Books, Books, and Something Completely Different

I finished Blackout. I knew the book was part one of a two book set, but I did not realize that it was originally supposed to be a single book. Or that the editor must have been inebriated when they made the decision to suddenly end the book. Seriously. The book just stopped at the end of a chapter when a new character is introduced and nothing is resolved. It was very frustrating. I kept looking to see if there was a note that said, "Just kidding!!! Here's the rest!" But no. Now I have to wait until I have time to read the next book, All Clear, to find out what happens. Because I need to know what happens. Oy.

On a different note, I just finished my first romance novel, Vision in White by Nora Roberts. It is the first book in a series called the Bride Quartet. I read it for my reader's advisory class (part of the class is reading a few books from a variety of genres so we can at least be familiar with them). It was easy to read, light hearted, nice characters with only a little conflict, had a predictable ending, and I liked it. I can't say I loved it, but I liked it. It was a nice break from all of the more involved books I've been reading. Just the break I needed, and I've already checked 2 more romances out of the library. One for class, and the other is the second book in the series. I think I may get hooked on romance novels...
And on another completely different note, I'm going to Russia for two weeks over the summer!!!!! It's a study abroad program, and I will be learning about libraries and museums in Russia. The program is in St. Petersburg, and I will be there during the White Nights Festival. I'm so excited! But of course, because I'm a little crazy, my first thoughts after signing up were about what I would read on the plane. It is a long flight, after all. Maybe that will be my chance to read All Clear and finish Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. But I guess I have plenty of time to decide.

Anyway, this post was a way for me to procrastinate and avoid textbook reading, which I must get to. But  on a last completely different note, I registered for the Marine Corp Marathon yesterday. The race allows a maximum of 30,000 runners, and it filled up in a record 2 hours and 41 minutes. Another thing I'm excited for!