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The GFY Read What You Damn Well Please Thread
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Bonnie G.
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Jun 15, 2021 08:00AM
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Has anyone else been reading Rosie Danan? She came out of the gate with Roommates, which I loved, and then soon followed with The Intimacy Experiment which I LOVED. Her writing is so sex positive, the concerns modern and reasonable, and she gives her characters real lives that are interesting. Also, the books are hot. She and Emily Henry are my new go-tos. I confess that though I have enjoyed some of their books more than others, I am lately less a fan of some of the really popular modern romance writers, Talia Hibbert, Alyssa Cole, and even our own GFY'er Jasmine Guillory - they have been leaving me a bit cold (sorry!)
Oooh - Rosie Danan is new to me but that all sounds wonderful. Would you recommend The Intimacy Experiment as a first read?I really disliked the one Talia Hibbert book I read (the first one about Chloe Brown) and have felt pretty alone on that island!
I'm taking a short term fiction break and reading Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency. I love a juicy political book and this is totally checking that box.
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I really disliked the one Talia Hibbert book I read (the first one about..."
This is a series and The Roommate is first. I don't think you need to read them in order, but there are some references to the main characters in The Roommate that are probably more fun if you have read the first. Also a note, sex is very central to both stories. They are definitely romances, not erotica, but there are main characters in both who are former porn stars and people do have sex. and they are skilled at doing so though there is not a ton of anatomical detail, and that skill is a central plot point. Hope you enjoy!
I'm half way through The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism and I cannot recommend it enough. Everyone who has been through menopause or will go through menopause should read it. I'm quite startled by how much I don't know, and how many things I thought were established facts are not.
And I'm re-reading an M/M cosy mystery series for balance.
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I was one of the lucky ones. Other than the weight gain and general body thickening, my only symptom was getting mean, and that was really just a problem for other people.
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LOL -- all about the estrogen ----> all about the testosterone.
Alicia wrote: "I'm half way through The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism and I cannot recommend it enough. Everyone who has been through menopause or will go through me..."I've heard good things about that book but haven't read it yet. I agree that there are a lot of things most women don't know. When I started perimenopause, I was surprised and horrified by all the little changes, but mostly, I was shocked by how LONG it lasted.
I feel like all my menopause knowledge came from 70s sitcoms, which had taught me that I'd be bitchy for 30 minutes and then never think about it again. ;)
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For what it is worth, I was bitchy for about 6 years, and then just relaxed into it and decided the bitchiness was no longer a menopause symptom and just my personality. (I never had peri, at 49 my periods just stopped and I went full on post-menopausal.)
Bonnie G. wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I'm half way through The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism and I cannot recommend it enough. Everyone who has been through ..."Ha!!!! I'm jealous of the 49, though. My stupid period is still hanging in there (just barely) at 52, and I am DONE with it. My worst perimenopause symptom was that I had started having horrible PMS for several years in my late 40s. I never had PMS the majority of my life! I mean, I had cramps, but that was it. Suddenly, I had the whole works, including absolutely psychotic bitchiness every few months. Mild bitchiness was already my natural personality, lol.
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LOL, I have lost the ability to gauge my bitchiness level. I seem lovely to me, but I suspect others would say on a 1-10 scale I fluctuate in a range from 6 to 11. Hope the siege ends soon! I could do without the body thickening and the crepe-y skin, but the rest is all good.
CDB wrote: "Oooh - Rosie Danan is new to me but that all sounds wonderful. Would you recommend The Intimacy Experiment as a first read?I really disliked the one Talia Hibbert book I read (the first one about..."
I read the Roommate earlier this year and it was quite fun: super hot, though I find the neatness by which some of the plot complications unfold (a hallmark of the romance genre, I get it) sort of a letdown after the effort to create really interesting characters.
I loved Beach Read and am eagerly anticipating Emily Henry's next book when it's finally my turn from the library. I think what I loved about it was that the primary characters spend a lot of time talking to each other, spending time with each other, and eventually making out like adults do/would; I find a lot of contemporary romances long on "misunderstandings/plot contrivances to keep characters from actually talking to each other," and sort of sexless on top of that. (Shipped, which I read earlier this year, commits both of these sins.) Beach Read was also just really well written; I highlighted several turns of phrase that were very literary (and sometimes hot, too!) in a way that I seem rarely to find in contemporary romance.
I read one Jasmine Guillory and it was just okay, and not good enough to seek out more. I'm sort of glad to hear someone else who thought the same.
Last summer I binged a bunch of Mhairi McFarlane's books; I found her books/characters have some real depth and tension, even in their pursuits of happily ever afters. My favorites of what I've read so far are If I Never Met You and Who's That Girl?.
Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!
Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murder in Queer New York earlier this year and really liked it! Two things in particular I liked: the author does everything he can to keep the focus on the victims, rather than the murderer; in the conclusion he says he thought about not talking about the murderer at all, to subvert genre expectations and honor the lives of the victims (I think his publisher forced the issue!). In so doing, he paints a really wonderful portrait of the lives of queer men in New York in the 1980s, especially of the men who lived half-in, half-out of the closet, which is a world that feels pretty distant now. It does a great job of showing how different subcultures and communities flourished within the larger community, and the geography and insiders' knowledge of each. It also shows how homophobia and prejudice made gay men particularly vulnerable to a killer, which is so incredibly poignant.
I keep weighing whether to read The Babysitter. What have you read lately that you recommend?
Leah wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murde..."
Ooh, that one is on my list!! Your review makes me think I should move it to the top!
Hmm, I always feel nervous recommending true crime to those who don't usually read it. I have read The Babysitter and liked it. It is as much a memoir of the author's childhood and relationship with her mother as it is a true crime story.
It's a few years old, but one that I read recently and really liked was The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts: Murder and Memory in an American City, by Laura Tillman. It is about a murder that took place in Brownsville, TX in 2003. It focuses a lot on the cycle of poverty and how people fall through the cracks, and how notorious crimes can leave their mark on a neighborhood or a city. I thought the descriptions of Brownsville and what it is like to live in a border town were really interesting. The story is really sad, though.
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Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murde..."
Oooh, that has been on my radar Leah, thanks for all that info, It sounds really good.
I read a little true crime, thought it is not my usual go-to I was a fan of Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of Nxivm. Really fascinating. If you have never read Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland I thought it was amazing. The next ones I plan to read is What Happened to Paula: On the Death of an American Girl and Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (This is by the same writer as Say Nothing, and he is great.)
I would love recommendations.
Bonnie G. wrote: "Leah wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A True Story of Love, L..."
Ooh, nice. I haven't heard of any of those.
Two more I would recommend are We Keep The Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence, and The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt. Not exactly true crime, but sorta. (How do I make my titles into links so people can click on them?)
Almost forgot--The Third Rainbow Girl is another crimoir that people who don't usually read true crime might like!
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Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A Tru..."
The Unfit Heiress is on my list. Its a fascinating subject. If you are interested in the legal history of forced sterilization in the US I passionately recommend Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck.
About linking: You can't link from your phone (or at least it is cumbersome, I have heard there is a way) but if you are on a regular computer just click "add book/author" right above the comment box.
Thanks! For the book recommendation and the link tip!
Bonnie G. wrote: "Leah wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A True Story of Love, L..."
OMG, yes, Say Nothing is one of the best books I've read in the last few years. If you like "true crime of the historical variety by New Yorker writers" then you also have to read Killers of the Flower Moon! Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
All of these other recs sound great! This really is the best little online community :)
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Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A Tru..."
We're pretty cool! :) And I will second Killers of the Flower Moon. It is exceptional. I was amazed at how long a long con could be.
Jennine wrote: "I feel like all my menopause knowledge came from 70s sitcoms, which had taught me that I'd be bitchy for 30 minutes and then never think about it again. "And a hot flash is literally over in a flash.
Jennine wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Leah wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read Last Call: A Tru..."
Ugh, these both sound so good. I've added to my TBR list and already got the e-book for We Keep the Dead Close from the library; it's up next after reading The Intimacy Experiment, recommended so heartily upthread and also just acquired electronically from the library!
Bonnie G. wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I'm half way through The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism and I cannot recommend it enou..."I've been doing a lot of planks to get rid of the crepe under my arms, to decent success. And since I split from Capt Chaos a few months pre-Covid, I dropped the 2 dress sizes I'd gained BECAUSE of Capt Chaos (and something tells me I'd be on My 600-lb Life had we been sequestered during lockdown. Or else I'd now be in Gen Pop. Whichever came first). The body thickening is A Thing but it can be managed (if you care about it - I don't) . The Cobra Level Mean is just Tuesday over here ;-)
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Not usually but I did, because of all the rave reviews it got, read ..."
Oooh, good reading ahead! I hope you like all of the above.
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LOL, remind me to avoid you on Tuesdays. Also, if I did planks it would make me mean, but color me impressed by your initiative.
Lordy, I am such a snob. I ended up with a dark mafia romance in my KU queue and, on a whim, decided to give it a whirl, thinking I would DNF with a smirk because SNOB. And I would've been wrong. 'Prince of the Brotherhood' held my interest, made me laugh (a LOT) and since I tend to suspend as much belief as I can, didn't even try to figure out if the whole CIA/INTERPOL/Mafia thing was correctly portrayed (and, anyway, who's to know..., right?) - the H/h are not 'nice' people but they strive to sort of be 'good' people, when they are not murdering the living daylights out of folks right and left (he is a contract killer, she is a Dark Ops agent). I was hoping it wouldn't be an erotic romance and hey, presto! It wasn't! It was actually a pretty well crafted story with some nice surprises and twists. The romance comes on gradually and is integral to the plot (duh) but it's woven into the tale, not quite the tale itself, which is nice, and the sex is hot but not gratuitous, nor does it take over the storyline. The conversation about Leah and the cat is hysterical! And aren't I just the snobbiest, to be so surprised! But I really couldn't imagine a storyline involving a Black female Dark Ops agent and the heir to Russian Mafia Royalty. But it did work.
And there was supposed to be a Community Question in here: have any of you approached a book with preconceived notions (aka snobbery) and been taken aback?
Bonnie G. wrote: "Anita wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Jennine wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I'm half way through [book:The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism|55272232..."LOL! Ebbbbery DAY! is Tuesday! I'm just a mean ol' snake. But I keep it under control ;-)
Alicia wrote: "Jennine wrote: "I feel like all my menopause knowledge came from 70s sitcoms, which had taught me that I'd be bitchy for 30 minutes and then never think about it again. "And a hot flash is litera..."
that made me hork up my coffee! LOL!
'The 30 Minute Menopause'
If only.....
Anita wrote: "have any of you approached a book with preconceived notions (aka snobbery) and been taken aback?"I used to be this way about the romance genre in general, and now it's one of my favorite genres. Something about the half-naked H/h on the covers, and that all of them seemed to be in Regency England? Which is not always my cup of tea. I love more modern romances, but it took me a while to learn how expansive the genre can be.
Allie wrote: "Anita wrote: "have any of you approached a book with preconceived notions (aka snobbery) and been taken aback?"I used to be this way about the romance genre in general, and now it's one of my fav..."
LOL! I wrote a post (A Fine Romance via perfumeposse.com) about that very thing. Therein I linked to 2 very revelatory articles, one by Jessica Luther (that's the one that started me down the rabbit hole) and one on slut-shaming the romance genre by Sarah MacLean.
It took 5 edits for me to write that post - you'd thought I was confessing to murdering a basket of kittens in the garage, I was so nervous. Alas, I still haven't quite gotten over a lot of my 'image' concerns, especially re my more academic friends (they expect me to only be reading Paz in Spanish and Nietzsche in German), who can be brutal about that sort of thing. Slowly but surely, though, I'm getting over it - and it'd better be quick, since I'm not getting a nanosecond younger. HEAs in Romance are great for settling the nerves, I've found.
btw - I do not read Nietzsche in German, as I don't read German. But they expect me to - and it's exhausting. Sometimes a gal just wants to read Lisa Kleypas, y'know?
Jennine wrote: "Does anyone out there read true crime? It's my guilty pleasure!"A true crime that I really liked--and doesn't involve murder! (it's about arson)--is American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land.
Anita wrote: "Allie wrote: "Anita wrote: "have any of you approached a book with preconceived notions (aka snobbery) and been taken aback?"I used to be this way about the romance genre in general, and now it's..."
I mean, good for you if you wanted to read every book in its original language, but unless you're just super hot for Nietzsche, life is too short! Happy love stories with low conflict levels are a lovely palate cleanser between heavier things, or when life is too hard to deal with.
I used to be embarrassed about it too, but then I started telling friends about what I was reading and gleefully sharing why the story was bonkers/amazing, and that helped me get over some of my own shame - getting to control the narrative of, I love this, you might too because [PIRATES! THE BACHELORETTE! GENDER-SWAPPED PRETTY WOMAN! Insert your trope of choice!].
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A true crime that I really liked--and doesn't involve murder! (it's about arson)--is [book:American Fire: Love, Ars..."
This has been on and off my TBR for a long time, Thanks for the vote to move it up.
Allie wrote: "Anita wrote: "Allie wrote: "Anita wrote: "have any of you approached a book with preconceived notions (aka snobbery) and been taken aback?"I used to be this way about the romance genre in general..."
LOL! NOT reading Nietzsche in German! But they expect me to be able to, just as they expect me to do close combat with whatever thug or velociraptor looms large. Those women are exhausting, which is why our contact is infrequent.
HEA soothes my irritated soul, so I'm happy to read it (just not on the subway, with the bodices, etc, as Bonnie G mentioned)
Bonnie G. wrote: "I agree the old covers had a lot to do with it. I would not be seen on the subway with a traditional bodice ripper cover, but I was perfectly happy to read One Last Stop on the E train today. I am ..."Your image is safe with me - I am all admiration!
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1. I read The Vagina Bible, and it was great. I just added The Menopause Manifesto to my TBR list… however, since I just started my master’s program in Organizational Leadership, it doesn’t look good for me to be reading anything but scholarly articles and textbooks for the next two years.
2. I’ve had the night sweats for going on 5 years now. I’ll be 47 in November. I also have really bad PMDD, and was all set to get a full hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy (the whole kit and caboodle), but I really don’t want to do that in the two weeks I have between classes in August. This master’s program is 2 back to back 8 week classes, then two weeks break, and a weird break in the first week in December, and then the week of Christmas off, but back on to Feb, then another two week break, and then two more classes, etc. It’s 12 classes all told, and 4 are in a specialty. I chose the Project Mgmt specialty because I work with PMs all day, every day. I’m the VP of Contracts for my company.
3. That being said, you guys are really making me want to read fun books!!
I will say that I enjoy romance, but only current ones. I can’t do ones set in the past. I was actually laughing at myself the other day - I grew up with the music of the 50s and 60s, and I’m always humming or singing something. And I was singing, “I want to be Bobby’s girl.. I wanna be Bobby’s girl. That’s the most important thing to me-eee. And if I were Bobby’s girl… if I were Bobby’s girl… what a grateful, thankful girl I’d be.” And then I threw up in my mouth. LOL.
It’s a good thing I live now.
OK, now I’ve got to get myself back to writing about the components of successful project management. YAY.
Kris wrote: "I am loving this thread, and I am procrastinating on working on my assignment for this week’s Project Management class, so here I am. 1. I read The Vagina Bible, and it was great. I just added The..."
I do construction Project Management (mostly support, which involves managing inept, overburdened PMs and PSupes without them knowing I'm managing them ;-) - you are to be commended for doing the Lawd's Work!
And omg. A hysterectomy is what I want to find under my Christmas Tree!!! Definitely NOT a thing you want to do in the midst of classes!
Wishing you the best in your PM schooling. Breathe. A LOT!
A couple of months ago, Seanan Mcguire tweeted that if you take out associate membership to Discon (which costs about £50) you get to vote in the Hugo awards AND they send you the Hugo voting packet. Which means the majority of the books etc that are up for awards - and in the case of the nominees for best series, all the works in the series. I was mostly tempted because Seanan's October Daye series is nominated and her UK publishers haven't produced the last several books as ebooks - the formats they send you the books in are regionless.Anyway, the voter packet is out and I now have an extra 100 or so things to read on my kindle. It really is very good value, if you like fantasy & sci fi.
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Devil in Disguise https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Get a Life Chloe Brown (I know most of the romance readers among us have read it.) I had tried a couple earlier Talia Hibbert books and did NOT enjoy them, but this was sweet. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wilde Child Eloisa James doesn't always work for me, but when she is good she is really good. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Non romance options I have loved this summer:
Intimacies https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Crying in H Mart https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Good Morning Monster https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Great Circle https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Festival Days https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I had a number of other very good reads this summer, but this is the platinum circle for me. I am mostly through Something that May Shock and Discredit you at the moment, and it looks like it will be another 5-star.
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I have read and recommend Intimacies
I have sitting on my beside table A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance and have a bunch of these on my library list. I will say there are two books here I started and quickly abandoned -- The Prophets (which I read about 40 pages of and hated very very hard. It is so overwritten!) and The Souvenir Museum, which I may pick up again (I generally like Elizabeth McCracken but she can ramble, and the first story felt very rambly. It might be a mood thing.)
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Hell of a Book https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Beautiful World Where Are You https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Heart Principle
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Love Hypothesis https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
American Dreamer https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have read some other good things too, but these seem to be the best choices for this group, and Hell of a Book blew me away. I immediately texted 3 IRL friends and insisted they immediately purchase and read it so we can talk about it.
My IRL book club pick for next month is Hamnet, and I think I am dreading it even though lots of the people I follow here have loved it. Based on the blurb it seems like it's going to hit on two topics I really don't like reading about: deadly illnesses and child death. I wasn't there when they picked it!I mean, I fought for MONTHS with this group to try to avoid reading Station Eleven (because I am a hypochondriac) and then ended up loving it, so there's that? But also that was many years pre-Covid.
Any of ya'll read it? Talk me off a ledge? (Bonnie I see that you read it, but it won't show me your review.)
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Allie wrote: "My IRL book club pick for next month is Hamnet, and I think I am dreading it even though lots of the people I follow here have loved it. Based on the blurb it seems like it's going to hit on two to..."Hamnet was easily my favorite book of 2020. Yes, it deals with grief, but I also found it a moving if complicated love story, and beautifully, luminously written. It's an extraordinary reading of the few scant historical details that we know of Shakespeare's wife and children, and reading of Hamlet against these facts; after reading it, it's impossible to think it could have happened any other way.
If you care about things, it's also a wonderful feminist reading of Shakespeare. So many male literary scholars over the years have concluded from the fact that he was younger than his wife and they lived apart for so many years that she was therefore some sort anchor that dragged against his male genius. The novel takes the scant historical facts known about Shakespeare's wife and family--he used all his wealth to build and expand home/property back in Stratford, he left Anne (Agnes in the book) their marriage bed his will, and other details--to propose an alternate to the familiar narrative of nagging wife who misunderstands and tries to hold back her male genius husband. And I found the final scene and how it folds the plot of Hamlet into the narrative profoundly moving.
(I liked Hamnet eons more than Station Eleven, for what it's worth.)
Go Fug Yourself Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Intimacies (other topics)A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (other topics)
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land (other topics)
The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism (other topics)
The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism (other topics)
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