FRIDAY AFTER CLASS / 13 May 17

School's out for summer. Or, at least until summer school starts.

Heroines. If you haven't seen Emma dressed as real-life heroines, get on it.

More here

Man-ups. I know I'm a year late to this party, but it's so fun I can't resist these pin-ups of men. Thanks @jess_candela for this one too.

Delightful and obsolete words. To fuzzle means to get someone drunk. Here are the others.

Super Cut of videos of kids signing in backseats if you're having one of those days.

Millennials are Delusional. We've all suspected this.

"Twenty-five percent of blossoming Boomers admitted that 'not wanting to work hard' might prevent them from getting a desired job."

Ghost Mom. I love that she vomits river water.



Hear Hear. Stop telling women to smile, an interesting street project.

Slash as Grammar. OI love how language changes and grows; it's a living creature. This is an interesting piece about how "slash" is used now as slang punctuation.

Mother's Day Cards. I know it's a bit late, but these are too true.

Women in Hats. It takes a confident woman to wear a hat with feathers.

Reading as a Writer. I so identify with the conflict of being a writer and a reader and reading as a writer as Amber describes it.

Save a spot for me.

Read more of Cherri's romance reviews here.

Follow Cherri on Twitter.

Saucy Book Tweets / May 15

Buy Kindle here

Goddess of the Hunt, Tessa Dare 5 BKs / 5 WKs

In running for favorite book ever. Sweet & painful Regency tale. Tears & laughs. The writing, oh it is beautiful. I am drunk on this book.

---

Buy Kindle here

After Hours, Cara McKenna 5 BKs / 4 WKs

Don’t be fooled by Kelly’s overt machismo; he’s a chatty teddy bear. McKenna poses questions re feminism & love w/ smartly elegant prose.

---

Buy Kindle here

Real Men Will, Victoria Dahl (Book 3 of Donovan Brothers)      4.5 BKs / 5 WKs

I speak shame as does this book. Eric & Beth are sympathetic, struggling; their resolutions are internal & believable; the sex is hella fun.

---

Linked up with Modern Ms Darcy's monthly Twitterature.

Read more of Cherris' reviews here.

Follow Cherri on Twitter.

So Fucking Good: Goddess of the Hunt

I will write a longer and more effusive review later, but for now let me say that Tessa Dare's Goddess of the Hunt could not be better.

It was good from the start, and I began dogearing favorite passages right away, nearly folding down the corners of half of the book.

No kidding, I cried for a good half of the book, too. Even though Lucy and Jeremy are together and get lots of screen time and are clearly in love, there is so much pain and I wept for them over and over. This was because of Dare's beautiful writing. Killer writing. Holy fuck, the writing.

Then, I got to this passage and had a breakdown. How lovely and wonderful and raw is this?

page 284

My recommendation: read this fucking book now. What are you waiting for?  5 BKs and 5 WKs

FRIDAY AFTER CLASS / 13 May 3

Welcome to Friday folks. We've only got a couple of weeks left before spring semester is over; hang in there.

Don't Watch the News. This great piece in the Guardian discussed why the news is bad for you. What the news really does is make this feel true:

Via The New Yorker

Wonk-o-Praise. I think all the ladies who write for Wonk-o-Mance are quite brilliant. This piece last week about Hallelujah and the comments following are fabo!

M.A. in Porn. We went to grad school too soon. There is now a Journal of Porn Studies. I'm sure a useless major will follow.

Young and Brave. There is something so innocent about this song my heart catches in my throat.

Boxes and Cats. Of course big cats like cardboard boxes as much as toddlers and house cats. Of course.

Fat Graph. This graph of how fast we got fat is stunning.

Young Science. Great story about a young person doing good science on organics.

Cutest Ever. My husband actually forwarded me this link of the 50 cutest things on buzzfeed.

Save a spot for me.

Questions For Romance Writers

From Etsy Shop Magnesina

As I read more and more contemporary romances, the questions keep piling up. Since I have no readers, I'm just putting these questions out there as a way to remind myself for a time in the future when I might have access to the brains of other romance writers.

• Do you, the female author, actually get the guy's perspective on your guy's perspective? Have you interviewed men extensively about their feelings, their dicks and their other man stuffs?
• How much of this imaginary sex have you actually had for realz?
• Can someone have the hardest hard on of his life? Can men tell that one hard on is significantly harder than another one or is that just code for "he really likes this chick"?

Song Lyrics or Romance Novel Titles

Image from David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary

My new way to amuse myself is to find romance book titles in song lyrics. Here are a handful I’ve come up with. I would read all of these books. How about you? Add your own lyric titles in the comments.

Hate It Here
Easy Heart
Run Like Hell
That was That
Brain on Fire
Behind the Stars
Before it Starts
Won't Let Go
there is a Town
Memory to Spare
Someone to Blame

Somewhere Else to Leave

Keep Me From Going

Sway

Radio On

Rock Me Mama

We Used to be Friends

Made Up Mind

The Hardest Part

Now That It’s Over

History Free

Crazy Lonesome

Rescue Blues

Maybe I Didn’t

Remember You Best

Much Too Bright

Truest Thing

Fool Heart

Nice and Neat

Pack All My Changes

Best Intentions

You Don’t Anymore

Completely

Love Me Tomorrow

Cry on Demand

Seems Like Stars

Never Ready to Go

Like She Did Before

My son said the way you actually play this game is to write down a song title and then add “in your pants” to the end of it. Tween humor. Très drole.

FRIDAY AFTER CLASS / 13 April 19

Taking a week off does wonders for lengthening my list of goodies to share! This one's on me.

“People who grow bored in their own company seem to me in danger.” Andrei Tarkovsky (via Brainpickings)

Science Bros. I'm new to this meme and I love it. So does Ruffalo.  

Present Shock. Why Living in The Present is a Disorder, a review of Douglass Rushkoff's new book.

Remote controls and DVRs give us the ability to break down narratives — particularly the more abusive ones. This is a great thing for escaping the “ends-justify-the-means” traps of 20th-century wars and religions, but it can also make it hard to convey values.

A Year of Online Dating. Anne Lamott writes about her dating woes on Salon.

I had loved the sleeping alone part. I rarely missed sex: I had tiny boundary issues in all those years of drinking, and by my early 20s I had used up my lifelong allotment....Additionally, I have spent approximately 1,736 hours of this one precious life waiting for the man to finish, and pretending that felt good. And I want a refund.

My students really need home econ and all of the other practical sciences.

from the Oatmeal

Don't care. I so agree with this list and could well add my own items.

Post-Plagiarism. I feel like I should be having a more sophisticated conversation with my students about copyright and fair use than "don't do it." Maybe I'll have students read this.

Shut it off. I did try to avoid the news this week as I usually do during crisis. This is an interesting look at our 24/7 turned on / tuned in media.

App for that:  kissing cousins, or at least avoiding doing it.

You can follow along with my Romance reading, or find me on Twitter (why are so few of my friends on twitter?) or follow me on Pinterest.

Save a spot for me!