Top Five Things I Hate About a Book

I was recently chatting with a friend about what we love and hate about books and series. This made me think about the things that make me want to scream in frustration about a book. I'm not talking about the content, but the ACTUAL book, as an object. So here are the five things that I hate about a book, in no particular order:

• Hardbacks

I know all the reasons why hardbacks are better than paperbacks. The binding is done more carefully, the paper that's used has a higher quality, the book has a better chance of remaining in good, if not perfect, conditions over the years. I know all that. But the hardbacks are so huge and heavy! For a girl used to carry one book in her  bag, a hardback is inconvenient, especially since my bags are small. And let's face it. If you're in college and you want to read during class,  you need a paperback. Less chances of getting caught with those small books :D

• Dust jackets

I've always had a problem with dust jackets. I always tear them or bend them or, even worse, loose them. I like my covers attached to the book. 

• Paper errors

This sometimes happens with manuals or text books. When there's one page (or more) where there's a lot of extra paper in one corner and it's bent in a really odd shape. I know I can cut it, but I'm weird about books and scissors near each other.

• Price tags

This is something I often find in bookshops, small or big. They stick the price tag directly on the cover. Sometimes I manage to take it off nicely, sometimes I don't. Why would you stick something on the book? I'm crazy like that, yes. 

• Size

When it comes to series, my OCD takes over any rational thought. Some of the series I have (like The Southern Vampires and Lord of the Rings) have books the same height and width. And I'm so happy with that. Others, like Harry Potter, aren't the same size. You might blame the edition. It's not. It's the same edition, only the guys who published Harry Potter in my country decided the last 4 books were too big for paperbacks so they made those 4 books hardbacks. While I grumbled and whined and moaned at that, at least they were acceptably big, not weapon-like huge. BUT. It wasn't enough they changed from paperback to hardback, they changed the shape for books 6 and 7. So now I have 3 paperbacks, 2 hardbacks that look like actual bricks, and 2 hardbacks that are smaller in width and the spines are rounder and softer-looking. And before you asked, no, they didn't publish a paperback version for those 4 books, only hardbacks. I like my books to look like they actually belong in a series. Not to mention that I love to be able to arrange them in  order. *blush* I did say I'm a freak!

• White Paper

The white paper...it bugs me. I have really sensitive eyes and the white paper makes it uncomfortable to read sometimes. I have to read books with white paper in certain conditions for my eyes not to hurt. And I can't read with my glasses on *oops*


Keep in mind though, just because a book has one or all of the above "qualities" doesn't immediately mean I won't read it. The exterior has nothing to do with the content of the book. If I don't find another version of the book, one that isn't a hardback or with a dust jacket, then I'll silently curse my luck and still buy it, because ultimately it's the content that matters. So this is my bitching about the book as an object. Is there something that bugs you in a book as an object, not it's content.

Top 5 TV Couples: My favorite

Bo & Dyson (Lost Girl)

I just discovered this series, but I think it's one of the best supernatural series out there. I'm so happy I've discovered it. I was also very amazed to see it wasn't inspired by any book. Also, I love the fresh take on supernatural beings. That being said, I love Bo and Dyson together. They are very sexy, funny and cute. And they make a great team, even if they're mad at each other.

Tony & Ziva (NCIS)

I'm so in love with Tony and Ziva. Though I didn't like her at first, to be honest. I didn't like the way Kate left the show, so maybe that colored my view of Ziva. But I do believe Tony and Ziva are perfect for each other. 

Castle &Beckett (Castle)

What can I say about these two? I think Castle helps Beckett be a better person and he reminds her that life can be fun. He's a good influence and I really can't imagine of someone better for her. And I think she's the first "normal" woman he's ever been with. 

Morgan & Garcia (Criminal Minds)

These two are the main reason why I watch the show. While in itself, it's an amazing show and I love it, the scenes with Morgan and Garcia are the ones that keep me coming back episode after episode. Even though I know this is one of those really special, unique friendships that happen to a few people, I do believe they'd make an awesome couple.

Damon & Elena (The Vampire Diaries)

I love these two together. I hope they end up together soon and that they stay together. I think Damon's way better than his brother, he's genuine. He's not the bad guy in this story, even when he feeds Elena his blood for the wrong reasons (though I was so glad he did it :P ) And he really loves her, enough to let her be with his brother if that's what makes her happy. 

Other couples I love: Booth & Bones (Bones); Dean & Jo (Supernatural); Gibbs & Jenny (NCIS); Emily & Jack (Revenge); Alex & Sean (Nikita).

What are your favorite TV couples?

Ruby's most expected books for 2012

I know it's probably too early for this list. I mean, there are another three weeks left of this year, but I like to be prepared. I was going through last year's list and I realized I didn't get to read all the books I had planned. Yet. I still have time, right? I know I probably won't manage to list all the books I can't wait to read in 2012, but I'll give you the Top 10. So here it is:


1. Lothaire by Kresley Cole

ALL FEAR THE ENEMY OF OLD

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness—until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience.

A DEADLY FORCE DWELLS WITHIN HER

Growing up in desperate poverty, Ellie Peirce yearned for a better life, never imagining she’d be convicted of murder—or that an evil immortal would abduct her from death row. But Lothaire is no savior, as he himself plans to sacrifice Ellie in one month’s time. And yet the vampire seems to ache for her touch, showering her with wealth and sexual pleasure. In a bid to save her soul, Ellie surrenders her body to the wicked vampire, while vowing to protect her heart.

CENTURIES OF COLD INDIFFERENCE SHATTERED

Elizabeth tempts Lothaire beyond reason, as only his fated mate could. As the month draws to a close, he must choose between a millennia-old blood vendetta and his irresistible prisoner. Will Lothaire succumb to the miseries of his past . . . or risk everything for a future with her?

2. A Hint of Frost by Hailey Edwards

Hope dangles by a silken thread.
Araneae Nation, Book 1
When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan’s new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.
Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys’s first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.
Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes’s sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she’s worth her silk or if she’s spun the thread by which her clan will hang.
Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, “What does dragon taste like?” Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

3. Evermine by Hailey Edwards

He can be a slave to his past…or allow her love to free him.
Daughters of Askara, Book 2
There’s such a thing as too much change. Emma’s sister is mated. Revolution is brewing in her home realm. The last straw: her would-be mate is back from the dead and back under her skin—yet when it comes to the last five years, he’s not talking.
Desperate for a chance to start her own life, she answers the queen’s call to ensure equality for all of Askara’s newly freed slaves. It’s the perfect opportunity to escape a heartbreak in the making named Harper.
Harper loses a piece of his fractured soul when Emma walks away. His lies were meant to protect her from torturous years that drove him to the point of madness. Instead, when he comes to her a year later to help avert a crisis in a freed-slave community, the wedge those lies drove between them is firmly in place.
As their new lives collide with old wounds, they race to stop a threat that could not only destroy the queen, but send Harper back to the hell he escaped. Emma must decide if the man she still loves deserves equal rights to her heart.
Warning: This title contains torn pants, ripped gowns, and sand in uncomfortable places. It also includes one overcompensating villain, one gnarly priest, and two battered hearts willing to give this thing called love one last chance.

4. Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters. Now Nick’s saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume...

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive such a difficulty? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known.

Or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about.

Even himself.

5. Time Untime by Sherrilyn Kenyon

The Mayans aren’t the only ones with a 2012 prophecy…

Long before recorded history, there was a warrior so feared that everyone trembled before his wrath. Only a brutal betrayal by the one closest to him could defeat him. But not even death was the end of a man so strong.

The Time Untime approaches…

Kateri Avani has been plagued her entire life with dreams she doesn’t understand. Images of places she’s never been and of a man she’s never seen. Her quest for answers has driven her to Las Vegas where she hopes to finally silence the demons in her mind.

What she never anticipates is coming face to face with the warrior who has haunted her her entire life.

Ren Waya came back from the dead to keep the prophecy he began from coming true and ending the world. For thousands of years, he has fought the same evil that once possessed him. But now that evil has brought back the one person he can’t fight. The one person who once held the most sacred part of him.

His heart.

But if he doesn’t kill Kateri, the deadliest of evils will reemerge and destroy everyone else on the planet. It was a sacrifice he made once.

Will he be able to make it again?

6. Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward

Tohrment, the Brother who had it all, but lost everything to the enemy, is destined for a second chance at love and life. But will the past and his bitterness hold him back?

7. Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton

If you want to score, you have to get in the game…

The last thing Jenna Riley needs is more sports in her life. While her brothers are off being athletic superstars, she’s stuck running the family’s sports bar, whether she likes it or not. Then in walks pro hockey stud Tyler Anderson. As much as Jenna would like to go to the boards with him, she’s vowed to never fall for a jock—even one as hot as Ty.

Ty, intrigued by the beautiful bar owner, becomes a regular. He senses that Jenna wants to do something more with her life. And as he gains her trust, the passion between them grows, as does Ty’s insistence that Jenna should start living for herself. With his encouragement, Jenna starts to believe it, too…

But first, Jenna has to figure out what she wants, what she needs, who she loves, and if she has the passion and pride to take a shot at having it all—including Ty…

8. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

I've lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!!


Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

9. Shadow's Stand by  Sarah McCarty

Husband of convenience. Lover by choice.

Shadow Ochoa is lying low in the western Kansas Territory, waiting for his fellow Texas Rangers—the Hell’s Eight brotherhood— to clear his name. That is, until he’s unjustly strung up for horse thieving...and pretty Fei Yen intervenes. Invoking a seldom-used law, the exotic lady prospector claims Shadow as her husband
and rides off with the bridegroom shackled to her buckboard.

Savvy, fearless Fei is single-mindedly devoted to her hidden claim and all it promises: wealth, security and freedom. A husband is just a necessary inconvenience and a name on paper to hold the claim she cannot.

Shadow isn’t a man to take orders from anyone, especially from lovely Fei—except that the daily friction between them ignites into nightly blazes of all-consuming passion. Soon Shadow is dreaming a little himself: of the life they could have if only Fei could see past the lure of independence. If only bounty hunters weren’t closing in on him. If only he’s left standing when the impending showdown has ended....

10. Kissin' Tell by Lorelei James

There's no cover yet for the next story in the Rough Riders series, but I still can't wait for it. I mean, it's a McKay story! *squees*


Anyway, this is a short version of my "Can't wait to read in 2012 books" list. It's bigger and I have this feeling that it will be getting bigger by the end of the year. So, have you decided already what you want to read in the upcoming year?

Ruby's most anticipated books this year

I have an obsession. The very first week of the new year I start a list with my most anticipated books for that year. Since my list is very very long, I'll stick with Top 10 for each category. Here is my Top 10 books that I cannot wait to get published:

1.  Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Blurb (Goodreads):

"Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse...

Nick Gautier’s day just keeps getting better and better. Yeah, he survived the zombie attacks, only to wake up and find himself enslaved to a world of shapeshifters and demons out to claim his soul.

His new principal thinks he’s even more of a hoodlum than the last one, his coach is trying to recruit him to things he can’t even mention and the girl he’s not seeing, but is, has secrets that terrify him.

But more than that, he’s being groomed by the darkest of powers and if he doesn’t learn how to raise the dead by 

 the end of the week, he will become one of them..."

2. Live Wire By Lora Leigh

 Blurb (Goodreads):

Meet Captain Jordan Malone. For years he has been a silent warrior and guardian, operating independent of government protocol or oversight, leading his team of Elite Ops agents to fight against terror at all costs. A legend in the field, Jordan’s true identity has remained a mystery even to his own men...until now.
Tehya Talamosi, codename Enigma, is a force to be reckoned with A woman this striking spells nothing but trouble for Jordan. Armed with killer secrets-and body to die for-she’ll bring Jordan to his knees as they both take on the most deadly mission they have ever faced. Because this time, it’s personal..."

3. The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

Blurb (Goodreads):

"Football pro Mick Riley is an all-star, both on the field and in the bedroom. But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him off his game…

For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara’s not interested in getting to know football’s most notorious playboy any better.

As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara’s life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick’s latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn’t intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.

But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.

Isn’t it just yummy?"

4. Lover Unleashed  by J. R. Ward

 Blurb (Goodreads):

"Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury. 

Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. 

With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates them?"

5. The Chase by Erin McCarthy

Blurb (Goodreads):

"Kendall Holbrook is determined to make it to the top, even with the challenge of being a woman on the male-dominated racing circuit. She doesn't have time for romance-especially not with racing rival Evan Monroe, the man who nearly crushed her dream years ago. Tricked into meeting him, Kendall is experiencing all those old feelings again-and she can't deny that they still have enough chemistry to set fire to the track."

6. A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicky Lewis Thompson

 Blurb (Goodreads):

"Emma Gavin writes about werewolves, but that doesn't mean she believes in them-not until a pack of real-life New York weres decide to investigate the striking accuracy of her "fiction".

When Aiden Wallace, son and heir of the pack leader, tries to sniff out Emma's potential informant, he discovers something even more dangerous- an undeniable attraction to her."

7. Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon

Blurb (Goodreads):

"The story of two very different women, one mortal, one mermaid, and the clash between worlds best kept apart... It is a cold day at the end of the world when a young woman, a princess in hiding, looks out across a Northern sea and sees something she could not have seen. It looks...it can't be. It looks like a mermaid's tail. And, as she looks more closely, she sees that the mermaid is dragging a drowning sailor in her arms. Because, only hours before, another princess, the daughter of the sea queen, has decided to risk everything and take a look at the world above the sea: the world of mortals. And there she finds a storm, a shipwreck, a sailor, and sets in train events which will change both women's worlds forever."

8. Dead Reconing by Charlaine Harris

Blurb (Goodreads):

"With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . "

9. Citadel by Kate Mosse

"LABYRINTH took us to the walled city of Carcassonne, SEPULCHRE travelled to the mysterious town of Rennes les Bains, now CITADEL transports us right to the southern-most edge of France - and to an amazing adventure set at key points in history in this scarred land right on the Spanish border.Combining the rugged action of LABYRINTH with the haunting mystery of SEPULCHRE, CITADEL is a story of daring and courage, of lives risked for beliefs, of unlocking secrets buried by time. Through history, this 'green land washed red by blood' has seen so much - not least the bravery of the men and women who smuggled exiles out of occupied France and away from the Nazi regime over the border into Spain. In CITADEL, Kate Mosse once again sets out to captivate the reader with the people at the heart of ancient struggles, to bring alive places and times unknown to us and to keep us on the edge of our seats with an amazing story."

10. Redemption by Sherrilyn Kenyon

"Harm no human...

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters and training for the day when she meets the man who killed her family: Jess Brady.
A gun in the hand is worth two in the holster...

Jess has been charged with finding and terminating the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings, but when that face bears a striking resemblance to the one who murdered him centuries ago, he knows something evil is going on. He also knows he’s not the one who killed her parents. But Abigail refuses to believe the truth and is determined to see him dead once and for all.

Brought together by an angry god and chased by ancient enemies out to kill them both, they must find a way to overcome their mutual hatred or watch as one of the darkest of powers rises and kills both the races they’ve sworn to protect."