Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
I'm wondering what you recommended Anne?
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Sadly, my parents don't read much fiction. And when they do, it's rarely something I would read, so there's no talking about books and recommending anything. Well, not very much. But, at least they did read good stuff to me when I was a kid.
Josh wrote: "Of course. You mean you call yourself a writer and you're NOT drinking vodka on a Saturday morning!?..."I more partial to coffee with Baileys before noon. Lots of Baileys. :D
Jordan wrote: "For those of you parent still reading to their kids, or for teachers trying to encourage parents to read, here's a quote that came stitched on a pillow my Mom bought at a craft fair: "Richer than m..."What a wonderful quote. That one I will keep.
Susinok wrote: "Now as a kid I really hated Hans Christian Andersen stories. They were all horribly depressing. The Littlest Mermaid dies and doesn't get her prince (or just briefly), the Little Matchgirl freezes to death in the snow...."I felt the same way about Andersen. At least with the Grimm stories the bad guy used to get his comeuppance. There was a comfort in believing evil would be punished.
Like Anne I've always assumed those tales were more morality lessons then just pure entertainment.
Lou wrote: "I didn't watch that movie, partially because severely dislike cold, snow and ice. And also, I just can't watch nature documentaries anymore. Too much drama. And when there's a scene like that, where the baby penguin, lion cub, meerkat gets lost, I get angry. Because the film crew is there and they could do something. The whole "we don't get involved" stuff just doesn't fly with me..."I always wonder if the camera crew separated the baby penguin, lion cub, meerkat or whatever on purpose. Strange how so much drama goes on right when the film crew is there.
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That day, the wicked queen gazed proudly into her mirror and asked who was the fairest of all.
The mirror replied:
"Fairest is she who, though she died,
now lives to be the prince's bride."
The queen was so furious that she hurled the mirror to the ground. And her cruel heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
Yikes.
Karen wrote: "Josh wrote: "When I first began getting my teaching degree I taught pre-K and kindergarten and I used to love reading to them."I love reading aloud to my students, love reading expressively, watc..."
Ooo! I LOVE Coyote tales! Will have to check this out.
Antonella wrote: "Tracy wrote: "We went to a college hockey game (OK, two college hockey games) tonight, at the Civic Center. Lighting was good, so I read. All those cute college boys playing... I felt vaguely guilt..."I think the guilt was that they just looked so YOUNG to me, out there on the ice. And also, DH is a huge fan, & I think that what I was actually reading would probably give him a prissy-old-lady-attack. Sometimes I think he looks at his favorite players the same way we look at our parents: intellectually we know sex happens, but we don't want to be faced with even theoretical "evidence" of it...
I am currently listening to Steven Fry's autobiographic novel "Fry's Chronicles", audio book. He is a master of the English language. What a pleasure to listen to him. 5 stars for sure. It is not in the goodreads list. You have to look somewhere else for it.I finished "Some day never comes" by MK Kayem. Someday Never Comes. This is not for the faint of heart. It is about a slave boy who is sold at the age of 11. It plays in ancient Rome. It does deserve 5 stars. It has a happy ending. The book is long, and the ending is to short for my liking. Another short chapter would have been suffice. I downgrade it to 4.5 because of that. If you can handle a certain amount of violence, read it. Worth while.
Caroline wrote: "I'm wondering what you recommended Anne?"I did recommend Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and James Baldwin to mention a couple you would recognise and who made a great impact on me when I was younger. I also recommended some Norwegian and Danish writers, Jens Bjørneboe (Norwegian) and Hans Scherfig (Danish) among them. At least Steinbeck made a lasting impression, he came back and asked for more. Actually, if people ask me which book they should absolutely read if they want to start reading in earnest, I always recommend "East of Eden". There are passages in that book I will never forget and it must be more than thirty years since I read it. The same for "For whom the bells toll" which was the first "grown-up" book I bought myself with my own money when I was about sixteen :)(which is actually forty years ago...)
ETA: later I bought him Stephan Zweig, "The German lesson" - my translation from the Norwegian title which also made a lasting impression on me.
Jordan wrote: "For those of you parent still reading to their kids, or for teachers trying to encourage parents to read, here's a quote that came stitched on a pillow my Mom bought at a craft fair: "Richer than m..."What a lovely quote! I don't remember my dad reading to me, but my hubby used to love reading to our boys when they were younger. The BFG was a favourite one.
ED wrote: "I am currently listening to Steven Fry's autobiographic novel "Fry's Chronicles", audio book. He is a master of the English language. What a pleasure to listen to him. 5 stars for sure. It is not i..."Just to help others find this, and his other wonderful books, here is the link: The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry.
I'm 40% into Special Forces: Soldiers Part I -Director's Cut by Aleksandr Voinov. It's quite a ride so far.
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On Friday evening I made the mistake of answering my telephone (even though I saw that the caller was the principal of the school I work in). And on Saturday I made another mistake of reading my work email and that finally ruined the rest of the weekend. :(
Josh wrote earlier about avoiding to read the hostile online exchanges and emails in online wars... and how totally freeing feeling it is after you've accepted that you can't control what people say. That is such a wise thought. Well, in my case it wasn't actually "an email war" that swept over me, but a troublesome thing that bothered me throughout the whole weekend.
Anyways, I now solemnly swear (and you guys are my witnesses) that I will NOT read my work emails during the weekends from now on — and not late in the evenings either. This is something I have to practice a bit, but I'll succeed in it, damn it! :)
One other thing that I should have remembered on Saturday was that I actually have an almost full bottle of Absolut vodka at home. I've heard that that might have helped... ;)
Lou wrote: "Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "In The March of the Penguins there's a part of the documentary where a young penguin gets lost and it's clear that it will die without the other penguins."I didn't..."
You know, I've never expressed the thought aloud. It's just been part of my internal furniture, so I'm glad somebody else said it. Every time I see a nature film I think exactly the same thing. You're there. Do something.
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Anne wrote: "Caroline wrote: "I'm wondering what you recommended Anne?"I did recommend Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and James Baldwin to mention a couple you would recognise and who made a great impact on..."
No wonder he was impressed. I've never read East of Eden - must put that right.
Johanna wrote: "Sorry about my previous post that was so gloomy. I blame both the Grimm and H. C. Andersen — which I both liked when I was a kid. ;)"No problem, and it is a good ( but not always easy) thing to stay away from work stuff when you are off. :)
Edited to fix spelling mistakes, I STILL blame the keyboard;)
Caroline wrote: "Anne wrote: "Caroline wrote: "I'm wondering what you recommended Anne?"I did recommend Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and James Baldwin to mention a couple you would recognise and who made a gr..."
Yes, you must! :)
Johanna wrote: "I just read the last three pages of the lovely discussion on this topic. :) I wish I could have taken part in it, but my weekend didn't go exactly like I thought it would.Anyways, I now solemnly swear (and you guys are my witnesses) that I will NOT read my work emails during the weekends from now on — and not late in the evenings either. This is something I have to practice a bit, but I'll succeed in it, damn it! :)."
We'll hold you to that. Remember weekends are reserved for reading books and Good Reads and other nice things.
In return I promise not to read work emails on Fridays when I'm not supposed to be at work. Heck I was even reading and replying to emails first thing this morning when the university was officially closed due to the snow.
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I LOVE Steinbeck! The Grapes of Wrath is one of my all time favorites. :)
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In return I promise not to read work emails on Fridays when I'm not supposed to be at work. Heck I was even reading and replying to emails first thing this morning when the university was officially closed due to the snow."
Hey, we have our own small support group right there! I knew this was the right forum for making promises like that. LOL.
The university is closed due to the snow? How much snow is there?
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Amazing, isn't it? I'm reading The Left Hand of Darkness right now, but as soon as I finish it, I'm going to start Veterans. I can't put it off any longer. lol. I need to know what happens!
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Anyways,..."
Yup, we'll hold you to that for sure. I just wish I could do the same for my coworker. She's constantly reading her work email when she has a day off. When I'm at home, I usually want to be far, far away from the internet. Especially things work related. I've never understood the need to be connected to work all the time. I mean, Work Work, not writing work, or anything fun.
I'm the exact opposite. I annoy people because if I don't have to be anywhere I fall off the face of the planet and people have a hard time reaching me. But it's really nice and relaxing!
Johanna wrote: "On Friday evening I made the mistake of answering my telephone (even though I saw that the caller was the principal of the school I work in). And on Saturday I made another mistake of reading my work email and that finally ruined the rest of the weekend. :("And there I thought you were heading out in the snow to have some fun outdoors! Don't let them spoil your free time, resist the evil telephone!
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That sounds very healthy and sane, Jordan. :)
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And we almost started to make weird snowmen, too! I should have stayed outside the whole day like I threatened... ;)
Johanna wrote: The university is closed due to the snow? How much snow is there?..."All of about two inches but I do live in Britain and we don't deal with snow that well. Schools have been closed for the day too.
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All of about two inches but I do live in Britain and we don't deal with snow that well. Schools have been close..."
I have family up in New Hampshire and when it snows, it SNOWS. Their winters are cold, dark, and long. But schools never close up there. They're just so used to it.
Where I'm from, one snowflake was enough to give us a one hour delay. Two snowflakes, a two hour delay, and anything more would give us the day off. Of course, I exaggerate, but that's what it felt like. It was great being a kid there in the winter time. Time off to go sledding? Heck yeah! And when that's over, grab a hot chocolate and a good book to sit in front of the fireplace. Ahhhh! lol.
Jordan wrote: "Susinok wrote: "I'm 40% into Special Forces: Soldiers Part I -Director's Cut by Aleksandr Voinov. It's quite a ride so far."Amazing, isn't it? I'm reading The Left Hand of Darkness right now, but..."
I don't know if I'll move directly to Mercenaries I or take a break before the next book. I'll decide when I'm done with Soldiers.
Hj wrote: "ED wrote: "I am currently listening to Steven Fry's autobiographic novel "Fry's Chronicles", audio book. He is a master of the English language. What a pleasure to listen to him. 5 stars for sure. ..."Oh thanks, why the heck did I not find it. I am not sure if he is well known in the states... But anyone who enjoys English literature should read his books.
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On Friday evening I made..."
Geesh, Johanna! I wondered were you were. This almost happened to me, but luckily the school administration took it on and I was off the hook. But I was muttering about it all Thursday evening until it played out in that direction. A big hug to you.
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Thanks, Karen. I'm starting to think situations like this as "traps" that I should know better to avoid. But sometimes the trap goes off and well... next time I ought be wiser. :) I used to walk straight into to these traps and not protect myself from them, but I'm learning to do that now. I hope this doesn't sound too weird... ;)
ED wrote: "Hj wrote: "ED wrote: "I am currently listening to Steven Fry's autobiographic novel "Fry's Chronicles", audio book. He is a master of the English language. What a pleasure to listen to him. ...I am not sure if he is well known in the states... But anyone who enjoys English literature should read his books. ..."
Yes; I love The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, and not only because of its title!
For those of you who read listen to audiobooks: do you have an Audible account? Which device do you use?I bought The Darkling Thrush from ITunes to listen to with my IPod while I'm on the treadmill. It's a bit easier to download and sync, but maybe it's slightly more expensive at 15.99€ (it's 20$, but with an audible account I'd pay 15$ which is more or less 12€). Do you know if all the books are always available even for international customers? I don't want to subscribe and have my credit card charged and not be able to use it for the books I want.
I do - and Audible appears to be increasing its rights and range. Though I suspect UK might be different from mainland Europe.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "For those of you who read listen to audiobooks: do you have an Audible account? Which device do you use?I bought The Darkling Thrush from ITunes to listen to with my IPod while I'm on the treadmi..."
I do. There's an audible.de for Germany (similar to amazon.de). When I'm doing a search there only those titles appear that I can download here. I mostly use the app for my phone. It's the easiest way I think.
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ETA: and I use iPhone.
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Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "For those of you who read listen to audiobooks: do you have an Audible account? Which device do you use?I bought The Darkling Thrush from ITunes to listen to with my IPod while I'm on the treadmi..."
I've got the suscription with Audible.de they offer a trial period of 3 month and you pay 4,95€, all books that are not your monthly credit cost 9,99€. I don't like their audio format, because I like to listen on my smartphone and non of my portable devices where compatible :(
Johanna wrote: "Speaking of Audible.com — I just found Somebody Killed His Editor on Audible.com! And the sample is very promising! YAY! :) Congrats, Josh!!!"SWEET! I have 8 credits rotting away. I'm gettin' it.
Oh and Ghost Wore Yellow Socks is on sale for 1.99 on Audible right now.
Susinok wrote: "Oh and Ghost Wore Yellow Socks is on sale for 1.99 on Audible right now."Where??? Oh it's for the US-Audible only right?*sigh*
Johanna wrote: "Speaking of Audible.com — I just found Somebody Killed His Editor on Audible.com! And the sample is very promising! YAY! :) Congrats, Josh!!!"Me, too! Found it and bought it, that is.
(It's a bit like an adiction once you started with them audio books...)
Fehu wrote: "I've got the suscription with Audible.de they offer a trial period of 3 month and you pay 4,95€, all books that are not your monthly credit cost 9,99€. I don't like their audio format, because I like to listen on my smartphone and non of my portable devices where compatible :( "That's how they got me too. ;) And now I've already bought the third book this month.
I listen on my smart phone. You have to use the Audible app to download the book to your phone.
I listen to a LOT of audio books. I have a 20 min drive in the morning and sometimes I hook up during a long, boring project at work. My current listen is Cold Days, the latest Harry Dresden by Jim Butcher.I just wishlisted 3 of Josh's. I'll get 'em when I get home.
Johanna wrote: "Speaking of Audible.com — I just found Somebody Killed His Editor on Audible.com! And the sample is very promising! YAY! :) Congrats, Josh!!!"YaY! I am 2 days away from getting my new credit chip!!!***snoopy dance***
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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I love that I can discuss reading and books with my adult children and nieces and nephews of all ages, to exchange favourite authors and books with them. And the same with my mother of 80.
I remember my son as a sullen teenager asking me what I recommended from my bookshelf. I believe that was the day he realised mum wasn't a complete idiot after all, something I had been in his eyes for several years at that time. (It's a hard time that age but it gets better)