..books.

#13: City of Thieves by David Benioff
This was a great book recommended by a couple of friends of mine. it's not the typical story that I read. It takes place in Leningrad during the siege in WWII. It's about a looter and a deserter who are given the chance to live if they can find a dozen eggs for the Colonel so he can have a wedding cake made for his daughter. They have a week to find these eggs in a city where all supplies are scarce and eggs are non-existent. Despite the premise and setting, it has moments that are lighthearted and funny. it's a very well-written and engaging story.

#14: Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready
This is yet another in my recent string of vampire novels. I didn't buy this, which is good because the story wasn't the greatest I've read. It's about a radio station run by vampires who get stuck in the era in which they died. The main character is a human con artist who is hired to keep the radio station afloat and out of the hands of a larger corporation interested in buying & dismantling it. It's a quick read, but nothing special.

#15: A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas Sniegoski
I breezed through this book in 2 sessions on the elliptical machine. It's about an angel who decided long ago to give up his angelic duties and live life as a human. Then the angel of death goes missing and no one is dying. And there's a threat of someone trying to bring about the apocalypse. It's all themes we've seen and read before, but presented in an entertaining new story.

it's a post about more books... I will post something else as soon as I think of something.

#10: Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
This is an unusual sort of vampire story. Instead of your usual bloodsuckers, the vamps in this book can get into a person's head and force them to do their bidding. The power can range from simple suggestions to outright possession. The book's plot moves along like an elaborate chess game between key vampires and a few key normal humans. It's a big book, but reads quick and was a refreshing change of pace from my usual vamp stories.

#11: Undead and Unworthy by Mary Janice Davidson
This is one of said usual vamp stories I just mentioned. It's the 7th book in the series about Betsy, a completely inept vampire queen with a serious shoe addiction. I think I breezed through this book in about two hours. It barely kept my attention though. This might be one of those series that I drop because I'm not sure it's worth the $6.99 price.

#12: Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
This falls in the werewolf category of books I read, but is far from your typical tale (no pun intended). First of all, the book is written in verse. I don't normally read poetry, so it took me a few pages to get into the rhythm of how it read. Once I did, the story gripped me by the teeth (ok, last pun, I promise). It's a story about several werewolves, or rather were-dogs, their back stories and current situations with their various packs. It's got a little bit of everything: love, betrayal, violence, horror, compassion, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed it (by far my favorite of these three books).

More Books:

For Christmas I got a Borders gift card. I used it to buy the latest books in a lot of the urban fantasy series I read. No great brain-power required to read any of these.

#7: Bone Magic by Yasmine Galenorn
This definitely falls into the "witches, werewolves and vampires" category that my boyfriend makes fun of me for reading. This is the 7th book in the series about 3 sisters - a witch, a werecat, and a vampire and all are part-fae. This book takes place from the witch's POV, who is my favorite of the 3 sisters. It's a quick and easy read. It's not the best I've read, but decent. Each sister gets more powerful in each book about her and gets more lovers (it seems like).

#8: All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
This is the 7th book in the Sookie series. I started to reread this series last year when Tru Blood first came out. I only made it through the first two books, I think. So it's been a while since I read the 6th book. As a result I couldn't remember who some of the players were and how they fit in. I picked up on enough of it fairly quick though. The story was okay. it's not my favorite of the series, but not bad. It's another easy read.

#9: Lover Avenged by J.D. Ward
Yep, another vampire series. And again, this is the 7th book. Lots of sevens in this batch. This is a series I've contemplated dropping. The first and fourth books were outstanding. The rest... eh... They are incredibly formulaic. So after reading one book, you pretty much know how the rest are going to play out. This one did the same thing. The result? It doesn't hold my attention very well. I hate it when an author does that. Books like that don't keep me on the edge of my seat because I already know what happens. Each book in this series is about a different character, but he goes through the exact same trials as all the other characters.

And no, that wasn't the ranting part. The rant is about how much I hate trying to get in shape this week. Mostly because, thanks to me not being careful enough two weeks ago, I hurt my back really bad. I have not been able to exercise the last week and it's irritating me. I know better than to do what I did, yet I did it anyway and now it hurts. Ugh. It's very frustrating. I want the pain to go away so I can go back to my regularly scheduled program and get more results. Instead, I've had a set-back and it's undoubtedly reflected on the scale. Grrrrr!!!

Okay, rant done. And it wasn't even that bad.

I think my whimsical mood from yesterday is striking me again. I'm at a point in the day where I'm ready to start writing. The first thing I think is that I need to connect my iPod so I can find the appropriate music to set the mood. What pops into my head is Sebastian saying "First we've got to create the moooood." And now this is stuck in my head:




 
So not the mood I need for my apocalyptic alien story....

I had an interesting dream last night. I was on the hunt for 3 ancient temples that had been hidden for thousands of years. I had found the first one and was on the hunt for the second. It was rumored to be buried in a cave high up on a snowy mountain. I was on the outskirts of a town, left through the west entrance and started hiking up to the mountain. My dad left out of the east entrance of the town and started hiking in the opposite direction. I could see him from where I was, but wasn't sure why he was taking a longer route. Eventually he would catch up with me. I continued hiking up the mountain for a long time. It was snowing and I noticed the snow tastes like lemonade. I thought that was odd and wondered what chemicals were in the air that would make it taste like that. I climbed up to a hole in the snow and used a pick to widen it. I wasn't sure if this was the cave I was looking for or if it was just an opening in the snow and ice and I was worried about falling into such a hole and being buried alive. Soon I uncovered a massive stone door with some sort of jewel or symbol set in the center. This was the entrance to the temple. Somehow I got the door opened and went inside. The interior looked like a hotel from the early 1900s. To my left was a great room with a fireplace where people could relax or mingle. To my right was the front desk and behind it were cubbyholes representing all the different rooms. Soon my dad joined me. He thought we needed a guide dog and brought a polar bear with him for that purpose. The bear surprised & scared me and I worried that it would turn on us. Soon a regular dog joined us. He was my dog, but I don't know his name or what kind he was (some sort of terrier). All of a sudden the hotel came to life around me and I could see and hear people everywhere. They all dressed in the same era as the hotel, early 1900s. I asked my dad if he could see them and he said no. They were all ghosts. I knew this temple belonged to a civilization that predated humanity by several thousand years. I wondered if it was there ghosts I was seeing. Then I realized the polar bear and the dog got into a fight. The bear swiped at the dog and hurt his back hip. Then it ran out of the temple. The dog was limping and whining. I knew he was dying. I took him to the ghost man standing behind the front desk. I asked if he could keep the dog. He said normally they don't allow pets, but he said he guessed it would be okay. Then the dog died, but his ghost joined the other ghosts in the temple. That's all I remember.

On to books:
#4: Flesh Circus by Lilith Saintcrow
This is one of the authors I follow on lj (lilithsaintcrow ). It's the 4th book in the Jill Kismet series, about a bad-ass hunter who hunts demons and other baddies and is continually getting her ass kicked. It's one of the reasons I like the books. The author has no fear whatsoever of beating the crap out of her characters over and over. It's a quick and enjoyable read.

#5: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
If you are a fan of dogs or car racing, I recommend this book. It's the story of a man and his dog, Enzo. The book is told from the dog's point of view. The owner races cars and Enzo loves everything about racing, so there is a lot of race talk. Parts of this book were hard to read on the heels of Kody's death. Some of what I read was way too familiar in a heart-wrenching way. Still, it's a good book about a great dog. It does reaffirm that I want another one sometime in the near future.

#6: Storm Glass by Maria Snyder
I raved about earlier books by this author early last year (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study). Same author, same world, different main character. This book takes place from Opal's point of view who is a glass magician (she sculpts glass that has sparks of magic in it). I was surprised when I first heard about this book that the author would choose this character as the lead for the next series. This book didn't grab me as much as Poison Study did. It's more along the same lines as the other two books - good, but not great. It sort of felt like when she started writing this, she didn't know where it was going, so it wandered around for a while before finding it's place. I liked it enough that I will read the rest though.

For books that is. Yeah, I have more than 1 to write about already. So now we all know how I spent my weekend. I still don't know what I'm calling it this year, since there's no point in the 50 book challenge. I thought about 100 books, but am not sure I want to commit to that. So for now, it's just a nameless list of books I've read.

#1: Bound to Shadows by Keri Arthur
This is the latest in the Riley Jensen series about a half vampire half werewolf woman who's job is to keep all the supernaturals in line. I don't have a lot to say about it. It's an easy read and they are fun books, but they do all blend together after a while. I think this is the 8th in the series.

#2: Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K Hamilton
I have a lot of friends who turn their noses up at her books these days, and not without good reason. I still read and enjoy her books. This is the latest paperback in the Merry Gentry books, which are all about the faerie folk. As with the last Anita Blake book I read, I actually enjoyed this one more than her last couple. She seems to be at least attempting to include a plot in her books, which is a refreshing change.

#3: The Shining by Stephen King
Yes, I still have more Stephen King books in my stack to read. And no, I've not read this before. And no I've never seen the movie. I always heard the movie was a lot different and admit to being curious now. I'm not sure I will ever see it though (I'm a wimp when it comes to scary movies). This book falls in between my criticisms of his other books. It does ramble on at points, but not about people that aren't relevant to the story so it held my attention. It's not my favorite of his, but I did like it. It took me a while to get through it though, mostly because I'm usually reading more than 1 book at a time and the others were more interesting to me personally (no vampires, witches or werewolves in this one). And yes, I admit I started reading this last year, but didn't finish it until last night so it counts for this year.

It's only 1/5 and I've already read 3 books. Not a bad start.

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping that 2010 is the best year yet.

I have 2 last books to add onto my tally for last year's challenge. That brings my total to 92 books. Yay for me! I am going to do it again this year, but I'm not calling it the 50 book challenge. I think it's safe to say that I will read more than 50 books.

#91 Bring Down The Sun by Judith Tarr
It was a decent read. I haven't read anything by this author in a while. It sort of felt like a story I've read many times before, but I still enjoyed it.

#92: White Witch Black Curse by Kim Harrison
She is one of my favorite authors in the “werewolves, witches and vampires” category. This book was no exception. It’s a quick read, but always entertaining.

I know, not really descriptive. It’s Jan 1 before 9am and I’m a little hungover and not quite awake yet. I’ll try to do better this year.

These were my top 5 favorite new books for this year (not counting re-reads on this):

1. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
2. The Margarets by Sheri Taper
3. The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin
4. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
5. Broken Music by Sting (my only non-fiction this year. I need to work on that)


( All 92 are listed here )

Okay, and for the record, only 30 of these books were about witches, werewolves or vampires. My boyfriend teases me constantly that books on one of those 3 are all I read. Not true!

Happy New Year!

Gotta love it. Cross-posted from theweaselking .

Here is my Christmas update for 2009 (instead of sending cards, because we all know I won’t do that).

To start, here’s a little holiday greeting that I made myself using my ultra-beginner skills in Flash (a new skill I learned recently):



2009 has been a year full of ups and downs, but overall I won’t complain. Bill and I are both still employed and very thankful for that. We are still doing well, we’re healthy and having a lot of fun together. My sister gave birth to my nephew, Ethan, in early January. Hard to believe he’s almost 1 already.

Today marks the Winter Solstice and is also the anniversary of the day I first brought home my beloved chow-chow Kody who passed away last month. He is still sorely missed. Bill and I do plan to rescue a dog sometime next summer.

We didn’t go to as many concerts this year. If you count Lollapalooza as 1 concert, we only went to 11. The good part is, 5 out of 11 of those were Wilco/Jeff Tweedy. That’s a record year for us seeing Wilco! And the best part? At our Cincinnati concert we got to meet half the band. Sadly Jeff was not among them, but we are now close personal friends with Pat, Mikael and John. The other notable concerts this year were the Decemberists at Lollapalooza and Dave Matthews Band in Detroit.

Bill and I did take several trips this year. Our week-long trip this year was to California. We rented a great house in Napa with 3 other couples and spent a wonderful week tasting all kinds of fabulous wines. We drove to Kalamazoo, Cincinnati and Ann Arbor for Wilco concerts and went to Toronto to see The Hold Steady. In July we visited a bunch of Bill’s college friends in Pittsburgh. In August we did our annual trek to Lollapalooza in Chicago and saw around a dozen bands. In September I went to Dragon*con for the 2nd year in a row for another crazy weekend as Xena. And we went up north a few times for relaxing weekends at some of our favorite places (like Shorts Brewery).

I did perform in another belly dance production in the spring, followed by an intensive but fun 2-day workshop with the belly dance superstar Aziza. I have not done much with the dance since then. Instead I’m working with a personal trainer to whip myself into shape. So far it’s working great!

And what was my craziest adventure this year you ask? That would be skydiving. Yep, you read right. I did it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a great 2010!

First, I think my brain is still decompressing from Monday and Tuesday. I spent all day both days in a seminar to learn Flash, which is a vastly different program than my usual design programs. It was challenging, but in a good way. It left me feeling seriously depleted mentally and I hope I can remember everything I learned (ok, at least most of it). So initially this was going to be a longer post, but I think part of me is still babbling incoherently in a corner.

Second, I got a bit derailed on my fitness goals starting when Kody died. That first week I didn't care about what I ate, so didn't make the best choices. The next week was my birthday, then Thanksgiving and the eating & drinking went on and on. The good news is as of this morning I not only got back to my 10lb weight loss, but lost an addition pound (YAY!). That's a good thing. I'm getting to the point where I notice the difference. I've had people compliment me, but up until this week I couldn't really see anything myself. I'm still getting my butt kicked by my trainer twice a week, which is a continual challenge. In the last few sessions, he's been complimenting me on my progress and continually pointing out things I can do easily now that I couldn't do at all when we started. And on Sunday I had a random stranger at the gym tell me she could tell I've been losing weight and how good I look. All that makes me feel good.... and sigh as I see all the Christmas events looming starting tonight. My goal is to make it through the holidays without gaining. I will be happy with that.

Speaking of Christmas, sometime soon I will post a year-in-review Christmas blog. Like wheezinggirl , I'm too lazy to send out Christmas cards and I don't see the point in wasting the paper. I don't even pretend that I will anymore. I will post that soon instead (when my brain recovers).

And lastly, more Books:

#88: X-Rated Bloodsuckers by Mario Acevedo
#89: The Undead Kama Sutra by Mario Acevedo
#90: Jailbait Zombies by Mario Acevedo
I posted about the first book in this series last time. These are the rest that have been published. The author left plotlines open in books 3 & 4, so I'm guessing there will be more. And just like with the first book in this series, the titles are deceptive. Yes, the books are about what the title suggest, but they're not the slightest bit steamy. They are about a vampire detective who keeps finding his way into all kinds of bizarre situations. They are easy reads (obviously since I read all 3 in a week) and I enjoyed them.

50 Book challenge 09 update. Yeah, obviously I already hit the 50 book mark. That's not why I have the subject header that I do. This post makes it official that I beat last year's record of reading 86 books.

#84: The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
This was an interesting read. It's not something I would normally pick up, but was loaned to me by a friend. It's the story about a book. It's a fifteenth century Jewish Haggadah, a type of prayer book. The story starts in the 1990s and is about a rare book expert who's job is to study the book and try to figure out it's history. She finds different things in the book, which then cause the story to jump back in time to various points to explain where that item came from and how it got in the book. It's a fascinating look at how a simple object can be part of so much history. Good read.

#85: Bag of Bones by Stephen King
Yeah, I know, another one. So far this is one of my favorite by him (The Stand being my other fav). It tells the story of an author who gets mixed up in a mystery surrounding a town and the haunted house he lives in. It's a large book, but reads quickly. King doesn't spend the first half of the book with unnecessary detail, which is probably why I liked it so much. You jump right into the story and it keeps hold of you until the end. I didn't find it scary. It's meant to be a thriller, but not the can't-sleep-without-the-lights-on kind.

#86: The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin
The book was recommended by wheezinggirl and I'm glad she recommended it. It tells a version of the Theseus and Minotaur story, but told from the viewpoint of the sacrificial people in the labyrinth. The whole story reads like it's a chat room log and the labyrinth is a type of alternate internet reality. The book was a lot cleverer than I expected. It made you think. This may be another of my favorite books that I read this year.

#87: The Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo
Don't let the title fool you. It's about a vampire detective who's on the hunt to figure out why a bunch of women working for the department of energy turned into raving nymphomaniacs. With a title and premise like that, you'd expect the book to be steamy. I did. Well, it's not. Not even slightly. Take that expectation out of it and you have a pretty good story. I like how the author writes. He's not very wordy, but is very descriptive. Short, yet visual. Just no steamy scenes. There are lots of vamps though. It's a fun read.

How many more books can I read in 22 days?

I couldn't resist this one...

More books, who would have guessed? At this rate I will beat last year's total.

#81: Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand
A friend recommended this to me. This is the author who wrote Waking the Moon, which is one of my all-time favorite books. My friend said she liked this one even better. So I went into it with high expectations. Maybe too high. I liked the book, but it was no where near as captivating as Waking the Moon. It took about half the book for me to sort of figure out what was going on and piece together who fit with who. The story jumps through time several times with some characters being the ancestors of other characters. Similar names and places in both times confused me. Then it all clicked and I was able to follow along and enjoy the story. I liked it, but it's no where near my top 10 list.

#82: Carrie by Stephen King
Yes, another one. And no, it's not a reread. I've never seen the movie either. Still, this is one of those stories that everyone just knows whether you've read/seen it or not. It's about what I expected. Not my favorite of his, but a quick, easy and entertaining read. The one thing that bothers me about a lot of his books is he seems to take about half the book to set up the story and the first half is filled with a lot of unnecessary detail. The stories are good once all the pieces are in place, it just takes a while to get there.

#83: The Margarets by Sheri Tepper
I haven't read much by this author. In fact, the only other book of hers that I remember reading is Beauty (which I loved and still own). My friend (same as above) loaned me this one and I'm glad she did. She said it took a little while to understand the concept and get into the story. I understood this one a lot quicker than I did Mortal Love. It's a futuristic story where one woman is split into seven versions of herself. Each live on a different planet and have completely different experiences. There is a reason why she was split, which wove together quite satisfying in the end. All around a really clever book, in my opinion. This one might be one of my favorites for this year.

This just needs to be shared. Cross-posted from theweaselking .
Gotta love the muppets!

What can I say, books are comfort food.

50 book challenge update:

#77: The Hand of Isis by Jo Graham
I read her other book, Black Ships, earlier this year and loved it. This one is Cleopatra’s story told through the eyes of one of her handmaidens. I found this book to be equally as well-written and wonderful. This story is based on the idea that Cleopatra and her 2 handmaidens (who are her half-sisters) are the literal hands of Isis, as in the goddess is working through them to rebuild Egypt. It was an interesting idea and a highly romanticized version of the history.

#78: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
#79: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
I reread KoD so I would remember who’s who and what’s what in this incredibly epic saga. The Gathering Storm is the 12th book in the Wheel of Time and is the first book that has been released after Robert Jordan’s death. I don’t know how much of it he wrote before he died and how much of it is Brandon Sanderson’s words. The book definitely feels different than the 11th book, both in tone and in events. Things happen much quicker in TGS. That’s not a bad thing though, as the story seemed to drag on and on and on in books 8-10. KoD picked up quite a bit, but it still seems that TGS is flying at a much faster pace. And while the tone is a bit different (as was expected), it wasn’t so different that I was put off by it. I still very much love the world and the story being told and look forward to the 13th book.

#80: Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
My friend audrey_cooper decided I needed to read more Stephen King books and loaned me a few of her favorites. This is the first I read, mostly due to the subject matter. We all know I love books about vampires (except for Twilight). I found it fun & scary to read about the monster-variety vampire. These aren’t the sexy, suave, yeah they’re dead but they’re still hot kind of vampire. These were the monster type, the kind you hide under your covers, chewing on garlic, hoping they don’t come by your house type. As with the few books of his I have read, this one takes about half the book to set up the story. I think that’s one of the reasons I haven’t read more of his to date. He seems to take a long time to ramp up, but once he does, they’re usually worth the wait.

My beautiful Kodybear has moved on to a better place. He passed away early Sunday morning. It happened fairly quickly and both Bill and I were with him when it happened. The good part is he was at home and passed on his own terms, so we didn't had to make the decision for him. He had a great day leading up to it. We had a very rare wonderful weekend weather-wise. It was a sunny and warm fall day, one of his favorite kinds. He spent most of it in the backyard sunning himself and chewing a bone we'd bought him earlier.



Sorry that this is a repeat to some, but I think it's worth sharing. A friend of mine captured it wonderfully when he told me our lives are diminished by his absence, but filled with the memory of the joy he brought us. And he did bring great joy. He was a magnificent animal, pet and friend and will be greatly missed.

Maybe sometime soon I can share some of my favorite stories about him. Right now it's too raw and I am too heartbroken.

Somewhere in early September I decided it was time to get serious about my health and weight again. I'd tried earlier in the year and then gave up all attempts over the summer when I was on vacation every other weekend. So in September I got back on the healthy foods kick, cut back on my alcohol intake and got more serious at the gym. It was also around that time that I switched personal trainers. I like my new trainer. He kicks my ass twice a week, but in a good way. And I'm seeing results. As of this morning I've lost 10lbs! Go me! That's half of my weight loss goal. In addition to that, I've had to buy belts because without them my pants fall off. Literally.

I'm only halfway to my goal, but I'm feeling great about my progress.

50 book challenge 09 update:

#73: Beauty by Robin McKinley
This is one of my favorite books that I always forget about. Then one day I find it tucked in my bookshelf and think to myself how much I love it and how long it's been since I last read it. I have a thing for fairy tales. I always have. I used to collect them until I ran out of space. I don't care if they are old, new, disney versions, dark, twisted, etc... I read whatever I can get my hands on. My favorite has always been, and probably always will be, Beauty and the Beast. It's my favorite fairy tale, my favorite Disney cartoon, and for a long time my favorite tv show. It was the show that probably started me on the beauty & the beast craze. I was the perfect target age for the tv show's audience - a hopeless romantic and angst-filled teenager. I fell in love with Vincent and had several posters of him in my room. I even dressed up as him for Halloween one year. Now that I'm older, the tv show has lost a lot of its charm. Vincent seems whiny and full of self doubt. Catherine seems cold. Still, I will always keep it in my top 10 favorites just for nostalgia factor. Now that I have shared a brief history of my love for the fairy tale, I can tell you about the book. It's a retelling of the beauty and the beast story. It's a quick and easy read. I breezed through it in less than a day. It's predictable. We all know how the story goes and how it ends. Still, the book is magical and once I start reading it, I can't put it down.

#74: The Initiate by Louise Cooper
#75: The Outcast by Louise Cooper
#76: The Master by Louise Cooper
These are more easy reads and all-time favorites that I forget about. I first read these when they first went into print in the 80s. The books I own are from then and are quite worn. This is one of those series I pull out every once in a while and reread. It's a dark tale about a land where Order has overthrown Chaos and created a hellish situation that sounds a lot like the hold the Christian church had on the MIddle Ages. It's about a Lord of Chaos who forgoes his immortality to be reborn as human in attempts to bring the Chaos lords back into the world. All three books are about his struggle in realizing who and what he is and what to do with the power he is born with. It's the kind of series that once I start I can't put down until I've read all three.

I'm proud of myself, so I have to share. Remember about a month ago when I mentioned that I was writing again? At that time I was working on a short story based on a dream I'd had. At the time I posted about it the story was 23 pages long. By the time my October deadline came around to submit it to wheezinggirl I had hit 50+ pages (though only sent her 45, it was a good chapter break). Well, I'm happy to say that this week I hit the 100 page mark and the 30,000+ word count. I guess it doesn't qualify as a short story anymore, and that's just fine with me. And yes, I'm still going. It feels so good to write like this. I haven't done that in probably over five years.

There are several things keeping me going. One is just sheer stubbornness. Many days trying to write feels like I'm pulling teeth. Actually, today is one of those days, which is why I'm here right now. I just have to force myself back to the story with the promise that I only have to write a page. Most days that one page turns into 3-5. It's getting started that's the hardest part. Usually.

Another thing that helps is having the right music. I follow several authors on lj and many talk about the soundtrack that they have while writing certain novels. It makes sense. My mood is susceptible to whatever music I'm listening to. It means I have to be careful. The right music can put me in a good mood. The wrong can turn me into an irritable bitch. I have a good soundtrack for this story though. First, let me describe the mood of the story. It's dark, depressing, angry, and hopeless. It also involved an alien society that near-completely wiped out our world. The story is about the human survivors. My main character is quiet, introverted, tough and distant from her fellow humans. She gets her ass kicked, physically and mentally. Also so far most of the story takes place in tunnels with very low light. So it's physically dark, along with emotionally dark.

So to help me write, I needed music that evokes that atmosphere without pissing me off. There are 2 albums that have the perfect tone. They are:

1. The Flaming Lips: Embryonic. It's their new cd. From the reviews I've read, this cd is very similar to their early stuff. I haven't heard the early years though, so I can't say. What I can say is this band is one of the most surreal bands I listen to. Doesn't matter which cd you listen to, they are strange. Their concerts are unlike anything I've seen. Picture dancing santas, dancing aliens, a giant human-sized hamster ball, confetti and surreal music and you begin to get the picture. This cd sounds darker to me, more ethereal music, more haunting, more exotic than their others. Perfect for setting the mood of dealing with aliens and completely rethinking how to survive in your own world.

2. The Ravonettes: In and Out of Control. The name of the cd alone fits very well with the mood I need. Their cd has an edgy, dark sound to it. They remind me of Jesus & Mary Chain (who would also be a good choice for this soundtrack). It's moody, but not angry or depressing. We saw them live last weekend and the whole time I had the next chapter flowing through my head as I watched them.

They both work great. Maybe almost a little too well. For the last week when I get caught up in writing and listening I catch myself sinking deep into that world. I sometimes have to stop and look out the window and marvel at the fact that the sun is shining and aliens haven't attacked. As far as I know.

50 book challenge 09 update:

#69: Winter Moon by Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee & C.E. Murphy

This is a collection of novellas, one by each author, all relating to the power of a winter moon. The first story is by Mercedes Lackey and is the first thing of hers I’ve read in a very long time. She’s one of those authors whom I used to read avidly in high school, but lost interest in as I grew older. Subsequently, the story was my least favorite of the three. That’s not to disparage it though as it was a well-written story. When I got to the end, I wanted to read more. The second story was by Tanith Lee. I love her books, although I admit I have not read many. One of her books, Delirium’s Mistress, is in my top 10 favorites. This story had the same haunting elements that I love about her work. The third story was by C.E. Murphy, of whom I think I have read everything she has published to date. This story featured my favorite of all her characters, Joanne Walker from the Walker Papers who is a Native American/Irish shaman.

#70: Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

This book falls into the “vampires, witches and werewolves” category that my boyfriend teases me about. Surprisingly the main character is human. Not so surprisingly the other main characters are a half-demon, a werewolf, a necromancer and a ghost. This is one of her Women of the Otherworld series. I like this series because the author set up an elaborate urban-fantasy world and the way she did it allows for her to write from different characters point of view in almost every book. I have my favorite characters and a few I don’t care for at all. This book features some characters I have grown to really like. I hope to read more about them in future books.

#71: The Patriot Witch by C.C. Finley
#72: A Spell for a Revolution by C.C. Finley

These books are more of those that I kept seeing at the bookstore and finally decided to read. They’re set in and around Boston during the American Revolution. The concept is that there is a secret society of witches that are aligned with England and trying to destroy the colonies. There are some American witches who try to stop them, despite being far less powerful and outnumbered. The story weaves the urban fantasy with historical events and people (George Washington, Paul Revere, Thomas Pain, Betsy Ross and more make appearances). Both books featured key battles, which I found myself skimming over. I did so not because it was poorly written, but rather because it’s not what I typical enjoy reading. But they’re not just war novels. A very interesting story is woven into it. There is a third book in the series that eventually I will read.