What Are you Reading? Showing 5,551-5,600 of 16,523

[KC]

Just finished reading Stories Beneath Our Skin, such a beautifully quiet and gently sweet story, loved it! Thank you, Anne, for mentioning it here :-)

[Anne]

KC wrote: "Just finished reading Stories Beneath Our Skin, such a beautifully quiet and gently sweet story, loved it! Thank you, Anne, for mentioning it here :-)"

You're welcome, dear. I'm glad you liked it :)

[Anne]

Tracy wrote: "You know the "Good news/bad news" thing? I HATE that. Especially in my own life. *sigh*"

Not too bad news, I hope.

[Susinok]

Takedown by Cat Grant featuring MMA fighters was a good read after a bit of a slow start. So I want to read Fight by Kelly Wyre. I look over the reviews and the first five or so have animated gifs. I almost don't want to read it now...

I'm so contrary! But I'm giving it a shot.

[Jordan]

When I see a lot of animated gifs in reviews, I usually pause in my thoughts as to whether or not I want to read the book too.

[Susinok]

Jordan wrote: "When I see a lot of animated gifs in reviews, I usually pause in my thoughts as to whether or not I want to read the book too."

Glad I'm not the only one. Starts out pretty grim with a anonymous hookup in a bathroom and the guy is so disgusted with himself for being gay, being in the closet, not being himself that he's drugged himself to the gills and drunk in order to go there in the first place. Kind of ew.

[Jordan]

That sounds like a straight guy on a dare from his stupid college buddies. Or something he has to do to get into the frat house, as a straight guy.

Yeah, I don't think so.

[Karen]

Susinok wrote: "Jordan wrote: "When I see a lot of animated gifs in reviews, I usually pause in my thoughts as to whether or not I want to read the book too."

Glad I'm not the only one. Starts out pretty grim wit..."

Fight is an unusual book. (It has nothing to do with college dares BTW.) I admit that I did a fast read, kind of skimming, not because the story wasn't interesting, but I was somewhat impatient with the telling of it. It's gritty, not pleasant or sugar-coated, but is actually is a romance. There were some twists I'd have never predicted.

[Susinok]

So far it's holding my interest. Nathan is an unusual character, and he's a mess. He reminds me a little bit of Kimo before being forced out of the closet at the beginning of Mahu.

[Jordan]

It sounds kind of interesting,and yet the blurb just isn't fully grabbing me to make me want to read the book. But, I do note that it's getting a lot of good reviews. Even if some of them have gifs.

[Jordan]

I just finished reading The Crystal Cave, and LOVED it. Plus, I think the edition I have is, if not a first edition, it's pretty close. And it's in fantastic condition. :-) Even if the cover isn't very pretty. lol. I liked Mary Stewart's author's note at the end of the book, explaining where she got the idea from and admitting that it wasn't a reputable source for accurate information. Hey, she told a good story, and that's the important part, I think.

Now, I'm going to be starting Boy Culture later today. This, I believe, came out before the movie. And I had a good laugh the other day when I found an index in the back of the book to help you find all the different sex scenes. lol. Obviously, now we know what kind of book this is going to be. ;-)

[Jordan]

Yup, just confirmed... my copy of The Crystal Cave is, in fact, a first edition published in England. In fantastic condition mostly because it was a well-made hardcover.

So now that I know I want to continue the series, I don't own the second book... am looking for a matching first edition. Might buy it, though it's more than I would normally pay for a book. It'll at least match and be in good condition. Even if the following two I own are retired library paperbacks... for now. lol.

[Susinok]

Jordan wrote: "It sounds kind of interesting,and yet the blurb just isn't fully grabbing me to make me want to read the book. But, I do note that it's getting a lot of good reviews. Even if some of them have gifs."

It's an odd story. There's all sorts of things going on. Nathan has a fiance, but there's a catch to that. He's horribly unhappy in the closet to the point of self-medicating. He's a real mess. Nathan's fiance has her own story which I don't want to give away.

A bit soap opera-ish, but not in a bad way.

[Susinok]

OH and the story takes place in Knoxville, TN, which is important. Trying to be gay in the South, and all that mess.

[Jordan]

Susinok wrote: "OH and the story takes place in Knoxville, TN, which is important. Trying to be gay in the South, and all that mess."

Just one more thing to add to the pile, right?

Wow. Poor guy. I do love tortured heroes. He sounds like a character I'd like. Maybe I'll check it out.

[Antonella]

I had two quite unproductive days from the point of view of working, but very productive from the point of view of reading ;-).

I read or reread different free fics by shukyou (also known as W2 - pronounced 'whit-two' -, ladysisyphus or Whitney Bishop) and Domashita Romero.
They are both good authors of shorter or longer stories. I wonder why they are not more known.

[Susinok]

Jordan wrote: "Wow. Poor guy. I do love tortured heroes. He sounds like a character I'd like. Maybe I'll check it out. ..."

It's entertaining in a Tennessee Williams/Desperate Housewives kinda way. Twisted.

[KC]

Read again vol.1&2 of The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal before reading today this final (?) and again wonderful installment The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal Volume 3: Ten Days of Perfect Tunes. The story, the books, everything about this series is so beautiful, i love it!

[Antonella]

KC wrote: "Read again vol.1&2 of The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal before reading today this final (?) and again wonderful installment [book:The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal Volume 3: T..."

I agree! They are brilliant, I'm sad it ended.

[ttg]

Antonella wrote: "I had two quite unproductive days from the point of view of working, but very productive from the point of view of reading ;-).

I read or reread different free fics by shukyou (a..."

To answer Antonella's question here, both writers wrote for the yaoi online fiction anthology Shousetsu Bang*Bang, which has been running monthly since...2006? It started on livejournal, and was a vehicle for a lot of yaoi fanfic writers to explore writing original yaoi or m/m short stories. (I have two stories buried in there under a pseudonym.) With about 8-12 stories an issue, they have hundreds of original m/m short stories in their archive now.

Both authors have gained more notoriety once someone started adding their short stories to GoodReads (also, they are starting to add them to Archive Of Our Own as well, which I think helps.) But I think they haven't been "discovered" by the voracious m/m audience until the last couple years because they were mostly known by those who followed SSBB's releases, which is a pretty niche group stemming out of fanfic writers from LJ.

It's neat to see the whole thing grow more popular though, including some of the writers. They started focusing on writing original stories before the "boom", but now you can see how the boom is helping push up all those authors' efforts. (I think Domoshita said she was going to compile her shorts into an anthology for publication as well.)

[Alison]

I finished A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day yesterday and I loved it. It was a compelling story based on an interesting premise and I loved the voice of the narrator. This has been sitting on my Kindle for quite a while and I'm so glad I finally had a look at it. The writing has a beautiful quality to it. It's an interesting vision of the near future and the romance is lovely.

[Antonella]

ttg wrote: "To answer Antonella's question here, both writers wrote for the yaoi online fiction anthology Shousetsu Bang*Bang..."

Thank you for the information, dear Tracy!

[Antonella]

Alison wrote: "I finished A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day yesterday and I loved it. It was a compelling story based on an interesting premise and I loved the voice of the narrator."

I loved it as well, and I found out later that there is a sequel, which gathered controversial opinions: Out of the Ashes.

I'm just waiting that more of my friends read it, so that they will act as guinea pigs for the book ;-).

[Idamus]

Antonella wrote: "Alison wrote: "I finished A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day yesterday and I loved it. It was a compelling story based on an interesting premise and I loved the voice of the narrat..."


Are the dragons shifters? Don't read that, but it does sound interesting

[Antonella]

Idamus wrote: "Are the dragons shifters? Don't read that, but it does sound interesting"

Sorry to disappoint you, the dragons are not shifters.

[Idamus]

Antonella wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Are the dragons shifters? Don't read that, but it does sound interesting"

Sorry to disappoint you, the dragons are not shifters."

No, that is good, I don't like shifters :D

I shall add to my long list of to-read books

[Susinok]

I'm reading General Misconduct by L.A. Witt. It's ok. It's dragging a bit for me. Well written, and I like the descriptions of Japan. Just not really into the story.

[Jordan]

I finished Boy Culture late last night. Loved every minute of it, and enjoyed the fact that it was a very fast read. It's not nearly as sex-filled as I'd thought it would be. The sex is tastefully written, and sometimes is fate-to-black even. It's not a traditional romance, but yeah, it does center around X's feelings for his roommate and how that turns out in the end.

I started reading Safe Words this morning. I'm in the middle of chapter three right now,and I'm not finding it that appealing yet. It's rather boring. They've played basketball, gone shopping, had sex, and watched a horror movie. Wow. Talk about enthralling. lol.

The first three books in this series were pretty good. After that, not so much. This is the fifth book. I thought it was done at the end of book four when it became a threesome and all seemed happy. But when book five came out, I decided to give it a shot. If this doesn't work out, I'm not buying book six, if there ever is one. I'm getting tired of Phantom's issues. And the whole Noah being a cop and quitting was just not done right at all, soooo unrealistic it wasn't even funny. The way police academies work these days, there's no way you can go into law enforcement and not expect violence and stress and a tough job. How you get the job thinking you're only going to be rescuing kittens from trees and helping old ladies cross the street is beyond me. No wonder he quit the job. *sigh*

OK, sorry, rant over. If this wasn't part of a series or on my summer reading list, I'd be putting book five down already though, which is bad news.

[Antonella]

Jordan wrote: "The first three books in this series were pretty good."

I was happy to get rid of the paperbacks of Submission and Domination at the UK Meet in Manchester. Even those were ''meh'' for me.

[KC]

A couple of short stories:

1) His Grandfather's Watch - it's a sweet short story. The first part is present day, a very light romance, i enjoyed the lack of conflict and how things just simply happened; the second part is a story within the story, taking place in the past. As expected, it made me cry, but it's sweet and passionate too, so overall i really enjoyed the story.

2) Molly's Aim - this is from Hansen's Bohannon's Country: 2mystery Stories, which is a collection of five short mysteries. I was (again) so impressed with Hansen's writing and storytelling skills. All the stories so far have this quiet quality that is somehow Hansen, at least in my mind, but this one is...fierce.

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Jordan wrote: "The first three books in this series were pretty good."

I was happy to get rid of the paperbacks of Submission and Domination at the UK Meet in Mancheste..."

Yeah, the whole series is a bit unrealistic. But back when I read the first two books, I wasn't finding much BDSM so I took what I could get. Compared to some others, this series was one of the better ones. At the time, anyway. lol.

[KC]

An unexpected discovery, and a funny coincidence, given our talk of Moomins here, one of my favorite writers - Ali Smith (Hotel World, Like: A Novel, her short stories are really good too) - has written introductions to new editions of some of Tove Jansson's books for adults, and while trying to decide which one i should read first, i stumbled upon The Summer Book (introduced by someone else, but it doesn't really matter). Just started reading it and it's delightful, with a very particular style.

[Antonella]

KC wrote: "An unexpected discovery, and a funny coincidence, given our talk of Moomins here..."

LOL! Every road takes you to the Moomins ;-).

For my part I'm debating whether to retrieve the comic strips, which I know from end of the Seventies. And if yes, in which language, English or Italian.

[Calathea]

Jordan wrote: "The first three books in this series were pretty good. After that, not so much."

It was the same for me when I read them a long while ago. I liked the first three, number 4 was still okay but five was an unnecessary addition to the series.

[Johanna]

KC wrote: "An unexpected discovery, and a funny coincidence, given our talk of Moomins here, one of my favorite writers - Ali Smith (Hotel World, Like: A Novel, her short stories a..."

Funny that you should mention Tove Jansson's The Summer Book because I just bought it (paperback) last week when we were in Helsinki! :-) I haven't had chance to start reading it yet, though. I also bought The Winter Book which has a selection of Tove Jansson's "best loved and most famous" stories. This one has the introduction by Ali Smith. :-)

I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Jansson's The Summer Book so far, KC! I love Tove Jansson's writing voice. There is charming, gentle humor and wisdom in all her stories. Joy and understanding of life — and an hefty amount of hope. And it's all deliver in such ordinary, Scandinavian way. Nothing fancy or extreme about it. ;-)

[Johanna]

I've been reading so little lately that it's a shame. I keep reading some of this and some of that and I have serious difficulties to concentrate on anything, really.

One book that I'm determined to finish is The Desperates by Greg Kearney. I'm about 80% through and it's no walk in a park, not a perfect vacation read by any means, but I really, really like it. The author is clearly very talented and the book has painful, desperate, heart squeezing humanity in it. It's a strange mix of humor and complete misery — and everything between. It's extremely difficult to describe this book... it'll make you laugh, but it's painful to read at times. I do recommend it. (And thank you, John, for recommending it to me earlier.)

By the way the author is Canadian and the book takes partly place in Toronto. :-)

[Jordan]

Calathea wrote: "Jordan wrote: "The first three books in this series were pretty good. After that, not so much."

It was the same for me when I read them a long while ago. I liked the first three, number 4 was stil..."

We'll see how I make it with number five. I've already given up on one of my summer reading books this year. I hope I don't have to give up on two!

[John]

Johanna wrote: "One book that I'm determined to finish is The Desperates by Greg Kearney ..."

The Desperates isn't something I'd recommend to just anyone. It's a bit demanding. One comes to it thinking, "Oh, I would never do horrible things" only to realise that, given a desperate enough situation, one might just. It works because, difficult as the characters can be, they remain richly human. Helpless, yes, but very human.

And oh so funny. But laughing at these funny passages comes with a vague feeling that one shouldn't really find it quite so hysterical. I know I thought more than once, "I really hope this isn't schadenfreude." My partner was mystified when I was reading this. Ordinarily I can explain a funny story or read a passage that made me laugh. When I did that with this one, he looked at me like I was ready for the funny farm.

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

I have just finished Mark of Cain by Kate Sherwood. The story is about a gay Anglican priest who falls in love with the man who killed his brother. It was a really good story and very realistic too and the author managed to capture some of the political issues within the Anglican Church and portray them realistically. In some places the story was quite slow and so it took me time to read it but it isn't the kind of story that can be raced through.

I also finished Marshall Thornton's Boystown 5: Murder Book which is the Nick Nowak mystery series. This is such a great detective series, very gritty and compelling, a bit like Henry Rios but with much more sex. This doesn't detract from the mysteries though.

Next I am finishing off Love is a Stranger which has a published sequel and a third book in the pipeline and then I am planning to dive into Julie Bozza's The Definitive Albert J. Sterne which is a very thick paperback which actually has two Albert Sterne books inside, so a great reading weekend ahead for me.

[Johanna]

John wrote: "The Desperates isn't something I'd recommend to just anyone. It's a bit demanding. One comes to it thinking, "Oh, I would never do horrible things" only to realise that, given a desperate enough situation, one might just. It works because, difficult as the characters can be, they remain richly human. Helpless, yes, but very human."

I agree with your thoughts completely, John. For me the book has been so distressing at times that I have had to take small brakes from it. The feel that it gives me, the grip that it has on me, reminds me of how it felt to read The Brothers Bishop and Junction X. I wouldn't say that they are very similar to each other but there are things in all of them that strike my emotions very deeply, severely, even.

John wrote: "My partner was mystified when I was reading this. Ordinarily I can explain a funny story or read a passage that made me laugh. When I did that with this one, he looked at me like I was ready for the funny farm."

:-D I know the feeling! Every time I've been tempted to read some of the absurdly hilarious bits to hubby, I've restrained myself from doing it because I couldn't see how in the world I'd explain him why I found the lines so funny (without sounding completely crazy or heartless). ;-)

[Johanna]

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I also finished Marshall Thornton's Boystown 5: Murder Book which is the Nick Nowak mystery series. This is such a great detective series, very gritty and compelling, a bit like Henry Rios but with much more sex. This doesn't detract from the mysteries though."

Thank you for reminding me of this series, Ije! I don't know why I keep forgetting it even though I liked the first audio book a lot. It also has a wonderfully fitting narrator, by the way. I'll definitely use my current Audible credit to buy the second in the series. Thank you, dear!

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "and then I am planning to dive into Julie Bozza's The Definitive Albert J. Sterne which is a very thick paperback which actually has two Albert Sterne books inside, so a great reading weekend ahead for me."

This is a book I want to read ASAP! Remember when we talked in Bristol and you suggested that it would make a great BOM book for us sometime? I think that's an excellent idea.

[KC]

Johanna wrote: "I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Jansson's The Summer Book so far, KC! I love Tove Jansson's writing voice. There is charming, gentle humor and wisdom in all her stories. Joy and understanding of life — and an hefty amount of hope. And it's all deliver in such ordinary, Scandinavian way. Nothing fancy or extreme about it. ;-) "

Exactly! I love how the humor sneaks up on you, and how easy it is to visualize, minimalist yet incredibly rich and quite wonderful :-)

[Calathea]

Johanna wrote: "This is a book I want to read ASAP! Remember when we talked in Bristol and you suggested that it would make a great BOM book for us sometime? I think that's an excellent idea.
"

I liked it a lot. It's just so looooong... ;-)
I feel like internet trained to read shorter stories or is that just my impression. I don't remember that I could read a book in one day when I was still reading mainly paper books.

[KC]

Antonella wrote: "KC wrote: "An unexpected discovery, and a funny coincidence, given our talk of Moomins here..."

LOL! Every road takes you to the Moomins ;-).

For my part I'm debating whether to retrieve the comi..."

After a very brief debate, i decided to retrieve the comics... :-)

[Susinok]

I am reading Transgression by Theo Fenraven. So far it is pretty good.

[Johanna]

KC wrote: "I love how the humor sneaks up on you, and how easy it is to visualize, minimalist yet incredibly rich and quite wonderful."

A perfect way to describe Tove Jansson's writing, KC!

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I also finished Marshall Thornton's Boystown 5: Murder Book which is the Nick Nowak mystery series. This is such a great detective series, very gritty and compelli..."

I am going to have such a lovely time reading this weekend Johanna:)

[Valerie]

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I have just finished Mark of Cain by Kate Sherwood. The story is about a gay Anglican priest who falls in love with the man who killed his brother. It was a really good story and ve..."

I'm reading Chasing the Dragon by Kate Sherwood. I am loving it so far. I stayed up too late last night reading it. Mark of Cain has been lingering on my Kindle for a while now. I need to try it. :)

I started the first Boystown audio book this week, but I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time. I'll probably go back to it soon.

[Ame]

Johanna wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I also finished Marshall Thornton's Boystown 5: Murder Book which is the Nick Nowak mystery series. This is such a great detective series, very gritty and compelli..."

I just finished listening to the fifth book and I am totally hooked on it. Yes it's a lot of sex and sex at odd times and places and yet it doesn't put me off the story. Now I don't know if I have the patience to wait for the sixth book to come out as audio book or if I should just buy it as an ebook. Such are my first world problems.

[Jordan]

I probably should get Boystown in audio. I have some of the ebooks, but who knows when I'll get around to them.