Whatcha Reading? + Romancelandia Recap (April 14th)

But first, a little

Romancelandia Recap

I wish I could say romancelandia is back to dick jokes, hero inspiration, and book discussions . . . but it's not. Or I should say, that's not the big story in the community this week.

The discussion on racism in the community continues. First, NPR did an interview with Alisha Rai, which on its own was great. BUT here's the problem: the article they wrote to go with it talks about the lack of black RITA winners . . . and doesn't talk to a single black romance author (Rai, while an author of color, is not a black author). Courtney Milan stepped up to say that she was sorry for being part of this, and Alisha made a similar remark. While their statements of apology are appreciated (by other AoC, especially black authors), the fact remains that the blame falls on NPR (and any other media outlet who has done this over the years). If you want to talk about a group -- in this case, black romance authors -- the only way to do so is to INTERVIEW and listen to black romance authors. It's really that simple. And yet here we are. Again.

Whatcha Reading? + Romancelandia Recap (April 7th)

If you were hoping for a quiet week in romancelandia . . . well, that didn't happen. Most of this week has been filled with conversations about racism in the industry/genre, lack of equal opportunities for AOC (authors of color), and various authors, readers, and editors showing their asses.

Like I said, it's been A WEEK.

Please note: none of this is *new*. It's been going on for years, decades, even. And it's not the first time AOC have mentioned these things or told their publishing horror stories. But this week it allllll came out and there was no silencing people, no ignoring it. (Well, I'm sure *some* choose to ignore it, but that's a different story.)

You know what? I'm glad this all came up (again). Maybe now things will start to change, as more and more people (let's be honest here: white people) understand just how bad things are in our community and speak up, take action, and make it change.


As a simple example, there's one small thing bloggers can do right now to help: make it clear on your review policy that you welcome diverse books and authors. And add your info to this thread. As well as the usual: Buy, read, recommend, and promote AOC just like you do your auto-buy white authors.

I will have links at the end of this post to as many threads and posts and tweets as I can find. But there were A LOT and I know I'm missing some. It's not intentional, I promise!

Then we had Eloisa James talk to EW about her upcoming book, and in that interview she showed us all just how problematic and racist the book is.


As if that wasn't enough, there were also readers who demanded "proof" from AOC that their historical romance about POC could actually have a HEA. Becky, your racism is showing again.

Like I said, this week was busy in romancelandia. And not in a good way.



Moving on, I've got a few blog things to talk about. First, Jen created a site to help new romance readers -- or romance readers, period! -- find books. Check it out HERE.

Also, Jen's doing a romance book club in her city --  Chicago -- starting next month. Find out more HERE.

And finally, I'm thrilled to welcome a new reviewer to the blog, Kat! Kat's first review will go up on the 16th, so be sure to check back and keep an eye out for more reviews and posts from her in the future.

As to my week . . . Well, I'll keep it simple: it was another crazy busy week. Hence the lack of podcast. I'm honestly not sure when I'll have a new podcast up. I'm not putting pressure on myself, because I know that won't help. Like, at all. But I'm not giving up on the podcast, either. For now, the hiatus continues.

Without further adieu, let's move on to the books I read this week!

Whatcha Reading? (March 31st)

Another week without a podcast, sorry! I'm still struggling to find that balance -- not enough time in the day and far too many things that need my attention.

Spring is in the air, as it's trying to warm up. The tulips along my sidewalk are trying to peek through the dead weeds from last year. The leaf buds on my lilacs are thinking about it, but it's still too early for them. I do love this time of year. How about you?

This week was pretty uneventful for me IRL. Though there was a late-night baking fail. Hey, at least it still tasted good!

As to romancelandia: Ellie Reads asked about serials, and whether you love or hate them. I'm not a fan, and would prefer to have the entire story at once. What about you?

Also, Jen had her first guest review go up on SmartBitches this week -- not a romance, but rather a book to help you teach your kids about consent. Go check it out!

Finally, don't forget about March's giveaway, which ends tomorrow night (April 1). Find all the details HERE!

Whatcha Reading? (March 24th)

It's been a week. Not so much in romancelandia -- at least, not like last week's WTFery, thank god! -- but rather in my own life. Nothing serious, just little things that took up more time than I planned, or popped up without warning at all, and left me with no time to record and edit a podcast for today.

In romancelandia news, the RITAs were announced this week, and you can find the full list HERE. Congrats!

My reading week was a mixed bag -- some okay, some ugh, and one top read for the month. My first, actually. Damn, I've been in a reading slump without realizing it; I've only given two 4 1/2 star ratings, and no 5 star ratings, in the last 2 months. O.O Let's hope April is a better reading month as far as favorites.

So without further ado, let's get into what I read for the week!

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (March 17th)

It's been a crazy week in romancelandia. Santino Hassell (still), Sarah Lyons/Riptide Publishing, and Crimson Romance closing. On top of everything going on outside of romancelandia, this is a buy-your-booze-in-bulk kind of week. Let's hope next week is better!

On a much more mundane note, the weather in Utah has also been batshit crazy this week, going from 70F to low 30s, from sun to rain to snow. Ah, winter-spring in Utah.

Continuing the crazy-week train, I couldn't concentrate on anything, barely finished two books, and I just want access to my Overdrive back (ramble explaining that towards the end of the episode My accounts were finally merged, I have all my lists/holds on my new one!).

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and without further ado, let's move on to today's Whatcha Reading chat!

Whatcha Reading? + NO Podcast (March 10th)

You know how I've been talking about taking time off and not stressing myself out? Well, I'm actually listening to myself for once, which is why there's no podcast to go alongside today's post. Things were just crazy in my life this week, and suddenly Friday rolled around and I hadn't even started recording the podcast, let alone the hours it takes to edit it. Could I have pushed through and still done one anyway? Sure. But the stress that would have caused me . . . Oy. I'm getting anxiety just thinking about it now!

Instead, I'm skipping the podcast, but I do still have books to talk about below!

Before that, I do want to briefly mention the situation going on with Santino Hassell. I'm not going to get into it all, but you can find the basics of what's currently going on HERE and HERE. There's also a very detailed breakdown on Tumblr.

But seeing all of this play out on Twitter this past week reminded me, again, that as much as I love this community and have had good experiences, that's not how everyone experiences it.

The romance community is not perfect, and some parts are very toxic, and in general the community is not nearly as welcoming and supportive for marginalized readers and authors as it is for the "default" (white cishet able-bodied, etc). I just want to give this general reminder to everyone: be kind to one another, be welcoming to everyone and not just your personal circle of friends. That's a simple thing, I know, but in the long run that can help with so many of the flaws that our community has. Yes, our community, like anything else, has its flaws, too, and can always do better. But that'll only happen if we all do our part, okay?

Moving past all of that, I do have another bit of advice, brought to you by a Monday spent with my BFF at the movie theater: take time for yourself and do something that makes you happy and refills your tank. Especially if it involves a good friend that you haven’t seen in a while. Life is crazy and everyone gets busy, but take some time off from it all and just have fun with your friend, even if -- especially if! -- it involves food court pizza and Orange Julius.


Enough rambling, let's get into what I read for the week!

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (March 3rd)

I can't believe it's already March (aka, my birthday month, in case you were curious).

Today's chat starts with some WTFery that involves a dead dog returning as his owner's lover, before moving on to some much more serious romance news -- the Ripped Bodice's 2017 diversity in publishing report. (Spoiler: it's not good. Publishers: do better.) I also briefly talk about the racist problems in Kleypas's newest and how she heard everyone's outrage and is going to have it changed before the next edition comes out.

Finally, I talk about the 3 books I read this week -- ranging from 2 to 4 stars -- before ending with my reading plans for the weekend.

Please note: I'm aware of how the audio sounds in this one. I'm not sure what happened after I saved the audio and started to upload it for the podcast, but it's a hot mess and I did not have the time, or the knowledge if I'm being honest, to try and fix it and reupload. I swear, one of these days I will finally get the hang of the editing!

While I'm on the subject of the audio quality: If you know of a good microphone for recording podcasts, that hooks up to an iPhone -- which is how I record everything -- let me know. I'd prefer it be under $40, if possible, but I'm open to suggestions at this point!

So without further ado, on with the podcast and links!

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (February 24th)

DID YOU MISS MY VOICE?

Listen, just lie to me and say yes, okay? Okay.

I talk a bit about why I was gone for so long, and what the podcast's future looks like, before getting right into the book discussions for the week. (I skipped doing anything romance Twitter related and didn't get a chance to record the blog recap.) I'm talking about books by Ilona Andrews, Lisa Kleypas, Katee Robert, and Penny Reid. As always, I wrap things up with my current read and audiobook.

This winter weather is crazy. It's been a super warm winter -- NOT normal for us at all -- but we went from near 50s to barely hitting 15 for the high, in less than 24 hours.

Pass the warm blankets and hot cocoa, please!

Whatcha Reading? (February 17th)

So did you survive Valentine's Day? I hope so. I spent the day with a pan of caramel brownies. Because chocolate is always there for me. One cannot always say the same thing of men.

The one bright side to V-Day was a special cashback deal on Ebates*, which, combined with a coupon I found, meant that I treated myself to a little somethin' from Adam and Eve. Because orgasms and self-love are important and priceless. Just sayin'. 😏
*This is an affiliates link; if you sign up for Ebates using this link, I get a small kickback. There's nothing gimmicky about Ebates. I've been using it for years. It's just a way to get a little bit of money back on many of the things you buy online anyway. Try it out! 😉

Brownies and sex toys aside, my week was pretty uneventful. 

However, romancelandia's week ended with a big blog gushing about (yet another) Nazi "romance". So basically the Shit Fire that is 2018 is still going strong. 😒

Whatcha Reading? (February 10th)

It's been one of those weeks. You know the kind -- where you don't have nearly enough time to get anything done and every stressful thing that can pop up does and you'd kill for a vacation away from it all? Or at least some time to read with any interruptions? Yeah, that kind of week.

Honestly the highlight of my week was making some mini sugar cookies and snickerdoodles. No recipe, as I was just using a package mix from the store. But package or not, they were tasty.

Still, I'd rather have that stress-free vacation time instead. *sigh*

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast Hiatus (February 3rd)

"Where's the podcast?"

I know, I know, I've been saying for weeks that I'll be back. As you know, first the cold knocked me out and made recording impossible, and while I am back to normal now, things are just crazy busy in my life, and when something has to go to try and keep things balanced, well, it's the podcast. It takes a lot of hours to record and edit each episode and I've just not been able to find those hours lately, dammit!

But the podcast is not going away. It's just on a temporary hiatus. Perhaps by the time I start it back up again I'll actually know what I'm doing with the editing. HA! Probably not, let's be honest. But I will return, never fear!

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (January 27th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + NO Podcast (January 20th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + NO Podcast (January 13th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (January 6th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (December 30th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (December 23rd)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (December 16th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (December 9th)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)

Whatcha Reading? + Podcast (December 2nd)

Saturday post where you can share with us what you are currently reading, or just finished, and I will share my brief thoughts on books that I read during the previous week.

Now in the form of a podcast. AKA, me rambling about the books in your ear. :)