Three things I forgot to remember

At least I didn't wait four days, this time:

I'm over-posting, tonight, mostly because everyone's gone and I can get away with it. This is important enough for a 3rd post, though:

The latest issue of Estella's Revenge is all fresh and new, ready for your reading enjoyment! I've got one article and one review in this one. I decided against cross-posting the Queen of the Road review, so you have to raise and lower your clicking finger if you'd like to read my thoughts on Queen of the Road.

And another thing:


What the heck is that Wild Card button in my sidebar all about? I think it deserves an explanation before I go further with Wild Card reviews and posts. FirstWild is a group whose members tour Christian titles and its participants use a standard posting design. All of the bloggers who read for FirstWild fetch the same HTML material -- which includes a brief bio of the author(s) and a complete chapter from the tour book -- to post on a pre-set date. We don't all read the same titles, but everyone who receives the same book posts that excerpt on the same day.

Now, some of you already know this . . . I tend to go against the flow. I like reading a chapter excerpt elsewhere, but I kind of don't like having to use someone else's standard format on my blog. However, Christian fiction is a genre into which I've been planning to throw myself a little more and FirstWild is a great way to do so. My intent is to join in on the first-chapter posting on the specified date and keep my personal review separate. That means first-chapter posts may not coincide with my reviews of the titles. Depending on when I finish reading a book, the review may show up either before or after the standardized full-chapter post. I'm telling you all of this because I recall thinking the format was kind of odd the first time I saw it. And, you know I live to keep y'all informed.

Because most everyone said they like to know whether a book is "preachy" or the Christianity is more of a product of characterization than a major thematic element, I'll continue to relate my thoughts on the preachiness aspect if it really stands out, one way or another. The weight of religious elements is something I tend to babble about regardless of what religion we're talking about -- and that includes atheism.

Last, but not least:

I'm going to begin posting very briefly about books that don't work for me if they've been received for review. The idea is to share why I didn't finish reading a book and let readers know who I believe might enjoy reading the titles that haven't grabbed me. The purpose is to grant myself permission not to finish books that don't interest me but still give review books exposure. I've occasionally sent DNF titles to friends I think would enjoy them and who are willing to review. I'll probably never stop sending books all over the place; but, as I was reading my annual review post I realized there were far too many titles that I completed out of a sense of obligation. Hopefully, we can shoot down that guilt balloon with a DNF-post dart.

There will be a DNF post coming up soon, actually (there's a reason the concept crossed my mind). You have been warned. No, that wasn't an evil laugh -- that was your cat/dog/hamster/parrot coughing.

Confession of the week: I bought some grape-scented bath fizzies for kids and I really get a kick out of watching the little dinosaur in each egg "hatch" as the bath fizzy disintigrates. Truly, things like that should not be wasted on children alone.

I'm going to bed now, really. I mean it.