What was begun as an online journal of the books I read evolved...or maybe it devolved...to also feature behind the scenes goings-on at All About Romance from my perspective (mostly based on my personal feelings - okay, it's a personal pity party); topics I've gone over ad nauseum in commentary at AAR, including the nature of reviews and online behavior; and my non-cyber life (including family and items in pop culture that capture my interest, which is just about everything).

Please do not violate my trust. I restricted certain AAR-related and personal entries for a reason...to keep them as private as possible. Now that my blog is read-only, to access restricted entries you must already have a password; if you do, hold onto it so that you can continue to read restricted entries.

This blog is not part of All About Romance. I ask that you keep comments or questions regarding restricted blog content off of AAR.

Below you'll find the blogs I visit, broken out in my own odd little system of categories.

January 2008


next »

Like Watching a Ping-Pong Match

Thursday, 31 January 2008 12:58 P GMT-05
Being responsible for this year's annual reader poll makes me feel as though I'm watching a ping-pong match. Only instead of two players, each side of the table is me, at varying hours of the day, either elated or in despair. Just now, for instance,
Category: AAR
Comments/Trackback (2-1)

In Treatment

Wednesday, 30 January 2008 11:15 A GMT-05
On Monday night, In Treatment debuted. The series, based on an Israeli television show, is produced in the U.S. by Mark Wahlberg and stars Gabriel Byrne as therapist Paul Weston. The show's format is a half hour, five nights a week, for a month or so
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

The Itch

Sunday, 27 January 2008 10:37 P GMT-05
Apparently I'm more like my dad than I suspected. He was a gadget fanatic; whatever "toy" he could buy, he did. I've never thought I was particularly gadgety, but after our ill-fated attempts to buy a Wii in November, I think the itch to buy a gizmo
Category: Reading

Third Lecture

Friday, 25 January 2008 5:43 P GMT-05
Because we had a really tough phone call with our daugther on Tuesday, we did not attend Tuesday night's lecture at Temple Emanu-el on Paul. St. Paul, as you remember, was the Jew who originally persecuted early Christians until his he was visited by
Category: Personal/Political
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

AAR's Annual Reader Poll

Thursday, 24 January 2008 5:54 P GMT-05
Our annual reader poll, which closes at midnight, February 17th, is right now between one third and one half complete in terms of time. But as you can see to your right, voting has not kept pace with time in recent days. It's for that reason in speci
Category: Reading AAR

Coffee Quick Poll

Wednesday, 23 January 2008 3:27 P GMT-05
The results of my informal coffee quick poll are in. Apparently as many of us are Starbucks fangirls as find it too expensive to buy, with another large chunk who believe they will stick with Starbucks. Fewer than 10% will buy their coffee at McDonal
Category: Quick Polls
Comments/Trackback (4-0)

Erin McCarthy and Smart Mouth

Tuesday, 22 January 2008 3:29 P GMT-05
<td td class="stylellb">Smart Mouth Erin McCarthy Grade: B Sensuality: Hot For the past few years, Erin McCarthy has been one of my auto-buy authors, at least with her Kensington/Brava releases. I've bought most - if not all
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Second Lecture...the Link this Time

Sunday, 20 January 2008 6:51 P GMT-05
We've had family in from Virginia since Thursday; they left yesterday and today was devoted to doing a review update and catching up on the ballots sent in since then in our annual reader poll. As a matter of fact, it's nearly six in the evening and
Category: Personal/Political

The Second Lecture

Wednesday, 16 January 2008 8:24 P GMT-05
Last week I blogged about a lecture series my husband and I were attending at our temple. Last night was the second lecture, and I had hoped a link to the mp3 would be up by now, but it's not. But I thought I'd link to an article Dr. Chancey wrote wh
Category: Personal/Political
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

Shadow Touch

Monday, 14 January 2008 8:51 P GMT-05
<td width="10> Shadow Touch Marjorie M. Liu Grade: B+ Sensuality: Warm In the past month I've read The Last Twilight, the next in Marjorie M. Liu's Dirk and Steele series, Tiger Eye, Soul Song, and now, Shadow Touch. I'm nearly finished with Ey
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

Deal With This

Monday, 14 January 2008 10:14 A GMT-05
Deal With This Lucy Monroe Grade{ C+ Sensuality: Burning When I realized that a sequel to Lucy Monroe's The Real Deal (although, according to all the marketing I've seen, Deal With This is considered to Satisfaction Guaranteed), was on sale, I grabbe
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

With Horses

Sunday, 13 January 2008 11:09 A GMT-05
After I typed in the user name "Neennagep", I immediately realized that this, like 98% of the other registrations Cheryl and I work through each week for AAR's forums, was the work of a s-p-a-m-b-o-t. It doesn't take a genius, but to relieve the mon
Category: AAR
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Soul Song

Sunday, 13 January 2008 12:00 A GMT-05
Soul Song Marjorie M. Liu Grade: B Sensuality: Warm At the end of my blogging about Liu's Tiger Eye, I wrote that I planned to read Shadow Touch, the first in her Dirk & Steele series, right away. Well, I would have had I had it in my possession. It
Category: Reading

My 2008 Books Read Database

Saturday, 12 January 2008 12:22 A GMT-05
I am forever tinkering with the basic database format I set up for myself several years ago. Last year I thought I'd finally gotten it right...until I realized I needed to add a field for "Print or E-Book". And then I realized that short story readin
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Not Yet a Review

Friday, 11 January 2008 6:23 P GMT-05
So I sat down to write a review of Lucy Monroe's Deal with This when I realized I couldn't. Not yet, anyway, because for the first time in a very long time, copyediting errors frustrated me enough to cause me to write about them instead. I rarely bl
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Interim Results

Friday, 11 January 2008 2:06 P GMT-05
Enough ballots came in late yesterday that I was able to post the first set of interim results in our 12th annual reader poll. Still, I wonder whether or not last year's Tales from the Ballot Box ATBF has had a chilling effect on voting. I'll have to
Category: Reading AAR
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

Project Runway 4

Thursday, 10 January 2008 5:26 P GMT-05
Have you been watching this season's Project Runway? Last night's judging seemed incredibly "auf" to me; I agree with Tim's Take, although instead of a superhero's costume, I think the winning prom dress more resembled a skating outfit. I'm not glad
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (3-1)

Egads!

Thursday, 10 January 2008 4:37 P GMT-05
I just filled out the ballot in our annual reader poll. Egads...it was tough! As always, I try to spread my vote around - to do that this time, I had to reach down into B territory (not B minuses, though). But spreading my vote sometimes conflicts wi
Category: AAR
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

Last Night in Temple (link added)

Wednesday, 9 January 2008 5:37 P GMT-05
I am what you would call a "secular Jew". I observe the High Holy Days, and think of myself as Jewish without being particularly religious. That said, however, I am utterly fascinated by the history of religion, and probably 1/3 of the documentaries
Category: Personal/Political
Comments/Trackback (3-0)

A Present From Me To You

Tuesday, 8 January 2008 4:04 P GMT-05
Clive Owen...yum!
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Sleeping with the Fishes & Swimming without a Net

Monday, 7 January 2008 12:41 P GMT-05
Sleeping with the Fishes MaryJanice Davidson Grade: B- Sensuality: Warm Swimming Without a Net MaryJanice Davidson Grade: B Sensuality: Warm Last week I blogged about MaryJanice Davidson's The Royal Mess, and how, after I read it, I immediately b
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Sweeney Todd & LOST

Saturday, 5 January 2008 5:00 P GMT-05
So last night we went on a "date"; we had a nice dinner, then wandered around Northpark Mall until it was time for Sweeney Todd to start at 8:30. Like everyone else, we'd heard nothing but good things about this movie, and although I'd never seen the
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (12-0)

AAR's Annual Reader Poll

Saturday, 5 January 2008 3:39 P GMT-05
On Monday our annual reader poll begins, and will run through midnight, February 17th.
Category: AAR

Tiger Eye

Friday, 4 January 2008 3:48 P GMT-05
Tiger Eye Marjorie M. Liu Grade: B+ Sensuality: Hot Last month my editor sent me The Last Twilight, Marjorie M. Liu's February release in her Dirk and Steele series. It's one of a very select group of books from the magazine I review for that I actu
Category: Reading

The Royal Mess

Thursday, 3 January 2008 5:59 P GMT-05
<img title='Amazon Product' src='http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21fvZMLMppL.jpg'border='0'/> The Royal Mess MaryJanice Davidson Grade: B+ Sensuality: Warm
Category: Reading

next »