Books – Page 11 – Cora Lee, Regency Romance Author

2014 TBR Challenge Finale

December 31, 2014December 31, 2014 Cora Lee

2014 is coming to an end fellow readers–did you meet your TBR Challenge goal?

My initial commitment was 12 books from my heaping TBR bins/kindle/iPod. I read 21 books that were six months old or older (yay!). Looking back through the Goodreads shelf I made, I can see that I favored paper books over electronic ones, and that no audio books made it into the fray. I know what happened with the audio books (I’m still working on one enormous one, and half-listened to a couple as I drifted off to sleep at night), but the paper vs. electronic count surprises me a bit. E-books are physically easier to read for me–no mass market paper back to squint at or pry open, no weighty hardcover to lift and hold. But I’m something of a tactile person, and there’s nothing like holding a real book in your hands 🙂

I also mentioned in my original post that I’d wanted to go with a small number of TBR books in order to leave room for other reading challenges and writing time. I completed the other two challenges I began, and incorporated TBR books into both (two birds, one stone right?). But the writing time never materialized. That’s something I definitely need to work on next year.

Overall, I think the TBR Challenge was a good idea. Knowing that I was posting updates to this blog and keeping a public Goodreads shelf helped motivate me. When it was time for a new book I’d find

myself digging through my bins and reading blurbs, searching for one that still sounded interesting months (and in some cases, years) after I purchased it. That was a lot of fun–like a kid sampling treats in an ice cream shop, looking for just the right flavor–and something I didn’t realized I missed until I started doing it again. In all the tumult of 2014, digging through my TBR bins was also comforting for me, and gave me a sense of accomplishment as the piles in some bins shrunk. I have no idea what 2015 has in store for me, but I’m going to make sure a TBR Challenge is involved 😀

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Best of 2014

December 26, 2014December 23, 2014 Cora Lee

In a year of Friday Favorites, which one was the most popular? None other than Richard Armitage reading Georgette Heyer! This post received more views than any other post on And Then He Kissed Her in 2014. I joked at the time that, if I became famous, it would be because of Richard Armitage…and I may not have been far off 😉

Check out the original post here, which includes an excerpt of Richard reading Venitia, interviews conducted during his work on The Convenient Marriage, and links to other audio samples and projects.

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: 200 Years of Jane Austen Covers

December 5, 2014November 23, 2014 Cora Lee

Cover reveals are a big event in the lead-up to a new book’s release. And different versions of a book (paperback, hardcover, mass market) might have different covers, or a new cover might be designed for the re-release of an older work. But what if your book was 200 years old? How many different covers would it have then?

Our Favorite this week is an article from The Guardian: Jane Austen’s fashion history: 200 years of cover designs – in pictures and a similar one from The Huffington Post: Jane Austen, Reinvented. Between the two there are about a dozen Austen covers from the past two centuries. See if you can tell the era in which they were designed before you read the article 😀

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Chawton House Library Book Conservation Appeal

November 28, 2014November 23, 2014 Cora Lee

Friday Favorites have been a bit sporadic these last few month, but they’re back this week with a very important one. Chawton House Library has recently discovered that, though well cared for, about 75% of their collection of historical manuscripts needs repairing in one form or another. The cost, they say, will be approximately £60,000.

Yikes!

But we can help!

The Chawton House Book Conservation Fund is accepting donations from both sides of the Atlantic, of any denomination. From their website:

£1 / $1.70 can buy document repair tape

£6 / $10 can buy unbleached cotton archival ribbon

£10 / $17 can buy an archival box to protect a fragile book

£100 / $162 can pay for a full set of conservation equipment including unbleached cotton archival ribbon, document repair tape and archival boxes

£300 / $486 can pay for a volunteer training day, giving a whole team the necessary skills to carry out vital conservation work

£500 / $809 can restore a complete volume

Books

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

November 24, 2014November 23, 2014 Cora Lee

It’s November, readers–eleven months down and just one left to go in this year’s TBR Challenge!

After having a pretty awful October, my stubborn streak kicked in and I became determined not to let the situation at work or my chronic illnesses get the best of me. Reading is one of my favorite past times, and I refuse to give it up! Even though I come home drained of energy, I’ve been doggedly reading from my TBR bins a little at a time. I usually only get an hour in each day, and I read slower than usual because of the fatigue, but I do it 😀

Over the summer I reported that I was gravitating toward my bins of physical books rather than e-books, and I’ve returned to that trend. Then it was to weed out non-keeper-shelf books in an effort to lighten the load before I moved across the state. This time I think it’s simply because I can see the piles in their various bins every time I walk into my living room. My Kindle, however, conceals its contents well–I have no idea how many books are actually on it without making a concerted effort to check.

When I did check I discovered the number had grown! I’ve been very careful about resisting the lure of the bookstore and the library’s used book sales, but apparently not the siren call of Kindle book price drops. Maybe I should concentrate on e-books for the last month of the challenge 🙂

Books

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

October 27, 2014October 26, 2014 Cora Lee

Happy October readers! We have two months left in the TBR Challenge–will you make your goal?

I’m starting to think it was a very good thing that I hit my mark over the summer, because I’ve had zero time to read since school started. That new job I was so excited about has turned into a nightmare (literally: I started having nightmares last year from the stress associated with my father’s death, and they have returned). I’ve also had a couple of bouts with the Migraine Monster, which makes for a very uncomfortable reading experience.

Instead, I’ve been trying to find new ways to add some audiobook time to my day (I have quite a few books waiting To Be Listened To). The weather is turning cold here, so I won’t be able to take walks outside much longer. Housework, though, never goes away. And one doesn’t have to have a migraine to appreciate a comfy recliner with a fuzzy blanket and an Audible app.

I did discover that audiobooks + activities that require concentration = bad outcomes. Either I concentrate too much on the activity and don’t hear the book, or I concentrate too much on the book and don’t pay attention to the activity. Listening while cooking, then, is obviously out 😀 And I live very close to my job, so there’s not enough time during my commute.

When do you listen, audiobook lovers? I’d love some suggestions!

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Death Comes to Pemberley

October 24, 2014October 5, 2014 Cora Lee

It’s finally here! Aired in December 2013 in the UK, part 1 of Death Comes to Pemberley hits American screens this Sunday as part of PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery series. The second part airs next Sunday (November 2).

From the PBS website:

“Six years after Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have prevailed over pride, prejudice, the caddish Mr. Wickam and the frivolous Mrs. Bennet, a coach races up to Pemberley, Darcy’s palatial estate, with an hysterical Lydia shrieking, “Murder!” So continues Jane Austen’s timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice, in Death Comes to Pemberley, a star-studded adaptation of crime-writer P.D. James’ bestselling whodunit.”

Anna Maxwell Martin stars as Elizabeth Darcy, with Matthew Rhys as Austen’s hero. Matthew Goode and Jenna Coleman play Mr. Wickham and Lydia Bennet.

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: Discover a New Love

October 10, 2014October 9, 2014 Cora Lee

This week’s Favorite is for you romance readers out there who like to save money. It’s a website/book club set up by Sourcebooks called Discover a New Love. There’s a blog, online events, chats with authors, and all kinds of fun stuff to participate in.

But the best part (for me, at least) is the books: DRM free (so you can read them on any e-reader or computer), $1.67 US per book for the Featured Selections each month (you buy a 6-pack of credits for $9.99 US, then use the credits whenever you’d like), open to international readers, and often include early access to titles before their scheduled release date. They’ve got all kinds of sub-genres, too: one stop shopping for historicals of every stripe, contemporaries, paranormals, romantic suspense, women’s fiction, and erotic romances.

I am not affiliated in any way with Sourcebooks–I’m just a fan of some of their authors and inexpensive books 🙂

Books

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

September 29, 2014September 28, 2014 Cora Lee

Happy Autumn, readers! It’s September–2 months since we last checked in on the TBR Challenge. Have you been making progress on your goals?

I’m one book over my original 12-book commitment, but my reading activity has come nearly to a halt. I started a new teaching job last month, which involved a cross-state move and a lot of unpacking. Then, of course, school started, and I’ve been in my classroom and on the field (I’m coaching this season, too) all day. Reading time has been tough to find lately.

But things are starting to settle down, so I’m hoping to find some time (and energy) to continue working on the TBR pile. I may have read 13 of the books that had found a home in my bins, but I brought home another pile from the RWA National Conference! My work is far from over 🙂

Books

Cora’s TBR Challenge Check-In

July 21, 2014October 4, 2014 Cora Lee

Happy July fellow readers! It’s been six months since I issued my TBR Challenge. How are you progressing?

I’ve continued the book binge I started in June, and I seem to be favoring print books over e-books or audio books lately. Part of it is the very real possibility that I’ll be moving soon (if I land a new job), and I have a tendency to donate books to the library that don’t capture my interest. So I tell myself I’m lightening the physical load for the move–my Kindle will weigh the same no matter how many books are on it! The other part is a simple fondness for holding a real book in my hands. I adore my Kindle, and all the features and conveniences it provides, but there’s nothing in the world like touching the pages of a book you love.

And my book binge has paid off–I reached my goal of 12 TBR books last week! Some of the 12 went into the donation bin, but I found a few gems in the bunch, too. Those gems make me want to dive back into one of my TBR bins and see what else is waiting for me–so I have. My non-reading activity has started to pick up again, so I’m not sure how many more books I’ll get to, but I’m not stopping 😀