Category Archives: Books

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Romance, Amplified

I got an excellent book recommendation while reading Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, a wonderfully snarky site for romance novel lovers. Yes, I enjoy romance novels. I have since I was about 12. There are many great feminist defenses of romance novels out there, so I’m not going to bother getting het up about judgment against the genre when I’m so totally in love with this book.

Loretta Chase, “Lord of Scoundrels”

The cover is blah, yes, but the book is dynamite. Seriously. It’s freakin’ fantastic. It may be the best romance novel I’ve ever read. It’s like an amplified version of Amanda Quick’s “Ravished” (longtime favorite, I’ve practically memorized it, I’ve read it so many times). It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s got just enough drama to keep it going without the mutual main character emotional carnage that some authors *cough*Elizabeth Lowell’s early stuff *cough* like to wreak but is tediously tiresome for the reader. Really, by halfway through a Judith McNaught novel, I want to take the heroine aside for a drinky-poo and tell her, “Honey, you need to leave that bastard, and take everything in the divorce. Stop taking his shit.” This is why I only read three McNaughts and then stopped – even at 16, I found it annoying. There are no painful misunderstandings in this book, which is a huge relief.

Jessica, the heroine of “Lord of Scoundrels”, is delightfully emotionally mature. She recognizes her own bullshit, is up-front about whatever she’s thinking and feeling, and informs her man – the Marquess of Dain – what his baggage is and how he ought to deal with it. It’s great. I can’t even tell you how much I love her.

I checked this book out from the library, but I’ll definitely be hitting Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy to keep, and no doubt re-read many times. Extremely well done, Ms. Chase. Brava! For the first time ever, I’m inspired to actually write to an author and tell her how amazing I think she is. Normally I am too lazy, but I’ll be damned if I don’t shoot her an email to tell her how great this book is. SMTB rated her other works with high praise, so I’ll be picking up a few more when I buy my copy of this one. It’s such a relief to find a new author I love. Now she needs to write more, so I can eagerly await their publications, as I used to do with Julie Garwood (before she started writing the romantic suspense set in present day things she’s doing now – the first two were good, and the third all right, but they went swiftly downhill. Nothing can top “Ransom” or “The Wedding”, I think, though. I crack up every time Brenna harangues Jamie about her tapestry of William the Conqueror, even after reading the book a dozen times).

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Ka ipo i ke aka pua aniani

There’s nothing like traditional Hawaiian music for expressing flowery love. The emotional impact of the words is stronger than English, the sentiments more tender.

`Auhea iho nei o Leialoha
Ku`u hoa i ka nani a`o nâ pua

Eia mai au `o suipa lilo
Ka ipo i ke aka pua aniani

He aniani wale `o hâli`a loko
Nowelo mao `ole i ka pu`uwai

Nâ wai nô `oe e a pakele aku
I ka wai o ka pânini pua kea

Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Ku`u ipo i ka nani a`o nâ pua

John Almeida wrote those words, and their poetry is just haunting.

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A Very Potter Musical

Updated post on July 13 to reflect new version

Amazingly hilarious production up on YouTube called A Very Potter Musical. I watched the entire thing this afternoon, laughing my head off. It’s so hilarious. Adore the guy who plays Harry, he’s cute and has a great voice. Their Ginny was far more annoying than I see her, but it was funny. Ron was great with his snacks. Hermione was funny too, and had a nice voice. Voldemort was hilarious and – once he was off Quirrell’s back – sexy as well.

My personal highlights:

  • Voldemort tap-dancing – and motorboating Bellatrix
  • Drunk Voldemort
  • The Death Eater chorus line
  • Harry talking about how awesome he is
  • Ron’s giant chocolate bar
  • The Ron/Hermione kiss, if you can call it that
  • Draco rolling around randomly on the floor
  • Goyle’s voice, and the Indian Burn Hex
  • Dumbledore’s twanging accent
  • Voldy and Quirrell’s bromance
  • Texan Cho Chang
  • Cedric “find” Diggory
  • Molly Weasley’s brief and extremely New Jersey appearance

The music was excellent. Sound quality’s not great, I had a hard time hearing some dialogue while music was painfully loud. I wish I had this on DVD, I would watch it far too often.

Here’s the playlist. If you have trouble with it in the embedded player, click here.

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Reading list

I need a new author to add to my beloved list. Someone prolific, cause I read fast. I’m in the process of re-reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, because Finger-Lickin’ Fifteen comes out next week (yay!). I’m getting back up to speed in Stephanie’s life. I sent the first book to my mom a few weeks ago, and now she’s also in love with these books. She says she lays in bed reading, laughing hysterically. Is it our Jersey background or does Stephanie just rock? Who knows. My mom’s a Jersey girl herself so she really loves the books.

I read everything Terry Pratchett writes. I love him. He’s incredibly brilliant. I’ve read all the Discworld books until I have them memorized. I like the Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, but it seems unlikely that he’s ever going to finish it, and that annoys me. I do think he’s cool because I sent him an email a few years ago, before Feast for Crows came out, because he’s my mom’s age and is from her hometown in NJ, and he actually emailed me back personally and said he didn’t know her, but was pretty sure he knew my aunt Susan. Funny.

So, since it won’t take me long to read the new Stephanie Plum, and the new Disworld won’t be out until October, and the new ASOIAF may never be out, I need someone new to read. Sigh. I tried Charlaine Harris and didn’t care for her. I hear the latest Anita Blake only pretended for a minute to have a plot, then went back to hundreds of pages of how great Anita is and all the random sex she has, which is extremely disappointing. I enjoyed those books up until Obsidian Butterfly, and quit reading after Anita turned into the ultimate Mary Sue. I like MaryJanice Davidson’s books, even though she’s the queen of the Sassy Sue and the “good concept, bad execution” mode, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the last Betsy Taylor book.

I’m really not into vampires. I don’t know why suddenly everyone else is. Vamporn bores the hell out of me. Twilight made me want to vomit, I couldn’t even finish the first book. Awful. I’ve read better Dramiones than that, and we all know how I feel about Dramiones. So I need something new. With funny bits. I don’t mind sex, heck I love romance, but I need a plot too. What the hell am I going to read next?

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Poetry

Sharing a wonderful poem that an old friend wrote:

i only wanted to exist in a world
where no one knew I existed.

i only wanted to be,
in a place where no one wanted me to be.

i only wanted,
when no one wanted me to have.

i am only

Jimmy Turner, ladies and gentlemen! A good guy then and now, and talented with the words.