I have a not-so-secret secret. I read and loved Twilight years ago. The first book mainly. (Although I liked parts of the second one too.) I haven't read the third and fourth books yet -- I am a little scared to. I have heard scary things. That being said, I loved Twilight. Loved.

Which leads me to tonight and my eager viewing of Twilight the movie. You guys. YOU GUYS. It was so awesome. Some parts were genuinely good, and some parts were wretchedly bad, but even the wretchedly bad parts were FANTASTIC. I really don't intend to write a recap, but instead will merely jot down some quick observations of the event.

First off, a quick story. For anyone who's read the book, you know that one of the deep dark secrets that vampires harbor is their ability to sparkle like a Sunshine Crystal Princess My Little Pony doll when out in the sun. (Hence the reason they can't come out in sunlight.) I of course, was waiting for this moment in the movie. Y'ALL. It did not disappoint. Robert Pattinson glittered like a drag queen on Mardi Gras. And at the exact moment Edward and Bella were savoring his glittery visage? My friend whispered in my ear "A unicorn and a rainbow can fall in love, but where would they live?"

DIES.

Now for some quick comments:

Sideways baseball cap Emmett? Doofy doll.

What the hell was up with Jasper's hair?

The moment the white-clad (except for Edward, natch) Cullens appeared in the cafeteria. BOMBASTIC.

The moment with the apple -- cute.

Manic-depressive Edward? Perfection.

Piano playing montage to symbolize twoo loves? Hilariously bad.

"Hold on, my little spider monkey." ??!?

Oh crazy Jacob. Such bad hair, such overacting.

Why, why, why cast a dark-haired Italian man as Carlisle? And then give him a horrendous dye job? Why not hire a blond?

Vampiric baseball? Yes please.

And that is Twilight in a nutshell. What, you say? No mention of Bella? Eh, all right. But let's face it, no one is in this for Bella, right?

MOAR SPARKLE PLS.

You guys. I saw the best documentary ever tonight.

WE ARE WIZARDS.

If you live anywhere near the NYC area, and have any affection for Harry Potter fandom, go see it. (Only playing through this Thursday, November 20th!) I can't properly explain it, but man, was it amazing.

Harry Potter tribute bands abound, but judging by what I saw in this doc, Draco and the Malfoys is where it is AT. Also, I now have a deep, abiding love for Brad Neely.

LOVE.

In conclusion, I now want to reread all of the books and shout my love for HP to the skies!

My last post here was a year ago. So much and so little has happened since.

Honestly, I am horrible about this whole posting consistently thing. I think it's because I feel pressure to always post something professional/witty/entertaining/edificating/etc.

I really need to get over myself. Seriously.

So, in an attempt to get back in the game, as it were, I plan to just post. That's it. Post what I want, when I want. Starting now.

Work = Going really good. I was in a bad place a few months ago, what with stuff being late, being overwhelmed with a workload that shouldn't have been overwhelming, an inability to delegate, etc, etc, etc. You guys, that has totally changed now. I am caught up, delegating, ENJOYING my job for the first time in months. I am so happy about that, I can't even tell you.

Also! We got e-readers! I am already knocking out lots of pending submissions (and boy are they pending right now...), and am loving my return to the digitized world. (At my last job everything was digital, here, not so much.

Home = I moved! Part of what added to my stress a few months ago was my former landlady. You guys, she was nutballs. She would go into my apartment when I was out of town and leave me notes telling me to fold my clothes or clean out the fridge. She TOUCHED my stuff! She wanted me to only take 10 minute showers. She wanted to approve all visitors and told me that if I had anyone stay longer than three days with me they would have to be vetted by her!! In other words, crazy. That being said, my lease with her wasn't up until next April, so I was planning to stick it out until then. And then? When I was out of town for RWA National at the beginning of August? She e-mailed me that her son needed my apartment and I would need to move out by September 1st. She knew I was out of town but assured me that I could start looking for apartments on Craigslist right away. GAH.

You guys, I have never felt such rage in my life. Of course it was totally illegal. By law, she needed to give me more notice, and I could have totally stayed there until the end of my lease as long as I continued to pay rent, and there would have been nothing she could do about it. That being said, I wanted to get the fudge out of there, and my new place is AMAZING. Same area (I love the neighborhood I live in), much better place. LOVE.

Miscellaneous = I am happy to be done with work-related travel for the year. Other than visiting friends for Thanksgiving and family for Christmas, I am in NYC to stay for awhile. I have a friend staying with me for a few months. (She just got a job in NYC -- YAY! -- and needs to save up a bit of money before she starts apartment hunting.) She's fallen in love with my neighborhood, so hopefully she will find a place nearby.

We both have the same regrettably awful taste in TV, so our lives are revolving around bad cable. Think I am exaggerating? Take a gander at this schedule:

Monday: Little People, Big World, Jon & Kate Plus 8, 17 Kids and Counting
Tuesday: Secret Lives of Women, Sex Change Hospital
Wednesday: America's Next Top Model, Top Chef
Thursday: 48 Hours Hard Evidence, Wicked Women, Deranged

Any and Every Day: NINJA WARRIOR and Unbeatable Banzuke. Much more on that subject to come.

I don't really know how to end this post other than to say that I will try to be a bit more consistent here, although I can't promise much more than recaps on my everyday life. It is barely interesting to me, so I don't expect it to be fascinating to you. That being said, I still welcome comments/questions/etc.

See you soon!

Dear Livejournal,

I can't think of a blessed thing to post about today. I have been doing nothing but reading slush the last few days, but at least I did find a submission I wanted to see more of. One submission out of 20 or more, but hey, one is better than none. I kinda feel bad though, because I don't want people getting rejection letters on the holidays. Am I the only one that thinks of stuff like that? Sometimes I think I am a bit too paranoid for my own good. But I don't want to crush spirits on the holidays!

Oh man, I am watching Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Thanksgiving right now. That woman is a batshit-crazy lunatic. She just made mashed potatoes out of frozen bagged hashbrown chunks. Ones that were pre-seasoned. She dumped them into a bowl, covered them with a damp towel, and nuked them in the microwave. Then she mixed in butter, milk, and dried alfredo seasoning powder and mashed the hell out of them. It looks like freeze-dried vomit and likely tastes like it too.

I just don't get it -- Thanksgiving is all about going the extra mile and making a really nice, homemade meal -- why the hell would you dump frozen potatoes into a bowl and pretend they were homemade? How hard is it to boil a damn potato?? And have you seen Sandra's idea of a fancy dessert? A store bought angel food cake, a tub of cool whip and some rum extract? "They will think it is homemade!" Who is this "they" of which you speak, Sandra? People tragically born without tastebuds? Because cool whip is pretty damn recognizable.

In conclusion, face it Sandra Lee, everyone knows it isn't homemade. Just acknowledge it and move on. .

Dear Livejournal,

I know you have been waiting with bated breath for the last Winter Roses recapalooza. When we last left our heroine her druggie, no good, lying and gossipy sister was found dead as a doornail in NYC. Seems homegirl had OD'd.

And now, for the last ten reasons you know (and love that) you are reading a Diana Palmer novel.

SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!
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1. The heroine needs to fly to NYC in order to ID her sister's body. She uses "all the money in her savings account" to do so. See previous posts wondering where her money has gone to.

2. The heroine meets and chats with a lovely couple sitting next to her in the "tourist class" section. Tourist class? WTF? Does she mean economy? Coach? Business? First class?

3.The heroine is interviewed by the cops and IDs the body. Then she is told by the officer in charge that she can go to her sister's apartment and collect her things. Apparently the scene has been processed already. Then once she gets there she starts thinking that she shouldn't take much because her sister's drug dealing boyfriend was also living there, and he might claim that everything was his to begin with. In a case where property and ownership is in question, why would the officer in  charge be all  "go and take it all!"?

4. Then the hero (who has flown in on his private jet to support the heroine in her hour of need) find a ton of jewelry on site. The heroine actually thinks "oh, maybe the police have set up a surveillance in the apartment to see who comes to claim the jewelry". Um. I am not even going to bother explaining why that idea is all sorts of crazy. DP must have thought that was crazy too, because she dropped the idea the next page and it was never mentioned again.

5. The heroine and hero find a funeral home and arrange to have her sister cremated. The heroine insists on paying for it herself. Good for her, I say, except there is a small problem. She spent all of her savings on a plane ticket from Texas to NYC!! Apparently she only had 400 bucks in savings... Anyway, where did the magical cremation money come from?

6. While at her sister's apartment the heroine picks up her sister's diary. and when she returns to Texas she discovers that it is actually a logbook recording drug dealing activity. In a very smart move (which I quite admired, actually) the heroine takes it to the Sheriff immediately. In with her sister's mail, there is also a letter from some attorneys making reference to a safety deposit box the sister took out. The Sheriff makes a big deal about wishing they had the key to the box, etc, etc, etc. I am wondering why he just doesn't have the heroine -- the sister's only surviving kin and inheritor of all the sister's possessions -- bring proof of her sister's death to the bank and get access to it that way. Seems much easier than lamenting a lost key. This also makes the Sheriff look lame.

7. The heroine attempts to make a cutting remark to the hero. Her big insult? "I'd rather get together with a snake!" You tell him, sister.

8. The hero gives the heroine (who is in NYC without a nightie, oh noes!) his idea of gawchus sleepwear. What is it you ask? A gown and peignoir set. Now the heroine looks just like Alexis Carrington. Hot and SEXAYY.

9. This one is awesome, you guys. SERIOUSLY. At pretty much the end of the book, for no reason at all, the heroine who was formerly an opera buff-slash-bookkeeper suddenly starts decrying her love for meteorites. METEORITES. I cannot fully express the randomness of this. It is quite literally about a two page rumination of her love for meteorites, including her collection back home in the boardinghouse, and then it is never mentioned again.

10. I really don't have a point ten, but I did want to mention for the record that I am absolutely shocked that there was not one mention of biscuits in the entire story. NOT ONE. I was seriously shocked.

In conclusion, isn't it obvious by now why I love Diana Palmer so? Her stuff is wonderfully nutty, and I seriously cannot get enough.

Dear Livejournal,

So I finished Winter Roses. And lo, it was Diana Palmer-riffic. That is, it was crazy and insane and it made no sense and yet I still loved it. I took copious notes in order to recount the crazy for you, and I think I will split it into two posts (because that way I can have two posts! Am such a cheater.). But first! I have to tell you what I discovered reading this book! You guys!! Diana Palmer and her husband are hardcore gamers! Apparently they wondered what all the fuss was about when their son was into XBox and they bought themselves one and got totally hooked. That is so awesome. Too bad that progressive outlook is not seen in her books. Oh wells.

Okay, I think it goes without saying that this entire post is one big spoiler for Winter Roses, so please do not blame me if you read on and get spoiled.

SPOILER ALERT!

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Okay, now that that is out of the way, we can get down to business. When we left off in my last post, the almost 19 year old heroine has been crushed by the 30 year old hero being pictured in a tabloid with a young pretty heiress. So two years pass, and our almost 21 year old heroine has graduated from bookkeeping school and has taken over a CPA business from a heroine in a previous book who has babies now and therefore cannot possibly also work. She has several "big accounts" and is really busy, yet she is still on the edge of poverty and lives in the boardinghouse. No explanation given as to why, of course. (OMG, guys, this reminds me of the DP book about Tippy, a famous Hollywood actress -- I mean FAMOUS. In starring movies, compared to Julia Roberts, etc. Y'all, she was POOR in the book. Poor! Where the hell did all her money go, you ask? Her brother needed to be in a fancy boarding school. GAH. So so retarded. That is actually one of the few DP books I could not finish, it was so stupid.)

Anyway, I am not going to give you a blow by blow of Winter Roses, instead I thought I would list more things that make it clear you are reading a Diana Palmer book. So without further ado, ten more indications you are reading a Diana Palmer book, as found in Winter Roses:

1. The phrase "quite a dish" is used to describe the hero and heroine in equal measure. Said with a straight face by people my age and younger, no less.

2. Um, I am not quite sure if I should admit this, but I made a note that reads ""Flour" missing" and I have no clue what it is referring to. Um, Diana Palmer books all blend together, I guess? **AH HA! I remembered! The heroine's druggie sister (who lives in New York City) randomly tells her to give the local baker a message about a "missing" shipment of flour. She thinks that sounds a little odd, but is all whatever. Now everybody and their mother knows that Jacobsville is a hotbed of drug cartels and a pipeline straight from South America, I mean almost every other book in the Long, Tall Texan series has someone catching a new drug dealer, and yet the heroine is still all "maybe my sister who lives across the country helps out the local baker, teehee!**

3. Dude, this is one of the best things. In the middle of the book, the heroine who is out on a date with the Sheriff (NOT the hero, oh noes!) is at a town fundraising dance, and the Sheriff and another law enforcement guy challenge each other to a dance-off. The song of choice? The MACARENA. Since the Macarena craze happened in 1995 through 1997, one can only assume the heroine loved it when she was 8.

4. At one point in the book the hero sends the heroine a "look that could fry bread". Huh? I mean, I know there is such a thing as fry bread, but a look that could fry bread? WTF, yo?

5. Randomly in the middle of the book, we learn that the heroine always wanted to study opera. But she never wants to leave Jacobsville, so whatever, opera is not the kind of thing you study in a vocational college, and since you will be pregnant at 21, tough shit, heroine!. This opera obsession is a big theme in Diana Palmer books. In fact, in one of her earlier angsty books the heroine proves to the hero that she is not a dirty whore by singing Madame Butterfly. Yeah, you kinda have to read it to understand.

6. We casually learn at the start of the book that the heroine has a minor heart disorder, which precludes her from taking strong migraine medicine. This is mentioned once and only once, and has absolutely no bearing on the book. In fact, it is so not important that the hero and heroine never discuss it and the heroine will likely end up pregnant without ever mentioning it either. Heart conditions are also a running theme in DP books. At least 1 out of every 3 stories deal with them in one way or another.

7. The hero has pale, icy eyes. Occasionally they glitter cruelly. Or cuttingly.

8. Midway through the book (right before the Macarena danceoff) the heroine tells her best friend she hasn't talked to her druggie sister in 2 months, and then a few days later, at the party, she tells someone else she talked to her a week ago. Typical attention to details there.

9. I mentioned this above, but I will reiterate it here. The heroine had a successful CPA business dropped into her lap, I think it is even mentioned that she may be one of the only options in town, and yet she still lives in a boardinghouse and has no money. She has no relatives except druggie sister, and she isn't sending her money, so where the hell is her income going?

10. and oops, now she has no relatives, because, oh noes!, her sister is dead, y'all.

In conclusion, stay tuned for Winter Roses, part the last, coming tomorrow!

Dear Livejournal,

I finished reading the Diana Palmer book, and I even took notes so that I could hit the highlights in a post. But I am so very sleepy right now that I think I will have to save it for tomorrow.

I know, I know, you are absolutely devastated that you have to wait. I will try to make it up to you.

In conclusion, time for bed.

 Dear Livejournal,

I don't know why that little ditty popped into my head. Seriously, the only thing Santino Rice added to Project Runway were his awesome songs about Tim. 

Speaking of Tim, I just finished watching Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. The woman being made over tonight was one of Tor's Publicity Directors! Although I didn't see major issues with her style before she was "remade", I do have to say that she looked fan-frickin-tastic when they were done. So, so beautiful.

In other news, I went to the bookstore today (payday, woohoo!) and bought a few books I was dying to read. Have I told you guys about my sad and sick obsession with Diana Palmer? She was one of the first authors I can actually remember purposely buying in the late 80's. Back when I was 14 or 15 and just bought romances by the bulk, with no real discernment. But for some reason I loooooved me some Diana Palmer. And I sort of still do.

You guys, I am ashamed, and yet...I still buy all of her books. And I just bought Winter Roses, her very first Harlequin Romance (since Harlequin folded the Silhouette Romance line into the Harlequin one). Oh man. It is such a guilty pleasure read, I cannot even tell you. 

How is it a Diana Palmer title? Let me count the ways. In the 30 or pages I have read we have already discovered:

1. The heroine is allllmost 19.
2. Her alcoholic, abusive father died a month ago, and yet when talking about her father's death, it is as if it happened months and months ago.
3. Her older, selfish, drug-addicted (uppers and downers and crystal meth, y'all!) sister is taking all of her rightful inheritance, having bamboozeled her father into thinking the heroine is a dirty slut.
4. She is living in a boarding house with another impoverished lady and a landlady (and yes, this is a contemporary).
5. She is in school to become a bookkeeper. Not an accountant, a bookkeeper. Party like it's 1967, everybody!
6. Her best friend evah is very wealthy and has a much older brother who disapproves of the heroine because he thinks her family is trashy and she is likely to take after her druggy sister. (As an added bonus, the hero is described as being "dishy" by our almost 19 year old, contemporary heroine.)
7. She agrees to go to her friends estate for the weekend because said hero is "out of town". Cue ominous music.
8. We learn heroine, who is not pretty, but not ugly either, with blond hair and green eyes, is prone to migraines. Cue ever more ominous music.
9. Heroine, oh noes!, has a migraine.
10. Stumbling out of bed in the middle of the night, blinded by pain and nausea, she runs into the hero. A douchebag.
11. Hero looks at her lacy nightgown, instantly decries her a harlot, and kisses her punishingly.
12. Have I mentioned said hero is 30 years old?
13. Hero finally responds to heroine's frantic cries of no by pulling back and noticing she is pale, white, and sweating. And not because he is so hot.
14. Hero gets some medication inside heroine, they banter playfully a bit, and then hero realizes that his magnificent charm has likely made the heroine fall in love with him. But oh noes! She is only 18! And she is not pretty! And she is not rich! And her daddy beat her! What is a hero to do?
15. Why, hook up with some floozy and get pictures taken by the tabloids of course. That will surely make our lovelorn heroine realize that he is not a marrying kind of man.
16. Lovelorn heroine sees the pictures and realizes the hero is not a marrying kind of man.

In conclusion, I cannot WAIT to see what happens next!

Dear Livejournal,

I seriously keep forgetting to update until the last minute. Gah. I need to get better at this!

I want to direct you to a blog that I check each and every day. It has nothing to do with writing or publishing and everything to do with love, faith, family, tragedy, and attempting to overcome it. Looking back, I can't really remember how I exactly found this blog. I know I located it when I lived in Ohio and since the blog owners live in Ohio, I likely found it in some local way. The blog is called Support for Christi Thomas. Christi Thomas is a beautiful, smart, caring, loving 9-year-old who died of cancer on September 19th, 2006. Her mother has kept the blog going throughout that time and ever since, giving you a visceral look at the grieving process and of the unimaginable tragedy of losing a child.

I have laughed, cried, and learned in the year and a half I have been reading it. I have become a better person having learned about Christi's existence here on earth. Christi was a total bookworm, and was working her way through the Hank the Cowdog series at the time of her death. Last Christmas I donated a set of those books to a childhood literacy group in honor of Christi.

I urge you to check out the blog, starting with the oldest posts first. I never met Christi or her family, but through this blog, I know them and love them.

In conclusion, cancer SUCKS.

Dear Livejournal,

Long day today. Spent the first half of the day getting my paperwork together for one-on-ones, which is basically a meeting where editors go in front of sales, marketing, and publicity and talk up books for a coming season. This is the second time I have done this (they happen three times a year) and this time they went much better -- I felt as though I had more to say, and I was more comfortable saying it.

Toward the end of the day I resumed editing, and in fact stayed late working on my current project. It is such a good book, y'all, you don't even know! Anyway, I didn't get home until 8 as a result -- just in time for Chuck. I am liking Chuck so far, although to be honest, Reaper runs circles around it. After Chuck came Heroes. Oh, Heroes. What a fantastic load of crap you have become. And yet I am desperately hanging in there hoping it will get good again.

After Heroes I switched over to TLC to enjoy the perfection of Little People, Big World, Jon and Kate Plus 8, and Kids by the Dozen. You know who needs a series? The Duggars. Man, I love that freakishly large family. For reals.

In conclusion, TLC is the only thing that makes Mondays worthwhile.

Dear Livejournal,

In what I like to think of as a post chocolate show coma, I have done absolutely nothing today. I slept until noon, read until 2, watched TV until 7, made dinner (some delicious spaghetti, if I do say so myself), then watched The Amazing Race at 8, (OMG, you guys, Asian Dad is the biggest flipping asshole EVER. WHAT A JERK.) </rage>, then watched The Next Iron Chef at 9. I actually liked both of the finalists a lot, although I favored John Besh -- after all, he IS Mr. Fish America, y'all.

Anyway, that was my exciting day. I am also getting really excited about Project Runway -- this Wednesday, W00T!

In conclusion, laziness rocks!

Dear Livejournal,

I have just realized that I have eaten no fruit or vegetables at all today. Is that wrong? The chocolate show was awesome. I was so glad that I have no money right now (waiting impatiently for the 15th...) or else I might have come home with bags full of chocolate. I ate many a sample -- truffles to die for, chocolate infused peanut butter, a dark chocolate bar with dried cherries and chilies, brownie bites, etc etc etc.

So. Flippin. Good.

I have tons of brochures and some people on my Christmas list are going to be reeeeeeally happy this year.

To finish out the show, the friends I was with decided we should make a visit to the chocolate lounge, where we  watched a demonstration on "The real chocolate chocolate martini". Oh man. We got to try to different versions of a chocolate martini, one made with Godiva liqueurs and one made with actual melted chocolate. Deelicious. I by far preferred the second one made with real chocolate. Mmmm. But. I seriously have the tolerance for alcohol of a 3 year old. Even though we had the equivalent of a shot glass of each type, I was buzzing when we left! That is shameful.

In conclusion, tomorrow I must eat lots of broccoli.

Dear Livejournal,

I was so frickin busy today. Seems as though everything happens at once, isn't that always the way? I have an edit I desperately need to finish, and stayed until 8 pm tonight to attempt it. Unfortunately it didn't happen. I owe contest judgings to a RWA chapter, and by hook or by crook, I will have them to them before I go to sleep tonight.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but right now it is awfully faint and in the distance. Soon enough, though. By this time next week I will be golden.

In better news, tomorrow I am going to a chocolate show!!! www.chocolateshow.com. IT WILL BE AWESOME. And chocolaty. The only sad part of this scenario is that I have no money to spend at said show. I will be forced to be good. So sad.

In conclusion, I hope to have a sweet update for you tomorrow.

 **Updated to add: And one day I will figure out the difference between saving a post and actually publishing a post. Argh.**

Dear Livejournal,

Today was a great day in the history of my working at Tor. For lo, it was free book day at the Flatiron building. That is when all of the various departments of Holtzbrink Publishing put all of their extra books (ARCs, Galleys, extra copies of already pubbed titles) into giant bins and then they take them all and put them out onto big tables and then all of the employees can go down and take whatever they want. IT. IS. BOOK HEAVEN. 

I got many a free book and am excited to start reading my loot.

Let's see, other than free books, I also scored free makeup too! A new beauty website launched, shockingly enough at www.beauty.com, and as a promotional event, they opened an actual store front for one day only, directly in front of the Flatiron building on 5th Ave. Word spread quickly and a big group of us went down and got our hands stamped in order to receive a big bad of beauty samples. Besides the usual under eye creams and lotion samples, there was actually some decent stuff in there. 30 days of lip gloss from Cargo, some Urban Decay eyeshadow, shampoos, body washes, mascara and brow gel, and lipglosses. SCORE!

After all that bounty of freeness we were waiting for our free lunch to show up, but it unfortunately never did. Sigh.

In conclusion, I would like more free things, please.

Dear Livejournal,

I am going to do my best not to give you a lame junky post today. I don't know how long this one will be, but I will try to at least make it somewhat informative, if not coherent.

First off, before I forget -- I finished reading Lady of Light and Shadow.

Oh mah gah, you guys, what a fan-flippin-tastic read. I am a huuuge fan of fantasy romances, especially meaty ones with tons of plot and world building. CL Wilson's books definitely fit the bill. I am already pouting at the thought of having to wait a year for the next two installments!

I also read All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann. I am a huge fan of the Troubleshooter's series, and have loved Jules from the very beginning, so it was beyond wonderful to see him and Robin take center stage in their own romance. Although it was short, it was very satisfying.

After two great reads, I am almost scared to move onto anything else, for fear that I won't be fair to it. I want to get the new JD Robb, but unfortunately have to wait for the next paycheck, as I am PO-OOR. You know, people always tell me that as an editor, I should work my connections to get free books, but seriously, you guys, I HAVE NO CONNECTIONS. I also still have a reader/bookseller mindset. When new books come out, I go to the bookstore to buy them. I am sure I will eventually get to know more people in the industry and score the occasional ARC, but honestly, I would rather spend money on books than almost anything else, and it is no hardship to go to the bookstore and fill my basket with great new reads.

I am also a big dork when it comes to tracking what I want to read. I actually carry a notebook with me at all times that lists what I want to buy for the coming months. That way, when I get to a bookstore I hardly ever forget what I wanted to buy. Of course, the system only works if I remember the notebook!

In the interest of full disclosure, I will now post my book list for November. Be warned, it is hella big.

NOVEMBER:

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn (LOVE Shinn. SO MUCH.)
Reserved For the Cat by Mercedes Lackey (I love Lackey's Elemental Magic series.)
Winter Roses by Diana Palmer (I know, I know. But seriously, y'all, I just can't quit her.)
Halfway to the Grave by Janieine Frost (I think I just mangled her name horribly.)
All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann (Bought it.)
Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning
Lady of Light and Shadows by CL Wilson (LOVED LOVED LOVED IT.)
Saint City Sinners by Lilith Saintcrow
Long Tall Texan Legacy by Diana Palmer (See note above.)
Cut Throat by Sharon Sala (Bought it.)
Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty (Am reading it now. Very good and very HOT.)
Heart of Stone by CE Murphy
Creation in Death by JD Robb (Is it the 15th yet? I want to buy this now!)
Elemental Magic -- Anthology
Bond of Fire by Diane Whiteside (I enjoyed the first "Bond" book although aspects of the worldbuilding were a bit odd to me.)
Atlantis Awakening by Alyssa Day
The Black Dragon by Allyson James (Of course I love Allyson's books! Have you read her Shareem books?)  ;)
Dead of Night -- Anthology
Phantom in the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole
Upon a Midnight Clear by Sherrilyn Kenyon (So far this story is a bit blah, and man, the font is huge-mongous. Hope it gets better!)
Howl at the Moon by Christine Warren
A Gentle Rain by Deborah Smith
Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn (Cannot WAIT to read this!)
The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Told you it was big!

In conclusion, no wonder I never have any money.

...if I actually remembered to post in the dang livejournal. GAH. Par for the course, I had a pretty crazy and frenetic day (all my own doing, of course). As a result, I will post these few lines and then off to bed.

In conclusion, is it Friday yet?

Dear Livejournal,

So, the more I think of it, the more I realize I am seriously addicted to the dorkiest shows. I don't even care, yo. I am gansta that way, I guess. Tonight is the trifecta of dork. Little People, Big World, Jon and Kate Plus Eight, and Kids By the Dozen. Good lawd, I love those shows.

The D-Triple-A olympics? A trip to chocolate world with sextuplets? A woman pregnant with her 14th child? Love them. LOVE. THEM.

I wonder if the fact that I am addicted to shows with tons of kids has anything to do with the fact that I am devoid of any sort of maternal yearning/biological clock? After a half hour of screaming sextuplets I can seriously feel my ovaries shriveling.

In conclusion, Roloffs-for-life!

Dear Livejournal,

Day Four and I almost forgot to post. That might have something to do with the fact that I am still in my pajamas. Another lazy day spent reading -- I finished up Lord of the Fading Lands and have started Lady of Light and Shadows.

Also, how happy am I that Amazing Race started up again? SO HAPPY. Damn, I love that show. And I think it is going to be a good season, too. Right now, I am loving Team Goth -- and those skinny little bastards can run!

Rounding out my Sunday viewing is The Search for the Next Iron Chef. I am suck a Food Network junkie. It is really sad, actually. That being said -- I really want John Besh to win.

Oh! And Project Runway is starting soon, too.

In conclusion, I <3 TV.