Notes from the Bunker

I haven't blogged in over a week and seeing that many days of inactivity in a row on the blog tends to make me twitchy.  For the past thirteen years of Bat Cave Gloriousness, I've tried to be fairly consistent with blogging - posting anywhere from once to three times a week.  And yet, here we are.  So to fill the void y'all are getting a hodge-podge.

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I spent most of 2015 mired in a reading slump and it seems to have carried over to the start of 2016.  It's not that I'm reading "bad" books.  It's more like I don't have the energy or mental brain power to pick up a book and actually read.  I'm traveling over the weekend so I'm hoping being stuck in airports and on airplanes provide a kick start.

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I still haven't seen Star Wars.  Yes, I'm an extra special kind of unicorn.

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In bookish news - I got through The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo on audio.  This was a recommendation from Keishon and I liked it, but wasn't over the moon in love with it.  I'm glad I listened to it because I truly don't think I would have lasted reading the print version.  It's a long book, with loads of set-up, dual time lines (World War II and early 2000s) and the mystery is fairly intricate.  There's a very deliberate pace to the story which made it slow-going at times.  I did end up enjoying it (it was a B read for me), and I'll continue on with the series - but Nesbo doesn't strike me as the kind of writer I'm going to be able to "binge" on...even in audio format.  I'm going to need breaks in between books.

I'm in the process right now of listening to When Books Went to War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning.  This is another book I'm glad I'm listening to on audio because I think it would be a slower read for me.  I have a lot of thoughts about this one - mostly when you juxtapose the history of the World War II home front against the current climate of the American public.  It's really striking.  Also I'll admit I'm highly annoyed that ultimately the librarian's efforts early on were dismissed out of hand when they were up against something they couldn't control - format.  World War II was really when the paperback format took off in popularity (in large part because of paper rationing and publishers having to adopt the format to fit the serviceman's unique needs), and librarian-organized donation drives mostly collected hard cover books, because that's what was widely available.  Also the profession, by that time, had shifted to largely female-dominated so yet another example of how "those in power" slapped down the librarians (who were a bunch of women anyway so what did it matter?) gets my hackles up.

Baggage, I haz it.

Anyway, I'm not massively in love with this book (yet - I'm only about halfway through), but I could see it provoking some good book club discussions if you have the sort of book club that could discuss historical vs. current events without breaking out into fisticuffs. 

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Speaking of book clubs - coming up in February I'm taking part in a webinar for the library database NoveList which will be all about romance book clubs.  It's being moderated by Lisa Schimmer, RWA Librarian of the Year 2014 (and the bee's knees) and we'll be joined by Jennifer Lohmann, Harlequin SuperRomance author, librarian and all around good egg.  Jennifer has run several book clubs for her Day Job (and has a romance-centric one!) and they've asked me to join the discussion to talk about the TBR Challenge!  That's right TBR'ers - we're going to be famous.

Also, I encourage you to check to see if your local library subscribes to NoveList.  It's what we in the profession call a "reader's advisory" tool - and it's fun to search subject headings, browse the lists of suggestions and hunt down titles that may interest you.  It covers all ages, and while it's predominantly known as being a fiction tool, they do feature non-fiction as well.  Lisa's been instrumental in overhauling the romance lists - where you can now find everything from Men In Kilts to Lesbian Love Stories.

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The plan was to spend most of 2016 catching up on ARCs I did not get read in 2015 (because I suck like that - SO MUCH TO READ!!!!).  I've got a pile of great books waiting for me and I'm at the point where I have things scheduled in a queue.  Here's hoping I find my reading mojo while turning over rocks in the Bat Cave bunker...

Chit Chat and Various Book Ramblings

It's been a while since I've done one of these updates.  Couple that with some books I want to mention that I don't have a lot to say about and general holiday brain-melt, here we are.  So what's going on with me?

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First, the big news - that Big Ol' Leadership Management Class Thing that I did for work?  Yeah, it's now done.  I survived 15 weeks, a group project (20 page written report + presentation), and had "graduation" last week.  Let me tell you how glad I am that's over.  Yes, it was a great experience, I learned stuff, and it looks shiny on Ye Olde Resume but....still.  I'm glad it's over.

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In other news?  Star Wars.  Meh.  Look, I'll go see it.  Eventually.  But I have not been excited about this thing since it was first announced.  Now James Bond?  Spectre?  I was twirling around in circles....months ahead of time.  Maybe they need to put Han Solo in a tux and shove a martini in his hand?  I'd feel like I was missing out but....meh. 

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I've gotten through some mystery/suspense reading and audiobook listening of late.  Chalk this up to buying a new car last year (built-in bluetooth!!!) and finally getting around to downloading the Overdrive app on my new phone which has WAY more memory than old phone.

I listened to Black Irish by Stephan Talty, mostly because the Buffalo, New York setting intrigued.  I went to college in Buffalo and lived there for almost six years.  Verdict?  Meh.  It was OK.  Mostly it was a Buffalo I didn't recognize (hey, I lived there almost 20 years ago and I was a college student pretty much "isolated" to campus life).  You know what this read like?  Like Talty wants to do for Buffalo what Dennis Lehane did for Boston.  It's on the gory side, so be warned, and while I didn't love it - I also didn't hate it.  It was also a fast listen.  I'll try the next book in the series.

On Keishon's recommendation I'm currently listening to The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo.  I'm glad she warned me about the slow start.  There's a lot of set-up and it seems to be all over the place.  I'm thinking I'm finally at the point where we're going to settle in for a more "linear" story - and think it will likely pick up for me now.  The Scandinavian crime "thing"  has largely eluded me - but I've been meaning to try Nesbo for a while and he's one of Keishon's favorites - so here I am.

Over the weekend I read The Sundown Speech by Loren D. Estleman, which is the 25th (!) book in his Amos Walker, Detroit PI series.  This was another OK read.  Estleman originally published it in a local paper as a serial about 10 years ago, expanded it, and now we have a book.  Amos is in Ann Arbor this time out so we have crunchy granola clients and a villain too smart for his own good.  It's not a book I would recommend to someone new to the series (Estleman's style is better suited for the darker noir world of rundown Detroit), but I read it in two gulps so....what am I complaining about again?

In the romance world, I tried but ultimately failed to listen to Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren.  As most of you already know, this book sprang to life out of fan-fiction and that actually isn't my complaint about it.  It also has a boss/secretary trope which, as we all know, Wendy loves despite knowing better.  No, the problem was I loathed these people.  Seriously.  The hero is an asshat and the heroine's body keeps "betraying her."  Seriously, those words are used in the text.  Her body "betrays her."  That's a romance writing tic that just needs to die a thousand burning deaths already.

Anyway, he's a jerk - keeps ripping her panties off - and even though she's a smart-mouth and fires back at him a lot - we still have Ye Olde Betraying Body thing.  I just couldn't see wasting my time on two characters that I literally loathed.  I've DNF'ed books for a lot less.

On the bright side?  While I normally have a hard time with romance on audio (it's a quirk - I have issues with someone "reading" me sex scenes), the narrator here (Grace Grant) was really quite good.  If you like romance on audio, you might want to look her up (my brief search turned up narrating for Christina Lauren, Lisa Renee Jones and Colleen Hoover).

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I'm hoping to squeeze out a couple more reads before the end of the year - which is time to remind folks that if you're waiting with bated breath for my Best of 2015 list?  Keep waiting until early January.  Outside of mentioning a mere three titles as part of H&H's round-ups - I always wait until the new year arrives.  Because, you know, I could read something awesome-sauce on December 31.

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If blogging doesn't happen again this week (and you know, it might not) - I hope that everyone has a nice, relaxing holiday.  Ho ho ho!

Mini-Reviews: Jacobites, Hit Men and Tiaras

It's time for another round of Wendy mini-reviews!  Books I've either 1) talked about elsewhere 2) listened to on audio and/or 3) just don't have a lot to say about.

Danger Wears White by Lynne Connolly is a Georgian-set historical and the third book in a series.  I read this for Heroes & Heartbreakers, (disclaimer over there - I know Lynne) and it was a patented "OK" read for me.  It's the story of a heroine whose father gambled away the family fortune on the Jacobite cause (which, as history tells us, was a sucker's bet).  All that's left is the eccentric Tudor home where she lives.  She runs up against the hero when she finds him shot and bleeding to death in a rundown hut on her property.  She pegs him for a Jacobite rebel, but can't very well leave him to die - so she secrets him away in her home.  The hero, naturally, is no Jacobite, but a spy and things get interesting when it turns out the heroine is a pawn caught between the rebels and the English crown.

I loved the Georgian period, history and plot of this story.  It reads and feels like a Georgian, not a Regency pretending to be a Georgian.  Also the plot is full of political intrigue which keeps things humming along.  What I was less enamored with was the romance, which was very InstaLust.  Our couple is bumping uglies within two days and the hero is thinking marriage right after because the sex was so amazing.  Then stuff happens, yada yada yada, and we get the happy ending.  So really good everything other than the romance = a C read for me.  I would read a Connolly book again in a hot minute, even without being in love with this romance - because everything else about this I really liked.

Blood on Snow by Jo Nesbo is a stand-alone novel and I thought "why the heck not?" after I read Keishon's review.  The Scandinavian crime trend is one that has largely passed me by - but this seemed like something to try on audio.  It's also a fairly short novel - clocking in at just over 200 pages.

This was an instance where the audio production elevated the text for me.  It's read by Patti Smith (yes, THAT Patti Smith) and she's got a perfect voice for noir.  That sort of androgynous gravelly-thing going on.  The story itself was OK.  It's about a hit man who runs afoul of his boss when he refuses to kill the man's wife.  I happen to like noir (similar to Gothics for me - I'm in it for the atmosphere), but the complaint I have about this book is a common one I have for noir - the female characters are all so thinly drawn.  Also, I "get" what Nesbo was shooting for here - he blends in fairy tale allusions and dream sequences and.....meh.  I didn't hate it by any stretch of the imagination, but it also didn't bowl me over.  Also, fair warning - it's pretty dark.  I'm generally fine with dark, but not everybody is so....yeah, dark.

But I'm glad I listened to it because 1) I finally tried Nebso 2) I'm not adverse to trying him again and 3) the audio edition is dynamite.  The book itself would probably be a C for me, but with Patti Smith narrating?  Let's go with a B.

Death By Tiara by Laura Levine is the 13th book in a cozy mystery series about Jaine Austen, hapless freelance writer.  It's pretty much the only cozy series I'm still reading these days and I anticipate each new entry.  I read these for the same reason some folks keep reading Janet Evanovich.  Sometimes a girl just needs a completely fluffy brain-candy read.  This time out Jaine is hired to write original song lyrics to a teen pageant contestant.  When one of the pageant organizers is murdered, everyone is a suspect - including Jaine.

Levine is a former sitcom writer so these books tend to be heavy on "antics" anyway, but the slapstick is a bit heavier than usual in this entry.  However there are some nice moments.  For one thing Jaine HAS A BOYFRIEND (!), which is a new wrinkle.  Also, these books tend to be category length (around 250 pages) and Levine has always done a fabulous job of crafting plenty of suspects and red herrings in such a short word count.  I didn't think the mystery was as strong in this entry (I had it pegged), but Levine does the leg-work of giving the reader plenty of options.  As for the boyfriend?  While Jaine continues to be a train-wreck, I love how the author always turns her around in the end.  I never stay worried about Jaine when the book ends.  Our girl knows her own mind, so while her dating disasters are brutal - I never have to worry about Jaine selling herself short in order to "keep a man."  She has gumption, which is always a good thing in my book.

For newbies to the series?  Honestly this is probably a C read.  But if you like this series, and Jaine is an "old friend?"  This book delivers exactly what you'd expect and is exactly why you keep coming back for more.  So probably a B.