First, two new book reviews. I had a chance to read the advance uncorrected proof of Tobias Buckell’s Sly Mongoose. Books like this are why being a reviewer makes me so happy. I might not make much money, and I might be fighting a losing battle against my review stack, but who could resist the delight of getting to read their favorite authors’ books whole months early?! I also read Tess Mallory’s Highland Rogue. I still don’t understand why the Scottish Highlands time-travel romance sub-sub-genre is so surprisingly populous, but at least I can now appreciate it properly—this was better than the other two I read! Tomorrow’s review should be of a slow cooker cookbook.

Second, a new cafepress design. This one is still in our gardeners & outdoorsy folks section, and is aimed at women. Phloxy lady is a variation on ‘foxy lady’ for phlox lovers. Although it might be a little tough to tell in the image below, the letters themselves are filled with real phlox flowers:

It took a little work to get it just right; I had to make sure the image would show up well on both light and dark backgrounds, and that the flowers would be recognizable in the image.

Next, we put up a small bookcase in our dining room. Normally this would not be worth sharing photos of, but I think you’ll understand why I’m doing so when you see them:

Yes, that’s Cahlash, trying his best to be a bookend. Or maybe he figures I’ll not notice he’s there, and put something yummy on the shelf. Yeah, right!

I’m a little behind in catching up with comments and blogs, but hopefully soon!