Home!

I'm home! Tired, a little short of breath and a little wheezy, but overall doing well. There were a  few small glitches but overall the surgical team was pleased. I was wheezier than they expected after the procedure; some wheezing was expected since they were irritating the lungs in the profess of fixing them but apparently the wheezing was more than normal. Ah, the joys of asthma. But if the surgeries work, I'll see improvement in my breathing. I had 3 neb treatments in 4 hours after I woke up from the procedure, and an IV with steroids. All my vitals were good though and post-op lung function results were within acceptable parameters. I have a check up in 2 weeks and then procedure #2 a week after that. Because I had more secretions than expected and was wheezier than they expected, they're now planning on tweaking the meds for the next procedure so it should go more smoothly.

I'm glad I took tomorrow off from work. Supposedly, most people go back to work the next day. I am doubtful, especially working with young children. I hope to sleep late, and then, maybe, catch up on review writing and reading just for fun. I read several short stories today, in between bouts of dozing, in the recovery room.

Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers everyone, they helped! ♥

I think my cat has the right idea. I'm going to curl up on the other couch for a bit and nap. The blog will be a little light while I recover, unless I do get those reviews written tomorrow. 

Click here for why I had surgery.

T Minus 14.5 Hours And Counting

So far, so good. The surgery is still on track for tomorrow morning. I leave for the hospital in less than 12 hours, have pre-op baseline testing in 13 hours and the surgery is scheduled in 14.5 hours at 10AM EST. I'm tired, excited, nervous and desperately trying to finish my to-do list tonight. I'm going to try for an early tonight, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. However, I'm a night owl; so that combined with a mild case of nerves and a major case of excitement, means the odds are against me.

If all goes well, I'll be home tomorrow evening. I have Wednesday off from work to rest and recuperate. Supposedly, most people go back to work the next day but I wasn't about to chance it. It's better for myself and my employer to take the day off. If all goes well, I'll be back at work on Thursday. I'm actually hoping I'll feel well enough on Wednesday to catch up on writing reviews. I'm about three books behind; I've read them, I just need to get my reviews written.

Next week, I'm getting the carpet in my condo pulled up and a nice laminate flooring put in. That will help with both my allergies and my asthma, plus it will help with my cat's asthma, so I'm looking forward to that. Of course, the prep for that is a big part of my ongoing to-do list. Obviously the cat and I can't be 
around when the flooring is being done so we'll stay at a friend's house until it's complete.

So there you go, more than you ever wanted to know about my non-blogging life. :P

ETA: more info about the surgery, what's happening, etc.

Do You Love Your Librarian? Nominate Them!

It's that time again, time to show your favorite American librarian some love and appreciation. Nominations for the 2012 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Awards are open through September 12. Ten librarians each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards reception in New York. In addition, a plaque will be given to each award winner’s library.

Libraries, especially these days, are an amazing resources: free books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, sometimes free computer use and free wifi, Audiotapes, access to databases, librarians who help you research books, topics, etc., and it's free, there's no user charge. Some even offer classes. I've gotten many, many, MANY books from there over the years (and still do), discovered authors, enjoyed music and movies that weren't in my budget, used their copy machine for a very small charge, and of course, for several years, the library was my source for internet access. Now that I have internet at home, I actually miss my daily trips to the library. For someone on a budget, the library is a tremendous resource. And they do all this with constantly shrinking budgets of their own.

So go show your library some love. Recognize the accomplishments of your exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarian. Click on the appropriate link below.

Nominate your public librarian

Nominate your school librarian

Nominate your college, community college or university librarian

The Sunday Post Mailbox & Recap #12

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 
~this meme was inspired in part by - In My Mailbox~

It's a chance to share News. 

A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. 

SQUEEEEE!!!! Tuesday is my surgery, so depending on how the week goes, there may or may not be a Sunday Post next week. Only two more days, I can hardly believe it. God, I hope it helps. Breathing is so damn useful. 

Did that previous paragraph give you deja vu? It was in last week's Sunday Post too but then the hospital called on Monday morning saying we needed to reschedule because they forgot a critical step. Grrr. So the new date is this Tuesday, the 31st. 

 

Anyway, though I only had 1 review this week, I had a cover reveal, 2 giveaways, an opinion piece and a bunch of news posts; InkWolf Press, Banned Books Week news, The UK Book Show.  

 

I also started my first feeelance editing job this week for a book that's being revised and re-released. Sorry, can't share yet, but I list all books I work on on this shelf on goodreads. NFR stands for Not For Review. The shelf also includes books put out by my publisher that I didn't work on but that I've read or own. I don't review their books in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

And on that note, I did have a great week for books. No. An AWESOME week for books. Yeah, awesome, that's the word. And I'm glad that the majority are ebooks or my bookshelves would be overcrowded again. As is, my goodreads TBR shelf is up to 581 books and I'm currently reading 2 books.

Bought

 

 

It arrived!!! Actually, they arrived. I accidentally ordered two copies from two different vendors. (hey, I was excited!) So, one copy is up for grabs. I enjoyed it, was a little disappointed, and I'm very sad the series is done. *cries*

 

 

I bought this book for one reason only: To support Ms. Kane. I read her comments at goodreads concerning the recent Asshat Author and his "list", and her posts on her blog. Smart, articulate, witty and unafraid to speak her mind. I now follow her on twitter too. If I like the book, great; if not, she still has my respect and my money. :)

 

 

I love the Newsflesh series so this was a must-buy. I haven't read it yet.

And now, the many books I bought from my publisher. They are having an ebook sale through the end of July and I stocked up.

Amazon loved me last week, with all of the books I bought. Though, I used gift cards; I'd been saving them and I'm glad I did. I still have some left, which is a delightful feeling.

Kindle Freebies

 

 

I purchased Darkhouse due to the author's comments in the Asshat Author GR thread. I have to say, as a result of that thread, I now have new books, new GR friends and new Twitter friends.  Still, I'd have preferred to have found them some other way.

 

Review Books 

 

 

I enjoy Karen Robards, she was a library find several years ago. Now with this book, she's adding some paranormal elements to her blend of romantic suspense. Many thanks to Random House for the digital galley. 

Wheeew! That's all. I did say I had an awesome book week. :D Leave a link to your sharing post in the comments and I'll try to come by and visit.

The UK Book Show

The US has BEA, BookExpo America, and the UK has The Book Show. They're not exactly equivalent;  Book Show is a conference for authors and publishers with less focus on new titles than BEA, though there will b exhibits. This year, the Book Show will be held on September 22nd. The ticket price includes access to all panels, talks and zones, as well as Breakfast, Lunch and Afternoon Tea. Centrally located in Luton, Bedfordshire, one minutes’ walk from the main railway station, two large car parks (parking lots in the US), and a few minutes from junction 10 of the M1 motorway.

While there, you'll be able to network with other authors, meet publishers, agents, marketing and PR gurus, get the low down on self-publishing, working with digital and paper publishers, and relax and chat to other like-minded individuals.

There will be talks and discussions including a publisher panel, author panel, self-publishing (hopefully that panel will include talks about how NOT to behave), marketing and PR, writing erotica, and working with agents, amongst others. Zones and Exhibitors will include a publisher zone, author zone, erotica zone, publishing services zone, author signings, marketing & PR zone, agent zone, and a bar and food zone. Publishers in attendance include Apex Publishing, Andrews UK, Silver Moon, MX Publishing, and many more.

Sponsorship and exhibiting Opportunities are still available, contact them for details if you're interested.

Where to find The Book Show online:   website     facebook    twitter

Anyone planning on going? Maybe you can share your experience with us if you do.

ABFFE Seeks Art for Banned Books Week Auction & Other News

As many of you know, I don't believe in banning books (or anything really) and for the past several years, I've used my blog to spread the word about the American Library Association's annual Banned Book Week. Banned Book Week, sponsored by the ALA among other organizations*, highlights books that have been banned or challenged, discusses the pros and cons of banning and of censorship and encourages people to make their own decisions. I'm still planning this year's blog event but it will be smaller and simpler than in previous years.

In the meantime, there are some things, dear reader, that you can do to support the cause. According to the daily book business newsletter, Shelf Awareness, The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is seeking donations of original children's art for an online auction that will be conducted during Banned Books Week, which this year is being held September 30-October 6. The first such auction, building on the Children's Art Auction held annually at BookExpo America, was held last year and raised more than $5,000.

For more information, or to donate, click here.

The ABFFE will also be repeating, Net Read-Out, an event from last year that was popular and brought much attention to Banned Book Week. In conjunction with booksellers and other interested people, more than 800 videos of people reading from banned books were posted on YouTube. Interested? Click here. 

I thought about doing a video last year and wimped out. Maybe this year. IF I do, I'll post it on the blog as well as on YouTube.

*Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; and the PEN American Center.  It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Project Censored.

Giveaway of Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong - US & CA

I was so excited about this book that I accidentally ordered two copies of it, one from Amazon and one from Barnes & Noble. :D Now I do sometimes buy doubles of my favorite books but I don't need two hardcover copies. When the paperback comes out, I'll buy a copy or two and I'm debating getting a Kindle copy (though that doesn't have the short story at the end that the hardcover has).

So, you all get to benefit from my confusion. I'll mail out my extra copy to one reader of the blog. Enter using the rafflecopter below. Please read the Giveaway Policy before entering.

Oh, and PLEASE, no spoilers for Thirteen in the comments, if you have already read it. Thanks.

ETA: I see that many people are entering who haven't read the series yet. This is the final book in the series, you really should read the preceding books prior to this one, and you definitely need to have read the two books immediately preceding this one. 

Some Authors Are Classy

There has been a frigging meteor storm on the web lately about authors and bloggers behaving badly. I won't link to any of the misbehaving sites or obnoxious posts. Not even to the calm and rational posts addressing the problems. I need a break from the drama. No, this post focuses on the authors behaving themselves.

In the past few days, I've received emails from two different authors concerning posts on this blog. One was a nice thank you for a promo post I did; the author thanked me for participating in her book's blog tour. Now, most of the time, a thank you is considered a good thing. In the blog book reviewing world, it's not so simple. Many people feel authors shouldn't comment on, or even acknowledge reviews, while others feel it's rude if the author doesn't. The poor authors are damned if they do, damned if they don't. Now granted, this wasn't a review, but it was still nice, and a bit risky on her part, to email me. I appreciate it.

Now, the other email I received was in respect to a review I did. It was a mixed review, some negative points and some positive points. I tried to be balanced, and to give examples. I received a thank you from the author (brave! but he did do it via email, privately), and it included the following quote:

If I didn't write this ebook I would  go out buy it myself after reading your review."

Now that's a classy author.

I wrote this post on the spur of the moment and didn't check with the authors in question to see if they were willing to have me use their names publicly. So for now, I'll keep their identities private, but I felt I should share their examples of authors behaving well. We can all use a smile now and then.

Got any examples of classy authors? Share in the comment section, by name or anonymous, doesn't matter.