Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
Charming wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I've finished Faster Than The Speed Of Light and I liked it very much. 1948/1949 is an interesting choice for a historical book. I liked the two main characters, the..."That's a great Listopia :)
I'm reading Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery.It has a very "Joseph Hansen" feeling to it. Gloomy, melancholic, slow-paced. Beautifully written.
Round has one more book in kindle A Cage of Bones, will definitely read it too.
Pender wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "Deal of the day (at least for classic horror fans): I just scored the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft for .99 at the Kindle Store. Ninety-nine cents for all those Cthulicious (and oth..."I used to love Lovecraft's stories, I still have them somewhere, but they scare the shit out of me. I used to like that, but these days I am much more craven. One should think the older one gets the more one would tolerate, but when it comes to horror and ghost stories, the older I get the more they scare me. Now I just don't do them anymore.
I still love dystopian books, aliens and fantasy though and sometimes there are just as much horror, fighting, gore and blood in them but that doesn't bother me. I believe it is the creepiness I can't stand, the worst kinds are the ones that start out "normal" and then slowly but inevitable the horror creeps upon you. *shudder*.
Still on vacation with plenty time to read, yay! I just downloaded In One Person and "Home" by Toni Morrison. Also reading the Persian Boy still, Mary Renault is really a wonderful author, I am transported to the time and place of her stories like few others. Here it is raining and rather cold for summer, so staying inside and reading is just the right thing to do :)
Heat wave here, I wish I could trade some with a cool breeze, Anne :DI'm reading Neil Plakcy's Mahu, it's great, I like the protagonist, Kimo, very much.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Heat wave here, I wish I could trade some with a cool breeze, Anne :DI'm reading Neil Plakcy's Mahu, it's great, I like the protagonist, Kimo, very much."
If we combined and then shared it would probably be just the right amount of heat for both of us? ;).
Mahu is great, I have read the first one in the series, the rest are definitely on my TBR list.
The kids and I are visiting my parents; and I raided my mom's books in the attic (early in the morning because it gets *miserable* up there FAST) for a whole stack of books I want to read -- or possibly *ahem* borrow -- and somehow, I haven't had TIME to read. Which is kinda sad, but not. But when I can find the time I'm reading Naked Once More and The Gate Of Ivory.
Cris wrote: "Just finished Saviours of Oestend. Really wonderful, I can't praise it enough. But if you're interested, check out the other reviews for what people didn't like, it seems to have pushed some butt..."Ah, another fan. I wrote a miniature review about it, partly because - as you say - it seems to push so many people's buttons, mostly not in a good way. Marie writes the most interesting, unusual and believable characters and the world building is, no pun intended, just out of this world.
I'm reading Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I'm curious to see how the relationship works out since Declan's a closeted sports celebrity. I love Australia and I've always been a fan of footy (every year we order the Setanta Sports channel just for rugby season) so this book is right up my alley.
Pender wrote: "I'm reading Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."I loved it, even though I don't appreciate sports at all.
Antonella wrote: "Pender wrote: "I'm reading Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy. I'm enjoying it quite a bit."I loved it, even though I don't appreciate sports at all."
I don't think you need to appreciate sports to enjoy this particular story and IMO that's impressive. I think an author needs a pretty good skill set to engage a reader that isn't familiar with a particular sport. Maybe not with something like swimming, but to keep a reader interested in a story that revolves around a sport with multiple teams and complicated rules; that's a skill.
Yes, the same happens with Kyell Gold.He is able to keep a reader refractory to sport and furry animals (me) enthusiastically interested for ex. in
and
Mod
I'm reading Neil Plakcy's Mahu, it's great, I like the protagonist, Kimo, very much."
YAY! I love Kimo. In fact Mahu Blood is coming with me when I go on vacation this week. I do have to say though, the original covers by Allyson Press are so much better than the MLR covers. Or maybe that's just me.
I just started reading Prey this morning and it's not at all what I expected, but so far it's really good. It's the story of werecats, and one of them happens to be a PI, and his boyfriend is his assistant. It's a different take on wereanimals that I find really interesting. And so far I highly recommend it.
I'm also taking Dancing With The Tide with me this week and Irregulars. I so cannot wait to read both of these!
Oh Jordan, the Infected: Prey series is really good. It's more Urban Fantasy, with same protagonist throughout. Very fascinating world-building and character development.
Mod
I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, the world building is really interesting!
I love series books, I really do... but then there are moments, like this morning when I realized this series is already up to number 5 I think, and I have to ask myself: Self, why do you insist on reading the first book? Now you're hooked, and now you have go to buy the rest and you're broke! lol.
A coworker gave me this saying the other day: People who say money can't buy happiness have never been in a book store!
I couldn't agree more! lol.
Antonella wrote: "Yes, the same happens with Kyell Gold.He is able to keep a reader refractory to sport and furry animals (me) enthusiastically interested..."
I read one of his Gold Standard. I think it was a free sampler on Amazon. Just checked and yes it is and it's still free. I must have got my wires crossed at some point because I was sure Tigers and Devils was one of his. Imagine my surprise when I started reading and the characters aren't furry animals. LOL
@ Jordan, everything you said, couldn't agree more either!
Pender wrote: "I was sure Tigers and Devils was one of his. Imagine my surprise when I started reading and the characters aren't furry animals."LOL!
Jordan, I've had to train myself to not look too closely at MLR covers. The books are frequently good. The covers... not so much.
I started Waterways this evening. It's really cute so far.
Pender wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Yes, the same happens with Kyell Gold.He is able to keep a reader refractory to sport and furry animals (me) enthusiastically interested..."
I read one of his Gold Standard. I ..."
I picked up Gold Standard for free and it has been sitting on my Kindle unread for a while. Maybe I should check it out.
The Infected series is very good, very dark in places but with lots of humour as well. Enjoy them, Jordan but be prepared for some tough moments as well.
As for what you said about money buying happiness, couldn't agree more :). I believe all members on this group are of the same opinion, which makes it such a homey, cozy place to be. It is great to hang with people who feel like I do about books and reading unlike my ex for instance, who always gave me shit for it. (He had some redeeming qualities though or I wouldn't have stayed married for 25 years..);)
I finished Incendiary by Carole Cummings and loved it. Now I'm going through Kyle Adams's shorts. So far, the stories are sexy, charming and really, really funny.
I finally finshed The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson. I still miss his Lou Boldt series but this one looks like a good first installment on a new series set in China. It was full of action and I am still out of breathe. Also, I enjoyed Mr. Pearson's take on Chinese culture. In the acknoledgements he mentions teaching there for several semesters. So lucky.As you can probably tell, I have great weakness for location used as a main character. My favorites of this type are John D Macdonald and James Lee Burke.
Johanna wrote: "I finally finshed The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson. I still miss his Lou Boldt series but this one looks like a good first installment on a new series set in China. It was full of action and I am..."I love James Lee Burke's books, you can actually feel the heat coming off the Lousiana swamps :). I haven't check John D Macdonald, probably should do so, do you think?
I read Dev Bentham's two books recently, Moving in Rhythm and just finished Learning from Isaac today. Loved them both!
Anne wrote: "I picked up Gold Standard for free and it has been sitting on my Kindle unread for a while. Maybe I should check it out."It is a good sampler, but be warned: there are a few het stories.
Actually, what I've been reading recently is this THREAD. I had missed a lot of new posts, and started to get very overwhelmed, so I kept not trying to get back into it, but finally, this weekend, peeked back in (I know I could have joined mid-conversation, because you're all so welcoming, but I felt weird doing that).So, I had to start around page 118-ish, which, I'd like to tell you all, was sometime in November 2011. THEN, I had to open a word document to jot down the books mentioned here that I hadn't read. (Six pages long at this point.)
Your conversations were in turn educational, insightful and very funny, so thank you.
My scrolling finger, however, is sore.
So....in addition to the general stuff I'm reading (and favorites I'm re-reading), a few books I've finished in the last few weeks include Under the Banner of Heaven (about Mormonism), the Power of Habit (which is self-explanatory, and very interesting. I'm still trying to figure out how to break a few bad habits.)
I've also read several Scandinavian mysteries, which I've really liked a lot, as well as mystery books that I've read in the past, but have forgotten, so the stories are new to me. Which is kind of pathetic.
What else? I just took Outlaw Marriages out of my public library's digital lending program. Looking forward to that.
Oh, and Joan Didion's Blue Nights which I didn't like as much as I thought I might. The subject matter is very difficult, but somehow, I felt very removed from it.
I also dug into my vault of unread Lanyon and read a couple more Dangerous Ground books, as well as Ghost of a Chance. I don't have to tell anyone here how much I enjoyed those.
Now I'll go back to the lurk.
mc wrote: ". . . a few books I've finished in the last few weeks include Under the Banner of Heaven..."What did you think of it, mc?
K.Z., it starts out by focusing on a horrific murder case that involved a FLDS (fundamentalism Latter Day Saints) off-shoot (they were even more out there than typical fundamentalists), and then goes back into the history of Mormonism, starting with Joseph Smith.The history is interesting, particularly the aspects dealing with polygamy, and the fights between Joseph Smith followers and the US government on this issue (as well as other issues, I have to add). They really wanted to create their own self-run territory (this is in the late 1800s), and there was a lot of battle around that. There was a tremendous amount of violence (this is not to imply that all religions don't have this kind of background, mind you!).
When looking at the (current) fundamentalists, it's pretty horrifying to see how these off-shoots treat women and children, and the difference between modern LDS and these groups, which are pretty strong, if you ask me.
The book was written by Jon Krakauer who also wrote Into the Wild, which I also thought was a good book.
I'm pretty fascinated by topics like this - how someone can create a following that becomes an enormous organism that spreads changes society. Fundamentalism of any sort scares me, but I still want to understand how social and political groups form and become powerful. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.
I'm probably making a hash of this, KZ, and not even answering your question well. Sorry!
And I'm not even touching on the precepts of Mormonism - that's a whole 'nuther topi unto itself!
Mod
My scrolling finger, however, is sore."
LOL. :) This is why I try to keep up by at least reading this thread while travelling (even when I'm not able to do as much reading myself at the time being). I don't want to miss the excellent recommendations and the conversation that meanders wonderfully! :)
mc wrote: "The book was written by Jon Krakauer who also wrote Into the Wild, which I also thought was a good book."I love Krakauer's nonfiction, largely because of his writing style. His work never bores me. Into Thin Air is also superb.
Charming wrote: "Anne wrote: "I picked up Gold Standard for free and it has been sitting on my Kindle unread for a while. Maybe I should check it out."It is a good sampler, but be warned: there are a few het stor..."
That's okay, I am all for equal opportunity :)
Finished Mahu, I liked Kimo, the protagonist, very very much. His story really resonated with me.I'm currently reading a non m/m book, Dark Fire, Matthew Shardlake #2, historical mystery.
Johanna wrote: "Just finished 
and just starting 
."I loved Sno Ho - must read it again sometime soon!
I've been rereading KA Mitchell's Florida books(Diving in Deep,Collision Course and No Souvenirs), and have now started Clear Water by Amy Lane, which has been on my reading pile for ages. I'm a sucker for any books set on houseboats - there aren't enough of them!
Sno-Ho is one of my comfort reads :)
I just picked up the latest Harper Fox story All Roads Lead To You, a novella set in Rome. I have only read about 20 % yet, but it seems like a typical Harper story, which means a good one.Also finished The Persian Boy yesterday, I really recommend it for anybody who like well written historical books, where you might even learn a few things. Never a bad thing :)
Johanna wrote: "Just finished and just starting ."O my, a new Amy Lane, must have it now! :)
Josephine wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Just finished and just starting ."I loved Sno Ho - must read it again sometime soon!
I've been rereading KA Mitchell's Florida books(Diving ..."
Have you tried Barging in? A houseboat story from the English countryside. Very sweet.
Anne wrote: "I just picked up the latest Harper Fox story All Roads Lead To You, a novella set in Rome. I have only read about 20 % yet, but it seems like a typical Harper story, which means a good one."Rome? Must read!
Anne wrote: Have you tried Barging in? A houseboat story from the English countryside. Very sweet."LOL! Thanks for reccing it, but I wrote that one - just doing my bit for books set on houseboats ;D
The quote of the day is so beautiful! I'm pretty partial to Franz :)“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.”
— Franz Kafka
Josephine wrote: "Anne wrote: Have you tried Barging in? A houseboat story from the English countryside. Very sweet."LOL! Thanks for reccing it, but I wrote that one - just doing my bit for books set on houseboats ;D"
Ups, didn't realise it was you :). Then I should thank you for writing it!
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Felice Picano is (to me) the perfect illustration of someone who can write beautifully, meaningfully, and still tell a story that neither moves nor engages. It's like watching a gifted autistic student connect the dots.
Thanks Anne! If you have any other recs for books featuring houseboats/river boats, I'd be very glad of them. I've read Thom Lane's White Flag, but that's been it in m/m land.
Anne wrote: "Josephine wrote: "Anne wrote: Have you tried Barging in? A houseboat story from the English countryside. Very sweet."LOL! Thanks for reccing it, but I wrote that one - just doing my bit for books..."
Anne, if it makes you feel any better, I was about ready to jump in with that rec, too! LOL
I finished Waterways last night and was a bit disappointed. I liked Kory and Samaki a lot. But the last 1/3 or so of the book dragged. (To be fair, I wasn't feeling well last night, and that can make a big difference in how I perceive a story.) I'll most likely give the next one a shot.
Felice Picano is (to me) the perfect illustration of someone who can write beautifully, meaningfully, and still tell a story that neither moves nor engages. It's like watching a gifted autistic student connect the dots.Yikes.
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I did and ..."
Bareback was a revelation for me, not because it was this fabulous book, but because the subject matter is something you just don't see in m/f romance. It's one of the reasons I love m/m-- there's more freedom to explore difficult topics. Although it would be perfectly ok with me if some authors would use a lighter touch.