Reading Habits

I find myself slipping back to my beginnings; slowly romance is being replaced by other genres, especially SF&F. As far as I can remember, I've never had a reading block per se, but I do get overloaded reading the same thing over and over again. Right now, it's historical romances. I pounce on Kleypas and Chase but that's about it.

I was a big SFF reader back in the day, although the first "adult" book I can remember reading is Little Women, which was a Christmas present when I was ... actually I don't remember how old I was. But I was under the age of twelve because that's when we moved. By adult, I mean something more mature than The Bobbsey Twins.

Anyway, I have an attic full of books, most of them SF&F and I have gradually put my favorites on my Fire. I also have a house full of books, aside from the attic and I have pictures to prove it! (Please excuse any poor housekeeping you might notice.)

This is the bookcase in my bedroom (aside from the bedside table which does not have drawers but rather bookshelves.)

These are the shelves in the 'computer room', which used to be my youngest boy's bedroom, along with a makeshift clothesline to air dry slippers and bras. (one has to be inventive when one lives in a very small house and that big black binder is heavy and will hold the line.  :-) )

And the livingroom. We added built in shelves some years ago when we redecorated.

When I die, I'm leaving all these books, plus the attic full, to the library. Because, I mean damn!

So, as I was saying, I have a lot of books, but some titles aren't in e (gasp!) and I don't know if they ever will be. For example, The Belgariad by David Eddings is not in e and I don't know if these books ever will be since he is deceased. But I've been re-reading early Elizabeth Moon and I've found some new authors and I will keep on reading as long as I can see and have a reader to enlarge the print.

Still I've discovered that no matter the genre, I want just a tad of romance in my books. I don't need to be in the bedroom, but I want to know that two people love and value each other and that they won't be lonely and/or unhappy. IMO, it can only enhance the story line.

Okay, here are some of the books I've been reading.  *grin to Lea*

This is an omnibus of the first three novels in this series: Hunting Party, Sporting Chance and Winning Colors. They involve spaceships and horses, lol, and there is a very understated romance between two mature people (the heroine, Heris Serrano, is around forty years old). The secondary characters are all fleshed out, especially Lady Cecelia. I plan on getting the rest of the books eventually. Here's the blurb for Hunting Party, which describes the plot better than I ever could:

Hunting Party

Heris Serrano--formerly a commander in the Regular Space Service--must take whatever job she can get after her resignation under a cloud. What she can get is the captaincy of a rich old lady's space yacht...a rich old horsewoman, who has little liking for the military, and whose spoiled nephew Ronnie (and his equally spoiled friends) have been foisted on her after his folly embarrassed the family. Lady Cecelia's only apparent interest is horses--she intends to go fox hunting on the private pleasure planet of a friend of hers, Lord Thornbuckle. But events conspire to make it far more than a fox hunt. 

                                                                 ~*~

I cannot manipulate these pics, never could, so I apologize in advance. But here's what I just finished reading: Linesman and Alliance, the first two books in the Linesman trilogy by S K Dunstall (who is - are? - two people and sisters. Have no idea when the third is releasing, probably next year.

Here's the blurb for Linesman:

First in a brand new thought-provoking science fiction series.

The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…

Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working.

Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius.

The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

No overt romance in this one, but there are two women I would love to have for Ean. I like that with each book he learns more about himself and his talent and more about the people he has come to love. He has made a family and he'd do anything to save them. It's a rip roaring space opera and I'm loving it.

Next up is Libriomancer by Jim Hines.  

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg.  Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped. 

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .

They like this book a lot at SBTB so I'm gonna try it. 

I did try to read a historical romance by Molly O'Keefe, Seduced, but it's rather dark and I just couldn't get into it. I'll try again later, much later, lol. And I tried to read The Hooker and the Hermit by L H Cosway and Penny Reid, because I like Penny Reid's writing, but I did NOT like the heroine; she was just too eccentric for me and I did not feel like wading through any changes she might make. Same with Frisk Me by Lauren Layne. I stopped reading after the first scene with the heroine. Hated her. Way too 'in your face' for me.

                                                                       *****

I just reread this post and my lord, I'm rambling, lol. I evidently need to socialize more and find some folks to talk to; Lori calls me on her drive home from work but her phone hangs up on me after about five or ten minutes (picture frowny face here).

And I have no idea how to bring this post to a close, so I'll just say thank you for reading and see you next time.  :-)