Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
Josh wrote: "LOL Well, you will just have to take a weekend off and catch up with your reading, dear Antonella."You mean, take _an year off_ to catch up...
Reading The Shearing Gun and really enjoying it. I tried this book twice before and each time i wasn't into it, but yesterday it was just perfect. I forgot how much i enjoy Renae Kaye's books. My favorite so far would be Loving Jay, but all are pretty awesome. Anyway, this one's fun so far.
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Went for a beautiful walk with the dog earlier, and all I want to do now is find a spot outside where Adrien and I can hang out and finish this book!
Alas, I'm at work until 8pm now. :-( lol.
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Spy Stuff
Fast Connection
Blow Down
Priddy’s Tale
Also recently read: Family of Lies: Sebastian
The guy in the hoodie is showing up a lot these days. :)
I've read a couple of good books recently:-Zenith by Arshad Ahsanuddin. First in a cool sci-fi space time travel series with several romantic subplots and an evil villain. It has a large cast of intriguing characters and is quite gripping. It was really entertaining and smart and I really liked it. Several GR reviews mention Star Trek and it's kind of in the same vein. Looking forward to the second book.
-The Gilded Scarab by Anna Butler. Fun steampunk adventure romance with great characters and a wonderful depth. I loved the writing and I'm keen to read more by this author.
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You mean, take _an year off_ to catch up..."
Possibly a decade (judging by my own TBR). ;-D
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LOL. I probably need to run and hide — or at least duck — after this next confession, because I know so many of you guys feel the exact opposite... I found Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell to be only ok. I found it somewhat boring, actually. If it hadn't been an audio book I was listening to, I probably had not finished the book at all.
It's difficult to explain why I felt that way, but maybe the fact that these guys were teachers and that I didn't feel any connection between myself and their work made it even worse? In any case, I might give the second book in the series a try sometimes later. Especially because so many of my friends like this series. That always makes me wonder if there was something "wrong" with me or the timing when I read the book.
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Today I started to listen to To Kill a Mockingbird narrated by Sissy Spacek. It's been such a long time I last read this book and I'm enjoying listening to it hugely!
Otherwise I just haven't had time to read almost anything during the last few weeks. That's something I'm seriously going to change ASAP. :-D
Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park and will probably start today..."I liked it well enough and the writing is solid, but it is far from my favourite this year. I liked the second part best when the story became more complex and discussed some serious issues in stead of a lot of sex. So I think you're actually "allowed" to feel that way :)
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Heh. Okay, I'll allow :-) myself feel that way. *still in half ducking position* :-D
Hey, your comment made me wonder if it maybe was the overdose (?) of sex scenes that put me off? If there's a lot of sex that sort of doesn't lead to anywhere (LOL) the story very easily becomes boring to me.
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Glad to hear you liking the second book even better, Anne.
Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park ..."I meant the second part of the first book :)
Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park and will probably start today..."I liked the second one best because there's more humor in it, and the third, also best, but that one is super intense. I really like Santino's writing, there's something about it that appeals to me even when i don't care for some of the characters or what they're going through; i can totally see how if i'd started them when not in the right mood, i might not have liked them as much; i don't know. And i agree that the sexy times tend to be extensive, and the characters rather self-involved, and yet i really like the raw energy of the writing. It's actually something that i need breaks from while reading, but overall i enjoy them and want to know what happens next (though not in book 4 of the series which will revisit the couple from book 2). Anyway, if you don't enjoy it, you don't enjoy it, and there are so many books out there that still need to be read, and so many wonderful ones to enjoy rereading, so. :-) This i tell myself especially when i feel a bit bad about not liking anymore some of the authors i used to.
Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park ..."Definitely a sex overdose, especially in the beginning.
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Oops. My bad...
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Yep. Your thoughts sound reasonable. As always. :-)
Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Anne wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and...":)
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I enjoyed these Santino Hassell books —Stygian and the short follow-up to it, "Take You Farther," from the Lead Me Into Darkness: Five Halloween Tales of Paranormal Romance anthology, and I loved Strong Signal, the first Cyberlove book with Megan Erikson, although not so much (liked but not loved) the second in that series.
I've had the Sutphin Boulevard ebook and audiobook for awhile, but couldn't get beyond a chapter or so during the school year. I thought I'd read the series this summer, but when I started listening to the story it just made me very uneasy/on edge so I stopped again. Maybe it's a story I need to read rather than hear. Or there are times I just can't read certain things. It might be the tone, or voice, or some triggered memories. We've discussed here before how we read books differently at different times in our lives. I plan to come back to these sometime, maybe even soon.
Johanna wrote: "Especially because so many of my friends like this series. That always makes me wonder if there was something "wrong" with me or the timing when I read the book."There is nothing wrong with you, I promise. :)
This happens to me all the time! I so often don't love books that people go wild for and sure, it can be a little disappointing sometimes, but everybody's different, thankfully. :) That's one of my most favourite things about humanity. I know that my reading tastes don't tend to line up with what's popular and when they do I'm always a bit surprised! I've read so many books where "everyone loved it but me" (and vice-versa), as I'm sure we all have, so I heartily support your dissenting opinion. :D
KC wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park and will prob..."I agree with all these things, KC. :)
His books are pretty full-on and intense, and I definitely have to be in the right mood for them. I do love his writing and that raw energy you mention. And yeah, there's lots of sex, which isn't my preference, but it doesn't seem to detract quite like it does in so many books. So the third book is even more intense?! Oh Jeez. :) I've just read the second one (and quite enjoyed it).
KC wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "KC wrote: "Ame wrote: "KC wrote: "Read Santino Hassell's Sutphin Boulevard and Sunset Park and will prob..."I don't think I could have said it any better.
Karen wrote: "JI loved Strong Signal, the first Cyberlove book with Megan Erikson, although not so much (liked but not loved) the second in that series."And I didn't like Strong Signal that much ;-)
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And I didn't like [book:Strong Signal|2856..."
Yep, diverse tastes here (and yet we all get along — what a concept these days!) with agreement on at least one author I can name. : )
Johanna wrote: "LOL. I probably need to run and hide — or at least duck — after this next confession, because I know so many of you guys feel the exact opposite... I found Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell to be only ok. I found it somewhat boring, actually. If it hadn't been an audio book I was listening to, I probably had not finished the book at all..."The narrator was TERRIBLE for that book!!! TER-I-BLE! He could barely make the characters sound like individuals, much less like New Yorkers with Puerto Rican heritage or Italian. Made the entire thing bland as could be. I stopped listening in about chapter 2.
Sunset Park had a different narrator and was much better, even though the characters STILL didn't sound much like New Yorkers, they at least could be told apart and there was some emotion behind the reading.
Mymymble wrote: "'The Epic Love Story of Doug and Stephen'..."I LOVED that book! So hilarious!
Karen wrote: "Yep, diverse tastes here (and yet we all get along — what a concept these days!) with agreement on at least one author I can name. : )"Yes! Love that :-)
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You know it's bad when the author of a non-fiction book tells you in several paragraphs/pages at the beginning that he just doesn't know the answer to a question that is one of the main points of the book. And he's apparently done, or tried to do, a lot of research too. Palm, meet forehead.
This book is a how-to manual for brewing coffee, installing and using a baby car seat, and other Life Lessons not dog related. It is also, at least in the beginning, a how-to-NOT raise your new puppy!
I hope to finish skimming this one tonight. lol.
ETA: I did enjoy comparing the author's adoption of his twin boys, which he devotes an entire detailed chapter to, to my adoption of Adrien. Which is also funny, because I didn't related at all to the family's adoption of Oogy. lol.
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The Goodreads reviews of the Jack Liffey books seem to vary a lot — so far I've found the first book very promising. I really like the dry, rugged beauty of this author's voice. There's something extremely real and unapologetic — and different — about it. Anyway, I think some of you guys might enjoy these. I'll report back when I'm further into the book and the series.
Johanna wrote: "A friend of mine recommended Jack Liffey mystery series by John Shannon and I started reading the first book Concrete River yesterday. Every book of this (neo-)noir private eye series ..."Sounds intriguing!
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Yeah. I think you should check this series out, KC.
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ETA: VERY sucked in. LOVING it. And would highly recommend it. I think a lot of you in this group would like it. The downside is that you'd need to find a used copy as it's not in print. :-(
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Jordan wrote: "Finally started Here There Be Dragons!!! And so far I'm pretty sucked in.ETA: VERY sucked in. LOVING it. And would highly recommend it. I think a lot of you in this group would like..."
Do you have a blurb or summary? I'd like to add it to the book entry here on GR.
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ETA: VERY sucked in. LOVING it. And would highly recommend it. I think a lot of you in this g..."
Oh! I didn't realize there was no blurb there, or I'd forgotten. I found it on this list from Lambda "Celebrating Great Gay Mysteries" with a top ten series and top ten standalones: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/feature...
Here's what Drewey Wayne Gunn, author of The Gay Male Sleuth in Print and Film: A History and Annotated Bibliography had to say about it:
Robert Bentley, Here There Be Dragons, 1972. Honolulu-based temporary counteragent Dexter Hill. Perhaps the basic premise seems far-fetched: because he is gay, Dexter is recruited at the height of the Cold War by the FBI and Naval Intelligence to set himself up for blackmail by the Soviets in order to pass on falsified information about an American espionage operation. One quickly forgets the improbability as one witnesses the hero’s dexterity (the punning possibilities must be intentional on the author’s part) and basic decency in action. The way he goes about accomplishing his mission is a delight, and his ingenuity at concealing documents reminds one of certain superior skills gays may have over straights. What authorities had not anticipated is Dexter’s also flushing out a traitor in Navy ranks. The novel becomes a not-so-subtle indictment of the U.S. policy excluding gays from serving in the military.
Also, a copy of this book was found at Cloak and Dagger Books by Adrien in chapter 3 of Fatal Shadows! :-D
Thanks Calathea!
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Jordan wrote: "In the meantime, here's a blog post Remembering Joseph Hansen I just stumbled upon: https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso..."HA! I think I'm the one who recommended that LAPL get most of the Brandsetter ebooks!
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HA! I think I'm t..."
It's possible! I thought it looked familiar, but the date was recent and I didn't remember reading it that recently!
Jordan wrote: "Kirsten wrote: "Jordan wrote: "In the meantime, here's a blog post Remembering Joseph Hansen I just stumbled upon: https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso..."H..."
I think they wrote the essay recently. It's dated last month. But before I started reccing the books, they only had the first two in pdf. Maybe they've been popular and that's why they decided to write the article? Or the author is just a fan.
Kirsten wrote: "Jordan wrote: "In the meantime, here's a blog post Remembering Joseph Hansen I just stumbled upon: https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso..."HA! I think I'm the one who recommended that LAPL get most of the Brandsetter ebooks! "
Well done! I was very pleased to see my local library recently bought several copies of the first two Brandstetters in print. Yay! :)
Jordan wrote: "Calathea wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Finally started Here There Be Dragons!!! And so far I'm pretty sucked in.ETA: VERY sucked in. LOVING it. And would highly recommend it. I think a lot..."
Thanks and done. :)
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Thank you for the link, Jordan,
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HA! I think I'm t..."
Well done, you! :-)
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ETA: VERY sucked in. LOVING it. And would highly recommend it..."
You're welcome!
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Thank you for the link, Jordan,"
You're welcome!
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I was aiming to put all the books on the Lambda list on it, but a lot of them are not listed on GR. I might see if I can get them all listed at some point when I can get time. I think that's something I can do, even though I don't think I'm an official GR librarian. I'll see about it.
Feel free to add more titles. I've got 34 on there already!
Jordan wrote: "I just realized there is no vintage gay mystery book list here on GR, so I created one. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...I was aiming to put all the books on the Lamb..."
Cool. I'll have a look. I love the lists! :)
Elisa Rolle published 3 volumes of Queer Places, with in total some 1500 pages of a kind of a queer travel guide: developed in 3 volumes, United States of America (1), United Kingdom (2), and Rest of the World (3), is a mix of travel guide and historical trivia; while I tried to give as much as possible the necessary info for you to find the queer places to explore, the book is above all a tool to help you deciding if you want to really visit the place. Queer Places gives you the background of the location, who lived there, who loved the place and made it unique. It gives you an address, sometime a website, and other nearby queer places.
http://www.amazon.com/Queer-Places-Vo...
http://www.amazon.com/Queer-Places-Vo...
https://www.amazon.com/Queer-Places-V...
The kindle edition is cheaper and has all photos in colour.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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Oh, no! ;-))
Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale were en..."
LOL Well, you will just have to take a weekend off and catch up with your reading, dear Antonella.
I do enthusiastically rec this book to those of you who enjoy mystery with your romance. And I would love to hear your reactions to the book -- it's (in my opinion) quite different from the usual fare.