Need to pay more attention in The Works

Managed to buy not one but *three* books in duplicate through failure to remember that I'd already bought them the previous week.

Admittedly, 2 of them were the current Edward Marston lineup (Fire & Sword, and Under Siege), and I thought that I might have bought them in the previous week's batch, but couldn't remember and they had only two copies left so didn't want to take the chance of leaving it until the next day. I'd send them to green_knight but I know she's already got them.

The other one Richard Wiseman's "Paranormality: Why we see things that aren't there", which at 3 quid I thought was worth grabbing to add to the writing research library. It's a debunking book going into the psychology behind paranormal phenomena. I'll probably send the spare to predatrix, as it's the sort of thing she'd like.

At remainder price I'm not exactly out a lot of money. But this is why I need to debug the Palm format export of my LibraryThing account so that I have my catalogue available when I'm in a bookshop. Also, if I'd actually entered them into my LibraryThing account and put them on the to-read stack the same week instead of leaving them in a carrier bag, I'd have probably remembered that I already had them.

book log 5) Jennifer Ashley -- The Many Sins of Lord Cameron

5) Jennifer Ashley -- The Many Sins of Lord Cameron

Third of the Highland Pleasures quartet of romances about four brothers who are Scottish lords in Victorian Britain. This one looks at Cameron, a man who has sworn off marriage after his appalling first marriage, but who has not sworn off women. He's a popular man with the ladies, being a generous lover both in the financial sense and in wanting it to be a mutually satisfying experience. Ainsley Douglas, a young widow of noble blood but impoverished circumstances, has crossed paths with him once before. But then she was married to a man she would not betray. Now she's alone, and willing to consider letting Cam seduce her at least a little -- and not just because that way she might be able to avoid explaining exactly whose letter she was looking for in Cam's bedroom, where it had been hidden by his latest mistress. The slow seduction turns to friends-with-benefits and then romance. But even when it turns to marriage, Cam still has demons from the past to face down.

Another strong entry in this excellent romance series. As with the first two books, this has strong characterisation and a solid plot, with the sex scenes being an important part of showing the growth and changes in the relationship between the lead characters. One of the things I like about this series is that it has strong heroines who have their own lives to lead, and a good measure of control over those lives. And of course, women who enjoy sex and have had a sexual past. Two widows out of three heroines so far, but absolutely no virgin widows here. It's also notable for showing a male victim of domestic violence.

I think the book is richer for having read the series in order, but would be enjoyable read as a standalone.

http://www.librarything.com/work/9110564

book log 6) Reginald Hill -- An Advancement of Learning [audiobook]

Audiobook of the second Dalziel and Pascoe, abridged on 3 CDs and read by Warren Clarke, who played Dalziel in the late 90s tv adaptation. I've previously reviewed the novel itself here. This is a good abridgement, and Clarke is an excellent reader, but of necessity it does leave out some of the character development. An enjoyable version but probably better for those already familiar with the book.


http://www.librarything.com/work/2010902

book log 7) Torchwood: Asylum

First of the trilogy of BBC Radio 4 plays released in 2009 as a bridge between Series 2 and Children of Earth. I missed this on initial broadcast, and didn't get around to listening to it until my recent purchase of the CD set. This is pure quill Torchwood -- something (or as in this case someone) falls through the rift, and Torchwood has to deal with it. There's a detailed plot summary on Wikipedia. Good story with some interesting exploration of the Torchwood universe, and mostly well-acted. PC Andy gets a good role.