Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
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I am trying to r..."
Lost and Found was a 5 for me. It is one of the most unusual m/m romances I've read, maybe because it is one of the most realistic? Neither of the MCs are glamorous. They both have real life faults, and their jobs are regular guy jobs (a busker/musician and a RV/trailer camp manager). Gavin is a mess, but I've known guys like him.
Josh, I'm glad someone else feels this way about the book cover. The model reads as too old for Gavin. It tries to illustrate the story but comes across laden with stereotypes. Well, Gavin plays on stereotypes when busking, but still...
I'm definitely going to read this, because I like ZAM. I wonder how I will like it...
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I a..."
It's not to say it's not a competent cover -- the composition and so forth is quite nice -- but yes. That model is a turn-off.
Very interesting given how much we've discussed cover models and nude torsos and so on and so forth. I do continue to believe that NO face/head is preferable to the wrong face/head.
Josh wrote: "I do continue to believe that NO face/head is preferable to the wrong face/head.."
Agreed! There are some cover models that are so completely wrong that it affects my enjoyment of the book. Which feels shallow, but is nonetheless a hard fact with me.
Agreed! There are some cover models that are so completely wrong that it affects my enjoyment of the book. Which feels shallow, but is nonetheless a hard fact with me.
Lady*M wrote: "I finished King Mai and... wow. I didn't like King Perry as much as everyone else (I rated it as objectively as I could and gave it 4 stars, but my enjoyment was not on par with the rating), but book... wow. I laughed like a loon and cried like a baby. Lovely, lovely book. "I've just read King Perry and I was blown away. Totally different from everything else. I didn't know that it is listed under Bittersweet Dreams, but it doesn't have a bad ending IMO.
But I've got some perplexities about the fact that apparently the main character Vin will get (view spoiler)
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Agreed! There are some cover models that are so completely wrong that it affects my enjoyment of th..."
I find it fascinating that cover models can so affect our enjoyment of a work. Also descriptions of the characters. I fall in the camp of wanting to know what the characters look like, but if they don't look like I imagined, I do struggle with it.
It is continually fascinating to me that this could be true. But I know for a fact it is.
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It actually troubled me through the rest of the book. :-D And I *still* cannot picture Timmy with blond hair.
Yes, I think that important things like hair and eye colour need to be mentioned very early, before the reader has a chance to form a mental picture of a character.
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Yes. Early or not at all.
I also understand the prejudice against beards because I held it myself as young reader. It doesn't bother me anymore -- I'm not even sure why -- but all those little preferences, be it facial hair or build do ring true.
Storytelling is a weird and precarious magic.
Josh wrote: "Hj wrote: "Yes, I think that important things like hair and eye colour need to be mentioned very early, before the reader has a chance to form a mental picture of a character."Yes. Early or not a..."
It's a wonderful magic which starts in the author's mind and then is recreated again and again in the readers'. No wonder the details sometimes get mixed up a little :)
I did power through Lost and Found and finally made my peace with Gavin. I didn't mind the cover, but then I read ebooks so it's not in my face all of the time. To me the cover did look like the description in the book but my inner view of Gavin didn't match that much either.Right now I'm reading Dev Bentham's Nobody's Home and enjoying it!
Josh wrote: "Hj wrote: "Yes, I think that important things like hair and eye colour need to be mentioned very early, before the reader has a chance to form a mental picture of a character."Yes. Early or not at all.
I also understand the prejudice against beards..."
For me it's goatees. Whenever that's part of a description I work hard to put it out of my mind. Just not my cup of tea. :)
Susan wrote: "For me it's goatees. Whenever that's part of a description I work hard to put it out of my mind. Just not my cup of tea. :) ..."I do so agree! I don't like any facial hair, but I find goatees especially objectionable and difficult to overlook or put out of my mind.
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Agreed! There are some cover models that are so completely wrong that it affects my en..."
I have a GR bookshelf: who-are-those-guys-on-the cover. : )
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You're in good company. There are a handful of readers who -- EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFY IN THE FIRST THREE PARAGRAPHS -- prefer to think of Riordan as dark-haired. :-D
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I do so agree! I don't like any facial hair, but I f..."
And yet! I cannot believe the number of readers who thought Parting Glass was THE best cover of mine ever.
Josh wrote: "Lou wrote: "Josh wrote: "I remember reading in the Stevenson's Strachey series, he finally mentions that Timmy is blond with cornflower blue eyes. The blue eyes, worked perfectly. The blond?! I had..."ROFL
Josh wrote: "Hj wrote: "Susan wrote: "For me it's goatees. Whenever that's part of a description I work hard to put it out of my mind. Just not my cup of tea. :) ..."I do so agree! I don't like any facial ha..."
It is fantastic! Then again I'm one of those partial to beards of any kind....;)
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The only thing I remember about that book is Timmy turned out to be BLOND.
Shocking!
Josh wrote: " yet! I cannot believe the number of readers who thought Parting Glass was THE best cover of mine ever...."For me, my favorite Josh Lanyon book cover is still Out Of the Blue... I'm partial to headless torsos with great outfits and setting :-P
Josh wrote: "And yet! The number of readers who thought Parting Glass was THE best cover of mine ever."It certainly was impressive. Very different from anything you've ever used.
Josh wrote: "You're in good company. There are a handful of readers who -- EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFY IN THE FIRST THREE PARAGRAPHS -- prefer to think of Riordan as dark-haired. :-D "In my copy, he is dark haired. I am absolutely sure of that. /folds arms defiantly, refuses to check./
Susinok wrote: "Anne wrote: "This is the season for holiday stories, today it is "lost and found" by ZA Maxfield. Very cute :)"I am trying to read that but I'm not liking Gavin much at all so my mind is wanderin..."
I'm sorry to say but i just couldn't stand Gavin, i couldn't stand his behavior.
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You know, that was a surprise to me the second time around. I admit it. I was like, huh? He's blond? I'd completely forgotten, and somehow ignored all the cues that tell us this very fact throughout the series. You don't mention it only once! It was like, wow, how did I miss that, and it's mentioned so early too! Where was my brain?
I think it's probably because I'm more partial to brown hair than blond that I blocked that line or something. Who knows. I very often will change someone's looks in my head to be what I want them to be. Or, they're just some nebulous blob that isn't really a person, but something acting like a person. That happens a lot for me too. I do have headless torsos running around in my brain. I don't see a face, even when it's described in details sometimes. So odd.
Josh wrote: "And yet! I cannot believe the number of readers who thought Parting Glass was THE best cover of mine ever."My top favorite covers are:
- Haunted Heart (for the atmosphere, that mysterious, dreamy quality)
- Blood Red Butterfly (for absolute prettiness)
- In Sunshine or In Shadow collection (so sweet)
- Come unto these yellow sands (so...Swift)
thelastaerie wrote: "Josh wrote: " yet! I cannot believe the number of readers who thought Parting Glass was THE best cover of mine ever...."For me, my favorite Josh Lanyon book cover is still Out Of the Blue... I'm ..."
I adore that cover, definitely the best of many good ones. (CUTYS a good number two). But then, I do like the rugged, unshaven types :)
The Parting Glass - Le Sigh, le Envy... I want him!And Come Unto These Yellow Sands
I like Haunted Heart too, very nice.
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*gulp*
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I read this article: The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked The Hunger Games.
Apparently I'm part of the minority who didn't read it... Lots of you liked it, Calathea and Anne, who I also trust, didn't like it that much. Any thoughts?
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My top favorite covers are:
- Haunted Heart (for the atmosphere, that myste..."
Those are some of my favorites too.
Also that Winter Heart cover!
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That's the question!
Antonella wrote: "I read this article: The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked The Hunger Games.
..."
I am actually listening to book 3 right now, I think it gets better after book 1. Very dark, which I like. But you have to accept the premises of the story to enjoy it. Within its own logic, it works. And I like the strong female characters.
I'm re-reading The Shining for the first time in about 35 years. I'm reading it in preparation to read Doctor Sleep, which is the sequel.There were 38 people ahead of me on the library reserve list when I added my name a couple weeks ago, and the library notified me yesterday that a copy is ready for me to pick up. What? So soon? But I wanna read CHRISTMAS stories, not horror!! LOL.
Antonella wrote: "I read this article: The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked The Hunger Games.
..."
It's probably good enough. I felt set up (or is it 'let down'?) after I finished book 1 because the author didn't follow through with her conflicts. IMO she chickened out. (or the publisher persuaded her into another direction to be able to make a trilogy of it, idk)
If Anne says it's getting better after book 1 I might try the 2nd. :-)
Josh wrote: "You're in good company. There are a handful of readers who -- EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFY IN THE FIRST THREE PARAGRAPHS -- prefer to think of Riordan as dark-haired. :-D "I'M WORKING ON IT!
The CYOA book will help. The one with illustrations.
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The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked The Hunger Games.
..."
I haven't read the books. I own them because I buy books that my students are reading, and towards the end of the school year, the series tends to catch the attention of my soon-to-be mid-schoolers. I read about a chapter of the first book, but the writing style didn't work for me, and I've read a number dystopian YA books. But I've seen both films with my daughter (24), and she's the one who brought the NPR story to my attention. I think the films are well done, for what they are. The cast is impressive. The second film was better than the first. My daughter, who's read the books, feels that the movies are much better, more subtle, more nuanced, deeper. The gender-role questions are part of that.
Na wrote: "I'm on a shifter/werewolves phase. I'm just starting to read the following of the Infected series. Any other recommendations for this theme?"Have you tried Kaje Harper's Hidden Wolves series? I like that one a lot. It starts with Unacceptable Risk.
Antonella wrote: "I read this article: The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked The Hunger Games.
..."
I liked it too and I read the books and saw the films (Catching Fire is btw. one of best book adaptations I ever saw). I agree with the author of the articel with regard to Peeta, although personally I don't like him.
What I found most refreshing was the girl though. Until book three she didn't love neither of them - hell, she don't want to love them, she don't want to think about that, because she struggles and fights to survive and to protect her family. She isn't the person who intitate the love-triangle, she is forced into it. Against her will (from both side btw. Peeta and Gale). I like it especially after I saw The Hobbit 2 and stupid female elv called Tauriel. Invented for the film she is just there for romances part, nothing more. She makes me pretty aggressiv, 'cause she is that typical cliché of women in movies.
That said, I find it sad that most critics concentrate on the love triangle in Hunger Games (and compare it to Twilight, which didn't invent love triangles and honestly both have really nothing in common...). It isn't that much important. I mean there is a riot, and then a revolution and Katniss is in the middle of it, although she didn't want to. She tries to survive the whole mass and many people triy to manipulate her - even the ones, she considered friends.
Karen wrote: "Antonella wrote: "I read this article: The Hunger Games’ Gender Role Revolution
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/201...
So I checked [book:The Hunger..."
This is interesting. I listened to book 1 last year and then lost interest in the story. But then I saw the first movie and it got me wanting to know the rest of it. I agree with your daughter, the movie is better than the first book. Now I am really invested in the story, it gets more complicated and dark as the characters grow and mature and the storyline evolves. I am not finished with it yet, but already I have a suspicion that it won't have the traditional HEA.
Today I finished another sweet holiday read Sweet and Sour. Very enjoyable and warmly recommended :)
Thanks to all the people who answered my question on ''The Hunger Games''. There are too many interesting books around, maybe I'll leave this trilogy for my retirement ;-).
Antonella wrote: "Thanks to all the people who answered my question on ''The Hunger Games''. There are too many interesting books around, maybe I'll leave this trilogy for my retirement ;-)."
There isn't enough time for it all, is it? :)
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I loved this one, too. Made me want to look for gourmet pickles. : )
Na wrote: "I'm on a shifter/werewolves phase. Any other recommendations for this theme?"Hi Na, Good m\m shifter books can be hard to find – here are some of the ones I liked, I’m not sure if you will find them all up to Josh’s level of writing though. There not in any type of order…
The light, fun reads:
Wolves of Stone Ridge series by Charlie Richards
Change of Heart series (shifter\ vampire mix) by Mary Calmes
Finnshifters series by Tia Fielding
The Thresl Chronicles series by Amber Kell
With or Without series by J. L. Langley
Supernatural Bounty Hunters series by R.J. Scott (shifter\ vampire mix)
Forces of Nature by Cooper Davis
A darker one: Iskryne World by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
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Hi Na, Good m\m shifter books can be hard to find – here are some of the ones I liked, I’m not sure if you ..."
I remember reading Blacque/Bleu a couple of years ago and liking it. If I remember correctly it's a werewolf + vampire story.
Na wrote: "I'm on a shifter/werewolves phase."In addition to some of the ones already mentioned, I liked Lone.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I have read Let It Snow, Sweet and Sour, Blame It On The Mistletoe, Christmas Kitsch, How I Met Your Father, and Carol of the Bellskis. I also did a few re-reads of favorites.
Christmas Kitsch and Sweet and Sour have been my favorites so far but they have all been excellent.