You may or may not ever have noticed, but I’m not much for the zombie books. However, that didn’t stop me from writing a zombie haiku when Margene pointed me to this contest. Head on over to Historic Fibers if you’d like to win a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or if you simply like a good haiku challenge. Contest closes midnight PDT, May 15.

Speaking of Margene, stop by and welcome her to the world of gluten-free knitters. She has good friends and family like I have good friends and family, so I know she’ll be fine and do well!

Limedragon pointed out that Handknit Heroes is having a mask design contest, which closes July 15. You could win $150 and have your patten published in the Fall 2009 issue of Handknit Heroes.

And speaking of Handknit Heroes and Limedragon, our very own dragon had a pattern published in the latest issue of Handknit Heroes! To celebrate, she’s giving away some copies of the comic to a few lucky commenters who leave comments before midnight CDT, May 14.

For you fans of young adult books, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist is giving away three copies of Tad Williams and Deborah Beale’s The Dragons of Ordinary Farm.

It can be painful, but many of us have had to do it – break up with a formerly beloved series of books. (The bit about why post author Sarah broke up with the Anita Blake series? Too funny – and too true. I also enjoyed reading the comments on this post.)

Have you heard about the controversy surrounding Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s new book, The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide? Do read a bit about the concerns before you buy the book!

I love the idea of invisible floating bookshelves, but I’ll never do it.

Sony might be releasing a larger ebook reader to compete with the Kindle DX by the end of this year.

FiledBy is a new site that allows authors and readers to connect. I haven’t had a chance to look at it, so I can’t say anything else about it!

Reading Update
Burning Alive: The Sentinel Wars by Shannon K. Butcher. This was a strong start to a new paranormal romance series about the Sentinels, who are guarding humans from demons. (If that name “Butcher” seems familiar, it should.)
Forbidden Nights with a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 7) by Kerrelyn Sparks. Yup, I just read book 6 a week or so ago! Again, this continues to be a well done, not too heavy paranormal series.
Over My Dead Body (Broken Heart, Oklahoma) by Michele Bardsley. The latest book in this paranormal series about the unusual residents of Broken Heart, Oklahoma, is a decent read. This is another not too heavy paranormal series.
Edge of Danger (Primal Instinct #2) by Rhyannon Byrd. This was as intense a paranormal as the first book in the series, Edge of Hunger. Although these characters were pretty angsty, too, I didn’t get overwhelmed with annoyance by their intermittent TSTL behavior.
One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 2) by Jeaniene Frost. The second book in the Night Huntress series is as well-written and involving as the first. Crispin (aka “Bones”) may be my new vampire crush.
Smart Mouth by Erin McCarthy. Contemporary romance about an FBI agent and a reporter. Very, very steamy. *fans self*
Crap. No abs. Um… Here’s a link to a book I know nothing about, included simply because it has abs on the cover and I suspect (but can’t verify) that said abs belong to NK.
Getting What You Want and Wanting What You Get (The Stepp Sisters, Books 1-2) by Kathy Love. Extremely involving and well-done contemporary romance about the Stepp sisters of Milbrook, Maine. Um, I may have cried a bit near the end of the second book.
Promises in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Another solid Eve Dallas and Roarke mystery.
Cat Sitter on a Hot Tin Roof (Dixie Hemingway) by Blaize Clement. Hmph. I’m cranky about being left hanging by the ending. You know how that annoys me.

“I will vaporize you if you don’t stop looking at those books and feed me right now.” -Chaos

Trek’s having a contest to guess how many quarters are in the tea tin. Contest ends when the tin is full; I think the prize will be cool bag and some other goodies.

Here’s hoping the comments work today. Having the comments shut off randomly seems to be about as predictible as the WYSIWYG editor not working. Thank you, WordPress/Firefox 3.0. Only not so much.

The big ebook news of the week is Amazon’s Kindle DX, which has a larger screen and native pdf support. However, it also has a nearly $500 price tag and looks to be as fragile as the Kindle 2. According to Smart Bitches, it’s already picked up the Twitter tag of #dud. Gizmodo has had some good information on the Kindle DX that’s worth checking out, too. (And did you know that 20% of Kindle owners are over 40?)

BookArmy is another book recommendation/social site. I’m sticking with LibraryThing. 🙂

Did Twilight create the new YA genre of abstinence p0rn?

Thanks to Naomi for this link about art made from old book covers.

SciFiGuy has a list of all the May releases for urban fantasy, paranormal romance, fantasy, and scifi.

Check out the Suvudu free ebooks for May, which include a paranormal title (Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian), scifi (Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham), and fantasy (Elric: Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock).

You can pick up the first book in the Jaz Parker vampire series by Jennifer Rardin (Once Bitten, Twice Shy) as an ebook for $1.00 (or so, depending on the format) this month.

This is so perfectly Chaos!

Crap. No abs in this post, either. I might have a rebellion on my hands. (Don’t believe me?! Go read the comments from my last reading update and get back to me.) *sounds of rummaging through shelves* Whew! NK to the rescue with a book I won recently. (Strangely, I’ve won all four books of this series, although I haven’t read any of them yet.)

Reading Update
Secret Life of a Vampire (Love at Stake, Book 6) by Kerrelyn Sparks. This continues to be a nice, not too heavy paranormal series.
Midnight Cravings (Silhouette Bites) by Michele Hauf, Karen Whiddon, Lori Devoti, Anna Leonard, Vivi Anna, and Bonnie Vanak. Six stories about creatures of the night (mostly, but not entirely, werewolves). I enjoyed all the stories, but wasn’t that excited about finishing the one by Vanak.
Tempting Adam (Seattle Steam #2) by Shelli Stevens. ebook. I won this non-paranormal romance in a contest and discovered it was an engaging and, well, steamy read. 😉 I’ll definitely read more by Shelli Stevens.
Arousing Suspicions by Marianne Stillings. A fun contemporary romance about a San Francisco dream interpreter and an SFPD detective. This is the first of Stillings’ Darling Detectives trilogy (next is Satisfaction and then Killer Charms). I read these totally out of order. Whoops.
Animal Instincts by Gena Showalter. Another fun contemporary romance about a woman with a few trust issues who’s been reading a self-help book on freeing her inner tigress. (Nope, it’s not a paranormal, either.)
Seduced by the Night, Tempted in the Night, and Lord of the Night (Night Slayer, Books 2-4) by Robin T. Popp. Waaaaah! I got totally sucked into this series, but I see that the most recent book, Lord of the Night, was published in 2007. It doesn’t look good for more books, does it?
Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101 by Paige Taylor. ebook. Nicely done (and steamy) paranormal romance – you can read a longer review at Fang-tastic Books, where I’ll periodically be reviewing paranormal ebooks.
Seducing the Darkness (Darkness Series, Book 1) by Shiela Stewart. ebook. This should show up on Fang-tastic Books sometime in the near future, too. Another vampirey ebook, this is the first in Stewart’s Darkness series. I hope the choppiness and other editing issues are smoothed out as the series progresses, because I thought the premise was intriguing.
Wishful Thinking: The Swann Sisters Chronicles, Book 1 by Evangeline Anderson. ebook. What a fun book about having a fairy godmother! (Hint: it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.) Recommended. You can read a more lengthy review on LibraryThing.
Men of Alaska: Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler. Very steamy and well-done paranormal about a reporter who travels to Alaska and meets a very special guy…

“What if the hokey pokey really is what it’s all about?” -Mayhem

How did I not know about the Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge?! You can join any time before December 31, 2009. There are three levels: read 12, read 25, or read 50 books from your local library in 2009. Um, looks like I hit the third in March and April alone… *blink blink* I’ve read over 100 library books so far this year.

There’s another Hachette audio book giveaway over at J. Kaye’s Book Blog (and there will be one each day this week *hint hint*) – leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of the nonfiction audio book The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo. Make sure you read the rules, or you could win and not even know about it!

Here’s an updated list of many current book blog contests – and they aren’t just for paranormals. 😉

Are ebooks ruining cultural snobbishness? (Woot if they are!)

Interesting – a machine to print books on demand while you wait in the bookstore.

Brace yourselves – after several weeks of abdomen extraordinaire, there are no abs whatsoever in this week’s reading update! Unless you click on that Lauren Dane Cascadia Wolves link. But you might get more than you bargained for at that point. You have been warned. (I swear, warning y’all is akin to daring you…)

Reading Update
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich. The Stephanie Plum Between-the-Numbers books are never my favorites in this series, but this one wasn’t too bad – probably because Ranger and Joe played a more active role than they usually do in these.
Tri Mates, Wolf Unbound, Standoff, and Fated (Cascadia Wolves, Books 3-6) by Lauren Dane. ebooks. I’m totally sucked into this series about werewolves in the Pacific NW. S3x and political intrigue – what more could you ask? Hmm – maybe more books, now that I’ve read them all? If I was rating steaminess on a five jalapeno scale, this series would probably merit an off-the-scale habanero meltdown.
Eternal Moon (Moon Series, Book 10) by Rebecca York. This continues to be a well-written werewolf series, but I think the time has come for the Moon Series and I to part ways. I’ve been enjoying the series less and less since the whole parallel universe aspect was introduced – I keep hoping that particular thread will die out, but it seems unlikely to happen.
Out of the Night (Night Slayer, Book 1) by Robin T. Popp. I know, I’m shallow – I picked this up because of the Nathan Kamp cover, but it was a surprisingly good read about chupacabras and vampires.
Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 1) by Chloe Neill. This was a really, really good book about a grad student turned into a vampire without her consent. Unlike many paranormals, it’s not filled with graphic s3x or anything, either. Definitely recommended and I am already looking forward to the next book.
Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, Book 1) by Jeaniene Frost. Cat Crawfield is half-human, half-vampire and looking to rid the world of vampires when she discovers that things aren’t as black and white as she’d believed.
Edge of Hunger (Primal Instinct, Book 1) by Rhyannon Byrd. Conceptually intriguing and I sort of enjoyed it, but I spent so much time being pissed at the “hero” and thinking he had a whole lot of TSTL (too stupid to live) going on that I really couldn’t get into the book. Apparently there’s a limit to the amount of hero angst I can take. But hey, I did finish the book, which counts for something.
The Monster of Minnesota (News from the Edge, Book 1) by Mark Sumner. I couldn’t resist this title when I saw it in the used section at Uncle Hugo’s over the weekend. Think tabloid journalism and the Loch Ness Monster on a Minnesota lake. Sort of. 🙂
Mouth To Mouth by Erin McCarthy. Another sweet and steamy romance from McCarthy, this time about a Cleveland cop and the woman he meets under unusual circumstances. Somewhat unexpectedly, this book has some nice insights into deaf culture and the challenge of living between two worlds.

“Mmmm… is there anything tastier than furry mouse tails?! I don’t think so!” -Mayhem

The title of today’s post was an actual quote from someone working at Uncle Hugo’s yesterday. And the scary thing? I only buy a fraction of the paranormals I read at Uncle Hugo’s. I check out most from the library, buy some at the library “withdrawn” store, and win quite a few, too. (Um, I might’ve won a couple more books yesterday. Whoops.)

Jen’s having a contest – look at the picture, try not to shriek, answer the poll, then leave a comment to be entered for a chance to win some pretty stitchmarkers. Contest closes 8 pm EDT, April 16.

You probably know I’m a big fan of bookstands. Here’s some info on how to make one yourself – the inspiration in this case was for an ebook reader, but I think you could adapt this to more traditional books. For ebook readers, I would suggest that you add something so that the reader doesn’t slip from side to side. For my beloved ReadUpon, I’m going to use a bit of rubbery shelf liner.

Looking for book information? ISDNdb.com looks very handy indeed.

Now that Barnes & Noble has acquired Fictionwise, there are rumors about a B&N ebook reader. Whatever happens with that, I’ll remain a proponent of ebook readers (like the EZ Reader) that focus on reading a wide variety of formats.

Sure, it’s a darn attractive bookcase, but it really doesn’t look like an efficient use of space to me. Now, these Tetris bookcases are another story…

Have a bike trainer or exercise bike without a book holder? Add one yourself.

Beware the dreaded vampire kitteh!

Hee hee – go Powell’s! Take advantage of the #powellswin special, which is 20% of any order over $20 if you use the #powellswin code before 11:59 pm PDT, April 16.

You’ll notice that my reading update looks a bit different today. Instead of using Amazon for my book links, I’ve started using IndieBound. By doing this, I’m able to support indie bookstores and to reduce, in my own tiny way, dependence on a megalithic bookseller. I got this idea from Dear Author and the Smart Bitches, whose explanations are far more eloquent than my own (yup, more fallout from #amazonfail). (Please note that if there isn’t cover art, the book was not available via IndieBound. Ebooks will be linked from BooksOnBoard if possible.)

Reading Update
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide To Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell & Candy Tan. Written with humor, irreverence, and an obvious love for the wide wild world of romance novels, this book is hellagood snarky delight. Ranging from serious to silly and back again, the Smart Bitches reveal (pun intended) and revel in the genre’s excesses. It was a damn fun read, with enough insightful critical bits to keep things interesting. Plus there are coloring pages! A Choose-Your-Own-Ending Romance with paranormal, Regency, pirate, and contemporary paths! Mad-Libs! Controversy! And even a board game!
The Druid Made Me Do It by Natale Stenzel. Doesn’t it just figure – that hot one-night stand (who vanished in the middle of the night without a word) from vacation eight years ago turns out to be a puca and the local Druid leader puts you in charge of his reformation… (Hello! You aren’t even a Druid.)
Real Vamps Don’t Drink O-Neg by Tawny Taylor. So-so paranormal romance featuring vampires and lamiae. Very, very steamy stuff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The Darkest Fire (Lords of the Underworld) by Gena Showalter. ebook short. Prequel to the Lords of the Underworld series. Interesting background information, but definitely not as smooth as the actual series.
The Darkest Night and The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Books 1-2) by Gena Showalter. These are really absorbing and well-written books about immortal warriors who were forced to house all the evils that escaped Pandora’s box (such as Death, Pain, Violence, etc).
Shadow Touch (Dirk & Steele, Book 2) by Marjorie M. Liu. Skipped this one earlier because I had trouble finding it. Continues to be a recommended series about the paranormal detective agency of Dirk & Steele.

“So you think he’s really cute, Mom?” -Mayhem

“Let’s see if he passes my snuggle test.” -Mayhem

“I’m sorry to break it to you, Mom, but he’s just not furry enough.” -Mayhem