Sunday Soup, August 30

In The Soup This Week... Katrina, book lists, gas ranges, and some so-so reading...

Soup Dish:  on my mind
✽Hurricane Katrina was ten years ago yesterday. I just have no words for the sadness at the destruction and loss.

✽I'll read anything Loretta Chase writes, including any kind of interview or op-ed piece like this one.

✽There are so many lists published about what to read, it's hard to find one that resonates.  I have a pretty good idea of how much work it takes to put together a post like this one at Under the Covers book blog (note to self, this post is much better on the site than in your feed reader) and my hat is off to the folks that compiled it.  But I am actually pretty partial to this one, curated by the inimitable KatieBabs.  Ten is a number I can wrap my head around, and once I peel off a few that aren't my thing, I could conceivable make a pretty good dent in this one.

✽Randomly:  I'm in the market for a new gas range. I need a 30" width, and a dual oven is a very nice option, though i guess not 100% required.  Consumer reports gives me contradicting information, with reviews of some pretty bad experiences all over their top recommendations.  Meh. I have internet-review-induced paralysis.  Anyone have one they love?

What I'm reading
✽I downloaded a Violet Duke title, Resisting the Bad Boy, based on a special price promotion, and I've seen some buzz about the author. I liked the story fairly well but I did not realize that it wasn't an HEA book, but the first in a trilogy (or possibly more).  I'm further turned off by the fact that the next book pits the hero of the first book's brother against him in a love triangle, so I'm out. No issues with the writing or characters, but I guess I'm traditional enough in my genre formula that I don't want to read this kind of book.  It's still a freebie on Amazon though, so if you want to give it a try, now is the time.

✽I found myself starting another short story this week, an oldie from Kim Harrison in the Holidays Are Hell anthology.  Haven't finished it yet, but I likely will in the next day or two.

✽I'm still grudgingly making progress on the Regency I've mentioned, which I'll go ahead and name: it's I Loved A Rogue, from Katharine Ashe's Prince Catcher series. This is my first title from Ashe, and I have to say I expected better.  I can't quite put my finger on what is dragging me down on this one, but it looks like I'll finish it, so maybe I'll have a perspective on it at that point.