Meditation on my 2013 Year in Reading

It's hard to believe that this is the fifth year I've done a post like this. I feel like I've done a good job taking control of my reading, at least in terms of tracking what happens, which has made it easier to compile stats. And who doesn't love stats? Don't answer that.


Read: 121 (including 24 audiobooks and 15 ebooks), about the same number as 2012. Goodreads says this is slightly over 40,000 pages. The longest book by far was Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which clocked in at 1,007 pages. More than half of the books I read were romances, so I'm going to break that down into more categories this year.

Romance, general: 18
Romance, historical: 17
Romance, lesbian: 17
Romance, erotic: 14
Fantasy: 21
Young Adult: 9 (4 Fantasy, 5 Science Fiction)
Manga/Graphic Novels: 6
Nonfiction: 4
Mystery/Suspense: 4
Middle Grade: 3
Science Fiction: 3
Historical Fiction: 2
General Fiction: 2
Picture books read to Little G: still ∞

My goal for 2013 was to read 125 books, and I didn't quite make it there, despite spending November reading furiously. I would have easily reached my goal if not for the siren call of fanfiction, which reappeared in my life at the end of 2013 after a long absence. In any case, I think 125 is the outer limit of what I can read in one year--not surprising, since it requires reading at a rate of more than two books a week. For the first time in many years, I didn't read any Young Adult books with LGBTQ emphasis. I'm not sure why, but nothing seemed to grab my attention. Some of the YA books I read refused to address LGBTQ issues at all. Last year was very light on nonfiction as well.

Compared to 2012, the number of audiobooks went down slightly, from 29 to 24, and the number of ebooks went up from 10 to 15. This is at least partially due to the fact that I chose the audio format to plow through some long works, such as the aforementioned Way of Kings. It takes a long time to get through 36 CDs, even with a half hour commute. On this front, I'm pleased to announce that I picked up an assignment, mid-year, as an audiobook reviewer for Library Journal. So far it's been very enjoyable!

My Fifty Shades of Grey readalike project (recap forthcoming) was the primary reason that I read so many erotic romances, and my Reading Roulette project (recap also forthcoming) led to reading several entire series--mostly fantasy and romance. This year I decided to look at the breakdown between male and female authors among the books I read, and the outcome was very heavily skewed toward female authors. I read 98 books by women, 22 books by men, and one book, Freedom & Necessity, that was co-written by a man and woman. I am completely on board with this trend and hope it continues in 2014. I'm not rejecting books written by men out of hand, but there tend to be more female characters in books written by women, and I'm past the point of wanting to read so much about dudes.

Looking forward, I am going to continue my Reading Roulette project into the new year. It's really expanded my horizons in terms of making me read things I would never choose on my own, which can only help me when it comes time for Reader's Advisory. I'm also going to try to participate in the Year in Reading, kicking off in January with a book from the year I was born. Some of the likely candidates so far: The Silmarillion (*sigh*), The Thorn Birds, and Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. I took my reading goal down to a more reasonable 100 books, as I am hoping to write some as well as read this year.

What were your favorite reads of 2013? What's your plan for 2014?


My favorite reads of the year:

Beautiful Bastard, Christina Lauren
Deep Deception, Cathy Pegau
Etiquette & Espionage and Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger
For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea, Diana Peterfreund
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
The Kat Series (Kat, Incorrigible, Renegade Magic, Stolen Magic), Stephanie Burgis
The Luckiest Lady in London, Sherry Thomas
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Marie Brennan
The Republic of Thieves, Scott Lynch
The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion
A Woman Entangled, Cecilia Grant


Meditation on my 2012 Year in Reading (117 books)
Meditation on my 2011 Year in Reading (62 books)
Meditation on my 2010 Year in Reading (51 books)
Meditation on my 2009 Year in Reading (87 books)

Meditation Index

#NaBoReMo Recap

After the first week of the National Book Reading Month challenge, I revised my reading goal from 1,500 pages to 5,000 pages. I'm sure you're all wondering if I managed to reach that goal! Here's what I read during the month:

Reading Roulette challenge books:
Persuasion, Jane Austen
For Darkness Shows the Stars, Diana Peterfreund
A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
Renegade Magic, Stephanie Burgis
Stolen Magic, Stephanie Burgis
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy

Read for fun:
Cursties & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger (ARC)
Like Jazz, Heather Blackmore (e-ARC)
Love Overdue, Pamela Morsi
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson (audiobook)
Oath of Honor, Radclyffe (ebook)
Finding Home, Georgia Beers
A Rogue by Any Other Name, Sarah MacLean
The Luckiest Lady in London, Sherry Thomas

Still in progress as of 12/1/13:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (audiobook)
I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb (audiobook)
Across A Star-Swept Sea, Diana Peterfreund

As you can see, many of the books I read were not from my other reading challenge. I decided that in order to read 5,000 pages in thirty days, I was going to allow myself to read whatever I wanted. Unsurprisingly, it turned out that I wanted to read romance novels. This list doesn't include the array of fanfiction I read in November.

The average number of pages for the fourteen books I completed was 346 (thanks, Brandon Sanderson!). In the case of the unfinished audiobooks, I used paper copies to determine what page I had gotten to. After all this, the total number of pages was:

(drum roll)

(still rolling)

(drummer rolling eyes at me)

5,127

Deploy the self-cleaning confetti!

My NaBoReMo Update

This morning I figured out how many pages I've read since the beginning of the month for National Novel/Book Reading Month, and came up with 1,590. Given that my goal was to read 1,500 pages, I felt gratified, yet embarrassed. Apparently, I have no idea how fast I read--I don't think I've shifted my reading habits dramatically just to read more during the month of November. I am conscious of choosing reading here and there over paying full attention to the television, but still.

The books I've completed are:

Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger (paper ARC)
Like Jazz, Heather Blackmore (e-ARC)
Persuasion, Jane Austen (as part of my other reading challenge)
Love Overdue, Pamela Morsi

I have been slowly working my way through the 36 audio CDs of Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings for the last several weeks, and I'm currently about halfway through Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. I haven't made a huge amount of progress, page-wise, with my audiobook since the beginning of the Month--less than two hundred pages. I'm going to need a long trip, or to sit down with the paper copy (which I also have) to finish that behemoth.

So here we are on November 8th, and I've already read past my goal number of pages. I think this calls for a more ambitious goal, so I'm going to revise it to 5,000 pages. Because I can.

Reading Challenge: NaNoReMo (aka NaBoReMo)

Yesterday, LibraryReads suggested that those of us not currently writing like fiends celebrate the month of November by "reading furiously"--or, for those of us who are already doing that in pursuit of weird challenges, reading EVEN MORE FURIOUSLY.

My friend Jenna (@auntie_jenn) and I have already taken to Twitter with our pledges to read at least 1500 pages this month, which seems pretty doable after I spent between 1:00 and 3:30 this morning reading a romance novel on my ipod. I'm going to track and share my page totals every day, using the hashtag #nanoremo (National Novel Reading Month)--several people pointed out the "bore" in the middle of #naboremo, and my reading is anything but boring.*

Here is my hastily assembled FAQ:

Only novels? That doesn't seem fair.
I suggest you read whatever the heck you want. I'm not going to count the picture books I read to my son because I am lazy, but if I were reading them to myself I sure would.

I only do audiobooks!
I suppose you could pledge to listen to a certain number of CDs, but you could also check the page count of the print version and use that number. If you're listening to an abridged version, give it your best guess. If you don't get all the way through your audiobook by the end of the month, do the same.

What about ebooks? The pagination is different.
I decided this morning at 3:30 that I would use the pages listed for the print edition. If I fail to get all the way through an ebook in November, I'm going to estimate the percentage and make a rough calculation.

What about magazines?
Whatever floats your boat.

Your record-keeping seems rather lax.
Those NaNoWriMo people are very in to their word counts, aren't they? But we, the supportive readers, should feel free to round up. Reading is reading.


As a former NaNoWriMo participant, I also want all current participants to know that I support them! I am looking forward to reading their efforts during future NaNoReMos. In the meantime, I will continue to work on my novels at a rate of one sentence per fortnight.

*Oh, fine, I'll bow to my friends at LibraryReads and use #NaBoReMo, since it's their baby. :)

Book Review: Club Shadowlands [2009]

Cherise Sinclair's Club Shadowlands is the first in her Masters of the Shadowlands series about a BDSM club. The series was mentioned in nine different online sources that I consulted for 50 Shades readalikes, putting it just out of the top ten. One commenter noted that it "seems to be the fav of the BDSM club scene books for vanilla readers." The book was not available through my library system (although some of Sinclair's books are available through public libraries such as the NYPL), so I chose to purchase an electronic copy, which I think was $3.99. The things I do for this project!

This book starts with a bang with acknowledgments and warnings, such as "Please do not try any new sexual practice, without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book." It continues with a plea from Sinclair to keep sex "safe, sane, and consensual." After that somewhat daunting beginning, Club Shadowlands settles down into a somewhat clichéd narrative opening: Jessica Randall has run her car off the road in a storm, and the nearest place to take refuge happens to be a mysterious private club in a mansion. Given the chance between waiting in the cold lobby in soaking wet clothes and reading and consenting to the club rules and gaining entry, she chooses the latter. Unfortunately, as she's wet and cold, she signs without really reading the document she's given. The Shadowlands owner, Master Z, takes charge, efficiently strips Jessica, and puts her in the shower to warm up and recover from the shock of her accident. He then offers her dry clothes, but no underwear.

After entering the club proper, Jessica is very surprised to find that it's "bondage night," and Zachary (Master Z) ends up taking her under his wing. We begin the second chapter from Zachary's point of view and discover that he can read people's emotions, but that seems to be the only paranormal aspect to the story, and it's something that Jessica takes in stride when she discovers it. Zachary, a child psychologist when he's not running the club, is quite taken with Jessica from the moment she arrives and decides quickly that he will take her to bed if she's amenable. However, it's not clear at the outset whether she really will be submissive. Zachary sets himself to watch and wait. He uses his powers to keep order in the club, primarily to determine if people are truly consenting participants, and he wants the same to be true of Jessica as well: "All the choices needed to be hers, right up until she handed the right to him." He can't help kissing her a few times, however.

Jessica--a conservative accountant who is always in control of herself--is in her mid-to late-twenties. She describes herself as pudgy and feels unattractive, and has the opinion that sex is pretty overrated. Once she gets over her surprise about the nature of the club, she observes and becomes intrigued by the action around her, although she has some trouble resisting championing those that she (wrongly) believes are being injured, earning a punishment per the rules she's unwittingly agreed to. As she slowly comes to understand the dynamics of a dominant/submissive relationship and faces her growing attraction to Master Z, she has to decide whether she's willing to yield to passion and risk involving her heart as well.

Grade: B

This was quite a sweet and good-natured book, given its setting. Jessica and Zachary aren't actively struggling with Shadowed Pasts, and portions of the narrative are almost humorous. The characters are engaging and interesting, and it doesn't venture into truly hardcore territory. Despite not being a virgin, Jessica's naïveté is on par with that of Ana of Fifty Shades of Grey and Regina from The Librarian, which is to say almost unbelievable. Another similarity is, of course, the happy ending--this is an erotic romance through and through. Jessica and Zachary's romance takes place over the course of two nights separated by a week, which may be par for the romance course but always makes me feel skeptical. However, I was able to put that aside and enjoy the book.

I would recommend Club Shadowlands to a patron who was genuinely curious about the dom/sub aspect of relationships that Fifty Shades of Grey only flirts with, as here it is embraced wholeheartedly.

Note: What is this thing that these authors have with heroes with long-ish hair? If I see one more description of a man with hair that the hero can tie back or that "just touches his collar" I am going to wonder if there is some sort of conspiracy. I am putting this character trait alongside my pet name irritation in the growing list of tropes for this genre. Master Z's pet name for Jessica is, appropriately, "pet." And also "little one." And "kitten." SIGH.

However, I am giving Sinclair points for having Zachary describe Jessica as smelling like "vanilla and woman"--finally some equal time after all those heroes who smell like "man."

Book Review Index

Book Review: Caught in Amber [2013]

I am a big fan of Cathy Pegau’s book Rulebreaker, which came out in 2011. I was very pleased when Cathy asked earlier this year if I would be interested in reading the next two books in the series--thankfully, she didn’t stop at just one! However, for some reason she refuses to send me the ones she hasn’t written yet...



Caught in Amber is the story of Nathan Sterling (the mining authority agent introduced in Rulebreaker) and Sasha James, the woman whose help he needs to rescue his sister from the clutches of a dangerous drug dealer. Sasha has recently been released from prison, where she was serving a sentence and recovering from her addiction to the drug known as amber. Once the lover of Guy Christiansen, the colony’s notorious amber dealer, Sasha is determined to stay clean and finish her parole as far away from him as possible.

Nathan has other ideas, however. His sister Kylie has disappeared into Christiansen’s compound and he fears that her fate will be the same as Sasha’s--or worse. He has reason to suspect that Christiansen still harbors feelings for Sasha, and wants her assistance getting into the dealer’s compound. In exchange, he promises her freedom from the system and the regulatory chip implanted in her neck. Unfortunately, he’s working alone and not authorized to promise Sasha anything, especially when it’s not clear whether either of them will make it out of their encounters with Christiansen alive.

Growing attraction and sympathy between Nathan and Sasha complicate things further as Sasha risks her recovery and her life in order to befriend Kylie and help Nathan under the eyes of Christiansen and the enigmatic Genevieve Caine, his lieutenant. But will she be able to resist the lure of amber when she’s back where it all began?

Grade: A

My favorite part of these books is the carefully constructed world that Cathy has imagined, which includes meticulous details of religion, food, culture, mining(!), and climate. The setting is a consistent background character that is carried through all of what I have read so far. The books have an appealing blend of science fiction, romance, and thriller--with a dash of mystery--and Caught in Amber is no exception. Cathy also gets points from me for naming one of her secondary characters Mickelson, even if she did use an “-on”...

I can feel a little nervous when I am asked to look at the work of someone I know, because although I am an easy grader, I do try to review things honestly. However, I wasn’t worried about reviewing Cathy’s work, and I liked Caught in Amber enough to buy myself a copy, even though I’ve already read the book. I want to be able to re-read the whole (hopefully long) series when the time comes!

ETA: My review of the next book in the series, Deep Deception, is now up at the Lesbrary.

Book Review Index

Meditation on Being a Librarian in Public

My road to becoming a librarian was somewhat winding and involved a few false starts, but most days I'm very content with the job I have now. A few recent posts by my friends about egotism and recognition have made me think a bit about why I talk so much about my job online. Why isn't it enough for me just to be a good reference librarian who helps the patrons at my library? I know I'm not in it for the money, but maybe it's for the glory?

My experience as a full-time librarian has coincided with the rise of social media. I joined Twitter in 2007, but it took me a few years to figure out what to do with it. For the past several years, however, my goal with Twitter and other forms of social media has been to relate what it is that I do every day as a librarian. Yes, I use Twitter as a way to meet other librarians of all kinds and to have my burning collection development questions answered, but what I want to be known for is the "slice of life" posts that I make. This is the same reason I participate in Library Day in the Life and other similar projects--I want to be known as a librarian, and I want people to understand what librarians actually do. That's why I put library-related updates on Facebook; update on Tumblr; write here and co-write a blog on collection development, and spend a good chunk of every day broadcasting my life at work. When interacting with librarians, this can lead to cathartic commiseration, but many of my posts seem to strike a chord with my non-librarian contacts as well.

There are never-ending debates about the future of libraries, the future of books, and the future of librarianship. How do we make ourselves relevant? How do we "reinvent" ourselves? Should we go completely paperless? (No.) But libraries and librarians are doing awesome things with their collections and programming every day. The greatest barrier to the future of libraries, in my opinion, is the fact that many of our patrons have no idea what we are already doing. I can't tell you how many times I've had someone say to me "I didn't know I could do that here!," which is unfortunately often coupled with "I haven't been to the library in forever" . . . Even though we should definitely be aware of the next big thing, we also need to do a better job of marketing the resources that we've already got, and have always had: books (in whatever format) and programming. Experienced librarians with reader's advisory skills. Awesome children's librarians, who often see more kids and families in a day than I see in a week.

When it comes down to ego, yes, I admit to having one. I want people to pay attention to my work. And I'm not perfect, either. Some of the posts I make may tend toward the snarky, but I hope that some love for my patrons shines through. I hope it's clear that if I had to choose between presenting at ALA and helping someone learn how to cut and paste, I would choose the latter every time. I'm happy to be known as a librarian by people I went to high school with, people I interact with on twitter who are not in the field, and people I meet on the street who ask me how late the library is open. Many of my patrons don't have computers and can't afford a device that would allow them to read ebooks. They're looking for jobs. They want something to read or watch for education and entertainment. They don't care about the next best thing, they just want us to be open as many hours as we can. I don't give a damn if I'm famous in the field if I can help someone with their résumé.

Last week, a non-librarian that I interact with occasionally on Twitter sent me a direct message to ask if I could look something up for her that she'd had no luck finding herself online. We don't talk much, but she knows I'm a librarian. This is what being a librarian in public should be--helping people understand that the library is a resource waiting for them to make use of it. Reminding people that libraries still exist, and that they're pretty damn cool. That's why I'm going to keep tweeting from the trenches, and appreciating people who do the same. As far as I'm concerned, they're the real rock star librarians.

@helgagrace
Patron Debris
Collection Reflection

Meditation Index

Meditation on My Ideal Book Format

It would be an unusual day if I didn't encounter a new article on ebooks, format wars, or a dire warning about the death of libraries, publishing, and print. As I've written here before, I prefer to read books on paper, but I do move around a lot and I want to be able to read everywhere all the time (yes, even the bathroom) so that I can squeeze as many books as possible into my life. I have been envisioning a comprehensive package that would allow me the tactile experience I love about print books, but also enable me to listen to same book in the car or read the ebook version in line at the grocery store, even if I haven't planned ahead to borrow the same book in three formats at the same time.

My first concept would probably be a nightmare to manufacture and would no doubt be immediately obsolete, but it made me giggle:

Drawn when I still had a car with a stick shift.

I have been idly contemplating this for a while, but what brought me back to it was a news item that Angry Robot will be giving away ebook versions of their items--at select stores--when customers purchase the print version. Why is this option not automatically made available for all newly published books? With both audio and electronic versions accessible (when they've been created) at the click of a button, having some kind of tiered pricing/package system for consumers like me should not be impossible.[1]

My pipe dream:

For a new hardback title, I would be happy to pay from $15-20 for the "base" book, which would be whatever edition I purchase first, whether print or electronic or audio. Let's say I bought a print version of Lois McMaster Bujold's upcoming book Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (hardback list price: $25.00), preordering it as I usually do through my local independent bookseller. On the eve of publication, I become so overwhelmed by desire to read the book that I pay an additional $5-$7 on top of the list price for the ebook version to be delivered immediately. I have to sleep sometime, though, and I don't finish the book before it's time to drive to work in the morning. I don't want to stop reading or call in sick, so I purchase the audio version for an additional $5-$7 on top of what I've already invested. I'm happy that I'll be picking up the print version, because I know this is a book I want to keep and re-read, but I'm willing to pay $10+ for a short-lived (format-wise) electronic and audio experience. I think it's pretty clear that my child will not be inheriting my ebooks.

Unlike a library, I don't have the money to spend on the print book and the ebook and the audiobook if they are all packaged and priced separately (around $75.00 minimum). Nor do I think that I should have to; they are the same intellectual property and the shelf-life of anything electronic is questionable at best. However, I do understand that artists should be compensated for their work, and I know that ebooks and audiobooks come with their own associated production costs. I am willing to contribute money to offset those costs and indicate that they are valuable to me.

In my vision, any of the three versions could serve as the "base" version . . . if I buy the audiobook at $15-20 and subsequently decide that I really want the print version as well, I should be able to "add it on" through my local bookstore or the publisher for a fractional cost.

I realize that I may a bit of an oddball, because I will not be buying anything from Amazon or a large retailer at a deep discount; I pretty much always pay list price unless I find something used. But I am very willing to pay that price to support both my favorite authors and local businesses, especially if I could have the format flexibility that would fit my peripatetic lifestyle. In the meantime, I'm happy patronizing the library and buying books that I've already read.

Am I completely insane? Obviously, the numbers would have to be adjusted for mass market books. I would love to have a discussion about this.

Meditation Index


[1] Entitled, internet-having, and willing to spend a chunk of cash on books.

Book Review: Pale Demon [2011]

I'm a big fan of Kim Harrison's Hollows series featuring Rachel Morgan, so I jumped on the chance to read an advance copy of the ninth in the series, Pale Demon, through NetGalley. This would be the second time EVER that I have read a book entirely in electronic format (the first was Rampant, so the bar was set extremely high), and it ended up being a great way to read the book at even the smallest opportunity! I found myself reading it on my portable device while walking up the stairs at work, while waiting for traffic so I could cross the street, in line at the grocery store . . . possibly in my car while waiting for the light to change (can't confirm that one).

The premise of Pale Demon is deceptively simple: Rachel has to get from Cincinnati to the west coast to get her shunning by the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards revoked. She can't take the plane, so she ends up road-tripping as Trent's protector--he has reasons of his own to go that direction--along with Ivy and Jenks. What could possibly go wrong on this bizarre reinterpretation of the classic American family experience? Plenty, as the (spoiler) former St. Louis Gateway Arch could tell you, if its rubble could talk.

Although the road trip offers plenty of excitement, the real fireworks start in San Francisco when Rachel makes her case before the witches' council. Her identity as a witch has come farther into question over the last several books, and Pale Demon goes even farther down that path as she battles a day-walking demon released by Trent and saves Al from an attack by her lover, Pierce. Rachel finds herself more and more in sympathy with (some) demons and using ley-line magic to survive and protect those she loves. This, unfortunately, is also the reason she's been shunned by the witches' council. Will Rachel accept her identity as a demon, or end up cutting all her ties with the ever-after?

Grade: A

I was very pleased about the direction of Pale Demon, its cast of characters, and its ambiguous ending. Harrison doesn't let longtime series fans down with a placeholder novel, but instead crafts a narrative that keeps pushing at the boundaries of Rachel's identity and the world as she knows it. I'm eagerly awaiting an opportunity to read the next book!

Random Thoughts:

As far as digital books go, I wouldn't say that I'm completely sold on the format (insofar as , but as the kind of person who always wants to have a book on her person, I am definitely on board with their portability. I will never have to be without a book again! As long as I have enough battery power . . .

My review of the previous book in the series, Black Magic Sanction.


Dead Mother: No
Book Review Index