Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
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Josh wrote: "I put off starting as the weather was so unbelievably beautiful -- instead I've been working in the garden a lot. It looks like we're not going to have any kind of real winter here in SoCal. Everyt..."That sounds so lovely. I am jealous. Here it is cold and snow on the ground and dark. The good thing is that the days are slowly getting longer so today it was a lovely pale sunrise over the park in my neighbourhood and a spectacular sunset over the fjord going home. Better than walking back and forth in pitch dark like in the depth of winter. But gardening in sunshine sounds so much nicer :)
Dev wrote: "All right - that's enough whining from zone 8. Up here in zone 3 we're lucky if we can plant in July."I agree, Dev, and then we're lucky if we can harvest before the fall freeze!
Mtsnow13 wrote: "Dev wrote: "All right - that's enough whining from zone 8. Up here in zone 3 we're lucky if we can plant in July."I agree, Dev, and then we're lucky if we can harvest before the fall freeze!"
Right - if the seed pack says more than 45 days to maturity, it's a gamble to plant.
OTOH it's a great place to grow spinach all summer, never seems to get too hot.
Jordan wrote: "We had a blizzard in April about ten years ago that knocked out our power for a couple of days. Lots of snow on the ground for a long time too. So, yeah, anything's possible."In Germany the traditional recommendation is not to put any delicate plants out until after the "Eisheiligen" i.e. Ice Saints: Mamertus, Pankratius, Servatius, Bonifatius and finally the Cold Sophie. Four guys and a girl. Anyway, all of this means we are likely to get cold snaps right until the middle of May.
For the last couple of weeks we have had temperatures of between -5 and -19 Centrigrade. No snow, fortunately - I don't like show shovelling.
Liade wrote: "Jordan wrote: "We had a blizzard in April about ten years ago that knocked out our power for a couple of days. Lots of snow on the ground for a long time too. So, yeah, anything's possible."In ..."
In Norway we celebrate Constitution Day the 17 of May. The tradition is to wait until around that day to put out plants, to avoid the frost destroying them, but on the other hand everybody puts out the flowers in urns and pots the 16 to make everything look pretty for the celebration. But some years we have frost and snow even later than that :(
My progress with My Heart is Within You has slowed to a crawl. In fact, I've read two shorter books since I started it, because I needed a bread. The concept is interesting, but it's so blessed melodramatic. I am still reading it. According to the progress bar I'm at 64%. But I don't see me reading that last 36% without needing to take another palate cleansing break.
Someone here, Christopher I think, recommended a Benjamin Justice novel last month. I bought the Kindle version almost immediately, before realizing it was a series (shouldn't really commit to a series atm) and before the warnings about the bleakness came up. But I went ahead and read the first book last week and really enjoyed it. (My only complaint with it is that the constant references to Ben's journalist friend Alex as "Templeton" make me think of the rat in Charlotte's Web.) Immedeiately upon finishing it, I bought the second book and have a couple of chapters to go (and am dreading them).The only two detectives I've followed over the years are Robert B. Parker's Spenser (set in Boston) and Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins (set in the black community in LA between the late 40s and mid-sixties). Benjamin Justice seems (and sounds) a bit like Spenser's gay West Coast cousin, complete with gorgeous, sexy black sidekick with expensive tastes. I also see parallels with Mosley's series in that they're both set in a minority community in which a force coming from both inside the community and outside of it (civil rights, AIDS) is changing the status quo and making the community more visible to the majority (straights and whites). In both books, a minor character is reading one of Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels so the author must also see the parallels.
But man, talk about grim endings! The second book is a notch worse than the first, which was depressing but bearable. When I was trying to figure out which book was second in the series, I caught a reference to some even more awful calamity to befall Justice in a later book. Has anyone here read the whole series? I would like to continue but if Ben keeps on being attracted to doomed/homicidal men I don't know if I can stand it. Please tell me at what point things starts to get better for him!
Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I'm at 54%, just met Jace, pre-date. I can't put it down, but I have to work... Ben is a masochist, lol"Okey-dokey. Something Like Summer also made..."
I still have to write my rev and I'm hovering between 3.5 and 4. I hope I'll be able to clear my mind. One thought: I hold grudges for a long time, so, well, you know, mmm, not fair.
I've been on a bit of a Heidi Cullinan fest for the last week.I find her back catalogue a bit of a strange beast. I mean, I really didn't like her fantasy books at all. She is an excellent writer and the strength of her prose and her characters shone through, but the world building and plot I found very disappointing. It was just incoherent and I couldn't follow it (and I speak as someone who quite likes fantasy novels in general).
However her contemporary novels were wonderful. Some of the best I've read and extremely moving. Her characters really got under my skin and the sex scenes were very hot and kinky. She really writes men very well, especially her cowboy book, 'Nowhere Ranch' which was just drenched in testosterone (at least until the very end was was a bit overly sweet).
At the moment I've just started 'Bad Case of Loving You' by Laney Cairo. So far it's excellent. It's set in the UK and features a romance between a bi-sexual senior registrar (that's what the NHS calls senior hospital physicians) with a teenage son and a final year medical student with more than a few piercings. I'm enjoying.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I'm at 54%, just met Jace, pre-date. I can't put it down, but I have to work... Ben is a masochist, lol"Okey-dokey. [book:Something Like Summer|102..."
I paused half-way into the book and haven't felt motivated to pick it up again. I'll be watching the comments here with interest. =D
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I know exactly what you mean about holding grudges. I liked Something Like Summer, I really did, but its effect on me was so depressing, that I was still sad today, when I woke up. I tried to cheer myself up yesterday by reading Dark Edge of Honor and today I decided to start reading something from Josh - because I know for sure that'll cheer me up and heal me. :) So now I'm reading Somebody Killed His Editor.
Johanna wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I still have to write my rev and I'm hovering between 3.5 and 4. I hope I'll be able to clear my mind. One thought: I hold grudges for a long time, so, well, you kno..."I gave 4 at the end, because it made me feel strongly and I keep thinking about it and about my attitude toward certain things, it doesn't happen every day :D
DEOH is not really cheering... Kit instead will cheer you up. He's adorable in his own way :)
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DEOH is not really cheering... Kit instead will cheer you up. He's adorable in his own way :)"
That is exactly why I gave it 4 stars: it was pleasant enough to read and it made me feel strongly.
And yeah, I figured that Dark Edge of Honor wasn't a right choice for cheering up, but a good read altogether - when reading about Sergei and Mike there were no room for worrying about other characters from other books. *grin*
And yesssss, Kit (Josh) has already made me laugh several times! :)
Christopher wrote: "At the moment I've just started 'Bad Case of Loving You' by Laney Cairo. So far it's excellent. It's set in the UK and features a romance between a bi-sexual senior registrar (that's what the NHS calls senior hospital physicians) with a teenage son and a final year medical student with more than a few piercings. I'm enjoying."I've got it on paper. I loved it!
I just finished Songs for the New Depression, which I thought was a pretty remarkable book. It's one of those books that had me snorting with laughter one minute, then absolutely gutted the next. A very thoughtful, bittersweet book that I found rather haunting. Is it depressing? uplifting? Yes. Both. Besides, I'm a sucker for a narrator who really needs to get a clue about himself and any author who can make an obscure bit of Bette Midler a theme (and use it for his title). Guess I needed a change of pace.
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Let me just say that it gets worse before it gets (marginally) better.
Antonella wrote: "I've got it on paper. I loved it!"It's good so far, but it's yet another novel written by an author with a haz-mat suit fetish. Condoms for blow jobs and rubber gloves for fingering!
I'm surprised the main characters don't swab each other's mouths with anti-bacterial wipes before kissing.
Story is good so far though and the writing quality is high.
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..."
She wrote a book I really enjoyed -- although sadly the name escapes me. It was set in Australia and it was about a couple of surfers. One was an undercover cop and the other was his target. She did a super job with the setting as I recall.
Josh wrote: "She wrote a book I really enjoyed -- although sadly the name escapes me. It was set in Australia and it was about a couple of surfers. One was an undercover cop and the other was his target. She did a super job with the setting as I recall. "Undercover Blues?
If the strength of the writing manages to get past all rubber, I'll give it a try. :-)
What else have I read recently...ummm...'Don't Let Me Go' was quite good. Maybe a little heavy on the angst and the main protagonist was a little overly needy. (view spoiler)
Sonoran Heat was also very good and is highly recommended, as was Slow Bloom.
John wrote: "I just finished Songs for the New Depression, which I thought was a pretty remarkable book. It's one of those books that had me snorting with laughter one minute, then absolutely g..."I was seriously tempted by that one based on the reviews and the excerpt, but I'm not sure I can handle that much depression if the main character does end up actually dying.
Not to ruin the book for anyone else who wants to read it, could you tell me if he does in fact die? I won't bother buying it then!
Josh wrote: "She wrote a book I really enjoyed -- although sadly the name escapes me. It was set in Australia and it was about a couple of surfers. One was an undercover cop and the other was his target. She did a super job with the setting as I recall."I read that one as well: Undercover Blues, but I didn't find it as good as Bad Case of Loving You.
And Circle of Change, about a transgender youth. I liked the way the MCs deal with that issue, but the pagan/wiccan part of the story could have been a bit less stressed IMO. Or maybe I just don't catch it...
Christopher wrote: "'Don't Let Me Go' was quite good"Ehmm... dear Christopher, ever heard of spoilers? or better, hiding the spoilers?
Antonella wrote: "Christopher wrote: "'Don't Let Me Go' was quite good"Ehmm... dear Christopher, ever heard of spoilers? or better, hiding the spoilers?"
Sorry! But I'm not giving anything away about the plot really. That crops up as part of the back-story at the start of the book.
The story takes place a year later and focuses on the long distant relationship of the two lovers with occasional flashbacks.
Antonella wrote: "Christopher wrote: "'Don't Let Me Go' was quite good"Ehmm... dear Christopher, ever heard of spoilers? or better, hiding the spoilers?"
Yeah... spoilers are "advanced Goodreads 201"...it took me awhile to figure it out.
Press "(some html is ok)" and then "copy" write comment ..."copy"
It takes care of everything else!
Glad to hear you found some good stuff to read!
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..."
So THAT'S how that's done!
Spoilers. Yes. Not to worry about them in the actual book discussion threads or BOTM but here in general discussion, this above tip is a good way to handle it.
This is a test"(some html is ok)"
write comment ..."copy"
This is another test"(some html is ok)"
write comment ...
Christopher wrote: "Damn"Are you teasing me!!!!! I worked hard on that....it kept wanting to hide my hints! =P
It's under the (some html is ok) pop-up!!!
LOL
Reggie wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Damn"Are you teasing me!!!!! I worked hard on that....it kept wanting to hide my hints! =P
It's under the (some html is ok) pop-up!!!
LOL"
Oh right!!! I've got you now!!!
(view spoiler)
Christopher wrote: "This is another test"(some html is ok)"
write comment ..."
It's spoiler, not spoilr. You can actually do that without clicking on the (some html is ok) button.
<"spoiler"> like this "spoiler">
Remove the " sign.
That kept me amused for a few minutes! Well done, Christopher :D
Thanks Cleon. I got it now. I just have to have things explained to me in words that have the minimum number of syllables and preferably with hand gestures and flashing lights.
Christopher wrote: "Thanks Cleon. I got it now. I just have to have things explained to me in words that have the minimum number of syllables and preferably with hand gestures and flashing lights."You're welcome! And I'm the same way. LOL!
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DEOH ..."
Dark Edge of Honor sounds good! Even if it's not happy, I'll still read it... at some point after I finish Special Forces.
Yeah!!!!!!! Christopher!!
I had to copy/paste or at least look for the hints when I started. I hate memorizing what I can look up easily.
So how do you put images in then? I can see there's an html tag in the list but it looks like it's a link to a URL. Can you only insert images from the internet?
Christopher wrote: "So how do you put images in then? I can see there's an html tag in the list but it looks like it's a link to a URL. Can you only insert images from the internet?"Yup, you can only insert images from the internet that allow hotlinking. This is the html code (remove the *, but the " is necessary)
<*img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326...
Let's give it a go then...[image error]
Christopher wrote: "Let's give it a go then..."
*applauds*
And what a way to pop your img code cherry! LOL!
Mod
"
Oh wow, Chistopher... you've got my attention now. *gulps*
I want to learn how to do that too. To put images in here. Was I saying something about images? Jeeez, that guy is hot... oh yeah... images... I was wondering if it's possible to put own photos here... I tried it last week, but didn't succeed, so I changed the picture I tried to add in a thread to be my profile photo... I had a question about images... did anyone catch it? Can't stop looking that hot guy... ;)
I came here to... Uh, what forum is this again? The wet... No, that can't be it.Oh! I remember. I'm now reading Robert Dunbar's
.
@Johanna: You can load your photo to Photobucket or picasa or another site like that, grab the url from there and use the img-tag like Cleon explained to link to your pic. :)
Christopher wrote: "Let's give it a go then..."
I can't see it... :(
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Let's give it a go then..."
I can't see it... :("
Click here to see the pic, Christopher posted.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
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Death in Kashmir (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Okey-dokey. Something Like Summer also made me cry. And left me with a slightly unsatisfied and sad feeling. Don't get me wrong - I liked it worth of 4 stars, but... I'm eager to hear your thoughts about it. I don't want to say anything more in fear of spoiling anything... if Josh and some of you are still planning to read it.
Anyway, I might now understand what Anne was referring to earlier, when she wrote: "I read this book last year and liked it very much, great writing. There is one thing though that gave me pause and I would like to discuss, but not until you have read it though.."