Spam is not just a processed meat product

It also is the bane of my existence.

Have you seen the amount of spam we've been getting lately in the comments? Most of it has been in old, old posts I don't look at (mostly because they were from before I started writing them). I found one this morning with 30 posts, all advising you to purchase discount perscription medication, perhaps even in an illegal manner.

Don't buy perscription medication from the back of a truck. Even an internet-based truck. Especially if the person selling you the medication spells like this: "thionreaklthngauioenvuioerr djiojoijklngleyioj" (that was what comments looked like. That and there were some in French).

This brought me great annoyance, because I was forced to individually delete each seperate chunk of spam attatched to each seperate blog entry. And I didn't want to kill 40 minutes doing that. But kill it I did.

So, we are forced to make a slight change. Hopefully this is all the change we have to make, I don't want to have to make more.

Now, when you go to make a comment, it will prompt you for your web address, your Google (or other) ID and your password just like normal. But once you have signed in or remained anonymous, it will force you to type in some gibberish before your post pops up so that we know you are a human being with thoughts and feelings and not a drug-fencing computer stationed in Cambodia or somewhere.

This will take a few moments more for you, and I'm sorry. I just don't want you to have some computer trying to steal your personal information so it can pretend to be you while it sells illegal copies of Avatar on the black market. Nor do I want it pretending to be me.

Sorry guys! Hope this isn't a terrible annoyance.

Thanks,

Laura

Two More New Books!

The Lab by Jack Heath...


The first book in a series, this novel follows Agent Six of Hearts, 16 years old and a superhuman to boot, working for the Deck, a squadron of genetically superior spies out fighting for justice.

Realistic? No. Fun? Yes. This is a great novel for fans of the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, or for anyone who loved the Bourne movies.

And now for something completely different:

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata, author of the Newberry winning Kira-Kira as well as Cracked, Weedflower, and the newly-released A Million Shades of Gray.



Shelby's "nontraditional" mother has had four daughters by four men. She's a nontraditional mother to say the least, but she's also a confident, self-assured woman. Suddenly the family is torn apart and the sisters are separated, forced for the first time to function without each other. But then they decide to take matters into their own hands and get their family back together.

Stereotypically speaking, The Lab would be "guy" and Outside Beauty would be "girl"--so I kept the scale kind of balanced in this post. I hope you all can appreciate that.

Of course, I'm reading both...

Two New Fantasy Series: Paranormal and Otherwise...

Firstly, we now have the entire Night World series in preparation for Strange Fate all by L.J. Smith:





These three books contain nine novels, so that's plenty of reading material--and all are set in the "Night World" full of werewolves, vampires, and witches--perfect for the Twilight fans seaching for another series or the Vampire Diaries fans, as those novels are also by L.J. Smith.

I just read through Secret Vampire (the first novel of Night World) and found it so addictive that I finished it in one sitting, despite my hefty reading list.

We also have the first three books of The Twelve Kingdoms series--something my brother (a huge Anime fan) recommends for anyone interested in Japanese fantasy.

I read the first novel of this series, Sea of Shadows and loved it. I adore fantasy--especially good fantasy, a category this definately belongs in! Graceling or Tamora Pierce fans should take a look at this series.

Waiting...

Magically, perhaps because I was complaining about it just then (yesterday, the day before?), or perhaps due to the implied otherworldly aspect to this novel, Witch and Wizard has just arrived.

I think what happened was that someone adult-y ordered it and then decided it so belonged with us, as we are young and cool, and they are all grown up and weird. Whatever.

At any rate, we now have Witch and Wizard by James Patterson sitting happily next to me on the desk here, for you all to grab and read, after all the people who already have it on hold.

People must really like James Patterson.

As for myself, I have already started stalking his upcoming Maximum Ride book, Fang. I really am excited about that one. That will be my next book-impulse-buy, at the whatever bookstore or convenience store I happen to see it in. Maybe it will be Kroger, like that other one of his. Although I did manage to buy Max in an actual, honest to goodness bookstore. So you never know...

Enjoy!


Oh, and I just found out that there's a sequel to Saving Francesca (by Melina Marchetta, former book discussion title) coming out in Australia in just a bit. It's called The Piper's Son.

Do you know anyone in Australia? Are you in Australia? Do you like me at all? Because if you do...I need this book. I really do. It's a life and death sort of thing, and I don't know if I can make it long enough to just wait for the U.S. release. I mean, it could take ages!

I'm sure there would be some kind of fantastic reward for you, should you manage to track down a copy without the $30 U.S. shipping fee I would have to pay to get it sent here from there. Maybe if I went to Outback, they might have some connections...

Do I know anyone in Australia?

I have to go check. Happy reading!

New Books!

I hope everyone had happy holidays! But now that we are all settling back into the world of, well, reality, I have new books to share with you.

I love new books, I've said it before. Here is today's selection:

Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz


I was shocked when someone told me we didn't have this. But now we do. It's part of a series, Blue Bloods and all that. I call it Twilight-Meets-Gossip-Girl. You get the idea. They're wicked fun, though. Except for the whole potential my-family-history-stems-from-vampires thing, which makes me a little weirded out. But then again, I always knew I was a strange-ish person.

Rapture of the Deep, another Bloody Jack Adventure by L. A. Meyer


This is a newbie, in hardcover, for those of you who love this series. I know one of you, at least...

Border Crossing by Jessica Lee Anderson


Border Crossing is the story of a young man's struggle with schizophrenia, dealing with his messed-up family life, and his new job on a cattle ranch (with pretty Vanessa). All he wants is to get away from home, but he has bigger issues, what with all the voices and the border patrol agents from Operation Wetback--a brutal deportation scheme circa 1950...

I love psychology.

And last but not least, Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick, author of the amazing book Sold, which every last one of you should read.


Set during our most recent (current) Iraq War, Private Matt Duffy finds himself in a hospital with a brand new medal and very few memories if what landed him in the hospital in the first place.

He remembers the death of a young Iraqi boy, feeling responsible for the child's death somehow, but the memory is incomplete, due to the head injury he's recovering from. Returned to his unit, he sees danger everywhere and must deal with the fear that he'll be unable to fight when the need arises.

This book promises to give us all insight into the lives of the people we know who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

We also have a new audiobook, Witch and Wizard by James Patterson. We'll have the physical book when it comes out in paperback...I'm eagerly awaiting it. Also the new Maximum Ride book. And the Daniel X one...why does it take so long for paperback?