Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
WMD wrote: "HelloWent on vacation and read a lot.
Two anthologies:
Bad, Dad, and Dangerous and
Hell Cop
Usual variation in story quality/depth, but from some good ones from som..."
Nice vacation, WMD! :)
I fell down in a rabbit hole of free online original fics and fanfics. In theory because I wanted to read something light. In fact it wasn't always the case, but I've read some excellent stuff. In particular I've read several fics by DiscontentedWinter and I found out that she is Lisa Henry, which explains why the writing is so good. Many of the fics are in the universe of Teen Wolf, but you don't have to know the series to appreciate them. In fact I never watched it.
Antonella wrote: "I fell down in a rabbit hole of free online original fics and fanfics. In theory because I wanted to read something light. In fact it wasn't always the case, but I've read some excellent stuff. In ..."Nice. Glad you are finding good stuff out there! I've downloaded some DiscontentedWinter fics because I've heard such good things, but I haven't gotten to them yet.
My experience with fanfic is that knowing the source isn't all that important to my enjoyment. Sometimes it's fun to see what people do with characters I know well, but often a good story can just be a good story.
Any recs? Antonella, you have recommended lots of good original fics over the years, so thank you for that. :)
Anyone want to rec their favourite fanfics?
Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s–1950s has just been published in English and in German.Hier some of the pictures:
'Not married but willing to be!': men in love from the 1850s – in pictures
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Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s–1950s has just been published in English and in German..."Yes, I saw this article today in LQBTQNation.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/10/h...
Scroll down for more short articles and photos.
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Borderland
Surreal Estate
Portrait of a Ghost
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A Body To Dye For
Love You To Death
Dead On Your Feet
The series, set in the 1990s, features a protagonist/amateur sleuth who is a Boston hairdresser. A very handsome adversarial police detective is also an ongoing character... which led me to making comparisons to another amateur sleuth on a different coast and his adversarial police detective. And it's been amusing me how my expectations for adversarial police detectives has been skewed by a certain series we know and love, plus the ensuing m/m tropes that followed it. The Michaels books are not m/m — they are mysteries with a gay protagonist written by a gay author in settings contemporary to his own life. Anyway, definitely worth a read. Book 3 was not my favorite, but I'll get back to the series...
Meanwhile I'm binge re-reading the Adrien English audiobooks. I finished The Hell You Say on Halloween (fittingly) and I'm in the 2.5 hours of Death of a Pirate King. Still very emotional for me.
Karen wrote: "Three "haunted house" (in various senses of the term) books, listed more or less in the order of my enjoyment, although each of them had interesting elements and characters. This year's Halloween s..."Very festive, Karen. Happy Halloween. :)
I started The Monster of Elendhaven for Halloween and it's fantastic. So far it is sinister and bloody and so dark, but also charming and sweet and funny.
5 Comfort Reads recommended by Neil Gaiman. You get also a bonus interview with him ;-).One of the books is Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones. I thought I had never heard of her, but she is also the author of Howl's Moving Castle => see Hayao Miyazaki's film! So now I don't know which of the two books I should buy...
Howles moving castle is so great! And enough different from the movie I think you will love it. My favorite of Dianna Wynne Jones' is Charmed Life.
Antonella wrote: "5 Comfort Reads recommended by Neil Gaiman. You get also a bonus interview with him ;-).One of the books is Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones. I thoug..."
I love Diana Wynne Jones's books. Read most of them, I think, but not this one, so adding it to my list. :-)
I also love DWJ. The audio of Howl's Moving Castle is my favourite version. It's read by the author and it's excellent!
Possible Christmas presents for girls?Ignite Her Curiosity: 60 Children's Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls
The book
Self Evident Truths: 10,000 Portraits of Queer America seems interesting.See this review "10,000 Portraits of Queer America" Bring Joy and Sanity
Out today:
The Glamour Boys. The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler by Chris BryantA STORY OF UNSUNG BRAVERY AT A DEFINING MOMENT IN BRITAIN'S HISTORY
'Superb' Stephen Fry
'Thrillingly told' Dan Jones
'Fascinating' Neil MacGregor
'Astonishing' Peter Frankopan
We like to think we know the story of how Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, but there is one chapter that has never been told. In the early 1930s, a group of young, queer British MPs visited Berlin on a series of trips that would change the course of the Second World War.
Having witnessed the Nazis' brutality first-hand, these men were some of the first to warn Britain about Hitler, repeatedly speaking out against their government's policy of appeasing him. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain hated them. Branding them 'the glamour boys' to insinuate something untoward about them, he had their phones tapped and threatened them with deselection and exposure.
At a time when even the suggestion of homosexuality could land you in prison, the bravery these men were forced to show in their personal lives gave them extraordinary courage in public. Undaunted, they refused to be silenced and when war came, they enlisted. Four of them died in action. And without them, Britain would never have faced down the Nazis.
I went to check the Glamour Boys book, which I added to my list, and on the way discovered that Stephen Fry has a new (?) book - a retelling of the Greek Myths. Both sound great.
I started Stephen Fry's take on the Greek Myths, and so far, so good. Love his turn of phrase and his sense of humor, and I sort of forgot how enjoyable the stories are despite being totally nuts.And read a lovely story (it won the Newbery) - Hello, Universe.
KC wrote: "I started Stephen Fry's take on the Greek Myths, and so far, so good. Love his turn of phrase and his sense of humor, and I sort of forgot how enjoyable the stories are despite being totally nuts...."
Neat. Glad you are enjoying it. I have heard the audio of this, read by the author, is absolutely amazing. I enjoy Stephen Fry so much.
Good things I have read recently...--Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. This is neat SF novella about a girl going off to university on another planet and what happens on the way there. Enjoyed it.
--Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab by Huda Fahmy. A collection of cheerful comics about being a Muslim woman in America and how racist people are. Very funny and very cutting.
--The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill. Super cute, super lovely all-ages graphic novel about tiny dragons and kindness. Very soothing and nice and soft, with lovely artwork.
--Agent Bayne by Jordan Castillo Price. Awesome. Totally loved it. Victor Bayne is my favourite. I'm a bit behind on Psycop!
I am reading the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri who passed away last year. After reading each book I watch it on BBC Iplayer. It is such great fun to see the Inspector on the screen especially when I have just finished reading the book. I am having a lovely time with this series.
Alison wrote: "KC wrote: "I started Stephen Fry's take on the Greek Myths, and so far, so good. Love his turn of phrase and his sense of humor, and I sort of forgot how enjoyable the stories are despite being tot..."He's super awesome!
Alison wrote: "Good things I have read recently..."Tiny dragons and kindness sounds like just the thing! :-)
Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I am reading the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri who passed away last year. After reading each book I watch it on BBC Iplayer. It is such great fun to see the Inspect..."I've only read a couple of the books, they are very good, and I saw two episodes of the TV series. In Italy especially the TV series has cult status and people quote from it. I usually miss the quotes if my friends don't spell them out for me ;-).
I keep wondering how it is possible to translate Camilleri into another language because of his skilled use of Sicilian expressions: he puts in the text Sicilian words which you wouldn't normally understand if you were born outside the island, but then, very subtly, he manages to include in the following sentence something that makes you understand their meaning. Or at least it was so in the books I've read, quite at the beginning of the series.
Antonella wrote: "Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "I am reading the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri who passed away last year. After reading each book I watch it on BBC Iplayer. It is..."The translators did an excellent job. I hope they translate the rest of Camilleri's books. He wrote a number of standalone stories. He is now one of my favourite authors.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas! I just finished it last night and it's awesome. It's an own voices queer Lantinx trans romance ghost mystery and it's fantastic. Loved it.
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I read it last week and completely agree. It's very well-written, and I didn't even mind being able to "solve" the mystery in advance of the younger protagonists, as it should be solvable to YA or middle grade readers. I loved that I was so engaged in a book that I could consider recommending to my almost 12 year old granddaughter, as well as to my 30-something daughters.
Karen wrote: "Alison wrote: "Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas! I just finished it last night and it's awesome. It's an own voices queer Lantinx trans romance ghost mystery and it's fantastic. Loved ..."It was indeed very engaging. It's a debut as well. Looking forward to seeing what's next for the author.
Read Louis Bayard's historical mystery The Black Tower, which was excellent!Also really enjoyed The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. And apparently, there's a sequel. I tried the sample, and not sure about it yet. One thing that bothered me in the sequel sample was that he doesn't pick up where he left off - and I really liked how the first book ends - but in the sequel he basically ignores how he ended book 1, and the main character stays the same age, but, given the world events he talks about, it's eleven years later...
I decided to try his other books first: The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All.
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I'm reading Days Without Number by Robert Goddard.100 pages in. It's slow going but intriguing. I don't know 'whodunit', if it was murder at all, or whether I'm going to like any of the characters. I often find his characters morally ambiguous.
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Karen wrote: "Garrett Leigh’s Angels in the City is the best new holiday story I’ve read this season. Neither the cover nor the blurb do it justice. (“Oh no, not another fake relationship Christm..."Sounds nice, Karen. Glad you found a winner. :)
Included in 24 Best Historical Romance Novels to Read by Oprah Magazine are:Brothers of the Wild North Sea
An Unseen Attraction and
Unmasked by the Marquess
Antonella wrote: "Included in 24 Best Historical Romance Novels to Read by Oprah Magazine are:Brothers of the Wild North Sea
An Unseen Attraction and
[book:Unmasked by the Marquess|3..."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All amazing books. Wow.
Also on the list are Olivia Waite and Jennie Lin and Courtney Milan and Beverley Jenkins and Alyssa Cole! What a list!
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Also, that’s a fantastic list of historical romances! Wow!
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Sadly Dal MacLean, maybe the closest author to her work, isn't on here, but I'm happy to see JCP is pretty close!
Jordan wrote: "I found this really interesting and fun resource just now and I thought I would share it with you all. This is called the Literature Map. You put in an author and the closer other authors are the m..."Cool find Jordan! It's fun to play around with. I noticed a certain time component: when I put an author in the search that I read during my teens I'll find the surrounding authours will be from the same time. Which makes sense, in a way. There was basically no overlap into authors of the same genre but later decade.
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That's interesting! I didn't look up past reads with it, only current stuff. I'll have to play around some more.
I've just finished reading all 4 volumes of Fence
. I love it. Great teen comic where fencing is front and centre and not just a background story.
Unfortunately I can't find any info on vol 5 as yet, but there are tie in novels. I'm planning on picking up the first one right now!
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. I love it. Great teen comic where fencing is front and centre and not just a background story.
Unfortunate..."
I bought them as ebooks, mostly as they came out. Then the prices would drop (a lot) for previous books when each new one came out, but I think I missed most of those sales. :)
If you don't mind reading graphic novels as ebooks (my mileage varies on this depending on the books), the 12-book first series is available for $1.99-2.99 at...
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B...
Lillian wrote: "I've just finished reading all 4 volumes of Fence . I love it. Great teen comic where fencing is front and centre and not just a background story.
Unfortunate..."
Fence is great! I have enjoyed it and look forward to the next one. I am lucky in that my library has them. I'm interested to hear what you think about the novel. Other graphic novels have done that-- Lumberjanes and The Backstagers, for instance-- and it's an intriguing idea.
Alison wrote: "Lillian wrote: "I've just finished reading all 4 volumes of Fence . I love it. Great teen comic where fencing is front and centre and not just a background stor..."
Ooh, i didn't know The Backstagers had done a side novel. I love that series. I'll be sure to check it out.
Karen wrote: "Lillian wrote: "I've just finished reading all 4 volumes of Fence . I love it. Great teen comic where fencing is front and centre and not just a background stor..."
I have all the issues in digital 😊 and then got them again in GN format. But the single issues only take you to the end of vol 3. Vol 4 onward is GN only and I'm all caught up 😭.
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Other Half"
GASP!!!!!!! Thank you!
Reading lately:- m/m paranormal mystery: Vespers (book 1) and Bonfire (book 1.5 - this is a Christmas novella, but unlike in other cases, it has an actual mystery plot in addition to continuing the relationship arc).
I was pleasantly surprised by how good these books are. I had zero expectations, because it's been difficult lately to find good m/m books with a good subgenre plot in addition to the romance part, so I kept being pleasantly surprised by the authors' take on all sorts of issues, which kept things fresh and intriguing.
- fiction: Nothing to See Here. Excellent in every way. And I'm reading now one of his short stories collections: Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories, which is also very good so far.
- mystery: The Best American Mystery Stories 2018.
I got the collection mostly because Louis Bayard has a story in it (it's the first one, and it was excellent). The rest are a bit of a mix, and some are not mysteries at all, but overall I'm enjoying it.
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- m/m paranormal mystery: Vespers (book 1) and Bonfire (book 1.5 - this is a Christmas novella, but unlike in other cases, it has an actual mystery ..."
I also enjoyed the Irene Preston/Liv Rancourt paranormals.
The Hours of the Night
https://www.goodreads.com/series/1868...
and
Haunts and Hoaxes
https://www.goodreads.com/series/2999...
The series overlap a bit and both are well-written.
It's the end of the year, everybody! Anyone want to gush about their favourite books they read this year? It was not a usual year for reading, so if you want to talk about something you spent time doing this year that was awesome that wasn't reading, please do. :)
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www.instagram.com/qotu33
I link to that because otherwise I can't remember what they were. I actually read a lot more books, and liked a lot more books, than it seems I did. I listened to a lot of audiobooks. When I read print books, I crawl through them, a few pages to a chapter a night and that's it. But audiobooks I tend to fly through.
BUT, my favorite is the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. I love Murderbot's dry humor, and it's personality that fits well with mine. There's a debate about whether or not Murderbot can be LGBTQ, viewing that it's a bot, but I'd like to think that yes, Murderbot is asexual and nonbinary, just like me. Murderbot doesn't know this yet, but we're going to be best friends. lol. There's also a lot of good action/adventure with some interesting mysteries. Start with All Systems Red
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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)
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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)
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I've recently read two M. Arbon stories and they are so well done. Looking forward to the next two.