A Very Bookie Christmas

I love books.

Especially books about books.  Because who wouldn't.  And luckily for me and you there are plenty at Auckland Libraries to choose from.  Tales of bookstores and bookclubs and libraries and librarians and so much more and isn't that just the bestest thing.

It just makes you want to dance.

                   
And when you've stopped dancing you can collapse onto a comfy chair with a glass of wine and a large (make that a very large) slice of Christmas cake and start on that huge pile of books that you have surrounded yourself with.

I have a feeling I may be awhile...

Blood and Guts: Or A Very Gory Christmas

I love a good thriller.  Whether it's reading one or watching one.  There is just something about a good crime story with plenty of body count, a headless corpse... or two, and lots of twists and turns that is highly addictive.

And the Holiday Season is a perfect time to catch up on all the gory, mind griping, can't-stop watching/reading-until-you-know-who-did-it crime.  Even better there is a fun of guessing who the real killer is.

Only thing is once you start you can't stop and you find yourself impatiently waiting for the next in the series.  Or at least you do if you're me.

At least I have Luther to get me through this Christmas while I impatiently patiently wait for the next series of Sherlock, Bosch, Broadchurch...

Werewolves, walking trunks and magical dresses!

My 'second' update! The trouble with reading books you don't know about is that you're always going to come across one or two that didn't particularly float your boat. Fortunately, books aren't written to take everyone's fancy, so if a werewolf romance or shenanigans in love (or fantastical tourists) sound like a bit of you, then grab these books for what could be your idea of a good time.

A book by a female author - Bitten by Kelly Armstrong

Elena is your average everyday modern woman - except, she's also a werewolf. The only female werewolf in the world, in fact. After being transformed against her will by her lover, Clay, and finding she didn't fit in well, she left her 'pack' to try her hand at becoming a normal person again, living in cities and working your normal 9-5 job with an even normal-er fiancee. It's been years that her pack has tried to contact her, but now the Alpha is calling her back - the pack family is under siege and someone is murdering humans on their land.

A paranormal romance, this one was the first werewolf romance I've read since Twilight (if you could call it one). While not a huge fan of Elena herself, I could definitely see how Armstrong became the immensely popular author she is today if this was her first in what is now a HUGE series.

A book by an author you love that you haven't read - The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

I'm a fan of the hugely popular Discworld series, but I came in late to the books - starting with Going Postal. I had read a few of the older ones, but never bothered to read the first, as I'd already seen the movie. However, when this category came up, I thought I might as well. An earlier work and you can tell, it was still interesting to read of the 'beginning' of the Disc.

Rincewind is by far the most useless wizard in Ankh-Morpork. He only knows one spell, and even then he's never used it. When Ankh-Morpork's first ever tourist Twoflower turns up, with a sentient trunk and bundles of gold, it's Rincewind who gets stuck with him as a tour guide. All his life, Rincewind has tried to avoid trouble - but all Twoflower seems to want is trouble. Seeing dragons, meeting barbarians and getting in pub fights is all on his to-do list, and Rincewind is unfortunately dragged along.

A book with a love triangle - The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag

Cora is a scientist, with no time for love, or feelings of any heartfelt manner. Walter is the young man with a heartbreaking voice at the bookstore, who is hopelessly in love with her. And Etta is Cora's troublemaker of a grandmother, who sells dresses that are magic. Everyone is nursing a broken heart, and only Etta takes any steps to fix them. Not hers, of course, but definitely Cora's. When Etta's magic goes awry, nothing goes to plan as Walter finds 'love' elsewhere and Cora gets entangled in a strange crime regarding her parents death.

Van Pragg is a unique storyteller. Every chapter follows a different characters perspective and gives insight to how everyone reacts to Etta's well intentioned magic. The different perspectives did get me a bit confused at times, but it was a magical read with lots of twists and turns.

Crossing off my Reading Challenge! Part One (and a half)

As everyone might remember, in April I posted my Reading Challenge for ya'll to see. I've since made progress (as one should hope, seeing as we're halfway through the year now - scary!) and here it is - Update One-and-a-Half (having already shown my undying love for cat warriors in my 'first' update).

Alright! What have I read so far?

A book published this year - First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (Published January 20th, 2015)

As we already know from a previous post before I thought to make my challenge public, First Frost is by my very favourite adult fiction author, Sarah Addison Allen.
The Waverly family is plodding along nicely, until suddenly everyone loses spirit. The first frost is coming, and everyone is uneasy. Claire doesn't know if her magic is working - or if she even had any to start with, and Bay, her niece, is trying to make her way through high school after her powers make a huge mess of her reputation with the one person who matters.

I cannot possibly explain how much I love her books, but just take my word for it. Apparently, they're similar in style to Diana Wynne Jones (says a well-read friend) which I haven't read (yet) so if you're a fan of hers, these books might be for you. When I finally could get my mitts on this latest one from SAA, I read it in one go - not hard, as this ones quite a bit shorter than her others - and loved it, as I expected.

A book with a number in the title - Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why is about a teenage girl who, before committing suicide, records 13 'reasons' of why she came to the conclusion to do so, and then sends them to the people 'responsible' for her death. The main character, Clay, receives them one morning in the mail, and slowly listens to why the girl he thought he was possibly in love with killed herself.

It's a morbid read that does well in showing how suicide and depression is still taboo and 'ignored' - despite how common it is and sheds some light on why that can't happen anymore. In that way, I respect it. I just didn't think it was for me - not because of content/themes, but because the main guy, Clay, got on my nerves a little.

A book with non-human characters - Black Wings by Christina Henry

Maddy is an Agent - someone who leads the dead to the after-life. She's also broke and in need of a flat-mate to help pay her rent. Enter Gabriel, a hunky guy who just happens to know about her past and her mother's death, and who inadvertently brings a whole bunch of demons knocking on Maddy's door. She has to fight or die, and with Gabe's help, she finds she is much more than just an Agent.

A paranormal/fantasy romance. Angels, demons, 'Agents', titan-like beings that like to mess stuff up. A fun read that was easy to get through, but not for if you're wanting some serious thinking to go on - so it's like most of the books I read, haha.

A List of Lists: Reading Challenges

I am a huge fan of reading challenges. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm a huge fan of challenges in general - especially when I come across them in list form. If there's a list of things that need to be ticked off, then by golly I will try to do that.

Working in the library means that yes, I have access to and often read a lot of books. Why not make a list of them, or read particular ones? Why not try to expand my reading repertoire?

Thus began my main reading challenge - a family wide one (we're very bookish) with a whole bunch of relatives all seeking to mark off a list to see who can finish it first. ("It's not a competition though!")

And, because I like to make life hard for myself, I also set my own personal challenges - another 3 in fact -

Dana's Reading Challenge List

1. The family 'Reading Challenge' - 52 Books in Different Categories
2. Adult Fiction - 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet
3. Young Adult Fiction - 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet
4. Children's Fiction - again, 26 books, one for each letter of the alphabet

Why, Dana? Why do you do this to yourself? Especially the books in alphabetical order, and in YA and Children's? Well, I'll tell you why - in another list!

• Forcing myself to go by letters means I'll probably pick up books I wouldn't think of, just because the letter won't have anything I normally read;

• This situation - "This looks like such a lovely book... BUT it's children/YA fiction." should happen less. Why not judge a book by its cover and read it for that instead of whats on the inside (or who it's 'meant' for)?

• Being a young(er) library assistant means that when kids or teens need a recommendation, co-workers often send them to me for help.
  Having a limited knowledge of children/teen fiction means that I've steered too many kids towards 'popular' series - The Hunger Games, Geronimo Stilton, anything by Robert Muchamore for someone after 'action-y books'. While the books are popular for a reason, I'd like being able to cater to a kids preferences better. If they've read The Hunger Games, Divergent series, The Maze Runner - what can they read next? What else is there? You know, I don't know... But I'm hoping reading 52 books that aren't adult will help me find out.

• Also, I like lists. Did I mention I like making lists, and crossing things off of lists? 

So I figure, since I've made so much work for myself already, I might as well make a little more and share my reviews with you as well every so often (as I share them on my family 'Reading Challenge Page' on facebook anyway).

But not today. Today I'll just share the original Reading Challenge with you. Let me know if you have any challenges of your own going on! Or, if you have any recommendations (for example, I'm not a fan of classics, so if you have a favourite then let me know, because choosing it myself would just be 'whatever-classic-is-the-shortest') for either the categories OR the alphabet ones I'm doing. I've already started, and have crossed some off, but don't let that stop you from giving me your opinions!

Or anything else to do with lists, or goals you have in mind to complete by the end of the year. Because, as I said - I love lists (and I can't be the only one).

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Christmas Is Over... Now What?

By now you've unwrapped the presents, eaten the food and are completely ready for the next stage: relaxation.

For me this is chipping away at my endless and every increasing To-Be-Read pile.  And trust me it's a pretty big pile.

I've been waiting for Visions by Kelley Armstrong the supernatural/crime sequel to Omens for what seems like ages.  Luckily I have finally got it and it's taking pride of place on top of my holiday reading pile.

Tucked underneath it is another sequel, this time Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop and yes it's a another supernatural/fantasy book.  Because yes I have a little weakest for them.  Okay maybe a big weakest.  Don't judge me.

And just to continue on with the theme also in the pile is Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne, a teen fantasy book that sounds like a cross between Graceling and Best Served Cold, two of my all-time favourite fantasy books, featuring kick-ass chicks.

Which leads me to Winterkill by Kate Boorman, whose cover reminds me of that movie The Village, which may or may not be a good thing.  It also sounds vaguely apocalyptic and if I have a big thing for supernatural/fantasy I have an even bigger weakest for dystopian/apocalyptic. Because angst and adventure is what it's all about.
 
The Rain by Virginia Bergin fits nicely into this theme and is another book I can't wait to read along with The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth which has been described as the new Giver and which has already begun appearing on Best 2014 lists.

Of course my To-Be-Read pile is not all supernatural or end of the world goings on, I do have some lighter reads such as The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern, a book that I keep putting on the top of the pile then dropping back down because having read all of her previous books it's one I want to save until last... or at least until it's due back date.

There's also I Will Marry George Cloony By Christmas by Tracy Bloom and Unleashed by Rachel Lacey which are light and romantic and utterly perfect to read on sunny day, accompanied by a bowl of cherries to eat your way through as you do so.

And finally for a SyFyGirl like me the absolutely best book to round out a reading feast; one with aliens and the ending of humanity, Firefall by Peter Watts

Shirley Jackson, I *heart* you!

I’ve been finding it a bit hard to read fiction for the past year or so – I find comfort in non-fiction and academic writing because it is polemic and ushers you to a necessary point of view. Thus, when approaching fiction, I have been reading a lot of short stories – the length is enticing, obviously, when you’re out of shape and tire easily when tackling a novel. And because they’re short they must be sharp, which takes the stress out of it all. However, in my short story endeavors, the work of Shirley Jackson has enticed me and demanded revisiting for a lot of the reason that fiction has sort of scared me for a while. She can be obtuse and confusing and often leaves me just wanting to ask the internet what the rest of the world thought so I have something to say other than “It was really cool and moody, I liked it”.  But yes, her work is very, very moody and very, very cool and I really, really like it. The more I read her the more I’m convinced that everybody could and should enjoy her. 

Though I’d never come across it before I discovered Jackson’s other works, ‘The Lottery’ is a story everyone else around me seemed to know. It is chilling and dark and involves ritual slaughter, and seems an obvious precursor to Battle Royale/The Hunger Games etc. My personal favourites’ of her short stories are ‘The Renegade” and “The Tooth”, both great examples of that women-in-the-50s-ish-era-going-mad kind of oeuvre, which is something Jackson does exceedingly well. The Tooth is lush and surreal and shows you one woman going a bit crazy, and The Renegade is claustrophobic and intensely creepy and shows you absolutely everyone in the life of one unfortunate lonely woman going crazy, which of course happens after they relocate from the city to a sleepy small town. The Renegade is one that really terrified me and stuck with me for days – and will probably do the same to anyone alarmed by the idea of your loved ones becoming alien and threatening overnight, or anyone who owns a beloved pet. 

Other than mastering Twin-Peaksy restlessness and vaguely paranormal undertones in her short stories, Jackson also does so in a more perplexing and modernist fashion in her novel “Hangsaman”. Hangsaman is really what I’m talking about when I say that after reading her I feel helpless and want to ask the internet for an opinion to spout. It’s a confusing and unique work of fiction that I can’t stop picking over in my head. At face value it’s about a young girl who goes away to university and gets driven mad by all the things that can drive you mad at university – cliques and gossip, academic stress, displacement, identity crises, etc. It’s also about the mysterious internal world of the adolescent female (which generally is literary crack to me) and odd female friendships based on Heavenly Creatures-esque fantasy worlds (also like crack to me). But it’s so much less straightforward than that for many reasons, including its ability to conjure very real dread out of not a whole lot (indeed less than in Jackson’s short stories) and its slightly frustrating but mostly disorienting nonlinear structure and abrupt ending. As an added bonus, it ceaselessly but subtly mocks academia so there’s opportunity to smirk amongst all the brow furrowing.

Anyway, my point is: if you like Hunger Games, read the short story ‘The Lottery’. Further than that if you like chic Twin-Peaksy creepiness, read the rest of the short stories in the collection titled “The Lottery”. And if you like all of the above as well as lush interior modernist fiction, read “Hangsaman” and become obsessed with Shirley Jackson like I now am.

      Shirley Jackson: December 14, 1916 - August 8, 1965.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Excuse Me While I Curl Up On The Sofa...

I'm a sucker for a good romance story and I have a special weakest for Christmas romance stories.  There's just something about these holiday themed books that makes me feel all warm and glowy and probably explains, at least in part, my addiction to all things Christmasy.

Luckily here at Auckland Libraries we have heap to choose from so I have no trouble in adding to my growing to-be-read pile which at this time of year can get rather... big.  It's a good thing I have a very large book bag to take them all home with.

Still it's worthwhile because I can then curl up on the sofa with a bowl of cherries, a mince pie... or two and a pile of books to work my way through.

The only problem is deciding which one to start with first...

Mistletoe on Main Street / Olivia Miles.

Briar Creek's quaint shop windows, cozy homes nestled in snow, and neighborly residents are what Christmas dreams are made of--for everyone except Grace Madison. She left her hometown years ago to pursue a writing career. But when her father's death leaves his bookstore empty, Grace must return to face why she fled Vermont in the first place: Luke Hastings, who still heats her up like a shot of smoky whiskey on a cold winter's night.

Where the heart is / Darcy Blake.

The simple life is all Chloe English hoped it would be until her house burns down, leaving her homeless. When a handsome firefighter swoops in to save the day, she can't believe her luck. He's laid-back and unassuming, everything she's looking for in a man - or so he seems. It turns out he's as ambitious as her ex, comes with a family who could be more stifling than hers, and harbors dark secrets he may never be able to share. Can she help him face his bleak past so they can forge a happy future?

The heart of Christmas / Brenda Novak.

Eve Harmon has always enjoyed Christmas, but this year it reminds her of everything she doesn't have.  A husband and kids of her own. But the B and B she manages, and even Whiskey Creek, the small Gold Country town where she was born and raised, suddenly seem confining. There's no one in the area she could even imagine as a husband until a handsome stranger comes to town. Eve's definitely attracted to him, and he seems to have the same reaction to her. But his darkly mysterious past could ruin Eve's happily ever after just when it finally seems within reach. 

All he wants for Christmas / Lisa Plumley.

Jason Hamilton is on thin ice with the board of his toy company. The young CEO may be a kid at heart, but his party boy reputation requires damage control. So, Jason's off to Kismet to inspect a model store and stick to business--no goofing around. Which is too bad, because the store manager, Danielle Sharpe, is the definition of what makes Naughty fun. Danielle is thrilled to show off her thriving little toy store. But if she'd known Jason was this hot, she wouldn't have offered to host him.

A Christmas to remember / Jenny Hale.

Carrie Blake loves her job as a nanny but, while her friends are settling down, all of Carrie’s spare time is spent with other people’s families. Though it breaks her heart, her New Year’s resolution is to embark on a new career and fix her love life.  As Carrie starts her last job, she’s sure she’ll be going out on a high - the only problem could be her boss… single-dad Adam Fletcher might be both handsome and successful, but he’s always working. 

Doesn’t he realise he’s missing out on precious moments with his son and daughter?

It must have been the mistletoe / Judy Astley.

Thea's parents have split up but still seem to be together. Both her younger sister and her brother are Smug Marrieds. But Thea is single and very much wishes she wasn't. When her mother and father plan a great family Christmas in a big house by the sea, the idea is to make it all great fun and tremendously civilised - not remotely complicated despite the fact that what they will really be celebrating is the final break-up of their marriage and the Moving On to new partners. And the new partners will also be there - and why not? It's what they do in Sweden, apparently, and it all works out fine. But will they move on? And will Thea manage to navigate her way through the forced jollities and family disasters to find some happiness for herself?

Trailers, trailers, everywhere...

I seem to be stuck in trailer heaven... or maybe it's trailer hell.  I'm not that sure anymore because I've watched so many over the past few weeks.  And not just movie trailers but book trailers. Wonderful little snippets made by publishers and authors and the like, all in the name of reaching out and promoting their books.

They've come a long way in recent years.  No longer bland little ads that really didn't tell you much , they are now professional mini movies with special effects, celebrity cameos and so much more.

And they're marvellous   And also highly addictive.  Which of course meant that I just had to share. Because like all new addictions I've just got pass it on to others.

The following are just a few of the trailers I've found and enjoyed.  Most strangely enough are for books I had never thought of reading until I saw these trailers.  And now I am madly adding to my ever increasing holds list.  As you do.

The one flaw with some of these trailers and a great many others out there are the voice overs.  Seriously someone somewhere could make a really good living out of doing decent voice overs for book trailers.  Sadly it doesn't seem to be a career choice for anyone... yet.   Personally I can't wait for someone like Richard Armitage (he of Hobbit and Spooks fame) to become involved.  Of course if he or someone with an equally swoon worthy voice did start to book trailers I'm might never stop watching them...

One More thing by B J Novak

I have to admit I'll probably won't read the book.  But I just love this trailer anyway.  It's just so French and quirky and French and charming and French... did I mention French.  Oh good I did.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I so want to read the book after watching this creepy trailer.

The Ring and The Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

I kinda wish that this was a TV show.  Because it certainly plays out like a TV show trailer.  Like I said book trailers have come a long way

Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

Weirdly enough I had trouble putting this trailer in my blog post.  I blame Youtube.  Or maybe Blogger.  Either way I got it in the end.  Take that.

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Annoying voice over aside I am tempted to read this because hey awesome special effects.

Reboot by Amy Tintera

I'll be honest.  This is kinda badly made.  Annoying voice over, amateur movie making and yet I still want to read the book.  Sometimes bad can work.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

This might win my award for the most annoying voice over.  In fact it has two annoying voice overs.  Which is even worse  Still dragons.  As people.  So yeah I'm hooked.

As Dead As It Gets by Katie Alender

This trailer rocks.  Like seriously.  Great soundtrack and great voice over.  Now this is how to do a book trailer.  Great ending too.

Actors Anonymous by James Franco

A celebrity trailer.  Starring not only James Franco who also happens to be the author but a handful of other actors.  I just love some of the sights.  Awesome stuff.

Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

I love and adore Neil Gaiman so I just had to include this.  Because Neil is in it.  Talking about his book.

***Flawless: Chimamanda and Beyoncé

Late last year Beyonce surprised the universe by dropping her 5th album with no promotion. I was beyond thrilled when I heard about it and downloaded it from Itunes immediately. Every song on the album comes with it's own music video so I sat down and watched/listened to the whole thing in one go and it was glorious.

The best part of the whole experience is track number 11 called ***Flawless, and the best part of that song is that it samples a speech made by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie is an amazing Nigerian author of several books inducing Purple Hibiscus and her latest novel Americanah.

Adichie's speech is from a TEDtalk she did in 2012 entitled We should all be feminists and it perfectly summarizes basically everything I believe about gender roles. Beyoncé must have loved this speech too (just another thing we have in common) because she has selected several of Adichie's ideas to make up the entire 2nd verse of the song and I love putting on Adichie's awesome Nigerian accent to sing along.

I think every single person in the world should listen to both the song and the speech. Even if you're not a feminist I think that the ideas that Adichie puts forward are highly intelligent and certainly worth putting some thought into.

Up A Tree in the Park at Night With a Hedgehog

Like many people who have read this book I only picked it up because of it's title. Turns out that 'Up A Tree in the Park at Night With a Hedgehog' is actually the perfect title for this hilarious book.

Up A Tree in the Park at Night With a Hedgehog by P. Robert Smith is the story of a guy named Benton who for no apparent reason starts to have an affair with 'a beautiful, sexually adventurous Korean virgin'. It doesn't getting any less weird from that point onward.

"Benton Kirby is in a spot of bother... His life hasn't exactly gone to plan. This is hardly surprising, however, as he never really had one in the first place. Armed with a philosophy degree, a dead fiancée, a brother who drives Death around London in his black cab, and a girlfriend with a history of suicidal pets, Benton - ambition-less and emotionally disengaged - embarks, for no apparent reason, on an affair with a beautiful, sexually adventurous Korean virgin."

Quite odd but very funny this book is great for a rainy day when you're stuck inside and you feel like a laugh!

Stalking the catalogue: The tiny book of tiny stories

"Hidden well beneath every snail's shell is a propeller for galactic travel"
- flight of the snail by blbest (check out all of blbest's records - some of them are so beautiful they make me want to cry. I'm not kidding)

The tiny book of tiny stories. Volume 2 / directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and produced by Jared Geller
I'll cop to it. The title made me curious. Requested the book and it came in and...I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. It feels somewhat incomplete. I thought it was just me, so I jumped on the intramanets (interwebs/intramanets = internet) for more info and discovered that this book works better if you know about HitRECord in advance. I didn't then. I do now.

This book is my first introduction to the HitRECord community. And I'm totally blown away. As collaborative communities go, does it get any better than this? People upload their work - video, text, images, audio - and others 'remix' (add to) them. There's some brilliant stuff. The book itself is fantastic, but I think it's a better experience if you look up the records on the website so you can see them both.

This stuff all reads like it's written/imagined up by people who know me. Strange feeling. Truly, you need this book in your life. And I'm off to stalk volume 1.

HitRECord - my recommendations:
Found 3 tracks I absolutely liked and so I'm sharing them. Deal with it.
1) Yes we're sinking
2) Garden
3) Do it like dial up

Peace out!

Summer Reads Just For Us Chicks

There are times when I almost hate my job or, more accurately, regret my job.

Just when I think I've got my reading list under control I start browsing through web pages and book lists hunting for new titles to blog about and suddenly I find myself adding more and more titles to my own reading list.

It's a bit like the finger in the dyke story only the idea of being flooded with books actually sounds quite nice.  Though if they were to come all at once it could, I think, be quite painful.

Death by book avalanche anyone?

There is, I fear, no hope for me and my never ending reading list.

Even if I wasn't a librarian my reading list would still be out of control.  There's just something about their glossy covers and blurbs that tempt me with whispered words that I can't resist.

I'm an addict I know and it's an addiction that I hope never leaves me however much I sometimes regret my endlessly long reading list.

This year there seems to have been particularly busy year in the book world with a plethora of new titles streaming out or perhaps it's just that my reading has reached epic proportions, either way I know that I'm going to be having a very busy summer working my way through an increasingly large pile of books.

From fashion to murder to romance hopefully there is something here for everyone.

Apocalypse Now

The end of the world is nigh.

Well at least according to some.

So it makes sense that if we are going to go out with a big bang or some other cataclysmic event to get update to with as much apocalyptic fiction that you can find so that you can be ready to face whatever may come.

It's kind of handy that apocalyptic fiction is so in vogue right now.  The end of the world has never been so popular which probably says something about the human psyche, I'm just not sure what.

Are we all doomsayer's or is it a more hopeful notion that it could never happen to us so reading about it is some kind of life affirming thing.

Maybe it's just all just a  guilty pleasure.

Whatever it might be there's plenty of scenarios to choice from; exploding volcanoes, virus's ravaging the population, asteroids and meteors hurtling towards the earth, there is something for everyone.

Top 5 most recent books with a "Warning! Sexually Explicit Content" sticker to cross my desk

Steamy books. I read 'em. On purpose, even. So steamy some of them even come with a big sticker slapped across the front that reads: "Warning! Sexually Explicit Content." It always gives me a bit of a giggle because, really, one has only to look at the cover to know that it's an erotic romance. What other kind of explanation could there be for a fantastic (if somewhat overposed) pair of abs (minus head, of course, because the 'headless hero' could be any man - except, perhaps, any man I know) with a pair of handcuffs draped across his chest? I'm not sure about anybody else, but this is a good enough clue that lets me know that Thomas the Tank Engine this is not. And so I give you the 5 most recent steamy romance books I've got on my desk. (And that reminds me, when I was in Toronto I saw many women reading erotic romances on subways and buses - quite uncaring. What's even better is that nobody else on public transport cared at all or raised an eyebrow. I adored Toronto just for that alone).