Fun book vocabulary.

For those of you who don't know I work in the production department of a book publisher. This means I deal with all the many (many, many!) details in the manufacture of books (their physical selves). Printers and paper and scheduling. We also keep track of the profitability of books once the manufacturing costs have been taken into account. For example, an editor may come to us and say, look I have this great book I want to publish and the author wants it to be full-color throughout, but we only want to charge $12. And the sales department says, well we could maybe sell 10,000 copies of a book like that. So I figure out how much that book would cost to print and run a profit & loss statement. This estimates how much profit the book would probably make. Then I tell the editor the bad news that the beautiful color book he wants to create would end up losing the company money. And we try creative suggestions, like how about a regular one-color book with an 8-page color insert? That would make money. Or how about using this cheaper paper? Or a lower page count, or smaller trim size. Or raise the price.

I like to think my job is important (haha!). Obviously the quality of the writing is what ultimately makes a book successful. But the aesthetics of what the book looks like has a pretty large part in bringing it to people's attention. I love gorgeous books (like Eragon above). Quality paper that you want to pet. Nice interior design that's readable and attractive. And maybe most importantly, pretty covers with foil and nice illustrations. Romance readers are forever lamenting the fugly covers so many books get, with good reason. What a book looks like matters a lot--booklovers like to be surrounded by pretty books.

One of the things I enjoyed learning when I first starting working was all the vocabulary of books. (Yes, I am a dork, shut up.) So I decided to share a bit of this with you all. Plus Twin has been trying to teach me to use Photoshop, and this was good practice. If anyone is interested...

A hardcover or casebound book:



Hardcovers have jackets (paperbacks have covers). The case is the hard covering of the book. Cases used to be covered in cloth, and were sometimes called cloth-bound, but cases are almost always just covered in paper nowadays. The papers that are pasted to the inside of the case and run onto the first sheet of the book are the endpapers. Endpapers are usually a solid color. You can see above that Eragon has printed endpapers (special illustrations that go with the book, in this case a map of Alagaesia). Printed endpapers are pretty expensive, so they're only done for books with big print runs. The headband is the little thing that looks like a tiny rope that is glued to the top of the spine. It's completely ornamental, has no function whatsoever.

A trade paperback book:



So, like I said, paperbacks have covers. Jackets and covers can have lots of fancy special effects: lamination, embossing, and foil. Lamination is the coating put on the cover/jacket. The lamination can be matte or glossy, and a lot of books are spot gloss, where most of the cover is matte, with some bits glossy. Embossing is when the cover is stamped, so that little bits of the cover bulge out. Debossing is when the cover is stamped so that little bits bulge in (in concave depressions). Foil is, well, obviously it's foil. It's shiny, see. Special effects make covers quite a bit more expensive, so again, the big books get them, and they're sometimes dropped for reprints.



This copy of Montana Sky is what we would call a premium trade paperback. When publishers put out fancy editions of previously published, popular books, and charge more for them. ;) Premium trade paperbacks are bigger and have nicer paper. They often have french flaps on the cover. And the front edge of the text paper isn't trimmed smooth, leaving a rough front. For some reason, rough front looks more classy.

A mass-market book:




Lots of mass-market books (and occasionally a trade paperback) have a glossy first page with an illustration. (In romance, usually with the mullet man and half-naked chick embracing passionately.) This is called a stepback or tip-in. Covers are sometimes die-cut--have bits cut out of them, through which you can see parts of the stepback.

Book interior:




There's lots of vocabulary for parts of the printed page of a book. Right-facing pages are rectos (and are always odd-numbered). Left-facing pages are versos (and are always even-numbered). Running heads are the lines that repeat at the top of each page, usually the author's name on versos and the book title on rectos. Running heads can occasionally appear at the bottom of the page, in which case they're called running feet. The page numbers are called folios. Often on chapter openers, the folio is placed at the bottom of the page and is called a drop folio. If the folio occurs at the bottom of each page throughout the book, it's called a foot folio. The gutter is where the page drops down into the binding. The fore edge is the outer edge of the printed text block, usually trimmed smooth.

So that's most of the basic vocabulary I can think of. This has turned into the Very Long Post. If anyone is still reading, bravo. ;p

Title: Archangel
Author: Sharon Shinn
Published: 1997, Ace
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 7.5/10

I was inspired by Dear Author's Sharon Shinn week to give this new-to-me author a try. The Ja(y)nes and Janine described Shinn as fantasy with a strong romantic element, which is the kind of fantasy I like best. Janine gave Archangel an A. Rosario just gave it an A+. I didn't love it quite as much as them, but it was good.

The world of Samaria is made up of humans and angels. The angels are not really the celestial beings we think of. They are more like regular humans who are able to pray to the god, Jovah, to grant favors (and they have wings and can fly). The angels are led by the Archangel, an angel who rules for twenty years and who is chosen by Jovah. (Jovah's decisions are communicated to the angels through his oracles.) The archangel must also have his angelica, a wife who helps him. At the start of this book, Gabriel is about to ascend to archangel. But first he needs to find his angelica. He goes to the oracle who tells him that his mate is named Rachel. Gabriel goes to find her, and discovers that she is not the noble-born woman he was expecting, but rather a slave. Gabriel takes Rachel back to his home of the Eyrie, a mountain-top retreat of angels. But Rachel sees this as just another sort of prison, and has no wish to love Gabriel or help the angels.
So poor Gabriel has a stubborn wife who won't go along with anything he says and he discovers that the current archangel, Raphael, has decided he doesn't want to give up the power of his position. He will do anything, including killing Rachel, to secure his power. But he has also been corrupted to the point that he does not even believe in the god anymore, and abuses his power by giving favors to the rich, while ignoring the poor downtrodden.

This is a very original, very interesting story. The world Shinn creates is fascinating. The book is just a great big fat rich thing, full to the brim with detailed characters and settings. The writing I thought was just beautiful. I liked this line near the end, when Rachel is finally free to make her own decisions, but seems unable to do so: "It was as if every strand of her life lay scattered before her like so many threads awaiting the weaver's skill, but she could not lift her hands and work them into a design." The characters all have personalities and motivations that are complex but never inconsistent.

So why didn't I love it? Well, Rachel is really not an easy character to like. She is contrary and stubborn and difficult. The kind of character you want to shake and scream at. She has been rescued from slavery by an angel. She is the chosen mate of the leader of the world. Does she see this as an opportunity to help people? No, at least not at first. She's whiney. And irritating.

Also the whole predestined lovers thing never really works for me. What can I say? I like my characters to have a bit more free will in choosing who they love.

And the religion, which pervades every line of this book, made me a little uncomfortable. Rosario mentioned that she tried to ignore any parallels that could be drawn between this religion and the organized religions of our world. And I did the same thing. For one thing, as a pretty much areligious person myself, I am shamefully ignorant of biblical stories. I wish that Shinn had not given all her characters biblical names.

That said, the Samarian religion was interesting. I like the idea of a religion based not on good and evil, but rather on harmony and equality. The god is portrayed as a pretty much unfeeling being, who won't go out of his way to help people unless he's asked to by the angels.

***SPOILER***

I bet the Pope wishes he could make a display of God's power the way Raphael called down Jovah's power. I bet that would help church attendance. Yeah, just smite all the unbelievers with a lightning bolt. But this episode in the book bothered me. It takes all the mysticism out of religious faith. And can belief in a god after incontrovertible proof of his existence even be called faith? Isn't faith by its very definition belief in something that can not be proved? Okay I've gone off on a tangent. And this book did inspire a lot of thought on my part, so maybe that means it was a really good book!

***/SPOILER***

Anyway, I do want to try more Shinn, but I'm not sure I can take more Samaria. I think she has books set outside this world, so I might try one of those next.

OH and I forgot. Can someone explain to me why this was published as a science fiction novel? And the blurb on the front page: "Generations later, the armed starship Jehovah still looms over the planet of Samaria, programmed to unleash its arsenal if peace is not sustained..."
Umm. What? DUDE, there are NO spaceships in this book. It's straight fantasy. Old-world type setting. WTF?

Whew! The blues are gone!

So I just have to say that the dark cloud of bad mood that has been following me around all week is gone! YAY! I just slept for 12 hours straight. The icky rainy weather we've been having is gone and it's a beautiful, chilly, fall day. I have absolutely nothing that I have to do this weekend. And I splurged and bought this sweater last night at Anthropologie. It was a little pricey but it's so warm and cozy. And the bright salmon color is my favorite. I hate being cold and the winters here are tough for me. I should have moved farther south, not north!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend!

Why do I have no time?

Sorry for the lack of posts this week! I have been in a funk all week. Boo! Too much work, too little sleep and two visits to the dentist. Ugh. [Side note: I went to a new dentist, and was shocked by how young he was! He looks my age. It's a little scary to me that fully trained doctors could be my age. I'm still a kid! Sort of. But he was also very cute, which made visiting him slightly less unbearable. ;p]

I was going to blog about Archangel tonight. But I really can't summon up the energy to do it justice. This weekend I will actually write a review or two.

In the meantime, check out this beautiful book--it's all photographs of fantastic libraries! Dance Chica was just talking about the library in Beauty and the Beast (the Disney movie). But these are almost as good!

Oooh, I'm mesmerized...

I'm back now.

I spent the weekend camping with my sister and dad at Hither Hills State Park, which is in Montauk all the way at the tippy end of Long Island. The campground was great--right on the ocean. Literally, it was beach, then a dune, then our campsite. The facilities were acceptable. (We only camp in places with flush toilets and hot showers. NO exceptions. I like nature, but I don't like it THAT much.) The only problem with the campground was that almost everyone there had RVs and generators! Bunch of pansies. I hate the rumble of generators when I'm trying to enjoy some much-needed peace and quiet.

The weather was gorgeous during the day--bright and sunshiney. But it was frigid at night! Oh, I went to sleep with many, many layers on. We went hiking and saw the lighthouse at Montauk Point. And we wandered through a couple little towns in the Hamptons to see how the better half live. (I'd live there if I had a couple million $).

Twin took some very pretty pictures and made a Flicker set here.

Bye bye yucky city. I'm off...

To beautiful Montauk! I've never been on Long Island before, but I've heard it's gorgeous. And look at that picture! My dad is coming up to take Twin and me camping for the weekend. YAY!

Of course, the weather has suddenly decided to get serious about fall, so we might freeze our little tooshies off. But I've packed lots of fleece so I should survive. Julie is sure to take pics so I'll post some when I get home.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

Title: The Shadowy Horses
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Published: 1999, Jove
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 9/10

This author caught my eye on Rosario's blog because she compares her books to Barbara Michaels (who I've never read, but I've read her Elizabeth Peters books and liked them) and Mary Stewart, who is the GODDESS of the classic, old-fashioned romantic suspense novel and one of my favorite authors of all time. And it's set on an archaeological dig and I love archaeology, so I was completely sold on getting this book.

Verity Grey is a curator and archaeological artifacts supervisor. She is hired to work on a site in Scotland which the head archaeologist, Peter Quinnell, believes to be where the mysterious 9th Roman legion met their demise. This would be a find of some importance, so Verity is of course very interested. But when she arrives there, she finds out that Peter is basing his hypothesis on the fact that a psychic 10-year-old sees the ghost of a Roman legion pacing the fields there. At first Verity doesn't believe it--but soon she starts seeing things she can't explain.

This is every archaeologist's dream! To be able to communicate with an inhabitant of the site you're excavating? To know the name of the person who wore the artifact you uncover, to know exactly what happened to that person and how they felt? AWESOME! Figuring out the stories of the real, everyday people who lived in the past is what always interested me most about archaeology and this book really captures that. And all the archaeological details were handled well and were so interesting (to me, anyway!).

It did feel a lot like a Mary Stewart book (not quite as good, but close which is saying a lot as I love ALL Stewart books). Mary Stewart never did any ghost stories, but the tone of the writing I thought very similar. There's a slightly old-fashioned feeling to it, and I mean that in a good way. The ghost story was just a little creepy without being too scary. The love story is subtle but so sweet. Kearsley is of the implied sex scene school of writers. You know, they go into the bedroom together and they look into each other's eyes and smile and the chapter ends. Then the next day they feel just fabulous. *wink, wink*

There were a couple of tiny rough bits in this (like the part with Fabia at the end I thought was way abrupt and odd), but I can easily overlook them because I so liked the story and characters. It makes me sad that this book has gone out of print because it's really lovely.

My library has one Kearsley book still in circulation, Season of Storms, so I've requested that. I'm going to have to try to find used copies of her other books.

I also picked up a Barbara Michaels book to try. Does anyone know if her books have any romance in them? Or are they straight ghost stories/mysteries?

Oh no she DIDN'T!!

Yes, yes she did. You know my messy TBR? (See the picture below that I posted a couple days ago.) I come home from work tonight and Twin has rearranged it. BY COLOR.

I'm sorry, but that's about the most ass-backwards way to arrange books that there can be. Am I right? No true booklover would do it.

But Julie is a designer. She has an eye for shapes and color which I completely lack. She stole all my artsy genes in the womb. So here's a picture of the TBR now. It is pretty, isn't it?



To retaliate I may have to move things around in her crafting corner. Should I rearrange all her fabric? They shouldn't be by color! Surely there's a "better" way. Hmmm, I will have to consider how to best disrupt her organization. Mee hee.

Title: The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood
Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Published: 2005, Berkley
Category: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 7/10

Y'all are going to laugh at me when I tell you that I read and liked this book. See all those teacups? Yeah, this is about the coziest cozy mystery I've ever encountered. I don't read cozy mysteries very often, seeing as they usually bore me to tears. But my usual type of book was not at all appealing to me this week, so I thought something totally different might be good. And I'm always on the lookout of grandma-appropriate books. (My grandma turns 91 in a couple weeks, but she's sharp as a tack and is always asking for new books. Problem is, she would be COMPLETELY appalled by 99% of what I read.)

This is the third book in Albert's series, The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. The author has taken the basic facts of Beatrix Potter's life (you know, the author/illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books) and made her into a character. Set in 1907, the book is all about Beatrix's little farm in the country, and her little friends, and her little farm animals, and her little village. And it's just so ADORABLE!!! The cats and dogs talk to each other, and the attic mice dress in little clothes, and Beatrix goes fairy hunting with the local children.

Okay, maybe it would make some people (maybe a lot of people) completely gak, but I was charmed by it.

I think what I liked most were all the descriptions of setting. They were just lovely. I would look up an example for you, but I'm too lazy. Suffice it to say, I wanted to move to this little village and get me some sheep to raise. She really does capture a lot of the charming whimsy of Beatrix Potter's books. And everyone has to love Peter Rabbit.

I didn't used to have a TBR...

Now look at it! Lots of good stuff here though.

I've been having trouble getting into a book this week. You'd think with this huge pile, I'd be able to find one that fit my mood. I was trying to read The Gladiator's Honor and it just wasn't happening. I hate that, because I really wanted to like that book. The writing just seemed so unremarkable, so blah. I might go back to it. I mean, it's a romance set in ancient Rome! It should be interesting, right?

I also just picked up a new pair of glasses. They're a slightly different prescription, so now everything looks really funny and my depth perception is off. People who wear glasses know what I'm talking about. Tricky. I know my eyes will adjust soon, but it feels so weird. I really like the frames I got--they're regular brown tortoiseshell on the outside, but inside they have this crazy leopard print. Hee hee!

School days...

This week I started the two editing classes I'm taking this semester at NYU. I'm taking "Disk and Online Editing," which so far is completely disappointing because the instructor obviously has never taught before and really has no idea how to. That's the problem with these professional classes--the instructors aren't full-time teachers. They may be very competent and efficient in their editing jobs, but a lot of them can't teach for shit. But I've only had one class, so I'm keeping an open mind. The company I work for, like almost all trade publishers, still edits completely on paper. I am actually happy about this because I would much prefer staring at paper for hours on end than destroying my eyesight trying to edit on a computer. But computers are obviously the future--they have tools that are very helpful in editing and the ease of transmitting electronic files is certainly a plus. A lot of scholarly and textbook publishers already edit on computer, and I imagine trade publishers will follow suit soon.

My second class is "Grammar for Publishing Professionals" and I will admit that I'm a total dork and super excited about this class. For one thing, the instructor has been teaching the class for 10 years and is fantastic. We're going to learn about the subjunctive and restrictive clauses and dangling participles and other fun things. Who wouldn't be excited about that?? I've just been to B&N to pick up the books I'll need:



And of course I couldn't leave the bookstore without buying something fun, so I picked up The Smoke Theif by Shana Abe. I'm a sucker for romantic fantasy and the pretty gold-foiled cover caught my eye.

Title: Heart Throb
Author: Suzanne Brockman
Published: 1999, Ballantine
Category: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 7/10

I somehow had the impression that all of Suzanne Brockmann's books were romantic suspense. Not sure how that happened. I ordered this one on recommendation without reading any blurbs or anything. I cracked it open because I was in the mood for a little thriller. Uh, oopsie. Maybe I should read the blurb first next time. But look at that cover! That screams romantic suspense. And the tagline: "Falling in love is risky business..." But this is just a romance. No suspense.

Jericho Beaumont is a has-been actor who is also a recovering alcoholic/substance abuser. He's been clean for 5 years and is trying to get his career back on track. He signs on to play the lead in a movie being produced by Kate O'Laughlin. This is Kate's first attempt at producing a movie and she's not about to have her project screwed up by Jericho having a relapse. So she makes him sign a contract saying that he'll submit to drug tests and constant supervision. But then Kate ends up being his babysitter during the movie shoot. Of course, how can she resist the sexiest man on the planet?

So even if it wasn't what I was expecting, I did enjoy it. I thought it an interesting story--a man whose childhood was so difficult that he took to hiding behind the characters he played. And how he comes to actually trust himself and someone else enough to really be himself. And Kate has to decide when Jericho is actually being genuine and when he's acting.

The little side romance between Jamaal and Susie was sweet, though I'm always a little skeeved out by a 15-year-old falling in love like that. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just find it a little hard to believe.

My one complaint was that it was a little overwrought in places for me. Just oh-so-emotional. Feel the pain, Jericho, feel it, become one with it and then let it out! It wasn't so bad that it really annoyed me, and I guess actors are generally expressive, emotional people, so it is appropriate. Don't mind me, I'm repressed.

I'm definitely willing to try some more Brockmann. A lot of her books are actually suspenses, right? Can someone recommend a good one? The only other of hers I've read is The BodyGuard.

Title: The Bridal Season
Author: Connie Brockway
Published: 2001, Dell
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 8/10

Okay, I think I'm jumping the gun here a little bit, but Connie Brockway might be a new favorite author for me. Yippee! This is only the second book I've read by her, so I'm not going to say for certain, because two books really aren't enough to make that kind of important decision. But if I keep liking them as much as I have, I think she'll make the list. [How many "favorite" authors am I allowed? Does the term become meaningless if you have 20 favorite authors?]

Letty Potts is in a bit of a jam. She's a musical comedy actress, who does a little small-time confidence tricking on the side. She's can't get any work in London and is running from Nick Sparkle, her sometime associate who has been trying to get her involved in more serious illegal activity. So when Lady Agatha Whyte, who owns a wedding planning company and is on her way to the country to arrange someone's wedding, drops her train ticket at Letty's feet and decides to elope to Paris, Letty takes the ticket and blesses her good luck in having an easy way out of the city.

But when she arrives in Little Bidewell, she is mistaken for Lady Agatha herself. She decides to play along for a couple days. But things escalate and soon she's planning a wedding and getting to know the bride and her family. She has everyone fooled, except for maybe Sir Elliot March, the local magistrate.

I really enjoyed this book. I might have liked it even better than Bridal Favors. The story is so light and sweet and funny. Something about Brockway's humor just works for me. I liked the Victorian setting, and I liked that Letty, as someone who is slightly outside of "polite society," is a little more free of boring restrictions than your average historical heroine.

I've got two more of her books in the TBR: The Passionate One, the first of her McClairen's Isle trilogy, and her new contemporary, Hot Dish. Maybe after those two I can decide for certain whether she's going on the favorite authors list.

Nora Roberts on the little screen

Has everyone heard about the Lifetime movies being done for four Nora Roberts books? I hadn't. They're doing:

• Angels Fall starring Heather Locklear and Johnathon Schaech (most recently from That Thing You Do).
• Carolina Moon, starring Claire Forlani, Oliver Hudson, and Jacqueline Bisset
• Montana Sky, starring John Corbett, Ashley Williams, Charlotte Ross, and Diane Ladd
• Blue Smoke, which is still being cast

I think all the movies are going to air in February. I'm not thrilled by the idea of Heather Locklear as Reece in Angels Fall. And I don't know who most the rest of those people are, even after looking at their credits on IMDB.

But I'm definitely going to check out Montana Sky. First because I think it's my favorite Roberts book of all time. Maybe partly due to nostalgia, since it was the first of hers I ever read. But I still think it's one of her best. And I LOVE John Corbett. And he's been in some crappy movies, but he's always good. I think he'll make a damn fine Ben McKinnon.

Title: Magic Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Published: 2006, Luna
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 9/10

Y'all know how much I was looking forward to this book. After reading Poison Study and loving it, I was completely impatient to start this one. But I tried to keep cool, because I'm always wary of sequels, and especially wary of middle books of trilogies. Strange in-between stories that are so often unsatisfying. And there's nothing worse than being disappointed by a book that didn't live up to your high expectations. But I'm happy to report, that I loved this one just as much as the first. YAY!

At the end of Poison Study, Yelena is exiled from Ixia due to her burgeoning magical abilities. With her magical mentor Irys, Yelena heads south to Sitia to be reunited with the family that she was kidnapped from 14 years previously. She meets her parents and brother, as well as the rest of her clan, who all live in treehouses. [Cool!] The reunion is marred however, by the reactions of her brother, Leif, who is resentful and hostile toward Yelena for reasons she doesn't really understand. Soon Yelena leaves her family and travels to the Citadel, the capital of Sitia, to start her magical training. On the way, she is attacked by a man named Cahil, who claims to be the last living member of the old royal family of Ixia. He thinks Yelena is an Ixian spy and is determined to use Yelena in his quest to retake Ixia.

The plot tears off from there at a high pace, and a lot happens. The action is really nonstop. Yelena must deal with all the strange Sitian customs, her magical training, the distrust of most everyone, and a rogue magician who is killing young girls. It takes all of Yelena's ingenuity, strength and magical abilities to make it through it all. She does has some help from a certain someone who appears with an Ixian diplomatic envoy. The yummy Valek.

Where to start with why I liked this book? Yelena, who was a tough chick in the first book, gets even ass-kickier. She is so independent, and even though she now has friends and family, she still goes her own way and takes charge of any situation. But I do love the way that she and Valek are somehow magically connected and he is able to help her from afar when she needs it. Valek knows how strong she is and lets her take what risks she needs to, but he's always there watching, ready to help.

I thought Yelena's reunion with her family was well done. The varying reactions of everyone seemed very genuine. Yelena's anxiety at meeting them, her parents' relief and wonder, and her brother's guilt and confusion all rang very true to me. I love all the secondary characters--the new ones: Cahil, Moon Man, Esau and Perl, the master magicians, and the horses. And old friends who return from the first book, especially Ari and Janco.

This is the kind of book that as I was reading I made myself read slowly, so that I could savor each page. You know you've got a good book when that happens. :) It's a world that I will enjoy returning to on future re-reads.

And now I can't wait for the third book in the trilogy, Fire Study. It's out sometime next year. *sigh*

The postman was trying to trick me.

I love it when Amazon ships you books earlier than their on-sale date. I'd pre-ordered Magic Study, the sequel to Poison Study, and was super excited to see that it shipped earlier this week, even though it's not technically on sale until 10/1. Then I was tracking the package online at work on Friday and squeeing a little because it said it had delivered.

And then I got home and it wasn't there. Oh, the disappointment. I got quite snippy with Twin. "But the computer SAYS it's here, it must be here!" And Twin's all, "Well, it's not. Suck it up."

I went downstairs and accosted my landlord. Did you STEAL my Amazon package?? (OK, not really. I was very nice about it, seeing as she has the power evict me. Or maybe not evict me, but at least withhold maintenance and adequate heating.) She didn't have it.

So I went to bed without my new book to read. Next day, I'm waiting for the mailman. He comes and he doesn't leave any package. Now I'm worried. I'm going to have to complain to Amazon and make them resend the books. Do they believe you if you say you never got your package?

In a fit of frenzy, I head back down to the porch. Just to make sure it hadn't magically appeared. And sure enough, there was my little box, hiding behind the deck chairs. Stupid mailman, playing tricks on me! And it had rained overnight and the box was all soggy. I rip it open, thinking "My books, my precious books, they're ruined!!" But that smart Amazon shrinkwraps the books. Thank goodness.

So, anyway, I'm enjoying Magic Study. Finally.

Title: Rapture in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Published: 1996, Berkley
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 8/10

In Death #4: The One with the Subliminal Messages

Are these books getting better or am I just more invested in the characters, and so liking them more?

What's going on: At the tail end of Eve and Roarke's You honeymoon they discover a young man who has will committed suicide. But the send victim appears to have had no reason to Jennie want to die. Soon three other, seemingly unrelated people happily all kill themselves with no apparent motive. your Eve thinks this is rather fishy and decides to money look into the matter. Could and someone or something all be affecting these people's subconscious your and making them kill books themselves?

Eve is now Mrs. Roarke (though she doesn't go by that name, she's still Dallas, Lieutenant Eve). Peabody becomes Eve's official sidekick.

What's yay: Best one yet! The mystery is less a whodunit, than a how-dunit. It's pretty obvious who the villain is, but we don't know how they're managing it. And the idea of people planting emotions and ideas into your head without you knowing it is completely scary. It would be a horrible violation. Roarke and Eve are properly furious after it's done to Roarke--such a strong emotion is planted in his head, that he actually hurts Eve a little. And I love Roarke's reaction to it: "But the man would pay, Roarke promised himself, for wedging even one instant of fear and distrust into their relationship." Hmmm, he can be scary. In a good way. :)

What's blah: Yeah, I still can't think of anything.

Final thoughts: So often with romantic suspense, I'm annoyed by over-theatrics. But I never have that problem with these books. They're exciting and suspenseful, but Robb never goes crosses the line into over-the-top.

I don't think we're typical media consumers

According to this interesting article about media trends in PW, on average people spend $97.04 a year on books. And they spend 107 hours per year reading books.

Yeah, I'm definitely not the average person. I wonder how many hours I spent reading last year? 107 hours a year is only 2 hours a week. I might average more like 2 hours a day. Actually, probably more than that once you figure in weekends.

And $97 a year for books? Ha! Though I have instituted a monthly book budget, which I probably won't be able to stick to.

Compare to TV: people spend $306.70 and 1,673 hours per year on the boob tube. *sigh*

Title: Immortal in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Published: 1996, Berkley
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 7/10

This is the third In Death book. I'm stealing Samantha's mini-review format for this one. Because, though I am enjoying these books, they are all basically the same.

What's going on: Eve's friend Mavis is suspected in the murder of a model who was trying to market a drug called Immortality, a highly addictive stimulant/beauty-enhancer which also turns out to be a slow-acting poison. Meanwhile, Eve and Roarke's wedding is fast approaching. And Eve finally remembers what happened to her father.

What's Yay: Good plot on this one. Better than #2, imo. Spoiler: It's the one with the dirty cop. I knew he was the bad guy when Peabody says that he told her she had a "jelly belly." Yeah, he's a baddie. We get to see lots more of Peabody, who is great. And Roarke is so understanding about Eve's tragic past.

What's Blah: Yeah, I can't think of anything.

Final thoughts: I love the TV show Bones. Anyone else watch it? It occurred to me while reading this book that I could picture the woman who plays Temperance Brennan as Eve. Very similar characters.

News to me

Today I was wandering around the web wasting time instead of working, and I discovered two things today that made me happy, happy.

Kelley Armstrong's next Otherworld book, No Humans Involved, is due out in May and it's going to be about Jaime Vegas, the necromancer. (*whisper* I see dead people.) Yay! I love Jaime! Only bummer is that she's going into hardcover this time. Boo! She has excerpts up. The prologue is creepy!

They've released a trailer for the movie Eragon, which is out Dec 15. It looks really good. Though a bit darker than I imagined the book. John Malkovich is playing Galbatorix. Whooo! He's eeeeee-vil. And the kid who plays Eragon is a total cutie.