What Are you Reading? Showing 10,901-10,950 of 16,523

[Haldis]

Started reading Frederica by Georgette Heyer. I am having so much fun!

[Josh]

Haldis wrote: "Started reading Frederica by Georgette Heyer. I am having so much fun!"

Just the thought of the dialog makes me smile. :-)

[Varecia]

Haldis wrote: "Started reading Frederica by Georgette Heyer. I am having so much fun!"

Have you already met the Baluchistan Hound? What is Mr. Pinkerton going to say? ;-)

[HJ]

I think this article will be of interest to many of us, as will the book -- it deals with both vintage Golden Age crime and LGBTQ aspects of it:

http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.co.uk...

[Haldis]

Varecia wrote: "Haldis wrote: "Started reading Frederica by Georgette Heyer. I am having so much fun!"

Have you already met the Baluchistan Hound? What is Mr. Pinkerton going to say? ;-)"

I just got to that part. He's not a Barcelona Collie! I love them, and the dog....and I think Mr. Pinkerton would whack him on the head as he walked by!

[Susinok]

Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best Historical Gay Fiction. Top wa..."

In literature definitions, a historical novel is a novel written about the distant past.

Georgette Heyer wrote historical novels. She wrote in the 1900s about events in the 1700 and 1800s.

Mary Renault's The Charioteer is considered a contemporary novel. What that means is that it was written during or close to the time the events were to take place. Ten years earlier is not long enough ago from the time she wrote them to be considered historical.

Jane Austen's novels are contemporaries because they were written in the 1800s when the events of the novels supposedly took place. Georgette Heyer's regency novels are historical because Heyer wrote them in the 1930s-40s, set in the distant past.

Clear as mud? :) Shakespeare wrote both.

[Mtsnow13]

On now to another new-to-me author, Pieces of Jack by B.J. Sheppard. It's a mystery about 5 high school friends and a serial killer that is slowly picking his way thru them 14 years later.

[Susinok]

Now these lists are put together by people's shelves. People shelve books in all sorts of ways that sometimes don't make sense to anyone but themselves.

Most people think contemporary means modern times but it means the book's setting is contemporary to the author.

[Kirsten]

Susinok wrote: "Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best Historical Gay F..."

In the learn-something-new-every-day category: I always thought The Charioteer took place during Roman times.

[Johanna]

Kirsten wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best ..."

Maybe you're confusing The Charioteer with Renault's Alexander the Great trilogy?

[Varecia]

Alison wrote: "I'll add to the pile of you guys saying that "Rag and Bone is amazing!" Wow, I absolutely loved it. Something about it just really spoke to me. It appears that KJ Charles is only ab..."

Rag and Bone made me want to read more from my heap of TBR-Fantasy/Steampunk/Paranormal books! I started with The Gilded Scarab, which I found excellent: It's by no means a tightly written book, some plot parts are left dangling, but the world building was interesting, the narrator very likeable - and big parts of the book are situated in a Londinium coffeehouse the MC owns :-)) I would love to read another book situated in this world.

Now I took up the Whybourne & Griffin series again. I thought that book 5 made for a perfect ending and was quite surprised when another book came out (which I didn't like very much). Now I am halfway through book 7, Maelstrom, but not sure what to think; maybe this series goes to far into Lovecraftian horror territory for me to be comfortable with? On the other hand I really like the MCs... Well, I'll see. Hawk's Spirits series didn't work for me at all, but in May the first of her Hexworld series will be out and I am definitely interested in trying that one (the prequel was part of the Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy anthology).

[Kirsten]

Johanna wrote: "Maybe you're confusing The Charioteer with Renault's Alexander the Great trilogy?

Fire from Heaven (Alexander the Great, #1) by Mary Renault The Persian Boy (Alexander the Great, #2) by Mary Renault Funeral Games (Alexander the Great, #3) by Mary Renault..."

Yes! I thought it was part of that series.

[Antonella]

Kirsten wrote: "In the learn-something-new-every-day category: I always thought The Charioteer took place during Roman times. "

Not that you found out it is not, you should read it. And then have a look to our discussion which took place over two months, starting here.
It was one of our most interesting discussions and I fondly remember it.

[Johanna]

Antonella wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "In the learn-something-new-every-day category: I always thought The Charioteer took place during Roman times. "

Not that you found out it is not, you should read it. And then have ..."

I wholeheartedly second what Antonella says. :-)

[Anne]

Johanna wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "In the learn-something-new-every-day category: I always thought The Charioteer took place during Roman times. "

Not that you found out it is not, you should read ..."

Oh yes!

[Mtsnow13]

An interesting little quiz came through Open Culture today, and I thought I'd share:

'Vladimir Nabokov's Quiz To See If You're A Good Reader'

I was relieved when I scrolled to the bottom that all the things I did not pick did not make me a bad reader ;-D

Select four answers to the question what should a reader be to be a good reader:

1. The reader should belong to a book club.
2. The reader should identify himself or herself with the hero or heroine.
3. The reader should concentrate on the social-economic angle.
4. The reader should prefer a story with action and dialogue to one with none.
5. The reader should have seen the book in a movie.
6. The reader should be a budding author.
7. The reader should have imagination.
8. The reader should have memory.
9. The reader should have a dictionary.
10. The reader should have some artistic sense.

The students leaned heavily on emotional identification, action, and the social-economic or historical angle. Of course, as you have guessed, the good reader is one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense.

[Darlene]

Mauled by S.J.D. Peterson I like the book more than I thought I would. This is the first book of this series I've read. I have enjoyed many of his other books.

I also have reached my challenge of 40 books, 47 I've read. I changed my challenge to 60 books.

[Antonella]

I've finally read and I loved it.

It is original, humorous and sweet. Warmly recommended. It is also good if you need a boost or some distance from real life.

[Josh]

Varecia wrote: "Haldis wrote: "Started reading Frederica by Georgette Heyer. I am having so much fun!"

Have you already met the Baluchistan Hound? What is Mr. Pinkerton going to say? ;-)"

LOL

[Josh]

HJ wrote: "I think this article will be of interest to many of us, as will the book -- it deals with both vintage Golden Age crime and LGBTQ aspects of it:

http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.co.uk......"

This is Curt Evans who is editing the anthology I contributed my Hansen essay to. Yes! I love that blog of his.

[Josh]

Mymymble wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best Historical Gay Fiction. Top wa..."

I think part of the criteria used to be that historical was written outside of your own time and experience. The Charioteer was a contemporary novel for Renault, whereas The Last of the Wine was not. Snowball in Hell was an exercise in historical recreation for me, but sixty years from now the AE books will be historical fiction to readers.

Is Vanity Fair historical fiction given that it was contemporary fiction when it was written?

[Josh]

Susinok wrote: "Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best Historical Gay F..."

Yes. Exactly.

[Josh]

Mymymble wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best ..."

I think you could just clarify on your list that by "historical" you mean historical to YOU?

[Josh]

Kirsten wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Celia wrote: "So when is a historical novel NOT a historical novel? Having had so much fun compiling - up to 25 ya gotta draw the line- Goodreads Best Gay Fiction I started on Best ..."

Ha! I remember assuming that when I first pulled the book off the library shelf.

And I put it back! It was one of the last Renaults I read because I didn't think I wanted to read anything that wasn't set in ancient times.

[Kirsten]

Antonella wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "In the learn-something-new-every-day category: I always thought The Charioteer took place during Roman times. "

Not that you found out it is not, you should read it. And then have ..."

I will put it on my tbr list! Thanks for the link to the discussion.

[Darlene]

Tonight by Karen Stivali Is a really sweet story of hidden love between two guys - hidden for their own reasons. Loves like water it seeks its own level.

[Antonella]

Darlene wrote: "Tonight by Karen Stivali Is a really sweet story of hidden love between two guys - hidden for their own reasons. Loves like water it seeks its own level."

The story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event, so you can download it for free here:
http://www.mmromancegroup.com/tonight...

[Josh]

Charlie Chan Carries On.

The CC books are much more serious than the films--which, though beloved, are simplistic both in the mysteries and the portrayal of Charlie. Or maybe not Charlie's character so much--he's certainly the wisest, most competent and compassionate person in the room--but the fact, the problem, that he was almost always portrayed by Occidentals.

Actually Wikipedia's entry discusses the issue a bit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie...

This was the first Charlie Chan novel I ever read (I believe I was 11) and it remains my favorite. I seem to have THREE copies of it. :-D I wanted to read it again because it was my first murder-on-tour mystery and I remember being very struck by it.

[Mtsnow13]

Audible has an interesting book on deal of the day titled Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante. It's only $2.95 and is the beginning of a crime series.


http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-T...

[HJ]

Just read Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (early as I pre-ordered on Riptide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good mystery set in contemporary England, starring two likeable mcs, a policeman and a school teacher, who we first met in The Best Corpse for the Job.

[Sara]

HJ wrote: "Just read Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (early as I pre-ordered on Riptide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good mystery set in contemporary England, starring t..."

Oooh, I liked Best Corpse so I'll have to give this a go.

[Susinok]

Josh wrote: "Charlie Chan Carries On.

The CC books are much more serious than the films--which, though beloved, are simplistic both in the mysteries and the portraya..."

I also read those as a kid, and loved them. I found them in the on base library.

[Susinok]

I finished Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. It was not as good as the last two I read, but the ending was lovely, and I loved Freddy.

Now on to Dirty Heart by Rhys Ford. It's the last book in the Cole McGuinnis series.

[Antonella]

HJ wrote: "Just read Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (early as I pre-ordered on Riptide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good mystery set in contemporary England, starring t..."

Thank you for the rec. I didn't know that it is the same series as '' The Best Corpse for the Job''.

[Antonella]

Rec by Kaje Harper:

You can read big chunk of it on Smashwords to have an idea, but it loks good:
http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/r...

[Ame]

Susinok wrote: "I finished Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. It was not as good as the last two I read, but the ending was lovely, and I loved Freddy.

Now on to Dirty Heart by Rhys Ford...."

Already done. Loved it but it was the weakest plot of all the books I felt. Still love that series. One of my favourites.

[Susinok]

Ame wrote: "Already done. Loved it but it was the weakest plot of all the books I felt. Still love that series. One of my favourites. ..."

Cotillion or Dirty Heart? If Dirty, I wish you hadn't told me that. I just started it.. ;)

[Ame]

Susinok wrote: "Ame wrote: "Already done. Loved it but it was the weakest plot of all the books I felt. Still love that series. One of my favourites. ..."

Cotillion or Dirty Heart? If Dirty, I wish you hadn't tol..."

Oops! Sorry! Read on. I don't think you'll be disappointed. My favourite part about the book is how established Cole and Jae have become, really sweet. And maybe I just felt like the plot was weak because it went how I expected it to go. I've been thinking the solution had to be just that since middle of the series.

Anyway. Read! It's a lovely story ;)

[Johanna]

Josh wrote: "Charlie Chan Carries On.

The CC books are much more serious than the films--which, though beloved, are simplistic both in the mysteries and the portraya..."

Added this into my to-read list. :-)

[Johanna]

HJ wrote: "Just read Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (early as I pre-ordered on Riptide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good mystery set in contemporary England, starring t..."

I didn't know The Best Corpse for the Job would have a sequel. Thank you for letting us know, HJ!

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Charlie Chan Carries On.

The CC books are much more serious than the films--which, though beloved, are simplistic both in the mysteries and..."

It's actually very well written. Some of the other Chans are a bit drier.

I mean, obviously as a modern reader Chan's linguistic stylings are uncomfortable-making. I was trying to think if I would be equally uncomfortable if he was, say, an Irish rural cop versus a Chinese emigrant cop...and probably not to this extent.

But maybe that's really the point. Maybe what Biggers is trying to show is how easy it is to dismiss Chan when he's by far the smartest and most humane person in the book. It's a dynamic that was used successfully in Columbo although in Columbo it's all about class not race.

Anyway, one reason the book stuck with me is because it shocked the hell out of me as a kid -- SPOILER JOHANNA!!! DON'T READ THIS





























So much time is spent building up the character of Scotland Yard Inspector Duff who is the detective we initially follow--and we like Duff a lot! He's smart, he's capable...and then he gets taken out.

GULP

And Charlie Chan "carries on."

As a youthful reader I was floored by this. Granted, I should have expected it, given the title of the book, but I assumed Chan and Duff would be working together because...well, Duff started the book! He was the hero.

:-D

And thus are little mystery writers shaped and formed.

[Johanna]

Really, Josh?! :-D You should know me better by now. ;-D

It sounded to me something like this: JOHANNA! BE SURE TO READ THIS!!!

:-D :-D :-D

[Johanna]

Although I do appreciate the thought. :-)

[Johanna]

I finished reading Joseph Hansen's Living Upstairs last night. It ended with a *gasp*. I liked it a lot, but I had some mixed feelings about it and I'm a bit undecided if it was a 4 star or a 5 star read for me. Probably 5 stars, though.

After finishing Living Upstairs I looked through my bookshelf to see which Hansen books I still have there waiting to be read and I found a newspaper article inside my second hand copy of A Smile in His Lifetime! It was Hansen's obituary from The Guardian. In the article (written by Christopher Reed) it says:

[---]Even so, he managed several more books, turning to an autobiographical format but calling his hero Nathan Reed, a struggling young writer in 1940s Hollywood. He planned 12, but only managed two after the earthquake, Jack Of Hearts in 1995 and The Cutbank Path in 2002.

I didn't know he planned to write 12-book-series out of this! Also — I didn't realize that there was yet another Nathan Reed novel.

Jack of Hearts (Nathan Reed .5)
Living Upstairs (Nathan Reed #1)
The Cutbank Path (Nathan Reed #2)

Off to read The Cutbank Path!

[Sabine]

I have read The Chinese Parrot and The House Without a Key, it is a good idea to read the others too. Thank you for the recommendation!

[Trio]

I'm reading King Mai, this is such a great series.

[Antonella]

Johanna wrote: "I didn't realize that there was yet another Nathan Reed novel.

Jack of Hearts (Nathan Reed .5)
Living Upstairs (Nathan Reed #1)
The Cutbank Path (Nathan Reed #2)

Off to read The Cutbank Path! "

I knew it, but I had almost forgotten it. Luckily I didn't run like a headless chicken to buy it, because... I already own it ;-)

[Antonella]

Trioseven7 wrote: "I'm reading King Mai, this is such a great series."

It is a wonderful series and till now he managed to keep the quality of the first book also in the other books, which I deemed impossible at first.

[Karen]

Johanna wrote: "HJ wrote: "Just read Jury of One by Charlie Cochrane (early as I pre-ordered on Riptide) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good mystery set in contemporary England,..."

OK, I also enjoyed the first book in the series, and I'm going to order it… soon. This may be silly, but the cover creeps me out (that bloody knife), and it kept me from pre-ordering the book. Then again, whether or not the covers of ordered-from-Riptide books show up on my Kindle app is a toss-up.

[Sara]

Johanna wrote: "Really, Josh?! :-D You should know me better by now. ;-D

It sounded to me something like this: JOHANNA! BE SURE TO READ THIS!!!

:-D :-D :-D"

Haha! Note to self: Never dare Johanna to do anything!