What Are you Reading? Showing 2,101-2,150 of 16,523

[Becky]

A while back I heard someone say that when you're a fan, getting an autograph isn't about the item or the signature. It's about standing in front of this person you admire and for that one moment having their full attention. So in a way, a signed book has value as a souvenir of that moment, separate from the value we place on books as readers. I can see why some people would want to preserve that memento and not put it through the wear and tear that books see when they're read.

ETA: Although I certainly see your point about focusing limited funds on buying books that you haven't already read, too.

[Lady*M]

I'm in dilemma (or rather trilemma) what to read next: Illumination (I think referentces to Miles Vorkosigan pushed this up on my TBR list), Damon Suede's Bad Idea or to reread Bozza's Butterfly Hunter before the sequel is released? Choices, choices...

[Becky]

Lady*M wrote: "I'm in dilemma (or rather trilemma) what to read next: Illumination (I think referentces to Miles Vorkosigan pushed this up on my TBR list), Damon Suede's Bad Idea or to reread Bozza's Butterfly Hu..."

There's a sequel? Excellent! But Illumination was awfully good, too.

[Lady*M]

Becky wrote: "There's a sequel? Excellent!"

Release on November 1st!

[Susinok]

Lady*M wrote: "I'm in dilemma (or rather trilemma) what to read next: Illumination (I think referentces to Miles Vorkosigan pushed this up on my TBR list), Damon Suede's Bad Idea or to reread Bozza's Butterfly Hu..."

Oooo those are some choices, for sure. I will be getting Illumination pretty soon, myself.

[Lady*M]

Well, I decided on Butterfly Hunter and it was the right decision. I forgot too much to start reading the sequel and I forgot how much I loved it the first time. :)

[HJ]

Anne wrote: "Definitely in Norway, and also if you are a Norwegian and lives in the UK (she is in Cornwall now), but the Scots and the English, at least the young ones, go out in the winter nights practically naked as far as I have seen. I don't see how they survive it. You see the girls in close to freezing weather on a Friday night in miniskirts and a tank top and sandals, frozen blue, but not a warm sweather in sight :) ..."

I'd forgotten about her move to Cornwall (which is one of the warmer parts of the UK). I am also amazed at the phenomenon you describe, which I used to think was peculiar to some Northern towns but which happens more everywhere now, partly because the UK has never learned to have proper cloakrooms or safe areas to hang coats, so as kids don't have anywhere inside for them they end up not wearing them at all. (The few cloakrooms we did have were closed when there were bombs.)

This problem has worsened because more and more schools have neither cloakrooms nor lockers, so children not only have to carry all their books around but also their coats - so they don't want to wear them.

You'd never believe we have a lot of rain, let alone quite chilly winters!

[HJ]

KC wrote: "From last week's reads - LB Gregg's Dudleytown was soooo much fun!

This week...
KJ Charles - The Caldwell Ghost
M Chandler - Shadow of the Templar#1, The Morning Star
and continuing the beautiful ..."

I smiled with pleasure at the Mention of Shadow of the Templar! I must re-read it; one of my first m/m reads, and great fun.

[HJ]

Anne wrote: "KC wrote: "Anne wrote: "I have read all of L.B. Gregg's books thatI have found, and like them all very much, and I adore Simple Gifts. Does anybody know if she has more in the works? "

She has a n..."

She also has more audiobooks coming out (many of the Smithfield novellas are already out, under their new names and in their revised form).

[Antonella]

Lady*M wrote: " to reread Bozza's Butterfly Hunter before the sequel is released?"

Thank you for reminding of this, I had forgotten it.

[Ame]

Anne wrote: "Hj wrote: "Anne wrote: "
And in one week my daughter will come to Oslo, then it will be ...

I finished one and is working on another. She seems to have an unending demand for big woolly garments ..."


Hmmmm.... I do remember couple few several on more than several occasion where I went out in miniskirts with naked thighs in minus 10-12°C....... and that was decades ago.....;)


Of course now I'm always in my wool sweater and wool socks....;)

[Tracy]

Becky wrote: "A while back I heard someone say that when you're a fan, getting an autograph isn't about the item or the signature. It's about standing in front of this person you admire and for that one moment ..."

But again, there were other things that could be signed, and for the most part, the people I wanted that kind of attention from were available to readers pretty much whenever the whole long weekend. I mean, I can kind of see the point if it's someone HUGE (or a huge con) where you don't get that kind of intimate interaction... & some people wanted a signature on every single piece of anything they picked up with an author's name on it. Which just seemed a bit much to me.

[Alison]

Anne wrote: "Definitely in Norway, and also if you are a Norwegian and lives in the UK (she is in Cornwall now), but the Scots and the English, at least the young ones, go out in the winter nights practically naked as far as I have seen. I don't see how they survive it. You see the girls in close to freezing weather on a Friday night in miniskirts and a tank top and sandals, frozen blue, but not a warm sweather in sight :)

Sometimes I want to knit them all warm Norwegian sweathers...
"

I know what you're talking about, Anne. I spent a winter in Edinburgh years ago and was also amazed at the scantily clad young folk cavorting in the icy weather! And the ones in very high heels trotting down the cobblestone streets worried me immensely! It must have been the drunkenness keeping them warm...

[Anne]

Antonella wrote: "Lady*M wrote: " to reread Bozza's Butterfly Hunter before the sequel is released?"

Thank you for reminding of this, I had forgotten it."

I had too, so hurried and downloaded it yesterday. Then I will be ready for the sequel :)

[ttg]

Johanna wrote: "ttg wrote: "And am now in the middle of the post-WWI m/m historical Bonds of Earth. So far, it's a very good read, very interesting with a slow build love story. (Also nicely handling MCs who strug..."

Just finished Bonds of Earth, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's a very good m/m historical, and a nice change of pace with its post WWI setting.

It slowed down a little for me in the last quarter, but overall, I would highly recommend it to anyone who digs historicals. It has a nice quiet feel for much of the story as the characters get closer and also slowly heal each other.

[Johanna]

ttg wrote: "Johanna wrote: "ttg wrote: "And am now in the middle of the post-WWI m/m historical Bonds of Earth. So far, it's a very good read, very interesting with a slow build love story. (Also nicely handli..."

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ttg! It sounds like something I, too, would enjoy.

[Johanna]

Ooookay. I received my print copy of The Lost Prince and a print copy of Joseph Hansen's Gravedigger (Dave Brandstetter #6) today. Only... the Gravedigger is in FRENCH. I don't know how I've managed to order a French version of it, but... I'm looking at it right now. It's a small, compact second hand book in very good condition. And it has a beautiful cover. Maybe that's the fact that fooled me — I must have had chosen the one with prettiest cover *grin*.

Aaaaanyway, this beauty is looking for a new loving home right now, because I do not speak French, at all. So, any takers? It will be a gift and I'm happy to pay the postal charge. :-)

Here you can see its nice cover:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gravedigger-J...

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

You can send it back to Amazon if you bought it from them or to the seller if from the Amazon marketplace. I once bought a comic which turned out to be in Danish and when i contacted the seller he refunded the money and told me to keep the book. I don't know why he didn't state that the book was in danish. I sent it to the Danish embassy for them to use for their waiting room or something useful. Since it was an interesting comic i am sure they must have found some use for it.

[Johanna]

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "You can send it back to Amazon if you bought it from them or to the seller if from the Amazon marketplace. I once bought a comic which turned out to be in Danish and when i contacted the seller he ..."

That was a great idea to send it to Danish embassy. :-)

Well, I thought that if the French Gravedigger would give some joy for any of you guys, I'd rather send it to one of you than back to its seller/Amazon.

[Josh]

Susinok wrote: "I started Damon Suede's Bad Idea after listening to him do a reading. He's a GOOD reader, by the way.

Fun story with a comic book artist and a make-up special effects guy.

A group of us at GRL we..."

Waaait a sec. Geeky UNDER it all? Come on. You're talking to US. We're geeky on the outside too. Who are you trying to kid there? :-D

[Josh]

Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "KC wrote: "From last week's reads - LB Gregg's Dudleytown was soooo much fun!

This week...
KJ Charles - The Caldwell Ghost
M Chandler - Shadow of the Templar#1, The Morning Star
and c..."

Yes, she does. She's putting together a number of proposals for next year. AND Simple Gifts will be an audio book this year in time for the holidays.

[Josh]

Becky wrote: "A while back I heard someone say that when you're a fan, getting an autograph isn't about the item or the signature. It's about standing in front of this person you admire and for that one moment ..."

That's a great insight. I never thought of it that way.

[KC]

Hj wrote: "KC wrote: "From last week's reads - LB Gregg's Dudleytown was soooo much fun!

This week...
KJ Charles - The Caldwell Ghost
M Chandler - Shadow of the Templar#1, The Morning Star
and continuing the..."

That's good to know! (about The Morning Star) It sounded like a fun book. Have you read other books by this author?

[Jordan]

Juthi wrote: "Antonella wrote: " is really excellent."

One of my favourite non-Josh m/m books!"

THis looks fantastic and is now on my TBR wish list!

[Jordan]

I just started reading First to Kill by Andrew Peterson this morning and I cannot put it down! It's been killing me that I had to actually go to work today and do work. lol. It's not an MM, but if you like military/FBI action so far I'm loving it!

[Susinok]

Josh wrote: "Waaait a sec. Geeky UNDER it all? Come on. You're talking to US. We're geeky on the outside too. Who are you trying to kid there? :-D..."

Yeah, true that.

Do you know how AWESOME it was hanging around with 400+ fellow liberals! OH MY GOD!

I have found my tribe. Geeks, diverse, open minded, dirty minded, witty, and liberal.

I was in heaven. Sometimes living in the reddest state in the union gets me down.

[Lady*M]

I finished Suede's Bad Idea and, after a shaky start, liked it a lot more than I originally thought I would. In fact, I could start reading the sequel right now. XD

[Karen]

ttg wrote: "And am now in the middle of the post-WWI m/m historical Bonds of Earth. So far, it's a very good read, very interesting with a slow build love story. (Also nicely handling MCs who struggle with PTSD.)"

I really liked that book, very well done.

[Karen]

Anne wrote: "I knew Ms Speedwell had to be a Miles fan! I have just read Illumination and there is some references to a sci- fi series that I was quite sure was the Vorkosigan books in disguise. This makes it even more plausible. A fun little geek fact ;) "

Yeah, that was a cool element, and related to the MC's view of himself. This was such an interesting read. I loved how the story didn't follow the obvious paths/options that were available.

[Susinok]

Lady*M wrote: "I finished Suede's Bad Idea and, after a shaky start, liked it a lot more than I originally thought I would. In fact, I could start reading the sequel right now. XD"

I just finished it. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me, but I enjoyed it. I did get reminders of Chasing Amy a bit.

[HJ]

KC wrote: "That's good to know! (about The Morning Star) It sounded like a fun book. Have you read other books by this author? ..."

I've read and enjoyed all the Shadow of the Templar books. I first read them free on-line, quite a while ago. There are are also several short stories in the SoT universe - http://mchandler.org/sott/

[Caroline]

Jordan wrote: "Juthi wrote: "Antonella wrote: " is really excellent."
One of my favourite non-Josh m/m books!"
THis looks fantastic and is now on my TBR wish list!"

I need someone to explain to me what is so compelling about this book, Bonds of Earth because it's doing nothing for me. Well other than make me mutter darkly c'mon author this is supposed to be the 1920s not the 1980s. The set-up which is that the MC was an ambulance driver in the trenches before working at a convalescent hospital for shell shock cases in Somerset offers so much that the author completely fails to capitalise on. It's just vague background detail like wall paper whereas Josh, Aleks not to mention Pat Barker would have used this to shape the story. I'm not minded to go on reading this one.

[K.J.]

KC and Susinok: I am absolutely loving Iron & Velvet. Laugh out loud funny with some great ideas, but mostly it is just FUN. Lovely language, nice twisty plot, uses all the urban fantasy tropes in a deliberate and shameless way. Really enjoying it!

[Susinok]

K.J. wrote: "KC and Susinok: I am absolutely loving Iron & Velvet. Laugh out loud funny with some great ideas, but mostly it is just FUN. Lovely language, nice twisty plot, uses all the urban fantasy tropes in ..."

Good! I've been looking forward to that one.

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

That's good to hear because I saw some low reviews and i pre -ordered it . I am really looking forward to reading it too.

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "KC wrote: "From last week's reads - LB Gregg's Dudleytown was soooo much fun!

This week...
KJ Charles - The Caldwell Ghost
M Chandler - Shadow of the Templar#1, The Morni..."

That is nice to hear, and the audiobook of Simple Gifts together with the audio of From Dickens with love (you did promise that, didn't you?) will be my Christmas gift to myself :)

[Valerie]

Caroline wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Juthi wrote: "Antonella wrote: " is really excellent."
One of my favourite non-Josh m/m books!"
THis looks fantastic and is now on my TBR wish list..."

It's been a while since I tried to read Bonds of Earth - it was a DNF for me. I couldn't get into it but it has such great reviews I figured it was just me.

[Valerie]

K.J. wrote: "KC and Susinok: I am absolutely loving Iron & Velvet. Laugh out loud funny with some great ideas, but mostly it is just FUN. Lovely language, nice twisty plot, uses all the urban fantasy tropes in ..."

That is good to hear. I preordered it before Glitterland was even out.

[Valerie]

I had to push through to finish Bad Idea. It just wasn't for me.

I am starting Butterfly Hunter. Good to know there is a sequel coming out soon. :-)

[ttg]

Caroline wrote: "I need someone to explain to me what is so compelling about this book, Bonds of Earth because it's doing nothing for me. Well other than make me mutter darkly c'mon author this is supposed to be the 1920s not the 1980s. The set-up which is that the MC was an ambulance driver in the trenches before working at a convalescent hospital for shell shock cases in Somerset offers so much that the author completely fails to capitalise on. It's just vague background detail like wall paper whereas Josh, Aleks not to mention Pat Barker would have used this to shape the story. I'm not minded to go on reading this one."

I'm sorry it didn't work for you, Caroline. :( That's always a bummer to be disappointed by a book.

I personally liked this one--I love historicals, and I liked the book's quiet pace and the themes of healing for the different characters.

But reading is pretty individualistic, and the same things don't always work for everyone. Hopefully your next read will hit the sweet spot. :)

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

I recently read and by Thom Lane They are from his Amaranth series and deal with love between slaves and slave owners. It is fantasy but the system of slavery in the stories is quite harsh and the slaves dont get freedom as part of their HEA, although they seemed quite happy with their situations so I suppose all is well that ends well. Kind of offended my 21st century sense of justice which would have liked liberation and love. I am now reading continuing with fantasy. Thankfully this one doesn't have slavery but it does have a pirate. I am really enjoying it. I have only just discovered John Tristan and I like both his sci fi and fantasy stories.

I recently took voluntary redundancy from my job and my pay out means i can have a few months at home and take my time to think about what i want to do next. I have piles of books to read and i am really happy to put my feet up, relax and not think about work. :)

[Susinok]

I am reading Tarnished Gold by Brita Addams. I heard about it from the author on a GRL author Q&A panel. Brita's favorite time period in history is silverscreen era L.A. and Hollywood. She seemed so knowledgeable and excited about it, I had to get her book. It's her first, I think.

I'm about 15% into it and it's good so far. I'm a huge b/w movie buff, so I know a bit about the era myself.

American history settings seem to get short shrift in romance books. (Other than by Josh, of course. :)

[KC]

K.J. wrote: "KC and Susinok: I am absolutely loving Iron & Velvet. Laugh out loud funny with some great ideas, but mostly it is just FUN. Lovely language, nice twisty plot, uses all the urban fantasy tropes in ..."

Great! Thanks for the update :-)

[KC]

Hj wrote: "KC wrote: "That's good to know! (about The Morning Star) It sounded like a fun book. Have you read other books by this author? ..."

I've read and enjoyed all the Shadow of the Templar books. I fi..."

Cool! Thank you for the link! I'm looking forward to them :-)

[Josh]

One of the main things I was struck by watching the photos and reports from GRL is how many new authors there are in this genre. It's flabbergasting because the ones who went to GRL are not even the newest to arrive. These are authors who've been around long enough to wrangle a GRL invite.

It's just so amazing to me.

[ttg]

Susinok wrote: "I am reading Tarnished Gold by Brita Addams. I heard about it from the author on a GRL author Q&A panel. Brita's favorite time period in history is silverscreen era L.A. and Hollywood. She seemed ..."

I haven't read this one yet, but I enjoyed Brita Addams' For Men Like Us. It's a pretty good m/m regency romance with some twists.

[Susinok]

Josh wrote: "One of the main things I was struck by watching the photos and reports from GRL is how many new authors there are in this genre. It's flabbergasting because the ones who went to GRL are not even the newest to arrive. These are authors who've been around long enough to wrangle a GRL invite.

It's just so amazing to me. ..."

I know you say that the market is glutted, but I also think that the readership base is slowly growing every day. M/M and gay romance are getting more widespread media attention, and more readers are coming into the market all of the time.

I run across people all of the time commenting that they are new to the genre. Since Romance is such a huge market, we have a long way to go and more readership to add to our ranks.

[Alison]

I'm reading Manna Francis's Administration series right now. Whoa! It's fascinating! I wasn't sure I would like it, but the first book, Mind Fuck, is free, so I gave it a shot. And I loved it! I'm usually not too keen on dystopia-type stories full of unpleasantness, but I've found these characters to be so engaging that I just keep on reading and I can't stop. The characters' growth and development is so compelling and it's by far my favourite part of all of it. I was wanting to read something a bit meatier, and these books certainly give food for thought. On to book seven!

[Antonella]

Alison wrote: "I'm reading Manna Francis's Administration series right now. Whoa! It's fascinating! I wasn't sure I would like it, but the first book, Mind Fuck, is free, so I gave it a shot. And I loved it!"

Hi, Alison! I'm pleased that you join the already numerous Manna Francis' fans here on Josh's thread!

Alison wrote: "The characters' growth and development is so compelling and it's by far my favourite part of all of it."

It is the same for me.

[Karen]

ttg wrote: "Caroline wrote: "I need someone to explain to me what is so compelling about this book, Bonds of Earth because it's doing nothing for me. Well other than make me mutter darkly c'mon author this is ..."

It's been almost a year and a half since I read this, so I'm not sure but it's possible/likely that both MCs wartime experiences are gone back to in more detail. What I recall especially enjoying about this story was the notion of healing through gardening, and that the attraction between this unlikely couple built slowly over time. I was invested in them enough to worry about how they'd come through the times ahead of them.

It's amazing to me how often those of us on Q&A are "on the same page" or tend to agree on book preferences. No surprise that it isn't always the case. There was a highly praised SF m/m that several readers here mentioned, but I couldn't get beyond the excerpt. The premise/delivery just hit some of my buttons and I couldn't buy in. It keeps coming up on suggested lists and I've probably read some portion of that excerpt 4-5 times, thinking that at some point my opinion will change. ; )