Holidays, schmolidays.

I hate that when the holiday season is over, you feel so drained and yet you really haven't accomplished anything! Well, besides making the dreams of your three year old come true via My Little Pony stuff and a Magnadoodle (who knew that was all it took? This could be world changing!). Some of the highlights of my holiday season are thus:

*Books that I loved from Nov/Dec that I feel like mentioning:

• Full Circle - Pamela Freeman: Seriously, can she get any better? A great ending to the trilogy although I would have liked to see something of an Epilogue for a more complete look at the after . . . sorry so vague, but no spoilers here! I can't wait for her nest outing.
• Mr. Shivers - Robert Bennett: This is one debut that you don't want to miss, especially if you are a fan of Stephen King, Steinbeck (thanks to PW for that great comparison), with a little Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy thrown in for good measure. Brilliantly written and a gem. And, his guest blog on www.orbitbooks.net is classic and wonderful. He is one to watch.
• Captivate - Carrie Jones: The sequel to last year's Need won't disappoint. Need was one of my favorite things last year (any book whose chapter headings are all phobias is a winner automatically!) and except for Captivate's cliffhanger, it is sure to be as well. She just gets better and better.
• Soulless -- Gail Carriger: OH MY GOD. If you have any inclination for any Bronte, Austen, vampires, werewolves, parasols, or just a damn good read, you must pick up Soulless immediately. I haven't laughed this hard reading a book in years or had so much fun with a bustle ever. And her blog? Total must read. Hysterical. Changeless (4/10)can't come soon enough.
• Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova: I was a HUGE fan of The Historian when it came out 4 years ago and could not wait for this. It is a different sort of book than her previous but it shows her range and her depth of writing, as well as her commitment to research. I will be curious to see if there are historical notes in the finished book (I read an ARC) because the assertions that she makes are powerful enough to pursue, and I don't know if they are rooted in fact or not. Fantastic.

*Fun things of Note:

• Book Blogger Holiday Swap: Calling all book bloggers! If you don't do this, you are missing out. I am not the Secret Santa type, but this was perfect. We are all junkies and love getting book related items, so you can't lose! My santa was great. She was Amanda Teague, from NYC and she sent awesome stuff that was perfect. I am most appreciative and can't wait for next year. My santee (sp?) was Monica Schroeder, www.bibliophilicbookblog.com, who I have to say is PROLIFIC with the book reviewing . . . she puts most of us to shame! I am a new follower of her blog and have to say that I am enjoying it (especially her contests . . . ereaders, YAY!)! Thanks Holiday Swap!
• I love trivia contests! Especially the Orbit ones! I have to say that I am shameless with these because there is no better prize than one that you want. Who doesn't want a special spyglass from Kevin J. Anderson or a bag full of books, usually ones that you are going to buy anyway? It is the best part of my month when the Orbit Report email comes and I get to flex that trivia muscle. Sad, but true.

That's all for now, but more to come now that holiday hysteria is over. My goal for next year? More book reviews, all the time. I read constantly and get so much stuff because of my job and I don't write about much of it! Travesty! I have so much to say!

Why the Cliffhanger?

I have a serious love/hate relationship with series books. I understand that to have a successful series is similar to being given the option to print your own money (especially if said series is in hardcover and has had the movies rights picked up and done well) but do authors have to constantly employ the cliffhanger? Seriously. It's irritating. I hate to read a great book only to have it "not end" so that I will read the next one! I feel like the authors don't trust us as readers to come back so they have to employ the cliffhanger defense to ensure that we are all begging for the next installment. FYI to authors: we are loyal, we will come back (. . . as long as you continue to write good stuff), go ahead and wrap up the current story without a big shocker. I just feel like it is a ploy that some writers will use because they don't know where the story should go next (or they do know but don't know how to get there).

For example, some authors that don't really use the cliffhanger but have successful series are Charlaine Harris, J. K. Rowling, and Stephenie Meyer. Sure there are unexplained and unfleshed out elements of each of those stories, but they wrap things up within the book pretty well before ending it. Except for the shocker at the end of Half-Blood Prince, they aren't trying to sucker us into reading more, we genuinely want to come back because we care about the characters and want to see how things turn out. These authors create debate with their fans rather than leave us all hanging by our fingernails.

Cliffhangers, when used correctly, can be good, but I don't think that authors that take 3 years or more to write the next book need to use them. At that point, I have forgotten what happened and may not have time to re-read everything, and then may not continue with the series until it is done. Take Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Talk about creating debate and dissension among readers for longer than I have been alive (28 years for me, 30 some odd for DT fans). I am a devoted DT fan and will go back through the series about once a year because I love the story and the characters and because there is so much to find each time it's read. But the thing is that I didn't have to wait for the next installment of the series each time: I read it all in about 2 weeks after they all came out circa 2005. So I didn't have the animosity that some fans had because there were HUGE gaps between many of the books, some that spanned 10 years or more, with no guarantee that it would ever be finished. King didn't always employ the cliffhanger, but the books were never wrapped up tight (notable cliffhangers: Wastelands, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and Dark Tower). There were three reasons for that in my opinion. One, and he has admitted this publicly, is that he had NO IDEA where things were going to go next sometimes. He ran out of gas in the story and had to just stop. Two, had he continued some of the books past the cliffhanger, the books would have been even more monstrous (the total series spans around 5,000 pages I think) than they already are. And, third, he was writing an Epic. I don't think that the normal rules apply to writing epics because it is a continuation of a complete and present story, rather than different episodes in the characters' lives like traditional series usually are.

Another author whom I love that employs the cliffhanger is Diana Gabaldon. The irritating thing with her books is that it takes her about 3 years to write the next. And, they are huge books, with multiple storylines so it's almost impossible to remember all of the intricacies without re-reading. Her current book ends in a ridiculously unresolved way that I didn't think was necessary since her fans are some of the most loyal in the industry because they will wait years between books and still read the 1,000+ pages of each (even if it's a dud like Fiery Cross!). I just don't understand the purpose for it.

Some cliffhangers seem to be part of the MO like with YA authors. To keep some kids hooked you have to employ some sort of gimmick and cliffhangers are perfect for that becuase it keeps them thinking and talking about the books. But why use it with adult series books that are wildly successful? It's just irritating frankly and makes me want to wait to read (and buy) them until they are all out.

Walmart, Amazon, Target, Oh My!

If I were running a big publishing house right now, I would be terrified. And, if I were any of these authors affected, I would be furious. Normally a price war is a good thing but not in the case of Walmart, Amazon, Target, and now Sears (WTF!&$). They are taking a valuable (in my humble booksellers opinion) commodity and making it virtually worth nothing by charging 70% less than the cover price. I understand the concept of a "loss leader" but usually it's something like a DVD for a movie that already made $100 million or toilet paper, not a book. Independent bookselling is a precarious place at the best of times and now, during what should be the busiest time of the year, it is thrown completely off-kilter. Titles like John Grisham's Ford County, Stephen King's Under the Dome, and Barbara Kingsolver's Lacuna were supposed to be big sellers for EVERYONE this holiday, not just for the retailers who are going to lose money on them. Having read both Under the Dome and Lacuna, I was looking forward to being able to sell them as stellar novels to my customers with confidence that they were worth the cover price (or the 30% discounted price once they hit a bestseller list). Now I am going to have to convince my customers that they should give us their business as well as that a $9 hardcover is not the new standard.

How can an indie compete with that? Well, many of us are considering jumping on the bandwagon and buying them at Walmart, et al, rather than the publishers. Very scary. But what are we to do? We buy them wholesale for 46%. If we can buy them at considerably lower than that at one of these idiotic retailers, why the hell not? My issue is that I am torn between trying to make a profit this holiday and taking money out of my beloved sales reps' pockets. If I cancel my orders for these titles, titles that my reps are counting on to have great sales and help stabilize the market and therefore provoke more reorders, how is that going to affect them? And let's say that half of their indie stores cancel their orders and get them from Walmart, how much money are the reps going to lose? How much money are the publishers going to lose as a result? Will people lose their jobs? These are scary thoughts in an already shaky industry. But, if it forces people to take a stand against these kind of predatory pricing practices (thanks ABA for giving me this phrase), is it worth it? If the publishers would be willing to finally admit that the big boxes aren't playing well with others, would the industry change? Would we adopt a similar policy to some European countries that disallow pricing below wholesale (therefore making a slightly more level sales field)?

Another big question is what do the authors think? Does Grisham care whether his book is sold at $9 or $26? Or does he just care that it sold at all since he gets paid regardless? If it were me, I would be livid. It's like being told by your boss that you are doing a great job and are invaluable but that you need to take a 40% paycut because someone feels trying something new. "Take one for the Team" in essence. And the hilarious thing is that these authors aren't lightweights, they are some of the most popular and powerful authors in the marketplace today. I would be curious to know their opinions.

These are all very serious questions to ponder. Maybe all of us indies should band together and send an open letter to the affected publishers. Something that may convey the collective terror and dissatisfaction with the current state of the business.

Sorry for being MIA . . . childbirth is a big deal.

So sorry for being MIA for the last few months. The last trimester of pregnancy coupled with an unruly 3 year old and ultimately childbirth left me a little tattered. But, I'm back and more sleep deprived than ever to rant and rave about all things book buyer related.

Soulless, My New Obsession

Listen up all of you steampunk fans: Gail Carriger's Soulless is your new obsession. Just out last week from Orbit Books (one of my true loves) in mass market paper, it's a fast read and cheap to boot. It's also the start of a series, aptly titled the Parasol Protectorate. Just imagine if Jane Austen, Emily Post, and Bela Lugosi had a lovechild. Voila! Gore, but with gloves on and a chaperone.

The story centers on Alexia Tarabotti, a whipsmart firecracker of a character. She inhabits Victorian London but in a world vastly different than our own: Vampires and Werewolves, amongst other things, are a part of civilized society. Alexia becomes very rudely involved in a vampire murder and is then thrown into the company of the (AMAZING!) Lord Maccon, who just happens to be a close associate of the Queen, as well as a strikingly handsome werewolf. Hijinx of the best kind ensue: espionage, flamboyant vampires, uninvited advances, and streetside groping, oh my!

Alexia is my new favorite character in fiction right now. She breaks the mold much like Austen's beloved Elizabeth Bennet (sp?) did because of her unwillingness to be anyone but herself. She is on the verge of becoming a spinster and has nothing left to lose by becoming involved in the paranormal underworld (she's already soulless!) is smart, sassy, has no "filter", and is a refreshing new voice in literature. Think Sookie Stackhouse with a corset and shot-filled parasol.

There is nothing like it out right now (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters may come close but not quite) and I dare you not to giggle like a schoolgirl (and guffaw like a loon) when you read it.

Seriously? Amazon may be the root of online evil.

As I am beginning my day today like I do most days with a quick check of my email, I stumble upon a snippet of an article in Shelf Awareness about how if North Carolina successfully passes a law mandating that online retailers collect sales tax from their "marketing affiliates", whatever that means, and only 4.5% mind you . . . most states hover around the 7-8% mark, then Amazon will pull all of their business out of the state. Seriously, are you kidding me? EVERY OTHER TRADITIONAL RETAILER COLLECTS SALES TAX! QUIT BITCHING AND DO IT! I may be young and I may not have all of the information, but how can collecting sales tax (which is something that has been going on for decades without much of an issue until the online age) be "unconstitutional"? If you are getting paid for goods (or for referring said goods and get a commission), then sales tax should be collected (garage sales are probably the main exception even though you technically are supposed to claim that on your return, but who really does?). The online retailers have made BILLIONS of dollars in the last decade and the states deserve their fair share. The rest of us have been dutifully paying sales tax every month, why shouldn't they? Sales tax is a vital source of revenue for the state economy and frankly, the online retailers who complain that it will bankrupt them to have to pay it are being short-sighted and selfish in the long-run. I understand that having to shell out more money for another random expense is hard in this economy but this money is what fixes our roads, pays for our schools, feeds those who can't feed themselves, pays unemployment, and generally allows the states to operate. Amazon, by complaining that this law is unconstitutional, is basically going to force other NC retailers out of business because it will not allow them to be a part of their referral program, which constitutes much of their business. This in turn, will cost the state money because these people will then be a strain on their economy. The ripple effect is enormous.

But the biggest problem isn't this issue with North Carolina. The biggest problem is that most of these online retailers haven't been collecting sales tax for years and if the states don't choose to enforce or even enact a sales tax law, it will continue to go uncollected. But my favorite part of the whole scenario is that when the states do try to put a law into effect, all of the retailers immediately cry foul like the states are trying to do something that is unreasonable rather than something that every other retailer that happened to decide to do business in an actual store has been doing since forever. It's just ridiculous. If this issue isn't resolved there is never going to be any sort of level playing field, no matter what the industry and no matter what the state of our economy.

This rant is obviously coming from the perspective of an independent bookseller. Our industry is in DIRE straits right now partially because of the lack of a level playing field: stores closing every day, discrepancies in publisher discounts between smaller retailers and giant chains, an industry that is dominated by "bestsellers" that more often than not lead to returns, etc. And the biggest thing that we can do is to try to protect ourselves.

Orbit books, how I love thee

I'm not a poet but I am mildly obsessed with Hatchette's (actually the UK's) Orbit science fiction imprint. 80% of what I read last month was theirs and I don't regret it. Now, let's be honest here, I am not a scifi expert, nor am I going to be in the next few years (I'm only 27!), but I do know the difference between scifi that has the possibility of appealing to a mainstream audience, and scifi that has no inclination to do so at all. Orbit is one of those imprints that is going to suck in people that don't normally read SFF and keep them coming back for more. With the broad range of authors that they represent, and the cutting edge content, Orbit will be around (hopefully) for a long time. And the best part about it, is that the people that work for them are PASSIONATE about their jobs! I had the luck to meet Alex Lencicki at BEA 2 years ago and was so surprised because he was one of the few publisher people who was actually excited to talk to a bookseller like me who wasn't there to place an order or who wasn't there to schmooze. He was genuinely happy to talk to a fellow fan of the genre and was even happier because I was familiar with the catalog (I had ordered the books before I left for NY). I have also gotten the privelege to have some great email correspondence with Nadine Pirogow through the Orbit Report newsletters and the subsequent trivia contests that I can't stop entering!

The way that Orbit is operating is the way that imprints should be allowed to work. The website is a plethora of information about all of their authors (and links to virtually any SFF site, blog, reference, you name it) and their work and they are EXCITED about it. And the best part is that the website is actually functional meaning you have a really good chance at finding the info that you want without wanting to do violence to your computer. They actually want to talk to people about it. How is that not a good business model? Too many people that work in publishing have lost sight of what really drives the industry: the readers. And oftentimes, booksellers, especially independent booksellers, are the driving force behind the readers. Orbit hasn't lost that drive to connect and I hope they never do.

My current favorites for the season:

*Best Served Cold -- Joe Abercrombie
*Fall of Thanes -- Brian Ruckley (Thanks Nadine!)
*Red-Headed Stepchild -- Jaye Wells
*Hand of Isis -- Jo Graham

And don't get me started on the fall. My reading list is already too long and I am not going to have time to do it once my second kid comes in October! Too much great stuff!

Fall Already!?!

Does anyone else feel like the ordering seasons are right freaking on top of eachother? I feel like I just got done ordering Summer (which in some cases I did!) books and already I have to think about things that are coming out in December . . . some of which are the paperbacks for things that aren't even out yet! How am I supposed to know if I want something if I have NO IDEA how it did the first time? And the publishers complain about all of the returns. Maybe it wouldn't be such an issue if we actually had more than 10 minutes to see how a title does before we have to buy it in 3 different formats. I love the book world and I love my job, but this is one of the most irritating quirks. I hate to buy a title just to return it because I am of the mind to be prepared just in case something hits.

Not that I'm not excited for the fall, particularly for Stephen King's new one (I know, I am a total sell out, but seriously, he is guaranteed to please in my world . . . especially when I am in the midst of childbirth which I will be with this new one) Under the Dome and Diana Gabaldon's Echo in the Bone. I know, they are at hilariously opposite ends of the spectrum but both authors are able to entertain me for hours on end without me feeling like I have wasted my time and since both titles will probably be over 1,000 pages, I feel like I am going to get my money's worth as well. I am also excited for all of the little gems that are sure to be hiding in the catalogs. I love sniffing out first time authors or respected midlist authors that are new to me (which, given that I am 27 isn't that hard even being a buyer and having access to all of the titles that I do).

I just get so excited and so depressed in the same instant when the next season's catalogs start showing up from UPS and FedEx. I can't wait to see what is in them but then I realize how much time it takes to put all of the orders in and lose some of my interest. That is why I can't wait for Above the Treeline's Edelweiss to launch. For someone like me who buys all of the adult and all of the kid's books for a 10,000 sqft. + store, it's a big undertaking because I input all of my orders every season. If Edelweiss allows me to order, section, and import it all into my POS without having to spend hours with a 10 key, I am all for it. I will change my whole routine not to have to put catalogs in. I stacked them all up once to see how tall it was when I had them all ordered for the season and it was as tall as I was (I am 5'2" if I'm lucky). That's ridiculous! At least with e-catalogs I won't have to worry about them falling over on me . . .

Did I mention that I love my job?

Comfort Reading

What makes us want to reread a novel again and again? And what makes that list? I have a very small list of things that I will read again and again and there is no rhyme or reason to why I will pick them up other than I can let the book fall open anywhere and read with no confusion. I have read HUNDREDS of phenomenal books but have no desire to read many of them again unless I would need to for bookclub or something. Some of them are just too brutal or emotionally taxing to be able to read again and again for comfort. Because that is why we reread things right? For comfort, familiarity. It's like visiting old friends who have known you since childhood: there are no pretensions and you can let it all hang out without the threat of consequences because they have probably seen all the nasty stuff and still love you. Most of the books that I will reread happen to be a part of a series like Harry Potter, Twilight, Outlander, Lord of the Rings, Dark Tower, etc., which makes the promise of escaping my life a guarantee once I crack open the first book (or sixth). The best part is that I won't get heartburn from reading a 5,000 page series like I will if I eat a huge and very comforting BLT.

Watchmen

In a wonderful turn of events, I found myself able to go and see a matinee (which is also infinitely cheaper) of Watchmen so that I didn't have to wait forever for my husband to decide he wanted to see it. I was extremely pleased with it and didn't object to the ways that they cut things out because frankly, it would have been about 4 hours long without the necessary trimming. It was creepy because some of the scenes were straight out of the comic, right down to the coloring and expressions. Unreal. The only damper on my outing was the fact that as we were all leaving the theater, all of the people that were college age were complaining because it wasn't a "normal" comic movie. There wasn't enough action or too much of an agenda, blah, blah, blah. I was so embarrassed to be young at that moment because of all of the movies out right now, not many have had as much print as Watchmen has had this past year and for people to come seee the movie and have NO CLUE what it is about is just careless. It's their own damn fault really. It was never marketed as Batman: Dark Knight or Blade; it was marketed as what it was: the anti-hero superhero movie based on one of the greatest graphic novels of all time. The biggest indicator that it isn't for everyone is the fact that it got an "R" rating, thankfully. It was just so disheartening to listen to them complain about how much of a waste it was to sit through this movie and to be preached at. These are apparently the people who are spending big money going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua or Epic Movie, which we all know to be high quality entertainment. Not that I think that you have to read everything that a movie is based on before going to see it, but something like this might deserve a little preparation. Wake up 20-somethings. You are giving the rest of us a bad rap.

Heir to Michael Crichton

Well, have no fear, Michael Crichton's legacy is here. Enter Warren Fahy. He has written the equivalent of a love child between James Rollins, Michael Crichton, and Al Gore. I was dismayed when Michael Crichton died, like much of the literary community, because he filled such a unique place with his extreme science thrillers that were all somehow plausible in their craziness. Warren Fahy has proved himself capable of assuming that mantle. His book, Fragment, which pubs in June from Random House, is going to be one of the most talked about debuts of the year, if not the decade. I haven't had this much fun (or this many goosebumps) reading a book about evolutionary science ever. Not since Jurassic Park has having so much information thrown at me not bothered me a bit. In fact, it makes me want to dig out my old zoology and botany books just to feel a little smarter because, frankly, I feel about as smart as a brick after reading this whirlwind ride. I hope upon hope that the movie rights get sold to the correct person because this could be amazing if done well. Groundbreaking even. The best part about the novel is just that overall, the writing isn't all that fantastic, the characters aren't amazingly well developed, and some of them are "stock," but what makes it so good is that you DON'T CARE! All you care about is that they survive and that the good guys win in the end (one word: HENDER . . . it will change your world). That is the mark of a great novelist when the writing can be flawed and it doesn't detract at all from the experience. Bravo Mr. Fahy. You have just made my summer in bookselling because nothing sells books like people excited and I'm ecstatic.

Why No Love for the SFF?

Why is it that scifi fans are so often NOT considered to be mainstream readers? Why do we get shunted around away from all of the "normal" book consumers and lumped with all of the fringe genres? Some of the greatest literature in the world has been written in the scifi/fantasy vein: Lord of the Rings, Hitchhiker's Guide & sequels, anything William Gibson, and so many others that it is impossible to list them all. How is it that works of this genre are so often shut out of the major awards? Not that the majors are all that matters because they aren't, but that doesn't meant that theses authors don't still deserve the recognition and therefore the sales boost. So many of them are immensely popular in Europe and get virtually nothing here. It's a travesty. Now, I realize that many authors don't want to be mainstream and have no problem with only reaching those who find them. That's their prerogative but as a bookseller, it's my job to try and introduce them to more readers when I know it's a perfect fit. But how can I do that when it looks like some of their covers were drawn by 3rd graders, approved by 5th graders, and then marketed by middle schoolers? The old cliche doesn't apply or else publishers wouldn't be spending oodles of money on covers and they would all look the same, so why do they instantly relegate SFF covers to ridiculous status? I hate it. Rant over.

Addicted to Kristen Cashore

Here's the deal. I am like a crazed Twilight fan for Graceling. It is one of my favorite YA (and adult for that matter since the crossover appeal is limitless) titles of the year, and probably in my top 5 all-time. It's THAT good people. You get love, violence, good vs. evil, and one of the most intriguing and strong female protagonists to come along in years. But the best part is the simplicity of the writing: no overblown descriptions, no gooey makeouts or declarations of love, and no wasted words. Just a beautiful purity of storytelling. So, imagine my delight to arrive at Winter Institute this year and see the wondrous sight of early reader copies of Fire, the Graceling prequel that comes out in October. My partner in YA obsession, Sandra, and I made fools of ourselves as we giggled and jumped around like tweens at a Jonas Brothers show. Of course I devoured it and now can't wait for the next. I've had a good run with sequels lately as this was on the pedestal with Graceling. I actually yelled at my 2 year old daughter to leave me alone so I could finish it (sorry Lily . . . I really am a good parent!) because I was in so deep. Fire (name of the main character as well as the novel . . . sorry it's confusing) is also an amazing female character like Graceling's Katsa: set apart by nature but accepting of herself and what she is capable of without being dramatic or whiny. What's great about Fire is that it tells its story while set in lands only hinted about in Graceling but doesn't feel retread. It was fan-freaking-tastic. While there wasn't really any sort of coming of age and much more of a romantic struggle, this too will only add fuel to the obsession fire for many.

Seriously. Go buy Graceling (from an independent bookstore mind you). Go get it right now and don't stop reading until your eyes hurt. And then in October, go get Fire. Get it for all of the girls you know who feel like they are something "other" while in high school, like they don't belong. No one will be disappointed.

Who doesn't love E.T. and Steig Larsson?

How great is this for a desk lamp? Who wouldn't feel ready to work with E.T. hawking you down?

I just finished Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr. Seriously, what is it with all of us adults getting sucked into all of these YA books? And series no less? I have compulsive love/hate relationship with series. On one hand, I love to read about the same characters in different situations, much like watching a TV series, but I HATE to have to wait to read the next book! HATE IT! Even though I may get to read some of them early, it still means that I have to wait eventually. But if I were only to read series that were complete, I would be missing out on some of the best and most innovative YA (and adult) books.

Take for instance, my new favorite obsession, Steig Larsson, author of last year's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. That was quite possibly one of the best debuts of the year and going to be difficult to top, so naturally I couldn't wait for his second, Girl Who Played With Fire (out in July from RH). I was literally incommunicado while I was reading this. I had started reading it on a flight and was PISSED when I had to stop because we were landing and I had to get off. I'm trying to find time to read this while I am at ABA's Winter Institute (anyone who has been there knows that there is virtually NO time to read unless you are playing hooky or up all night, sadly, neither of which I did) and couldn't stop trying to figure it out. When I finally finished it, my satisfaction was RUINED by the fact that it once again ends very abruptly and nothing is really tidied up. That is where he gets you: his plots are so tricky because they are laid out so simply that it's hard to figure out early. His characters are wonderfully flawed but not so irritating that you don't care what happens to them. When this book pubs, all bets are off. It's going to do better than his first because all of the people that read that one are going to buy this one, AND lend both to their friends because they can't stop talking about it, and then this great cycle of lending and buying will ensue . . . in a perfect world. Now we have to wait until Summer 2010 to see how the cliffhanger ends. I just wish that I had the power to resurrect people because Steig Larsson was a gem to the literary community and if only the library in The Dreaming of unfinished/never written books that Neil Gaiman created in his Sandman series existed . . .

Long Overdue

So, to say that I am behind the times is something of a generalization considering that I was covered in a sensual combo of baby barf, breastmilk, and dog hair when blogging became the thing to do. I guess it's better to be late to the party than to never show up at all. And, the best part is that other people got to work out all of the kinks in the system before I showed up. Bravo people paying attention!

I love my job. I get paid a decent amount (and by decent, I mean that if I ever had to live on my own, I'd be screwed without my husband's "real job," benefits, and general earning power) to read . . . all the time. And order books for a store. And talk to people about books. And get copies of said books BEFORE they come out (quite possibly the single greatest job perk for a booseller since we are all beyond BROKE). And to travel to exotic locales like Salt Lake City and Detroit with other bookish people. (Cue Price is Right prize music) For someone like me who has a dusty B.A. in English on the shelf, it's a great gig. Not to mention that I get to stay home and hang out with my kid while I do this.

Welcome to my life. Hopefully you don't think it's too boring.