Window Update And A Series Romance

Well I'm not going to bitch about the bureaucratic nonsense I have to wade through on this job for at least the next 24 hours.

I have a new window! I must have sounded suitably outraged and pathetic on all those e-mails I fired off on Saturday, because the glass company was here this afternoon.

In reading news, I've decided to go on a series bender. What better way to clean out my ridiculous TBR than to read some of those cute little Harlequin books? 300 pages or less means I can finish a book a day if I'm motivated enough.

Last night I wrapped up My Name Is Nell by Laura Abbot, Harlequin SuperRomance 1162. SuperRomance is one of my favorite lines, mainly because the stories tend to feature multiple characters (mostly families) and they're "emotional." I pick up a SuperRomance if I want to have my heart-strings plucked.

This one was pretty good - I ended up rating it a B. The hero "runs away" from his millionaire lifestyle in California after his wife and preteen daughter are killed by a drunk driver. He finds himself at a quaint bed & breakfast in Arkansas when he spies a very personal entry a woman named "Nell" leaves in a guest registry book. She sounds lonely and lost, but still hopeful. Lost, lonely and not at all hopeful himself, the hero decides to track this woman down.

He finds her, they fall in love, but will Nell's "Big Secret" tear them apart?

I liked how Abbot handles the conflict in this story. Nell is a woman with a tragic past, but she's moving on. She's working through her issues. Whereas the hero is running away. It makes for a great confrontation when the hero realizes [SPOILER ALERT] that he has fallen in love with a recovering alcoholic [SPOILER END].

The hero naturally behaves like an asshole when this is all revealed, but I love the way Nell handles it. I found her reactions rather "true to life." And while I normally dislike children in my romance - I loved Abbot's portrayal of Nell's daughter, preteen Abby - who is experiencing her first crush and anxious over starting her period. Her character really shines once the Big Secret is out in the open.

I should wrap up another series book on my lunch break today - Amber By Night by Sharon Sala, Silhouette Desire 1495.

How Much For That Asshole Who Broke My Window?

So it started out OK today. I mean, yes, I am working on the Saturday of a holiday weekend and my back is killing me from....ummm...woman-related issues - but really it ain't all bad.

Then I go to get the library ready before we open. Walk around, turn on all the computers etc. and what do I see? A big, gaping hole in one of the back windows in the children's area. Glass everywhere.

I am not happy.

In fact, I'm seeing red, breathing fire, and swearing like a longshoreman.

So I call the police - the same cops I've notified on 3 different occasions to patrol my back lot because I have homeless and drunks (or drunken homeless) sleeping back there. Now, in that exact same area - viola! Broken window.

Then I get to call facilities management at headquarters where they get to notify someone to come and board up the offending window. Thus ruining their holiday weekend and mine.

The Boyfriend seems to think I should just stop caring. I mean, this technically wasn't a hassle for me - I just made some phone calls. Still, the whole thing just cheeses me off. Here I am trying to help people with few resources when the library itself is so strapped for cash we could probaby qualify for food stamps - and some asshole breaks my window!

Boyfriend: "You know Wendy, there are some things you can't control. All you can do is help people the best you can, and concentrate on customer service. The rest of it can just go to Hell."

He might be onto something there. And this wonderful guy is taking me outlet mall shopping tomorrow - so it's all good.

In other news - I'm trying to read Summer Fancy by Anne Avery, but my mood just ain't right. I think I need a contemporary. Maybe a Harlequin SuperRomance....

Unearthing A Good Book In Mt. TBR

Finally, my digging up books from the bottomless pit that is my TBR pile has yielded me a good read. Light and fluffy - but still a good read.

The Bride And The Beast by Teresa Medeiros is very much the retelling of a fairy tale. In fact the whole thing screams "make believe" and "fantasy." And Medeiros knows this - therefore it works. I mean, it's not like she's trying to pass off this Beauty And The Beast tale as The Great American Novel. Plus, Medeiros is funny. I actually laughed out loud while reading several passages.

Gwendolyn Wilder is the plain, plump, sensible sister in a family of beauties. She's also the only one (outside of the good reverand) in her tiny Scottish village that has a lick of common sense. See, the townspeople think there's a dragon living in the ruins of Castle Weycraig - where years earlier the English army bombarded it with cannonballs and slaughtered the laird's family. The "dragon" is essentially punishing the townspeople for their betrayal of the Clan MacCullough - which someone gave up as a supporter to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

So the "dragon" keeps making demands on the village - and the villagers, being dirt poor, are looking for a way to appease him. Why not offer up a virgin sacrifice? That should take care of matters for a while. And poor Gwen draws the straw.

The Dragon in question is merely a man, and when he sees poor Gwen tied to a stake in the castle courtyard (in the pouring rain no less) he decides to take her in. Then the silly girl wakes up and challenges him at every turn. Worse, she's not a superstituous Scottish lass. If he wants to keep his secret he's going to have to keep the girl hostage.

Now the plot here is nothing that's going to bend your brain. I knew where this whole thing was going by the end of the prologue, but it still is very enjoyable. Gwen is an admirable heroine - a bit of an ugly duckling - but with some book sense to go along with her common sense. She does fall for the mysterious "dragon" - and who can blame her. He lavishes her with gifts, openly admires her unappreciated beauty, and actually has some brains in his head. The girl certainly hasn't had suitors banging on her cottage door back in the village.

This story is also very history-lite - which is fine by me since Scottish settings are not my personal favorite. Again, Medeiros writes this story very much as a fairy tale - so there's not a lot of gruesome violence and poverty to break the spell.

The story does lose some momentum with the beginning of Part II in the story. By that time the "dragon"'s secret is revealed, and some contrived separations/conflict appears to give the couple more to work through. Frankly, it seemed unnecessary in my eyes - but there you go.

Still, this was an enjoyable read. And I can't beat what I paid for it - essentially nothing. I picked this book up for free at a conference back in 2002.

Zippity Do Da

It's official - I read a hell of a later faster when I don't think too hard.

It's been one week since I finished my last review book (I'm currently in between shipments) and in that time I have read 4 books. OK - more like 3.5 since one was a young adult novella and I'm not sure that counts as a whole book.

When I review a book I tend to analyze every..single..word. I don't want to miss one..scrap..of..information. When I'm reading for pleasure I tend to fly by the seat of my pants a bit more. In essence, I shut off my brain.

I've been trying to read stuff that's been buried in my TBR for an embarrassingly long time, and unfortunately I've been met with some pretty ho-hum books. Here's the rundown:

1. The Tutor by Portia Da Costa - which I already blogged about. The best read of the past week.
2. Behind The Mask by Metsy Hingle - romantic suspense novel from 3 years ago and not very good. The villain was rather one dimensional (obsessed with heroine, and what exactly were his dirty business dealings that left an FBI agent dead?). But it did give me an idea for my next RTB column - so not a total waste of time.
3. The Princess Present by Meg Cabot - an 80-something page novella in the wildly popular Princess Diaries series. Cute and fluffy - but too much of Lilly's bullshit for my tastes.
4. Badlands Law by Ruth Langan - ugh, I normally like Langan, but this heroine about drove me nuts. So perfect, so innocent, ever the martyr. Gag me with a spoon. Also the hero's baggage was very minimal explored so he comes off a touch whiny. Still, the other two books in this trilogy look rather promising, so glad I have them in the TBR.
   

I'm now working on The Bride And The Beast by Teresa Medeiros. Probably a good thing it was buried in my TBR, otherwise it might have drifted away. It's pretty fluffy so far - not that that's a bad thing. I believe I picked up this book for free at the RWA conference way back in 2002.

I really should think about getting some help. Normal people do not leave unread books lying around for 3+ years.

The New Zip Code

What is it about the romance genre that causes readers to totally lose their minds?

I am of course talking about monstrous TBR (to be read) piles. Or in my case - the TBR Mountain Range. I'm beginning to think you could see it from space.

I am a librarian, so it figures that I'm obsessed with the printed word. Hell, it's my bread and butter. But why do I keep spending money on books when I literally have others that have been waiting to be read for years. Yes, years.

I've been pondering this quite a bit lately and here are my conclusions:

1. I discovered romance right after college. College graduate + first real job + disposable income + no more mindless homework + discovering used bookstores = spending spree!
2. Print runs. Largely a mass market paperback genre, books go out of print quickly, so gosh I better buy it now or I won't be able to find it later!
3. The blasted Internet! Why oh why did I join all those reader's lists? They keep recommending books and I keep buying.
4. Reviewing. Never smart. I discovered authors. I glommed backlists. I have less time to read books in my TBR. Stupid Wendy - really stupid.
5. New job within 2 miles of unorganized UBS. Unorganized = browsing = impulse buying. Stupid Wendy - really stupid.

To make myself feel a little better about my sickness, I've been trying to get better about reading books that have been sitting around for years. So when I'm in between batches of review books (like I am now), I rearrange the TBR and pull out several candidates. Hence, my current read - Badlands Law by Ruth Langan, a Harlequin Historical title that I've had since 2002.

I know - I'm not normal!

Also, I'm toying with the idea of recounting the TBR. I'm not sure I want to do this. Part of me finds the idea horrifying, the other part is morbidly curious. Right now I'm leaning towards just remaining ignorant.

Tag! You're It!

I've been tagged by both Alison and Kate, and since they're both asking different questions I'll answer both sets. First up, from Alison:

Total number of books I own:
Do we have to talk about this? I haven't done a hard count in a while, so this is merely a guess. 600?

Last books I bought:
Went to a booksigning yesterday and got - What Rough Beast by H.R. Knight, No More Lies by Susan Squires, Deadly Games by Thom Racina, Mission: Irresistible by Lori Wilde, Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster, Hot Tamara by Mary Castillo and Couch World by Cathy Yardley.

Five books that meant a lot to me:

1. Nevada Nights by Ruth Ryan Langan - the very first romance I ever read
2. Breathless by Laura Lee Guhrke - the best romance heroine librarian ever.
3. Cooking Up A Storm by Emma Holly - the book that started my erotica glom
4. The Star King by Susan Grant - OK, I still have this book in my TBR. However it was the first book that ever featured a quote from one of my reviews! I got such a kick out of it!
5. Mother Rabbit's Son Tom by Dick Gackenbach - my very favorite book as a child. My parents probably can still recite it from memory

Who I Am Tagging:
No one. You can all breathe easy.

Now on to Kate's questions:

What is your ideal job/career: Librarian.

Seven reasons you like it:

1. I like helping people
2. I find being surrounded by books relaxing
3. The job changes from day-to-day. It's certainly never boring.
   
4. I love keeping up with all the latest publishing news - although now I work for a system that is broke, so this has fallen by the wayside.
5. I love answering a really tough reference question.
6. Those little moments when you realize that yes, your job really is helping people. You are making a difference!
7. I love reader's advisory. I could talk to people all day about books!

Do you expect you'll get this job:
Got it! Have it!

Who Am I Tagging?
Again, no one. You can all breathe easy again.

And Some Of Us Even Enjoy It

A couple of years ago I discovered erotica (thank you Emma Holly), and realized I rather liked it. I found it sexy, decadent, and joyfully free of prejudice. Even if many of the sexual acts/encounters were things I wouldn't dream of trying in "real life" (and no, you're not getting a list. Perv.), I still vastly enjoyed the fantasy of it all.

Hence, causing me to go on a Black Lace spending spree over at Amazon. One such title I picked up was The Tutor by Portia Da Costa. I bought this book for a couple of reasons:

1. An online bud assured me Da Costa was "good."
2. The heroine is a librarian.

Yes, librarians do have sex. I know, this might come as bit of a shock. Sort of like when you found out your parents "did it." Most people seem to think librarians are dead below the waist. Worse still, romance writers are still gleefully perpetuating the stereotype that librarians are naive, young virgins who desperately want to be conquered by some brutish Alpha male. Or the Harlequin Blaze scenario where virginal librarians decide to "be bad" and proposition some stranger in a bar/their brother's best friend/their girlfriend's brother/their pet goldfish.

Uh, no thank you.

Which is why The Tutor is such a treat! Sure Rosie Howard isn't the most sexually experienced gal - but she knows what she likes and isn't afraid to experiment. Bless her heart.

Rosie has just been dumped by her boyfriend - a rather selfish prig I might add. Looking for a change, this voluptuous gal takes a new job cataloging a private library. Julian and Celeste Hadey have a gorgeous collection of rare books - including a healthy collection of priceless erotica. But cataloging isn't all they want Rosie to do. They want her to school Celeste's virginal cousin David in the art of sex. While the boy is 19, a life living in the country being raised by elderly grandparents have left him a touch on the naive side. Is Rosie up the challenge?

Well of course she is! I loved how Da Costa provides Rosie with a variety of experiences. There's the worldly, experienced Julian - the stunningly beautiful Celeste - and the shy, reticent David who so wants to get it all right. While this is really a story of Rosie, David and the situation they are thrown in - it is also about Rosie's awakening. She is most definitely a different person by the end of the novel. So eager to please the prig in the beginning - by the end she realizes that she just wants to please herself. To make herself happy, and share pleasure with her newfound friends.

There are no villains in this story - also a nice added touch. While Celeste and Julian have an extremely open marriage, one gets the impression they're madly in love with each other. Da Costa takes her time setting up the scenario, with most of the naughty stuff happening within the last 100 pages or so. This works rather well, since it gives the reader time to delve into all the characters - although this really is Rosie's show.

While not quite a keeper (again, I'm picky!), I really enjoyed The Tutor. Da Costa has definitely landed on my "must buy" erotica list.

Hey Taboo! Get Outta My Way!

So I just finished up the Honk If You Love Real Men anthology last night (dumbest title ever). And you know what? It was really good! All the stories were readable, but two of them really stood out. So let's discuss those shall we?

First up - Pamela Britton. OMG - what has this woman been reading? I'm going to be discussing some spoilers so you'll need to do some highlighting if you want the whole scoop.

The heroine has survived a traumatic sexual encounter - {spoiler start} she was raped by her former fiance' {spoiler end}. And while she has been in therapy, she's still wary around men. So she decides to seek out her first love - the man she lost her viginity to as a teenager. Our hero is shocked to see her after all these years - but once he learns of her plight he agrees to help her.

What is really shocking about this story is one sexual encounter in particular. Typical fare for erotica, but I've never read anything like it in romantica. That's right - Britton writes a scene where {spoiler start} the heroine has a same sex encounter with another woman! It's at a party, the woman slips her a spiked drink, and the heavy petting begins. And man is it hot! {spoiler end}. While I applaud Britton for breaking the ultimate taboo when it comes to romance, I'm wasn't entirely impressed with how this particular scene ends {spoiler start} with the hero barging in and calling this other woman a "slut." Um excuse me? But I do like how the heroine thanks the woman - saying she hadn't been kissed in a very long time. And I think it also illustarted to the heroine that yes, she could still feel sexual pleasure - she just had to work through her anxiety over men {spoiler end}.

Erotica readers should welcome this. Prudy romance readers already whining about how filthy, dirty sex is overtaking the genre will likely be unthrilled. But bugger on them. Brava Ms. Britton. Brava.

I also rather liked the Lora Leigh story, even if it did feature a dominant, bossy, pain-in-the-ass Alpha male. He's a Navy SEAL who is hot for the heroine. She's hot for him too - but she's also terrified of what a relationship between them would mean. Her sitting home worrying about him, and the possibility that he might not return from a mission. She runs, he chases. He also bosses her around. Bother. But man are the love scenes hot. I especially love the fact that {spoiler start} the heroine is a virgin, but she masterbates in the first chapter. Oh praise saints - a virgin heroine who isn't dead below the waist! {spoiler end}

Note to self: look up Leigh's Ellora's Cave backlist.

I also did enjoy the Carrie Alexander offering - mainly for the fact that she writes blue-collar characters. A bit of a rarity in Romance Novel Land. I had more of a mixed reaction to Susan Donovan's story - if only for the fact that her heroine "yells" at the hero after he rescues her in the woods. Well what was he supposed to do - {spoiler start} let the terrified, injured coyote attack her and her fluffy, nothing dog? Instead she yells at him for "killing it." I was kind of hoping he'd turn the gun on her next {spoiler end}. But oh well. The story does recover from this first meeting though - thank goodness.

This is a really strong romantica anthology. It's a rarity that I enjoyed all the stories - most of them rating around a B for me. But the Britton entry definately stands out as the most memorable of the bunch. I'd be curious to see what kind of "fan mail" she gets over this story. I think it will be evenly split between the "outraged" and the "you go girl"s.

But what do I know?

I had every intention of moving on to a Harlequin series title next. But dang if I ain't in the mood for more of the steamy stuff. Next up - The Tutor by Portia Da Costa. It's been entirely too long since I read a Black Lace Novel.

Lay Off, I'm Starving!

Lord help me on my misguided quest - I'm dieting.

This is not good, since I love food.

OK - I love bad food.

Fast food, greasy food, deep-fried food, sugary food, chocolate food - well you get the idea.

Vegetables and fruit are not food. Contrary to what "they" have been telling us for years. I'm still not convinced - but lo and behond that's what I'm eating. So here I am staying away from Taco Bell, In 'N Out and Wendy's (that whole finger incident didn't scare me!) only to find myself eating salads. Salads for god's sake. This is what I've been reduced to.

But I need to lose weight - and a girl cannot do that without a little impulse control.

Next up - starting an excercise routine.

Please shoot me. I don't care if I look flabby in my coffin.

Gothic Alert

I had a mixed reaction to Diane Tyrrel's debut novel. But I did think she could write - so I was more than willing to give her second novel, On Winding Hill Road, a shot. And I'm glad I did. While it's not perfect, I do think Tyrrel has improved from her debut - and this second book is really a nice trip down memory lane.

Sarah Logan is in her mid-twenties and adrift. Having never settled on just one career, she decides to take the job of "caretaker" to a 13-year-old girl on the northern California coast (near San Francisco). Her step-mother knows the Defalle family - so that's how she landed the job. However, despite the fabulous cottage she'll be living in, and the hefty salary, Sarah soon has reservations about her new employer.

The Defalle family has secrets. Secrets that nobody is willing to share with Sarah. The master of the house, Gatien Defalle, is a brooding, mysterious former Formula One racecar driver who is a distant father and rarely home thanks to business. That, and his first wife - the child's mother - committed suicide by flinging herself off a rocky cliff into the ocean. Or did she? While she was an impetuous, high-strung woman, rumor suggests that maybe it wasn't suicide....

This book is really classic gothic. It reminded me a lot of Barbara Michael's non-paranormal work. Young woman takes job as governess only to fall in love with the mysterious master of the house, whose first wife died suddenly. Thankfully, Tyrrel doesn't employ the whole Did-The-Hero-Kill-His-Wife theme here. There are lots of suspects to choose from, and the mystery also involves what wifey was working on before her untimely demise.

This isn't a perfect book. Frankly, it has the same problem that all gothics have - that is the romance is ho-hum. I felt Sarah's fascination with Gatien was a bit off most of the time. The guy is so aloof he borders on "cold fish." Sure he's a hottie, but he's so emotionally unavailable that it's hard to see him as a "good catch." She seemed a bit obsessed to me.

Also, the pacing is slower - again very similar to most gothics. So if you ain't into gothics already, you'll probably not be wow'ed by this one. It very much sticks to the formula. One gets the impression that Tyrrel is devoted to all those old Victoria Holt and Barbara Michaels novels.

Not that that's a bad thing. Frankly finding a gothic these days with no paranormal elements is harder than finding new western romances. And Tyrrel can write. She has a way of evoking a setting that really works for me.

Will I read Tyrrel's third book? You betcha. If only to remind myself why I checked all those gothic romances out of the public library as a teenager.

Bag Man

Where does this stuff come from? I mean, it's just plain bizarre.

In the semi-scary as Hell department - I arrived to work this morning to find a black plastic bag, tied, and hanging on the door knob to the staff entrance of the library.

Ok.

So what does yours truly do? Well I couldn't very well leave it hanging there - so I picked it up using my car keys (yeah, that will stop anything bad from happening!) and tossed it in the dumpster.

The bag was light weight and sounded like kitty litter or gravel.

You know, it's just better if I don't think about it. Because my overactive imagination and too many mystery novels are causing my thoughts to go to very scary places.

****

I just got the wackiest reference question on the planet.

Slightly Out There Library Patron: "Do you know what's wrong with my eye? It keeps itching, watering, and there is stuff oozing out of it."

Me: "Uh, maybe you should go to a doctor?"

This one is right up there with people who ask me what tax forms they need every year. Well since I'm not an accountant, and I'm not privy to your financial records my answer is "I don't know."

Somedays it really hurts being such a smart ass.

Good Book Alert

First I have to say that I've had the day from Hell. Seriously. Is it a full moon or something? My day started with a trip to the dentist and quickly went downhill. I'm not sure what was worse - my public Internet computers being down this morning, 2 printers (one of them the public printer) taking a mini-vacation or the crazy man who monopolized 2 hours of my time.

All this after going to the dentist.

You know the types of patrons who scare me the most? The ones that are nuts, but don't realize they're completely insane. It's amazing I didn't polish off a fifth of Jack Daniels for lunch.

Anyway, one good thing did happen to me today. I finished a really excellent book. And just to get this out of the way now - yes, it's a hard cover. Sorry folks.

Sex, Murder And A Double Latte by Kyra Davis is a debut novel for Red Dress Ink, and is one of those new chick lit/mystery hybrid books. I'll admit that the whole chick lit phenomenon tends to baffle me more than anything - but when blended with a mystery these books really seem to work for me. I'm not sure why. Maybe because the heroine has something other to worry about besides cosmopolitans, Jimmy Choos and losing 15 pounds? Dead bodies don't like to be ignored after all.

Anyway, Sophie Katz (our heroine) is a bestselling mystery author with a problem. She thinks someone is out to kill her - but the police think she has an overactive imagination. First, the famous movie producer who was interested in her screenplay commits suicide - and Sophie doesn't buy it. She thinks it's murder. Then she gets a threatening, albeit vague, note in the mail. There's also the mysterious hang-up phone calls and the creepy feeling she has that someone has been in her San Francisco flat.

The exact same stuff that happened to the heroine in her first novel, Sex, Drugs and Murder.

Cue creepy music here.

All this, a dysfunctional family, and a mysterious hot Russian guy wooing her too.

This book is a wonderful blend of good mystery and chick lit. Sophie has an interesting life, with a variety of wacky acquintances and a fun, chick-lit style voice. She's also not lily-white, being half-black and half-Jewish. One of the funniest scenes in the book is in the opening chapter when Sophie describes her Jewish mother's reaction to the sex scenes in her novels. Also, becoming bored with inquiries about her ethicity (no, she's not Egyptian or Polynesian) she has a purse full of zippy one-liners.

Also, it's important to note that this is a chick lit novel, of sorts. So while it ends positively, there isn't what I would call a traditional happily-ever-after. However, the mystery does get solved, and Sophie ends up in a better place. Readers who want their heroines to be married and giving birth to triplets in the epilouge need not apply - you won't find that here.

This really was a fabulous book. While it didn't quite make it to keeper status for me (OK, so I'm really flippin' picky!), it easily landed in B+ territory. Sure it's a hard cover - but hey, buy it on sale! Get it at the library! Or put it on your TBB for when it lands in paperback. Whatever you do though - don't miss it.

Peanuts And Cracker Jacks

"Some guys take their girls out to fancy dinners. I take mine to the ballgame" -Wendy's Boyfriend sometime around the 5th inning

Yes, my Detroit Tigers were in town this past weekend and not only did I go to the game Saturday night - but it turned out to be a really good one. A fantastic pitcher's duel unfolded, thanks to Bonderman (Tigers) and Colon (Angels), making it a quick game (not quite 2.5 hours!). Percival came out, earned his save, and got a standing ovation from the fans of his former team. Of course, the drunken idiots sitting behind me boo'ed him - but hey, that's baseball!

The best part had to be watching Tiger manager, Alan Trammell, get ejected. Tram isn't a hot head (that's bench coach Kirk Gibson), but he went out to back up Craig Monroe who got ejected for tossing his helmet after being called out at first base. Frankly, I suspect Tram did it to fire up the team - since the Tigers were in the middle of a losing streak.

In other news, a big shout out to Alyssa who told me another way I could get pictures to post on my blog! I followed Maili's suggestion of downloading Picasa 2 - but that still didn't resolve my issues with Hello's Bloggerbot software. Thanks anyway Maili!

I'm smack dab in the middle of an excellent book right now - Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis. More on it once I finish - but I will say that this recent trend towards chick lit/mystery hybrids seems to be agreeing with me.

Hasenpfeffer!

Remember the saga of the rabbits? Well I have good news! Turns out one of the librarians at a nearby library adores rabbits. In fact, she has a pet rabbit at home that she rescued after it was abandoned at my library several years earlier. So she drove on down here and was able to capture one of ours. Turns out he was a boy-rabbit. I never got close enough to pick the rascal up to figure that out.

Unfortunately, this little fellow's partner in crime is no longer with us. We have no concrete proof - but we fear the little guy met the wrong end of a car. But I'm keeping an eye out for him (or her) just in case we're wrong!

In other bizarre library news, I arrived at the office this morning to find a bag of groceries sitting by the staff entrance door. Yes, a bag of groceries! The only possible explaination I have for this is that someone left it here for our homeless population.

I'm also waging The Great Dumpster Battle of 2005. I used to have 2 dumpsters. Then someone figured out that we were only paying for 1, so the garbage company came and took the other away. Between the neighboring park, and the good citizens of this city, I've basically been dumpster-less. It's jammed and overflowing by Monday afternoon - and given that we only have one pick up (on Thursdays), it's getting to be a major inconvenience.

I'm not sure if this problem will ever be solved (nobody has any money!). Slapping a lock on it won't solve anything because people will just pile the garbage around the dumpster (they already do this and the damn thing is unlocked). I'd be happy with one extra pick-up or the park getting their own damn dumpter - but I'm not holding my breath. Again, nobody has any money. Still, I'm kicking up a fuss just for the heck of it. Sometimes I suspect it's just because I like the sound of my own ranting voice.

RWA Car Pool

It's official - once I send in my paperwork tomorrow - I will be attending RWA in Reno this July. I'm planning on driving up on Tuesday, July 26 and leaving early Saturday morning (7/30). At least I'm hoping to drive up. Right now it's just me, and The Boyfriend doesn't seem real keen on me traveling alone.

So, if you or anyone you know is planning on attending RWA, lives in the Southern California area, and would like to carpool - let me know! I'm also getting a hotel room, so if anyone needs a roommate - let me know! You can leave me a message in comments or you can dig up my e-mail address at the bottom of this page.

Yippee! I'm so excited to go. The books! The mingling! The booze!

You Say Tomato, I Say Toh-Mat-Oh

I hate genre labels. I also hate compartmentalizing books in libraries.

If I had my druthers, paperbacks would all be in one area and you would find John Steinbeck shelved next to Danielle Steel. The minute you break books off into separate categories you do a disservice to library patrons.

Why? Because you keep them in their safe little worlds. They will resist trying anything new.

Why? Because it has a "label" on it.

Gasp, I can't read that! It has a romance, mystery, science fiction, horror, whatever label on it!

Yes, I know. Give people what they want. If they want X type of books, why make it hard for them? I understand that. I really, really do. I just think it's short-sighted. I think back to my teenage years and all the fabulous authors I discovered just by browsing the library shelves. If these folks had been put into their own categories, I probably never would have found Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton, Victoria Holt, Barbara Michaels....

The list goes on.

There's also the matter of mis-labeling. My library has labelled for years - which means it's so ingrained in our service population now that there is no turning back. Here are my two favorite mislabels that I've discovered so far:

• The Awakening by Kate Chopin marked with a "Horror" sticker. Now, I'm sure the men of earlier 20th century America did find Chopin's novel "horrifying" but that's besides the point.

• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk labelled as science fiction. Um, no. In fact, Palahniuk's work tends to defy genres - so no label for him.
  

Labelling is tough stuff. I'm currently wrestling with whether J.D. Robb should be labelled as romance or mystery. I mean, seriously. And where exactly do I shelve all those romantic-suspense novels? And science fiction? Do I shelve them with general fiction or put some of them in my Teen section?

Yes, not labeling is certainly the way to go. Less headaches.

Romancing The Blog #4

My latest column is now live over at Romancing The Blog.

Also, I'm still having issues with posting pictures on my blog! I see other Bloggers aren't having problems. Mine just aren't loading. I've even gone so far as to uninstall and reinstall Hello Bloggerbot. Anyone have any insight that might help me? I'm seriously beginning to get cheesed off.