Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The School Year Beckons

Today I am bidding a fond farewell to summer. Chicago has been experiencing unseasonably cool weather, but more to the point, I report back to school tomorrow. The halcyon day of summer are coming to an end. Days of doing nothing but what I want to do: catching up on TV shows, rewatching favorite movies, crocheting and crafting like a mad woman, and staring at the TBR pile... that offers little inspiration.

After returning from New York at the end of July I hit the all-time, worst ever reading slump. This was a relentless creature. It still has it's claws in me. I can't tell you how many DNF books I have floating around my apartment right now. I know they can't all be bad books. It has to be me. I tried historicals. I tried paranormals. I even tried rereading an old favorite. I want to read, but I just can't bring myself to lift another book only to be disappointed. Ugh!!! Needless to say, this malaise has put the brakes on my posts here.

There have been a few gems among the paste. Here are the rare, the few, the books I have enjoyed since the end of June:

Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran- I FINALLY read it, and it was wonderful. So rich and layered. The only other historical romance that I could compare it to is The Spymaster's Lady. The time period and the political situation are not simply the back drop in this book, they are almost another character.

A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole- This was my first try at her writing. I did not want to like the hero, Lachlain. In the beginning he had all of the negative traits of an Alpha hero, and none of the good. He was downright mean to Emma. In the end I quite enjoyed the story. I liked the mythology and the inclusion of Valkyries. I have the next book in the series buried in my extra bedroom. I need to dig it out.

7 Day and 7 Nights by Wendy Wax- I had read this one before and still loved it now. It is a contemp with one of my favorite tropes: reunited lovers, although this couple does nothing but butt heads. I definitely recommend you guys dig this one up.

Anything by Nalini Singh. I finished off the rest of her booklist. I heart her. I can't wait for the next book.


Currently, I am reading Lucky Charm by Carly Philips. It is cute so far, but hasn't grabbed me yet. I have the newest Patricia Briggs waiting for me. Yay, Charles and Anna!!! Mostly, though, I have been having fun crocheting. I opened a "store" on ETSY. Go check it out, let me know what you think. My newest obsession is amigurimi. I had seen these little cuties before, but thought they would be too difficult. Not so! It just requires counting. You can't zone out while making them. I have plans to make some for my friends (Christmas gifts? Heck yeah!)
I may even need to make a girlfriend for Mho Pho. What do you think, Katie?

8 comments:

Stacy~ said...

I hope your first day of school goes well. Sorry you're still suffering from readers' ennui. Hopefully there is a cure in sight. I'm happy to report I'm not having that problem. Just started KMM's Fever series and I am happily engrossed in it. Loved Meredith's and Kresley's books that you mentioned.

It does sound like you've been busy in other aspects, so that's a good thing. This cooler weather we're having is crazy - 48 degrees this morning!

Wow, I wonder if King Mho Fho is a one...woman...sheep??? You might have to make a whole flock *g*

Sarah said...

Nothing worse than a reading slump! I liked the Kresley Cole series, she's cool. :)

Shannon said...

Stacy- Thanks, the first days have been hectic, but not too bad. I have KMM first in that that series. I will have to give it a shot.

Sarah- I did enjoy the book. I am def going to try the next one!

Tracy said...

I hope the first day of school went well for you Shannon. My kids love the first week of school - hopefully as a teacher you do too.

Ah the reading slump. Once you're in it's hard to get out. I feel your pain. The books that weren't paste were good ones.:)

How do I get to the Etsy thing?

Shannon said...

Thanks, Tracy.

Oops! My bad. I added the link to my ETSY site. Here's the address again: www.zoesarcadia.etsy.com

Christine said...

Shannon!!! So good to see you posting! :)

Welcome to the new school year! I think. ;p

You were in NY over the summer? Please say you were way upstate and not in the NY Metro area, because I will cry if you were here and we didn't meet up!

I get frustrated when in reading slumps, but the good news is that eventually you do get out of it. Hopefully it will be soon for you. I LOVED Duran's Duke of Shadows. Loved it. Kresley Cole's IAD series is truly like no other that I've come across... the characters are so diverse and colorful and the level of humor isn't just from the characters... I can feel it from the author, too. If that makes any sense? It's almost like she subtly pokes fun of the absurdity of her world. That almost sounds insulting, but it's not meant to be. I love her stuff.

Congrats on the ETSY store! That's so exciting! The amigurimi are adorable! I love the multicolored one.

Shannon said...

Christine, please don't cry, but I was actually in NYC. For a month. ::ducks:: I was taking a class at NYU. I was in Jersey for a few days, too. I know, I'm horrible and didn't contact you. Sorry! However, I will be returning soon, probably Columbus Day weekend. My bf lives in Bayonne. Perhaps we can meet up then :)

Christine said...

*gasp*!

A whole month, too. Not just a few days... a month!

*double gasp*

Bayonne? so close....

*triple gasp*

Okay, I'm not gonna give you a hard time. I know you were very busy. I'll email you my phone number... it would be fun to meet up. But I totally understand if you don't have time. A long distance relationship needs a lot of TLC, so I get that. :)