OK, I know I said I would post a list of the books I got at RWA.
I lied.
I can't do it. I'm sorry.
Why?
I got 119 books. No joke - 119.
How many of these did I pay for?
Guess.
Go on, guess.
13. That's right - 13. All the others I picked up as freebies at the Librarian's Day event or at one of the four publisher signings I attended. I got signed books from various Berkley, Avon, Pocket and Ballantine authors. I'm actually glad I left the conference a day early - as four more publishers were hosting signings today. I only drive a Honda Civic for cripes sake - and it ain't even a hatchback.
Many of the titles I got were duplicates I already had at home - but I'm such an indiscriminate book slut that I grabbed any and all freebies I could get my grubby mitts on. Now all I need to do is find time to sort through them all, weed out my TBR (again) and catalog any leftovers for the library's collection.
I know - cry me a river right? I'm certainly not complaining. I loved getting all these books! But now I have to listen to The Boyfriend. I'm already told him many of them "aren't staying" - and whenever he sees me weed out the TBR it makes him happy.
He's so easy to please.
About The Bat Cave
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Show Me The Money
This is how much I like you guys - I'm paying for this Internet session. The Internet provided to us in our hotel room doesn't seem to be working, and I haven't had much time to go bitch about it at the registration desk. So this will merely a "quick" blog entry to entice you all about how much fun I'm having in Reno!
The Librarian's Day Event that RWA puts on is usually very fun - but they really outdid themselves this year with the goodies! Oh. My. Gawd. What did Wendy score? Besides the usual promotional mish-mash I got 26 (that's right 26!) free books. Free! I'm such a whore, I took everything - even stuff I know I'll never read because I can add it straight to my library's collection. I promise, you'll get a list when I'm not paying for Internet!
And as I've talked about before in this blog - I'm pretty much the sole supplier to my library's paperback collection. So free books are like manna from heaven.
Even better? The free books aren't done yet! I hope to score some more tomorrow at some special publisher signings.
The massive booksigning they had is always choice - and I was able to restrain myself to 13 books. I did run into Alyssa - and sure enough her cart was chock full. I'm dying to find out how much money she dropped.
Nice authors I've met? Lots really, but as always Susan Grant, Laura Lee Guhrke and Ruth Ryan Langan were just wonderful. Teresa Bodwell, Kate Bridges and Tina Leonard are very sweet. And I begged Maggie Osborne not to retire (my exact words were "Why do you want to spend time with your family?!"). She thanked me for my kind words, but I'm afraid I was unable to sway her. Sorry Osborne fans!
On a final note: Maggie Osborne tells a wonderful story about getting her first library card as a child and her relationship with her grandmother. I heard it for the second time at this conference, and I openly wept - again. I tend to bitch a whole lot about my job and the various BS I put up with, but stories like Ms. Osborne's reinforce that librarians do marvelous work and change lives every day. Sometimes it is hard to forget that when you have a totally insane library patron screaming at you. So I'm going to do my best to think of the little girl who came in last week and was so excited that we had the fairy tale book Thumbelina. Even if I didn't change her life, I made her very happy. Quiet moments like that make my job worthwhile - it's just hard to focus on those when the negative tends to slap you in the face a little harder.
The Librarian's Day Event that RWA puts on is usually very fun - but they really outdid themselves this year with the goodies! Oh. My. Gawd. What did Wendy score? Besides the usual promotional mish-mash I got 26 (that's right 26!) free books. Free! I'm such a whore, I took everything - even stuff I know I'll never read because I can add it straight to my library's collection. I promise, you'll get a list when I'm not paying for Internet!
And as I've talked about before in this blog - I'm pretty much the sole supplier to my library's paperback collection. So free books are like manna from heaven.
Even better? The free books aren't done yet! I hope to score some more tomorrow at some special publisher signings.
The massive booksigning they had is always choice - and I was able to restrain myself to 13 books. I did run into Alyssa - and sure enough her cart was chock full. I'm dying to find out how much money she dropped.
Nice authors I've met? Lots really, but as always Susan Grant, Laura Lee Guhrke and Ruth Ryan Langan were just wonderful. Teresa Bodwell, Kate Bridges and Tina Leonard are very sweet. And I begged Maggie Osborne not to retire (my exact words were "Why do you want to spend time with your family?!"). She thanked me for my kind words, but I'm afraid I was unable to sway her. Sorry Osborne fans!
On a final note: Maggie Osborne tells a wonderful story about getting her first library card as a child and her relationship with her grandmother. I heard it for the second time at this conference, and I openly wept - again. I tend to bitch a whole lot about my job and the various BS I put up with, but stories like Ms. Osborne's reinforce that librarians do marvelous work and change lives every day. Sometimes it is hard to forget that when you have a totally insane library patron screaming at you. So I'm going to do my best to think of the little girl who came in last week and was so excited that we had the fairy tale book Thumbelina. Even if I didn't change her life, I made her very happy. Quiet moments like that make my job worthwhile - it's just hard to focus on those when the negative tends to slap you in the face a little harder.
Monday, July 25, 2005
The Last Post?
Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for RWA in Reno! Cross your fingers that California traffic doesn't kick me in the ass, will ya?
I wasn't planning on updating my blog this week, but turns out the woman I'm carpooling and rooming with has a laptop. Bless her heart! So assuming we can figure out the wireless connection (hey, we're both librarians - we should get it to work), I'm going to try to post some juicy tidbits about the conference.
In the meantime, happy reading and see ya in Reno!
I wasn't planning on updating my blog this week, but turns out the woman I'm carpooling and rooming with has a laptop. Bless her heart! So assuming we can figure out the wireless connection (hey, we're both librarians - we should get it to work), I'm going to try to post some juicy tidbits about the conference.
In the meantime, happy reading and see ya in Reno!
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Fanatics
Kristie has an interesting post about "weird fans" over at her blog, which led to start thinking (do I smell smoke?) about authors who have completely psychotic fans. And what the heck - I'm going to name names.
Wendy's List of Authors Who Have Wacko Fans
And notice how all the authors I listed write either paranormals or historicals? I wonder if that's significant or not. Maybe because there is a niche market for those particalus sub genres? It's something to ponder anyway, along with the fact that I currently can't think of any contemporary authors that have scary fans.
Wendy's List of Authors Who Have Wacko Fans
- Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dark Hunter fans scare the Hell out of me. Seriously, y'all do.
- Christine Feehan - Dark series fans scare the Hell out of me. And is it just me or are her heroes cardboard cut-outs with different names? They all read the same to me.
- Laura Kinsale - She's brilliant! The most lyrical, poetic writer ever! If you don't like Kinsale you're a stupid, stupid moron who cannot appreciate brilliant, lyrical, poetic writing!
- Loretta Chase - Rinse and repeat Kinsale fan description
- Mary Balogh - Rinse and repeat Kinsale fan description.
- Kenyon - never read. Have read books by her Kinley MacGregor pseudonym and liked them in a historical wallpaper sort of way.
- Feehan - read one of the GhostWalker books and hated it with a burning passion
- Kinsale and Chase - have books in TBR that I'm scared to read for fear I won't just LUV them and their fans will start stalking me.
- Balogh - read one of the Slightly books, liked it, found it pleasant. Nothing super-fantastic special, but a good read.
And notice how all the authors I listed write either paranormals or historicals? I wonder if that's significant or not. Maybe because there is a niche market for those particalus sub genres? It's something to ponder anyway, along with the fact that I currently can't think of any contemporary authors that have scary fans.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Baseball Talk
Well suspensions have been handed down for the recent Detroit Tigers/Kansas Shitty (uh City) Royals brawl. I'm not going to argue much about this except:
Hello?! Carlos Guillen got fined!!!!!
The guy got beaned in the head for cripes sake! He didn't do anything wrong!
OK, so he went towards the mound but....
He got beaned in the head!
Relax Wendy, relax.
In semi related news - the lesson we should have all learned from this is to not f*ck with Kyle Farnsworth. I don't care if he is a hot-head, he's my new hero.
Hello?! Carlos Guillen got fined!!!!!
The guy got beaned in the head for cripes sake! He didn't do anything wrong!
OK, so he went towards the mound but....
He got beaned in the head!
Relax Wendy, relax.
In semi related news - the lesson we should have all learned from this is to not f*ck with Kyle Farnsworth. I don't care if he is a hot-head, he's my new hero.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Reading Roll
I just finished my 10th book for the month of July. Man, I just tear right through 'em when I ain't reviewing 'em. Go figure.
The Midwife's Secret by Kate Bridges is a Harlequin Historical title from 2003. Bridges is one of those authors who has scores of books in my TBR - yet this is the first one I've read. I have a nasty habit of doing that. Collecting backlists before I even read one book.
This one was pretty good, and blessedly Bridges avoids one of Wendy's Huge Pet Peeves. More on that in a bit.
Amanda Ryan is looking to start over, so she buys a small piece of property and moves to Banff, Alberta Canada. While her grandmother thinks she should be honest with their new neighbors, Amanda isn't real keen on her past getting out. See, she's divorced. Her no-good, rotten husband dumped her after their baby was born stillborn and Amanda became barren. Also, Amanda is a midwife - and her perspective patients might be slightly turned off by the idea of a divorced, barren midwife. Go figure.
Tom Murdock runs the local sawmill and has just learned that his no-good partner has swindled him. With no money left in his accounts, he's scrapping by just trying to make payroll. Then Amanda shows up waiving around a deed to a property he owns! At least, he used to own it.
Tom and Amanda eventually set the matter somewhat to rights and she hires him to build her a cabin on her new property. He agrees, and quickly becomes entranced by this strong, independent woman. But what will happen when he learns The Midwife's Secret?
Blessedly, Bridges doesn't drag this secret out for the whole novel. It's pretty much out in the open by page 50, which gives the characters a chance to work through it, fall in love and live happily ever after. There's also the small matter of the external conflict - Tom's wayward girlfriend and his swindling business partner.
What I loved about this book is Bridges makes her heroine truly barren. One of my major pet peeves is when the heroine just thinks she's barren/infertile, then the hero comes along, slips her the big one and viola! She's knocked up thanks to the hero's incredible super sperm!
Admittedly, I'm more forgiving of this kind of nonsense in historicals since women's reproductive health is a modern concept - but man, I just hate it when it crops up in contemporaries. It's like the author is pushing the agenda that You're Not A Real Man Unless You Knock Up A Woman. Or You're Not A Real Woman Unless You're Squirting Out Babies Every Year.
Hate it, hate it, hate it.
Can you tell I really dislike this theme?
But Bridges' heroine doesn't have a uterus - so there are no miracle babies in this story. Thank Gawd. Instead, the characters are left to deal with this fact.
So thank you Ms. Bridges for not insulting my intelligence. I love it when authors don't do that.
The Midwife's Secret by Kate Bridges is a Harlequin Historical title from 2003. Bridges is one of those authors who has scores of books in my TBR - yet this is the first one I've read. I have a nasty habit of doing that. Collecting backlists before I even read one book.
This one was pretty good, and blessedly Bridges avoids one of Wendy's Huge Pet Peeves. More on that in a bit.
Amanda Ryan is looking to start over, so she buys a small piece of property and moves to Banff, Alberta Canada. While her grandmother thinks she should be honest with their new neighbors, Amanda isn't real keen on her past getting out. See, she's divorced. Her no-good, rotten husband dumped her after their baby was born stillborn and Amanda became barren. Also, Amanda is a midwife - and her perspective patients might be slightly turned off by the idea of a divorced, barren midwife. Go figure.
Tom Murdock runs the local sawmill and has just learned that his no-good partner has swindled him. With no money left in his accounts, he's scrapping by just trying to make payroll. Then Amanda shows up waiving around a deed to a property he owns! At least, he used to own it.
Tom and Amanda eventually set the matter somewhat to rights and she hires him to build her a cabin on her new property. He agrees, and quickly becomes entranced by this strong, independent woman. But what will happen when he learns The Midwife's Secret?
Blessedly, Bridges doesn't drag this secret out for the whole novel. It's pretty much out in the open by page 50, which gives the characters a chance to work through it, fall in love and live happily ever after. There's also the small matter of the external conflict - Tom's wayward girlfriend and his swindling business partner.
What I loved about this book is Bridges makes her heroine truly barren. One of my major pet peeves is when the heroine just thinks she's barren/infertile, then the hero comes along, slips her the big one and viola! She's knocked up thanks to the hero's incredible super sperm!
Admittedly, I'm more forgiving of this kind of nonsense in historicals since women's reproductive health is a modern concept - but man, I just hate it when it crops up in contemporaries. It's like the author is pushing the agenda that You're Not A Real Man Unless You Knock Up A Woman. Or You're Not A Real Woman Unless You're Squirting Out Babies Every Year.
Hate it, hate it, hate it.
Can you tell I really dislike this theme?
But Bridges' heroine doesn't have a uterus - so there are no miracle babies in this story. Thank Gawd. Instead, the characters are left to deal with this fact.
So thank you Ms. Bridges for not insulting my intelligence. I love it when authors don't do that.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Library Stories
Yesterday was a full rich day, culminating in Wendy getting the snow job of a lifetime.
I put a stop on this woman's library card a couple of weeks back when I caught someone else using her card to access additional Internet time. Well she came in, card in hand, and demanded to know who was using her card!
Now, I would have loved to have told her this - since the guy who was using her card is a major creep, but my better judgment sadly prevailed.
Then this woman said that hey, those 11 books she has checked out on her card? Why, she never checked those out!
So short of jumping across the desk and strangling her, I marked all the books lost and changed her library card number.
What does Wendy think is really going on? This woman's creepy brother is using her card to access additional Interent time and she did check out all those books.
Of course, I cannot prove this, since both this woman and Creepy Man have an extremely common last name for the area where I work (sort of like Smith). I'm merely assuming they are related. And no one can check out books without having their library card. We're very strict on that. So unless someone stole the card from her purse, checked out a whole bunch of books, then secretly returned the card to her purse - well she checked them out dagnabit.
In other library news, my children's librarian managed to convince The Big Boss to come and read at our storytime this afternoon. He did a very good job actually, and it's always nice when the administration stops by to see us in action. You know, with kids running around, books lying all over the place, and library patrons screaming at us that we're incompetent.
Can you tell I'm ready for RWA in Reno? After my Saturday shift I'll be officially on vacation....
I put a stop on this woman's library card a couple of weeks back when I caught someone else using her card to access additional Internet time. Well she came in, card in hand, and demanded to know who was using her card!
Now, I would have loved to have told her this - since the guy who was using her card is a major creep, but my better judgment sadly prevailed.
Then this woman said that hey, those 11 books she has checked out on her card? Why, she never checked those out!
So short of jumping across the desk and strangling her, I marked all the books lost and changed her library card number.
What does Wendy think is really going on? This woman's creepy brother is using her card to access additional Interent time and she did check out all those books.
Of course, I cannot prove this, since both this woman and Creepy Man have an extremely common last name for the area where I work (sort of like Smith). I'm merely assuming they are related. And no one can check out books without having their library card. We're very strict on that. So unless someone stole the card from her purse, checked out a whole bunch of books, then secretly returned the card to her purse - well she checked them out dagnabit.
In other library news, my children's librarian managed to convince The Big Boss to come and read at our storytime this afternoon. He did a very good job actually, and it's always nice when the administration stops by to see us in action. You know, with kids running around, books lying all over the place, and library patrons screaming at us that we're incompetent.
Can you tell I'm ready for RWA in Reno? After my Saturday shift I'll be officially on vacation....
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