Whatcha Readin'?

Once upon a time, when I was a kid, I had two or three books in progress, and my mom said, "I don't know how  you can do that.  I can only read one book at a time."

For whatever reason, the committee in my head decided that reading more than one book at a time was a BAD thing. It probably fits in with the fact that I am really good at starting things and not finishing them, but with books, this isn't the case, unless the book suck.  Even if the book sucks, I feel guilty if I don't finish it.  Kind of like how I feel guilty if I divide my day lilies and don't replant the ones that I am casting out of the spot next to the front door. I feel like I am committing flower murder.  But I'm Catholic, I can live with guilt.

ANYWAY, as most of us do, I have spent many hours of my adult life overcoming the lessons I learned as a child (and instilling different, but no less damaging values in my children).  I now have three or four books in progress (kind of like writing...how many WIPs do I have?  Ummmm....)

I have a little book I keep in my purse with a list of books I want to read...back list stuff of authors I like, books that other people have recommended, that sort of thing.  I decided that I would also keep a list of books I've read in this little notebook.  I'm not keeping a list of the ones I'm working on, though...so I think I'll share the past week's reading list with you:

On audio disc, in the car:  The Heart of a Soldier, by Capt. Kate Blaise.

This is a true story of a couple who fell in love in high school and both became soldiers fighting in Iraq.  It's an awesome memoir.  The true-life love story, the details of life as a female soldier in the first days of the invasion of Iraq...I have been in tears at least four times so far, and I've only listened to half the discs. 

On my Kindle: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

This is the first book in the Hollows series. According to the Suzanne Johnson system of identifying a genra by it's cover, this is Urban Fantasy (badass woman with tattoos.  If it was a guy with rock hard abs, it would be a Paranormal Romance, FYI).  We are reading this as a book club thing on Suzanne's Preternatura Blog, 2 chapters a week.  Come join us!


Paperback #1:  When You Dare, by Lori Foster.
 
 I'm a Lori Foster fan from back in her Harlequin Blaze days.  I loved most of the MMA fighter guy books, so have hopes for this new series.  Not sure I am buying how this Hard Core Alpha Guy falls so instanly in love with the woman he accidentally rescued, but the story doesn't suck, either.  Definitely going to finish it!

Paperback #2: Premeditated Murder, by Ed Gaffney

This one is a legal thriller, and I should put in the disclaimer that Ed Gaffney is the husband of my hero (have I mentioned this before?) Suzanne Brockmann, which kind of prejudices me to like it before I open the cover.  I met Ed last October (which gives me the right to call him "Ed" and not "Mr Gaffney") and he was a really nice guy.  I'm only a couple of chapters into the story, and there are a LOT of POV's going on, which is a little hard to track, but the plot has got several threads...there is a regular kind of guy who killed a bunch of terrorists, the president, a lady reporter, a couple of lawyers, some other seemingly unrelated deaths.  I kind of run hot and cold on legal thrillers in general, but I like the characters I am supposed to like (at least I think they are the ones I'm supposed to like!) so I'm definitely hooked. 

On my Crackberry Kindle app:
Tied Up, Tied Down by Lorelei James

Yeah, kids, this is this week's Smut Selection.  I've actually read this whole series already, and it's worth a re-read.  Definitely Ero Rom, and some of it's a little cheesey; but there are great secondary character story arcs all the way through this series. 

I am also sloooowly but surely critting a great "suspense with romantic elements" for the lovely Dawn Alexander.  I am pushing her to ramp up the romance, maybe we can start a twitter campaign for some nekkid parts (although I'm only halfway through.  Maybe there will be nekkid stuff and I just haven't gotten to it...). 

That's what I've been reading.  Any surprise I haven't been getting my writing done? What have you been reading?