Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
ARCHIVE (General Topics)
>
What Are you Reading?
Barbra wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I just finished reading Murder In The Rue St. Ann which is book two in the Chanse Macleod series by Greg Herren. It was an excellent ..."His Scotty Bradley series starting with Bourbon Street Blues is so much more light hearted.
Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "His Scotty Bradley series starting with Bourbon Street Blues is so much more light hearted. ..."I agree!
Becky wrote: "I tend to think of the sample as basic quality control. Do I like the style of the prose? Is it well edited? Is the dialogue good (nothing stops me colder than bad dialogue.) But of course it's no ..."This is exactly how I use it too. I know that I cannot ignore bad writing and bad editing even if the characters and plot are supposedly good. I don't like present tense, and sometimes I haven't realised that is used because I tend to squint at reviews to get a sense of a book without reading them in detail as they tend to give away too much.
I more or less by chance picked up Duffy while out shopping yesterday, written by Dan Kavanagh. I liked it, it's a mystery with a bisexual ex- policeman as the main protagonist, kind of fun and hard- boiled at the same time, written around 1980. This morning I checked it out on Amazon and learned it was written under pseudonym by Julian Barnes. No wonder I found it well written:)
That looks like fun, Anne. Definitely worth at least looking at the sample of. (Like I need another book series to start working through!)
Mod
That might make a good book challenge :-) we'll see.
Just started Fair Play, and I'm loving it so far!
I have two complete short story collections from Agatha Christie. one is Hercule Poirot and the other is Miss Marple. I intend to read through them some day, too. Good idea to spread it out over a year.
Anne wrote: "I more or less by chance picked up Duffy while out shopping yesterday, written by Dan Kavanagh. I liked it, it's a mystery with a bisexual ex- policeman as the main ..."I have Duffy on my Amazon wish list. Paperback copies are going for 1 pence at the moment and I was so tempted but I have piles of books to read right now.
I spent some lazy Sunday time today reading Unwrapping Hank. Really recommended if you want a cute, angst-free, funny little Christmas story. I love the fact that we get these stories at this time of the year. I am a hopeless Christmas romantic :)
Anne wrote: "I spent some lazy Sunday time today reading Unwrapping Hank. Really recommended if you want a cute, angst-free, funny little Christmas story. I love the fact that we get these stori..."Sounds like something I am in the mood for. I have it already.
Anne wrote: "I spent some lazy Sunday time today reading Unwrapping Hank. Really recommended if you want a cute, angst-free, funny little Christmas story. I love the fact that we get these stori..."I just finished Unwrapping Hank, too. I was going to wait until December to start reading holiday stories, but I couldn't resist.
I think I will read Sleigh Ride next, after I finish the m/f romance I'm currently reading, Tempting the Player. I've been into sports romances lately, and this series is about rugby players. After some Youtube browsing I've decided I need to start watching more rugby. :)
Sleigh Ride is fab. Wait until the library scene. I dare you to read it without tears in your eyes. It was a beautiful scene.
Going to Naked Rugby in New Zealand is on my bucket-list.I like sports romances too, even if I know nothing about the sport, the books are fun. I'll have to check out the rugby series.
Ame wrote: "Sleigh Ride is fab. Wait until the library scene. I dare you to read it without tears in your eyes. It was a beautiful scene."Yes, it was wonderful!
Ame wrote: "Sleigh Ride is fab. Wait until the library scene. I dare you to read it without tears in your eyes. It was a beautiful scene."Aw, I'm sure I won't be able to. :)
Susinok wrote: "Going to Naked Rugby in New Zealand is on my bucket-list.I like sports romances too, even if I know nothing about the sport, the books are fun. I'll have to check out the rugby series."
Ha! That sounds like a good idea to me. :)
I also just started listening to Just This Once which has New Zealand rugby players. (I am getting into this rugby thing!).
Susinok wrote: "Going to Naked Rugby in New Zealand is on my bucket-list."Ah, the naked rugby! Yes, you should go! A fine tradition in the cold south. It always looks like lots of silly fun. They had a blind referee this year. :)
If anyone's interested, here's a news story about the match against England earlier this year. There is also a highlights video if you want to see what naked rugby looks like (notice the crowd in their woolly hats and parkas). And yes, there is nudity. It IS naked rugby, after all.
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/video-nu...
Alison wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Going to Naked Rugby in New Zealand is on my bucket-list."Ah, the naked rugby! Yes, you should go! A fine tradition in the cold south. It always looks like lots of silly fun. They..."
Oh, my. What fun! LOL. I think I'd rather watch the All Blacks, shorts and all, please. :D
Valerie C wrote: "Oh, my. What fun! LOL. I think I'd rather watch the All Blacks, shorts and all, please. :D "I'm not a big rugby fan, but it's hard not to watch it occasionally. It's everywhere. It's the only really big sport here and the All Blacks are the team that matters. And those tiny rugby shorts. People wear them a lot here.
Valerie C wrote: "I also just started listening to Just This Once which has New Zealand rugby players. (I am getting into this rugby thing!). "That one looks fun. Rescued by the All Blacks captain! The All Blacks captain is probably the number one celebrity in this country at any given moment in modern history. I'll check it out. I'm into reading New Zealand-y books at the moment. There's even a handful of NZ m/m authors.
Alison wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "Oh, my. What fun! LOL. I think I'd rather watch the All Blacks, shorts and all, please. :D "I'm not a big rugby fan, but it's hard not to watch it occasionally. It's everywhere...."
I have a friend who is a big All Blacks fan. She's been to NZ a couple times. She just recently went to watch the All Blacks play the US team in Chicago.
I can definitely see the appeal. :)
Valerie C wrote: "I have a friend who is a big All Blacks fan. She's been to NZ a couple times. She just recently went to watch the All Blacks play the US team in Chicago. I can definitely see the appeal. :) "
It's a fast, exciting game, that's for sure. I don't really watch sports, but rugby can be fun to watch.
Alison wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "I also just started listening to Just This Once which has New Zealand rugby players. (I am getting into this rugby thing!). "That one looks fun. Rescued by the All Blacks captai..."
I'm not far into it yet but am enjoying learning a bit about NZ and the language/slang (and rugby!). I do really want to visit one day.
Lou wrote: "Naked rugby I'd go see too, though I suspect I'd be too worried about all those exposed danglybits too much to enjoy it.Anyway, I've found myself dangerously low on audiobooks, and combing the li..."
I've never read Heyer, either. I was thinking about trying one of her audiobooks they have on Scribd.
Good question! :)
Valerie C wrote: "Alison wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "I also just started listening to Just This Once which has New Zealand rugby players. (I am getting into this rugby thing!). "That one looks fun. Rescued by the Al...
I'm not far into it yet but am enjoying learning a bit about NZ and the language/slang (and rugby!). I do really want to visit one day."
As always, feel free to let me know if you are coming, Valerie (and the rest of you, too!). I'm always keen to meet up. :)
Alison wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "Alison wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "I also just started listening to Just This Once which has New Zealand rugby players. (I am getting into this rugby thing!). "That one looks fun...."
I certainly will. Thanks. :)
I don't think the bits are in too much more danger. They can't be very protected in nylon shorts and shirts they normally wear. Anyway back to books. Finished Unwrapping Hank which was lots of fun.
Valerie C wrote: "Lou wrote: "Naked rugby I'd go see too, though I suspect I'd be too worried about all those exposed danglybits too much to enjoy it.Anyway, I've found myself dangerously low on audiobooks, and co..."
I listened to The Grand Sophy earlier this fall (it saved me from dying of boredom while waiting for hours in the immigration control line when I went to New York.) A lot of fun, recommended for Heyer virgins :)(This was my first too)
Lou wrote: "And this led to me to Georgette Heyer. I've never read her, but would give her a try. Maybe a mystery to start with. Any recommendations?..."To be honest, her contemporary mysteries are not that great. You could try The Reluctant Widow which is not a true mystery -- it's one of her Regency romances, set in 1813 -- but there is a good mystery running throughout it. It's also amusing, with some excellent dialogue and characters. But please do make sure that you listen to an unabridged version, as there are some abridged Heyer audiobooks around and they do have to omit some good bits.
Alison wrote: "I'm into reading New Zealand-y books at the moment. There's even a handful of NZ m/m authors. ..."I'd love some recommendations, m/m and otherwise, of good New Zealand books as you come across them, please. The All Blacks are certainly doing well!
I just re-read The Lady's Secret by Joanna Chambers and enjoyed it just as much again. I can't believe it's three years since it was published. (It's not m/m.)I'm in the middle of Heidi Cullinan's Fever Pitch which is engrossing; I read far too late last night and am still only half way through!
Anne wrote: "I spent some lazy Sunday time today reading Unwrapping Hank. Really recommended if you want a cute, angst-free, funny little Christmas story. I love the fact that we get these stori..."Unwrapping Hank was fun. Also Sleigh Ride. I'm in the mood for Christmas stories too :-) fun and romantic.
I read Unwrapping Hank by Eli Easton and then read The Festivus Miracle by Kim Fielding. Both were enjoyable!
Anne wrote: "I listened to The Grand Sophy earlier this fall (it saved me from dying of boredom while waiting for hours in the immigration lontrol line when I went to New York.) A lot of fun, recommended for Heyer virgins :)(This was my first too) "Thanks. The Grand Sophy is one I bookmarked so I'll have to try it. :)
I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals. They have just never appealed to me. I've read and liked some m/m but I don't think I've finished a m/f historical. Not that I've tried many. :)
Has anyone read any of Joanna Bourne's Spymaster's series? They look intriguing.
The Spymaster's Lady
Susinok wrote: "I read Unwrapping Hank by Eli Easton and then read The Festivus Miracle by Kim Fielding. Both were enjoyable!"I have Festivus next on my list of holiday stories.
KC wrote: "Anne wrote: "I spent some lazy Sunday time today reading Unwrapping Hank. Really recommended if you want a cute, angst-free, funny little Christmas story. I love the fact that we ge..."So many Christmas stories to read! I still have a few saved from last year I haven't read yet.
I started Sleigh Ride. Loving it so far. I wish it wasn't Monday and I could just read all day. :)
Valerie C wrote: "I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals."Just by chance I have a rec: I wanted to share that I've been up till 3 o' clock reading A Royal Affair. I bought it because I had heard only good of John Wiltshire for his contemporary stories and I thought he must be good also if he writes an historical book. It is. This is probably going to be a 5 stars review.
This said, if you don't like historical romances maybe you should resign?
Lou wrote: "Susinok wrote: "I don't think the bits are in too much more danger. They can't be very protected in nylon shorts and shirts they normally wear."Well, at least they don't flop about. And they coul..."
I think the flopping would be very distracting, a lovely distraction though :D
Antonella wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals."Just by chance I have a rec: I wanted to share that I've been up till 3 o' cl..."
Thanks - I will have to check it out. I haven't read anything by him yet.
Antonella wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals."Just by chance I have a rec: I wanted to share that I've been up till 3 o' cl..."
I read Love is a Stranger by John Wiltshire and I really enjoyed it. His other books are on my wish list so it is great to hear that you are enjoying it Antonella.
Valerie C wrote: "... I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals ....Has anyone read any of Joanna Bourne's Spymaster's series? They look intriguing. The Spymaster's Lady
..."
I love historical romances but it's difficult to know what to suggest without knowing what you like generally. Not all historical romances are the same, just as not all contemporaries are the same!
Do you know any history? Which periods interest you, whether or not you know about them? Are you interested in English or European or American history? I think it really helps to be interested in the period in which the book is set. I don't read many American historicals because I don't know the history well enough and I'm not that into much of it.
If you know a bit about English history, and especially about the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (or would like to) then there is a whole world of wonderful books out there! But even within that limitation, there is a huge variety. You ask specifically about Joanna Bourne. I think that she is an amazingly good writer. Her use of language and plotting and characterisation are wonderful. But even so, you may not like her books if you know nothing about the period and so can't appreciate the effects of the French Revolution, the relationship between England and France, the Napoleonic War, and the spying that went on. I don't mean that to sound as though you're not allowed to read them -- just that the background is key, and it isn't explained in the books themselves in much detail. But if you like fantasy you might be able to read them just as though they are set in another world.
I looked at your bookshelf and the books we have in common. It seems to me that you could start exploring historical romances by reading some by authors you already know and like, or who are often read by those you know and like. For example, some of Harper Fox's books are historicals -- as are, of course, Josh's. Joanna Chambers writes excellent historicals. The Lady's Secret is m/f. Her Enlightenment trilogy is m/m. It is also unusual in that it is set mainly in Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise, during the early nineteenth century. KG Charles's Think of England is an historical, although it's such a wonderful Boy's Own spoof that it hardly feels like it!
There are also some wonderful Age of Sail m/m romances -- books about men loving men usually in the Royal Navy. See Lee Rowan and Alex Beecroft.
Of course the problem with reading m/m historicals is that there's an underlying problem given that it was illegal and the punishments were so severe. You may not want that. The field of het historical romances is so wide that you really need to identify period and country for me to come up with some ideas!
Lou wrote: "Naked rugby I'd go see too, though I suspect I'd be too worried about all those exposed danglybits too much to enjoy it.Anyway, I've found myself dangerously low on audiobooks, and combing the li..."
Lou wrote: "Naked rugby I'd go see too, though I suspect I'd be too worried about all those exposed danglybits too much to enjoy it.
Anyway, I've found myself dangerously low on audiobooks, and combing the li..
I loved
The Quiet Gentleman was the first Heyer I read. I loved it!
HJ wrote: "Alison wrote: "I'm into reading New Zealand-y books at the moment. There's even a handful of NZ m/m authors. ..."I'd love some recommendations, m/m and otherwise, of good New Zealand books as you come across them, please. The All Blacks are certainly doing well!..."
Sure thing, HJ. I'll try. I'm kind of embarrassed by how little NZ lit I've read. There are so many NZ authors I've never read--Katherine Mansfield, Ngaio Marsh, Witi Ihimaera, Janet Frame, and on and on.
I read Anyta Sunday's rock a few weeks ago and it was pretty good. There was a lot I liked about it.
HJ wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "... I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals ....Has anyone read any of Joanna Bourne's Spymaster's series? They look i..."
I'm most interested in and knowledgeable about US History. That said, I enjoyed Think of England a great deal. Also loved the Magpie Lord (historical fantasy). I've read the first two in Chambers' Enlightenment series and need to read the third.
Browsing my Kindle, I have quite a few m/m historicals I own and need to read - Brothers of the Wild North Sea, Well Traveled, a few by Tamara Allen, etc. And I have This Rough Magic in audio.
I am REALLY looking forward to the sequel to Snowball in Hell. ;-)
Yes, there are SO many m/f historicals, it's hard to know where to start.
Valerie C wrote: "I have quite a few m/m historicals I own and need to read - Brothers of the Wild North Sea, Well Traveled, a few by Tamara Allen, etc. And I have This Rough Magic in audio."This thread is dangerous. Not only because of the recs, but also because when you talk about books I liked I feel like rereading. I've read all the books you mentioned, Valerie. All of them great to excellent.
Valerie C wrote: "I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals. They have just never appealed to me. I've read and liked some m/m but I don't think I've finished a m/f historical. Not that I've tried many. :)"
It's tricky, Valerie, like HJ said. I love historical romance and I'm not sure what might be best to recommend to you. Tell us more and maybe we can help. And maybe it's just that you don't like historicals, and that's perfectly okay. :)
I'll throw out some of my favourites for you anyway.
Like HJ said--Josh, Harper Fox, and Joanna Chambers all write super fantastic historicals.
I love Tamara Allen's books. They're generally quieter, slower, gentler stories and they're beautiful--Whistling in the Dark, The Only Gold, Downtime.
Astrid Amara's The Devil Lancer is a brilliant Crimean War paranormal historical romance that I loved to bits. It's one of my favourite books I've read this year.
I am a big fan of m/m Age of Sail books. Favourites include: Elin Gregory's On a Lee Shore, Lee Rowan's Ransom, and Alex Beecroft's Blessed Isle and False Colors.
For m/f, I love Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series, Sarah MacLean (Love by Numbers series is great), Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers series is good, as is Gamblers series). Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels is awesome. These are all fairly light and amusing and fun, and England-based. Karen Marie Moning's Highlanders is a good, dark and melodramatic paranormal historical series.
Valerie C wrote: "HJ wrote: "Valerie C wrote: "... I need recs for historical romance for those who don't like, or don't think they like, historicals ....Has anyone read any of Joanna Bourne's Spymaster's series? ..."
Looks like you've got a good selection of m/m books to start with, Valerie. Enjoy. :)
Antonella wrote: "Just by chance I have a rec: I wanted to share that I've been up till 3 o' clock reading A Royal Affair. ..."That sounds cool, Antonella. I'll check it out. Thanks. :)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Subtle Bodies (other topics)Husband Material (other topics)
Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
A Shattered Silver Crown (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jordan Castillo Price (other topics)Alexis Hall (other topics)
Katherine Fabian (other topics)
Iona Datt Sharma (other topics)
Cynthia Zhang (other topics)
More...
That's why I thought I'd do it across a year, so I can have gaps between them. And when I'm doing the short story collections I'll read them alongside whatever else I'm reading at the time and read one every few days.