Photos: The First of Two Hauls From Better World Books

Better World Books is my arch-nemesis. They see me coming from a mile away, offer me a deal on used books too tempting for a bibliophile like me to resist, and suck all the willpower to resist buying books right out of me. This happened last week, when they offered 40% off an order of 5 or more selections from the discount bin. I paid about $12 for these five books - BWB always offers a free shipping option, anywhere in the world.

On the plus side, for every book purchased, they donate a book. Proceeds from book sales go to support a wide variety of literacy projects in the U.S. and in other countries, plus the Haiti relief fund.

This is how they get me.

My original plan was to stock up on the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh. I read Slave to Sensation last year and thought it was a really good paranormal romance. I don't read enough books in which women of Asian descent are the main characters. I have the second book, Visions of Heat, and haven't read it yet.

According to Maryse.net (a great resource for the reading orders of paranormal romance series), the proper order should be:

-Slave to Sensation
-Visions of Heat
-Caressed by Ice
-Mine to Possess
-Hostage to Pleasure
-Branded by Fire
-Blaze of Memory
-Bonds of Justice
-Play of Passion
-Kiss of Snow
-Tangle of Need
-Heart of Obsidian

Unfortunately, I couldn't find most of those in the discount bin. What I did find:

That's a lot to catch up with, but I think I can do it...eventually. If I'm not determined to have all of them in physical form, my brand-new Nook HD+ can help me with that. (Up until this week, I've been reading e-books on my laptop.)

My next shipment (another $14 worth of books - they got me again!) will include Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure and Play of Passion. As I said on Twitter:

I know I SHOULD'NT want to buy 3 more books in @NaliniSingh 's Psy/Changeling series since I bought Kiss of Snow the other day - but I do
— Erin O'Riordan (@ErinORiordan) June 25, 2013

But then:

@ErinORiordan Do it... ;-)
— Nalini Singh (@NaliniSingh) June 25, 2013

Well, if you say so, Ms. Singh.

I'm currently reading the first book in Kate Douglas's DemonSlayers series, DemonFire. When I finish that, I'll now have the next two waiting for me:

After Starfire, there's only one more book in this series, CrystalFire. I never finished Douglas's Wolf Tales series - although I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books - but I'm pretty sure I can easily handle four. I think I'll rotate various PNR series I have to catch up on.

This one isn't paranormal, but it is from Cara Lockwood.

This last one is purely for nostalgic reasons; it's a book I read in middle school.

Now I really, really need to donate some books to Better World Books or to Goodwill, another worthy nonprofit. I'm out of room on the bookshelves.

What are your summer reads?

OHP! Things I Read and Want to Read

Now that Valentine's Day is over, I'm ready to start pinning green things for St. Patrick's Day, but it's pretty early. So...books. Y'know, my usual obsession. 

Did anybody else read Where the Lilies Bloom in grade school? I remember it being pretty good - kinda like Katniss Everdeen's life minus the Hunger Games - which is to say, turn-of-the-century rural Appalachian. I need to reread this.



I read this circa 4th grade-ish. I don't intend to reread it, but I do think that Shane-Marian Starrett was the first fictional character pair I ever shipped, long before I knew what shipping was.



I want to reread this some time in 2013. I read it in high school and all I really remember is the loss of virginity scene, which is perfectly consensual yet physically traumatic.



I also intend to tackle Middlemarch in 2013. My annotated Jane Eyre said that if I enjoyed Jane Eyre, I would also like Middlemarch. Let's hope so. I already bought this paperback version at Barnes and Noble.



I also need to get this one. Even though I didn't love Jane Eyre Laid Bare, I'm perfectly willing to give it a chance.



First I saw this on Tumblr, posted by the artist who created it, Katie C. Turner.



Then I bought the magazine it was published in.



Debbie Stoller, the editor of Bust, titled her letter from the editor "Fifty Shades of WTF." It says what I think may be the smartest thing yet written about E. L. James and her Fifty Shades series:

"Millions of (mostly) ladies bought the titillating title, and almost as many folks mocked them for it, disdainfully pointing out that the book was badly written. But I mean, c'mon - nobody bought FSOG to stimulate what's between their ears; they bought it to stimulate what's between their legs. And I think it's that fact - that women (some of them middle aged!) spent money on something just to help them rub one out - that's rubbing people the wrong way. After all, nobody criticizes porn - a multibillion dollar that still caters mainly to men - for having crappy cinematography. We just assume that men, no matter their age or percentage of body fat, have sexual appetites that need to be fed. But when it comes to women, we seem to have confused the idea of 'being sexy' with 'being sexual' to such an extent that the idea of possibly unsexy women looking for a turn-on is as laughable as a monkey shopping at Ikea."



Now I'm looking forward to reading Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield (a.k.a. Pam Rosenthal). So far I've read Tristan Taormino's foreword, which says:

"Today, it seems no one can talk about a BDSM novel - hell, we can't talk about any erotic fiction - without invoking Fifty Shades of Grey. Carrie's Story was written decades before Fifty Shades, and it surpasses it on nearly every level. But one difference in particular stands out: Carrie's Story is about a submissive female heroine with a brain!"



Well, I contend that Ana Steele has a brain, but just belongs to a long romance novel tradition of very innocent, inexperienced female protagonists - but that's a story for another day. (This one.) Still, I think I will like Carrie's Story.

But nobody spoil Fifty Shades Freed for me. I haven't read it yet.