the local library included an interview with her.  It turns out that these books are researched for about 4 months and only written in about 2-3 weeks!  I wish I  could do that.

So that's the end of my little buying spree.  I've got my next list up and running.  I'm over the paranormal hump and settling quite nicely into the police thrillers.  I've been following the Karen Rose books.  I absolutely loves "I'm Watching You".  I have read it about 10 times now, and it was the first book of hers that I bought.  If you like a little bit of archaeology thrown in with your detective work, then try the first of her trilogy "Die for Me".  The most of the characters found in the series end up with a book of their own.  The Reagan brothers (both detectives), the Ciccotelli's (Vito and Tessa), and co-workers of theirs.  They are wonderful books, gritty and the author is not afraid to make her characters vulnerable.  The next book out "You Belong to Me" should be great.  I'm waiting - not patiently either - for this to come out in mass market paperback (UK cover thanks) before I read it.  Wish me luck.

January Round-Up

January has been a bitch of a month here.  By early January it seemed like the rain would never stop.  There was no sunshine, no birds, just rain and wind.  Now, I love all that wet weather, but I found that even I have my limits on how wet it should be.  We've were housebound for a week.  The ground was so saturated that even walking on it was like walking on mud.  There was no way the cars were coming out of the shed.
As you would have seen on the news, January 10, 2011 was a horror day for Queensland.  I was at home watching the news when the wall of water swept through Toowoomba and down the Lochyer Valley towards Brisbane.  Unfortunately this coincided with more water released from Wivenhoe Dam (which was sitting at 192% capacity) and king tides to ensure that Brisbane would see it's first major flooding event since 1974.  Now, my mum lived through '74.  She lost everything but her cat, and I'm so thankful that we were nowhere near those areas.  I don't think mum could have gone through it again. 

heading south - on route to shopping centre

local shopping centre - shops actually built on raised ground!

Up till the 19th, we'd measured over 19 inches of rain.  That doesn't include the deluge we've had since November last year, or the storms since the 19th.  This is the wettest month that I can remember. If it continues like this everything will be damp and mouldy.... eww.  And to top it all off there is a cyclone - a hurricane to those in the US - that is set to hit around Townsville on Monday, and another forming off Fiji that should also head our way.   We just can't seem to get a break at the moment.  If it's not flooding here, and in Victoria, then it's bushfires in Western Australia and heatwaves in Adelaide!

Over the last week it seemed like the clouds had finally run out of water to dump on us.  It's been hot and muggy (thanks to the ground being waterlogged), but it was nice to have the sun on your face.  Now today, the 30th, seems to be a reminder that the weather can so easily change.  It was sunny this morning, now it's overcast and looks like more rain!  Geez, what am I.... a duck!

It's So Wet... and I'm SO Tired

Well, it's 2 days after Christmas... Merry Christmas!.... and the rain is just bucketing down.  It's been raining for the last 2 weeks, with only 2 days where it didn't rain.  The other night we ended up with 4 inches!  I think I should have asked Santa for a snorkel set this year - I could sure use it now.

Last night I had the worst nights sleep.  There was a party down the road (teenagers) and they were out wandering the street until nearly 1.30am!  I had hoped that the rain would just bucket down and douse their alcohol infused Boxing Day cheer, but alas it only sprinkled.  Still it was enough to make them head indoors.  Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to drown out the dance music.  Pity one of the people living next door didn't call the police.  So here I sit, trying to put two words together, with only about 4 hours sleep.  I shudder to think what they'll do on New Years Eve!

But today, the rain is just streaming down.  The ex-cyclone has now down-graded into a depression, and is heading down the Queensland coast.  So it looks like I'm housebound until Thursday at the earliest.  It's a good thing I was planning a quiet night in this New Years.  Maybe I'll just cuddle up with my Christmas pressie, a copy of Jane Eyre.

On top of that, I'll be studying for the foreseeable future.  No rest for the wicked is there :D

Waking up to this!

Well, it's one of the stranger ways to be woken up in the morning.  The other day, the first truly sunny day we've had in quite a while, there was some weird birds calling during the night... all night.  Then at about 6am, blurry eyed and with the hair from hell, a knock on the door and a barely caught "... come out and have a look at what's out back!" had me struggling to untangle myself from the covers. 

This was what greeted me...

Who would have thought not one, but 4 of these crested mooks would be wandering the streets?  They wandered down towards the shed at the back of the yard, jumping the neighbours fence.  I lured them back with little pieces of toast crust... ole blue above liked it.  The others were stuffing their faces on Nasturtium leaves.  Then, just when I tried to get some more pics of them (they are skittish and totally idiotic) the female flew off across the street, landing on the 2 storey house across the road.  She gave a honking cry... et, voila.  All 3 of her handsome men took off like a shot.

Just another day at the zoo here :D