What we are reading....Annie Lynch

 

I can't help but laugh as I write this, because I'm following in Alison's footsteps and starting the Millenium Trilogy (finally joining the rest of the world), I have The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest tucked away in the caravan, ready for the big Summer Holiday Reading Binge. And this year's Binge is going to be HUGE.

But a Binge can't all be incredibly involving conspiracy theories. Like Christmas dinner, it has to have light and shade - breathing room between the seafood barbie and the pavlova. So I'll be slotting in time to re-read the Mrs Pollifax series, since I've bought the first two books for my mother for Christmas (shh, don't tell), and probably some new Eloisa James or Mary Jo Putney as well.

Happy Yuletide reading, one and all.

~Annie

What we are reading....Alison Leake

What am I reading?

To be honest, not a lot at the moment.

STALI judging, a rather chaotic and consuming day job, major landscaping work and planning hubbie’s 50th have had my brain rather preoccupied.

I had started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, intending to read it before I saw the movie but it requires some thought and concentration at the start (until you slip into the zone, I am reliably informed by my daughter) so I found myself avoiding it for the above reasons – judging, brain death and physical exhaustion. Instead, I settled on slowly working my way through the books I got at the conference.

 

I am currently halfway through Anna Campbell’s My Reckless Surrender, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I think it’s my favourite of hers. Next up will be Rachel Bailey’s At the Billionaire’s Beck & Call? Then I think I shall read the M&B New Voices Anthology. After that? Some Tracey O’Hara, I think...

Happy Reading,

Alison

   

What we are reading....Nikki

The Dead Travel Fast - Deanna Raybourn (MIRA)

Looks like Deanna Raybourn needed a break from Julia and Nicholas (her Silent in the… series) and unraveling the mysteries of the Ton, so she’s transported us all to Romania and dipped her toe in all things paranormal. The Dead Travel Fast was a wonderfully readable and thoroughly engaging story about a budding authoress, Theodora Lestrange, who (as is Deanna’s want with heroines) doesn’t really fit in polite English society. So she brushes off a hapless suitor and irritating brother takes herself to the furthest flung corner of Europe to research a book. Smart girl.

I think it’s a credit to Raybourn’s worldbuilding and characterization that despite the fact that I did rather see where the story was going from about the half-way point I didn’t really mind (sorry, no more in the interests of spoilers). I was very happily along for the journey. Theodora is an absolute gonner for the brooding and misunderstood Count Andrei who’s terribly Heathcliffe and interesting throughout. With a raft of gothic and appealing characters (even the baddies) The Dead Travel Fast was a delightful stand-alone detour.

What I’m reading next…? I’ve just started Christina Phillips’ Forbidden (Berkley Heat). Mental note to self, don’t start a historical erotica at the hair dressers…there’s no where to hide the blushes… But so far, so fabulous. Really enjoying the period and the Druid/Centurion pairing (no, not that pairing although I expect that, when I get there, to be inciendery). Stay tuned.

What we are reading...or waiting to read - Eleni

Sorry I have missed a What We Are Reading post. This is one with a difference.

Those who follow my blog know the huge, monstrous, Everest sized To Be Read pile that I have. You think with such a large TBR I would not buy any more books nor borrow any more from the library.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha...

Can you tell that this has not happened?

While I'm cutting back on buying because of budget (oh to have a no limit spending allowance on books!!!), I still do buy books especially of series I have already started buying and those books by friends. And being in writing groups, I have quite a few buddies who have had their books published. Me - Yay!! (Wallet - oh no!)

However there are moments, where I do a big spending spree - and my two spending sprees were at the Romance Writers of Australia conference (which included the AARA author signing event) and AussieCon 4!! (Of course there are giveaways in these as well - woohoo!!)

Those who have read my posts on Eleni's Library have seen the photos but here are the two new piles of books to read....

Coogee books

AussieCon 4

So how are your TBR piles looking?

What we are reading....Roseanne

I’ve just finished Kelly Hunter’s latest offering, Untameable Rogue. I loved it. Loved it, loved, loved it. Kelly’s characters live and breathe on each page. There is not one wasted word. Her heroine, Madeline Mercy Delacourte, is flawed, gorgeous and direct. Her hero, Luke Bennet, in a word, wow. This book was deeply moving, utterly sensual. The secondary character, Jacob Bennett, well he deserves a book of his own. Her minor characters, Yun, the housekeeper, and Po, were endearing. As I read I was transported to Singapore, could hear it, smell it. Another fantastic read by a brilliant Australian author.

I love category romance. I always have. Friends often suggest and recommend books by authors they think I’d enjoy. One of these books was, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. I plowed my way through thinking, okay, when’s this going to get into the story. But, seeing as it was recommended by so many, I continued to invest my precious reading time into it.  Two thirds of the way in it grabbed my interest. In the end I enjoyed it, but I still don’t know if I’m ready to start The Girl who Played with Fire. I think it can stay on my TBR pile.

Anything Anne Stuart I also enjoy. Her latest book was Silver Falls. Thriller. Gutsy, feisty heroine. Unusual Hero, the black sheep of the family who wasn’t. The killer was creepy, so creepy, made my skin crawl. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

The book I’m reading ATM is a category romance by our fantastic Nikki Logan. It’s her latest release titled. Their Newborn Gift. The story of Lea, Reilly and Molly. From the first sentence I was sucked right on in. Unusual story, which is awesome, set in the Kimberley region of WA. Strong heroine, yet vulnerable. Same can be said for Reilly. I haven’t finished this story yet; I want to take everything in, the atmosphere of setting. The growing romance; Molly’s dilemma. Study can wait, tonight; I have a book to finish. 

What we are reading....Rachel

The last book I finished was ZANE: THE WILD ONE by Bronwyn Jameson. It’s part of a duo that was re-released which is great because I would have missed it otherwise. I *loved* this book. It was emotional and sexy and fun and gorgeous. I loved bad boy Zane and I loved the house where most of the action takes place. And the best bit is now I have QUADE: THE IRRESISTIBLE ONE, the other book in the duo, waiting for me!

I’m currently reading some romantic fantasy books that people suggested for me on the Lovecats blog. The first one I’m reading is WARPRIZE by Elizabeth Vaughn, and I have DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST by Juliet Marillier and HEART MATE by Robin D. Owens waiting on the bedside table. People gave me heaps of recommendations in the comments to my post, and I plan to work my way through them all.
 

 

 
Immediately before I read Bronwyn Jameson’s Zane, I was reading historicals – one of my favourite genres. The last ones were THE GRAND SOPHY by Georgette Heyer (which was *gasp* my first Heyer, but certainly won’t be my last because I adored it! What a fabulous heroine!) and the latest series by Elizabeth Hoyt (such sumptuous covers!). I only read the first of the EH series before my mother borrowed them, so I have the other three to look forward to soonish.

 

~Rachel Bailey

What we are reading....Jacqueline

I've just finished reading "Black Ice" and "Cold as Ice" by Anne Stuart.  She was at our RWA Conference a couple of years back with  Jennifer Crusie.  I read both books 'back to back' as they  intrigued me from page one. Her words flowed effortlessly and suited my mood  for relaxation. If you like intrigue where the protagonists take the 'mickey' out of one another, you might enjoy these.
 

"The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society" by  Mary Ann Shaffer is a  tale of post-war friendship, love and books. It  consists of letters that weave between the nuances of lives affected by the  German occupation of Guernsey. Juliet comes to know and love the extraordinary  personalities of these writers and shares it all with us in a light-hearted  fashion laced with wry humour.  It's a tea and cake and a curl-up on the  couch type of book.
 

 
My other book by Robert Holman and edited by Peter Thompson  is "On Paths of Ash" and I was not expecting a light-hearted read because  Holman was an Australian soldier captured by the Japanese at the fall of  Singapore and interned in Changi. What impressed me was the wry humour  expressed by Holman for almost every occasion. It certainly tempered the  horrific experiences of these men as they toiled on the Burma Railway, then  worked in the coalmines in Japan where they witnessed the Nagasaki atomic bomb  drop and finally came home.

Not for the faint-hearted but it is a genuine piece of our  Australian history about which we all should know.

~Jacqueline

What we are reading....Dana

It may sound like writer sacrilege, but I’ve sworn off buying another book until my TBR pile is gone, history, finito.  Unfortunately, with the number of books in that pile, it will be the turn of the next decade before I can even venture near the bookstore! 

But, don’t be sad for me, I have made one exception…for Australian authors—anymore that’s no small exception!

                  

Authors such as Bootcamp’s Rachel Bailey, Melissa James, and Nikki Logan go to the top of the pile, as do Australian’s Juliet Marillier, Anna Campbell, Anne Gracie, Denise Rossetti and Kiwi claimed Zana Bell!

                  

Between releases for those fantastic authors I have a stack of classics from Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (I’ve been trying to get through this one for about two months now—man, Henry loves to hear himself talk!!!) to Cervantes’ Don Quixote.  Then there are the non-fiction books on history, psychology, nutrition, OH&S and more!  And don’t forget the plethora of romance!  After all, one can never have enough romance!

                  

But what, you ask, am I reading right now? 

Well, at present, I’m re-reading Nikki Logan’s Lights, Camera, Kiss the Boss.  It’s just too good for a single go!!  I’ve also begun a re-read of Sarah Edelman’s (what do you know, she’s an Aussie too!!!) Change Your Thinking, because alas, even I have habits I would like to change, like re-reading books when I have five dozen in a non-diminishing pile that I haven’t read!!!  Add to these, the university books on pathophysiology and pain management, my weekly news magazine The Week, and my monthly National Geographic and well, I’m pretty read out!

But, in an endeavor to reduce the ever ubiquitous TBR pile, I will continue to read on, and on… and on and on and on.

Until then…happy writing.

Dana


On another note, this blog post makes our 150th!! Bootcampers Rock! And thanks Dana for a fantastic blog entry.
~Eleni

What we are reading....Fiona

Here's what I'm reading right now.

'The Gallant Waif' by Anne Gracie. I'd heard a lot about how good this book was, so when I saw a copy for sale I snapped it up. It's definitely living up to expectations.

'Thief of Light' by Denise Rossetti. Another scorcher of a tale from Denise, set in her Four-sided Pentacle Universe, with rich characters and seemless worldbuilding. I can hardly wait for the release of the next instalment in this series.

~Fiona

What we are reading....Eleni

It's been awhile since I wrote about what I've been reading. I've actually started up my own blog on reading called Eleni's Library. Here I talk about some books and the reading challenges that I undertake.

You can read my wrap of my January reads including our own Nikki's Lights, Camera...Kiss The Boss here. But here's a look at these reads in visual form:

And my current reads are:

Yes I do have a range of  tastes indeed *g* But now matter how fast I read there's always more fabulous books to put on the TBR pile. And that's a good thing. Though ATM, I seem to like variety - that is reading more than one book at a time. I don't get confused with the stories as they all have their own voices. And also I have them in categories - LOL - that's the librarian in me coming out.

Author of the moment - Keri Arthur

Writing Craft book - Heart & Craft

Category book - Executive Mother-to-Be

Reward book - Sizzle, Seduce & Simmer

TBR pile book - Quest

Library book - Lover Avenged

LUNA book - Walking Dead 

My aim is to beat my 70 books read last year.  (Oh that is Harlequin Challenge word count which has books = 50K, so the shorter ones have to make up 50Ks and be considered one book.) 

I'd be interesting in seeing how I go with a normal word count and the Harlequin one. 

What are you reading at the moment?