I have been in such a slump lately with my reading! I just finished The Taken by Vicki Petterssen, and really liked it, but it took me 3 weeks to read. This is unheard of for me.

Every day at work I go on this website and browse around. However, lately when I click on View New Posts, there are no posts about books. It then occurred to me that the reason I'm not excited about reading is because lately this website hasn't been about books and new authors to read.

Believe it or not, I really rely on this group for book finds, new authors, great recommendations, etc. My family and friends are not readers, so I don't have a group who shares this interest other than you.

Is it just me? Is it not an exciting time for books right now and that's why no one is buzzing? Am I missing something? Usually winter is my best reading time with lots of good reads, but not so much this year. Good grief, am I having a mid-life crisis??? Well, I guess, if I live to be 100!!

Thank you for reading and thank you for all the wonderful recommendations over the years!!

Maybe everyone is in a reading slump these days, because I have noticed that the postings on this site have really slowed down. I used to check 8 or 9 of the boards regularly because there were a lot of people posting every day. Now most of the boards I used to check haven't had new postings in weeks. The only one that has more than a couple postings a day is the General topics one. This board usually has a couple of postings each day. (I think the Politics one is used regularly, but I stay the heck out of that one.)

I'm in the middle of DREAM EYES by Jayne Ann Krentz and I'm really enjoying it. She's one of my favorites, so I really look forward to a new one from her (and the ones she writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle.)

If you haven't already done it, you might want to check the old postings in the Favorite Books board to see if there's a book there you might be interested in.

Thanks, Ohreader. I've put Dream Eyes on my list to get because I'm a big fan of JAK in all her forms.

I started Dire Wants by Stephanie Tyler, and so far it's good (page 46). Hopefully it doesn't take me 3 weeks to finish, or I'll never get to everything!

The political forums scare me, but that's mostly the new posts, so I don't stick around. I'd rather discuss books than politics!

It's cold and finally we are seeing a little snow here in Michigan. I have my blanket and will settle down for some reading!

Check out Maya Banks KGI books.....I love them all!

If you like historical romances check out new author Tracey Devlyn, A Lady's Revenge.

I am in a slump as well. I think a good part of the problem is the fact that when the Walden's chain failed we lost the big book store in town. And now it seems that the Chains that carried books to complete used this as an excuse to stop stocking books. I can't find new releases and have move to buying on line. My problem is I like to read several pages as well as the blurbs to get a feel for a new author, and since I can't do that I have stopped buying new authors.

Now that being said I have just started Kristen Callihan’s Moonglow and I am really enjoying it. Found it at the Library and am very glad I did. So far, I would recommend this to anyone who likes the Arcane books. (But keep in mind it adds a touch of the supernatural world as well.)

I love JAK in all her many pseudpnyms – she is on my must buy list, too. So I am waiting for the new one to arrive. Haven’t even seen it on the shelves here in town.

Hi, Heather. Exactly what type of books do you like to read? I read mostly RS with an occasional CR thrown in to break the monotony. I would make some suggestions for you, but if you do not enjoy these types of books, I do not want to bore you with what I like. I'll check back later...

I think most everyone is in a slump--must be the time of year!

I like Jayne Ann Krentz as well, but I wish she would go back to writing books along the lines of her earlier RS; 'All Night Long' is on my keeper shelf.

HR

Try Kristen Ashley

This month I bought The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Jennifer Ashley

and

Forever a Lord by Delilah Marvelle

That's the way I used to pick up books by new authors, but I'm now having a hard time finding stores stocking new books as well. (Local bookstore closed, local general merchandise store doesn't discount books at all, & local Walmart is down to one rack of new books..and I'm over 30 miles away from any other "big box" store that carries books.) So now I go thru the RT Reviews each month & the recommendations from the people on these boards and make a list of books I might like to read and order them from my Public Library. I no longer buy books from an author I haven't read, and once a "new" author becomes an auto-buy, I order their books online. By keeping a list of books I want to buy, I can usually order enough for free shipping. (I order paperbacks thru bookdepository.com because if you pre-order, they discount 20 to 25% (and there's no minimum order for free shipping; and I order the few hardbacks I still buy from Amazon because their pre-orders are 30 to 45% discounted and you only have to order $25 worth to get free shipping.)

I am in a slump as well. I tried to read Dire Needs last month and it just fizzled for me. It just took me two weeks to read Claimed by Rebecca Zanetti! It hasn't taken me that long to read a book in years.

I was pondering re-reading a few books but that is just silly when I have so many books on my TBR list! *sigh*

I think part of my problem was I fell under Kristen Ashley's spell. I spent almost 2 months reading and rereading her rock chick books, and then when I went to another author, I couldn't get the rhythm. Does that sound strange?

If ever I could enter a literary universe, I think I'd want to be a rock chick. At Christmas, my girls asked, "If Dad let you have an affair with any celebrity, who would it be?" I said, "Vance Crowe or Kai Mason." and they all looked at me funny. (Time for an intervention!!)

So, now I'm going back to my TBR pile which is full of all different authors!

No, that happens to me, too. That's usually when I switch to a completely different genre. I burned out on Historicals a few years back and it took me a year or two before I was even interested in reading another one. From then on, I switch regularly. If I have a series I'm reading (say..romantic suspense,) once I finish that series, I start one in another genre (like paranormal/urban fantasy.) Then I can either go back to the first genre, or go on to a different genre altogether. If I burn out on reading books in a series, I move to stand alone books. Sometimes I even throw in a non-fiction novel along the way. If I only read 1 or 2 genres, I'd have to take up another hobby

Jayne Ann Krentz and J.D. Robb (In Death series) always work for me. The new JAK book was great, as was Shadow Woman by Linda Howard.

I do like Maya Banks KGI series too, and just finished Gennita Low's new book Tempting Trouble and loved it. She is one of my all time favorite authors. Also liking Carly Phillips new book, start of the 2nd trilogy in her Serendipity series.

Let's see...I have the new Robin Kaye, Christie Ridgway, Joann Ross and and Kat Martin sitting here too, which are all favorites of mine. Also the new Connie Mason, which Kyle mentioned in a recent post. As you can tell, I'm not so much in to historicals anymore, but Connie Mason is still an auto buy for me and her new book sounded quite good.

And yes, I miss the book talk too. There hasn't been much book chatter out here in the last several months. I used to love to hear what everyone had to say about what they were reading, other than the name of the book in the weekend reading post. It seems everyone posts random things on the general boards, but so much about about books here, or on favorites, or even the spoiler board.

I tend to go towards RS, Urban, Paranormal, but things seem to be the same. I have Maya Banks new book, but I have to go back to the others because I mix them up with the BOI, A-Tac, etc. series.

I was getting a lot of books from the library, but the rules have changed. If my library doesn't carry the book, I have to wait 6 months before I can put a hold on it from another libary in our co-op. Our library is pretty small, so it doesn't carry a lot of the books I like to read. And 6 months is a long time to wait and then wait again on a hold list. I have to pick up Dee Davis' book from last year, but again I have to go back to the others in the series (see above paragraph.).

BTW--this is my first time doing a quote, so I hope this comes out right.

try Adrienne Giordano; they have the same flavor as KA

Wow, that's really too bad! Our library system lets you put books on order (even pre-order) any time you want & it's linked with about a quarter of all the libraries in the state. When you order the book, you go into a queue and the first copy that becomes available once you reach #1 gets shipped to your local library for pick up. If my own library has a copy (or gets a copy after I already requested it) that becomes available, I get it regardless of what number I am in the system's queue. I've been like #464 on the list when pre-ordering a really popular author's latest book, and gotten the book the first week it became available because of the home library preferential treatment rule. I also order DVDs this way from the library.

I also "rent" books from booksfree.com. It's like Netflix for paperback books. You pay a monthly fee (they have several levels) and you pick the books you want to read (they have a huge selection covering pretty much all genres.) They mail them to you along with a postage-free return envelope so you can send them back when you've finished reading.

I too use RT Reviews for new finds, but just don’t want to risk the limited dollar that I have budgeted on an unknown as I have been burned in the past. It is sad but true. I make my lists and then jump on the Library’s web site to check on books. I do find that our Library has also cut back on buying many of these books. If I don’t find them on the list of “on order” I request them, but again there has to be several requests before they get them, and so often the books don’t get order for months- or at all.

I find that the stores that carry book are stocking full shelves of reprints, but less and less new releases. I really think that this is part of the problem with the industry. And every time I hear that the industry is having problems with paper book sales, I ask the question is it really the lack of access to new books that is causing a drop and the reader finding that they have bought a book that they read years ago, feeling stung – don’t buy again for a while.

I understand that eBooks are up and coming, but to lose the print book would be sad. I don’t own an eReader yet, but I do have several Apps on both my phone and computer. I find that I read less on these devices and really find there is nothing like the experience of holding a real book (And yes in my mind I see the image of Rory Gilmore in the Yale Library – Touch it, feel it, smell it. GILMORE GIRLS tv series for those who are asking.)

I found Kristen Callihan from the article LUCKY 13: OUR MOST ANTICIPATED PARANORMAL AND URBAN FANTASY BOOKS COMING IN 2013. Many of the authors listed in the article were on my read list, so encountering one that I didn’t know automatically got my attention. I was only able to find one book at the Library. So Thanks RT for adding another MUST READ Author to my list – the first of 2013 and the first in over a year and a half.

And now I have the first dilemma of this kind – should I commit to this author in eBook or print?

Love Adrienne' books!

Heather--It worked just fine!

Right now, I am reading a few series that I am really enjoying: the 'Fatal' series by Marie Force, the Taylor Jackson series by J.T. Ellison and the Claire Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series by Julia Spencer-Fleming. If you go to the authors' individual websites or Amazon.com, you can find the chronological order of the releases. You can also read excerpts on either site.

I will second the recommendation of J.D. Robb's 'In Death' series...30+ books and counting and just a really wonderful collection, which gives no indication of slowing down as new future scenarios crop up in each book.

I hope you find something that interest you. Reading slumps are the pits .

HR

I'm a very picky reader so this limits the books I buy. Anyone else have this issue?

Sometimes I read fanfiction to pass the time.

Thanks everyone! I think my slump might be over. I am so excited about my reading prospects, I'm looking forward to my next selection.

JaniceC: I am going to try Adrienne Giordano soon. I got Madeline Sheehan's "Undeniable", so I am looking forward to those new authors.

OhReader: Thanks for the tip about booksfree.com. I'll be looking at that too. Might fill in for the library.

LetitiaH: I hope you get out of your slump soon, too. Paper books are the best--my ancient kindle has been giving me fits because all of a sudden it won't let me page forward and then the whole thing reboots. How frustrating! In addition, I keep forgetting to charge it, so then my battery gets low. Never has a paper book malfunctioned.

Erica: Being a picky reader is a good thing. Bad books make me not excited to pick up another, so I am very particular about what books I get. Friends of mine will just go to the bookstore and read the backs of books to find something and then are almost always disappointed.

Thank you, everyone, for all your recommendations! I really appreciate all your input, and I am so excited to get started!!

Have great weekend! I was supposed to take down Christmas decorations, but now I'm not sure I'll get to it!