Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed*
Anne wrote: "That remminds me of my ex-husband, I never got to drive when we were travelling because he got so car-sick. (After the divorce I had to learn to drive long distance) And I have some unforgetable memories of him being extremely sick on boats, once on the ferry across he British Channel (this was before the tunnel), and one memorable trip from Samos in Greece to Kusadasi in Turkey, in a little fishing boat with red sails. Such a great trip, and he hang over the railing and puked all the way. ;) ..."I sympathise with your ex-husband! I love the sea, and the idea of boats, but I get sea-sick in one moored in a river. You would have to force me onto a cross-Channel ferry at gunpoint after my last experience on one. I am a little better at cars now, as long as I'm in the front. But driving in one? never!
Hj wrote: "Anne wrote: "That remminds me of my ex-husband, I never got to drive when we were travelling because he got so car-sick. (After the divorce I had to learn to drive long distance) And I have some un..."I have to tell you about when he started to talk about maybe we should buy a small boat (To this day I don't know where he got the idea, not to mention the fact we didn't have any money) Well, we went to a boats' exhibition, where these boats all were lying moored and the sea was completely flat, not a wrinkle on it. After five minutes inside one of them, he had to go ashore, he became so unwell. No more discussing about buying boats, that's for sure :)
Anne wrote: "I have to tell you about when he started to talk about maybe we should buy a small boat (To this day I don't know where he got the idea, not to mention the fact we didn't have any money) Well, we went to a boats' exhibition, where these boats all were lying moored and the sea was completely flat, not a wrinkle on it. ..."I know just how he felt!! Why is it that we always desire that which is bad for us??
Hj wrote: "Although I love Mary Stewart's romantic suspense/mysteries, I've never read the Arthurian books. I suspect it's because I don't like fantasy. I hear they're very good, though...."They read more like historical fiction than fantasy though so don't let the Arthurian element put you off.
Susinok wrote: "Funny how when someone agrees with your taste they mention it and move on. But when someone disagrees, then the conversation seem to take on a life of it's own. I'm feeling a little picked on here...."Oh no. I don't think anyone would want you to feel like that. It's true we do all have different tastes but please don't feel picked on.
Anne wrote: "I have to tell you about when he started to talk about maybe we should buy a small boat (To this day I don't know where he got the idea, not to mention the fact we didn't have any money) Well, we went to a boats' exhibition, where these boats all were lying moored and the sea was completely flat, not a wrinkle on it. After five minutes inside one of them, he had to go ashore, he became so unwell. No more discussing about buying boats, that's for sure :) ."I think it's a guy thing. My husband dreams of a boat, we live in FL after all, but I pointed out that they require a lot of maintenance and fuel. We decided that if we ever want to go out on a boat that much, we'll go on one of those daily cruises they offer around here (there are dramamine patches...).
Karen wrote: "Measure is one of the stranger books I've read recently. I tend to avoid traditional (not D/S "play") master-slave stories. This was also more drawn out than I thought it needed to be, but I appreciated that the author didn't take the usual resolutions to tidy things up. However, I really should read summaries more closely, because I did not realize that this is part of a series (or the first of two books?) and was gut-punched by the ending."
I thought there were some inconsistencies in that story, and I know people will hate me for it, but please, I think people need to write books that can stand on their own —as in they have a resolution— even if they are part of a series.
Finished Flawless by Cat Grant which was a trans story. I liked it quite a bit. Not often that a trans character is the main character rather than just secondary.Now reading The Hand-me-down by Zahra Owens. I loved Facade, and the western series she has.
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I think the literary conceit of having Hilary be gender neutral resulted in Hilary being mostly a cipher. The mysteries are solid, if a bit dry.
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I'm jealous of you..."
They are very good. The interesting thing about them (from a writing standpoint) is that a significant portion of her existing audience did not follow her into historical and spec fiction. My mother is case in point. Stewart found a whole new audience for the trilogy.
The other notable thing is that when she returned to writing romantic suspense, the books had lost their spark. Of course, she was quite a bit older by then.
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That's a pretty weird one!
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:-D
I think you just happened to bring up a writer we haven't discussed to death before!
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And, no, you definitely shouldn't feel picked on. I used to love Andrew's works. In fact, I've met him a few times and have several books signed by him, as well as a bunch that aren't. It's just that, for me, not all of his books are worth buying and these days that number seems to be growing. But that's just me and doesn't apply to all his books for sure.
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I've not read or bought a single Marie Sexton book. What is her stuff like?
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Yes, this true. If we're in agreement, we take it for granted we agree on all the same points. ;-D Which might not even be true.
But if we disagree -- especially with someone we're usually in agreement with -- we feel a need to reason it out, explain it even to ourselves.
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Resolved to a point, sure. The Hell You Say is resolved to a point. But it's certainly not resolved as far as the series as a whole.
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I've not read or bought a single Marie Sexton book. Wh..."
Me neither. And she seems to be the guest speaker in the UK Meet in July. I'm interested to hear how you liked the book, Susinok.
Josh wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Next up, Never a Hero by Marie Sexton. The Tucker Springs books have all been fun, and very good, regardless of author. ..."
I've not read or bought a single Marie Sexton book. Wh..."
I've read several and some are so different, I've wondered if it was the same writer.
Josh wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Next up, Never a Hero by Marie Sexton. The Tucker Springs books have all been fun, and very good, regardless of author. ..."
I've not read or bought a single Marie Sexton book. Wh..."
I like her contemporary work, especially
Between Sinners and Saints and her Coda series. Her venture into fantasy, the Oestend books, I had more trouble with, the last one I didn't finish, I could see the plots and their resolutions from hundreds of meters, so I got kind of bored with it. And the whole set-up was a little dense and heavy-handed, in my opinion.
Susinok wrote: "Funny how when someone agrees with your taste they mention it and move on. But when someone disagrees, then the conversation seem to take on a life of it's own. I'm feeling a little picked on here...."That was definitely not how it was intended, Susinok ;) There must be a reason he is getting such high ratings, in fact, I read the book you mentioned. As a western, it wasn't bad at all. I was just saying that his 'voice' or style is not to my personal preference.I am sure of the more than 1500 books on my M/M shelves, that there are many that would not be to others' taste, as well. I love looking at the variety of recommends on this thread, and add to my tbr list. It is nice that we have such a variety of tastes to discuss. :)
Josh wrote: "Vivian wrote: "I thought there were some inconsistencies in that story, and I know people will hate me for it, but please, I think people need to write books that can stand on their own —as in they..."Right, The Hell you Say had the mystery part of it nicely wrapped up, but it left things in medias res regarding the main characters. I guess it depends on the skill of the writer. It's hard to make a love story into a series, though, with nothing else to go along.
Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Next up, Never a Hero by Marie Sexton. The Tucker Springs books have all been fun, and very good, regardless of author. ..."
I've not read or bought a single Marie Se..."
I'm getting ready to start Never a Hero. Good to know you liked it! She was one of my first ventures into the more contemporary, I guess 'lighter weight' (in my opinion, only) m/m, just before I started Amy Lane's Promises series. It was Marie's CODA series, and it seemed to work for me back then. Now I tend to veer into stories with a little more going on, but they were good starters. I did really enjoy Between Sinners and Saints as she was very respectful in her approach to Mormonism.
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I agree. Or maybe those kinds of stories are just not to my taste. I need sufficient and believable reason for two intelligent, decent humans (clearly destined for each other) to not be able to be get it together for the length of the series -- and not lose respect for the characters.
Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Next up, Never a Hero by Marie Sexton. The Tucker Springs books have all been fun, and very good, regardless of author. ..."
I've not read or bought a single Marie Se..."
I tried the Oestend, but it didn't work for me at all. Actually, after checking the shelves, I like the stories she writes with Heidi Cullinan best. The Coda stories are a bit melodramatic for my taste.
Marie Sexton - I've read her Coda books (which remind me a bit of the St. Nacho Books by ZAM), Cinder, and her collaborations with Heidi Cullinan. I enjoyed the Coda books all except for Strawberries for Dessert. Cole was just too cold for me. I never liked him. If I don't like one of the MCs, it's difficult for me to get into a story.In my opinion her best book was Between Sinners and Saints. One MC is getting over childhood abuse, and the other is trying to reconcile being gay to his conservative Mormon family. It deals a lot with the expectations of religion and family, and it was extremely well done.
I have the first Oestend, but I have to be really in the mood for SF m/m or fantasy m/m. That mood strikes rarely, and when it does I usually pick up something of Aleks's I haven't read yet. :)
Never a Hero was good, as was Second Hand, her two Tucker Springs books. The characters from Second Hand are mentioned but they can easily be read out of order.
In Never a Hero Owen has a hyper critical mother who's constant criticism lead shattered his self-confidence and led to him stuttering. He was born with a congenital birth defect that she is ashamed of him.
Nick has his own problems which I won't reveal here. Owen and Nick both undergo personal growth and learn to live with and accept who they are and what they have to deal with.
Owen's mom uncomfortablely reminded me of my own mother's criticisms. The character may have been a bit exaggerated, but I've met people like her (and diligently avoid them).
So that's my breakdown on Marie Sexton. :)
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And I thank you for that! ;-)
Susinok wrote: "In my opinion her best book was Between Sinners and Saints. One MC is getting over childhood abuse, and the other is trying to reconcile being gay to his conservative Mormon family. It deals a lot with the expectations of religion and family, and it was extremely well done."I second that opinion. I liked the Coda series (though A to Z not so much) but Between Sinners and Saints I love and I have re-read it a number of times. I particularly like the strong family feel and also that she takes her time with the subject and the characters and doesn't rush.
Charming wrote: "I am not that impressed with the literature map."
Where is this map from?
Aleksandr wrote: "I look so alone on that map..."At least you're on it. ;-)
Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Susinok wrote: "Next up, Never a Hero by Marie Sexton. The Tucker Springs books have all been fun, and very good, regardless of author. ..."
I've not read or bought a single Marie Se..."
I'm with Anne, love her contemps best. I like the Coda series, but my favorite from the series is Strawberries for Dessert, probably because I sympathised with Jon's issue at the end of the book -- I could completely sympathise with him, but also...didn't, because I've felt torn the same way myself. Also, I thought his friend & neighbor was one of the better-done women in a gay romance; I really liked her (can't remember her name offhand; means it's time for a re-read?)
And I really liked Between Sinners and Saints because I felt she hit a good balance in the struggle between religion & sexuality, the way both Levi and his family eventually came to terms with the disconnect, and the way he treated Jaime's issues with respect (although I vaguely recall I was a little disappointed with the resolution of Jaime's problem; IIRC I thought it was a bit rushed and a touch flip for the way she'd handled it up to that point.)
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That map is insanely off.
Josh - I thought so too. Maybe it's based on "readers who liked this also liked"?
Aleksandr wrote: "Josh - I thought so too. Maybe it's based on "readers who liked this also liked"?"I think that's what it's based on. I've run many names on it before and it's really odd sometimes what comes up. I think it's the Amazon recommendations algorithm.
Aleksandr wrote: "Josh - I thought so too. Maybe it's based on "readers who liked this also liked"?"Like I needed a bigger time-waster than Tumblr, thanks a lot you guys? And what does it mean if a skywriter-type spiral goes from Amy Lane to Josh?
I feel bad that Mary Stewart's back list is not available on my kindle. Nine Coaches Waiting etc. The latest ones are not as good as the earlier ones. I never reallt got into her Merlyn Trilogy but all of the other early books are wonderful and used to be some of my comfort reads. Now I will have to dig them out of my book boxes.
Susinok wrote: "Marie Sexton - I've read her Coda books (which remind me a bit of the St. Nacho Books by ZAM), Cinder, and her collaborations with Heidi Cullinan. I enjoyed the Coda books all except for Strawberri..."And I adore Cole. :P To me, he didn't read as cold. More like desperate to protect himself when so many important people in his life have let him down.
I'm a HUGE Marie Sexton fangirl. I agree with everyone else that Between Sinners and Saints is a good place to start with her. Also, Family Man with Heidi Cullinan. The sexual tension between Trey and Vince is phenomenal, but the sex scenes are minimal and don't start until the second half of the book.
I loved the Oestend books, but I can see why not everyone would. They are an unusual mix of genres- western, supernatural, alternate history, with some BDSM thrown in. And the second book felt a bit to me like two books pushed together. I've lost track of who said it, but I agree that quite a bit of the ending of the second book was obvious early on. Also, (view spoiler) If you're going to read Oestend, it absolutely must be read in order. Song of Oestend first, and then Saviours of Oestend.
Sammie wrote: "sorry to interrupt, but i am looking for some mystery recommendations. i liked the sarah caudwell books a lot and was disappointed that series was so short. listening to H&M on audible made me rem..."For period mysteries, I love Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt books.
For a humorous American series, there's Joan Hess's Maggody series. Maggody, Arkansas - Malice in Maggody the first one. They are amusing. She also did a bookstore related series, first book is Strangled Prose.
Charlotte McLeod/Alisa Craig (both the same person) did three series, Professor Shandy, Sarah Kelling & Max Bittershon, and the Grub-and-Stakers Garden mysteries.
And you can't beat Elisabeth Peters for humorous mystery. I actually liked her other books written under the name Barbara Michaels. The BM books always had a hint of paranormal in them. The Peters books were straight mystery. All are wonderful. One of my favorite books is Die for Love in which a murder happens at a romance writer's convention. It was written in the 80s but is just as funny today.
Mtsnow13 wrote: "Charming wrote: "I am not that impressed with the literature map."
Where is this map from?"
Here:
http://www.literature-map.com/josh+la...
You can put in your own author. It changes constantly - it looks completely different today.
Charming wrote: "Mtsnow13 wrote: "Charming wrote: "I am not that impressed with the literature map."
Where is this map from?"
Here:
http://www.literature-map.com/josh+la...
You can put in your own autho..."
That was very odd, to put Jose Saramago and Tamora Pierce close together for instance, I wonder how that came about.
Josh wrote: "KC wrote: "Hj wrote: "KC wrote: "While browsing here i came across Sarah Caudwell - she only has four mysteries (the classic type), but i remember them fondly, as being interesting, very well writt..."I agree about Hilary the cipher part. Even though i liked the books, i didn't get a feel for the characters as real people at all. I like the idea of having a gender neutral character, but since these are first of all mysteries, it does get lost a bit in the bigger scheme of what the books are really about.
Not sure what you mean by 'dry'...
Hj wrote: "KC wrote: "Btw, would you know of other mysteries that have a similar writing style? ..."None come to mind instantly, but I'll give it some thought!
ETA - this is what the Literature map/cloud c..."
Thanks! :) How does this work? the map, i mean, the authors closest to the one i looked for are the most read by others who read this same author, or the most similar? because Dorothy Sayers is much further away from Caudwell than Anthony Bidulka (who is one of the closest), but there's nothing similar there that i can think of right away (except the mystery connection). On the other hand, there are lots of writers i've read.
I started the day with The Salisbury Key and was almost late for work... Also this week, Shock to the System, and Rifter 7.
I also loved Murder in Mesopotamia. Donna Leon's books set in Venice, Italy are really good. Inspector Guido Brunetti. Death at La Fenice is the first book.
Andrea Camillieri's Inspector Montalbano mysteries are also set in Italy. The series is translated from Italian. Very nice series. The first book is The Shape of Water.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is set in Botswana. You get a great sense of place from these books, and I really enjoy them. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Oh and one of my favorite series, the Napoleon Bonaparte series by Arthur Upfield. The series is set in Australia, and Bonaparte is half Aborigine. The Barrakee Mystery is the first one. They are hard to find in print anymore. I still have my paperbacks from the 80s. About 1/4 of them are available at Audible.com.
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters is the first of the Amelia Peabody mysteries, and it's set in Egypt in the 1880s. There's also Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie, set in ancient Egypt.The fourth Lady Julia Grey mystery by Deanna Raybourn- Dark Road to Darjeeling- is set in India in the Victorian period. You could probably jump in at book four if you want, but you'll probably get more out of it if you know the players. (Also, the first three books are really good!) The third book takes place at a crumbling, secluded house on the moor, which may or may not be exotic, depending on your point of view.
Mistress of the Art of Death may count as exotic, too. It takes place during the middle ages, and the doctor who is sent from Italy to investigate the crime is a woman.
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I can read on most drives. This one consists of two sets of pretty straight shots on interstates, connected by one stretch of two-lane highway, and all surrounded by the big sky distant mountain vistas of the southwest. If we take a curvy mountain road somewhere, I need to have a window open and my pressure-point wristbands on. : )
I wanted to let you know the info I got on the Goodreads Feedback group regarding the bug in this topic.Emiliy wrote: "We are trying to schedule some developer time for this right now. I'm sorry about the wait. The system doesn't really support threads that go beyond 500 posts, though. "
and
Book Concierge wrote: "(...) Anyway, the threads where I've noticed this problem have WAY more than 1,000 posts. The suggestion was that the original thread be locked and a new thread started. "
Seeing that our "What else are you reading?" topic has more than 14,000 posts I'm going to follow this advice I will start a new topic in the next days. I just don't want to interrupt any discussions and will wait until it lulls a little.
The General News thread has even more posts. Maybe that should be restarted too, before the same thing happens there?
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Chained Melody (other topics)The Far Pavilions (other topics)
Death in Kashmir (other topics)
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (other topics)
Mistress of the Art of Death (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
M.M. Kaye (other topics)Elspeth Huxley (other topics)
Lauren Willig (other topics)
Charlie Cochet (other topics)
Damon Suede (other topics)
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That reminds me of my ex-husband, I never got to drive when we were travelling because he got so car-sick. (After the divorce I had to learn to drive long distance) And I have some unforgetable memories of him being extremely sick on boats, once on the ferry across he British Channel (this was before the tunnel), and one memorable trip from Samos in Greece to Kusadasi in Turkey, in a little fishing boat with red sails. Such a great trip, and he hang over the railing and puked all the way. ;)