Fiber Fool

It appears the third week is the charm. This week’s list is not quite the challenge the previous two have been (thank goodness). For me, I like to keep summer reading light. Oh wait, who am I kidding? I always like to keep my reading light it seems :-)

I do a good share of my reading on my iPhone in the form of e-books and audio books. For the audiobooks it has to be either free through my library’s subscription to NetLibrary or something that my mom also likes to read and is available at Audible. My audiobook reading is a bit more sporadic. If I’m in a knit phase of design I can devour them, but if I’m in design, editing or layout phase I can go weeks without listening to them.

For e-books, I like them to be available at Fictionwise.com or cheaper than mass market paperback list price from Amazon or Apple’s iBook store. Even then I have a hard time justifying their purchase since I could easily check out a print version from my library. I also hate buying a book and being unable to share it with friends or resell it. But, reading on my phone while on the treadmill is much easier than a paper book. Then again, I don’t read on my phone if I’m soaking in the tub either…

Well, onto the list which probably isn’t a summer’s worth of reading (at least I hope I read more than ten books this summer):

1: Spin a Wicked Web by Cricket McRae - this is third in a fun and really quick to read cozy mystery series that focuses on the home arts, though not on one specific craft. I believe the author has some sort of ties to the Fort Collins area as she frequently has book signings and her books are almost always readily available signed, even from Barnes & Noble. She’ll be at Old Firehouse Books near the end of July signing books and talking about cheesemaking and I think I just may have to go!
2. Beguiled by Lori Foster - I first exposed to Lori Foster through an audiobook or two my mom had gotten through Audible and discovered I quite liked her racy writing. I was surprised I enjoyed it so much as most of her stuff is published by a Harlequin imprint. I’ve learned that Harlequin is not the same today as it was when I checked those books out by the pound from my public library when I was in high school. Though I do in generally prefer to sprinkle them in here or there. Foster’s books often have a slight edge of suspence and danger which means a touch of mystery. I do need to look into her “darker side” books under the name LL Foster sometime soon.
3. Indigo Dying by Susan Wittig Albert - this is a good way into the China Bayles series set in Texas. I have really enjoyed this series, but haven’t read the series in quite a while. I was missing this book, but have the two following ones, but a stop into Old Firehouse last week had me filling my hole so I’m ready to move forward once again!
4. Aunt Dimity Goes West by Nancy Atherton - another cozy, this one usually set in a small village in England that features a young mother who gets help solving mysteries from an unlikely correspondent, Aunt Dimity in ghost form. I think what first attracted me to these books was how the ghost communicates through writing. It took me back to that old PBS TV show, Ghostwriter (I was a bit older than their target market, but my sister and some of the kids I babysat for were the appropriate age and I remember wishing I were). These are fun, often heartwarming quick reads that I love to reach for on rainy or sick days.
5. Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - this is fifth in the Hannah Swensen series set in southeastern Minnesota. When I first read this series I was turned off by the similarities to the series by Diane Mott Davidson and a lack of attention to detail in getting the names of towns correct. But, the series is available in audio format from NetLibrary so I’ve started reading one here or there again. Plus, with it being read to me I don’t know when a town is spelled incorrectly. Also, since we got a cupcake bakery that has some innovative flavors I appreciate the same qualities in the fictional cookie bakery and the recipes that are included.
6. Maiden Rock by Mary Logue - I just devoured the previous book in this series over the weekend. What I love about her books is how often the reader knows who did it and the mystery is in how they are either going to discover it or going to find the evidence they need to bring the criminal to justice. Though I had forgotten about that aspect until I read Poisoned Heart. It is just a little different. These books also sort of straddle the line between cozy and police procedural as the main character is herself a sheriff’s deputy, but in a small town just east of Minneapolis/St. Paul in Wisconsin.
7. Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway - this is the second in the Malibu and Ewe series which combines knitting and cooking and romance all together. If I remember correctly there was even some mystery involved as well. The romance was slightly steamy. But all-in-all perfect “beach reading.” The Apple iBook store has this one so I think I’ll be trying out the new iBook app for iOS4 here soonish as it is a $1 less than list. I’m probably old fashioned, but I can’t get myself to spend the same price or more for an ebook version than for a print version when I can’t loan it out to friends and there is a chance that in the future I would not be able to reread it.
8. Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods - this is currently on my nightstand as I checked it out from the library on Friday. I was so excited to notice that there was a new installment in the Holly Barker series which my mom turned me onto. I read the previous book back in 2007 so I hope he does a good job of setting things back up! There tends to be lots of action and danger.
9. Lover Unbound by J. R. Ward - this is super steamy vampire romance. If you enjoy the Charlaine Harris books, but wish they were as steamy as the True Blood television series, this series if for you. This is the fifth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I’m kind of surprised I haven’t read it yet. Maybe I’ve been putting it off because this is the last one of the series that I own and it is getting harder to find these books used. I didn’t think I’d like vampire books, but Chris’ recommendation of this series was spot on!
10. The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner - this is a more traditional mystery/suspense novel. It is second of three so far featuring Jo Beckett who specializes in psychological autopsies. I really enjoyed the first book, The Dirty Secrets Club and just haven’t gotten around to this one because it wasn’t often available at the library. If it is still frequently checked out I think I’ll put a hold on it. I haven’t been making use of the hold option lately because my reading time has been in spits and spurts and I couldn’t always be assured of getting a book read in the allotted 3 weeks. I think it might be time to just bite the bullet and make time should that happen.

I’m sure there are plenty of other titles on my summer reading list, or ones that will make themselves a part of that list. There is a whole stack of Jim Butcher sitting here and somewhere I have a few more Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson and Freemont Jones by Dianne Day (though there may be holes in those series I need to fill before proceeding). Most definitely there will end up being some non-fiction in there as well. I just don’t happen to plan and anticipate those as much as the escapist fiction :-)

I don’t find a long reading list daunting so if any of these titles prompted some suggestions in your mind, please feel free to share them! I love finding new authors and series!

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