by Christina on January 7, 2010
in Ann Aguirre, Carolyn Crane, Gail Carriger, Ilona Andrews, Jessica Andersen, Kelly Hunter, Laura Resnick, Lori Devoti, Nalini Singh, Penny McCall, Scribblings
Today, Ilona Andrews posted the cover of the follow-up to On the Edge on her site. I thought this would be a good occasion to do a post featuring the covers of books I’m looking forward to reading. Most are ‘next in the series’. A couple of the books are for series I haven’t started but have the first book and the second is on order (Aguirre’s Corine Solomon series, Devoti’s Amazon series, Carriger’s Alexia Tarabotti series, Singh’s Guardian series — the books intrigued me enough to chance buying/ordering the second):
Hell Fire by Ann Aguirre
Demonkeepers by Jessica Andersen
Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
Untameable Rogue by Kelly Hunter
Changeless by Gail Carriger
Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
Amazon Queen by Lori Devoti
The Hellhound King by Lori Devoti
The Bliss Factor by Penny McCall
Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick
Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh
api
With a move cross country pending this summer (thanks to the Base Re-Alignment Commission), I have to be really flexible about any goals I’m going to set for myself. I’m not going to bother with setting a total number of books for the year. I only managed to finish 36 in 2009. If you count the short stories and the DNFs, I got closer to my goal of 60.
So instead, there will be just general type of goals (some just blog related). For instance:
- Get back to reading Star Wars novels — In 2009, I did not read a single book. I have a huge backlist of the novels.
- Try to read more than one Georgette Heyer this year — I bought a few of her mysteries, so maybe I read one of each (romances and mysteries)
- Finish the backlog of last year’s reviews — I have several left to do. I posted one earlier today, here, with a new format. I’m going to try using this new format for all reviews.
- Finish re-posting the “lost posts” from the last time I tanked the blog — Yeah, that’s still not done.
- Fix, again, the Author Index — goes in hand with the above.
- Track number of pages read — includes remembering to annotate the page # I stop at when I decide a book is DNF.
- Try to read more than one “In Death” books — I will never get caught up with this one if I don’t
- Use my Sony Reader more — I bought it mainly to stash books/short stories for the time of the move.
- Look at my “books read” list from 2006-2008 and see if there’s a author I’ve been meaning to read again — and do so.
- Do not get behind on 2010 reviews — even if it means not working on a 2009 backlogged one
That’s all I can think of at the moment. I’ll probably come up with several more after I post this. 
At the end of 2008, I had a hard time narrowing my list down to something less than half the list, so I never got around to actually doing one. At some point, I may re-visit the issue, but not today.
I had a slightly different problem in 2009. I haven’t finished scratching out my thoughts on six books. This, however, will not prevent me from making a list. I already know which books were my favorite among them.
In 2009, I read multiple books by the same author. In most cases, the books were from the same series. If I liked both equally, I counted both as one. There are fourteen books and one short story that received a 5-Star rating from me. Only two of those did not make the list.
So…on the the list:
10. The Man Behind the Cop (Janice Kay Johnson) — To quote myself: “This is definitely Bruce’s book. He’s a great character, even when he’s stubbornly clinging to the belief that he’ll morph into his father if he got too angry or pissed off. Fortunately, Karin is a grounded, quiet person. Normally. The scene where she gets into his face about his issues is my favorite. It didn’t surprise me when this book was nominated for a RITA.”
09. Bedded for Diamonds (Kelly Hunter) — I read two books by Ms. Hunter, both featuring Bennett siblings (the other book is The Maverick’s Greek Island Mistress). Ms. Hunter’s books are humorous and her characters are likable, people you can relate to. I liked this book better than Maverick. Both Tristan and Pete (hero of Maverick) are wounded souls, but I liked Tristan’s story more than Pete’s. I was happy to learn that Ms. Hunter will be releasing books about the other two Bennett brothers. Both will be this year in the UK, through Mills & Boon.
08. Dark Crusade (Lori Devoti) — I’ve been hooked on Ms. Devoti’s Unbound series from the first. This one takes place entirely in a mythological place and definitely has a “Dorothy in Oz” feel to it. And a dragon.
07. Kiss of Fury (Deborah Cooke) — This is the second Dragonfire book. I also read the third book, Kiss of Fate. The reason I like Fury more than Fate is Donavon and Alex. I liked Donavon from the first moment we meet him in the prologue of Kiss of Fire, and Alex is perfect for him. Had I gotten around to reading Winter Kiss (book 4), I imagine that it would have been tougher to call. Delaney and Ginger, just from the sneak peek, grabbed me.
06. Lie to Me (Starr Ambrose) — To quote myself: “One of the things I liked was that, absurd as it was for Ellie to break into the Banner’s house in the first place, Ellie never came across as a too-stupid-to-live heroine. She may be completely clueless about computers and can’t keep a job — even her cousin fired her from his hardware store because she talked people out of buying things. But Ellie can think on her feet and has a way with people that makes her likable, whether she’s chatting with the gathered Payton and Westfield relatives or talking to clients with her “business associate”, Rocky.” I have her next book in my TBR.
05. For the Love of Pete (Julia Harper) — Like Lie to Me, if Zoey had crossed the line into the “too stupid” zone, I wouldn’t have liked the book as much as I did. The author writes historicals as Elizabeth Hoyt, however, I hope she continues to write contemporaries as well.
04. Ravenous (Sharon Ashwood) — To quote myself: “I really loved this book. I liked the author’s style and I loved the characters. Holly is just your average girl next door (almost) — the woman on the cover can’t possibly be her. Alessandro is strong, but not over-the-top alpha. I’m looking forward to the next book.” Had I been more pro-active with reading lately, the second book would also be on this list. I’ve read a bit of the sneak peek for the third book and I’m looking forward to that one also.
03. Jessica Andersen’s The Final Prophecy — Dawnkeepers (Book 2) and Skykeepers (Book 3) — Of the two, I liked Skykeepers more. Michael was a mystery and Sasha was a new character. Looking forward to the next book.
02. Line of Scrimmage (Marie Force) — I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did. Football isn’t my thing. Fortunately, it’s in the background (the season is over when the book starts). It’s a “second chance” book, and when it starts out, it seems all the blame for the breakup lies with the guy, Ryan. But as you get to know them and learn about them, it becomes clear that Susannah wasn’t entirely fault-free and Ryan is a good guy.
01. Ilona Andrews — Magic Strikes and “Magic Mourns” (Must Love Hellhounds) from the Kate Daniels series; On the Edge — There is no way I could pick just one. The Kate Daniel series just gets better and better. The fourth book is due out in May and is a turning point for the characters and the series. The short story was a real treat. There will be another short story, this one about Kate and Saiman’s first meeting. As for On the Edge, it was the first full-length book I read entirely on my Sony Reader. And though I didn’t enjoy the experience of reading it on the Reader, I really loved the book. A follow-up is due later this year.
I’m a bit concerned. I mailed my package and I know it’s been received (according to USPS). I’ve checked regularly, and there’s been no mention on my person’s blog. I, uh *ahem* forgot to put a card in the package. I don’t know if that’s a contributing factor — the giftee has no clue who sent it. I did put a card in the mail today. Or, it’s possible she’s very busy. Her blogs been very active these last few days. I’ll try not to worry too much.
Today, I got my gifts. My secret Santa is Heather from Gofita’s Pages. The thing that brought the biggest smile to my face was the hat. I recently took up loom knitting and to get a knitted hat was such a kick! I just finished a dishcloth, over the Thanksgiving holiday, with the same pattern. I also got a book, Intimations of Austen: Stories Inspired by the Works of Jane Austen by Jane Greensmith; a box of candy canes and assorted chocolate candies (more in the bag). The gift bag, sadly, received grievous wounds during transport. I will not be able to reuse it. 
Thanks, Heather, for the lovely gifts!! 
Below are the pictures (including two of the dishcloth and the project I’m currently working on).
Intimations of Austen
Knitted Pink Ribbed Hat
Candy Canes, Chocolate, gift bag, and card
The dishcloth that matches the hat. . .
Side 1 and
Side 2
. . .and the scarf that doesn’t.
Pink Scarf
address
Disclaimer: All materials (yarn, looms, leaflets) were personal purchases for my own private use.
I’m new to loom knitting. I don’t know how to knit using needles and my crochet skills are very limited. My mother, however, can crochet. She’s been on a crocheting binge for several months, after finishing up a huge plastic canvas project that took over a year to do (20 bags). She had already purchased the knitting looms, but hadn’t sat down to figure it out. There was a hat that caught her interest and she attempted to make it.
Unfortunately, she chose one of the harder patterns. The top of the hat was a weave, similar to those potholder projects I did as a little girl. The instructions were confusing to 
someone who never worked with looms before. Seeing how frustrated she was, I took over and she went to crochet. I didn’t know what I was doing anymore than she did, but I was interested in the had too, so soldiered on until I got the hang of it. The first hat was somewhat of a success: the weave came out correct, but the brim wasn’t right — it still looks nice though. The second and third attempts came out better. At some point, I may even post pictures of the hats.
After that successful endeavor, I decided that I would make my mother the Mobius Shawl and it would be a Christmas gift (I was giving myself plenty of time to finish it). The pattern looked interesting and simple. No skipped pegs or changing yarn, just “knit” and “purl”. The project suggested Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair, which I thought was very pretty, and I chose “Tundra”. The pictures don’t do the yarn justice. It’s very elegant looking in real life.
Since I had to order the yarn, I also looked over the other projects and decided which ones I would like to do, and pick the yarn I wanted to use. After the yarn arrived, I got off 
to a rocky start. I was getting frustrated with the casting on part of the project, which is the very first thing you do. I kept making mistakes or the tension was too tight. Eventually, I manage to do 30 rows, which is the base pattern for the shawl. By that point, I needed a break. I found a nice box with a lid, put the loom, yarn, and my notes in it, and set it aside. That was back in March. I didn’t touch it again until the beginning of November.
Crunch time! I was going to be off for a week, so I figured I could get most of it done then. I could work on the remainder, I told myself, on weekends and after work (seriously cutting into my reading time I might add). So, I pulled out the box and re-familiarized myself with the techniques. I was surprised to find that the pattern seemed way easier than it looked back in the spring. I figured that I need 165 rows to have the right size shawl. Breaking it down into groups of 15 made it even more manageable, and less daunting, than just seeing the number 165 when you only had about 35-40 rows done! By the time I return to work (as I reported), I was in the home stretch. I finished the project on 12 November. I was elated! I had a bit of trouble with the finishing (joining the two ends together to make the twist), but it sorted itself out and it didn’t turn out too bad. I even made a major goof (started binding off on the wrong end) that was fixable — and you can’t even tell I made a mistake!
Then I tried it on.
It’s too small.
It needs to be at least 30 rows longer. When I read the instructions, I thought I was 100% clear on the number of times to repeat the 1-30 pattern. And I was, except I counted the initial row of 30 when I sat down to figure out the total number of rows. This is what the instructions said:
- [Rep rows 1-30] 3 (4, 5)
- [Rep rows 1-15] once.
I needed to repeat the pattern 5 more times: 30 x 6 + 15 = 195. Instead, I repeated it only 4 more times: 30 x 5 + 15 = 165
So, what did I do with it?
I gave it to my father’s other “official traveling companion”, Nancy the rat bear. My mother will understand completely (she made a shawl that ended up being the size of a tablecloth):
Nancy, the OES Bear
Below is a close up of the shawl.
The twist
about
