What Are you Reading, Watching, Listening To?

[Candice]

I didn't see those notations and I honestly thought I had looked for them. I'm a total goof. Thank you. I so wish she would have more of her books converted to audio. I drive for a living.
BTW, Josh. I just recently listened to all the Adrien English again. It was great. Also, your latest , Deep Dive. Really good. Thanks so much.

[Karen]

I read Wind and Dark Water back in December 2021 (rated 4.5) and Dark Mire (Kildevil Cove 2) back in December 2021.
My notes/bookshelves for Book 1 were: 4-5, bi-mc, family-secrets, former-best-friends, going-home-again, le-law-enforcement, mystery-with-gay-protags, oh-canada, read, series, the-family-we-choose
For Book 2, I added "dark." I'd need to reread a couple of chapters to remember enough to explain why. :)

[Antonella]

Quite incredible pictures of an almost frozen ocean off Nantucket in winter 2015:

https://www.sail-world.com/Australia/...

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Quite incredible pictures of an almost frozen ocean off Nantucket in winter 2015:

https://www.sail-world.com/Australia/......"

Those are amazing! I don't think I've seen them.

That was the winter we had a blizzard almost every week! Nasty winter. We still talk about it!

[Antonella]

I've just seen this wonderful documentary about a 210 years old oak and the animals surrounding it or living in it. Incredible images!
Heart of Oak ((but it is simply called The Oak in French))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfPfh...

[Josh]

Candice wrote: "I didn't see those notations and I honestly thought I had looked for them. I'm a total goof. Thank you. I so wish she would have more of her books converted to audio. I drive for a living.
BTW, Jo..."

I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "I've just seen this wonderful documentary about a 210 years old oak and the animals surrounding it or living in it. Incredible images!
Heart of Oak ((but it is simply called The Oak in French))
htt..."

Speaking of where the wild things are, we either have squirrels or (gulp) rats in the attic and definitely a rat in the garage. YIKES.

[Josh]

We just finished Bad Sisters, which we LOVED. Highly recommended. Funny and startling and touching and occasionally horrific AND SET IN DUBLIN. Just really terrific characters.

This is one time when I sincerely hope they won't try to do a sequel. A sequel will just mess it up. It ends at the perfect point.

[Jordan]

So I just finished Master of Restless Shadows: Book Two, and I'm now writing up a review for the entire series for my Queer Lit Review blog at work... and of course I found myself mentioning The Rifter series, because how can I EVER mention Ginn Hale and NOT mention The Rifter?!?!?! So, I did up a quick booklist for Rifter so folks could find all the books at the library in the right order. And just... rereading some of the little descriptions (It's always bothered me that there aren't good brief summaries of each book, but spoilers, so whatever. lol)... it's seriously making me NEED to reread this series again. It's been too long. Too many years.

Also though, Getting through Restless Shadows was just too long and irritating that it took so long. I enjoyed it, but not wanting to read even good things is a pain right now. So, I'm not sure, but wondering if Rifter would help. It's soooooo GOOOOODDD!!! lol.

Also, I've had this book about the pirate in my family since before Christmas and I've still not progressed past chapter 1 and this is my opportunity to read it! lol.

Ah, my reading slump sure is fun and interesting.

[Karen]

What do you think of this list? Anyone else that should be on it? Anyone that shouldn't be on it? :)

https://www.abebooks.com/books/30-ess...

[Jordan]

Karen wrote: "What do you think of this list? Anyone else that should be on it? Anyone that shouldn't be on it? :)

https://www.abebooks.com/books/30-ess..."

that's a great list! But it's definitely lacking the queer authors and stories.

[Karen]

Jordan wrote: "Karen wrote: "What do you think of this list? Anyone else that should be on it? Anyone that shouldn't be on it? :)

https://www.abebooks.com/books/30-ess..."

...that's a great list! But it's definitely lacking the queer authors and stories. "

Like Joseph Hansen for sure. This is a pretty "mainstream" list and Hansen's books haven't been widely available at times or received their due recognition. Not that would be a more interesting (to me) list: "30 essential mystery authors who you might not know."

[Antonella]

Jordan wrote: "how can I EVER mention Ginn Hale and NOT mention The Rifter?!?!?! So, I did up a quick booklist for Rifter so folks could find all the books at the library in the right order. And just... rereading some of the little descriptions (It's always bothered me that there aren't good brief summaries of each book, but spoilers, so whatever. lol)... it's seriously making me NEED to reread this series again. It's been too long. Too many years..."

In fact I often find myself comparing other author's (boring) descriptions to the descriptions in The Rifter, where you really feel the place, see the colours, smell the foods in the markets...

[Jordan]

That was one of my comments about the Cadeleonian series. I felt like I was there and could picture everything so easily!

[Jordan]

I was just thinking, if I could do a week staycation maybe I could plan to mainline all of Rifter at that time. It’s definitely not something you can easily put down. Lol.

[WMD]

Can recommend No Accident at Abergwyn and No Friends at Abergwyn. mm small village murder mysteries by Ripley Hayes. Very likable main character, quirky, easy yet murderous read.

[WMD]

I very much enjoyed The Thursday Night Murder Club recommended by others. Part of the book focuses on living strongly, and the inner force that is needed to actively and meaningfully engage with the world as elderly retired people who are being cossetted in a senior community. Great characters, interesting murder, and in the end not what I would call "a cosy" mystery. Suicide, assisted death, and fading of capabilities are grittily present in the book and made my mother discontinue reading.

[WMD]

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Lowell is an alt.The Thin Man tale set in a huge intergalactic cruise ship. She\her central character with disabilities, her partner (the retired detective) uses he\him, and gender identities vary throughout the other characters. Traveling incognito on her honeymoon, Tesla can for once enjoy typical vacation activities without constant reminders of her megawealth and disastrous past. Then murder occurs during the magician's act, and her new spouse has been framed! The role of Asta is played by a Westfordshire Terrier service dog. I read it thru and enjoyed, but probably not a reread. Overall the mystery seemed a little prolonged and also little too much depth for me on the tech world building level. Not enough of the giddiness and banter expected from an alt.Thin Man tale. I really liked the two main characters interactions, though. A cocktail recipe for every chapter!

[WMD]

found it interesting that despite a solid effort to establish a culture inclusive and reflective of varied genders, it felt only on a surface level...but maybe casual cultural acknowledgement is where we want to get? She also talked about sensitivity readers for gender and disabilities in her acknowledgements. A few times her characters get in trouble for gendered stereotypes...and I wondered if she was scolding herself at those moments.

[Karen]

Jay Hogan's Painted Bay series with audiobooks read by Gary Furlong — contemporary romance series of couples books set in a small New Zealand coastal town.

I wrote a longish (for me) review of Book 3 since it featured Argentine tango dancing.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nice covers too. :)

.

[Antonella]

Blog post by K.J. Charles:

What do you do when your book is too long? (Would you stand up and walk out on me?)

https://kjcharleswriter.com/2023/02/0...

[Jordan]

Antonella wrote: "Blog post by K.J. Charles:

What do you do when your book is too long? (Would you stand up and walk out on me?)

https://kjcharleswriter.com/2023/02/0......"

I saw this yesterday! great advice!

[Josh]

We started The Search Party on Apple. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5460226/

It's amusing but mid-way through the second season, my attention started wandering. Granted, this happens to me A LOT, so it's not necessarily a reflection on the show.

The SO hated every character from the get-go, so that didn't help.

[Josh]

Now we're watching Poker Face, which is very entertaining with it's inverted mystery format, big star cameos, and callback to 1970s detective show plots.

Recommended.

[Karen]

Josh wrote: "Now we're watching Poker Face, which is very entertaining with it's inverted mystery format, big star cameos, and callback to 1970s detective show plots.

Recommended."

We've been watching it too. Great acting and clever plots. Also you get snapshots of backroads locations across the U.S. I'd suggest not watching the trailer or you'll be in danger of (like me) pondering when a certain scene or the other will show up. :)

[Josh]

Karen wrote: "Josh wrote: "Now we're watching Poker Face, which is very entertaining with it's inverted mystery format, big star cameos, and callback to 1970s detective show plots.

Recommended."

We've been wat..."

That is always the problem of trailers!

[Jordan]

I've gotten into Stargate SG-1 ... finally. LOL. But I'm only 4 episodes in, so I really can't say much except that it screams 1990's!!! lol. That, and it's making me want to watch Xena: Warrior Princess. Sigh...

[Candice]

I've got a fun rec for you. A Danmei (boys love) anime 3 seasons in length. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Sounds stupid right?
Gorgeously animated. A complex story. No sex as it's Chinese and it's a no-no I guess. But the love story is clear and lovely. The series enjoys a charming sense of humor as well.
Very hard to follow if this is one's intro to cultivation stories as it was to me. But it was well worth the effort it cost me.

[Marge]

Antonella wrote: "Blog post by K.J. Charles:

What do you do when your book is too long? (Would you stand up and walk out on me?)

https://kjcharleswriter.com/2023/02/0......"

Excellent advice for writers. As a reader, when stories get too long? Let's just say I am an accomplished skimmer--of both books and video. I have been doing it since college. I can't stand long, ruminating paragraphs--first and last sentence are often good enough. Or sometimes I feel bad to think an author has sweated and slaved over every word in a sex scene--and I simply read the beginning and the end. But life is too short to read something I won't remember a week from now.

Speaking of sex scenes, I read ALL the words of the sex scene in Josh's latest book, 44.1644° North. All with feeling, nothing unnecessary, and clearly showing Skylar's unexpected epiphany. Short, sweet, and memorable.

[Karen]

Candice wrote: "I've got a fun rec for you. A Danmei (boys love) anime 3 seasons in length. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Sounds stupid right?
Gorgeously animated. A complex story. No sex as it's Chinese an..."

Thanks, Candice. I watched several episodes of "The Untamed" on Netflix before getting distracted by various series I watch with my husband. I also bought print copies of the first volumes of there MXTX* series, but couldn't get beyond the awkward translation. I think watching the anime would help with that.

*Whenever I see MXTX I transpose to MxPx, the alt-punk band my older daughter and her friends loved in the late 90s/early 00s. I took them to a live show once. :)

[Josh]

Marge wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Blog post by K.J. Charles:

What do you do when your book is too long? (Would you stand up and walk out on me?)

https://kjcharleswriter.com/2023/02/0......"

Thank you so much, Marge!

Yes, writing too long is never going to be one of my creative sins. I've had to force myself to write past what I consider to be a story's natural ending after years of complaints from readers that I was short-changing them emotionally.

And I probably was. ;-)

[Marge]

Josh wrote: "I've had to force myself to write past what I consider to be a story's natural ending after years of complaints from readers that I was short-changing them emotionally.."

Yes, I've managed to get used to it. LOL It helps that I now know there will likely be a coda or two someday!

[Antonella]

I've just found this fantastic quote by Ursula K. Le Guin:

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "I've just found this fantastic quote by Ursula K. Le Guin:

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted an..."

Yes. Whatever we grow up with, be it democracy or capitalism or communism or whatever, it feels as though that's how it will always be. But really nothing in life is static.

[Karen]

Here's a "don't judge a book by its cover" story. So Nicky James's Valor & Doyle series kept popping up on radar, but every time I considered giving it a try the cover guy on Book 1 put me off.

I kept wondering why I had that reaction and finally realized that his blonde mustached look was similar to a 1970s friend-sometimes-more who I lost touch with in the early AIDS years. I look back at the photos I took of us (B&W)... and we really weren't cool. Young and lovely in our ways, but not so cool. :)

So I finally read the books and am looking forward to Book 5.

[Jordan]

I'm rereading The Rifter at a glacial pace as a comfort read. I was hoping to read Whose Body? for a reading challenge that ends next week, but while it's really good, I'm just not feeling it, so will likely not finish the challenge, even though I'm only one book away from finishing.

I just finished watching season one of Stargate SG-1, didn't realize it would end of a cliffhanger, so I've got a bit of a wait to get to season two. But I also have season one of Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, Battlestar Galactica (the original 1970's show), AND Star Trek (the original 1970's show). So, those will definitely keep me busy and my silly brain occupied for awhile.

Oh yeah, I'm also making my way through the Doctrine Wars by Aleks Voinov. The first one is a favorite of mine: Dark Edge of Honor. I liked the second one okay and now I'm about halfway through the third and final book, Exile, moving at a glacial pace because that seems to be my new default when I'm not reading Person of Interest fanfic. lol.

I do feel a bit grateful for my current fandom, that there's good fic there that I can reread and devour for comfort all the time even when I'm struggling with reading original works.

[Jordan]

Just reread Letters for Lucardo, a really sweet, yet very sexy, romance graphic novel about a Black vampire and the older mortal white man he falls in love with. It's only volume one. I thought by now all four books would be out, but alas, only three are published. But, it's a fast read. I enjoyed it again the second time around and can't wait to dive into book two. My library doesn't have three yet, though, so it'll be awhile before I get to that one. :-(

[WMD]

KD Edwards has started a new series The Eidolon Magnus Academies. starting to read it soon...

[WMD]

update: reread the first three KD Edwards books first...this new one is a follow on and dives right in with a lot of people and limited back story so far.

[Jordan]

ooohhhh

[Karen]

WMD wrote: "update: reread the first three KD Edwards books first...this new one is a follow on and dives right in with a lot of people and limited back story so far."

I had a preorder on this that I forgot about. It popped up last night. :) I reread the series last May... not sure if that's close enough.
The Eidolon

[Ije the Devourer of Books]

Jordan wrote: "Just reread Letters for Lucardo, a really sweet, yet very sexy, romance graphic novel about a Black vampire and the older mortal white man he falls in love with. It's only volume on..."

I just bought book 3 so I am going to re read the first two. I am looking forward to the final book. It takes quite a bit of time between books.

[Jordan]

Ije the Devourer of Books wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Just reread Letters for Lucardo, a really sweet, yet very sexy, romance graphic novel about a Black vampire and the older mortal white man he falls in love with. It's..."

Yeah, I just placed an order for all three books so I can own them, and so I can read book three sooner rather than later! :-)

[Lillian]

Karen wrote: "What do you think of this list? Anyone else that should be on it? Anyone that shouldn't be on it? :)

https://www.abebooks.com/books/30-ess..."
How many of these authors have most of us read? I’ve read 26 off 30.

[Lillian]

Jordan wrote: "Just reread Letters for Lucardo, a really sweet, yet very sexy, romance graphic novel about a Black vampire and the older mortal white man he falls in love with. It's only volume on..."

I have this but I’ve not read it yet.

[Lillian]

Apparently I have decided to do a complete read threw of DC comics New 52. That’s a lot of comics. It may take me some time.

[Lillian]

Lillian wrote: "Apparently I have decided to do a complete read threw of DC comics New 52. That’s a lot of comics. It may take me some time."

Damn autocorrect. Why would it change through to threw?

[Jordan]

Are you planning to throw them across the room when you’re done with them? Lol

[Jordan]

Letters for Lucardo is a very fast read. I read the whole first volume on my lunch break at work. Volume two is the same length. Volume three is a bit longer, but I still anticipate a fast read. My copies arrived on Friday! I was planning to read book three today, but got caught up in other things.

It’s good to grow my graphic novel collection. The only thing I’ve bought in recent years has been the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hardcovers. But I’m only reading them about one a year.

[Lillian]

Jordan wrote: "Are you planning to throw them across the room when you’re done with them? Lol"

I hope not. They're on my ipad!