I was in Arizona last week. I saw a double rainbow in Sedona:

And a dust storm in Phoenix:

I also saw my little brother graduate with honors. Imagine. This kid now has a masters and everything:

It was a nice week, but vacation wise, very short (2 days) because I have deadlines with work as usual. But what vacation I had was awesome, and much food was consumed.

During the trip I made my annual/semi-annual pilgrimage to my Book Mecca – Bookmans. We went to the Phoenix Bookmans, which is a branch I’ve never been to before. I have to say, they have the best selection of any of the branches I’ve been to so far. I love how there was an urban fantasy/paranormal romance section separate from the Speculative Fiction section.

Also, I may have spied on what other people were picking up and may have gushed when I found someone holding onto N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Kingdoms. I may have told them that the book was really good and that I can’t wait for book 3. Then I may have slunk off.

I  got:

• The City of Pearl and Crossing the Line by Karen Traviss – These buys are a result of positive reviews by fellow book blogger, calico reaction. The first three books(it may be 6 books?) in this science fiction series with a female protagonist has received 8s and 9s (out of 10) from her along with comments about “devouring this puppy in two days”.  Sold, I tell you.
• Tangled Up in Blue by Joan D. Vinge – This continues the story after The Snow Queen and The Summer Queen, and I think I’m going to use it as an excuse to reread those books.
• A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin – I bought this because I have book 2 The Midnight Mayor and book 3, The Neon Court thanks to Orbit, and I’ve been interested in the premise (a protagonist who is a sorcerer in London, and who is resurrected? Want!)
• Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison – I’ve been off paranormal romance for a little while now, but I heard SUCH good things about this one (by people who were also off paranormal romance), I thought I’d make an exception. I’ve read it now, and may review it sometime soon, but I ended up not really loving it as much as I’d hoped to.

When I got home to NY, there were more books (and a DVD) waiting for me:

Beast is a graphic novel I bought because.. well I love Beauty and the Beast. This promises to have really great art and a story that’s not so much a retelling as it is based on the fairytale, and I hear that the ending is ambiguous.

My husband sneakily bought me a copy of Jane Eyre on Blu-Ray. I think I shall keep him.

I bought A Weekend with Mr. Darcy by Victoria Connelly, and Personally, I Blame My Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll, through Bookcloseouts. Both are due to my weaknesses: for deals at Bookcloseouts, and for anything to do with modern day Jane Austen related stories or fairytale retellings. A Weekend with Mr. Darcy has a male regency romance writer who has fallen for a Janeite, and Personally, I Blame My Fairy Godmother is a modern Cinderella homage.

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin was sent to me by the publisher for review. This is a young adult story with a teen who is the daughter of a mobster and who may be falling in love with the son of the District Attorney. And it’s set in 2083!

AND…

Somebody very awesome nominated this blog for the Best Speculative Fiction Book Blog! Whoever you are that nominated me,  thank you. It is very happy-making that someone out there thought of my blog as being a contender as best (!!) in that category. I am very grateful and I’m BASKING in being nominated. I did send the BBAW administration 5 links, but my thought is “maybe more people will find my blog”, rather than having high hopes of winning. I have a lot of respect for other book bloggers and whoever wins, I don’t doubt that they deserved it, but whether you were nominated or not, and win or not, there there are a lot of very hard working people that spend their personal time and energy reading and reviewing. That is pretty cool, and I’m happy that these people exist. Here’s to you.