Summer 2012 Default Read - Marsha Canham

The idea of a summer default read started a couple years back for me, in the midst of yet another reading slump. Despite having enough books, both to read and to re-read (and this was before I had an ereader, mind you) to keep me quite busy during that three month stretch of chasing air conditioning and surrendering the diurnal norm (aka too hot to do anything in the daytime) but once again, water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink (er, read.)

Something had to change. I'd come into posession, thanks to UBS and library sales, of the entirety of Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels book and figured reading through those would solve the what do I read next problem, so I dove in. That worked well enough, so I set the same goal of a default read for the next year, choosing Hannah Howell's Murray family historicals. As luck would have it, I didn't need to go to default much, so still have several of those yet to read.

Since it’s always a good idea to have a Plan B, the default read continues. This year’s choice was easy. Last year, when catsitting for two friends who live a longish walk apart when one is sun and heat sensitive, as I am, I was the proud new owner of a Sony ereader and Marsha Canham’s Robin Hood Trilogy. You can see where this is going. I devoured all three books, largely over the course of the walks at sunrise and sunset. Same catsitting gigs happened at the same time of year this year, so of course it was time for the tradition to continue. I inhaled a reread of Pale Moon Rider, and then moved on to begin a reread of Across A Moonlit Sea, the first installment of the Pirate Wolf duet, which is now a trilogy and growing. Only natural that after that, I plan on a reread of The Iron Rose, and then first time read of The Following Sea.

Which reminds me that I've only read the first two of her Scottish trilogy, A Pride of Lions and Blood of Roses...or did I manage to get to Blood of Roses, because it was at one time harder than hard to get? Not to mention her lone western, Under the Desert Moon, or her riverboat book Straight For the Heart and of course rereads of classic favorites like The Wind and The Sea and then there are still more to come. Will this be the year I don't get out of default mode?

Then again, there are so many other good books coming out from Cecilia Grant, Elizabeth Hoyt, and others, maybe the question should be, do I really need sleep?