•   Harlot
•   Vicious Trollop

Ideas, questions or
suggestions? E-mail us at thebookb [at] gmail [dot] com and bitch away!

WHAT YOU WANT...

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare

For more details regarding this month's BBC selection, click here.

AKA: Harlot and Trollop's
love slaves *wink*

Click here for
MORE, MORE, MORE!

Duke of Shadows, where are you? Why didn't you say anything to me. I had my copy posted as free book here. LOL!

This is great! I love this video of Schone's book. LOL. Hey shosh! :)

I actually found out about the book from you! :) Your post at fabb has had me curious for weeks.

I hope someone knows an ebook site that sells it :( If not I'll order the paperback from amazon, but I'd rather just load it into my ebook reader. A lot more practical, cheaper and less embarrassing seeing as the cover has a half naked dude with long hair on it LOL Is that your voice on Youtube? You really have a great voice, I don't know why, but I thought you'd be a lot more high-pitched. I did enjoy your diagrams, made the plot easier to follow. Though, on some sick and twisted level I did enjoy Outlander, not so much the romance as the history, I think I'll stay far, far away from this book. Thanks for the warning.

- Amal Eloisa James' latest, Duchess by Night, was recently released. I liked it a lot. Cross-dressing! Gender confusion! Adults behaving more or less rationally! Believable love story! It's probably also one of the more coherent plots from start to finish of James' books. Paradise is definitely my favorite too!! I'll read anything that reminds me of Paradise, though I'm sure it'll never beat it. Trollop, I hope you're still alive! :) Firefox. Is this made by Mozilla or Microsoft? *shrugs*

No complaints here. In fact, I love it! I haven't noticed any weird behavior on any of my computers, so I don't know why weird things are happening to you (wait, are you using Vista?). Thomas,

Actually, as much as I like to blame MS and Vista for everything (and gad knows I do LOL) the problem started b/c FF wouldn't give me the option to leave Safari as my default browser. Even in Custom install I only got the "set firefox 3 as your default browser". Then I could cancel or next. Why should I be forced to install it as my default browser?

After it installed when I clicked on my dock items even IE and Safari would open as a firefox windows :/ Very strange LOL

I changed it all back and will play with firefox a bit today. I hope that's the only disappointing part about it :)

Did you download it already? I heard there were some problems downloading it the first day.

Maybe you could help me discover some of the great features? I just downloaded it actually. I haven't given it a proper go yet but hopefully it doesn't give me too much trouble. That is definitely odd that your other shortcuts would launch FF; that didn't happen to me, and I would expect to see it on Digg were it a common problem.

I do agree that forcing you to make it the default browser is daft. I wonder what made them think that was a good idea.

One of the features I'm really loving is an add on called Foxmarks. I use FF on 3 computers on a regular basis, and all 3 have different bookmarks. I've been using Del.icio.us, but I have a lot of bookmarks that don't easily lend themselves to that format. Foxmarks stores all of your bookmarks online (similar to Del.icio.us), but also synchs with your browsers to ensure that you always have the same bookmarks at your fingertips. I used IE with all its imperfect glory.

My husband uses firefox, he seems happy with it, but then he also used netscape along with IE. How much is TMI? Trollop, becareful of that woman she is a real nut job and her friends are worse.
Seems she has no life and cares to much what others think of her.
Would love to have that kind of time on my hands.
But I've got a life.

Tell Harlot I said hello and really miss her.

Angela Low

Also so nice to have you back. I agree that attacking someone online is bad enough, but, to bring their infertility into it as well is fucktardom at its finest/worst. @@

I keep all my personal info WAY on the down low. Too many nutballs on the world wide web for my liking. My husband like it because it keeps a separate bookmarks. Good thing he likes different setting, or Mozilla is toast! Ugh...I noticed my Mozilla comment landed here. I have no idea how that happened.

Yes it's tragic that some people are mean enough to make fun of other people's life. Help CS3 nightmare!!!! I had to call adobe like 300 times and ended up having to run the cs3 clean anyway. Really, Adobe people should get their act together. Their products are ridiculously expensive they should at least work!!! Wow, I've never heard anyone speak so disparagingly of an Adobe product, particularly Dreamweaver!

Unless you're a beta tester, why do you want to use the beta version anyway? The other programmer I work with tried out the Dreamweaver CS4 beta and he found it to be clunky and a bit unresponsive. But hey, it's a beta.

He also said that, when he installed it, some of this CS3 extensions were overwritten, which caused some problems.

At this point, since you've been deleting random files, your best bet is probably to just run the CS3 Clean and get everything back to normal.

Deleting the files might remove the program, but Windows will still see it because of how the OS stores that kind of information (it doesn't just look in the Program Files folder to see what's installed). I don't even know what you're talking about...otherwise, I'd help you. It sounds like that same people made Turbo Tax. Once its in your computer, it never, ever gets off and it uses lots of energy too. Intuit (who makes Turbo Tax) isn't known for their customer service.

That's nothing compared to Real Networks, however, whose software is notoriously invasive and impossible to uninstall. The problem was really the conflicting CS4 Beta and the DWCS3. It only affected DW though which I found odd. I had to run the CS3 clean twice to get rid of the program b/c I couldn't reinstall it. At least the Adobe people were very helpful and nice. But still, what a nightmare reinstalling all the programs (I use Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver and Photoshop so it took a lot of time). I mostly use these programs for fun. I like learning new stuff ;)

I installed Firefox a couple of years ago and I had to run the recovery disk to uninstall the damn thing. It fucked up everything in my computer. Very strange seeing as everyone loves it. I'm using Safari for MS now and I have to say: Apple, I'm sold! I am sooooo getting a Mac when I replace my laptop in a couple of years. Safari ROCKS! Love it :) I think you're the definitely the exception to the rule. Firefox is the single greatest browser I've ever used. At this point, I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

I've found that Safari renders pages pretty well, but it does some funky stuff when it comes to colors – stuff that Firefox, IE, Opera, et al never do. Firefox 3 is coming out in less than a week; you might give it another go. Thomas, I think I'll give it a try as long as I'm assure I''ll be able to get rid of it if I don't like it LOL

Might be that I love Safari so much b/c IE is a such a useless piece of S****! LOL

I've been looking into new things to add to my computer. I got a dock which I love. Don't know how I lived w/o it before. Any recommendations on cool applications is very welcomed. Re: Funky colors in Safari.

Yep. Kind of odd colors and big clunky font (as if everything were bold and a big shadowy). Still I'd take it over IE any day of the year! LOL Tell me about it! IE 6 is the bane of my existence. There's little more annoying than building a beautiful website that renders perfectly in FF and SF, only to have IE screw it up.

To be fair, IE 7 is leaps and bounds ahead of 6, and 8 promises to be something worth writing home about. Here's Microsoft they can deliver on that promise. Over ¼ life crisis Good Luck,

I am sure you will find the perfect job for you. I have no experience in these matters so I can't really give you any worthwhile comments.
I just wanted to wish you luck too. Choose the job that will make you happy because otherwise it's just not worth it.
But then that could be my inner optimist talking =) It sounds as though you are brilliant and highly qualified for all of the jobs that you're applying to. Good luck with everything! (If you do work for UN, make sure you kick some ass and get them to do something other than sitting around and drinking coffee.... Alice,

That's just it, I'm neither brilliant nor highly qualified *sniff* If I were, Obama would be knocking on my door to offer me a job in his campaign LOL As it is I'll have to make do begging for a job in an international org which are damn hard to get. Typo correction:

Hard should have been damn near impossible LOL Canon vs. Sony In my experience Canon and Nikon have the BEST digital camera's, but it is mostly personal preference. I bet someone will say Sony or Olympus. I have a Canon Digital SLR and a Nikon point and shoot (small so I can take it anywhere (deos video too) I'm going to kill blogger. I just wrote a _huge_ comment and blogger choked on it.

Basically, it said that you can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon for digital SLRs; I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, which I love; so does my dad, who was a professional photographer for over 30 years; Sony doesn't make the list because, although they have great electronics, Canon and Nikon have better optics, which is arguably what's most important in a DSLR.

Grr. Stupid blogger. The worst part is that, right before I clicked publish, I thought to myself, "this is a pretty long comment. Perhaps I should copy it to the clipboard in case something happens..." I love my Canon - so much, that when I decided to get my mom a digital camera, I got her one too. She hasn't had any problems operating it and takes really good pictures with it. That alone speaks well of their cameras. :o) When it comes to digital cameras, one simple rule of thumb: CANON.

I'm not sure if, when you say digicam, you mean still camera or camcorder. The fact is that most good still cameras do video too, but the sound sucks just because they don't have a directional microphone like a camcorder does. Since the last time I checked there was no clear leader in the camcorder format wars, I'm going to assume you mean a digital still camera. Which means Canon.

Yes, you may find good reviews for one or two models from another manufacturer or two. But save yourself the grief and time trying to compare all those different individual models. Just go to Canon and decide which CANON model has the features you want. Hint: digital image stabilization is a MUST HAVE. And I use the sports mode (not just for sports) more than any other on my Canon S3IS (GREAT freakin' camera, btw-- AMAZING zoom shots, love the twist and turn display screen--- but soooo heavy!) so, I personally would want that again. I have never heard of anyone being unhappy with their Canon, and I know several people that bought Canon (different models) based on my rec.

Biggest downside to buying Sony? I mean besides the fact it isn't a Canon? Those Memory Sticks. I guarandamntee you that one day Sony will announce they are abandoning the memory sticks and will come up with another lame brain scheme that they want the world to follow and the world ignores them. Nope, Canon uses Memory Cards like everyone else. Sony really should get with the program and quit trying to be leaders in this shit--- remember Betamax? I do not have a lot of money for personal spending after taking care of my family's needs, so I bought a reasonably priced camera. A Canon Power Shot sx100. I got this one so I could take close ups of my kids. From bleachers, I can close in on my son's face as he is pitching with perfect clarity, capture a baseball in motion pitched at 50mph,and a closeup of dancer daughter on stage from seating near the balcony. I love this camera. I had in past Nokia and Olympus, both film and digital- Love the Canon the most for ease and handling. Good Luck finding waht you really want- there are a lot of choices out there- I was convinced I wanted a Sony too. (I also chickened out on the mac I swore I was going with for my next laptop...love my Sony Vaio, hate Vista) What made up my mind was the memory stick vs SD card. I have no regrets. My Canon takes fabulous pics, and I can use slip that card into my palm or my laptop, so simple! Being a filmmaker, I just have to respond to what QB said.

1) Camcorders _DO NOT_ have directional microphones. Camcorders have shitty little unidirectional mics that often pick up camera handling noise, and even the sound of the zoom servo motor!

2) There are clear leaders when it comes to camcorders, but they're all professional or prosumer level cameras. When it comes to consumer level camcorders, I'm pretty happy with my Sony Handycam.

3) Ditigal image stabilization is nice, but no photographer worth her salt would be caught dead using it. DIS works by enlarging the image (which causes pixel distortion), then attempting to compensate for any camera wiggle. The end result is less blurring, but also slightly lower quality. Image stabilizing lenses are better, and a tripod is better still.

4) Betamax. Seriously? Betamax kicked VHS's ass all over town. In fact, many T.V. stations still use Beta because of its superior image quality. Only now are stations beginning to switch away to other formats. (I should point out that the Beta format that T.V. stations use is a different, professional-grade Beta. It's not the same thing that my parents used in the 80s.) Sony's downfall was that they refused to allow other companies to make and use Beta technology — a mistake they haven't made with Memory Sticks (the non-Sony computer I'm typing this on has a built-in Memory Stick reader).

I won't argue that Canon is fantastic — it's my first and only choice, after all. But there are a lot of things that Nikon does better than Canon. It's probably worth doing the research to determine your needs. That said, I would still recommend Canon to anyone, any time.

And this time, I'm copying my comment to the clipboard! I've bought 4 Canons, and they've all been great cameras! Nikon is good, too. I wouldn't buy Sony unless you're looking for a videocamera or a special feature you are sure isn't available elsewhere.. Canon it is.

I am surprised that Sony doesn't even show up in the top lists! *gasp*

I'm between two models now. Will let you guys know how it goes.

Tks everyone :D Yeah... I have a samsung and i love it. how ever its just a regular point and shoot camera.

However, I have to say that sony, samsung and other companies that are not soley based in cameras are not as good as say nikon or cannon. which have been doing it for many more years. My grand-mother is a great photographer and wont go anywhere near anything unless its a nikon. Canon is the best (for me). It's way better than Sony. Sony's got fashionable ones. But Canon's range is still the best camera range. Vista headache Ah, Windows. I don't miss it at all. ;)

Robin Schone, huh? I don't believe I've read anything of hers.

Good luck whipping your computer into shape! My husband is really happy with his Vista. I'm still on XP because I tend to not get new computer until it's really dead. If he insists I get new one, I turn into a manthis and is likely to bite his head off, so he learned to keep his mouth shut when it comes to my slow take on technology.

I think Robin Schone is a book you read when you think your life is perfect and you're smiling all the time. It's almost like suicide, except you're still breathing afterwards.

Check out Laura Moriarty's book here vista is the devil. every time i boot up, i have to go make a sandwich or clip my toenails or something to waste time waiting for it. ugh. Vista BLOWS.

Try googling speed up Vista or something like that. I hear there are fixes on the web that improve it somewhat.

I refuse to buy a new machine till they fix Vista.

I also heard if you complain ENOUGh some companies will give you a free copy of XP I had wanted a Mac for a long time.

Not long ago, the time came for me to buy a new computer. Vista had recently hit the market, and even the most die-hard Windows users I knew were complaining about it.

After thinking about what I should do, the choice became quite obvious: If I'm going to have to buy all new hardware and all new software just to make everything work on a Vista machine, why not just buy a Mac?

I bought a 24-inch iMac. I love it. it is so strange to read your reports/reactions on Windows Vista. I have been using it since Feb 07 on my HP Pavilion running on 2GB RAM Intel Centrino Duo and i absolutely love it!

It never crashes, and as long as you're running latest versions of software (mostly), you'd be all right. And anyway, we commonly want to get updates on our softwares, don't we?

Aside from having all these programs on (Mozilla - multiple tabs, MS Word 2007, Winamp, Windows Media Player, 2 messenger programs,...among others) I find its performance is just fine. No lags, it's not sluggish by any means, etc..

Windows Vista is also scheduled to automatically defrag my laptop on every Wed, 2 am.

Strange how y'all are facing all these other problems..hmm.. Pissing idiots off Bad book reviews I think I know what you are talking about here. I find myself wanting to make recipes from Epicurious if they have a few bad reviews. And I like books, movies, etc. that are not "everyone's" fav. I like a little controversy in my hobbies.

And sorry you lost, but it's so noce to have you back;) I never read Amazon reviews, good or bad. I don't pay much attention to the stars either, especially considering how I use them, and the controversies over taking down bad ratings/reviews.

Actually, I tend not to read any reviews for books I'm already planning to read. Books/authors I'm not so sure about, I will sometimes seek out other people's opinions, but usually more in the vein of recommendations rather than reviews.

I would rather read a discussion about a book - and the more articulate the better, even if it's full of rage or ire and spoilers - than a review.

Otoh, I think I see what you're saying about how someone's bad review could be a good one for you -- partly, maybe because of the book comparisons they make (if they like/dislike the same things you do or not). I find that's where knowing the other person's preferences helps: considering where your source is coming from and all that. I read them sometimes because they amuse me too. Same with Yahoo movie reviews. There's that one movie with Colin Firth...forgot what name it is, one particular review mentioning ritalin and eagle had me peeing on my pants! Oh, I always give the bad reviews more credence, or at least, use them as part of the overall picture. Is the bad review complaining that the book didn't make sense, but is written by someone who appears functionally illiterate? That's a point in its favor, assuming the good reviews are well-written. Are the bad reviews because of a certain plot point I don't mind? Are they written by people who, when I check their other reviews, love books I hate?

It's all part of a picture. And they're all important. Bigger question is why you don't trust people who don't drink?



However, I am far more inclined to read a book with AWFUL ratings/reviews than I am to read one with generally nothing but raves.

Go figure! I'm so going to be fired Wait until you read Blue Eyed Devil before you give up on what's his name for good!

Sigh. Wasn't VT just complaining about Blue Eyed? LOL. At least you get into your books big time VT Weird about the epilogue. Maybe it was a printing glitch?

"Who in their right mind would leave a hot, smart, sexy, arrogant millionaire like Gage for..."

Another hot, smart, sexy arrogant millionaire? ;)

That was one of the things I didn't like so much -- not the triangle part, which I quite liked, as much as I like any love triangle. Even with the dithering, I liked that Liberty (I think the name might be a southern thing?) was honest about her confusion with both Gage and Hardy.

BUT. I really disliked the way Kleypas wrote Hardy at the end. It makes Liberty's choice a non-decision; it takes away the consequences and meaning of her decision because instead of having 2 good choices, there is one good one and one bad one -- that's what drives me nuts about triangles in general*; it makes the one in the middle look stupid for not seeing what's so obviously the right choice, and then all the back-and-forth-ness becomes contrived.

*Except for certain OT3s, which don't count. You've got to read Blue-Eyed Devil. One of my favorite books ever. That Hardy... he totally redeems himself. I love him. I want him. He's mine. …Dance?, are you trying to get me fired? You'll need to get Blue Eyed Devil to read too!

**Shakes head at someone not liking Kleypas** (grin) I've always liked Kleypas. I can tracked my dip in grades to her publication dates. I'd stay up all night reading her book, even if I have a huge exam the next day.

Shoshana *grin* I'm glad you like it!

Sugar Daddy (and Blue Eyed Devil) is quite a departure from LK's other work, isn't it?

I'm interested in seeing what happens in her next book, which I think is a historical again.

I just re-read one of her earlier works - I can't recall the title, but I think it had "Angel" in it somewhere - and I think it's safe to say she's improved as a writer.

Sorry for the late reply. I've been offline the last few days (almost a whole week!) so I don't get fired from my job. ;) Kleypas' historicals are not the most thrilling, but Kleypas writing contemporaries is pure genius. Sugar Daddy and Blue-Eyed Devil are probably my favorite romances. Ever. That's a lot of romances. Harlot recommends I just started re-reading Bujold's earlier Miles books. Made of awesome.

I really liked PC Cast's Goddess of Spring (and Goddess of Light, a little less so), but every other book of hers I've picked up since, I sort of want to throw against the wall. It makes me not want to re-read Spring or Light in case they don't hold up.

I keep hearing about Megan Whalen Turner, but I haven't seen her books in my local bookstores. Maybe I should check Amazon... I have heard REALLY good things about Wilson. I really should hurry up and read the one of hers that I have here. Ooh! Love Anne Bishop and Jacqueline Carey! I've also read some Guy Gavriel Kay (loved the trilogy whose name I can't think of). I'll have to check out these new names I've not heard of! I have something to look forward too..I don't think I've read any listed here but I saw that my local library has mostof the Georgia series. Can't wait to get started on this one. Book recommendations Heh. No, no. No wings or other accouterments on the hero's dick. :D

...Although I seem to recall you disliking disfigured heroes? He's missing a hand. It's an old injury, though, and not something he's fixated on or a source of angst; it's dealt with rather practically and not made into a drama-fest. I hope it won't deter you from reading the books!

Oh, also, while on a Bujold kick, I also recommend Cordelia's Honor (the first of the Vorkosigan books; each of them more or less stand alone). No disfigured heroes or winged cocks in that one. ;) Just an awesome story about two people thrown together by circumstances beyond their control; it's about how they fall in love, how they each get over (or not) their own issues and the world-building is pretty incredible too. Harlot's coming back? Yay!
(Um, not that the blog has been awful without her or anything, I don't mean it that way. I'll just go now.) Lol, when I read Shosh's recommendation for the Carnation series, I'm like, "ummm, errr...I don't know how you'd like it," lol. It's true, you and I don't share the same taste in books. But, the Carnation series is pretty smart, so there is a good chance that you'll like it; it may not be the read you're looking for right now though. I figure there has to be some common ground between the two of us, we both like SEP and McNaught.

Oh, and just for the record, I've never read a Mary Balogh book, though I do admit to having a couple of her books in my TBR pile.

Happy hunting! VT, I did personally read Alexander McCall Smith's series and I love it. It's like Fargo does Botswana, only much better.

I love it so much, I'll send you a copy myself in book form or audible form...e-mail me your mailing address already.

This Book For Free has the second book up for grabs. I'm going to get Tami over here, she'll convince you to read the Claudia Dain books! ;)

ALE 90210: Then and now Just the music brings back memories of having to watch this show!

This and Melrose Place were the first two shows that I remember having in depth discussions about at work.

Couldn't see the first trailer. Will come back and see if it works later. hey there's no shame in 90210 watching! :) jennie garth is the only reason is started watching dancing with the stars last season! i saw a bit of ian ziering's season the year before, but i'm a kelly taylor fan. :) I caught a few shows...I wasn't a TV person until two years ago. I'd probably start watching this from the beginning like I did Gilmore Girls. Seems like they actually have high school students playing...shock high school students this time around. Sort of looks like it will be a cross between the old 90210 and Gossip Girl....

Note on the outfits...if we find their outfits scary..just imagine what people will say about our outfits 10 or 20 years from now :P Adn that makes me think...what will the next big thing be :P

The Charm School
by Susan Wiggs

"Secret baby, a dead but not really dead hero, an ugly duckling heroine turned swan, a sub-plot on freeing slaves, *yawn* boring sex high on pot."

And Then He Kissed Her
by Laura Lee Guhrke

"By the time it got to the part when he kissed her I couldn't give two hoots. The sex scenes were particularly horrid; an Amish virgin could've written something equally 'passionate.'"

Harlot - Keeper of the Dream
by Penelope Williamson

Trollop - Beyond the
Highland Mist
by Karen Marie Moning