And it’s my own fault. But part of it was a sense of mourning. Many of the bloggers I started out with are no longer blogging. Remy was the first to go after the birth of his child. Then Katie’s blog went dark. Chris the Book Swede suffered a death in his family and never really came back. Mulluane got tired of dialup connection with no possibility of getting anything better. But Aidan is still out there, and Robert, and John, and people who started blogging before me, like Ken and Theresa and Angela and Pat. And there are some new superstars, like Thea and Ana, and Heather, who show us all how it should be done.

To everyone, I can only say, it’s not you. I don’t even follow my own web stats anymore.

But when I read Robert’s wonderful news, I realized that I’ve missed that sense of community. And so I can only say, I’m sorry. I need to figure out ways to make better use of my time. I have Google Reader, but I follow way too many blogs, and I’m constantly falling behind. Any suggestions for a better news reader? I often look at blogs using my ipod touch these days, but I’m using Google Reader there as well, which might be part of the problem.

Do you run a blog? I have a Google Group around book blogging that I started way back in the old days, and which doesn’t get a lot of activity anymore. I could attempt to revive that. Maybe we can get a blog circle thing going.

Blogging is my social network of choice. I tweet a little, but not much. I let Twitter feed most of my Facebook posts. And I don’t keep up with my GoodReads account. I’m a blogger at heart. Advice is appreciated.

So here is where I post about where you can find me elsewhere.

I was away on vacation when John over at Grasping for the Wind posted his latest Inside the Blogosphere post, so I missed it. I went and rooted around on his site to find it, and here it is:

Who Introduced You to a Love of Literature?

My entry is toward the bottom.

Also, I was astonished to learn that Jeff Vandermeer quoted me at length in his latest nonfiction book. In Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer, he quotes something I had to say on his blog about how I respond to authors who try to make a personal connection with me. He also gave a nice introduction to my old blog, Fantasy Debut. This news comes to me by way of Albert A. Dalia, who wrote to me about his novel, Dream of the Dragon Pool – A Daoist Quest. Albert wrote to me after reading Jeff’s book.

This book looks useful for all you writers out there. I know I’m going to order a copy.

And lastly, yes, I am now using Barnes & Noble links. I didn’t blog about the AmazonFail last week, but kept up with it just the same. I thought it was a ridiculous move to remove buy buttons from Macmillan authors because of a disagreement they had with Macmillan. This includes Tor, one of my favorite publishers, so I was especially indignant.

A while back, I promised to start blogging about books that I have not finished reading for one reason or another. Since I have not traded or given these away yet, I have not given up on them entirely.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. Someone at the London publishing house (Harper Press) sent me this novel, and I really feel bad for not finishing it, but I’m finding it kind of strange. It’s written in the present tense — which I often find difficult outside of the thriller genre — and the plot was a bit meandering. Since last spring brought on a crush of novels in the mail, I tended to set aside novels that I found too difficult to get into. However, if I was not a reviewer, I probably would have kept reading. Here’s the blurb:

Look into the lace . . . When the eyes begin to fill with tears and the patience is long exhausted, there will appear a glimpse of something not quite seen… In this moment, an image will begin to form . . . in the space between what is real and what is only imagined.

Can you read your future in a piece of lace? All of the Whitney women can. But the last time Towner read, it killed her sister and nearly robbed Towner of her own sanity. Vowing never to read lace again, her resolve is tested when faced with the mysterious, unsolvable disappearance of her beloved Great Aunt Eva, Salem’s original Lace Reader. Told from opposing and often unreliable perspectives, the story engages the reader’s own beliefs. Should we listen to Towner, who may be losing her mind for the second time? Or should we believe John Rafferty, a no nonsense New York detective, who ran away from the city to a simpler place only to find himself inextricably involved in a psychic tug of war with all three generations of Whitney women? Does either have the whole story? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the swirling pattern of the lace?

Now of course, this book is a big bestseller. I do plan on finishing it one day.

Griffin’s Shadow by Leslie Ann Moore. I really enjoyed the first book, Griffin’s Daughter, and I recently promised the author’s publicist that I would try reading this novel again in anticipation of reading her third. I find it hard to give the reasons why I stopped reading this one without giving a lot of plot points away. Basically, I found the main character quite sympathetic in the first novel, but her situation has changed in the second novel, and I’m not as compelled. Plus, it’s hard to keep a romance interesting once the two characters have married.

Long ago the world was saved. The key to destruction was hidden. Now it is back concealed in a young girl.

Griffin’s Shadow continues the adventure of Jelena, a mixed race outcast raised as a servant who has found a new home among the elves. But her peaceful life is shattered as war looms and the power of the Nameless One grows. Set amidst shocking betrayals and uneasy alliances, hers is a story of courage and enduring love in the face of adversity.

Griffin’s Shadow is the second book in the award winning Griffin’s Daughter Trilogy. This epic tale tells of a young girl trying to find love and acceptance in a world of magic and adventure.

Publishers Weekly gave this novel quite a good review.

The King’s Gambit by John Maddox Roberts. I’m still barely into this one, but it’s slow going. The setting of Ancient Rome is quite attractive to me, and it’s the reason I bought the first two books in the series. However, I’m having a hard time connecting to the main character. He has surprisingly few connections, there are no female characters so far, and the mystery he is involved in isn’t very compelling to me. I do intend to keep reading.

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder–the glory that was Rome.

In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes readers back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike, so the garroting of a lowly ex-slaved and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger–highborn commander of the local vigiles–was determined to investigate. Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threates, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

The Hunt for Dark Infinity by James Dashner. I really loved the first book in this series, The Journal of Curious Letters, and this is the second book. I’m finding it very bleak, and without a lot of the charm from the first novel. The main characters find them in one awful situation after another, and it is getting wearying. It feels a lot like plot filler at this point. I know. That was harsh. But this is often a problem in second novels.

For some reason, I was unable to find a blurb for this one.

A Cavern of Black Ice by J. V. Jones. This is actually my second reading. I wanted to reread this book so I can read the second book, A Fortress of Grey Ice. However, I am finding this thick book a very slow read. There’s a lot of character introspection that just gets wearying after a while. In one scene, a villain is climbing down some stairs while thinking dastardly thoughts. And he climbs. And he thinks. And he climbs. And he thinks. For pages and pages. I find it hard to believe that this is the same author who wrote The Barbed Coil, a book that I love very much. Maybe she wanted to join the Bookstop Fantasy Novelist club.

And dang, that came out snarky.

New topic!

The new Paksenarrion novel — Oath of Fealty — is coming out soon, and I am so looking forward to reading it. When I think of all the wonderful novels that Elizabeth Moon has written since her original Deed of Paksenarrion, and when I think of how much her writing has undoubtedly improved since then (The Speed of Dark was wonderful) I am just all a-twitter. The cover is so beautiful; check it out at Barnes & Noble.

The first novel in the first series, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, is available for download at the Suvudu Free Library!

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should do the ultimate fan thing, and re-read (and review) all of the novels in anticipation of the big release? If I didn’t have all these other wonderful novels that were sent to me for free, I would seriously consider it!

I’ve been lazy this week, plus you’re seeing the effects of my vacation last week. I write most of my posts on the weekend, and last weekend I only had time for the one post that’s been up all week, due to my way-fun vacation.

I’ve been reading The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry, and I’ve been enjoying it enough to start Reading and Tweeting on it. Look for the hashtag @manualofdetection. (I try to make them obvious). Jedediah Berry tweets as well, plus he has a cool website that looks worth exploring.

I have been working on other stuff, including arranging an interview and writing a post on book on my unfinished-but-I-still-want-to-finsh-them-someday shelf.

I do have a question for you. I’ve had a request to do that Writer Wednesday post on sex scenes, but I’m having trouble thinking of an appropriate author to have as guest. I want someone you will get excited about, who actually writes sex scenes, and who hasn’t been here before. Trouble is, the two genres that I read the most often — fantasy and mystery — aren’t known for their sex scenes, so I can’t think of anyone.

Can you recommend someone? I’d prefer to have someone who blogs, because an author who blogs is the most likely to enjoy this sort of thing. Thanks!