Robin Jewell

Can hardly wait to meet her!

A good first line can draw a reader in. However, if the rest of the lines don't live up to the promise, an author can lose the reader completely. Recently, I nearly DNF'd three books for just that reason. If they'd been any longer, I would have put them down unfinished.

Robin's review of Edged by the Apparition 5/5: Tommy fled after the sudden death of his boyfriend, Blaise. New city. New apartment. New job. But it has been five years. Five years of the home they bought together, sitting empty. Tommy's siste...

I loved it! There was never any doubt in my mind that it would be good, but this was so much more than the title hinted at.

www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'll read and review it this weekend!

Oh, my! I do need to read this! (Ignores the current stacks of paper books, audiobooks, and ebooks also needing to be read.)

Of course, I'd turn my husband because our individual weirdnesses align so perfectly. It's not every day you find someone who gets your sideways references to fox spirits or Chuthulu. Then we'd go hunt Republicans.

Bookmarked! We've fallen into the habit of rewatching the same handful of movies because the algorithms can make finding new ones difficult. Time to shake things up!

Merchant Ivory. Not sure why it never showed up in my recommendations. Although the algorithm has been rather strange lately. It recommended The Great British Bake Off after I watched a John Wick movie last weekend, despite never having watched a baking show in my life.

Weren't the unhappy endings an attempt to avoid censorship? In order to claim the books were "moral lessons"? Although it doesn't seem to have made that big a difference in censorship and convictions for producing and selling such books.

(Merchant Ivory is on the list to watch this weekend.)

That is a very good description. Maurice is one of my favorite books, so I'm not sure how I missed the similarity. (We're not going to mention how long it has been since I've read The Count of Monte Cristo.)

Might pay for it tomorrow. But that's a problem for future me!

The fog lifted. I'm at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. Taking a short break because psoriatic arthritis just had to come with me on my trip!

Finally rereading this. Took a mini vacation, but I'm stuck in my hotel room due to dense fog. It should burn off in a couple of hours, but until then, I'm staying put with my Kindle.

I love "Dracula" reimaginings and retellings. One of the first ones I ever read was "The Dracula Tape" by Fred Saberhagen. In it, Dracula tells us his version of Bram Stoker's tale. It's not as good as yours, but it's still enjoyable.

For me, some books are palatable only as audiobooks. Ulysses is one of those. It was still a slog. Never again.

On the other hand, some books shine all the brighter as audiobooks. I have three different versions of Beowulf that I listen to regularly.

The Dresden Files is also my mismatched series. Hardcover paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Some are duplicated in multiple formats. It's a mess.

She encouraged people to drink water and eat vegetables. From the Republican reaction, you'd have thought she'd asked people to drink weedkiller and eat rat poison.

I had speculated that the Countess would set her sights on Lucy. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

Me, a romance reader, thinking the same thing!

Unsettling. That's the word my brain refused to come up with this morning.

Yes, it was unsettling, in the way that only good poetry can be.

There's no question of that! You wrote it. It's going to be good.

Saving it for next week when I'm off work so I'll have plenty of time to savor it!

That's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

Adding these to my list of books to read when I take a week off later this month. Most of the past month, I've been rereading some old favorites.

I am going to be stealing the phrase "unworthy dead."

I don’t recall hearing about Charlie Kirk before all this, but it only took me about two minutes of googling to see very clearly what kind of person he was. Hint…not one to be honored in any fashion.

Some deaths are less "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..." and more "...I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

I have never wished death on anyone, but there have been times I’ve refused to show grief for someone who only had hate to share with the world.

Some deaths are less "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..." and more "...I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

Buying directly from the author is always my first choice. Buying directly from the publisher, where possible, is my second. Amazon is last resort. If there's any other source, I will buy from there.

When there is an alternative, I buy my books from other places. However, if the only place an author's books are available is on Amazon, then the choice is to either try to starve Amazon or starve an author. Should we punish authors for using Amazon as their platform?