What Are you Reading, Watching, Listening To?

[Jordan]

Oof, yeah, don’t do that. 😂

[Josh]

Lillian wrote: "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?"

:-D I'd have to say that 3/4 of every text I send requires me correcting some baffling change made by autocorrect!

[Josh]

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

LOL

[Josh]

Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch Marlowe. I'm preparing by reassuring myself this is just a detective movie and has nothing to do with Chandler's Marlowe.

I'm also preparing the soothe the SO when his head explodes.

[Josh]

I brought my kindle on vacation, but I never even opened it!

We ended up streaming everything we could on the Murdaugh trial and murders. My youngest sister has turned into a fellow true crime junkie. :-D

That story has the makings of a fantastic novel. Not a novel, I'd write, but an excellent Southern Gothic tale.

[Lillian]

Josh wrote: "Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch Marlowe. I'm preparing by reassuring mysel..."

Be interested on your thoughts. I want to see it but LN doesn’t strike me as suitable for the Marlowe I read.

[Karen]

We've been watching Slow Horses, a MI5 spy series with Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, and other wonderful actors. We just finished episode 4 of 6 in Season 2. It's not often that the end of every episode gives me chills. :) I may need to read Mick Herron's books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Ho...

[Josh]

Karen wrote: "We've been watching Slow Horses, a MI5 spy series with Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, and other wonderful actors. We just finished episode 4 of 6 in Season 2. It's not often that the end of every episod..."

Everyone I know has recced that to me. I DEFINITELY have to find the time to watch.

[Josh]

Lillian wrote: "Josh wrote: "Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch Marlowe. I'm preparing by rea..."

Well, we got halfway through before I fell asleep. LN is definitely too old for the part (as was Mitchum, by the time they got around to using him in the Big Sleep). They introduced a weird Irish angle--not that I object to weird Irish angles, having several genetically programmmed into me. ;-D The set, the mood, were beautiful and bang on. BUT IT WAS SO FREAKING CONVOLUTED.

I mean, managing to out convolute Chandler is going a ways.

And because it was so convoluted, the pacing went off and the plot began to founder in a never-ending stream of "eccentric" character intros.

Maybe I'll feel differently after watching the second half.

[Lillian]

Josh wrote: "Lillian wrote: "Josh wrote: "Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch Marlowe. I'm ..."

Oh no. That doesn't sound promising 😕

[Jordan]

I’ve been listening to music from Two Steps From Hell, which does such amazing epic orchestral music! It goes well with my reread of the first three Rifter books, which I just finished. Rifter is a good comfort read now. I’m looking forward to picking up the next one, but I’m reading Louise Erdrich’s Future Home of the Living God for my book group. I’m super excited about this one though. I read her Antelope Wife in 2021 and loved the magical realism and crazy timeline. I need to read more books by Native American authors in general so I’m glad the group picked it for our “climate fiction” theme.

I’ve also finished watching the first season of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which holds up! Im really enjoying it a lot. Someone mentioned it at work and it made me want to rewatch it, though I’ve not seen every episode so there’s new stuff for me too.

And I’m in the middle of watching the original Star Trek first season (1966) and loving it! I can’t believe there were 29 episodes! Im only halfway through it.

My Person of Interest discord server just finished our first rewatch last weekend and started over with season one this afternoon with new folks just discovering it. So much fun. I came into the first rewatch at the end of season one, so I’m on my fourth rewatch of the first season and it’ll be my fifth for 2-5, since 2018. That boggles my mind. Lol. Nothing says “I love you” like rewatching something back to back, I suppose. (We’re only watching one episode a week, so it takes about two years to get through 4.5 seasons. We’re in no rush. Lol)

[Candice]

Karen, Yes I know just what you mean. And in the anime the Chinese is going breakneck--Remember Chip and Dale?--so I struggled to keep up with the subtitles. I had to pause and read because I didn't know what the hang they were talking about. But it was worth it. There are 3 seasons I'm happy to say and the second time through was lovely.

Have fun with that.

[Antonella]

Some writers like for ex. K.J. Charles or K.J. Charles are participating to the Trans Rights Readathon (March 20–27) and are going to try and read 10 books by trans authors in one week and to raise funds to help defend the right of trans people.

It is is a decentralized fundraiser/action, so you can decide on your own what you do, for ex. you can read 10 chapters instead of 10 books, here the form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...

See also: https://bookriot.com/trans-rights-rea...

[Lillian]

Josh wrote: "Lillian wrote: "Josh wrote: "Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch Marlowe. I'm ..."

I only made it an hour through before I gave up. LN is definitely too old. By the time the sister fell through the chicken coop I was done. I didn’t have a clue what was going on or where it was going, and I hated everyone.
Maybe my confusion wasn’t helped by left over anaesthetic in my system (I had an operation the day before) but I couldn’t see it getting any better.
It did look pretty though.

[Clary]

I think I am one book away from having read all of Jay Hogan’s backlist. I particularly enjoyed the Auckland Med series. I don’t know very much about New Zealand or rugby, for that matter, and found it pretty engrossing.

[Jordan]

Clary wrote: "I think I am one book away from having read all of Jay Hogan’s backlist. I particularly enjoyed the Auckland Med series. I don’t know very much about New Zealand or rugby, for that matter, and foun..."

Ooohhh, that sounds good!

[Lillian]

Clary wrote: "I think I am one book away from having read all of Jay Hogan’s backlist. I particularly enjoyed the Auckland Med series. I don’t know very much about New Zealand or rugby, for that matter, and foun..."

Love that series. And the audiobooks are excellent.

[Antonella]

I saw «Everyone Everywhere All At Once», and I wasn't particularly impressed.

Still, this video review (18') resonated with me:
Everyone Everywhere Needs Waymond Wang (and Ke Huy Quan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Ynb...

See also this article from «Slate»:
Asian Men Needed a Movie Like Everything Everywhere All at Once -
It took a reality-transcending action dramedy to create more realistic representation.
https://slate.com/culture/2022/04/eve...

[Antonella]

I've just heard an interview to the Chassidic Australian writer, living in the US, Goldie Goldbloom about her book On Division. From the blurb: «Surie is pregnant. Pregnant at fifty-seven. It is a shock. And at her age, at this stage, it is an aberration, a shift in the proper order of things, and a public display of private life. She feels exposed, ashamed. She is unable to share the news, even with her husband. And so for the first time in her life, she has a secret--a secret that slowly separates her from the community.» There is a parallel with her past: her son Lipa, shunned by the Chassidic community because gay, who committed suicide.

The author herself, mother of 8, came out as lesbian to the Chassidic community and they couldn't ignore her or tell the children not to go to her house because she was a beloved teacher, so gradually things went back to normal. In the interview she said that sometimes it needs time. In the meantime Goldie has worked to create safe spaces for queer Jews.

https://www.goldiegoldbloom.com

[Josh]

Lillian wrote: "Josh wrote: "Lillian wrote: "Josh wrote: "Watched the Season Finale of Poker Face last night. I've really come to enjoy that show. I hope it's coming back!

Tonight the SO and I are going to watch ..."

It wasn't just you. The SO and I couldn't stop bitching the entire way through. Beautiful cinematography, however.

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "I saw «Everyone Everywhere All At Once», and I wasn't particularly impressed.

Still, this video review (18') resonated with me:
Everyone Everywhere Needs Waymond Wang (and Ke Huy Quan)
https://www..."

I enjoyed it a lot. The SO not so much. In particular I rejoiced at seeing Michelle Yeoh again. She was my idol back in the day when I was training in marital arts.

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "I've just heard an interview to the Chassidic Australian writer, living in the US, Goldie Goldbloom about her book On Division. From the blurb: «Surie is pregnant. ..."

Oh my gosh. A happy story. What do you know!

[Josh]

The last three weeks have basically been a writing marathon. I have not read, watched, listened to anything that didn't have to do with my writing. I am DESPERATE for something fun and entertaining.

[Jordan]

Josh wrote: "Antonella wrote: "I saw «Everyone Everywhere All At Once», and I wasn't particularly impressed.

Still, this video review (18') resonated with me:
Everyone Everywhere Needs Waymond Wang (and Ke Huy..."

That reminds me that I actually own Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and I should watch that again. It's been too long! It's probably the only thing I've ever seen her in, sadly. I'll need to fix that one of these days.

[Jordan]

Josh wrote: "The last three weeks have basically been a writing marathon. I have not read, watched, listened to anything that didn't have to do with my writing. I am DESPERATE for something fun and entertaining."

I've been doing the exact opposite! It's been lovely, but really, I have writing projects I wanted to work on this year, so now that Camp NaNoWriMo is here, I'm planning on doing a little work on something and setting the entertainment aside, somewhat. Not entirely though. I still don't have much energy so sitting in front of the tv is still a great idea. lol.

[Antonella]

A spring present! I had missed this musical cover of The New Yorker by the London-based cartoonist Tom Gauld: “Soundtrack to Spring” (2018):

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cov...?

If you tap on the notes you hear the sound ;-).

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "A spring present! I had missed this musical cover of The New Yorker by the London-based cartoonist Tom Gauld: “Soundtrack to Spring” (2018):

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cov......"

OH. Cool!

[Lillian]

Sitting in the cinema waiting for the D&D movie to start.

[Lillian]

Lillian wrote: "Sitting in the cinema waiting for the D&D movie to start."

That was fun. Not too rigid in sticking to the rules of the game but enough that it's origins were obvious.

[Antonella]

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall is out today, you can choose here your preferred format, for ex. it costs some $5 as ebook:

https://quicunquevult.com/book/someth...

[Jordan]

So last year a friend bought me a copy of American Gods by Neil Gaiman for my birthday. I suggested for my other book group that we choose mythology as a theme so I could put the book on the poll and have an excuse to read it if it got chosen. Well, it worked out in my favor. The book was picked! But then I realized there are two different versions of the book: the original and the tenth anniversary edition with Gaiman’s preferred text. The library only has the tenth anniversary edition and my friend gave me the original. *facepalm* so I guess I won’t be reading the book I already own after all.

[Marge]

Interesting article in Publisher's Weekly:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...

[Jordan]

That IS interesting!

[WMD]

Read Allie Therin's Liar City. Alt. reality with mutant empaths, murder, some body horror, gay protagonist slow burn romance possibilities. first in a series, enjoyed. Please send in what you are reading lately, I need some things for my To Read list!

[Karen]

I just finished Eliot's Schrefer's The Darkness Outside Us, a book I've had for awhile (published two years ago), but just now read. The blurb doesn't do it justice (hate those comparisons to other popular YA books).

This is science fiction, YA/NA, but here's what I wrote:

"I'm not sure whether this is a story for teenagers/young adults or for septuagenerians — those of us nearer the end of our times. I guess it's for both and those in between and those beyond, for those who've experienced and are experiencing the loss of others. And for those of us who still feel immortal, and yet are touched/haunted by projections of a future without our presence."

[Karen]

WMD wrote: "Read Allie Therin's Liar City. Alt. reality with mutant empaths, murder, some body horror, gay protagonist slow burn romance possibilities. first in a series, enjoyed. Please send in what you are r..."

Thanks for the reminder — this will move up my TBR list. Therin's Magic in Manhattan series and Proper Scoundrels are high on my list of what I'd call historical urban fantasy.

Spellbound
Starcrossed
Wonderstruck

[Jordan]

I’m currently reading Martha Wells’s Raksura fantasy series, which starts with The Cloud Roads. I finished that last night and started book two right away. It’s not queer, though I really wish it was. Im really enjoying it. It seems to be a trilogy followed by a duology. Light M/F with fade-to-black sex scenes. Amazing world building. It’s a very gentle story except for the few short gory bits. 😂

I am working on two queer romance guide lists for work: M/M & F/F. 100 titles on each. I can share links, but they aren’t complete yet. The goal is to list only self-published or small-press published books, which meant taking off some favorites from Carina Press and the newer, traditionally published titles.

M/M Romance Guide: 100 Titles To Get You Started - https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/list/sh...

F/F Romance Guide: 100 Titles to Get You Started - https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/list/sh...

If you have thoughts on these titles or have any suggestions for others to include, please feel free to let me know!

[Antonella]

WMD wrote: "Please send in what you are reading lately, I need some things for my To Read list!"

I had seen your post, but I had to check my latest reviews to give you an answer. In fact most books I've read got 3.5 stars.

Just now I'm reading Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, it might be a 4 stars read.

In the recent past I've read:
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles: 4.5 = 4 stars
Impaired Judgement by Youcouldmakealife: 4.5 = 5. It's a free fic about hockey players, still in progress, but you can consider the first 160 (!) installments as the end of a narrative arc. I have to thank Teal for the rec.
One Giant Leap by Kay Simone: 4 stars, very original

[WMD]

thanks so much for the recommendations. Going to hunt some optiins down. For other Marth Wells opions, I do like her Element if Fire and her Il Rien series, too (not MM). FYI to the GoodRead mods/managees for Josh's Q anf A group, when i try to find this conversation from the main page for Q & A with Josh Lanyon group, using the good reads app, I cant find it. i can find and access the group page, but the folders listed seem to all be archives, older conversations. I just cant spot the new General/what are you reading and watching, lisfening too...the only way I can get here is from email notifications. might mean it is not easy for new group members to find active conversations?

[WMD]

oh, and just read several novellas and romances by Anita Kelly. a series of novellas centered around a small queer bar in Seattle (the Moonlight Cafe novellas), and a full length mm romance centered around walking the Pacific Trail and a full length queer romance centered around cooking show. very sweet and romantic, limited drama besides the relationship, likable sometimes fragile protaganists, found family, funny, and lots of those moment where one main character is just locked in the moment admiring the other character for who they are. love those moments! family issues, body discomfort, one character with social anxiety and sensory issues. MM; trans/bi; FF; gender fluid characters, etc. will continue to read her work!

[Antonella]

WMD wrote: "oh, and just read several novellas and romances by Anita Kelly. a series of novellas centered around a small queer bar in Seattle (the Moonlight Cafe novellas), and a full length mm romance centered around cooking show..."

I gave 4 stars to Love & Other Disasters. I'll check out the Moonlight Cafe novellas.

[Lillian]

Jordan wrote: "I’m currently reading Martha Wells’s Raksura fantasy series, which starts with The Cloud Roads. I finished that last night and started book two right away. It’s not queer, though I really wish it w..."

So happy to see Elin Gregory on this list. And not just because I consider her a friend. I don’t think she gets enough recognition. She’s an excellent beta reader as well as writer and her help on Under the Radar was invaluable.

[Jordan]

If you’ve not read Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries series (start with All Systems Red) you must not miss it!

I’ve not read her others yet, but I’m looking forward to her new book, Witch king, which comes out in May!

[Jordan]

I’m using the app, and when I come to the group I can look at “unread” stuff, which does tell me which threads have new comments and puts them on the top. But once I’ve read them that section is random old stuff.

Then I have to go into each section to look for individual threads. But I can find them all easily. I wish GR allowed photos so you could screenshot what you see and I could direct you further.

(My pet peeve of the app is the inability to link to books in a message!)

[Jordan]

I love Anita Kelly! I’ve read two of hers so far and the first Moonlight one is my favorite.

I also Love Elin Gregory!!! Of course I put her on the list! I’ve not read enough of her works though. Gotta get on that one of these days. Lol.

[Josh]

Jordan wrote: "So last year a friend bought me a copy of American Gods by Neil Gaiman for my birthday. I suggested for my other book group that we choose mythology as a theme so I could put the book on the poll a..."

OOPs! Well, you can read both and compare notes.

[Josh]

Marge wrote: "Interesting article in Publisher's Weekly:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b......"

The graph is a little confusing. It's pretty clear the extremes throw off the average numbers. Somewhere between that 12K and 80K is a more likely figure. Still, the trend is encouraging.

I find my Amazon earnings have declined a bit through the years but my overall earnings have stayed steady through translations, additional platforms, audio, Patreon, etc.

Also, though I saw a significant bump last year, I put more books out, so there's a direct correllation.

[Josh]

WMD wrote: "when i try to find this conversation from the main page for Q & A with Josh Lanyon group, using the good reads app, I cant find it. i can find and access the group page, but the folders listed seem to all be archives, older conversations. I just cant spot the new General/what are you reading and watching, lisfening too...the only way I can get here is from email notifications. might mean it is not easy for new group members to find active conversations?..."

That's so odd. I'm not sure why it's not showing up. It's not a subfolder and it's relatively active. I don't think we have any control over what gets featured in the app.

[Josh]

Jordan wrote: "I’m using the app, and when I come to the group I can look at “unread” stuff, which does tell me which threads have new comments and puts them on the top. But once I’ve read them that section is ra..."

Ah! Ok. I see what's happened. It's a weird default although I sort of understand their logic -- it's the reasoning of people who don't regularly interact on the platform.

[Jordan]

I got myself down to zero unread messages here, so it’s always kind of annoying to never have an empty page there. Like, I’ve read all this threads, why are they here?! 😂 ah well. Minor problem in the grand scheme of things.