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.

February 2005



Harlequin Presents - an overview

Monday, 28 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
My Romancing the Blog column on my introduction to Harlequin Presents romances went online yesterday at six a.m, two days early. Which is all to the good, actually, because now I can begin to talk in detail about the reading experience. Here's how it
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (7-0)

Romancing the Blog

Sunday, 27 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
They've moved my column at Romancing the Blog up by two days and it's now online.  Which is all to the good, actually, as now I can start talking about those HP's I've been devouring.TTFN, Laurie Likes Books
Category: Blogging

Not quite ready to blog about it

Saturday, 26 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Consider this a teaser: I've read eight Harlequin Presents novels in the past week and a half, and while I'm dying to blog about them here, I've made this the topic of my upcoming Romancing the Blog column, which goes online first thing on February 2
Category: Reading AAR Blogging
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Seduced by Moonlight

Friday, 25 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
There are very few authors I buy in hardcover, and Laurell K Hamilton isn't one of them.  And when last year we posted a very mediocre review of Seduced by Moonlight, I realized I would not be adding LKH to my list of hardcover-autobuy authors.  So
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (4-0)

A Nice Little Kick in the Teeth

Thursday, 24 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
The transferring of reviews into our new database is going, as expected, slowly, and it's been particularly slow the last week or so because of my other duties at the site.  So whenever there's grumbling about how hard it is to find a review in term
Category: AAR
Comments/Trackback (3-1)

I can't believe it's been (nearly) a whole week!

Wednesday, 23 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
The title for this entry says it all.  I can't believe I haven't blogged since last Wednesday.  But here's why:We closed our ninth annual reader poll at midnight, February 14th, and it took me through Wednesday to enter the last couple of day's wor
Category: Personal/Political

Eric Idle

Thursday, 17 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
I don't know about you, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail was one of my favorite movies as a teen, so when I read that Mike Nichols was mounting a Broadway production in collaboration with Eric Idle, I thought to myself, "This ought to be goo
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (4-1)

What...no books?

Thursday, 17 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
It's been a while since I actually wrote about what I'm reading, but it's just so damn easy to have other things take precedence.  I have been reading, though, and oddly enough, I'm reading books I never though I'd ever, ever read - and for the &quo
Category: Reading

Same Old Song

Wednesday, 16 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
I love my mom, but she just doesn't get it - or me, for that matter.  She called to share that her latest mammogram was normal, which gives her a clean bill of health one year after being diagnosed and operated on for a small malignancy. I'm incredi
Category: Personal/Political
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

That's Entertainment

Tuesday, 15 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Last night we watched the 47th annual Grammy Awards, and for the first time in years, I actually enjoyed an awards show.  When Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas opened the show with a note the likes of which I've never heard her sing from Let's Get it
Category: Entertainment
Comments/Trackback (5-1)

All Day Long

Monday, 14 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
I've gone through probably twenty color palettes today, trying to redecorate my blog.  The colors I love best - violets and tanzanite (purple/blue) - are simply too vibrant.  I don't want to give anybody a headache trying to read my blog.  And
Category: Blogging
Comments/Trackback (15-0)

Redecorating

Sunday, 13 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Today's Romancing the Blog entry by Larissa Ione really got me thinking.  She talks about how blogs reflect their owners, and how an individual blog is like a house, a blog shared by some friends is like an apartment, and how a super-blog site such
Category: Blogging
Comments/Trackback (4-0)

Expectations All 'Round

Saturday, 12 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Over the past couple of days I've spent some time reworking the introduction to my blog, as well as adding links to other blogs I frequent (while removing others).  Part of the introduction is the same, verbatim, and part of it has been rewritten or
Category: AAR Personal/Political Blogging Internet

Blogging & Venom

Thursday, 10 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Everyone has the right to publish whatever the hell they want on the Internet...that's the beauty of this wonderful technology.  Some of it is intriguing, entertaining, or even simply rabble-rousing.  But as I've mentioned before,  sometimes the
Category: Blogging Internet
Comments/Trackback (15-1)

Werewolf Logistics

Monday, 7 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
Warning: This blogging is odd, even by my standards (and may be considered icky by those who don't enjoy shapeshifters and/or romantica).I had an odd question this morning and put it to my husband: Would a werewolf lick his ass in werewolf form to cl
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (8-0)

Girls in Pants

Saturday, 5 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
A couple of months ago, when I noticed that the third book in Ann Brasheres' Traveling Pants series would be released, I was excited...but also a little nervous.  The third  book in any series is often the one where it all begins to fall apart - i
Category: Reading
Comments/Trackback (2-0)

Linda Howard's To Die For & Duke TIP

Wednesday, 2 February 2005 12:59 A GMT-05
First things first...today's it's our daughter's 13th birthday and while we wouldn't give her any of her presents this morning, we were able to announce that she'd gotten into the summer camp program for gifted kids that she'd applied  to (including
Category: Reading Personal/Political