Monthly Tally: January 2011

From TBR journal

1. Deadly Heat, Cynthia Eden - This was okay, but I much prefer her paranormals. 
2. Marrying Daisy Bellamy, Susan Wiggs - I was waiting for this story for a very long time and I wasn't disappointed. This is definitely a heart-tugger. 
3. Here to Stay, Catherine Anderson - This was an interesting look at mini horses being used instead of guide dogs for the blind.
4. Dragon Warrior, Janet Chapman
5. Bonded by Blood, Laurie London
6. Master of Smoke, Angela Knight
7. Finding Destiny, Jean Johnson
8. Blood Challenge, Eileen Wilks - Oh, I liked this one. The heroine was awesome. Wilks did a great job of balancing the story between Lily & Rule and Benedict & Arjenie. There's even a smidge of Cullen & Cynna. My only quibble is I'd like to see more of Rule's son.
9. Disney's Hero Squad: Ultraheroes: Race for the Ultrapods, Giorgio Salati, et. al
10. How to Woo a Reluctant Lady, Sabrina Jeffries
11. The Legend of the Golden Snail, Graeme Base
12. Sins of a Highland Devil, Sue-Ellen Welfonder
13. Tiger's Curse, Colleen Houck - This is like Twilight, but with tigers. 
14. Skin Heat, Ava Gray - I liked this one so much, I'm going back and reading the previous books. 
15. Yours for the Taking, Robin Kaye
16. Ascension, Caris Roane
17. Eternal Prey, Nina Bangs - This is my guilty pleasure series. I find the idea of dinosaurs in romance novels so ludicrous,  I can't not read them.
18. Game Over, Taylor Keating
19. Inside Out, Lauren Dane
20. Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right of Me, Kieran Kramer - Good book, but awful, awful title.
21. When Harry Met Sally, Kieran Kramer
22. Masques, Patricia Briggs
23. The Fantastic 5 & 10 c Store, J. Patrick Lewis - A picture book told through use of rebuses. Definitely for older readers. 
24. The Beast Within, Erin McCarthy, et.al 
25. Art & Max, David Wiesner
26. Angelic, Kelley Armstrong
27. Demon Bound, Meljean Brook
28. Laid Bare, Lauren Dane
29. One Week as Lovers, Victoria Dahl
30. Shadows All Around Her, Catherine Mulvany

ARCs

1. The Welcome Home Garden Club, Lori Wilde, 4/2011 - I liked the Christmas cookie one better.
2. The Perfect Mistress, Victoria Alexander, out now
3. Against the Wind, Kat Martin, out now
4. It Happened One Night, Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'Allessandro, Candice Hern, 4/2011 - This is another book where they all use the same plot outline. It was interesting to see where the stories were similar and where they varied.
5. Eternal Rider, Larissa Ione, 4/2011 - I love Larissa Ione, I really, really do. I was not, however, expecting this book to be what it was. The hero is Ares, Horseman of War. He's one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You'd think I'd look at that and be, 'Hmm, this shan't be roses and picnics,' but no. In my defense, my grandmother was in the hospital and I just grabbed a book that I thought would keep me occupied while we sat with her. It's a very well-written book with heaps of violence and death. And maimings. And torture. And despair. However, despite all that, I'm still going to read the next book. I need to know what happens!

I also started The Fallen: Raziel by Kristina Douglas (2/2011), but I couldn't finish it. This book really cemented my distaste for angels books.

Category totals

Romance: 25 + 5 ARCs
Graphic Novel: 1
Picture Books: 3
Young Adult: 1

Author Autograph Wishlist

I am from a collecting family. Mom collects Disney related knick-knacks. Little brother is a transformers freak. Me, well, I collect books. The more I love an author, the more I want an autographed copy. I will call up bookstores across the country to have a book shipped to me (J.R. Ward), fly across the country myself (Nalini Singh at RomCon2010), drive three hours (Cathy Clamp at Authors After Dark 2009), or stand in line for 2+ hours at a signing (Nora Roberts at the Columbus Circle Borders, Laurell K. Hamilton at a BEA). These are the lengths I will go to for an autographed copy. I rarely resort to buying on Ebay because you can never know for certain if a signature is for real. In any case, by attending RomCon2010, I got some fabulous autographs last year (Meljean Brook, Jeaniene Frost, Carrie Vaughn, Erin Kellison, Shannon Butcher, and many more).

I don't think I'll be attending RomCon2011 this year (it depends on how the money works out & vacation time), but I definitely want to at least hit RWA's Literacy signing since it's in my neck of the woods this year. The author list won't be posted until April, but they always have a lot of wonderful, wonderful authors. So, since I'm the overly organized type, I wrote up a list of authors that I still need for my collection. I've been adding to it while I type up this entry, so consider it a work in progress! It's also in no particular order, although the top 4 are sorta my holy grails. If you're interested in what I already own, a partial list is available via my LibraryThing catalog.

Author Autograph Wishlist

1. Shelly Laurenston
2. Patricia Briggs
3. Jennifer Crusie
4. Robin D. Owens
5. Jayne Ann Krentz
6. Anne McCaffrey
7. Mercedes Lackey
8. Thea Harrison
9. Larissa Ione
10. Lora Leigh
11. Lynsay Sands
12. S. L. Viehl
13. Cynthia Eden
14. L. J. Smith
15. Sharon Shinn
16. Robin Kaye
17. Eileen Wilks
18. Jean Johnson
19. L. J. McDonald
20. Kresley Cole
21. Victoria Laurie
22. Kelley Armstrong
23. Wen Spencer
24. Ilona Andrews
25. Lynn Kurland
26. Jennifer Ashley
27. Victoria Dahl
28. Christine Warren
29. Stephanie Laurens
30. Shanna Swendson
31. Kathryne Kennedy

I plan on making a concerted effort to cross a number of authors off my list this year. RWA should help, but I'm not leaving it to chance. I'm going to be very organized this year with, like, spreadsheets and everything! Updates to follow.