The Great Library Card Hunt

I love people who try to work the system.

Where I work, we do have Internet stations for public use. This is a good service to provide - in theory. Most days it's just a pain in the ass. Take Saturday for instance. Our library patrons log onto the computer using their library card number and password. They get one hour a day. Well Saturday we caught a guy who had been on the computer all day long. I immediately kicked him off the terminal, and put a stop on his library card. Unfortunately I could only track down one account number, and to get multiple hours, this guy must have a slew of accounts he's using.

He came in again yesterday and since I put a stop on the one account number I tracked down on Saturday, he had to see me before logging on. I gave him the standard lecture and watched him like a hawk. This guy now knows we're watching, so he took his one hour and left.

Turns out he then hit the library down the street - and the manager there (bless his heart) discovered 3 different library card numbers. He left one valid, removed one from the system completely, and marked the other one as "lost."

I love people like this. I mean, hello?! It's a free service! Also, it's always the creepy library patrons who do this. This guy spends his time checking out dating sites, looking at pictures of pretty girls who are no more than 21.

Ah, the public library! A gateway to education, knowledge and creepy guys.

In other news, I'm reading Drive Me Crazy by Nancy Warren, and while I've read mixed reviews for it, I'm enjoying it so far. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the librarian heroine was wearing a short leather skirt in Chapter 4 either.

Here's a bit of dialouge that had me laughing out loud during my lunch break:

"Have dinner with me tonight," he said, his voice barely his own.

She stifled a smirk of satisfaction. She'd made her point. She loved sex. But did he think she was going to fall into his bed because he had some basic animal appeal? She hoped she had more sense. "No, thank you."

"Are you busy tonight?"

"No. Just not interested."

"You should reconsider. You'll feel a lot less slutty if you go out with me before we have sex."

Well I found it funny anyway.

Good Book Alert

OK, so I just now read Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone.

Yes, I did buy it brand new back in 2003 - and yes, it's been sitting in my TBR for the last 2 years. I have a sickness, and I'm willing to admit that.

But back to the book - man was this good. And I mean really good. Most of the discussion I've heard on this book centers around the unconventional love story, but I was struck by something more. I'm getting ahead of myself though.

Sara Diamond is a former mystery author in a pinch. She's just been dumped by her publisher and her agent (shades of Leone's career me thinks), so she opts to sell her condo, move into a dumpy apartment and work on a new book idea. Still, she's a mite depresssed.

Then she meets her next door neighbor. Ryan Kinsmore would perk up any woman - he's 9 years younger than Sara, funny, charming, sweet (he rescues stray animals!), and he's warm for her form. The problem? Oh, turns out he's a male prostitute working for a high-priced escort service. Minor detail that.

Ryan is almost too good to be true. It's hard to believe a former street kid turned hooker being this fantastically dreamy - but hell, this is a romance novel so who am I to quibble? Sarah is also great, and she gives the author a forum to rant about the world of publishing. Their love story unfolds slowly, and is rather endearing. I did think the book ended a little quickly, but Leone wraps up all her loose ends - even ones I didn't see as critical.

But you know what was really great about this book? The dialouge. Admittedly I'm a dialouge whore, and by the second chapter of this book I was in love. Leone really outdoes herself, especially where Sara and her sister Miriam are concerned. These women talk like sisters. They interact like sisters. They're damn near perfect.

It will probably surprise some (OK, readers who won't go near this book with a 50 foot pole) that this book really isn't about sex. Yes, Ryan is a prostitute - but sex really plays a minor role in this story. He and Sara aren't going at it like horny squirrels. They're falling in love in a rather traditional way - thanks to chemistry, communication and friendship first. Still, Ryan does have sex for a living, so references to his (how should I put this?) unconventional sexual experiences might send traditional romance readers into a tail-spin. But heck, if you read romantica, these mere passing references probably won't even register.

I really, really, really enjoyed this book. Leone seems to be working primarily on fantasy these days. Pity, since her romance voice is so strong. However, even 2 years after this book was published by small press Five Star, I still think books of this type have a tendency to scare the hell out of the romance reading public, publishers and agents more than it excites them.

Merely an observation from my side of the fence. I say, keep 'em coming.

Planning Ahead

I was able to convince my employer to give me "free" time off to attend the RWA conference in Reno in July. Essentially I'll be attending on "work time" and I won't have to use my own personal vacation time.

Pretty cool huh?

The trade off of course is that I needed to justify the trip. So I agreed to do a reader's advisory program for the adult services librarians upon my return. Basically getting up in front of everyone and talking about how totally awesome romance is, and what they can do to help patrons looking for good romance reads.

I'm trying to do some of the work in advance, one of which is a handout of romance-related web sites. That's where you all come in. I mean, I've hit the real obvious places (like Writerspace, eHarlequin, AAR, TRR, Romance In Color), but I'm probably missing some cool off-the-beaten path places. If you have a suggestion, please drop me a note here at the blog.

Muchos gracias amigas!

In other news, I'm finally getting around to reading Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone. In my defense, I did buy this book new back in 2003 - it just took trading it to a fellow reader to force my hand and actually read it. Man, is it great so far! I promise to blog about it more thoroughly once I've finished it. And the best part is, it gave me an idea for my next RTB column set for July 13.

Best Movie Of The Summer. Period.

So The Boyfriend took me to see Batman Begins yesterday.

Oh My God. Loved it! Can't say enough good about it! Squeeee, I'm morphing into crazy fangirl mode over here.

I've always been drawn to Batman as a character for various reasons. He's a superhero with no superpowers. As Bruce Wayne he's emotionally stunted, and as Batman he's an anti-hero. He is a vigilante. Period.

Also, the villains are just plain cool (outside of the Penguin, who just sucks). By and large, like Batman, they have no superpowers. And that is what was so great about Batman Begins - great villains. The Scarecrow has always been one of my favorites, because he messes with your mind. Sorry, nothing is creepier than that.

Speaking of The Scarecrow - check out the total hottie they got to play Dr. Crane. Hubba, hubba. His name is Cillian Murphy - and he's Irish.

My palms are starting to sweat over here.

It about drove me nuts trying to "place him," so I looked it up when I got home. He had a very small part in Cold Mountain. He was one the soldiers who showed up at Natalie Portman's house while Jude Law was there.

Proceed to drool.

Good Book Alert

I've been reviewing since 1999, and within the last year I've noticed a trend. I'm reading a butt-load of paranormals. I'm talking a ton here. Some have been good, some have been bad, and a few have been downright ugly. And just when I think I'm getting burnt out on paranormals, a book like Carved In Stone comes along. Vickie Taylor's previous writing credits are some SIM novels. What lesson has Wendy learned? I need to stop ignoring the SIM line.

As a child, Rachel Vandermere witnessed the murder of her parents. While hiding in a cupboard, she also saw a monster - a real monster with claws and wings. Naturally no one believes Rachel, and after being shuttled between shrinks and foster homes she quickly learns to keep her mouth shut. She ends up growing up to be an Interpol agent, and uses the organizations resources to track down her monsters.

While on assignment in Chicago, she meets Nathan Cross, an art history professor who is obviously hiding something. Turns out he's hiding the fact that he's a gargoyle. Created over centuries ago, gargoyles protect humans from evil. But Nathan has been excommunicated from the order for his unpopular views. He feels gargoyles are no long protectors, but feeding on the scraps of human misery. And now, Rachel wants him to help her track down monsters. What will happen when she learns she's fallen in love with one?

Oh man, is there a lot to like here. Nathan is torn between protecting the order and helping Rachel - so while she digs for the truth, he tries to keep it from her. The city of Chicago is written almost Gotham-like, with Taylor painting it with a wide crime-noir brush. Then there are the suspense plots - which are really very good. Danger lurks in the shadows for the gargoyle order, plus Rachel finds out the truth behind her parents' murders.

I also like the fact that while this is book one in a series, Taylor doesn't beat me over the head with that fact. Sure there are secondary characters here, but they all serve a purpose in this story. They don't strut around doing nothing, looking hot and screaming "My book comes out in October 2006."

In fact, the next gargoyle in line to get his own book is really interesting in that he's flawed. He doesn't think much of Nathan - which adds more conflict.

Honestly, this is a very good book. Every time I think I'm burnt out on paranormals (how many vampires can a girl read about? I mean, really!), a book like this one comes along and slaps some sense into me. I don't read much of this sub genre outside of reviewing, but Taylor's gargoyles have certainly landed on my autobuy list.

Giving Til It Hurts

It's not quite July yet and here is how much I've donated to my library so far:

11 hard cover books = $275.70
4 audio books on CD = $141.86
101 paperbacks = $589.72
Misc. Office Supplies/Giveaways/Prize Incentives = $134.13

Grand Total = $1141.41

Now I could go into a rant about how much librarians are personally donating to make their libraries a better place for their service population - but why not let those numbers speak for themselves hmmm?

The vast majority of the books did end up in our collection - a good thing since I can't remember the last new paperback the library system bought me (oh wait, I think it was To Die For by Linda Howard). Although the box I brought in today mainly contained older series titles that I tried selling on Half.com (and failed for the most part). Those went immediately to the "sell cart" our Friends Of The Library has here in the building. They should go like hot cakes at only $.25 a pop.

And just for Maili's benefit - yes, I started Carved In Stone by Vickie Taylor last night and am nearing the halfway mark. It's very intriguing so far, and I hope to have it finished by Wednesday at the latest. And yes, I promise to blog about it.

In Exile

I'm hiding in the computer room. Why? The Boyfriend is watching boxing.

I just cannot get into boxing. Yes, I do appreciate it as a sport - and I love the history of it - but dang between the greedy promoters (how is it Don King hasn't been shot yet? I mean, honestly?), the mob, and the fact that so many of these men are hung out to dry once their careers are over. Oh, and those idiot commentors on HBO. Gawd I hate those guys.

And if Mike Tyson gets one more fight I just might start screaming and never stop.

But that's another rant entirely.

So here I am in the computer room, listening to my new CDs (Jet's Get Born and STP's Thank You), putzing on the computer. What I should be doing is reading - I have yet to officially start Carved In Stone by Vickie Taylor.