Libromancer's Apprentice

Within These Walls / Ania Ahlborn In his heyday, Lucas Graham was a best selling true-crime author with a successful and brilliant wife.  Now he hasn't sold a new book in years, his wife in an affair with a co-worker, and their marriage broken.  Then hope comes in an offer from the mysterious and charismatic Jeffrey Halcomb, waiting on death-row since the orchestrated murder-suicide of his "faithful" years ago.  Jeffrey offers Lucas the true story of what happened, something that he's never shared, provided Lucas take residence at the site of the crime.  This story could be what saves Lucas, but it is soon clear that someone else is in control of the situation, and they may not have either Lucas' or his daughter's best interests at heart. I'm not usually a reader of horror (though I suppose I've expanded a little bit of the course of last year into this genre).  I have an active imagination and stuff sticks with me, or at the very least comes bac...

On Friday everything changed.  I went to a job interview expecting to interview for a part-time temporary position.  I left with a full-time job that not only pays a competitive rate, but utilizes both my MLS concentration and library experience, and is understanding of the ultimate likelihood that I will someday end up back in a library (in fact, they brought it up and stated they were OK with it). I'm still processing this change of paradigm and I start tomorrow. Over the past year I have worked a large number of positions.  My resume does not fully reflect the range of jobs worked, instead is limited to "library experience" (soon to be modified to "library & related experience").  Listing every job and placement out individually with their duties and responsibilities would get a little ridiculous, particularly in light of one-week temp postings.  Don't get me wrong, I have all the library temp positions listed, but under the heading of BiblioTemp...

The Glass Stiletto / Rachel Kenley What if Cinderella didn't want to marry the Prince?   What if it wasn't just her beauty and mystery that caught the prince, but her sensuality and erotic dominance? The Glass Stiletto starts at the meeting of 'Cinderella' (Mariella) and the Prince, and goes through their trials and explorations to reach 'happily ever after.' In theory this is the type of story I love.  I collect fairy tales and fables, as well as their retellings.  In reality we have an erotic novella that's doesn't really feel like a fairy tale, and in which I ended up skipping past most of the sex scenes just to finish the book.  At 109 pages I didn't feel that I could really justify not finishing, and with such a short book I might as well verify if my guesses about the end came to pass.  I think the only thing that I guessed at regarding the villains is the chief antagonist never actually tried to rape Mariella (just manipulated one o...

This Guy Has the Best Books Displays Ever Serious inspiration for me to not only step up my game, but to maybe stop worry about coming across a bit too naughty in my book displays. Writing About Rape Rape in is a difficult area.  Rape happens, and it is a profoundly traumatic experience, so of course we see it in fiction.  But how it is treated is often problematic, and something that has ruined many books for me.  I found this a really good addressing of the subject. Custom Book Signage Because we've all thought it... SFF Sexier Than Fifty Shades of Grey I can say that the book son this list that I have read are phenomenal.  Those that I haven't yet read are floating around on my "to read" list. 9 Erotica Books That Should Be More Famous Than “Fifty Shades Of Grey” Ok, I've actually read none of the books on this list (though I can think of a few that should be added).  What I can say is that many of the books on this list I have seen brought u...

We Are All Completely Fine / Daryl Gregory ( Powell's Books ) I originally reviewed this book/novella several months back, but then I went ahead and threw it into the reading list for Virtual Speculation . From my original review : There is something almost painfully intimate about this story.  We're learning about these deeply damaged individuals not through their life or as they surmount challenges, but largely through a series of group therapy sessions.  The story is told through their fears and obsessions, rather than their actions. What happens after your survive the monsters and the attention fades away.  Can you resume your life?  And have you really escaped? We Are All Completely Fine tells the story of 5 victims who survived incidents of nightmarish horror, and are now living in a world that doesn't acknowledge that there are real monsters in the night. Discussion Fodder: How have the characters created shields around themselves in the wa...

Ares' Temptation / Aubrie Dionne Kaye Underhill has never felt quite so out of her league or so single than when she attends the wedding of her best friend, the Greek goddess Syrinx.  Of course, the man to catch her eye is the hot-tempered god of war, Ares.  When Hecate's curse transfers Ares' powers to Kaye, the only way for Ares to regain his powers is to get Kaye to fall in love with him.  Romance is not Ares' bailiwick, but without his powers he is left little choice.  Only, as he gets to know Kaye, the betrayal inherent in his actions starts to weigh heavily on his conscience. This book is pretty much exactly what you'd expect on picking it up, if a bit chaster than expected considering the common correlation between ab definition on the cover to sex in the pages.  In many ways it is your classic romance novel. Advanced Reader Copy copy courtesy of NetGalley; differences may exist between uncorrected galley text and the final edition.

Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy : The Many Faces of Anonymous / Gabriella Coleman This made for a very interesting read, particularly since I know people who are friends with persons mentioned, people who have been hurt by persons mentioned, and I possibly know some of the persons mentioned. Beyond any connection and familiarity I have with the people and events in Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy , this book is a fascinating and well-written exploration of Anonymous, hactivisim, privacy, security, and the political theater surrounding these issues.  I spend way too much time online, so I started with a working knowledge of the events within, but the writing clearly explains so that someone without this familiarity can understand and follow. Like Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, Anonymous has its own counter-culture made up of curiosity and mischief.  Like phone phreaks before them, they hack because they can, a joyous (for them) exploration and exploitation o...