escape yourself and gravity

I know I have lots of you on my flist, and mostly these are textbooks I'm finally letting go of. That dream is, if not dead, seriously in cryogenics right now.

So here are my terms:

• make your best offer between now and Friday midnight


• I'll take Paypal or the promise of check


• you have to at least cover postage from me to you


• indicate if you want book rate, priority, etc.


• all books are at least gently used and may have writing/highlighting in them; I'll note if they're worse than gently used.

( Bibliography behind the cut, with ISBN so you can look it up on Amazon easily )


Also, who was it that wanted to read The Romance of Chemistry by Keith Gordon? Because I have an old withdrawn library copy and if you haven't acquired it, I have no need for it these days. :)

The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby

My review

Rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this one. The main character, Lucie, is an engaging character, and the setting is like a character of its own. You learn a lot about the process of growing grapes and making wine, as well as the history of the Virginia wine country.

Lucie Montgomery has needed a cane to walk since the accident that ended her relationship with Greg Knight two years ago. She went to France to recover and only returns to America when her father is found dead in the family vineyard. There she discovers her younger sister dating Greg, her brother ruled by his high-flying lifestyle, and the family estate mortgaged to the hilt.

As she struggles to keep the vineyard and make the harvest, more bodies turn up, and she has to face the fact that someone will stop at nothing to persuade her to sell the farm. Add in a vintner with a mysterious past and old high school friends, and you have a nice blend for a good mystery.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next volume in the series.

View all my reviews.

I haven't actually read any books yet this year! I have joined Goodreads.com though. My profile is here if any of you feel like joining. larinzia has inspired me to try to keep a better list, but it probably won't happen. LOL

Books read in 2009

1. Gone for Good - Harlan Coben
   
2. Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs
   
3. City of Bones - Michael Connelly
   
4. Night Fall - Nelson DeMille
   
5. The Riddle-Master of Hed - Patricia A. McKillip
   
6. Heir of Sea and Fire - Patricia A. McKillip
   
7. Harpist in the Wind - Patricia A. McKillip
   
8. The Merlot Murders - Ellen Crosby
   
9. The Chardonnay Charade - Ellen Crosby
   
10. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand - Carrie Vaughn
    
11. The Xanadu Adventure - Lloyd Alexander
    
12. Swords and Deviltry - Fritz Leiber
    
13. Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
    
14. Hide - Lisa Gardner
    
15. Hello Darkness - Sandra Brown
    
16. The Survivor's Club - Lisa Gardner
    
17. Trouble in Paradise - Robert B. Parker
    
18. Supernatural: Witch's Canyon - Jeff Mariotte
    
19. Obsession - John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
    
20. Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer - Ann Rule
    
21. Broken Wings - John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
    
22. The Bordeaux Betrayal - Ellen Crosby
    
23. The Unknown Darkness: Profiling the Predators Among Us - Gregg O. McCrary with Katherine Ramsland
    
24. Lost Souls - Lisa Jackson (I will never read her again. Ever.)
    
25. Kitty Raises Hell - Carrie Vaughn
    
26. Criminal Minds: Finishing School - Max Allan Collins
    
27. A School for Sorcery by E. Rose Sabin
    
28. Girl in Blue - Ann Rinaldi
    
29. The Third Victim - Lisa Gardner
    
30. Quietus - Vivian Schilling
    
31. More Than Memory - Dorothy Garlock
    
32. The Killing Hour - Lisa Gardner
    
33. The Next Accident - Lisa Gardner
    
34. Gone - Lisa Gardner
    
35. Steal the Dragon - Patricia Briggs
    
36. Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
    
37. Killing Fear - Allison Brennan
    
38. Life's That Way - Jim Beaver
    
39. The Poet - Michael Connelly
    
40. Say Goodbye - Lisa Gardner
    
41. Fatal Secrets - Allison Brennan
    
42. Magic to the Bone - Devon Monk
    
43. Magic in the Blood - Devon Monk
    
44. Echo Burning - Lee Child
    
45. Mercy Street - Mariah Stewart
    
46. Seeker - Jack McDevitt
    
47. The Narrows - Michael Connelly
    
48. The Steel Remains - Richard K. Morgan
    
49. The Closers - Michael Connelly
    
50. Echo Park - Michael Connelly
    
51. The Killing Kind - John Connolly
    
52. All the Pretty Girls - J.T. Ellison
    
53. The Overlook - Michael Connelly
    
54. Tempting Evil - Allison Brennan
    
55. The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly
    
56. Lost Light - Michael Connelly
    
57. The Other Daughter - Lisa Gardner
    
58. The Scarecrow - Michael Connelly
    
59. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
    
60. Hunter's Moon - Karen Robards
    
61. Mercy Thompson Homecoming - Patricia Briggs
    
62. Hunting Ground - Patricia Briggs
    
63. So You Want to Be a Wizard - Diane Duane
    
64. Deep Wizardry - Diane Duane
    
65. High Wizardry - Diane Duane
    
66. A Wizard Abroad - Diane Duane
    
67. The Wizard's Dilemma - Diane Duane
    
68. The Quickie - James Patterson
    
69. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
    
70. Beat the Reaper - Joshua Bazell
    
71. The Secret Sister - Elizabeth Lowell
    
72. Seeds of a Nation: Illinois - P.M. Boekhoff and Stuart A. Kallen
    
73. Acts of Mercy - Mariah Stewart
    
74. Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich
    
75. By Blood Written - Steven Womack
    
76. The Darkest Evening of the Year - Dean Koontz
    
77. The Dark Tide - Andrew Cross
    
78. Spanish Disco - Erica Orloff
    
79. Princep's Fury - Jim Butcher
    
80. Hide Your Eyes - Alison Gaylin
    
81. 9 Dragons - Michael Connelly
    
82. Through Wolf's Eyes - Jane Lindskold
    
83. Faith and Fidelity - Tere Michaels
    

Non-fiction: 5/83

my 'read' shelf:


my 'novel-research' shelf:

It's icing up out there. We go from 0 F with -23 windchills over the weekend to just enough above freezing earlier today that when the storm system moved in, we've got freezing rain instead of snow. This makes me grumpy. Snow isn't great, but it's better than ice. I want to leave now before it gets worse. >.<

Finished reading Whoever Fights Monsters over my lunch hour. Ressler is an interesting figure, but I enjoyed Douglas' books a little better. I guess because he's rather egotistical but he's funny, too, and unlike Ressler, Douglas doesn't seem to have a chip on his shoulder about certain aspects of the FBI. Then again, Douglas and the FBI disagreed violently over the Jon-Benet Ramsay case, so there's a schism there, too. I guess that makes Roy Hazelwood my favorite of the real-life profilers. *G*

So ready to go home now. I wish I had tomorrow off. >.

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JO CAMP. I've loathed Amy all my life. I identify too closely with Jo to be able to stand Amy at all. Not to mention I've always thought Jo should have married Laurie, and Amy stole him. Bwah. (Never mind that Jo had already turned him down, she was being silly. *G* )

My best friend said the other day that if someone ran for governor of Indiana on the sole platform of eliminating DST again, she would vote for him. Despite that I love my man Mitch and admire everything else he's accomplished in his first term as governor, I concurred. Until today, I was at least getting home from work in the fucking daylight. Now I leave the house when it is dark, and I return when it is dark. I think I might have seen daylight at some point today...oh, right, that was when I went outside on my morning break.

In happier news, my Crime Classification Manual arrived today. Hurray for 25% off coupons and free shipping! I am going to go spend some time with the original David Rossi and some of his friends.

The following is a rather lengthy entry, part book review, part history lesson, part reflection, about modern warfare and the US as a military power. It's relevant not only to the Iraq war but also the situation in Darfur. Because as Santayana said, those who don't study the past...

I just finished reading Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The book is about the largely-overlooked Battle of Mogadishu (The Battle of the Black Sea), which happened in 1994--my senior year in high school. The battle took place just a couple of weeks before my seventeenth birthday, and the majority of the men participating in that battle were very close to my age.

( Background )

( 3-4 October 1994, or 'Fuckin' Irene' )

( Casualties and Resolution )

A couple of years ago I had a discussion with someone who was all worked up about Rwanda and couldn't understand why the US didn't do anything to stop the genocide there. I tried to tell her about Somalia, but she didn't seem to get it. In his epilogue, Mark Bowden speaks to the impact of Somalia as well--the lessons to be taken away, and the questions it raises.

( The impact of Somalia )

I don't have any answers to the predicament of being American. I know it often gets us looked on with scorn, hatred, or annoyance. I know we're often perceived as being arrogant. And sometimes it does feel arrogant to say that we should go and plant little mini-Americas, complete with Jeffersonian democracy, in cultures that aren't used to operating that way. But don't we have a responsibility to keep people from brutally murdering each other? Shouldn't we protect the Kurds from Saddam? Shouldn't we stop the brutality in Darfur?

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
The book itself was a fascinating, well-written, riveting account of the battle, and Bowden received a great deal of cooperation from those involved while writing it. He has been overwhelmed with thanks from the soldiers who were there, and has spoken to elite military groups across the US, as well as the CIA. Just the fact that I read a non-fiction book of 430+ pages in less than a week says a lot about the quality of writing and the level at which it engages you. Of course, it also helped that it was a battle I remember taking place, and spawned a movie that I've seen more than once. In any case, I would highly recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in military history, US foreign policy, or Africa.

Man, I don't know what it is today, but I am incredibly bored. I am accustomed to this work being tedious, but this afternoon, it's just not happening. Two more hours of this. x.x

I have been reading Rendezvous With Rama because I saw rumours that a movie is in the development stages, and apparently SF was just what I needed this week. Of course, the movie has apparently been in development for a good 6 or 7 years, but that's all right, I've always meant to read this book (my dad's had it in his bookshelf as long as I can remember), and so far I'm enjoying it. What I find interesting is that in a book with a 1973 copyright date, Arthur C. Clarke has a non-traditional relationship that has me all intrigued. A life-support expert and a navigation officer who are inseparable to the point that they share a wife back on Earth, who has born them both children. Of course, the ship captain has a wife on Earth and a wife on Mars, but those two have never met--nothing improper in that, as far as it goes. It's the "equilateral triangle" of the two men and their wife that I found interesting.

*grin* I'm a slasher through and through, aren't I? Of course, so far I'm enjoying the rest of the novel, as well.

Oh man, I know I should not bitch about work, considering I have a well-paying job for at least the next few weeks, but...MAN I want to go home. It's like 15 degrees out there and getting colder, and I'm still sneezing, and I want to curl up under the covers and do a little writing and a little RPing.

Hey everyone! I know you've seen me squeeing all over the place about my friend megburden who wrote a book. Her novel Northlander is exciting and compelling, and has some fantastic characterization and great plot twists.

She's having a contest at her LJ to give away awesome stuff like autographed copies, BPAL scents that inspired the novel, and more. All you have to do is mention that the book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Brown Barn Books, and then comment at Meg's LJ with a link to your post.

You see how I am? I'm making an entry to the contest right now! ^_~ BUT I'm also giving you all a chance to enter, as well. I'm so nice.

And in case you missed the real point of this post, go out and buy Meg's book!