Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What Are you Reading?
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Hehe. That'll be me. Likely.
Jordan wrote: "Since we're talking about the UK meet, I'm also planning on bringing my knitting. Mostly for something to do on the plane and train, but I'll perhaps bring it for something to do while listening to..."Jordan, how did I not know you are a knitter, too? If you come to GRL, be sure to bring your knitting! There were several of us hanging out and knitting in the lobby last year. :)
And I'm hoping to organize another donation of knit and crocheted items for local homeless LGBTQ youth- probably to Project Fierce. http://projectfiercechicago.org/
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I won't be attending GRL this year. But maybe next?
I just agreed to go to my Dad's Navy reunion with him this fall on top of going to England, which is where most of my money is going right now.
I'm a very casual knitter. Like, VERY, casual. I finally started a ribbed scarf, and it's the best thing I've made so far. Aside from one of the two bathmats I made awhile ago. For the most part, I stick to easy scarves and I haven't made any worth giving to anyone except the current one I'm working on, which I'll keep just cause it's the first knitting thing I'm completely in love with that I've made. Someday I might branch out though. I hope to anyway. :-)
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I also just got a copy of Beautiful Music For Ugly Children by Kristen Cronn-Mills. Such a fabulous YA novel about a transgender boy who wants to be a radio DJ. Loved it the first time I read it, which was a library copy, so I had to buy one for my personal bookshelves.
Stranger Things Have Happened should be arriving soon too!
I'm nearly finished Spook Squad, which will bring my Psycop reread to an end. It's fun to immerse myself in that universe in such a concentrated way. Makes me pick up on more connections between the books than I do if reading them months apart.Then I'm going to read a bunch of classic hard boiled detectives and noir stories. First up The Maltese Falcon. Oh and I need to read Coriolanus before early Feb, so I'll no what's going on when I go watch the simulcast of a stage production of it - starring Tom Hiddleston. ::wibble::
I really enjoyed Who Was That Man?: A Present for Mr. Oscar Wilde, which is a meditation on London's gay history focusing on Oscar Wilde but with lots of other periods touched on. Lyrically written and very interesting. I'm looking forward to the UK Meet! Must book hotel soon. I volunteered to be on any panels where they could use publishing knowledge, so I think I'll be doing contracts (ugh) and self editing, but waiting for confirmation on that.
Becky wrote: "I'm nearly finished Spook Squad, which will bring my Psycop reread to an end. It's fun to immerse myself in that universe in such a concentrated way."I finished yesterday Property. Sooner or later I'll start SpookSquad...
Since you've just reread, could you - or someone else - help me with a sentence I don't understand, please? It's at page 132 of ''Property'' (or page 35 of ''Secrets'', PDF). They are going to sleep in the new house:
“If you can find the bedside lamps,” he said, “we won’t have to navigate the bedroom in the dark.”
“Leave me a to-do list,” I said. It occurred to me that I might not like what a to-do list might entail, but I couldn’t really figure out a way to hedge. Here it was, bedtime, and I hadn’t brought up Camp Hell. I’d really come off as a jerk if I sprang it on Jacob at midnight.
“A list? No problem.” Jacob flicked off the light. “Marco.”
What? I waited for some kind of explanation so I could figure out what Marco was supposed to mean. And then I realized. The dark. “Polo.”
I heard the blankets at the foot of the bed rustle. “Marco.”
“Polo.”
Jacob was a huge silhouette looming in the faint green glow of the numbers on the alarm clock. The blankets rustled again, and the bed creaked ever so slightly as he climbed in beside me. His hand slid over my bare arm, down along my side. He pulled me against his chest. So incredibly warm.
Marco Polo, the great Italian traveller, died exactly this day in 1324. But I don't see why is he mentioned there...
Antonella wrote: "Marco Polo, the great Italian traveller, died exactly this day in 1324. But I don't see why is he mentioned there... "
It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game. One kid is blindfolded and is trying to find the other(s). (S)he calls out "Marco" and the others reply "Polo" so that the blindfolded kid can find them by the sound of their voice :)
It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game. One kid is blindfolded and is trying to find the other(s). (S)he calls out "Marco" and the others reply "Polo" so that the blindfolded kid can find them by the sound of their voice :)
Cris wrote: "It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game."Thank you, dear Chris! That's the kind of things you can't figure out even with internet...
Some of what i've been reading lately,1) I just finished the other day The Lost Prince by Harper Fox and loved it (of course! :-)). This one has taken me a while to finish because, well, i care too much for the characters. I wussed out in the middle and stopped for a while. I just couldn't know and yet not know what was going to happen. Both MCs are so young, and that passion and innocence is so well rendered and it was as if, if i stopped reading for a while, then their lives will also be on hold for a while and nothing unsavory could touch them. But of course, that's not how it works...
2) Tinsel Fish by Harper Fox was just awesome, cool spooky atmospheric and i just like Gideon and Lee so much.
3) Nor Iron Bars a Cage by Kaje Harper - i'm enjoying the slow building of the story and how we get to unhurriedly know the characters.
4) Mending Noel, short story by Charlie Cochet - adorable!
5) The Little Dog Laughed by Joseph Hansen - the more i read of Hansen's the more i love, well, everything. There's this...symbiosis between the writing, the main character's (Dave) thoughts and emotions and the reader. The last time i read something where the whole reading experience was taken over by a character's general mood/emotion was when i was reading Josh's AE series, especially Death of a Pirate King and The Dark Tide. It's wonderful.
Cris wrote: "It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game. One kid is blindfolded and is trying to find the other(s). (S)he calls out "Marco" and the others reply "Polo" so that the blindfolded kid can find them by the sound of their voice :) "Thanks, Cris. From context I figured it was something like that myself. We play the same game in the UK of course, but don't use the "Marco" and "Polo" bit. Mostly we just call out that the blindfolded one is "warm" or "cold" as they search.
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Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"My family stopped giving me books a long time ago... since I was... 10 or 12 or something like that. It's really sad.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"
I got the Rifter series in print! I'd already read it twice on my eReader, but really wanted to have them on my (small) bookshelf :)
I got the Rifter series in print! I'd already read it twice on my eReader, but really wanted to have them on my (small) bookshelf :)
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My family stopped giving me books a long time ago... since I was... 10 or 12 or something like that. It..."
Oh. Why did they stop? Books make such a wonderful gift.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"I din't get any books this year. Mostly because my family know they aren't able to keep up with my reading tastes. Sometimes I hint very clearly, then I might receive one.
But I give away a lot of books, for Christmas and birthdays. I consider it my duty to ensure the new generations learn to love reading :).
I gave my father a book by Stephen Hawkins, which may sound strange since he suffer from partial dementia, but the part of the brain that enjoys difficult concepts and know English, is still intact. Strange how the brain works.
And this ended up far from the topic at hand. Sorry :)
Josh wrote: "Tharayn wrote: "Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"My family stopped giving me books a long time ago... since I was... 10 or 12 or somethi..."
The only wish I had all the time was "books". They were really annoyed by that and just said "no. You need other hobbies!"
Last christmas I tried to wish for the hardcover books of Game of Thrones (because they are expensive) and I did get... none. =D
Well, from time to time my mother gives me Star Trek books, but sometimes I think just because she can borrow them from me, lol.
Now with e-readers it is more difficult to give books, because you can't really give them as a "present" - not even as "here is the code. look what you get!". At least not from amazon.de.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"People no longer give me stuff. I did get a gift certificate for Riptide. Actually, I got the MONEY and had to buy my own gift certificate, hehe.
Thing is you get store bucks if you buy gift certificates, so Bonus!
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My Mom, as always, went to the tearjerker section of the bookstore. She bought me two books: Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love and Unlikely Loves: 43 Heartwarming True Stories from the Animal Kingdom. She always buys me animal books.
I have yet to read Oogy, though I'd been thinking I need to read it before Xmas anyway, so now I really have no excuse. I read a few of the stories out loud from the other book, and made both my parents cry. I almost did. Actually, no, I did. I really did.
That's it. For once, the friend who always gets me books didn't, because she realized it's hard to buy books for me. I work with books all day. I've seen the books she's buying me, or I've already read them, like the one she bought me last year. And for the first time, I pretty much got her nothing but books! lol
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Honestly, with my parents, I've never gotten anything I've asked for. It's rare. I used to put a wish list on the refrigerator all year long, and the only person who used it was my grandmother who once called my mom to ask what she should get me.
I know no one would buy me MM books. That's for sure. But they could at least give me the gift card to buy it with, or any of the other books on my list.
I never want anything frivolous. Thankfully, my parents have gotten that hint. They don't get me much that's useless any more. I just don't have space for things like that. Books on the other hand...
Cris wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Marco Polo, the great Italian traveller, died exactly this day in 1324. But I don't see why is he mentioned there... "It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game. O..."
We always played Marco Polo in the pool, even when I was in high school (my friend had a pool at his house). You just close your eyes and listen carefully. You can call out "Marco" as often as you want in our version. If you happen to be underwater, and don't hear the "Marco," you don't have to answer. This was a key strategy.
Jordan wrote: "Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"My Mom, as always, went to the tearjerker section of the bookstore. She bought me two books: [book:Oogy..."
Oh dear, animal books always make me cry, either from happiness or from sadness. I haven't read any in a while.
Holiday gifts were a bit tricky at our house this year, what with the moving to New Zealand. We're not allowed to have more stuff -- we're meant to be getting rid of everything! Lots of wine and chocolate and delicious treats were given and received. Yum! Next time I hope receive lots of books to fill up my new house with. Later this year I hope to finally start my print collection of Josh's books. I made a super special exception for Stranger Things Have Happened, and it can go on the plane with me (and it's scheduled to arrive today! Yay!).
A few Christmases ago I was given a lovely book by my adorable mother in law and it meant a lot because I know she spent a lot of time thinking about it (it also turned out to be a great book.). The few times I've been given fiction books that I didn't ask for have always come out raelly well because of the care that was taken in choosing them. They're special and memorable books on my shelf, and they remain associated with the giver.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"I got Expo 58 *in Italian*. I don't read English books in Italian and I thought my friend knew it. I decided to be honest and I told her. She had not read it yet, so I gave it to her as a present ;-): I had brought only mountains of edible things to the family. My friend recommended that I should order What a Carve Up!, apparently the best book by Coe.
None of my friends can give me recs for m/m, even though they know I read m/m, but I got recs for books about the Holocaust and WW2:
Sarah's Key
Suite Française
Comallamore
I'm glad I didn't check GR before ordering them: the Italian book has got one 2 stars rating and one 1 star rating, and Alexs gave 2 stars to ''Suite Française''. I can form myself an opinion.
I already started Comallamore and I don't think it will be less than 4 stars, which is reassuring.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"I got a four day pass for the Leipzig Book Fair in March. Neat.
And I got the AE WYODS for myself.
Cris wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Marco Polo, the great Italian traveller, died exactly this day in 1324. But I don't see why is he mentioned there... "It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game. O..."
We used to play "Marco Polo" in the swimming pool when I was a little kid. We weren't blindfolded, of course...we were just on our honor to keep our eyes closed. :-)
Antonella wrote: "Cris wrote: "It's a children's hide and seek/ call and response game."Thank you, dear Chris! That's the kind of things you can't figure out even with internet..."
I didn't know that either. It adds a whole level to the scene - by responding "Polo" he's saying "come and get me". But what if he hadn't known the game???
ETA As I read more comments I gather that the person being hunted had to respond to the hunter when he called "Marco". But I still like the subtext I imagined!
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Hj wrote: "I didn't know that either."It is interesting that what I thought my problem as a non-native speaker, was in fact more a non US-resident problem ;-).
Antonella wrote: "Hj wrote: "I didn't know that either."It is interesting that what I thought my problem as a non-native speaker, was in fact more a non US-resident problem ;-)."
Yes! And since almost everything I know about life in the US comes from books, it's odd that I've never read about that game before. (And now I'll see it everywhere in the next few days. What's the word for that?)
Antonella - don't let me ruin your fun with Suite Francaise. You may love it! :)
I started Fish and Ghosts by Rhys Ford. I like her stuff, generally, so I want to see how this paranormal plays out. I've read some good stuff about this book so far.
Aleksandr wrote: "Antonella - don't let me ruin your fun with Suite Francaise. You may love it! :)"I'm just curious if I will be on ''your side'' or if I'll share my friend's enthusiasm for the book.
Just finished Freedom by debut author Jay Kirkpatrick and thought it was a pretty phenomenal sci-fi/dystopia story (with a m/m romance subplot)It was a different read, and juggles multiple POVs, a thing I usually don't like, but this time it worked out well. Really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi/future reads.
(And for Josh's question--no books this year for Christmas, but some Amazon gift cards. My family knows the best gift for me is the potential for many books.) :)
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I always gave books as holiday gifts, at least to family members. My daughters have a large collection of children's and YA books from holidays and birthdays and any other excuse.
We've moved to fairly low-key holiday gift exchanges. I gave giftcards to our local independent bookstore to nine family members. I received an iPad mini from my husband and daughters, which was a reader-enabler gift. : ) That was its purpose; they know I'm a book fiend. I received bookstore giftcards as teacher gifts (and chocolate). We also do a gift book exchange in class before winter break.
My husband's birthday is just before the holidays, and I gave him a copy of Anne Hillerman's mystery, Spider Woman's Daughter, her continuation of her dad's Leaphorn & Chee series.
I seldom receive books as gifts these days. My close friends and family know what I read, but have no idea how to shop for me. Although, recently a young 20-something friend gifted me The Name of the Wind just because he loved the series so much and wanted to share it.
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I always gave books as holiday gifts, at least to family members. My daughters have a large collection ..."
You really can't go wrong with a bookstore or Amazon gift card. I'm beginning to think that those are THE VERY BEST kind of Christmas gifts.
Karen, It would be interesting to hear your thoughts about iPad mini (as a book) versus your eReader. I've always used iPads for reading and never had any other kind of eReaders. But I've been wondering about them.
So my Currently Reading is a weird combination right now.I've got three on it:
is the audiobook I have on the go.
I'm reading as "homework".
For fun, but sort of research too for a future project.
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Hi Johanna! Past my bedtime must be your early morning. : )
I don't actually have an eReader. I started reading ebooks on my computer, initially ADE, then using the Kindle app for Apple. Now I have Kindle on four devices — my desktop, laptop, iPod Touch, and iPad mini. I still prefer the iPod for reading in bed (less illumination to disturb my husband, and easy to manage under the covers on cold nights), but I love the iPad for reading in the living room or kitchen. I'm not that interested in dedicated reading devices, since I tend to move back and forth between reading books to other online activities. I probably have the most reading-related stuff on my laptop, including applications for ADE, eReader, Calibre, and various Word notes and Excel files related to reading or writing (the old poetry, for example). Oh, and I tend to use my laptop or my tiny old iPod to listen to audiobooks. I also finally activated an old iPhone about a week ago. Crazy gadget lady!
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Hey! It's my day off and I'm still in bed reading The Rifter at 9:45 a.m. :-) Life is GOOD. ;-)
Thank you for your answer, dear. For some reason I thought you also had an eReader of some kind. Well, it sounds that you certainly don't need one! LOL! I have really grown to like my iPad mini for the same reasons you listed about your devices: I tend to pop in GR and other sites while reading and now when the size of the device is smaller (and lighter) it's so much more easier to use in every way. With bigger iPad I used to wonder if it would be more practical to own an eReader for reading.
Good night, Karen. Sweet dreams.
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I haven't read this, but the movie is great. I really should read the book, too.
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.An awesome little book with touching photographs (portraits, really) of much loved stuffed animals and a few lovingly written lines about the life of them and what made them so special.
Imagine all the things these bunnies and bears with missing eyes, stitched-up arms and partly lost stuffing have seen and been through with their owners. Wow. Wonderful.
Josh wrote: "So here's a question. What -- if any -- books did you receive for the holiday?"I received books which I had specifically requested - non-fiction books on the reading list for a course I'm doing, and a couple of other non-fiction books which I'd read reviews of and wanted to read. Other family members also buy books they want and then put them on birthday and Christmas lists for us to choose which ones we want to give as presents by refunding the cost.
I really do not like it if someone gives me a book I haven't chosen, especially if it's fiction! I read a lot of fiction (of course) but I always get a weird reaction when someone gives me some, or too-strongly recommends it. It really puts me off the book, which I know is odd.
I think at some level I worry in case I won't like it when the giver/recommender clearly does. Given that I like reading book reviews and have discovered many of my favourite authors from reading reviews, and that I'm happy to recommend books online (Brat Farrar anyone?), I just don't understand where this odd feeling originates.
Johanna wrote: "The only paper book I bought during the holidays (besides ordering Stranger Things Have Happened: An Adrien English Write Your Own Damn Story) is...."
That looks like a wonderful book! *Want* ;)
I've reread (and listened)the entire Dresden Files series and now I have no idea what to read next. Will see... I have to make a choice quickly or I'll be stuck for days.
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I seem to be hearing this a lot! I wonder if it's the new trend in holiday book buying?
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I received books which I had specifically requested - non-fiction books on the reading list for a cours..."
Hm. That's interesting. I do still give a lot of books for holidays -- especially for the nieces and nephews (though I will say none this year as they were fairly specific about their wishes -- the nieces requested various manga, but those were purchased by others).
I like non fiction as a present better than fiction just because I think I feel pressured by fiction given that I can't keep up with books I WANT to read.
Lady*M wrote: "I've reread (and listened)the entire Dresden Files series and now I have no idea what to read next. Will see... I have to make a choice quickly or I'll be stuck for days."That's impressive. I have read and liked the series, but I am not sure I would be up to rereading it all again. There are so many books out there!
Hj wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Hj wrote: "I didn't know that either."It is interesting that what I thought my problem as a non-native speaker, was in fact more a non US-resident problem ;-)."
Yes! And since..."
Marco Polo was quite a poplular game when I was a kid, but I have no idea if it still is. All my friends played it back in the good old 1980s, regardless of where they grew up in the US (or Canada, as well).
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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Heh, I'm likely going to be on a couple of panels (pending final confirmation of that.) I'll look out for a knitting listener. :D