2012 Reading List

Holy crap, y'all.  I can't believe it's New Year's Eve again.  Which means it's once again time to make you a list of what I've been reading.  It's a long one.  I've spent a lot of time with my nose buried in the ereader this year.  My goal was 295 books, and I'm not going to make that.  But I'd say 280 is pretty damn good!  My favorites are in bold.

1. No Souvenirs- K.A. Mitchell
2. Between You and Me- Willa Okati
3. Talker's Graduation- Amy Lane
4. Slings and Arrows- Josh Lanyon
5. The Captain's Man- Scarlet Blackwell
6. Cheating Chance- James Buchanan
7. One Wild Wish- Devon Rhodes
8. A Lady Awakened- Cecilia Grant (I don't remember much about it now, but I know I really liked it at the time.)
9. No Quarter- Christine d'Abo
10. First You Fall- Scott Sherman
11. Equilibrium- Katey Hawthorne
12. Brazen- Jordan Castillo Price
13. Frost Fair- Erastes
14. Cover Me- L.A. Witt
15. Moonlight Becomes You- Piper Vaughn, M.J. O'Shea
16. Striker- KyAnn Waters
17. Death Trick- Richard Stevenson
18. Dangerous Ground- Josh Lanyon
19. Payback- Jordan Castillo Price
20. Paradise Found- Hunter Raines
21. Moolah and Moonshine- Jordan Castillo Price
22. Riot Boy- Katey Hawthorne - I loved rocker bad boy Brady and laid back Etienne.
23. Other People's Weddings- Josh Lanyon
24. Body Art- Jordan Castillo Price
25. Where You Least Expect It- M. Durango
26. Spanish Fly Guy- Jordan Castillo Price
27. Gym Daddy- Grant Storm
28. Pretty Ugly- Jordan Castillo Price- This was a standout for me within a series of interconnected
          novellas.
29. Bad Boyfriend- K.A. Mitchell- I loved this one. Eli is such a great character, and he and Quinn seem
           to fit together so well. Their kink was hot, and Eli really helped Quinn cut through the bs with his
           adopted family.
30. Make You Sweat- Pia Veleno
31. Sometimes It's Fate- Angela S. Stone
32. The Letter Z- Marie Sexton
33. Pisces: From Behind That Locked Door- Pepper Espinoza
34. Her to Dads- Ariel Tachna
35. The Psychic and the Sleuth- Bonnie Dee
36. Sort of Stranger Than Fiction- Josh Lanyon
37. Sauntering Vaguely Downward- Nessa L. Warin- This one was interested because it took place at
            DragonCon in Atlanta. The guys were sweet, and I was glad when they worked it out. But the
            setting and all the activity going on around them was fun.
38. Whitetail Rock- Anne Tenino- I love Anne, and I thought this story was great fun.  But the characters
             also dealt with painful issues, like race and the fear of being fetishized vs being loved.
39. Caught Running- Abigail Roux, Madeleine Urban
40. Change of Heart- Mary Calmes
41. Collared- Kari Gregg- An intense BDSM set in the near future where environmental changes have
              cranked human aggression up to 11, except for a few rare individuals.  Hard to explain, but it was
              really good.
42. A Shared Range- Andrew Grey
43. The Male Room- Carolyn Levine Topol
44. Take My Picture- Giselle Ellis
45. My Heart is Within You- Marguerite Labbe
46. Dar and Greg- Bobby Michaels
47. Getting Dumped, Part 1- Tawna Fenske
48. Thief of Hearts: Tempted in Thailand- E.M. Lynley
49. Demonglass- Rachel Hawkins
50. A Troubled Range- Andrew Grey
51. The Mister Trophy- Frank Tuttle
52. Private Dicks- Katie Allen
53. Snared- J.L. Merrow
54. Chasing Seth- J.R. Loveless
55. Frost Moon- Anthony Francis- An Urban Fantasy with some unique elements.
56. It's Not Shakespeare- Amy Lane
57. A Chip in His Shoulder- L.A. Witt
58. A Vintage Affair- Josh Lanyon
59. Boys of Summer- Cooper Davis
60. Urban Shaman- Lyn Gala- M/M romantic suspense, with some unusual paranormal elements. Hoping
               there will be a sequel at some point.
61. Seduce Me at Sunrise- Lisa Kleypas
62. Unshakeable Faith- Lisa Worrell
63. Close to Me- Katrina Strauss
64. Cinder- Marie Sexton
65. One More Wish- Devon Rhodes
66. Clouds and Rain- Zahra Owens
67. Black Blades- Ginn Hale
68. Nature of the Beast- Amylea Lyn
69. Foxe Hunt- Haley Walsh
70. Foreshock- Kari Gregg
71. One Less Stiff at the Funeral- Sean Kennedy
72. The Island- Lisa Henry- Really intense, with physical and psychological torture, but so good.
73. Critic's Choice- Josh Lanyon
74. Le Jazz Hot- Clancy Nacht, Thursday Euclid
75. Nowhere Ranch- Heidi Cullinan
76. In the Strangest Places- Willa Okati
77. Sex, Lies, & Edelweiss- J.L. Merrow
78. My Only Home- Pepper Espinoza
79. Once a Marine- Cat Grant
80. One Good Hand- Rowan McBride
81. The Captain's Beloved- Scarlet Blackwell
82. Dawn in the Orchard- Cooper West
83. Circle of Change- Laney Cairo- This was an incredible book. An Inspirational (Pagan), with a m/m
                     romance and a trans* main character. So sensitively handled.
84. Fugly- K.Z. Snow
85. Frat Boy and Toppy- Anne Tenino- Funny, emotional, with the most hilarious coming out scene I've
                     ever read. If you haven't read Anne Tenino yet, start here!
86. Amaranth & Ash- Jessica Freely
87. Ride With Me- Ruthie Knox- A fantastic, independent heroine and a hero who was protective while
                      still respecting her. Best m/f I've read in a while.
88. Blood Howl- Robin Saxon
89. Blacker Than Black- Rhi Etzweiler- Romance, Urban Fantasy with a new kind of vampire, a really
                      excellent read. Looking forward to future books.
90. A Private Gentleman- Heidi Cullinan- Kind of heartbreaking, but fantastic, too.
91. The White Knight- Josh Lanyon
92. Wishink Well- Jordan Castillo Price- Another fantastic novella in the Petit Morts series.
93. I, Omega- Kari Gregg
94. Our December- Diane Adams
95. Nobody's Hero- Katey Hawthorne
96. Sagittarius Blues- Katrina Strauss
97. Girl From Mars- Julie Cohen
98. Clear Water- Amy Lane- Just a really good story
99. Master of the Mountain- Cherise Sinclair
100. Out of the Blue- Josh Lanyon
101. Handle With Care- Josephine Myles
102. Sympathy- Jordan Castillo Price
103. Reckless Seduction- Amanda Young
104. Grown Men- Damon Suede
105. Wight Mischief- J.L. Merrow
106. A+E 4ever- ilike merey- My first graphic novel, a couple of teens dealing with gender and sexuality.
                  I don't think graphic novels are really for me, but it was still quite good.
107. A Bar Tender Tale- Melanie Tushmore
108. Super Sock Man- Amy Lane
109. Happily Neverafter- Jordan Castillo Price
110. According to Hoyle- Abigail Roux
111. The Naked Truth- Lilly Cain
112. The Wishing Cup- J.M. Gryffyn
113. Domination- Chris Owen, Jodi Payne
114. The Gathering- Scott Sherman
115. When I Fall- Belinda McBride
116. Accidentally in Love- Jane Davitt
117. Witches' Blood- Ginn Hale
118. Chasing Smoke- K.A. Mitchell
119. Beginnings and Ends- Suzanne Brockmann
120. The Seduction of Phaeton Black- Jillian Stone
121. Bone Idol- Paige Turner
122. Second You Sin- Scott Sherman- The second Kevin Connor mystery. I just love Kevin!
123. Bewitched by Bella's Brother- Amy Lane
124. City Falcon- Feliz Faber
125. Behind Iron Lace- Mercy Celeste
126. Life Lessons- Kaje Harper- Great m/m romantic suspense
127. The Hunting Moon- Evelyn Shepherd
128. Beautiful Disaster- J.M. Snyder
129. A Queer and Pleasant Danger- Kate Bornstein
130. An Oral Fixation- Piper Vaughn- A great story about two guys finally getting their chance together.
131. Dharma Cafe- Jessica Freely
132. One Small Thing- Piper Vaughn, M.J. O'Shea- An unexpected baby, a guy with serious anxiety,
                         and a really sweet story.
133. One Night in LA- Sue Holston
134. London Eye- Clare London
135. Slow Summer Kisses- Shannon Stacey
136. Last Stop- Lou Harper
137. Blind Items- Kate McMurray
138. Duty & Devotion- Tere Michaels
139. Used, Rare, & Limited Editions- Chris Owen
140. Dancing With the Tide- Neil Plakcy
141. The Tea Demon- Cornelia Grey
142. Lovers and Other Strangers- Josh Lanyon
143. The Fix- Anne Tenino
144. A Little Bite of Magic- M.J. O'Shea
145. Spirits and Second Chances- Sean Kennedy
146. Paris A to Z- Marie Sexton
147. Waterways- Kyell Gold
148. Hawk's Landing- Carol Lynne
149. Spell Cat- Tara Lain- I'd never heard of Tara until I met her at RT this spring. I've really enjoyed her
                        books, especially this one.
150. Old Poison- Josh Lanyon
151. Academic Pursuits- Lou Harper
152. Asher's Invention- Coleen Kwan
153. A Matter of Time, Vol 1- Mary Calmes
154. Taxes and TARDIS- N.R. Walker
155. Pit Road- Anah Crow, Dianne Fox
156. Forever in One Second- Finn Marlowe
157. At Piper's Point- Ethan Day
158. What Hides Inside- Ally Blue
159. Just Desserts- Josh Lanyon
160. Defying the Odds- Kele Moon
161. Pearl- Kelly Rand- This is short, but there's a huge amount of story here, without feeling rushed.
162. Yearning- Amy Lane
163. A Note in the Margin- Isabelle Rowan
164. Volley Balls- Tara Lain
165. Easy- Ally Blue
166. Claimed- Evangeline Anderson
167. Country Mouse- Amy Lane, Aleksandr Voinov
168. Shattered Glass- Dani Alexander
169. Cost of Repairs- A.M. Arthur
170. You Can Leave Your Hat On- Lena Matthews
171. Hard Tail- J.L. Merrow
172. Taurus: All That You Do- Jamie Craig
173. Out of the Fire- Ariel Tachna
174. Salad on the Side- Karenna Colcroft
175. Windows in Time- M. Jules Aedin- A mystery, a bit of a ghost story, gender stuff. Really good.
176. Bound by Blood- Jourdan Lane
177. Kaden's Colors- Ryan Loveless
178. Hanging Loose- Lou Harper
179. The Luckiest- Piper Vaughn, M.J. O'Shea
180. Actually, I'm Gay- Roxy Harte
181. Loose Change- Sean Kennedy
182. Chasing the Mailman- Amber Redd
183. A Matter of Time, Vol 2- Mary Calmes
184. Don't Look Back- Josh Lanyon
185. One Good Year- Rowan McBride
186. The Druid Stone- Heidi Belleau, Violetta Vane- Fantasy, romance, big bad guys, time travel.
187. But My Boyfriend Is- K.A. Mitchell
188. Blood Will Tell- Kyra Cornelius Kramer
189. Media Naranja- Clare London
190. Spell Bound- Rachel Hawkins
191. Immortal Coil- Jordan Castillo Price
192. Where Nerves End- L.A. Witt
193. Sticks & Stones- Abigail Roux, Madeleine Urban
194. Hell Cop- Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling, Ginn Hale
195. Flat-Out Sexy- Erin McCarthy
196. Boys in the Band- B.A. Tortuga
197. This Rough Magic- Josh Lanyon
198. All He Ever Needed- Shannon Stacey
199. Discipline- Chris Owen, Jodi Payne
200. Truth or Dare- Jenna Byrnes
201. Brookstreet: Thief- Ava March
202. Love Means... No Shame- Andrew Grey
203. The Dangers of Fairy Compacts- Katey Hawthorne
204. Life as a Fairy Thrall- Katey Hawthorne
205. Born to Darkness- Suzanne Brockmann
206. Champion- Jet Mykles
207. Pressure Head- J.L. Merrow- Another excellent Merrow
208. Gasp!- Z.A. Maxfield- A spoiled mess of a rockstar and a soldier trying to find a place for himself
                      outside of the military. Not perfect, but a fun read.
209. Third You Die- Scott Sherman- The third, and possibly final, Kevin Connor mystery. (sniffle)
210. Moving in Rhythm- Dev Bentham
211. Twilight- Ally Blue
212. Eighth Grade Bites- Heather Brewer
213. Boy Meets Boy- David Levithan
214. The Flesh Cartel #1: Capture- Rachel Haimowitz, Heidi Belleau- Rape, torture, dark, intense.
                       Definitely not for everyone. First of a serial.
215. My Regelence Rake- J.L. Langley
216. The Kraken's Mirror- Maureen O. Betita
217. Song of Oestend- Marie Sexton- Alternate history western, supernatural, romance. Amazing.
218. Marathon Cowboys- Sarah Black
219. The Hot Floor- Josephine Myles- Fantastic menage story, tons of emotion & vulnerability. And hot!
220. Curious?: A Woman's Introduction to Gay Romance- Amy Lane, et al
221. Second Hand- Heidi Cullinan, Marie Sexton
222. Death Comes As the End- Agatha Christie
223. Just Like Heaven- Julia Quinn- Not much meat to the story, but it was great fun.
224. Cop Out- K.C. Burn
225. Slight of Hand- Katrina Strauss
226. Love. Hypothetically- Anne Tenino
227. Mind Magic- Poppy Dennison
228. Magpie- Kim Dare- Really interesting take on shifter culture, with BDSM. Loved Kane.
229. The Courage to Love- Samantha Kane
230. Phonebook- Amy Lane
231. Raising the Stakes- Amy Lane
232. Insta-Love- Josephine Myles
233. Art of Death- Ana Bosch
234. Closer- Ally Blue
235. In Service- Mima
236. Heart Trouble- Josh Lanyon
237. College Boys- Daisy Harris
238. Fire Balls- Tara Lain- A twink who's tougher than he looks and a firefighter who has to find his
                      courage.
239. Twice by Chance- Susan Laine
240. Strawberries and the Beast- April Moone
241. Adder- Ally Blue
242. The Gravedigger's Brawl- Abigail Roux- Spooky ghost story and a great romance.
243. The Gathering- Kelley Armstrong
244. The Flesh Cartel #2: Auction- Rachel Haimowitz, Heidi Belleau- Even more intense and violent
                       than the first one.
245. Pets, Book 1: Sparkling- Mike Shade
246. Admiring Anna- Kim Dare
247. Saviours of Oestend- Marie Sexton- Sequel to Song of Oestend. Fantastic.
248. Brush With Catastrophe- Tara Lain
249. Used, Rare, and Custom Jobs- Chris Owen
250. Boats in the Night- Josephine Myles- Just good stuff.
251. Blood Relations- K.C. Burn
252. By the River- Katey Hawthorne
253. Silent Night- Deanna Raybourn
254. Without Reservations- J.L. Langley
255. The Good Thief- James Buchanan
256. Lesson Learned- Lillian Francis
257. Be Bad, For Goodness Sake- Tara Lain
258. Riptide Rentboys: The 2012 Collection- Rachel Haimowitz, et al
259. Unacceptable Risk- Kaje Harper
260. One True Thing- Piper Vaughn, M.J. O'Shea
261. Puppy, Car, and Snow- Amy Lane
262. Feeling Hot- Elle Kennedy
263. Doctor Who: The Angel's Kiss- Justin Richards
264. How to Raise an Honest Rabbit- Amy Lane
265. Conduct Unbecoming- L.A. Witt- Military romance set on Okinawa post-DADT repeal.
266. Season For Surrender- Theresa Romain
267. Cherish- Tere Michaels
268. The Long Way Home- Z.A. Maxfield- Fantastic supernatural romantic suspense.
269. I Don't: A Christmas Wish- Kari Gregg- Some really painful stuff, but also funny and well done.
270. Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things- Randy O. Frost
271. Snow Balls- Tara Lain
272. Miracle of the Bellskis- Astrid Amara
273. Knitter in His Natural Habitat- Amy Lane
274. Borderline- T.A. Chase
275. Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples- Rodger
                    Streitmatter
276. Before He Cheats- Kim Dare
277. O Come All Ye Kinky- Joey W. Hill, et al
278. Turkey in the Snow- Amy Lane
279. You Melted Me- Kari Gregg
280. Something Like Summer- Jay Bell

And I don't know if I'll finish in time, but if I do, Cold Days by Jim Butcher will be book 281.  And so far it's fantastic, so it will be another bolded one!

Donation 2012

Last year I knit my brother a pair of warm house socks for Christmas.  I had some yarn leftover, so I decided to knit a hat.  And since I didn't have anyone in particular who needed a hat, I decided to donate it somewhere.  And then, because this is me we're talking about, it kind of snowballed.

Here's that first hat:

And here's a picture of my 2012 knitted donation:

Final count was 3 scarves, 2 cowls, 2 pair of fingerless mitts, and 33 hats.  40 items all together.  Woot!  Ten items went to Trinity Place, a ten bed shelter in New York City for homeless LGBTQ youth.  The rest went to Ruth Ellis Center, an organization in Detroit that has both a drop-in center and residential programs for LGBTQ youth.  Ruth Ellis estimates that there are 800 homeless teens in Detroit on any given day.  The situation in NYC is even worse.  According to this article, as of 2008 there were approximately 3,800 homeless youth in NYC, but the city had only 250 shelter beds reserved for teens.  Some knitting doesn't mean much in the face of those kinds of numbers, but hopefully these things will mean something to the 40 people who get them.

I'm already plotting my donation for next year.  I give cash when I can, which isn't as often as I'd like.  But in the meantime I have a cabinet full of yarn and all the time in the world.  For 2013 I hope to be able to donate 100 hats.

My Facebook Comment to Heterosexual Awareness Month

because they will delete it and block me any minute:

The "attack on marriage" (aka EQUALITY) does not cause suicide. Bullying and hate cause suicide. You really want to have an affect on the suicide rate? Stop pretending that heterosexuals are the injured party when it's the LGBTQ community that's being denied basic human rights. And stop telling kids that it's OK to bully and harass people who are different from themselves.

Heterosexual Awareness Month.  Yeah, right.  Like anyone, anywhere missed the fact that heterosexual people exist.