all of the romance books I just posted!!!  You are my people, yes, you mystery people!  So I feel that I should explain why all of these romance books are popping up on my bookshelf!  I don't read them, I promise I don't!  My sisters friend is cleaning out her book rooms (yes, I said rooms!).  She just happened to unload most of her romance novels first, about 100 of them (they will be posted slowly)~!  If you think you have a book addiction, you should spend an hour with this gal!  Most of the books have not even been read, she feels a need to go into book stores and pick up books willy-nilly.  And as a matter of course, she has become friends with some of the book owners and they call her to take a lot of their extra-haven't-sold-yet books.  I am trying to nudge her to the more interesting mystery piles that she has in her home, that is what I am dying to get my hands on!  So, please don't judge and hold this against me!!!!

I read romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance, chick-lit mystery lite, mystery (PI, police procedural, amateur sleuth, etc), historical mystery, action thrillers, espionage, suspense - even non-fiction.  Like much of mystery, there's an amazing amount of garbage in Romance.  Then again, one of my top 3 films is Casablanca - the other two are Some Like Hot and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I have a seriously split personality.

Restless Nights, huh?  We all knew you were a closet Romance Reader all along........ (yes I took a look at your shelf)

Seriously, I think I may have more romance type books on my shelf than mystery.  Actually, I'm not sure some of them are considered romance.  Like Debbie Macomber, Jennifer Chiaverini, Luanne Rice.  My mom reads those and I request and post books for her.  I confess to reading one occasionly, but mysteries are my first love.  :-)

tee-hee, reacherfan!  I didn't know that about you!  Split personalities can be fun!  I do admit to loving some of Jennifer Cruise and the like....

edited:  as I am going thru and posting, some of them are mysteries, but not the majority.

I took a look at the authors and the Lois Greiman that writes those Romance novels also writes the Crissy MacMullen mysteries.   Barbara Hambly who wote fantasy now writes a lot of urban fantasy/paranormal romance.  Same with Kathrine Kurtz.  Lot of female writers do cross-overs into romance.  SOme use pen names to hide. :-)

Your not the only one.. A friend gave me a box of books  this weekend and it was all romance most of them where wish list books.

I really don't read romance so I don't know if they are good or not. I only have few on my shelf.

Carol, I think a LOT of PBSers post books that are not their reading preference--I'd say about 90% of the books I post come from a great resale shop that has a huge book selection, so anyone looking at my shelf would not be looking at books I've even read. 

But keep nudging your friend towards those mystery piles!!

Heck, I won't hold it against you that you don't read romance novels, as long as you don't hold it against me that I DO read romance novels.  I'm an extremely eclectic reader.   I read everything from literary fiction to intense mysteries to juicy romances.  Mystery may be my favorite genre, but sometimes I just need a good romance.

People read what they like.

So, settle an argument my sister and I are having - is the Sookie Stackhouse series a cozy?  She has always been a die-hard mystery/horror reader and lately started reading only cozies, so of course I had to give her a hard time!  When she found out I was reading Sookie, she accused me of reading a cozy, I say it is more chic lit, tho.  And it is not that I hold anyone's reading material against them (well...some of the erotica looks like it hurts), but it is just fun to tease.

And, oh, by the way, I'm wondering if anyone has read the Maggie Kelly series by Kasey Michaels?  No reason in particular that I am asking, just you know, curious.... Uh, how about Marian Keyes?   Did 'ya like them?

And I confess to loving Dorothea Benton Frank's Lowcountry tales...can't wait for the Return to Sullivan's Island!

edited: spelling and forgotten sentence!

I've seen Sookie Stackhouse listed as paranormal mystery, paranormal romance, and paranormal chick-lit mystery.  I'm not a fan (I know that makes me an exception, but I lost interest) and I would consider it paranormal chick-lit mystery.  Alice Kimberly's The Ghost in the Bookshop or Madelyn Alt's Bewitching books - are both considered cozies and are a different style.   Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series is the best example of true fantasy/paranormal mystery.  The lines do blur at time.

I happen to enjoy romance and mystery combined, though I admit chick-lit stuff can have way too many too-stupid-to-live female leads.  (Finley Anderson Tanner mysteries for example). 

Reacherfan you are not alone.  I just finished the second Sookie book and that is enough for me. 

Carol - I wouldn't have put these books in Cozy.  Not sure what makes a cozy, a cozy.  I guess if its not vulgar, dark, etc. (my kind of stuff).  I think the TV show wouldn't be cozy so, maybe that is why I don't think the books are.

Although I haven't read the Sookie Stackhouse series, I've heard a LOT about it - enough to say that they are definitely not cozies.   By definition, cozies have little violence, and what violence there is takes place "off stage".     They're supposed have little to no sex in them either.    I've seen the HBO series based on the books, and that has plenty of sex.   While I know that HBO can and will add sex and violence to any story, I'm guessing that there was at least some there to begin with in the books.  (Someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

I would also categorize the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries as chick-lit / paranormal mysteries.

See, that's what I was telling my sister.  To me, a cozy is 72 pages long and solved by the guys cat.  That's an exageration (and that is not spelled right at all!)  Spellcheck, over here please!

"too-stupid-to-live female leads"  Now that's funny!

LOL Carol! I always say not to judge a person by their PBS bookshelf...much of the stuff on mine are things I haven't read either. There are cozies on there I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole! ::grin:: I get books at FOL sales for my shelf, so I pick up stuff I know is fairly popular and outside the realm of what I usually read, just to give my bookshelf some variety. I even had (gasp!) a couple of older romances on there that my mother-in-law gave me...never read 'em, and the last one was finally selected a few months ago, after about 3 years on my shelf! LOL

Cheryl

I am in agreement - no judging by the bookshelf.  I have Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big by Jose Canseco on my shelf.  His story doesn't interest me one bit.  But, my 13 year old - different story.

I don't like romances, and don't like mystery novels where the series is based on a slowly developing romance between lead characters, BUT, I love how Agatha Christie, Patricia Wentworth and Georgette Heyer included a small romance within their mystery- just not among the leading protagonist (usually).

I just finished "Death of a cozy writer" by G. M Malliet and think its the closest thing to a Golden Age novel that I have read in ages!

L.R.

You might want to trade for Death and the Chick Lit, the second Malliet book.  It was not as good as the first.

You might want to try the Rex Graves series by  C. S. Challinor, though Murder in the Raw was so-so in my opinion.

L.R., I noted your comment about Death of a Cozy Writer with interest--I just got it from the library. I have had Death of a Lit Chick wishlisted for awhile and then realized that was the second one in the series so figured I should read the first one to see if I really wanted it or not. LOL I'll be starting it later this week.

I also just recently got both of those Rex Graves mysteries from here at PBS, but not sure when I'll get to them.

Cheryl

OK, so I notice that a lot of you guys get books from the library......why?!  My tbr pile is HUGE, I can't imagine going to the library to find a book to read!  Now, I am wondering if it is the same people who read more than 1 book at a time, maybe y'all are just smarter than me!  I am in awe....

In re Sookie Stackhouse, the used bookstore I visit the most stopped shelving these books with mysteries earlier this year and now keeps them with the paranormal romances. I haven't read them but I've been told that's a more appropriate categorization for them.

Sometimes I check books out of the library because I am too impatient to wait for someone to mail it to me if I order it here.  This mostly applies to murder-mystery series.  Or, if book has such a high wishlist, I find I get it faster if I do an inter-library loan.  I guess when it comes to books I really want, I can be pretty impatient.

Sometimes when I want to try a new author, I will check it out of the library before using credits here. 

On another note, I find that novels by Barbara Michaels are filed under both "mystery" and "paranormal romance."  This sometimes drives me crazy, but as long as I check both categories in my UBS I seem to find what I want (personally, I think they are more mystery.)

I use the library to supplement the books I get here...I do have a huge TBR, but sometimes I'll need the next book in a series and it's not available here or the WL is long...sometimes I will have books on my wishlist for AGES and never move in the line. If I realy want it, rather than buy it, especially if it's a new-to-me author and I don't even know if I will like it, I'll check my library and see if they have it.

I simply can't afford to be buying a lot of books like I used to. Our library system has 26 libraries (actually more, since the suburban Hennepin County system merged with the Minneapolis system) so I can order any book in the system and have it delivered to my local library to pick up. It's very convenient. I've never used the ILL (inter-library loan) as I've never needed to, but that's also there if I need it. I also figure with the library, if I don't use it, we'll lose it. I believe part of the library's funding is based on how much people do use it, so I don't want to lose that access. And if I *don't* like the author's writing, it's no harm, no foul, no wasted PBS credit or money...it just goes back to the library.

I also occasionally use the library to request books that have hundreds of copies in the system here. I can't see requesting such a book from PBS and then having to get at the back of FIFO and wait years to have it requested again by someone else.

Also: I get all my audiobooks from the library, either in CD form or audio download. I don't want to mess with paying 2 credits here and have problems with scratched or un-listenable discs.

Cheryl

Cheryl, I think you have proved my point, you are one smart cookie!  I hadn't thought about the use it or lose it regarding the library, that is a great idea and a darn good reason.  And not buying or wasting credits on books that are in abundance here is very good thinking!  You read more than 1 book at a time, don't you?  My genius son does that, I just don't think I could keep things straight.

In regarding audio books, I haven't ever "read" a book that way, I'm curious about the "love" scenes?  How does that work, uh...sound-wise?

Carol, I do read more than one at a time, but generally no more than one in any one place--I've usually got 3 going at once, but one is at work, one in print at home and then an audio. I haul mass mkt paperbacks to work in my purse to read on breaks, usually read only the trade paperbacks or hardcovers at home, listen to audio while cleaning, cooking, walking, playing computer games, and very rarely will have a fourth book like something non-fiction going that I'll pick up intermittently as the mood strikes me.

I'm not a big romance reader, so have listened to very few books that actually had sex scenes. The author just reads the words, putting the appropriate inflections in the tones and such...there's no grunting or yelling or squealing or anything. LOL At least not in the few I listened to. Someone else more experienced in audio versions of romance or erotica could probably explain better than I. :)

Cheryl

Despite my giant TBR piles, I can't stay out of the library either.  About 2 months ago I set a rule for myself that I could only go to the library once every 3 weeks, and take out only one book each time.  So far I'm keeping to it, but then, it's only been 2 months!  I'll usually pick a new release from the library since by the time I get newer books from PBS they're not new anymore.