[NancyBrooke]

Hey, whatcha'll readin'?

Christmas in my family is always a time for giving and getting, and I was wondering if anyone else received any books they were excited about.

I received a couple I am eagerly looking forward to, but right now am engrossed in the very charming and intriguing Little, Big, by John Crowley. I am only 50 pages into what in this edition is 550+ pages, but enjoying it immensely. It's the story of a multi-generational american family living in a rambling country house, who have some connection to denizens of Faerie. The writing is lovely, and funny. Here's a sample:

[Haleth]

I'd recommend The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany and Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees. Both books are nearly 80 years old and have been reprinted in the past few years.

[Sulriel]

Free short stories: some smutty some sweet.

http://www.thesamhellion.com/ebooks.htm

Leah Braemel is one of my CPs and First Night is a complete short story that's a lead in to her books that are being released over the next couple of months.

Shelli Stevens' Baby It's Cold Outside - I thought was pretty good. and Ciar Cullen's A Midnight Clear will have you all weepy and warm and fuzzy inside.

I didn't read all of them, but most. There are other good ones, but I don't remember all the names.

[Viv]

My mom got me reading Jodi Picoult, and she's like crack. Very Lifetime Television sorts of plots, usually culminating with a dramatic courtroom drama and a twist. She does some nice stuff with point of view in a few of the books. So far, the best one has been My Sister's Keeper, which is about a family that finds out that their 3-year-old has cancer, so they conceive a test-tube little sister for her, who is a bone-marrow match. Kind of makes the little sister feel crummy and used thirteen-odd years later, and that's where the book opens.

Am also reading a book for work, but we don't have to talk about that.

[NeumeIndil]

Mistress of the Art of Death: early renaissance female doctor from Salerno, Italy is called north to England by a friend of Henry II to investigate what or who is really killing children around a particular village, one of which was crucified. The town's Jews are blamed, and so imprisoned in a castle to keep them safe (because Jews were so heavily taxed as to be valuable to even the most pious of Christian rulers).

OMG. I haven't finished it yet, but I read over 3/4 of it in one go (and then New Year's arrived and so much for that). This is the kind of mainstream fiction I wish I could write. I hope she does more about this set of characters because it could be another Brother Cadfael series; great if you like historical fiction and mystery with a hint of romance.

[NancyBrooke]

[Sulriel]

[vladazhael]

I'm finally reading "The Hobbit." But I suppose I don't need to recommend that to anyone here.

[Alassante]

I'm reading Harry Potter 7 again. I bought a used copy and decided to refresh my memory. Although I wish I had re-read HP 6 first.

[Sirannon]

I'm reading "the Castle" by Franz Kafka, so far I find it very amusing.

[dolarabee]

RL has been running us through the ringer of late, but when I get a couple of seconds free, I get back to Jim Butcher's Storm Front - the first from The Dresden Files series. Somebody rec'd it to me here (was it you, Ottis?) and it's pretty good. Light but dry humour. Works for me.

do.

[Haleth]

For anyone with a taste for non-fiction, I'd recommend Victoria Finlay's books Colour and Jewels.

Colours is subtitled Travels through the Paintbox.

The author travels around the world searching for either pigments (she goes through the rainbow) or gemstones (she goes through the Mohr scale) detailing the origins and history of each. These books are great for information magpies and are filled with ancedotes that inspire story ideas.

[Sulriel]

Hey guys, I mentioned Leah's free short story here and I wanted to come back and let everyone know her first book was released on Tuesday.

There's a post about it on my pages here: www.writinghorses.com and a little more on her blog HERE. If you scroll down the page a couple of posts to her "Happy Two Year Blog Anniversary" post, there's a little more history. (Sue is my middle name)

But aside from the fact that Leah's a fantastic author if you like a real plot and real emotion with your steaming hot 'erotica' , it's especially exciting to see her doing well because she's 'one of our own'. Her first stories and novels were published here and at other fandom archives.

Private Property is a novella length work and steaming hot, so check it out. There is an excerpt HERE. Every single sale makes a difference to the author, but more than that, your $s sends a message to publisher that this is what you want to read and what you want more of. And the best part is that you get a fantastic read!