Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
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Lady*M
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Sep 19, 2012 09:45PM
Gaiman's American Gods is one of my favorite books of all times. I can read it over and over and over again and it never gets old. I also like Stardust, Anansi Boys and his short stories.
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Karen wrote: "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...."
I'm reading Pressure Head right now, love it! I also love the Britishness of the writing and especially Tom's voice :) J.L. Merrow is one of my (many) favorite authors in this genre.
Good Omens who is a cooperation between Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is fantastic, fun and thought-provoking at the same time. I also loved American Gods (maybe because of the Norse mythology in it?) and Anansi boys.
KAREN: I wanted to thank you for the rec, Butterfly Hunter. That was just lovely.
Anne wrote: "Karen wrote: "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..."I absolutely adored Muscling through by Merrow. It is charming, full of humor and well written. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
I'm a sucker for British authors in general -- and Merrow and Myles are both good ones. Also Harper Fox. :-)I'm in the middle of Pressure Head right now. It's a fun read so far.
Thank you for all the books you suggested ladies :) I'm definitely going to check on those.Jen, I confess I've discovered Doctor Who only recently, I will have to find that episode :)
I was a bit conflicted about Muscling Through, I'm going to see if I like Pressure head more.
Karen wrote: "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...."
I've just read it too. It's wonderful, isn't it? As Anne (almost) says, it's quintessentially English, and the characters and their backstory are so well revealed. The mystery is very well done, too. I enjoyed Muscling Through as well, and it's impressive how different Pressure Head is while also being very good.
I also love Harper Fox and Jo Myles, recommended by Plainbrownwrapper. Jo has a book out in a couple of days called The Hot Floor, eagerly awaited by me!
Darkm wrote: "Thank you for all the books you suggested ladies :) I'm definitely going to check on those.Jen, I confess I've discovered Doctor Who only recently, I will have to find that episode :)
I was a bi..."
I struggled with Muscling Through but really enjoyed Pressure Head - very entertainingly British :)
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..."I'm glad to read this. I met him in Brighton, and just by speaking to him me and my friend we decided we would definitely buy something by him.
Josh wrote: "I am indeed envious."I'm just back from Arran, but still in Scotland. Tomorrow I'm going to a march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh ;-).
When I'm back I'll post an account from my *wonderful* Arran's days in the BoM thread about Scrap Metal.
Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I am indeed envious."I'm just back from Arran, but still in Scotland. Tomorrow I'm going to a march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh ;-).
When I'm back I'll post an account fr..."
Enjoy Edinburgh, Antonella. My daughter lives there so I have visited many times. It is in my opinion a lovely city. You can't dislike a place where New Town is from the 1850's !:)
Anne wrote: "Good Omens who is a cooperation between Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is fantastic, fun and thought-provoking at the same time. I also loved American Gods (maybe because of the Norse mythology in it?)..."Certainly one of my favorite collaborations.
I like American Gods, too. The great fun of AG is the idea behind the story - which makes an awful lot sense.
I also really enjoy Neverwhere.
Just finished Sue Ann Jaffarian's Too Big to Miss which was both enjoyable and a nice change in pace.
Antonella wrote: "Josh wrote: "I am indeed envious."I'm just back from Arran, but still in Scotland. Tomorrow I'm going to a march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh ;-).
When I'm back I'll post an account fr..."
Please do! Edinburgh is fantastic, I visited during the gringe festival, there was such a great atmosphere and it was sunny too :D
Mod
I'm just back from Arran, but still in Scotland. Tomorrow I'm going to a march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh ;-).
When I'm back I'll post an account fr..."
What a great idea!
Just finished Anagama Fires by Sarah Black. Okay, let me just say WOW!This book has wildly erratic reviews. It is close to that blurry line of literature, because it is not about 'liking' the characters it is about their story. Ms. Black tells it wonderfully. I also like books about art and the performing arts. I enjoyed all the page time spent on the mechanics and passion for art. I even loved the ending. YAY!!! =D
Reggie wrote: "It is close to that blurry line of literature, because it is not about 'liking' the characters it is about their story."Hm. Food for thought. Do readers have to like the characters for the story to be genre rather than literary fic? How likable do the hero protagonists have to be, exactly?
Really making me think, because frankly my heroes are deeply flawed. They are overbearing and manipulative, among many other less than stellar qualities. I get just as mad and disgusted with them as some of my readers do, but I write them like that anyway because I believe we are all deeply flawed and have redemptive qualities that (hopefully) counterbalances those flaws. Those are the characters I'm drawn to. But I certainly DO NOT write literary fic, not by any stretch.
I must away, to pretentiously ponder mah smut. ;-)
Reggie wrote: "Just finished Anagama Fires by Sarah Black. Okay, let me just say WOW!This book has wildly erratic reviews. It is close to that blurry line of literature, because it is not about 'liking' the ch..."
Thanks for the recommendation, I like the ones of hers I have tried before. Right now I don't seem to be able to enjoy any of the books I am currently reading, so they are probably not the right ones. So this might be different enough to do the trick :)
Last night I read Champion, and I was pretty disappointed. The Heaven Sent/Indigo Knights books... well, they aren't deep. :p But they're fun! This one just didn't have that spark.
Kari wrote: "Reggie wrote: "It is close to that blurry line of literature, because it is not about 'liking' the characters it is about their story."Hm. Food for thought. Do readers have to like the characters..."
I find this topic interesting also. I have no need to *like* characters- like best friend. Flawed is always preferred. I was just looking at the reviews of Anagama Fires. So many reviews were down because they didn't 'like', 'fall in-love' with the characters. I don't get this at all.
But it is an interesting idea. Where is the line for myself? What makes the line? Sarah wrote another arty book with an annoying MC. I was enthralled until the very end. He deceived/manipulated one of his friends/models. I still want to take his arm off and club him. So now that is what I think about when I think of this book.
So how do I define this line? Moral? Or is it just timing and pacing? Don't know....
ETA: This second book is Marathon Cowboys. From Josh's definition, this is more literary than romance. It does have a HNF, but I thought the 'point' of the story took precedence over 'likability' of the characters. Check it out if you're curious, the ratings varied quite a bit, you may really like it.
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If I like the characters or at least one of them, I can forgive a sketchy story, but if I don't like the characters, the story must be stellar. Otherwise it would be like being thrown into a cold pond and be left there to swim until the author is satisfied with it. I'm a bad swimmer :-)
Mod
..."
I think for romance to work, yes, the reader does have to actively want Character A to wind up with Character B. I think -- to be blunt here -- romance is most satisfying when we give a shit about what happens to the characters.
With literary fiction, it's all about the word bending. We don't need to like or care about the characters, because the main thing going on is the fabulous writing. The happiness of the characters is a secondary consideration (if it is at all a consideration).
That doesn't mean your romance characters can't be conflicted, or even blackened. (Ladies and gents, I offer exhibit A -- Jake Riordan.) It does mean that the reader has to care what happens to these two characters.
I think the romance reader has a different set of expectations from the literary fiction reader. In the same way that a mystery reader has a different set of expectations from a romance reader. Or a SF reader.
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:-)
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LOL. ;)
Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "(Ladies and gents, I offer exhibit A -- Jake Riordan.)"LOL. ;)"
My reaction was a bit undignified: where?!?! :)
Johanna wrote: "I'm finally, FINALLY reading The Charioteer. I'm only on page 61 and at the moment there is something utterly breathtaking taking place, because Andrew has just appeared in the story. The writing i..."Did you google something here and there? I remember I googled quite a few things at the beginning because I totally lacked the knowledge of the period.
Mod
Oh yes! LOL. I spent quite some time yesterday googling things like Quakers and c.o.s.... Luckily hubby was able to explain all the medical terms. :)
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "(Ladies and gents, I offer exhibit A -- Jake Riordan.)"LOL. ;)"
My reaction was a bit undignified: where?!?! :)"
Exactly. He should know not to feed the Jake fangirls and -boys...
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LOL. ;)"
My reaction was a bit undignified: where?!?! :)"
Exactly. He should ..."
:-D
Josh wrote: I think for romance to work, yes, the reader does have to actively want Character A to wind up with Character B. I think -- to be blunt here -- romance is most satisfying when we give a shit about what happens to the characters.With literary fiction, it's all about the word bending. We don't need to like or care about the characters, because the main thing going on is the fabulous writing. The happiness of the characters is a secondary consideration (if it is at all a consideration).
To this I can attest. One of the last literature classes I took before I finished college had the class read both Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure . I read and absolutely hated both these books and the characters within them. The prose, however, is so vivid I still have pictures and complete passages still running around in my memory. Neither story ends happily.
Romance is all about the happy ending (whether for now or forever). It helps to have likeable characters or ones that you at least care about and actually want to succeed in their quest to get the guy/girl/other. In some ways, romance is more fleeting than literature, though in my opinion, more enjoyable to read and reread.
Mod
Yes. Oh yes! How well I remember glorying in the writing and feeling sick with knowledge of the way the story was headed. Now days I can only take Hardy in poetry.
I'm currently rereading The Front Runner in audio (long commute). Must say that it's more real with Harlen's voice playing in my head.Why is it though, that most of these books written during this time are so tragic?!
Yep. I'm just reading As Meat Loves Salt, and that is most definitely literary fiction, as I can't abide the main characters, and things seem to end badly, and it's very much about how religious guilt drives you insane. The gay relationship/sexual deviance is NOT written as a romance. It's a stunning book though. Very well made.
Josh wrote: "To this I can attest. One of the last literature classes I took before I finished college had the class read both Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure . I read and absolutely hated both t..."Funnily enough, Tess of the D'Urbervilles was the book I thought of straight away when I read Josh's post 9481. I'm with Lori - I hated the book and the characters, yet could really appreciate the prose. There was a passage describing an orchard early in the morning which was wonderful. But since I just wanted all the characters to die quickly and end the long-drawn-out torture of their story it was a waste of good writing.
I've never read another Hardy and never want to. Televising or filming the books just means that the worst aspects - the dreadful characters and plots and the appalling dialogue - are shown without the redeeming factor of the prose in between!
These days I avoid literary fiction. I don't ned the angst, and there is so much good romance to enjoy instead! (And of course the writing can be just as good, and often is.)
OkayKim wrote: "I'm currently rereading The Front Runner in audio (long commute). Must say that it's more real with Harlen's voice playing in my head.Why is it though, that most of these books written during this time are so tragic?"
Literature is stuck on the idea of "the human condition" and that the only way to see it is through tragedy I think. I find this a very limiting idea, not to mention depressing. If all I had to read was the likes of Thomas Hardy & Co. I'd probably commit suicide by paper cut.
This is why I prefer SF/F - how better to see the human condition when putting people into situations where being human can be a(n) (dis)advantage?
Kari wrote: "The Princess Bride -- If you've only seen the movie, you're missing a treat!"Thank you, Kari, I have seen the movie and thought I should skip the book, but now I will check it out :)
Lori wrote: "OkayKim wrote: "I'm currently rereading The Front Runner in audio (long commute). Must say that it's more real with Harlen's voice playing in my head.Why is it though, that most of these books wri..."
Depends on how you define literature I guess. I read anything and everything, including romances, SF and Fantasy, crime mysteries and what have you, and also what you probably would call literary books. I am fortunate that as a reader I actually don't care what genre the book is in as long as I enjoy it. One of my favorite contemporary writers, Peter Carey, who has won the Booker Prize twice so I guess he writes literature, has written some very uplifting books with happy endings.. :) So, I guess my point is, it can be done and still be called literature.
I haven't read Hardy (in Norway you read the Norwegian classics in school)but I have seen the movie Tess, so I know what you mean by tragedy though.. (But in all fairness, the story sticks with me still and this must be at least 30 years ago, so even as a movie the story has impact) If all literary books were like that though I agree suicide by paper cut probably might seem reasonable and the only way out ;)
OkayKim wrote: "I'm currently rereading The Front Runner in audio (long commute). Must say that it's more real with Harlen's voice playing in my head.Why is it though, that most of these books written during this..."
I think I read in an interview with Josh once that one of the reasons he started writing gay romances is that he wanted gay people to have happy endings since most literature about gay men and women was tragedies. All people deserve happy endings :)
I would also guess that one reason these books are tragedies is that life being gay at that time was hard and literature describes reality. It is still hard of course, but times are a-changing and gay people are "allowed" happiness now, at least in some circles. (And hopefully and from what I see, those circles are steadily growing)
Johanna wrote: "I'm finally, FINALLY reading The Charioteer. I'm only on page 61 and at the moment there is something utterly breathtaking taking place, because Andrew has just appeared in the story. The writing i..."This is definitely a book I want to read.
Sorry if I appear in this conversation so late, but again, I don't receive any notification :/
With literary fiction, it's all about the word bending. We don't need to like or care about the characters, because the main thing going on is the fabulous writing.
Very true, I loved Wuthering Heights, despite wanting to shot every single one of the characters.
Becky, I've read Champion and didn't like it that much either. I know her books are mostly fun and a lot "unreal", but this one was too unreal for me.
Darkm wrote: "Johanna wrote: "I'm finally, FINALLY reading The Charioteer. I'm only on page 61 and at the moment there is something utterly breathtaking taking place, because Andrew has just appeared in the stor..."No need to apologise, I think most of us jump in and out of the conversations depending on time on our hands and proximity to a computer :)I know that's the way I do it ..
And you should definitely read The Charioteer, if for nothing else I am eternally happy I found this group and thus The Charioteer. (There are many other reasons I am happy of course)
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Oh, The Princess Bride is a fun one! It's been ages since I read it. High school, maybe.
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Johanna wrote: "What about this one: Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman?"I've got it on paper since February 2009. And ''50 Reasons to Say Goodbye'' since January 2010. And I managed never to read them, although I bought them on them base of recs. There are just too many books to read!
Anyway, if you are going alphabetically ;-), in my library between them there is
by Marc Acito, which I did read, and is hilarious.
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I've got it on paper since February 2009. And ''50 Reasons to Say Goodbye'' since January 2010. And I managed never to r..."
Thanks, Antonella! :) You do have your books in alphabetical order? Wow.
The alphabetical order helps to avoid buying the same book twice especially it you don't read them for some years after you bought them ;-)). I only keep essays ordered by subject, because in most of the cases I wouldn't have a clue who wrote them...
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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