what I'm reading

Books I've read over the last week or so:
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt.
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick.
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde.
Edge of Hunger by Rhiannon Byrd.
Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh.
You're So Vein by Christine Warren.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan.
The Immortal Hunter by Lynsay Sands.

I'm trying to decide which book to start next. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Time Enough for Love (Heinlein, not a romance) or The Difference Engine. Hmmm...

Now it's just getting ridiculous

My TBR pile, that is. It decreased by 4 over the weekend despite taking off Saturday afternoon going to BR with Pitbull for tattoo, toy and shoe shopping. And Sunday picking up 3 bookshelves the BL gave me (big ones!). Today, the pile increased by 8. Which means a total of 83. Yeah, that's a bit much.
Most of it is fiction and I'm really bad about picking up non-fiction, reading a bit and then putting it aside while I go on a mental vacation. So The Great Influenza (Barry) , Stiff (Roach), Lies My Teacher Told Me (Loewen), The Roots of English (Claiborne) and Maiden Mother Crone (Conway) stay in the pile longer than they should. There's a copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood waiting too.

As for the fiction, well I'm completely incapable of passing up anything that looks interesting. So I've a huge pile of stuff. Tim Powers, James Blaylock, William Gibson, Jocelynn Drake, Melina Morel, Devon Monk, Shirley Damsgaard, Andre Norton, Robert Asprin, George R.R. Martin, Jeffery Deaver, Phillip Margolin, Eileen Wilks, Jefferson Bass, Louis L'Amour, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Beverly Connor, Alexis Morgan, Victoria Dahl, Jana DeLeon, Sally Smith O'Rourke, Jim Butcher, Charles Grant, Simon R. Green, K.E. Mills, Agatha Christie, Robert Heinlein, Dennis McKiernan, Oscar Wilde, Roger Zelazny, Katie MacAlister, Maureen Child, Lydia Joyce, Mary Janice Davidson, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Kostova, Dorothy Gilman, Julie Garwood, Lewis Carroll, Shiloh Walker, J.R. Ward, Phillip Pullman, Charles DeLint, Diana Palmer, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Iris Johansen. And 6 anthologies.
Oh yeah, 2 in my bag. Annette Blair and Budge Wilson.

I think I need more shelves. A lot more shelves. I've never been more grateful for a generous employee discount and trade credit.

Another bright move

Once upon a time, back when I worked for Dr Lisa, our regular UPS guy was an older man who liked to pick on me and he ended up giving me my most used nickname. I wore a particular brand of scrubs. The company that makes this brand sews a small tag on the right pocket of all of their shirts. Jimmy (the UPS guy) decides since that name appears on all my shirts it must be my nickname. And then he dared me to sign for packages using that name. And every time I call UPS the customer service rep gets the giggles.
Now 4 years later it's become a habit to use my nickname when signing for deliveries especially since my real last names are hard to spell. And it wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that I am a little distracted most days.
Not too long ago, one of the city employees came by the store to do a fire and safety inspection. Everything went fine until the end. Mr. Fireman hands me the form and tells me to sign the bottom. So I did, nice and pretty. Once again, did not even realize what I'd done until the guy looks at me, grins and says "Is this your legal name?" Yep, I signed my nickname. I kinda laughed and told him no, it was a nickname and signed my real name under my nickname.
Somewhere in the bowels of City Hall, there is an official gummint document signed "Peaches".

Well, it amuses me anyway

I would like to know where, in the Big Book o' Universal Laws, it says "M-A should spend an inordinate amount of time on her knees while at work." Cuz I'm gonna take a razor and slice that page out. I work at a book store, ferfuckssake. You'd think that would be a nice, quiet little job. And it probably would be except it's me, the person who can manage to do something silly or embarassing in the least likely circumstances.
The other day a customer came in looking for some old, out of print books. I'm blaming him for the entire thing, because really, what kind of grown man wants Lone Ranger books? (Joking there, I've been asked for stranger from stranger) So I tell him where to find them, he can't find them, I go back there to find them. If we had any, they'd have been on the bottom shelf on the sci-fi aisle (don't ask me why, that's just where we put them). Which is where me on my knees comes in. So there I is, on my knees, ankles crossed, checking the shelves. Didn't see any, but we've got stuff stacked on the floor a little further down the aisle. Instead of getting up and moving like anybody with common sense would do, I sat back on my heels, twisted my upper body around and leeeaaannneeedd over to look. Not at all a professional pose, unless you're a human pretzel. I turned my head to tell the guy I didn't see any and he is looking at me like I am outside my mind. And apparently I am, because I only then realized exactly what I looked like to the guy standing over me.

At least I managed to untwist and stand up gracefully. In heels, at that.

Sunshine and a friend

means it's time for a smoke break!

Happy weekend honeys!

Addicted, oh my yes I am

My favorite part of working at a book store is the books. Old, new, boring, silly, whatever. I don't care, if it's a book I'll take it. I just love books. The look, the feel, the smell. Have you ever walked into a book store and just stopped to inhale? Not one of those new stores, I mean one of the ones that sells new and used books. There's something about the scent of old paper and ink that gives me an instant sense of belonging, a quiet pleasure in the moment. An anticipation, knowing that something good is about to happen. Mmmmm....
Oops, sorry, got lost there for a minute. I didn't mean to wander off like that. I intended to write about advance copies. Despite working 6 days straight, I had a pretty good week. Not too many loonies, just enough work to keep me busy and (best of all) a box of advance copies. In case you don't know, publishers send out copies of books prior to the release date to book stores and reviewers. What a wonderful practice! It's one of my 3 favorite things about working at Book Nook. (The other 2 are the books and the smell. I just looove the scent of books...) So I opened this box of ARC, grinning all the while. Even if I don't find anything to interest me in the box I still enjoy just looking. Sometimes I find something to recommend to a customer, which is almost as good as finding something for me. This time I got lucky.
So I have a stack of books on my desk, waiting for me. Some of them are already out, I just haven't gotten to them yet. (I usually have from 5 to 20 books stacked up in the "to be read" pile.) Not including the bag of "You need to read these" books a friend brought me, or the bag of books to read when I can't find anything else or the box of books under the desk, this is what I've got:
Carved in Bone (Jefferson Bass) - mystery, sounded good and I just love the author's name. Sounds like a Southern lawyer known for his bourbon-sipping and drawling.
The Secret History (Donna Tartt) - given to me by a customer.
The Alexandria Link (Steve Berry) - I haven't read his other stuff, I picked this one up because of the reference to the Library of Alexandria. If I like it, I guess I will try something else by him.
The Tower of Shadows (Drew Bowling) - fantasy from a young author. I'm a sucker for quest fantasy and dragons.
Angelica (Arthur Phillips) - chosen because of what I read on the back cover: "...a brilliant new novel that is part Victorian ghost story, part literary and psychological puzzle, part meditation on memory and fear." I hope it's as good as it sounds.

Those five are out. The next three aren't on sale yet. I've included the on-sale dates if anyone wants to know.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows) - This is what I'm reading now. So far I'm hooked. The book is set in England, January 1946. The main character, Juliet, is an author looking for the subject of her next book. The story is told in the form of letters between Juliet, her publisher, her tour manager, her friends and one of the members of the book group. For some reason, part of my enjoyment is the format of the books. I get a kick out of reading her letters, possibly because it's not something one would really do, so the hint of naughtiness amuses me. (Glo, I think you might like this one) Available July 29, 2008
Tigerheart (Peter David) - a new take on Peter Pan. I love fantasy and the cover art caught my eye. Flipped it over and saw a partial list of the author's other works: Sir Apropos of Nothing, Wode to Wuin (ha!) and Knight Life. Also a werewolf story, Howling Mad. If I like Tigerheart, I'm going to hunt down his backlist. Available June 17, 2008
Journey of a Thousand Miles (Lang Lang) - I rarely read biographies but this one caught my eye. I read the first page and decided this was a bio I could read to the end. The story of a 25 year-old Chinese musical prodigy and the sacrifices he had made. Available July 8, 2008

A short list of other books I've enjoyed:
Heavy Words Lightly Thrown (Chris Roberts) - I've recommended this to y'all before. Included it again simply because I enjoyed it enough to read it again.
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) - very good. I'm waiting for copies of the other 2 books, Rebel Angels and The Sweet, Far Thing
Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen (Sarah Addison Allen) - the second one isn't out yet (another treat from an earlier box of advance copies) stories of family and magic. loved both. the cover art is great too.
Mona Lisa Awakening, Mona Lisa Craving, Mona Lisa Blossoming (Sunny) - paranormal erotica series about the Monere (children of the moon). I didn't find the books too graphic but some might. Set in part in the New Orleans area. The author is a lovely person who responds to email personally.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love (Jill Conner Browne) - An early SPQ book. The SPQs are a Southern phenomenon which has spread out into the rest of the world. Hilarious, very Suth-un and written just the way the author speaks. In Y'all-bonics, of course. This book is where I picked up the phrase "freeze-dried whackaloons". If you like this one, I'd suggest reading the rest, I've enjoyed the ones I've been able to get my hands on. Especially this one.

Also, if you don't mind steamy and you like paranormal, books by these authors:
Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed series)
J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, vampires and ass-kicking)
Angela Knight (the Masters series - Arthurian legends, vampires, werewolves and sorcery)
Lora Leigh (Breed series, Seals series and the Nauti books, veeerryy hot)
Cheyenne McCray (D'Anu series is paranormal, there are 2 others which are suspense)
Lynsay Sands (Argeneau series, vampires)
Victoria Laurie (ghost hunter series, not steamy)
Anya Bast (witch series)

There are more but I'm out of time. I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and the books today and spend some time outdoors. Happy reading!

Recipe for that dessert

If ya want it, here it is:
4 Layer Dessert

1st layer
1 c. self rising flour
1 stick of real butter
1 c. chopped pecans

mix and press into ungreased, clear glass pan (9x13) bake at 325 degrees 10 - 15 minutes. Wait until completely cooled before starting next (if you are in a hurry stick it in the fridge)

2nd Layer
1 c. Cool Whip
1 c. powdered sugar
1 8oz. block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use 2 cuz I love cream cheese. It's good either way)

mix and spread over crust. chill until set.

3rd Layer
1 large pkg of Instant Chocolate pudding
3 c. milk
4 - 6 tsps. of sugar

mix and spread over cream cheese layer. chill until set.

4th layer

Cover with Cool Whip and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

See? Dead easy! And so very good. The only thing I can tell you is don't skimp on the ingredients. Use real butter. Do not use sugar-free or low-fat stuff. Seriously, it's just not as good. Besides, if you're gonna sin you might as well make it worthwhile.

telling myself to STFU

I went by the gym tonight and spent some time sweating. On the way home, I stopped by the bank to deposit my paycheck. It's a small bank in a small town so depositing my check means signing it and dropping it in the night box. And that's exactly what I did. Three-fourths of the way home (which isn't all that far) I suddenly heard That Voice. You know the one, it pipes up in the back of your head to tell you that you've screwed up somehow. Mine was telling me that I hadn't dropped my signed paycheck into the slot, that I had somehow dropped the envelope on the ground and left it there for someone to find. And someone would find it and throw it away or take it and cash it or something else awful. And there I'd be, minus a whole paycheck. Man, That Voice was coming up with all sorts of terrible stuff. Missed bills, late payments, so forth and so on. All of that, despite the fact that I knew I'd dropped that check into that slot. I saw it disappear. But because of That Voice, I kept wanting to turn around and go back to make sure. Even sitting here typing this, hours later, I still feel the urge to throw on some jeans and go check the bank parking lot, just to make sure. I haven't done it yet and I keep telling That Voice to shut up. Reminding myself that I saw the envelope drop into the slot. That Voice replies that maybe that's an old memory, from another night. I tell That Voice to hush up one more time.
I guess a lot of people have a Voice like that. Some people's Voices sound like somebody else. I've heard of folks hearing their mama or grandpa. I wouldn't mind hearing someone else's Voice. It's a lot easier to ignore somebody else. I hear my own voice. Let me tell you something, it can be very hard to ignore your own self talking at you, fussing and worrying, criticizing and complaining. And, man, I am mean. That Voice can bring up stuff that happened years ago, making me feel stupid all over again. So I try to tell myself to shut the fuck up. Too bad I'm so hard-headed, I don't even mind my own self. So, I'm trying to write all this out, hoping I don't sound like I'm flat crazy, thinking that maybe putting it all down like this will show That Voice that yeah, it got to me. I just won't give in to it. And I wonder, if That Voice is me, why do I get so mad? Why don't I like it?

New addiction

The first time I heard about Lolcats, my reaction was "Huh? What the hell?" Thanks to some buddies, I've now become addicted. It's gotten so bad, I made a few of my own today. Just cuz I could.

moar funny pictures

If you've ever watched Animaniacs, you know who I was thinking about. If not, go look it up.

I don't know why the whole picture doesn't show, but if you click it, it will.

I didn't mean to...

Since somebody shared a little trip down memory lane involving reptiles, it got me thinking about my own memories. I once owned a red tailed boa named Cesar. I bought him from a 6' tall crazy burnout Alaskan chick. He had a few issues. Between the two of us, we managed to give the UPS guy a case of mental anguish.
When I was 18, I moved to Metairie. Way back then, I had a few bad habits. Like not wearing clothes once I got inside the apartment. And not worrying too much about answering the door bare assed naked if I knew who was on the other side. Everything was OK until the day I was waiting for my friend Russ to show up. When I heard someone knocking, I thought it was Russ so I just opened the door. It wasn't Russ. There stood the UPS guy, looking just a little suprised. But he was grinning, at least for the first 30 seconds. That brings me to the second (or third?) bad habit: letting Cesar the snake roam the apartment. See, I let him out when I was home alone. When I thought Russ was knocking, I picked Cesar up and draped him across my shoulders. He decided that he wanted to be wrapped around my head instead. I opened the door with a boa wrapped around my ponytail, his chin resting on my forehead. And then Cesar moved, the UPS guy realized the naked girl had a live snake on her head, and all hell broke loose. He screamed "It's alive", dropped the package, and took off at a dead run. Didn't even wait for me to sign for the package. The next time we got a package, some young guy brought it, said the previous guy told the boss he would never come back to the building even if they fired him. I started getting dressed to answer the door.
Sorry, UPS guy, where ever you are.