Free and bargain romance ebooks + Discussion December 2013

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

If only it was this easy! I don't much like fattening foods (unless it's desserts ), plus doctor says it must be 'healthy' pounds.



I never tried muscle building, but I can only do low impact exercises. I contacted a dietitian; we were supposed to meet tomorrow but I had to change my appointment at the last minute. I can only see her on Mondays so hopefully I'll get that done first Monday in the new year.

I'm not a finicky eater but I have a sensitive stomach, and I get that 'full' feeling very quickly so I can't eat large portions, which is why the doctor advised that I break up my meal times in order to eat more. We generally eat 'healthy' stuff (no fried foods, little to no meat, no sodas, chips etc) at home so I'm just not used to eating fattening stuff. Most times I get to eat bacon/sausages only when I travel for work and eat breakfast at a hotel. If I do this for more than two days, my body (stomach actually) starts to revolt and scream for cereal (which is my regular breakfast). My husband doesn't eat pork, beef or chicken so that almost never gets cooked at home. He'll prepare it for me if I want it but I've always thought it made little sense to be constantly preparing two sets of meals.



I actually love butter but I eat little bread so ... Everybody tells me if I ate more bread I wouldn't have any trouble

I must look into lifting weights, though.

As you know I'm very limited on what I can eat. I live on grilled chicken and French fries. My breakfast is fiber cereal with 2% milk, 1 Kashi trail mix bar. Lunch is at half grilled turkey or ham panini and 1 kashi trail mix bar. Dinner is Micky D's grilled chicken club and French fries. Some nights he will bring in a roast beef and turkey sub from Jimmie John's. I sometimes snack on dried fruit and mixed nuts.

I can't have hamburger or pizza or Italian or Mexican food but he eats it all the time. I can't have chocolate or anything like that. Sometimes I can tolerate fresh veggies and fruits but not often. If I had my way about it I would eat them every day. My system is so sensitive to anything that taste good. lol

[KyBunnies]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

I've just get eReaderId deals, and It's gone down from 6.59 to 1.99.

Thanks she must of filled out the wrong form for me.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by KyBunnies

Thanks she must of filled out the wrong form for me.

Anyway, it looks interesting, so I think I'm going to finish this week purchases (or perhaps tomorrow, so we begin with it )

[NixLapi]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

2. There's a Russian literature challenge going around; I haven't signed up (yet?) but I want to try it. I think the book must either be set in Russia or written by a Russian author. I want to do Level 1 (1-3 books) and go with Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Nabokov's Lolita and The Complete Short Novels (there are four) of Anton Chekhov.

6. And my Classics Club challenge! Read 75 classics by August 2018. Whew! But I love it so far

Oh I love these two! I haven't read any classics in years (not counting Austen re-reads), maybe time to add some to my tier 1 list!

Originally Posted by Blue2u

4] Stop falling for nice covers!

YES! I have gotten better at this one, but some of those chiseled torsos are hard to resist! lol

[worktolive]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

I never tried muscle building, but I can only do low impact exercises.

I actually love butter but I eat little bread so ... Everybody tells me if I ate more bread I wouldn't have any trouble

I must look into lifting weights, though.

Sounds like you mainly eat somewhat vegetarian, so start sautéing your veges in a couple of Tbsp. of butter to cook them. Then throw in a large handful of your favorite nuts (almonds and pine nuts are particularly good for cooking, especially if you toast them first). Nuts are very healthy, so your Dr. should approve of those.

Nuts also go really well in couscous, rice pilaf, and other starchy foods and will help up the calorie count. Can you eat beans or chick peas/hummus? They are both are starch and a protein, and are higher in calories then other vegetables. You can toss beans (and nuts) on salads along with goat, feta or blue cheese. If you like peanuts, have a peanut butter sandwich, or peanut butter with apples or bananas as one of your snacks. If you don't like peanut butter, you can get almond or cashew butter. It's great on any kind of bread.

Good luck, and definitely give weight lifting a try. You don't have to lift heavy weights to get the benefit and it is no-impact so it should be okay for you. If you have a gym nearby, it's worth it to pay for one or two sessions with a personal trainer just to learn about the equipment, but you can work out pretty effectively at home with ankle weights, and a set of 3, 5, and maybe 8 lb hand weights.

[ScalyFreak]

OT book recommendation: New Rules of Lifting for Women

My library has the ebook if you want to try before you buy it, but it's definitely well worth owning this book. In addition to being very educational about weight lifting as a whole it has full workouts that you can do at home just as well as at the gym. You start on the absolute beginner level and work your way up over several months. Personally, I found the book worth owning just for the chapter with various recipes for food that helps with the muscle building part.

Lifting heavy is fun!

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by worktolive

Sounds like you mainly eat somewhat vegetarian, so start sautéing your veges in a couple of Tbsp. of butter to cook them. Then throw in a large handful of your favorite nuts (almonds and pine nuts are particularly good for cooking, especially if you toast them first). Nuts are very healthy, so your Dr. should approve of those.

Nuts also go really well in couscous, rice pilaf, and other starchy foods and will help up the calorie count. Can you eat beans or chick peas/hummus? They are both are starch and a protein, and are higher in calories then other vegetables. You can toss beans (and nuts) on salads along with goat, feta or blue cheese. If you like peanuts, have a peanut butter sandwich, or peanut butter with apples or bananas as one of your snacks. If you don't like peanut butter, you can get almond or cashew butter. It's great on any kind of bread.

Good luck, and definitely give weight lifting a try. You don't have to lift heavy weights to get the benefit and it is no-impact so it should be okay for you. If you have a gym nearby, it's worth it to pay for one or two sessions with a personal trainer just to learn about the equipment, but you can work out pretty effectively at home with ankle weights, and a set of 3, 5, and maybe 8 lb hand weights.

Thanks for the great advice! I do love nuts (and peanut butter!) so that should be easy to incorporate. I'm definitely going to look into the weights.

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

OT book recommendation: New Rules of Lifting for Women

My library has the ebook if you want to try before you buy it, but it's definitely well worth owning this book. In addition to being very educational about weight lifting as a whole it has full workouts that you can do at home just as well as at the gym. You start on the absolute beginner level and work your way up over several months. Personally, I found the book worth owning just for the chapter with various recipes for food that helps with the muscle building part.

Lifting heavy is fun!

Ok, I just loaned this one out of the library; I'll check out what it has to say, especially the recipes.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by NixLapi

Oh I love these two! I haven't read any classics in years (not counting Austen re-reads), maybe time to add some to my tier 1 list!

The Classics Club challenge is great, and the participating bloggers/readers have all sorts of reading events and challenges (readalongs, readathons, memes, buddy reads, etc) throughout the year to keep you motivated. I read Jane Eyre via one such readalong and it was a great experience.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by Blue2u

1] Stop buying whole series from new author unless I’ve read the 1st one
2] Finish more series than I start
3] Be even more choosy on starting new series/authors, I have enough authors that are autobuys
4] Stop falling for nice covers!
5] And most importantly, spend more timing reading books than I do about books!

These are awesome goals.

Prompted by goodreads, I set a goal to read 300 books in 2013. It looks like I'll have read approximately 280 by years-end. I'm OK with that.

This year I'd like to read books that are of better quality, even if it takes more time and effort, because I sure did read a lot of books that weren't very good this year.

[Joykins]

For weight gain, btw, I suggest homemade granola. Plenty of of added fat and sugar, but in a nutritious way with whole grains, seeds, nuts and dried fruit, all of which are calorie dense as well. And you can nibble on it a little at a time with no problem. Don't get the commercial stuff because it doesn't have enough fat in it and it isn't anywhere near as delicious. You want one of those recipes where you really chunk on the honey and oil.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Joykins

These are awesome goals.

Prompted by goodreads, I set a goal to read 300 books in 2013. It looks like I'll have read approximately 280 by years-end. I'm OK with that.

This year I'd like to read books that are of better quality, even if it takes more time and effort, because I sure did read a lot of books that weren't very good this year.

Same here. I want more good quality stories. Is it me or does the writing seem more and more simple and predictable from books being published lately?

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Same here. I want more good quality stories. Is it me or does the writing seem more and more simple and predictable from books being published lately?

I thought it was just me, though the term I prefer to use is "more stupid".

[library addict]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Same here. I want more good quality stories. Is it me or does the writing seem more and more simple and predictable from books being published lately?

The word count on many books is shorter today than it was 10-15 years ago.

I know I loved the Silhouette Intimate Moments line. Then it became Silhouette Romantic Suspense and they cut the word count. It made a huge difference. Recently they increased the word count again (and it's now Harlequin Romantic Suspense), but I don't think it's quite back to what it was when it was SIM.

And historicals aren't as epic in scope as they were when I first started reading romance in the early 80s. I don't miss the TSTL heroines or all of the rapes and guessing-who-the-hero-is-supposed-to-be, but I do miss reading about settings other than Regency England.

I also think some (not all, but some) of the books I've read that are self-published are books that are very simplistic and make no sense plot-wise. The type where I wish I could have my time back moreso than the money

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

I thought it was just me, though the term I prefer to use is "more stupid".

I guess that would work. I look at romances written in the 90s or late 90s and those written today and it's like words have been simplified compare to the more complex writing of just 10 years ago. It has nothing to do with word count and all to do with writing style. We need a Save The English Language campaign.

I think one of my goals for 2014 will be find more authors who still have a strong writing style and to support them and to stop following the current trend where people will read anything as long as the hero is so hot and bad. This will probably cut down on 75% of my spending.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by library addict

And historicals aren't as epic in scope as they were when I first started reading romance in the early 80s. I don't miss the TSTL heroines or all of the rapes and guessing-who-the-hero-is-supposed-to-be, but I do miss reading about settings other than Regency England.

I also think some (not all, but some) of the books I've read that are self-published are books that are very simplistic and make no sense plot-wise. The type where I wish I could have my time back moreso than the money

Do you miss the poetic way the authors use to write those historicals? I really do. This past year I have picked up many books only to realize the writing was too weak and the book should never have been published by a mainstream publisher. I think I learned to not buy something till I read at least the first few pages of the sample.