Apparently I don't have a lot of time to read these days. Or, more to the point, read anything that isn't in magazine format and therefore bite-sized and bathroom-friendly.

Which doesn't mean that I don't have a shopping list. I do. I'm not sure when I'll get to pick them up, but I will. And hey, if you get to them before me, please drop back here and let me know what you think!

Books In Stores Now:

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Next book in the Vaughan's series about Kitty the werewolf. There is another one coming out in a couple of months, so I might just wait to pick them both up at the same time.

Outcast Season Book One Undone by Rachel Caine
This is the same author that contributed the Weather Warden series to my collection. I don't love all of her series - example: Morganville Vampires (the kind of heroine you want to shake) - but I'm willing to try this one out and see how I like it. Especially since I don't see another Weather Warden installment on the horizon any time soon.

Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
One of my favourite authors. Bitten is still one of my top 10 books on the I'm-out-of-new-books-what-can-I-read-now? list. Because of that, I want it. Will I get it in hardcover or wait until the paperback comes out? That I can't say - depends how desperate I get for something to read once I'm done with everything else. But whether it's the hardcover version (available now) or the paperback version (probably out in about a year), I'm sure I'll get it.

Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
I'm torn about this one. She is a great author. But much of this material was previously published online as a novella (although it's not up there anymore), and I read it back then. I might buy it anyway to support her, but ... maybe not right away. Sorry Kelley.

Books Out Soon:

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (due out February 13, 2009 on Indigo.ca and February 24, 2009 on Amazon.ca)
Well here is a surprise. I want the next book out in my favourite series, and I'm willing to buy it in hardcover to avoid having to wait. And it's being released at the end of the week -- woo hoo!!

Made to Be Brokenby Kelley Armstrong (due out February 24, 2009)
Finally! The next installment in the Exit Strategy series. I'm thinking I might need to re-read the first book in this as well in preparation. Always feel like I'm missing out on something when there is a lag of about a year between author releases. This series diverges from her Otherworld series, but I like it.

Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn (due out March 1, 2009)
Clearly, there is a list of pre-orders in my immediate future. Follows on the last Kitty the werewolf book, above. This girl just doesn't catch a break ... but it does make for interesting reading!

Second Skin by Caitlin Kittredge (due out March 3, 2009)
The next book in the Luna Wilder, police detective/werewolf mystery series. Can't wait. I think I'll re-read the entire series in preparation for this next installment.

Dead And Gone
Charlaine Harris (due out May 5, 2009)
I'm almost afraid to include this on my list. The last few books in this series have been hit and miss. Plus I'm still cranky about the tv series True Blood. Does that mean I won't buy this latest book in the Sookie Stackhouse series? Probably not. Might I wait until it's out in paperback? I might well do that.

Speak of the Devil by Jenna Black (due out July 28, 2009)
Argh! I have to wait until the summer for the next installment in this series! No fair. Also no plotline spoilers out for it yet. Sigh. Patience patience ...

I've been busy with my course and with life lately, so I've been spending more time reading alternative press magazines than I have actual books. In fairness, I'm about halfway through a thick book right now but with everything else that's going on I'm having trouble focusing on it.

So instead, and possibly for the next few blog posts, I'm going to share some series you might want to check out.

Today's contribution is the Kitty Goes To ... series by Carrie Vaughn. The good news, given that Ms. Vaughn seems to only release one book per calendar year, is that you don't have to wait for the first four. ;-)

This is a series with a strong female lead. Kitty is a werewolf -- but not by choice. When the first book opens, she has only been a wolf for a few short years having been bitten against her will. Throughout the series, she goes from being a submissive part of a pack led by a violent and abusive man to being a strong-minded person in her own right. She is also an online radio host of "The Midnight Hour", a call-in show for supes -- supernaturals. For those of you in Canada, think "Talking Sex With Sue" for the supernatural community.

Book 1: Kitty and the Midnight Hour
release date: November 1, 2005

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?



Book 2: Kitty Goes to Washington
release date: July 1, 2006

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Celebrity werewolf and late-night radio host Kitty Norville prefers to be heard and not seen. So when she's invited to testify at a Senate hearing on behalf of supernaturals, and her face gets plastered on national TV, she inherits a new set of friends, and enemies, including the vampire mistress of the city; an ++ber-hot Brazilian were-jaguar; and a Bible-thumping senator who wants to expose kitty as a monster.Kitty quickly learns that in this city of dirty politicians and backstabbing pundits, everyone's itching for a fight.


Book 3: Kitty Takes a Holiday
release date: April 1, 2007

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
After getting caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs.But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind, and instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows up with an injured Ben O'Farrell, Kitty's lawyer, slung over his shoulder, and a wolf-like creature with glowing red eyes starts sniffing around the cabin, Kitty wonders if any of them will get out of these woods alive...

Book 4: Kitty and the Silver Bullet
release date: January 1, 2008

From the Publisher (c/o Chapters Indigo)
Kitty's radio show is as popular as ever and she has a boyfriend who actually seems to understand her.Can she finally settle down to a normal life?Not if this is just the calm before the storm.When her mother falls ill, Kitty rushes back to Denver--and right back to the abusive pack of werewolves she escaped a year ago.To make matters worse, a war is brewing between the city''s two oldest vampires, threatening the whole supernatural community.Though she wants to stay neutral, Kitty is again drawn into a world of politics and violence.To protect her family, her lover, and herself, she''ll have to choose sides.And maybe become what she hates--a killer.

Recently Read ...

Firestorm, by Rachel Caine
It's the latest in the Weather Warden series. I clearly have a vested interest in this series, having bought and read all of the books. But as with all of the others, I inhaled this book as soon as I got it. Was I reading something else at the time? Who can remember! I believe I was but clearly it got tossed aside in favour of one of my favourite authors.

Do yourself a favour and read the whole series, starting from Ill Wind and working your way through until you hit this one. I've done it myself - more than once!