Category Archives: Reviewettes

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Congrats to Susan and Anita, who won Control by Cardeno C and Mary Calmes! Control is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Randonymity

  • We had sevenish inches of snow Wednesday night… and it will be 73F on Sunday.
  • Chaos’ cornea is healed! Still have to put ointment in his eye through Sunday. Giving him a treat after each application of ointment means he comes running and sometimes purrs throughout.

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Think, Do, Make, Learn

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Reading Update
Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Penguins Stories Ever Told by Joe Starkey & Mike Lange. Good collection of anecdotes from current and former players, coaches, and more. My only real issue with the book was how randomly the anecdotes were organized within the time period sections, so my logical brain kept trying to detect a pattern where there was none to be found.

*purring* -Mayhem

*SCHLURP* -Chaos

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Last linkity of the year

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Think, Learn, Make, Do

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Reading Update
The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin & Richard Panek. Very good nonfiction look at how thinking about autism has changed as our understanding of neurology and brain chemistry has increased. For me, the second part of the book (“Rethinking the Autistic Brain”) was far more interesting and useful than the neurology/brain chemistry first part. Just because people with autism think differently doesn’t mean that our thinking is wrong. It’s just different. And if researchers develop a “cure” for autism, what will be lost? There’s evidence suggesting that people such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo had high-functioning autism, as well as probably Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. That doesn’t seem like “wrong” or “broken” thinking to me.

I’m glad that I’m old enough (47) that I made it through the education system as a “weird smart kid” instead of as someone with a disability, and that I learned I could take care of and support myself. All of it was through a pretty non-standard path, which I’m not sure would be an option today. My pattern-matching brain and ability to look at problems in a way that’s completely different from the way my coworkers do is valued by the company I’ve worked for for over 17 years.

Flashback to a few months ago, when there were leaves and green things… *sigh*

“SquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrelSquirrel!” -Chaos

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Linkity will try not to whine about the cold… too much

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Congrats to Urbanista, who won the signed paperback copies of The Replacement Guitarist (2nd ed) and Home for the Holidays (The Replacement Guitarist #2) (2nd ed) by Lori Toland!

Congrats to Marie, who won Christmas Serendipity by Liam Livings! Christmas Serendipity will be released by JMS Books on December 8.

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Reading Update
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh. Very good collection of Brosh’s clever, insightful, and sometimes poignant comics. I was disappointed that the collection didn’t contain the brilliant “alot” comic, but perhaps there will be a less autobiographical collection available in the future.

“Hello, bird!! I will stare at you!!” -Mayhem

“You see what I have to put up with?! That is absolutely a leaf, not a bird.” -Chaos

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And suddenly it felt like winter and linkity wept

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Congrats to Kate, who won Stripped Clean by Ellis Carrington!

Congrats to Helena, who won Taken (Stranded #2) by Andrew Grey! Taken will be released by Dreamspinner Press on October 28.

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Reading Update
A Casual Weekend Thing by AJ Thomas. ebook. Good m/m romantic suspense about a San Diego cop who’s on injured reserve when he has to go to Montana to deal with his estranged brother’s death. The characters were enjoyably complex and nearly made up for a few, relatively minor, rough spots in the plot and writing.

Hockey fics. Of course. 🙂

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

(Really, I think he’s sleeping with his eyes partially open.)

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Linkity has no idea where these heaps of things came from, nor any idea where they should go

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Congrats to Fehu, who won Parting Shot (A Matter of Time #7) by Mary Calmes! Parting Shot is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Max T, who won Fanning the Flames (The Match Before Christmas #2) (2nd ed) by Eden Winters!

Randonymity

  • Oh, unpacking, how I do hate thee.

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Reading Update
One Coffee With (Sigrid Harald #1) by Margaret Maron. I can’t figure out why I liked this mystery so much the first time I read it roughly 10 years ago. It has not aged well.

Plus hockey fics. Of course. 🙂

“Whatcha doing, big kitty?” -Mayhem

“Being all manly. Go away, May!” -Chaos

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Can’t linkity for long – unpacking!

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Congrats to Joder, who won Stranded by Andrew Grey! Stranded will be released by Dreamspinner Press on July 15.

Randonymity

  • On Saturday, the movers (Tyler and Tyler) moved the bulk of my worldly goods from my old third-floor condo (no elevator) to my new condo 6.5 blocks away… on the same street.
  • Hey, I like my neighborhood! 🙂
  • And I am soooooo glad I hired movers (a first for me) – it was worth every penny.
  • But oh, I forgot how time consuming it is to unpack and find a place for everything…
  • Need to buy more shelf lining paper – have so far gone through around 55 feet of the 18″ wide stuff and I am not done.

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  • May doesn’t sit on my head, but she’ll make happy paws in my hair when I’m in bed, which takes bed head to whole new heights.

Teh Cute

Reading Update
Undone Deeds (Connor Grey #6) by Mark del Franco. This is a book that seemed to be trying too hard and simultaneously not trying hard enough, as the first half was slow and the second half was hella fast. Refreshing your memory of Celtic mythology before you read it wouldn’t be amiss.

“Well, I guess this new purple couch is ok…” -Chaos

Picture taken from my new purple chaise lounge. 🙂

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In which linkity has no title

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Contests

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Teh Cute

Reading Update (I know, I’m as shocked about this as you are)
Unshapely Things (Connor Grey #1) by Mark Del Franco. reread. I originally read this in February 2008. Upon rereading, I definitely appreciated some of the more “old school” urban fantasy elements (harking back to Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, Terri Windling, Tanya Huff, etc), such as the involvement of the Fae and the city/urban environment seeming to almost be a character itself. In this tale of druid who’s lost his powers and helps out the Boston Police Department as best he can, the urban fantasy elements pair interestingly with a first-person noir detective narrative (as with the Dresden Files). On with my reread of the next two books, which is as far as I made it before running out of steam with the genre last time.
Unquiet Dreams (Connor Grey #2) by Mark Del Franco. reread. Very good urban fantasy in which Connor encounters trolls and dwarves and tree spirits, oh my!
Unfallen Dead (Connor Grey #3) by Mark Del Franco. reread. Another good installment in the Connor Grey series. Like orannia, I didn’t think the romantic relationship added anything to the story.

Mayhem impersonating a Dali clock…

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Linkity suspects all those crows are up to something nefarious

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Congrats to Joder, who won Collusion (Diversion #2) by Eden Winters! Collusion will be released on February 24 by Amber Quill Press.

Congrats to Urbanista, who won Take It Off (Market Garden #2) by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov! Take It Off will be released February 25 by Riptide Publishing.

Congrats to Irene, who won Something in the Way He Needs (Family #1) by Cardeno C! Something in the Way He Needs will be released on February 25 by Dreamspinner Press.

Contests

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Think, Make, Do, Learn

  • History of cup holders in cars. (via Consumerist) (I remember being really annoyed at Ford’s early cup holders because they were about an inch deep and anything you put in them was guaranteed to tip over and spill.)

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Reading Update
Natural Selection by minor_hue. free online. Good short Merlin-Arthur fanfic in which Arthur’s friends think he should settle down and set him up on a series of horrific blind dates, the only good part of which is waiter Merlin.
Crazy (Natural Selection #2) by minor_hue. free online. Steamy short epilogue to Natural Selection.

Please note that the below are not hockey fanfics…
I’m Every Goalie (In the Crease #0.5) by Carter Quinn. free online. Ok short about a goalie and a d-man on opposing teams who get together every chance they have.
In the Crease (In the Crease #1) by Carter Quinn. free online. Ok short set two years later than I’m Every Goalie. The goalie and the d-man are now playing on the same team, but…
Puck You (Puck You #1) by Elizabeth Jewell. ebook short. Ok short m/m PWP between two fictitious NHL players from opposing teams.
Puck You, Two (Puck You #2) by Elizabeth Jewell. ebook short. So-so short m/m PWP between the guys from the first book.
Puckin’ Right (Puck You #3) by Elizabeth Jewell. ebook short. So-so short m/m PWP in which the two hockey players are now on the same team.
Outta My Crease (Puck You #4) by Elizabeth Jewell. ebook short. Meh short m/m PWP in which the new goalie throws a twist into things.

 

“…zzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

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Of snowflakes and linkity

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Linkity’s a little sparse this week – it was pretty quiet online, plus I’ve felt rather vegetative. 🙂

Bookity

  • New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (romances) and AAR (best romance audiobooks of 2012)
  • If you’re a mystery fan, I hope you’re familiar with Stop, You’re Killing Me! It’s a fabulous resource for finding new things to read or just figuring out the order of books in a series.

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Reading Update
Hockey fics, FTW! 🙂
Blood on the Ice by AM Riley. ebook short. reread. Very good short paranormal m/m romance about a hockey player who gets bitten by a vampire.
How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman. Pretty good collection of The Oatmeal’s cat-themed comics. I knew someone would get me this for Christmas… it was my brother. 🙂 (Or, per the gift tag, his cat Riley, who happens to be Chaos’ mom…)

“Feedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedmefeedme!” -Chaos

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In which brevity is the heart of linkity

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Congrats to Vanyelkane, who won Blood on the Mountain (The Mountains #4) by PD Singer! Blood on the Mountain is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Penumbra, who won Santa, Actually (That’s Entertainment #2) by Clare London! Santa, Actually will be released on December 16 by JMS Books.

Congrats to Ria H, who won Chase the Ace by Clare London! Chase the Ace will be be released on December 16 by Amber Allure.

Congrats to sylvan65, who won Naked Tails by Eden Winters! Naked Tails will be released on December 17 by Dreamspinner Press.

Linkity’s going to be briefish today, as I had a holiday party for work yesterday evening, which cut into my linkity post creation time.

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Reading Update
Hockey fics. No surprise there. 🙂
Dead in LA (LA Paranormal 1 & 2) by Lou Harper. ebook. arc. Solid m/m paranormal romantic suspense about a prickly former construction worker who’s going back to school and advertises for a roommate. He really doesn’t expect to end up with an actually psychic roommate… or one he finds attractive. Looking forward to more in this series!
Inseparable by Chris Scully. ebook. Sweet holiday m/m romance about a guy who’s been hit by a car and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and a guy who says they’re just friends, even though that doesn’t feel right.
Soups and Diners by Alex Whitehall. ebook short. arc. Good short m/m holiday romance about two refugees from a wedding reception who run into each other in a late night diner.

“Wait, wha….? Why were you taking my picture while I was asleep, Mom?!” -Chaos