Update on "To Be Read" pile

A while back, I lamented the fact that my TBR pile had reached untold heights and was quickly overtaking my little house. I am happy to report that I am slowly catching up on those untold pleasures (having some extra time while I’m looking for work will do that for you). So, in the last eight days, I have read six books, cover to cover….and now, I can’t seem to get enough. Yes, my eyes are blurry and feel like they’re filled with sand but that’s okay. I love my Kindle though. I can make the type bigger so I can keep on reading.

             

So what have I read? I finished Caris Roane’s Burning Skies (love how she writes), Terri Brisbin’s Mistress of the Storm (my first one of hers…there will be more), Kathryne Kennedy’s The Lady of the Storm (excellent); Erin Quinn’s Haunting Beauty (beautifully written), Elizabeth Hoyt’s Wicked Intentions and To Seduce a Sinner (both of which I loved) and I just started Stormwalker by Allyson James.

            

Have I worked on my own books? Not as much as I probably should have (I have a Civil War story I’m working on, but it’s making me pull my hair out) but my TBR pile is shrinking and I am pleased. So, what are you reading? Anything you want to recommend?

As always, happy reading!

Marie

For a chance to win either COWBOY DAD by Cathy McDavid, GRAYSON by Delores Fossen, or BLAZING BEDTIME STORIES VOLUME VI by Tori Carrington and Kate Hoffman, leave a comment and tell Marie what you are reading or what you would recommend :-)

A Book By Any Other Name?

As Shakespeare says, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.” So would a book by any other name be as good? YES. The question lies in whether it would sell. How important is a title to a romance reader buying a book?

As for myself, when it’s time to find a new book to read, I start with my favorite authors. If they have a new one out, I buy it. I don’t read the title or the back cover. But what about when I look for a new author to try, then the title matters . . . somewhat. Okay, maybe it’s really the cover that catches my eye.

However, there are a few titles that have drawn me in over the years because they were different. WHITNEY, MY LOVE by Judith McNaught caught my attention, as did Jennifer Ashley’s THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE. Another romance I read simply because I thought the title was clever was Angie Fox’s THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER. But I have to admit, these are few and far between.

I guess the title matters for me when it gives me an idea about what the book is about. For example, if I’m in a Scottish mood (which happens a lot), my eye naturally travels to titles with the word “highland” in them. If a swashbuckling adventure is more my wish, then of course I look for “pirate” or “sea.” There are many other words in titles that give us an immediate impression: demon, cowboy, bite, warrior, wolf, knight, just to name a few.

So does the title really matter? Will you buy one book over another because of the title? Does the title influence your decision to read the book? Does it call you to pick it up and read the back cover? Let me know.