Another Year, Another Post!

The road to hell being paved with good intentions and all that, I've intended to blog again before a year went by, but blew that. Now that I have WiFi @ home, it should be a lot easier, but I've been streaming a lot of movies and TV shows on my computer, and it's kinda hard to write while viewing.

I've had mixed success with Bookcrossing since moving to New Hampshire, especially to the town where I now reside - Litchfield. Before coming here, I spent 5 years in a place called Amherst, near Nashua & Manchester, and had access to an Official Bookcrossing Zone (OBCZ). As luck would have it, as I was relocating, my OBCZ changed hands and while I guess there is still Bookcrossing activity going on, it's not the way it used to be. The place used to be a very nice café, and on any given day, one could find lots of BC books. Matter of fact, that's how I discovered BC, through this establishment. Then the owner sold it to her head chef and he made it more of a bistro/restaurant, not etirely conducive to BC activity.

I don't like going to Nashua or Manchester for BC activity, so I've not been doing a lot of wild-releasing or even book searching. I've been content to perform controlled releases, combined with the so-called RABCK (Random Act of BookCrossing Kindness), whereby I mail a book to another Bookcrosser who had a certain book on his/her Wishlist. This way I'm guaranteed that someone gets a book he/she wanted. I've had very bad luck here with wild releases.

Money being tight and the US Postal Service being the rip-off it is, I've limited myself to sending books within the Continental US (CONUS, as we called it while I was in the military), but I will make the odd exception and send something overseas, especially if it's a book that is very difficult to acquire. The past couple of months, I've sent books to the UK, Australia and South Africa. I have German books I'd like to mail to Germany (or any German speaker in any country), but have no takers for the right now. I need to go back to Germany to visit so I can do some wild releases there! Always had great luck with a wild release in Germany.

As I mentioned on my profile page on Bookcrossing, I am NOT a great fan of murder mysteries or thrillers, but I make exceptions. My good BC friend, TheOtherMrsH in Kentucky, is a big mystery fan, and I obtain books for her. Sometimes I read 'em, sometimes I don't.

TOMH reads the Janet Evanovich "Stphanie Plum" series, and I've send her copies of paperbacks from time to time. I'm not a fan by any means, but have read a few because I'd run out of stuff to read at the house.

During the past 2 months, I've read Plum books #1-3, #8, and now #17 and #18. I don't understand the big deal. Stephanie Plum is a dolt and by all rights, she should be dead, considering all the close calls she's had. I enjoyed #17 more than #18, which isn't saying much, but don't want to read any more.

Never in my life have I read so many dining scenes in a book! The Plums are constantly eating, or Stephanie is taking a break from bounty hunting to go get grub somewhere, and we're not talking Fine Dining by any means! I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly don't want to have to stop reading a book 'cause I'm hungry!

Coincidentally, I got a copy of "Plum Spooky" (a Between the Numbers book) which I actually enjoyed, which lead me to her new series called "Lizzie & Diesel" which at the moment has 2 books to its name. Taking place in Salem, MA, the books deal with a woman named Elizabeth who works as a baker and a kinda enchanted guy called Diesel, who is on a quest of sorts. It's all spelled out on Evanovich's website. Check out www.evanovich.com/novels/wicked-series/ for more details. Or not.

Having said the "H" word, I'm off to get breakfast and maybe feed the cats as well.