What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 9,051-9,100 of 13,523

[Karen]

I'm reading By The River, late at night and nervously, because I'm suspecting a selkie complication that would make an HEA unlikely or difficult. I'm really enjoying the way the sex scenes are written —detailed, but not exactly with the usual/expected details — with some of the laughter, uncertainty, and heady passion of new romance. And I can't see exactly where this story is going, which is not so often the case for me these days.

[Becky]

I really like Katey Hawthorne. I loved Brady and Etienne in Riot Boy, and I've been looking forward to By the River. And beside that, Katey's just good people.

[Darkm]

Calathea wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Charlinda wrote: "And the cover of Crossing Boarders makes me hesitate on reading the book lol."

Don't hesitate. It has some good moments, even if I confess I didn'..."
I really liked this one too!
And god, I hope ZAM is really changing the cover on the other one, because that one was absurd.

I think I'd love to talk about books with RL friends as well, but so far it seems I'm the only one with this love around those I know.

"I want to be friends with lots of people, not just the ones I agree with! "
Me too Reggie.

Karen I'll have to read that one. I usually like her books a lot.

[Candice]

Anne wrote: "Candice wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Does the expression "From the stars to the stalls" exist in English? Because I went from Scrap Metal to a book where I think I could have done better..."

Not in ebooks to my knowledge, more's the pity.

[Candice]

Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Candice wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Does the expression "From the stars to the stalls" exist in English? Because I went from Scrap Metal to a book where I think I could have done better..."

Gotcha; no sweat. I probably would have understood that if I'd been paying more attention. This is why I cannot afford to take myself too seriously. lol.

[Candice]

Anne wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Aleksandr wrote: "I read two Dickson books (I bought like 5 in one go), and he doesn't work for me, but that might be just me. I had friends who are raving about him."

I have that pr..."

That's true. I love that about this forum. In fact, a number of things I've been reading lately have been from that list someone put up here of lesser-known m/m books. It's a hodgepodge. You don't know what you're going to get, but it's fun to explore new authors and their sometimes unusual approaches to this very broad genre.

[Candice]

Aleksandr wrote: "I read two Dickson books (I bought like 5 in one go), and he doesn't work for me, but that might be just me. I had friends who are raving about him."

Did you read any of this series; the Jas Anderson series? (I'm thinking about the way you write and I would have guessed you'd like him--but I haven't read any of his other works, so...)

[Becky]

Candice wrote: "Aleksandr wrote: "I read two Dickson books (I bought like 5 in one go), and he doesn't work for me, but that might be just me. I had friends who are raving about him."

Did you read any of this ser..."

I so read Aleks's original comment as "I read two Dickens books...." And I thought, hmm, I'm surprised he wasn't familiar with him from a lit class. Clearly, I haven't been firing on all cylinders this week.

[Anne]

Candice wrote: "Anne wrote: "Candice wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Does the expression "From the stars to the stalls" exist in English? Because I went from Scrap Metal to a book where I think I could hav..."

I ended up ordering them from amazon.uk, used from sellers that are connected to Amazon. So they will be in my mailbox soon. It is always so exiting checking the mail to see if there is a new book there :)

[Candice]

Becky wrote: "Candice wrote: "Aleksandr wrote: "I read two Dickson books (I bought like 5 in one go), and he doesn't work for me, but that might be just me. I had friends who are raving about him."

Did you read..."

oh, Becky, that's a good one. Thanks for sharing that.

[Candice]

Anne wrote: "Candice wrote: "Anne wrote: "Candice wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Does the expression "From the stars to the stalls" exist in English? Because I went from Scrap Metal to a book where I t..."

It's like Christmas every time, isn't it?

[Sun]

Just finished . Loved it...so worth it...

[Josh]

Antonella wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I'm reading Scrap Metal by Harper Fox. She amazes me with the way she binds words, places and emotions."

Did I mention that I'm going to spend 4 days on Arran? *fin..."

I am indeed envious.

[Josh]

Aleksandr wrote: "Chances are, you might. :) I know a great many writers who started to write because they were dissatisfied with the quality of what they were reading. James Fenimore Cooper being the most prominent..."

I think more writers are inspired to write by bad fiction than good, frankly. :-)

[Kari]

Josh wrote: "I think more writers are inspired to write by bad fiction than good, frankly. :-)"

And not finding the book(s) we want to read on the market. Pretty much everything I've written has been a direct result of frustrated & fruitless searching followed by a heavy dose of "Fine then, I'll write it my own damn self." ;-)

[Josh]

Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I think more writers are inspired to write by bad fiction than good, frankly. :-)"

And not finding the book(s) we want to read on the market. Pretty much everything I've written has b..."

Yes! I think that's definitely true.

[Aleksandr]

Josh - Yep. Amazing fiction has a way to crush that confidence that is so important. :)

[K.Z.]

Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly fond of his mother. I realize she's there for colorful comic relief, but I find her a bit much.

Humor is SO subjective . . .

[Becky]

K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly..."

I don't mind the mother too much, it's the cop boyfriend I'm not over the moon about. Although the end of the book redeemed him quite a bit in my eyes. Book three will be out in a little over a week. I'm curious to see where the relationship goes from here.

ETA: Oh, and I was glad to see more of Kevin's bff in Second. (I can't remember his name off the top of my head, but he's a hoot!)

[Darkm]

K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly..."

I didn't like the mom in either book, and I'm not very fond of the bf either.
Actually in the first book I was a bit angry with Kevin and some of the things he said, I saw him in a better light in the second book.

[Josh]

Aleksandr wrote: "Josh - Yep. Amazing fiction has a way to crush that confidence that is so important. :)"

That's true. I still get that overwhelmed reaction when I read something really brilliant. That feeling of...why do I bother? I can never do that!

I much prefer to read the stuff that makes me think WHY IS THAT CRETIN ALLOWED TO PUBLISH!? HERE! HAND ME A PEN!!! :-P

[Josh]

K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly..."

Well, I think the difficulty there is the difficulty of a chick lit series. Your irresponsible goofball protagonist has to show growth or readers start to get irate (unless you're writing Stephanie Plum). But once the protag starts to mature, there's a chance that they will lose the fun nuttiness that made them so engaging the first time around.

So it's tricky. Humor IS tough. And it's especially hard to sustain in a series.

[Johanna]

K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly..."

I guess the mother wasn't my favorite character either and just like you, I liked the first book better, but nevertheless I'm anxiously waiting Third You Die to be released. And I'm going to buy it and read it immediately when that happens. :) Kevin and Freddy are absolutely hilarious together and the cop boyfriend Tony has real potential too... ;)

[Josh]

Johanna wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I..."

Yes, I think you really have to give the author a three book chance to be fair in a series because very often the second book is tricky (for a lot of reasons, not least which is the pressure of having written a successful first book).

[Becky]

And there was a several year gap and a change of publishers between books 1 and 2. I'm sure that didn't make the situation any easier.

[Josh]

Becky wrote: "And there was a several year gap and a change of publishers between books 1 and 2. I'm sure that didn't make the situation any easier."

Absolutely. And when dramatic stuff is happening with your career or your life it's hard to write funny and zany.

[K.Z.]

I'll definitely read the third book. At least I'm fairly sure I will. I like Scott as a person, too, which should probably be irrelevant . . . but somehow isn't. :)

[K.Z.]

Speaking of series, check out Neil Gaiman's thoughts: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05...

[Josh]

K.Z. wrote: "Speaking of series, check out Neil Gaiman's thoughts: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05..."

It's been a while since a blog post resonated like that.

I count myself lucky that most of my readers are so wonderfully patient because while you really can't go a lot faster than you're already going -- worrying about how fast you're going ALWAYS slows you down.

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "Speaking of series, check out Neil Gaiman's thoughts: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05..."

It's been a while since a blog post resonated like that.

I count ..."

Once in a while, as a reader it is nice and useful to be told that authors are human, their work is a work of art, and takes the time it takes to do and do well, and they don't work for me :). Great post.

[K.Z.]

It resonated for me, too. Lately, life has been demanding my attention far more than writing. Not that readers are clamoring for sequels, but that post did alleviate some of my guilt.

[Lori S.]

K.Z. wrote: "Just got Scott Sherman's Second You Sin. I loved the first book in the series. But Kevin, the protag, seems tamer somehow in this one -- not as sassy or slutty -- and I must confess, I'm not overly..."

While Kevin's mom is a bit over the top, she's still a hoot. The only thing I found annoying was the way she dealt with the talk show host - it just didn't feel right the way things turned out. On the other hand, I do like Freddy a lot. And Tony's beginning to grow on me, though he's got a little way to go.

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~]

I've just read and loved Khyber Run. I wouldn't say it's Romance, but the setting is amazing and it's so intense, even if the narrator doesn't exactly build a bridge to help the readers over, I think, I don't know what I'm saying. Anyway, I am not sure what I want to express but I realized that I'm so ignorant about Afghanistan, apart from the basic notions I learned in order to navigate the news, and it made me want to know more and it made me learn something new.

[K.Z.]

Forget to mention I've also read Portside by Elyan Smith. It isn't, strictly speaking, m/m romance -- more about a gay man acquiring confidence and learning to love himself -- so I went ahead and posted a sort-of review and even clicked on that line of stars. (Being an author and all, I'm reluctant to do that in our genre. But hey, Elyan's new, so I figured a little boost was justified. :))

[Lady*M]

K.Z. wrote: "Speaking of series, check out Neil Gaiman's thoughts: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05..."

Ah, the famous "not your bitch" post! If you look really, really hard on the internet you will find a song inspired by that post. It's like authors' anthem or something. XD

I'm reading Cloud Atlas. Slowly. It requires all your attention, something I'm short on right now. But, it's good so far.

[Darkm]

K.Z. wrote: "Forget to mention I've also read Portside by Elyan Smith. It isn't, strictly speaking, m/m romance -- more about a gay man acquiring confidence and learning to love himself -- so I went ahead and p..."

Sound like something I could like, thanks for the rec :)

I've read Sidecar and The legend of the Apache kid, and both were definitely worth it.

[Johanna]

We had the book club meeting (with colleagues) yesterday and the next book we are going to read is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I haven't read it, although it was first published 1992 — so it's not a new book. Any thoughts about that? Have you guys read it?

[K.Z.]

Johanna wrote: "We had the book club meeting (with colleagues) yesterday and the next book we are going to read is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I haven't read, although it was first published 1992 — so it's ..."

I read it many years ago, Johanna. It's quite good, but I do recall an aura of literary pretension.

[K.Z.]

Lady*M wrote: "K.Z. wrote: "Speaking of series, check out Neil Gaiman's thoughts: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05..."

Ah, the famous "not your bitch" post! If you look really, really h..."

I loved that line! "George R.R. Martin is not your bitch." Made me laugh out loud. How wonderful to be famous and popular and well-regarded enough to be able to say things like that. :-D

[K.Z.]

Darkm wrote: "Sound like something I could like, thanks for the rec."

You're welcome. I suggest that to get the full impact of the story, you don't read any reviews. Too many contain spoilers -- mine included. ;-)

[Johanna]

K.Z. wrote: "Johanna wrote: "We had the book club meeting (with colleagues) yesterday and the next book we are going to read is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I haven't read, although it was first published..."

Interesting! An aura of literary pretension... I like your expression. *grin* I'll let you know how I liked the book. :)

[Susan]

Lou wrote: "Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers. He's so perfect,..."

He was also animated on The Simpsons, and did his own voice-over. High praise, indeed!

[K.Z.]

Yeah, Gaiman is definitely the Mr. Cool of the literary world.

[Plainbrownwrapper]

Lou wrote: "Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite writers. He's so perfect, I think he might be a cyborg. He even narrates his own audio books. "

And does a wonderful job of it!

[Darkm]

I confess I've never read him.
I'll have to remedy to this :)

[Plainbrownwrapper]

Darkm wrote: "I confess I've never read him.
I'll have to remedy to this :)"

Some of my favorites from him are:

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The Graveyard Book
Anansi Boys

His most famous book is American Gods, but I like the ones I mentioned above better.

Enjoy!

[Cleon Lee]

Plainbrownwrapper wrote: "Darkm wrote: "I confess I've never read him.
I'll have to remedy to this :)"

Some of my favorites from him are:

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The Graveyard B..."

Good Omens is great, but my favorite is the Sandman graphic novels. I think it's the BEST speculative fiction out there, bar none.

[Karen]

I just finished J.L. Merrow's Pressure Head. Wonderful read. Tom Paretski is in the running for my favorite new character. A well done murder mystery with amateur-professional sleuths pairing up.

Also finished Katey Hathorne's By The River last weekend. Lovely, original characters in that one as well.

Two great books in a row. Nice to have so many talented writers in this genre!

[Jen]

Darkm wrote: "I confess I've never read him.
I'll have to remedy to this :)"

Another great Gaiman work is the Graphic Novel Marvel 1602.

If you are a Doctor Who fan he wrote the Hugo award winning episode The Doctor's Wife.

[Plainbrownwrapper]

Lou wrote: "My most favorite Gaiman story ever is a short, A Study In Scarlet. It's a masterful blend of Sherlock Holmes and Cthulhu."

Yes, I love that story too!

I haven't read any of the graphic novels -- I'm just not much of a comics person. But lots of people think they are wonderful as well. :-)