It's Monday, and it's been a long time....

Since I participated in a Monday meme.  Hell, it's been a long time since I was able to actually finish reading a novel - or even sit down to read.

I've been working a fulltime 40 hour a week job as well as trying to hang onto my parttime work at a school as a library tech and lunch supervisor.  It's not easy - and on the weekends I found myself either working to cover a shift or simply dozing the weekend away.  And we're still struggling to make ends meet - such is life though.  At least we're still eating! ;)

Hosted by Sheila of Book Journey It's Monday is the place to go to see what everyone has been reading and to find new reads to add to that TBR mountain you know you have... 

I don't have a lot to report.  Since the first of the year, I've only finished five books.  Happily, I've enjoyed each of the books I finished immensely.

Finished in January 

Wrong Ways Down 

by Stacia Kane

and 

backseat saints by Joshilyn Jackson

You just can't go wrong with a Stacia Kane Downsider book - and this one (for those of you who know the Downside world) is written from Terrible's pov, with cameo appearances of Chess.

Joshilyn Jackson's backseat saints was a surprise find from the strangest place - a discount food store that happened to have a few books.  This is a very hard hitting story about a woman and her abusive marriage.

Finished in February

Chill by

Elizabeth Bear

and

Goodnight Tweetheart

by Teresa Medeiros

With these two authors, you also get very quality reading material.  Both of them have been writing for years, and each of them have a talent for good story telling.  I think Bear is quite genious a multiple storylines and blending lengends, myth and science fiction.

and finally - the book I've finished in March

Night Owls

by Lauren M Roy

I wasn't sure I was going to like it, and in fact, I ended up enjoying even more than just liking.  It was quite a good book, with some fun characters.  A vampire turned bookstore proprietor, her renfield/smartassed manager; a young girl who has been hunting monsters with her now dead guardian, a shy nerdy bookstore employee and this evil book....oh - and there is a couple of succubi who are more into each other than men.  It all blends into a hell of a first book.

Now - what I've been currently reading:

One of the contributors to Happily Ever Afterlife is J.A. Campbell - the J.A. Campbell of The Clanless series and Sabaska's Tale.

Of course, Campbell's was the first story I read in the anthology (The Baron and the Firebird), I have read a couple others and so far all the stories are pretty good.  Fun anthology.

Now - isn't this one of the creepiest covers you'll ever see?  I think it's hella creepy.  chills.

Edited by Mhairi Simpson - Tales of Eve is an anthology that has another one of my favorite writer's work.

Mother Know's Best by Suzanne McLeod.

I usually read anthologies a story here, a story there, now and then....

The novel I'm currently reading I started Sunday and ACTUALLY got halfway through during the day - a day of napping and reading.  This has not been my norm recently, to be able to get through so much of one book in one day.

The Human Division (as you can plainly see by the picture)

by John Scalzi - another one of his highly entertaining books full of intrigue, plotting, governments, spies, spaceships and green soldiers..

That's that.  For now.  Not sure when the next post will be, if I'll be able to finish this book soon (hoping for next week) or when I'll end up being able to finish another novel.  

I have a few books lined up that I've recently bought...by some of my auto buy writers.