Comments on: Monday Morning Stepback: Reviews of Unavailable Books — Do They Bug You?

By: Linkage and Stuff « Me and My Books

Linkage and Stuff « Me and My Books — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:44:28 +0000

[...] 11, 2009 by bookdaze Via Jessica’s Monday Morning Stepback post at Racy Romance Reviews, I hopped over to Courtney Milan’s blog where she gives her take on [...]

By: Sherry Thomas

Sherry Thomas — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:45:15 +0000

@Janine:

When it comes to covers, I care more about things like hair color than things like zippers.

Absolutely. But the zipper did and does make me giggle.

By: Sunita

Sunita — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:10:28 +0000

I’m late to the conversation, but let me add to the chorus who like reviews of OOP books. I think OOP reviews are particularly appropriate because this is a personal blog, not a comprehensive review site. I’m interested in *your* take on books, that’s why I come here. Also, abebooks.com has made a ton of money off me as I catch up with corners of the genre I’ve missed despite reading romances regularly for decades.

Also, I have a copy of The Windflower; I’m happy to send it to you on a long-term loan.

By: Janine

Janine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:33:02 +0000

@Sherry Thomas: Good point, but I still felt it captured the allure of Submit. And her hair was the right color, or closer to it, than her hair on the new cover. When it comes to covers, I care more about things like hair color than things like zippers.

By: Janet W

Janet W — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:39:41 +0000

Love OOP reviews … I always hope that an outpouring of interest in a book … like Jane L talking about The Windflower in conjunction with the new Carina Press, if I’m not mistaken, will lead to wonderful long out of print books being reprinted. And here’s a public promise: if The Windflower is re-offered as an e-book, I’ll buy one … an e-book reader that is.

By: Sherry Thomas

Sherry Thomas — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:40:13 +0000

@Janine:

My favorite of the three Black Silk covers is the one of the original edition from Jove, which had Submit in a black dress.

That dress had a ZIPPER! Talk about anachronism.

By: Kari

Kari — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:22:26 +0000

I have a friend that was in Tbilsi for the Peace Corps last summer. Her group ended up evacuating to the hills of a bordering country before being sent back to the US and reassigned to another country. However, while she was still there, she said there were lots of problems with people stealing your mail unless it was sent to the Embassy.

By: Janine

Janine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:11:01 +0000

4. That is a gorgeous cover for Black Silk. But I totally object to the fact that the woman is wearing a white dress under the black jacket. That is so wrong.

I am so glad you said something. Yes, the woman wears black black black through the entire novel — it’s a huge part of her characterization, her allure, everything! So this is a big problem. So I guess I should say that as a romance novel cover it is lovely, but not as the cover for Black Silk.

My favorite of the three Black Silk covers is the one of the original edition from Jove, which had Submit in a black dress. I unfortunately can’t find my copy of that one right now. I really hope I didn’t thoughtlessly cull it from my book collection when I moved last year.

I’m reading the Avon e-book right now for a review Robin and I are working on for Dear Author.

By: Janine

Janine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:01:20 +0000

BTW – from Black Ice to Black Silk – what comes next, Black Duct Tape?

Damn, willaful beat me to it!

By: Janine

Janine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:59:11 +0000

Eva Ibbotson, an author I must read

Yes, you really must.

Out of print reviews are essential, IMO, to keeping a conversation alive about which books are the classics or canon of the genre. And why is that important? Because it leads people to discover and read those books. Which gets readers some wonderful reading experiences while writers who read them have the opportunity to learn from the best. I was lucky enough to discover Kinsale, Gaffney and Cuevas/Ivory while all of them were still writing romance regularly, but now that they aren’t, I fear those books will cease to be read. Ibbotson is a great example of an author I discovered through internet word-of-mouth after her books had gone out of print in this country. I would hate for anyone to miss out on these authors.

So no, reviews of OOP books don’t bother me. Most can be found with the help of book search sites like addall.com.

As for reviews of books which aren’t out yet, even if you can’t preorder because you prefer e-books, is it really so hard to open another window, go to your favorite online bookstore, and add the book to your wishlist there as a reminder to yourself that the book is one for the TBB list?