What Are you Reading? Showing 10,801-10,850 of 16,523

[Mtsnow13]

Just working thru JCPs Mnevermind trilogy. Love, love, love it.

[Mtsnow13]

Sara~formerly known as Hambel~ wrote: "Josh wrote: "Wait! What? Did someone say The Professionals???"

YES!!! DID YOU NOT SEE THE COVERS?!?
[bookcover:Point of Knive..."

I've got them on audio, and keep meaning to get to those. The covers are nice!

[Johanna]

Trioseven7 wrote: "oh, one of mine was The Big Sleep - if you haven't already read/listened to it that is ;)"

No, I haven't read that one yet, but it's now on the top of my to-read list! The High Window was the very first Chandler book for me. Thank you for the recommendation, Trioseven! :-)

[Johanna]

KC wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some..."

Thank you for listing these, KC. I was on the verge of reading The Little Sister next, because I knew you were reading it. Well, it was probably a good thing that I decided to save it later and start listening to The Long Goodbye instead.

[Jordan]

I need to get into Chandler. I read The Big Sleep in college I think. I'd like to read more. It a copy of Farewell, My Lady from a friend of mine awhile back, but still haven't read it yet.

I'm halfway through the third Wraeththu Histories book. It's a faster read than I expected, but good. Though, I'm finding myself more disturbed by some of the sex scenes in this one compared to the previous books.

Also read Rag and Bone in one day while on a lovely train ride last Friday. That was an enjoyable read for sure!

[Jordan]

Oops: Farewell, My Lovely, is the correct title.

[Johanna]

Jordan wrote: "I need to get into Chandler. I read The Big Sleep in college I think. I'd like to read more. It a copy of Farewell, My Lady from a friend of mine awhile back, but still haven't read it yet.

I'm ha..."

I'll keep those in mind! Thank you, Jordan.

[Johanna]

Lou wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some..."

Thank you for the Ross MacDonald recommendation, Lou. I haven't read anything from him. But I make sure I will in a near future.

I was cleaning up the house today, vacuuming and listening to The Long Goodbye. I'm about halfway through and I'm loving it. And now all I want to drink is Gimlets. :-)

ETA: Oh, and a big "yes!" to those Chandler movies!

[Josh]

Sara~formerly known as Hambel~ wrote: "Josh wrote: "Wait! What? Did someone say The Professionals???"

YES!!! DID YOU NOT SEE THE COVERS?!?
[bookcover:Point of Knive..."

Oh, I remember! Oh my GOSH I never saw those covers before though. Ha! :-D Love this.

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some of you have alr..."

I just watched the Elliot Gould version of TLG. It's...quirky. And they take liberties, which makes purists mad. But I'm fond of that film.

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some of you have alr..."

If I had to pick a favorite, Lady in the Lake is probably mine. For films though, it's The Big Sleep.

[Josh]

KC wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some..."

There's a film - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039217/ :-)

[Josh]

Jordan wrote: "Oops: Farewell, My Lovely, is the correct title."

You're thinking of the dog book. :-D

[Josh]

Lou wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I finished reading Raymond Chandler's The High Window which was solid five stars for me. Today I started listening to his The Long Goodbye.

I know that some..."

Yeah, the joke in hardboiled circles is MacDonald wrote about characters in love with their mothers and Chandler really was. ;-D

[Antonella]

I've just heard an interview with David Peace. At first I thought that I had never heard of him, but then I realised he is the author of GB84 which is on my wish list since ages.

I thought that the fans of darker stuff might be interested in his Red-Riding Quartet:
The Red-Riding Quartet comprises the novels Nineteen Seventy-Four (1999), Nineteen Seventy-Seven (2000), Nineteen Eighty (2001) and Nineteen Eighty-Three (2002). The books deal with police corruption, and are set against a backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders between 1975 and 1980. They feature several recurring characters. Red Riding, a three-part TV adaptation of the series, aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2009.
(from Wiki)

BTW he lives in Japan, because it is easier for him to write there than in Britain, more or less he said there are less distractions ;-).

[Calathea]

Josh wrote: "If I had to pick a favorite, Lady in the Lake is probably mine. For films though, it's The Big Sleep. "

Funny! That was the only one I ever read. Years ago when I was still in school. I liked it a lot (it was a translated version though). I remember my lit teacher looked a bit strange at me when I admitted that I liked it.

I tried an original some time last year and couldn't get into it. I'll try again.

[Josh]

Calathea wrote: "Josh wrote: "If I had to pick a favorite, Lady in the Lake is probably mine. For films though, it's The Big Sleep. "

Funny! That was the only one I ever read. Years ago when I was still in school...."

The Big Sleep is a good choice.

The thing about Chandler (for me) is understanding that for him it was all about style. Style, the writing itself, was everything. Plot didn't matter to him, even characterization was secondary. And to enjoy the books, you have to go with that. You have to sink into the writing and allow Chandler to work his magic without second-guessing him too much on the stuff that we typically value now. It's fascinating because all the stuff we care about stylistically...dialog tags, word rep, long sentences, complicated metaphor, etc. This stuff is all "fashion" and the fashion was different back in Chandler's day.

There is no single author in the PI genre as influential as Chandler. (Not even Hammett who actually worked briefly as a PI and wrote The Maltese Falcon, the quintessential PI novel.) Chandler continues to exert his influence on the PI and hardboiled genre to this day in that everyone is either trying to be him or rebel against him. :-D That's one heck of a literary legacy.

[Johanna]

Josh wrote: "The thing about Chandler (for me) is understanding that for him it was all about style. Style, the writing itself, was everything. Plot didn't matter to him, even characterization was secondary. And to enjoy the books, you have to go with that. You have to sink into the writing and allow Chandler to work his magic without second-guessing him too much on the stuff that we typically value now. It's fascinating because all the stuff we care about stylistically...dialog tags, word rep, long sentences, complicated metaphor, etc. This stuff is all "fashion" and the fashion was different back in Chandler's day.

There is no single author in the PI genre as influential as Chandler. (Not even Hammett who actually worked briefly as a PI and wrote The Maltese Falcon, the quintessential PI novel.) Chandler continues to exert his influence on the PI and hardboiled genre to this day in that everyone is either trying to be him or rebel against him. :-D That's one heck of a literary legacy."

This is all so interesting! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, Josh.

Also, I didn't know that Hammett actually worked as a PI at some point!

[Johanna]

I'm about 85% through Joseph Hansen's Jack of Hearts and I'm enjoying it a lot. I mean, it's Hansen, right? :-)

Anyway, on page 155 there's a bit I wanted to share with you guys. I found these lines especially beautiful, melancholy — and quite accurate. Here's Frank, dad, talking to his seventeen-year-old son, Nathan:

Frank laughs, moves from the windows, ruffles Nathan's hair.
"That's because you're young. Life is still all hellos for you." He goes to the door. "Later on, you'll learn that sometimes it's a relief to say good-bye."

Also, I've heard that Jack of Hearts and Living Upstairs are at least partly based on Hansen's own life. Many of the reviewers seem to think there're definitely autobiographical elements there. I wonder if anyone of you knows more about this?

[Antonella]

Johanna wrote: "Also, I've heard that Jack of Hearts and Living Upstairs are at least partly based on Hansen's own life. Many of the reviewers seem to think there're definitely autobiographical elements there. I wonder if anyone of you knows more about this?"

Thank you for the excerpt. I've got both books but I still have to read them.

[Jordan]

I've got both of those Hansen's and still haven't gotten to them. I don't know anything about them, other than the descriptions. I'd be interested to know more, if someone out there knows more.

[Antonella]

The LA Times has quite a few articles about Joseph Hansen.

About Jack of Hearts
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-0...

About Living Upstairs
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-1...

All the links to the articles here:
http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/j...

[KC]

Antonella wrote: "The LA Times has quite a few articles about Joseph Hansen.

About Jack of Hearts
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-0...

About Living Upstairs
http://articles.la..."

Thank you for posting these!

[KC]

Started reading Hansen's The dog : and other stories. Surprised me anew how much he can pack in a short story. The second story - "Enking" - it's only about five pages, and there's no plot as such, and yet it felt thrilling; such strong emotions and vivid characterization, it's absolutely brilliant.

[Antonella]

Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion...

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion..."

We should... or this could be our challenge for the rest of the year?

[Johanna]

Antonella wrote: "The LA Times has quite a few articles about Joseph Hansen.

About Jack of Hearts
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-03-0...

About Living Upstairs
http://articles.la..."

Thank you for these links, Antonella!

[Johanna]

Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion..."

We should... or this could be our ch..."

Not a bad idea at all! :-)

[Josh]

Lou wrote: "Josh wrote: "I just watched the Elliot Gould version of TLG. It's...quirky. And they take liberties, which makes purists mad. But I'm fond of that film. "

Me too! It has that mood that so many 70s..."

Yes! It definitely captures something that is both true to its own generation and to Chandler. No small feat.

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion..."

We should... or this ..."

But you know, I actually think by leaving discussions of Hansen in the general reading threads we're more likely to pick up new fans for him. Sometimes it takes a while and a bit of persuasion to get readers to try a new flavor.

[Johanna]

Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion..."

We sh..."

I agree. I was also thinking that sometimes our larger reading challenges might not need to include series and be separated from this thread. Maybe we can sometime just agree to read certain author's works and share the thoughts on those works here.

For example if many of us have Hansen books piled up on our nightstands waiting to be read, we can just decide to move them on the top of those piles :-) and not postpone reading them anymore.

By the way, I finished reading his Jack of Hearts yesterday and started reading his Living Upstairs today. :-)

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggesti..."

How did you like it?

[Josh]

Barbra wrote: "I agree too. I had never heard of Hansen before seeing him discussed here."

Ah! Good to know.

[Jordan]

Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic? Just a suggestion..."

We sh..."

And this is very true too.

[Johanna]

Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a dedicated topic?..."

I liked Jack of Hearts very much — five stars worth. I thought it was a great coming-of-age story. Believable, too. I didn't love it as much as for example Hansen's Pretty Boy Dead or Backtrack, but the characters were interesting — especially the main character's family! — and I would assume it was a very accurate description of time and place and state of mind of that period (in the very beginning of 1940's). Also, there was an interesting combination of fragile desperation and mature realism to Nathan's thoughts and actions. And even thought there're dark moments, this is definitely a story about a youthful idealism and hopes and dreams and... surviving. Yes, I enjoyed it very much.

And the extraordinary thing about Hansen — a thing I always tend to forget between his books — is that even though not many of his characters have happy endings, he pulls it all off so beautifully that it's extremely satisfying for me. I love the powerful mix of plain, simple beauty and nostalgic melancholy in his stories. Every time I finish his book I have a feeling I've been hit with a feather. This probably doesn't make any sense, but I feel both light and heavy at the same time. In the best possible way.

And when reading this book so soon after reading The Mermaid Murders, I realized something. There're many things I love about both Hansen's and Josh's books, but the most profound one, for me, is their honest, insightful understanding of human nature. The way they both gracefully show us the different sides to us humans. And in the process also make us see ourselves in different light, more clearly.

[KC]

Johanna wrote: "For example if many of us have Hansen books piled up on our nightstands waiting to be read, we can just decide to move them on the top of those piles :-) and not postpone reading them anymore.

By the way, I finished reading his Jack of Hearts yesterday and started reading his Living Upstairs today. :-)"

Great idea! :-) Moving Living Upstairs to the top of the list. I'm regretting a bit not starting it right after Jack of Hearts, but i do remember quite a bit of it, i think... will find out shortly.

[KC]

Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Seeing that quite a few of us are reading Hansen and there is quite a lot to read, shouldn't we have a ded..."

Extremely satisfying, I agree. Which makes it all worthwhile. I was telling the SO today how incredibly good the short stories are, but that i do wish they were a bit happier. And yet, it wouldn't be the same if they were. I like the "hit with a feather" :-)

[Susinok]

I'm on book 2 of the Mnevermind series, and it's a case of WHY THE HECK DID I WAIT SO LONG????

OMG!

Love them! Halfway through Book 2 now, Forget Me Not, by Jordan Castillo Price

[Darlene]

Waiting, Hoping, Wishing by Nic Starr What a wonderful romance between two best friends. You never know where you will find love, sometimes it's right in front of you.

[Antonella]

Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below."

Faith & Fidelity was one of the first ''real'' m/m books (as opposite to slash) I read back in 2008. I loved it and I still love it.

If I would read it now it wouldn't get 5 stars though, because in the meantime I consider the double gay-for-you thing as quite unbelievable and too much drama as irritating. In fact I wondered if i should go back and change the rating, stating why.

Survey: how do you folks behave in cases like this one?

About searching: on a computer you see on the top right hand side of this page the function ''search'' as in ''search discussion posts''.

[Jordan]

Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below. I'm working through this thread from the top since The Mermaid Murders looking at recs. Can anyone explai..."

I LOVED this book. I've read through book 3 so far. The first is still my favorite though.

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below."

Faith & Fidelity was one of the first ''real'' m/m books (as opposite to s..."

When I read it, I never saw it as GFY and the author herself confirmed at some point that it's not meant to be GFY, even though people do see it that way. *shrugs*

[Johanna]

KC wrote: "Great idea! :-) Moving Living Upstairs to the top of the list. I'm regretting a bit not starting it right after Jack of Hearts, but i do remember quite a bit of it, i think... will find out shortly."

Cool. :-)

[Johanna]

Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below. I'm working through this thread from the top since The Mermaid Murders looking at recs. Can anyone explai..."

Oh yes, this was a five star read for me. Like Antonella, I read it amongst the very first M/M books I ever read and loved it.

[Johanna]

Antonella wrote: "If I would read it now it wouldn't get 5 stars though, because in the meantime I consider the double gay-for-you thing as quite unbelievable and too much drama as irritating. In fact I wondered if i should go back and change the rating, stating why.

Survey: how do you folks behave in cases like this one?"

I've only once gone back and changed my star rating of a book. And it was to add a star to my earlier rating after rereading the book.

[Anne]

You know how sometimes you can't seem to find any good books to read, while other times it's like hitting that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but the pot is full of lovely books in stead of gold, which is much better in my opinion.

This week I have read In the Middle of Somewhere and am currently reading Out of Nowhere by the same author. Excellent stories!

And also Rag and Bone. I don't believe she has ever written a book I don't enjoy.

Also The Butcher's Son which I found thanks to Ije's recommendations. Than you, Ije, I'm now hooked :)

Work is very hectic right now, so the possibility of getting lost inside a book is very valuable. I need good books for that.

[Trio]

Susinok wrote: "I'm on book 2 of the Mnevermind series, and it's a case of WHY THE HECK DID I WAIT SO LONG????

OMG!

Love them! Halfway through Book 2 now, Forget Me Not, by Jordan Castillo Price"

I've got to start that series next... I love JCP. I'm reading Warrior's Cross right now and it's pretty good.

[Mtsnow13]

Trioseven7 wrote: "Susinok wrote: "I'm on book 2 of the Mnevermind series, and it's a case of WHY THE HECK DID I WAIT SO LONG????

OMG!

Love them! Halfway through Book 2 now, Forget Me Not, by Jordan..."

That was the same exact question I had....why had I waited so long! Fantastic trilogy.

I'm reading/listening to Vintage: A Ghost Story

[Josh]

Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below. I'm working through this thread from the top since The Mermaid Murders looking at recs. Can anyone explai..."

I bought this because it kept getting recced to me, but was never able to finish it. I don't recall why. I tend to be pretty hard to please when one of the characters is LEO.

The book (series?) does still come up now and again as a rec--is Michaels still writing?

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "Celia wrote: "Just finished Faith and Fidelity by Teri Michaels. Forgive me if it's been mentioned below."

Faith & Fidelity was one of the first ''real'' m/m books (as opposite to s..."

Interesting question.

I don't have a real answer beyond I usually think my gut reaction should stand. Unless my gut reaction seems unfair. By which I mean, I have raised scores, but I've never lowered them.

That may sound illogical but if my initial reaction was one of enthusiasm, well, that seems fair enough. But if I was grading harshly, I tend to think I was just not in the right mood to be reading or I was grading on something besides the book.

Given that Goodreads allows reviewing before the book is out--meaning you are reviewing based on anticipation or personality-- it seems like it's equally valid to change a review if you feel like changing it. Or not.

Strictly a personal decision. ;-D