To Be Read Shelf/What I've Read (up to 2007)

This is a list of the books I read up to the end of 2007. Some haven't made it to the blog yet, but just because they're not marked off doesn't meant they won't.

Note: New books (added in the past 30 days) indicated with bold titles.

Title	Author	From	Date added	Date Read	Read	Blogged
Pretty Woman	Fern Michaels	friend	01/01/2006	01/05/2007	x	x
Rebel Ice	S.L. Viehl	blog contest	01/01/2006	01/07/2007	x	x
Plague of Memory	S.L. Viehl	bookstore	01/01/2007	01/10/2007	x	x
i see you	Holly Lisle	grocery store	01/01/2006	01/18/2007	x	x
A Walk in the Woods	Bill Bryson	Bookcrossing	01/15/2007	02/01/2007	x	x
Dragon America	Mike Resnick	friend	01/19/2007	02/01/2007	x	x
Thunderbird Falls	C.E. Murphy	bookstore	01/01/2007	02/08/2007	x	x
Speed Dating	Nancy Warren	We Hear You	02/08/2007	02/15/2007	x	x
Thunderstruck	Roxanne St. Claire	We Hear You	02/08/2007	02/28/2007	x	x
Hammered	Elizabeth Bear	bookstore	01/01/2007	03/05/2007	x	x
Order of the Phoenix	J.K. Rowling	family	01/01/2006	03/15/2007	x	x
The Half-Blood Prince	J.K. Rowling	family	01/01/2006	03/18/2007	x	x
On Basilisk Station	David Weber	family	03/10/2007	03/23/2007	x	x
Dark Reunion	Justine Davis	We Hear You	03/18/2007	03/28/2007	x
Her Lawman on Call	Marie Ferrarella	We Hear You	03/18/2007	03/28/2007	x
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver	E.L. Konigsburg	family	03/24/2007	04/04/2007	x	x
Threads of Malice	Tamara Siler Jones	bookstore	05/01/2006	05/07/2007	x	x
Gravity Dreams	L.E. Modesitt, Jr.	bookshelf?	01/01/1990	05/13/2007	x
Married By Mistake	Abby Gaines	gift	05/10/2007	05/17/2007	x
Virtually His	Gennita Low	gift	05/10/2007	05/22/2007	x
Feet First	Leanne Banks	no clue	01/01/2001	05/28/2007	x
The Honor of the Queen	David Weber	borrowed	04/25/2007	06/09/2007	x	x
Beloved Exile	Parke Godwin	no clue	01/01/2001	06/12/2007	x
Night Lost	Lynn Viehl	gift	05/27/2007	06/22/2007	x
The Bull from the Sea	Mary Renault	bookshelf	01/01/2001	07/09/2007	x	x
Angel with Attitude	Michelle Rowen	bookstore	08/01/2006	07/12/2007	x	x
Into the Wilderness	Sara Donati	blog contest on http://www.mercuryranch.org by Jean Schara	07/05/2007	07/30/2007	x	x
Night Echoes	Holly Lisle	bookstore	06/02/2007	08/05/2007	x
Magic Bites	Ilona Andrews	bookstore	06/02/2007	08/10/2007	x	x
Ill Wind	Rachel Caine	Michelle Rowen (author contest: http://www.michellerowen.com/)	06/19/2005	08/16/2007	x
Heat Stroke	Rachel Caine	Michelle Rowen (author contest: http://www.michellerowen.com/)	06/19/2005	08/19/2007	x
The Deathly Hollows	J.K. Rowling	bookstore	07/21/2007	08/20/2007	x
Tales from the Arabian Nights	Andrew Lang (translator)	bookshelf	01/01/1985	09/18/2007	x	x
Dark Thirst	Sara Reinke	bookstore	08/04/2007	09/30/2007	x
Valley of the Soul	Tamara Siler Jones	blog contest on http://www.mercuryranch.org by Jean Schara	07/05/2007	10/08/2007	x	x
Alanna: The First Adventure	Tamora Pierce	borrowed	01/01/2007	10/13/2007	x
DragonQuest	Donita K. Paul	borrowed	05/01/2007	10/18/2007	x
Scardown	Elizabeth Bear	bookstore	08/04/2007	10/25/2007	x
Coyote Dreams	C.E. Murphy	bookstore	08/04/2007	11/01/2007	x	x
Martriarch	Karen Traviss	bookstore	08/01/2006	11/15/2007	x
Summon the Keeper	Tanya Huff	Library	11/11/2007	12/01/2007	x
Swordspoint	Ellen Kushner	Library	12/03/2007	12/19/2007	x
The Second Summoning	Tanya Huff	Library	12/03/2007	12/20/2007	x
The Short Victorious War: We Love Our Honor	David Weber	borrowed	04/25/2007	12/29/2007	x	x
American Gods	Neil Gaiman	bookshelf	05/15/2005	12/31/2007	x	x

Call to Arms for Dvorak Users Everywhere!

Having come clean about my activist status, I might as well encourage others in it as well :). About three years ago, my parents gave me a Palm with a Belkin wireless keyboard. I've gotten extensive use out of it for critting and writing in that time, but one tiny aspect annoys me. They don't offer a Dvorak driver.

I spoke to them about this lack when I first got it and didn't get much of a response. However, I thought maybe after so much time had passed, I would see if they'd finally done something. Umm, nope.

So I wrote tech support, pointing out once again the advantages of the Dvorak layout and that many people have turned to it to avoid or survive repetitive stress injuries.

Something got through because they redirected me to QA (quality assurance), who then told me it wasn't in the plans. I asked if it could be requested, reiterating my logic, and the gentlemen said he'd put in a feature request.

Now general rule of thumb is that for every one person who speaks up, there are 10-40 people who either don't buy the product or suffer in silence. Since PDAs are a common writer's tool, especially with folding keyboards, and more writers are discovering Dvorak every day, it would be to the advantage of many if Belkin (who puts out a very good keyboard that is compatible with many PDA types) were to wake up and smell the roses.

So, if you're a PDA user who types in Dvorak and either has a Belkin keyboard or would be interested in one that does Dvorak, could you drop them a line at their website (link below). The more people who request it, the more likely we'll be steaming along at full speed on our PDAs in the near future :).

http://www.belkin.com/support/contact/email/Default.aspx

Isolationist Activist

Wow, that's bizarre. I just had a realization. Okay, maybe it doesn't come as a surprise to those who know me or who consider the pattern of my life, but apparently, I'm an activist :). Not in any big way, but in a myriad of little ones. If a sign's unclear, if I find a bug in someone's software, if a policy is working against itself, I do something. My most recent act was to point out poor wording in the Gather.com privacy policy that could come across as big brotherish. Not that they'll necessarily change anything, but so many people don't say anything, assuming it won't make a difference when sometimes it does.

A friend mentioned that the system in her university of informing graduate students of their obligations was convoluted (like this sentence ;)) and useless. My immediate reaction was that she should do something about it. If not to help herself, then for all those poor souls coming after.

Now talking to strangers, getting people to listen, creating change? These are all things that give me the shivers. I'm an isolationist, an introvert whose dream for years was of living in a cabin in the woods with my cats cut off from everything and everyone. I'm not that isolationist anymore, but my circle hasn't grown all that wider and certainly doesn't cover standing on the court house steps with strangers waving a flag.

On the other hand, my mother taught me when I was about seventeen that if you have to do it more than once, automate. Okay, that was batch files and computers, but the principle remains and has been a guiding force for me. When something's broken, I'll help fix it, when people are wasting time, I'll pop in to offer a suggestion (yeah, not always gracefully received ;)).

I guess that sounds a bit like a busybody, but that's not really an accurate portrayal. It's more that life is too short to waste on inefficiency, and even if it isn't going to help me, I know it'll help people coming afterward.

Anyway, just thought I'd share this revelation. Apparently it's possible to be an activist, to make change, to better the world (okay, that's probably overstating it ;)), even when you're an introverted isolationist who'd prefer to leave the house for a forest than a movie theater any day. On the other hand, I am a geek and computers allow me to stay isolated and reach out all at once. Maybe the answer is that the Internet has changed the definition of activist, changed the profile so it can be expanded to include isolationists like me :).

Or maybe it's just another side of the grumpy isolationist. If I make it more efficient and clear, I won't have to deal with as many frustrated people? Who knows? Now I'm laughing at myself and wondering if I should even post this vague ramble but hey, you haven't seen a vague ramble from me in a bit, so here it is :D.

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Old Book Review Sidebar

Well, I did the blog review reform thing a while back, but I kept the sidebar because...I don't know, lazy maybe :). Keeping the books changing when I read one to two a week though has become just as not happening as the reviews. In fact, the reviews happen more often than the sidebar gets updated. So, this is the first of two new "book" posts. This is just an archive of my previous comments and a quick link to the reviews. I'll put a link to this post in the sidebar so it's easy to find.

The second is something I'm stealing from a friend who stole it from a group. Basically, I'm starting to track my to read pile in a spreadsheet. I'll make one post that I'll also point to in the sidebar. This will contain a table with my TBR pile contents and their status. Who knows, maybe people will poke me as to what should bubble up to the top first.

Read and Enjoyed

• The Privateer
  Jon Williams: My hubby has been recommending the series. It is by Walter Jon Williams under a penname and if you love sea tales like Hornblower and Ramage, you should give this a try.


• Almost A Lady
  Jane Feather: Bantam Books Advanced Reader copy


• Bitten and Smitten
  Michelle Rowen: Won in a blog contest.


• Midnight Rain
  Holly Lisle: Because Holly has never let me down yet.

Read and Reviewed

• WarChild(R)
  Karin Lowachee: I have heard a lot about this book, especially on the Online Writers Workshop listserv and so wanted to give it a try.


• Into the Fire(R)
  Jessica Hall: What can I say, I like them :).


• Heat of the Moment(R)
  Jessica Hall: Her growing skill continues to amaze me.


• Diplomacy of Wolves(R)
  Holly Lisle: I just felt like reading a good Holly fantasy and I have had these on my shelf waiting for a bit.


• Vengence of Dragons(R)
  Holly Lisle: And I could not stop at just one :).


• Courage of Falcons(R)
  Holly Lisle: Or even two.


• His One-Night Mistress(R)
  Sandra Field: For the Harlequin We Hear You reader survey program.


• Blackmailed into Marriage(R)
  Lucy Monroe: For the Harlequin We Hear You reader survey program.


• If Angels Burn(R)
  Lynn Viehl: I read this first in the author proof and felt that medium had not given me the chance to absorb the book properly.


• Ghosts in the Snow(R)
  Tamara Siler Jones: Tambo is an FM friend and the concept sounded fun.


• Hard Contact (Star Wars Republic Commando(R)
  Karen Traviss: Because Karen asked me to ;)


• Talyn(R)
  Holly Lisle: Cause it's a Holly book :).


• The Kissing Blades(R)
  Jessica Hall: I had to know what happened with Sean Delaney :). This is the third in the White Tiger Swords Trilogy.


• A Girl Named Disaster(R)
  Nancy Farmer: Suggested because I am writing a feral character and this book is about a girl who goes feral.


• Left Horse Black(R)
  S.J. Reisner: Another FM friend and I won it in her contest


• Dragonsblood(R)
  Todd McCaffrey: My husband picked it out in the library because I have always read Pern


• What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew
  Daniel Pool: Recommended on Forward Motion for research into the 19th century(R)


• Afterburn(R)
  S.L. Viehl: I could not miss out on a Sheila book, now could I?


• Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons(R)
  Lorna Landvik: This is the first book for my book club.


• Old Boyfriends(R)
  : For the Harlequin We Hear You reader survey program.


• Shaman's Crossing(R)
  Robin Hobb: Another reader review and another author I am adding to my buy list.


• Crucible(R)
  Nancy Kress: Nancy Kress rarely disappoints me. Her cultural and political tangles are fascinating.


• Paradise Island(R)
  Gena Hale: I have enjoyed other works by Sheila Kelly and wanted to try these too.


• City of Pearl(R)
  Karen Traviss: Read the second through the reader review program and enjoyed it so much I wanted to read the first.


• Dream Mountain(R)
  Gena Hale: I have enjoyed other works by Sheila Kelly and wanted to try these too.


• Gods Old and Dark(R)
  Holly Lisle: I had read the rest of the series and could not wait.