August Reads: 50 Books for 2011

#22: Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler – I was SO excited for this fourth installment in the Jane True series. I’ve been dying for Jane to get together with the big hulking barghest that she has a thing for, but epic forces of good and evil keep getting in the way. Jane basically gets sent on a quest for the holy grail (substitute: powerful relic) and has to decide whether she really wants to be a hero or not. I have to admit, I found this one to be a bit repetitive and not quite as good as the previous volumes in the series. I’m anxious to see where the author goes next.

#23: Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb - This is the eleventieth million in the In Death Series. Or, number 32. This series has been getting pretty stale and formulaic, which is probably what happens after you’ve written 30 books about the same characters. I was skeptical this one would be any better since it was also about corrupt cops within the force, which has been covered in this series before. But the approach felt fresher and the character’s reactions were much more emotional. I think kick-ass homicide detective Eve Dallas is finally allowing her soft side to show.

#24: Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead – Demonic and yet essentially good-hearted succubus Georgina Kincaid is having a crappy Christmas. Some mysterious angels have stowed some random dude in her apartment for safe-keeping, and some mystical force is draining her succubus energy. There’s also more and more discord between her and the human boyfriend she keeps at arms-length out of concern for his mortal soul. This book was depressing.

#25: Succubus Heat by Richelle Mead – This fourth book in the Georgina Kincaid series sees Regina’s boss, the arch-demon of Seattle disappear from the city, which renders the lesser immortals under him temporarily mortal. This allows Georgina and Seth to give into their long denied desires, even though he’s now with someone else. But of course Georgina can’t leave anything alone and feels the need to rescue her boss, even if it means she goes back to being a succubus.

#26: Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead – As a result of what happened in Succubus Dreams, succubus Georgina has been kidnapped by some kind of evil dream-sucking thing. She’s left in an in-between state where she’s constantly dreaming. Some of the dreams are real events from her life and some are fake – just to mess with her. This is all really just a device for the character to relive all the things she’s done in her centuries long life, including all the men she’s hurt. Her friends work to save her, and I have to say, I was surprised at who ended up being the key to ending her torture.

May Reads: 50 Books for 2011

May was another slow month as far as my book list. I'm very irriated with myself. Luckily I'm already making a lot more progress in June.

#11: Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) - This is the 31st novel of the In Death series. Honest to God. 31 books. And the main character, Eve Dallas, who is mostly a kick-ass homicide cop in futuristic New York City, is finally learning how to deal with her interpersonal relationships. She's 32, so it's kind of about time. The case wasn't particularly emotionally involving, so the fact that Eve is trying to focus on her relationships more (with a sprawling cast of main and secondary characters), helps to make the story move along.

100 Books for 2009... or not quite

Okay, here's the part where I stop pretending that I'm ever going to finish summarizing the books I read in 2009. So the final additions are:

#60 - Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts (straight modern romance)
#61 - The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (sad and disturbing)
#62 - Rainwater by Sandra Brown (lovely and unexpected departure from Sandra Brown's usual romantic suspense and scary ass killers)
#63 - Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris (final satisfying end to the Harper Connelly series)
#64 - My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler (silly and entertaining)

Book # 59: Kindred in Death

Kindred in Death is Nora Roberts' (writing as J.D. Robb) 30th novel in the In Death series (also referred to as the Eve Dallas series).

We return to kick-ass homicide detective Eve Dallas in 2059 New York City. Eve's rare holiday weekend with her hot husband is interrupted by murder as usual. This time a fellow cop's teenager daughter has been brutally raped and murdered in her own home, and her father has requested Dallas take the case.

Eve and her team pursue the needle in a haystack by trying to find who would want to harm a cop's family, before he goes after others. She also has to squeeze in her matron-of-honor duties for Louise and Charles' impending wedding. And as has been established numerous times, Eve handles vicious murder far better than social obligations.

The later novels in this series have lacked the grit and drama of the earlier stories. The cases are getting fairly predictable, but it seems like it would be impossible for that to not happen after 30 books. However, this series continues to be a solid entertainer.

Book #52: Black Hills

Black Hills is Nora Roberts' newest romantic suspense novel. These are typically enjoyable though after you've read all of her books, the formula can get tiresome.

Lil Chance and Cooper Sullivan have been friends since their childhood summers in South Dakota. They fall in love one summer before they go off in their separate directions, he to become a New York City cop and she to become a wildlife biologist. They meet again ten years later when Lil and her Wildlife Refuge are in danger from a deranged stalker.

Roberts follows one of her formulas (previously seen in The Reef, and River's End) where the couple fall in love very young, he breaks her heart (usually for her own good) and then they reconnect when they're both older, wiser, and more bitter. Of course they fall in love again, but he has to apologize, grovel, and win her back first.

I thought the mystery was a bit lacking in this one, once you realize who the killer is, he seems so beneath them. But I did enjoy the Deadwood setting.

Book #37: Vision in White

Vision in White is the first in a series about a group of friends who run their own wedding planning business. And it's Nora Roberts' heralded return to pure romance. No sadistic murders to solve and no paranormal evil to conquer with magic. Kind of a bummer.

So Mackensie is the photographer for Vows, the wedding business she started with her three childhood best friends. She has an insanely disfunctional relationship with her manipulative mother, and is ambivalent about her historically absent father. So as a result, Mac is one of those tedious women from chick lit books who's incapable of having a healthy adult relationship with the opposite sex, because she's too afraid of getting "hurt". To quote Rayanne Graff on My So-Called Life: "Anything causes a scar. Living causes a scar. My mother has a humongous scar from having me. Does that mean that I should have never been born?"

Enter Carter, a high school English teacher who's had a crush on Mac since they were teenagers. He's far too nice, and well adjusted for her. But he wants her anyway. The usual roadblocks get in the way, but guess how it ends?

Since this is the first in a series, it's a lucky thing that Mac's best friends and business partners are entertaining and likable women (they'll be the subjects of the subsequent novals). Though it's a little hard to buy her relationship-phobia when she's able to have such long and healthy relationships with her friends.

Book #31: Immortal in Death

Okay, final re-read for a while (I’ve been waiting for the second Francesca Cahill novel to arrive. Damn thing wasn’t available on Kindle). Immortal in Death is the third Nora Roberts In Death book.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYPD would rather face armed drug addicts than go shopping for a wedding dress. Lucky for her, she gets plenty of brutal killings to investigate (including having her best friend as a suspect), but still ends up having to get married.

I like how realistically gritty New York City is in 2058. Guns have been outlawed, prostitution has been legalized, but there still manages to be amazing amounts of crime. I’m also fascinated by the procedure and the detail involved in investigating homicides. It appeals to my organized nature.

To find out how Eve gets a new partner, catches a serial killer, and marries a billionaire, you’ll have to read the book.

Book #30: Glory in Death

In Glory in Death, the second novel in Nora Roberts’ In Death series (and one I’ve read a dozen times already), futuristic homicide detective Eve Dallas has to get used to being a billionaire’s girlfriend, while also hunting a serial killer. You know how it is.

Eve is wary of how serious her relationship seems to be becoming with formerly shady Irish billionaire, Roarke. Plus she’s always believed cops are a bad bet relationship-wise. She’s also hunting a serial killer who is murdering high profile women in NYC, women frequently in the media, like Eve herself.

Eve tries to use herself as bait for the serial killer, while also balancing her increasingly serious love affair. Just as Eve catches her killer, and agrees to give up her independence and live with Roarke, he decides he’s going to need more of a commitment… Dum dum da dum.

Book #29: Naked in Death

Naked in Death is a re-read, and a book I seem to read at least once a year. It's the first book in Nora Roberts' (writing as J.D. Robb) incredibly popular futuristic detective In Death series, and it's one of my all time favorites.

Eve Dallas is a homicide detective in the mid part of the 21st century. They've outlawed guns, but they can't seem to get rid of murder. Eve is an orphan who barely has any memory of her life before she was 8 years-old and found abandoned in an alley in Dallas. She's spent ten years on the New York City police force building her tough reputation.

Eve is appointed to investigate the murder of a high class prostitute, who also happens to be the grand-daughter of a vocal, conservative senator. And the killer warns her this is only the first of six murders.

In the course of the investigation, Eve meets Roarke, a gorgeous, mysterious billionaire originally from Ireland. She finds herself immediately attracted, but she also finds her investigation constantly leading back to him.

I love this gritty and fun, yet emotionally intense suspense series. The characters are incredibly well drawn, and the setting is interesting and believable. It's a struggle to not re-read the entire series, when I meant to be reading new material.

Book #21: Promises in Death

Promises in Death is the 29th book in Nora Roberts' In Death series. Seriously, 29th. The earliest ones in the series are my favorites, the ones I've re-read the most. The last few in the series have felt a bit lackluster, but this addition is more true to form.

Eve Dallas, heroine of the In Death series, is a New York City homicide cop in the year 2059. In the future, we have off planet penal colonies, cars with air lift options, and auto-chefs (a sort of microwave that can pretty much whip up gourmet meals), but we still have good old-fashioned murder.

Eve tries not to let her cases get too personal, though they inevitably do, especially when they involve cases of abuse like the kind she experienced in childhood. But this time, the case hits too close to home when the victim has been dating one of her closest friends. She didn't know the victim well, but promises to find justice, even if it means investigating other cops.

This is one of my favorites series because of how completely Eve kicks ass. She's definitely one of the toughest literary characters around. But as a result, she's completely out of her element with the girlie stuff. In this book, Eve faces down the killer with more courage than she does the bridal shower she's agreed to host.

100 Things About Me

1. I was born in Bremerton Washington, but we moved when I was two years old, so I remember nothing about it.


2. I once broke my left foot by falling down three steps.


3. Daisies are my favorite flower, followed closely by tulips.


4. I wanted to play the cello in middle school, but joined the choir instead.


5. I am a terrible singer.


6. I love karaoke.


7. I consider Hole’s Live Through This to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time.


8. I don’t believe in astrology, but I am the definition of a Libra.


9. I wanted to be a broadcast journalist from the sixth grade until sophomore year of college.


10. I have half of a degree in Anthropology with a minor in mass communications.


11. I spent nearly four years at Southwest Texas State University, but I’m barely a junior.


12. I have six tattoos. And there is no end in sight.


13. Pink is my signature color.


14. I am frequently barefoot.


15. I went to summer camp for 14 years from age 6 to age 20.


16. Some of my favorite authors are: Diana Gabaldon, Nora Roberts, Maya Angelou, and Larry McMurtry.


17. My birthstone is the opal. Don't buy me one.


18. I hate dark wood furniture.


19. I was the president of my high school drama club, the Golden Myth Players.


20. Scotland is the country I most want to visit.


21. I am excellent at games that require lots of useless pop culture knowledge.


22. I own a karaoke machine I’ve never used.


23. I once won $70 in a casino in Atlantic City. I quit while I was ahead.


24. The place I got married at, used to feature a swimming pig named Ralph as its main attraction.


25. I am obsessed with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Seriously, ask me anything.


26. I don’t know how to program my VCR.


27. I like dragonflies and have received an absurd number of dragonfly themed gifts.


28. I own over 20 pairs of flip flops.


29. Baking homemade chocolate chip cookies is my only talent.


30. I’m a notorious plant killer.


31. In college, I frequently stayed up all night chatting online.


32. I’ve had the chicken pox twice.


33. When I was nine-years-old, I received a horse for Christmas.


34. I’m afraid of horses.


35. I once fainted on a horse.


36. I’m a graduate of Lanier High School in Austin, Texas. Class of 1996.


37. I went to eleven schools from kindergarten to 12th grade.


38. I was raised Unitarian and still consider myself to be one.


39. I’m a television addict.


40. Not only do I watch a lot of TV, I read about TV shows and blog about TV shows.


41. In the first election I was able to vote, I voted for Bill Clinton.


42. I frequently read the same book over and over again. Including Lonesome Dove and The Stand, both over 900 pages.


43. I am unable to sleep without a night light.


44. I don’t know my weight because I refuse to weigh myself or look at the scale at the doctor’s office.


45. The Dixie Chicks are my favorite band.


46. My favorite video game is Oregon Trail.


47. Cheese fries from Outback Steakhouse and pepperoni rolls from Double Dave’s are two of my favorite foods on the planet.


48. I have two siblings: a brother that's three years older (Jason Robnett, where have you disappeared to?) and a sister that's 23 years younger.


49. The first concert I ever went to was Grateful Dead in 1985. I don’t remember if I wore tie dye.


50. I appeared in seven plays in high school.


51. I love tanning salons.


52. I was a latchkey kid.


53. I was incapable of getting to school on time, and now I am incapable of getting to work on time.


54. I’ve seen John Prine in concert seven times.


55. The Immaculate Collection is my favorite Madonna album.


56. I have Dave Grohl’s autograph.


57. I love movies, but I never see movies without reading the reviews first.


58. I love being in charge.


59. 10 Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies and I watch it every time it comes on TV, even though I own it on DVD.


60. I never leave home without makeup on, even if I’m just going swimming.


61. I collect shot glasses.


62. I was voted Class Whiner by my senior class in high school.


63. I don’t believe in the Atkins Diet. We’re supposed to eat grains. Trust me, I have half of an Anthropology degree.


64. I’ve never been further west than Texas (except for the two years in Bremerton I don’t remember).


65. If left alone, I can sleep at least ten hours a night.


66. I am incapable of understanding algebra, and don’t care to.


67. Concerts I’ve seen: Grateful Dead, John Prine, Shug Mauldin, New Kids on the Block (twice!), Reba McEntire, Tool, Cracker, Nine Inch Nails, Hole, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, Barenaked Ladies, Dixie Chicks, Todd Snider (twice!), Dolly Parton, and once crashed the gates to see Smashing Pumpkins do their encore (thanks Jimmy!)


68. I want a new green Volkswagen beetle with a sunroof so bad that I can’t stand it.


69. I’m addicted to shopping online.


70. I love Impressionist art and Auguste Renoir is my favorite artist.


71. I met my husband online in a WBS chat room that no longer exists.


72. In elementary, middle school, and high school, teachers frequently moved me away from my friends for talking too much.


73. I own Heathers, a red scrunchie, and a Swatch watch.


74. My son Cooper was born on April 17, 2007. Cutest. Kid. Ever.


75. Mexico is the only country I’ve been to outside the U.S.


76. I love the J. Peterman catalogue.


77. I’ve been to many midnight theater showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show.


78. I can’t dance, and you shouldn’t ask me to.


79. If I had a million dollars, I would do nothing.


80. I wish I didn’t hate exercise.


81. I don’t drink coffee for breakfast, I drink Dr. Pepper. I picked up this habit from my mother.


82. The smell of oranges makes me nauseous and always has.


83. I got my ear pierced at an Aerosmith concert on my 17th birthday.


84. I love puppies, but don't actually want to raise one.


85. For my P.E. credit in high school, I took bowling by correspondence.


86. I love carnivals, but not roller coasters.


87. I was raised by a single mom.


88. It’s really important to me to be as fair and non-judgmental as possible


89. If you drive a Hummer, I think you're a dumbass.


90. I love baseball movies, but not baseball.


91. I wish I had the body that I had when I was 17. Who doesn’t?


92. My birthday depresses me because it never lives up to my expectations.


93. I’ve known almost all of my current friends since college or longer.


94. I don’t know my blood type


95. No one else thinks I’m as funny as I do.


96. I have one cat: Moe. He's a de-clawed indoor cat. He doesn't seem to hate us for that.


97. I miss the "X-Files".


98. I love Little Debbie Zebra Cakes. Got any?


99. I don’t know my IQ, but I like to pretend that it’s really high.


100. I am apparently very self absorbed.

Updated 12/01/11

Fall and Halloweenyness

Things I’m currently excited about:

-Potential cool weather

-Cute cold weather accessories

-Ponchos

-Macaroni and Gilmore Girls (Don’t judge! It’s Tuesday and I’m a creature of habit. Besides, Sebastian Bach singing the theme from The Greatest American Hero? There aren’t even words dude.)

-Wurstfest (November 6th baby!)

-My work holiday party at the Hilton (seriously)

-The hot new Australian guy on One Tree Hill

-Getting my braces off in seven months

-Halloween –even though we’re not dressing up or going anywhere

-Nora Roberts’ new novel: Northern Lights

-The sixth season of Buffy now out on DVD! (complete with the musical episode: “Once More With Feeling”)

-Pumpkin scented candles

-Pumpkin pie

-Halloween candy!

poor pathetic me

I finished Visions in Death last night. It's book number 20 of the In Death Series by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). I keep trying to convince people to read the series so that I have someone to talk to about them. The only other person I know who reads them is seriously annoying. So now that I've finished that one, I have nothing to read except Hillary's biography, which I've been shamefully putting off. It's just not trashy enough.
My most recent Old Navy order arrived on Saturday. It included my new 3/4 sleeve french blue button up shirt, new khaki pants, and a new cargo skirt. I was ironing the blue shirt last night in hopes of wearing it this week. I accidentally burned it, right on the front, a darkened patch in the shape of an iron. I'm not even sure how it happened, except that maybe the heat setting was too high and the fabric blend contains nylon. So I hadn't even worn the shirt and now it's ruined. It's extremely dissapointing and I'm still trying not to cry.