What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 3,101-3,150 of 13,523

[Sylvia]

Josh wrote: "Cleon wrote: "We can read it as July read. You do have a veto right, you know, since you own the group and all. lol.
..."

Oh well. It's not so much fun if I'm trying to force feed people -- bu..."

No force needed to feed me

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "MandyM wrote: "Hi I'm a newbie to the group but a big JL fan. I just finished Harper Fox's latest book Last Line. I didn't realise it was being released today until..."

I love a series for exactly that reason. Even though I'm essentially reading fantasy when I read romance, I want some sort of verisimilitude and RL never ties up in a perfect little bow in time for the sunset.

[Anne]

Cleon wrote: "Suhi wrote: "Cleon wrote: "We can read it as July read. You do have a veto right, you know, since you own the group and all. lol. ..."
Oh, I would SO for it :)"

Me too! I've been putting Harper Fo..."

Cleon, Harper Fox is great. You should try her for sure.

[Anne]

Emanuela ~Zstyx~ wrote: "The only story by Harper Fox I've read is Nine Lights Over Edinburgh which was in the Christmas anthology together with Icecapade.

I really loved that story, even if it wasn't ver..."

LOL

[Mandapanda]

Josh wrote: "MandyM wrote: "Hi I'm a newbie to the group but a big JL fan. I just finished Harper Fox's latest book Last Line. I didn't realise it was being released today until..."

I'm so relieved to hear it's a series and it would make a great book to discuss. I found myself getting so mad with some of the characters when I was reading it to the point where I was yelling at the book LOL. I wrote a review (not that my reviews are great!) but you can see it really affected me! If you like tortured heroes, Harper's your girl!

[Charming]

Cleon wrote: "I read and . Zathyn Priest is brilliant! The book is so funny, wacky, and touching at the same time. A playboy who fell in love with..."

I loved Brandon's essay writing assignment in Left of Center. :-)

[mc]

I read Other People's Weddings today. So nice and refreshing, given the day I was having.

[Merith]

Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of books you've written, so yeah, I can see how come you'd label it that way. But, what other of your stories do you call the 'forgotten' stories? Just curious.

[Cheryl]

Josh wrote: "I loved Josh's story in The Art of Dying. It might be the first mystery where I didn't skip parts! I didn't figure out who the killer was until the big reveal, and even then I think I was still a l..."

Actually, I lie. I didn't skip a single word of Death of A Pirate King the first time I read it. Even when I re-read that one, I skip very little.

[mc]

Cheryl, I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many time I read the last 50 pages or so of Pirate King. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I still haven't read the next book in the series, because I don't want it to end.

[Becky]

mc wrote: "Cheryl, I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many time I read the last 50 pages or so of Pirate King. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I still haven't read the next book in the series, because I don't w..."

Oh, you've got to read it. There's a line about 25 pages from the end (anyone who's read it will know exactly which line I mean) that makes the whole 5 books and 3 years of Adrien and Jake's relationship worth it. Seriously, one of the best literary pay offs I've ever read.

[Anne]

Becky wrote: " There's a line about 25 pages from the end (anyone who's read it will know exactly which line I mean) that makes the whole 5 books and 3 years of Adrien and Jake's relationship worth it. Seriously, one of the best literary pay offs I've ever read."

Seriously, mc -- possibly one of the best lines ever. And you could read the same line in any number of books and think, "meh," but it's just perfect for Adrien and Jake, in the context.

[mc]

Stop, stop, stop the temptation! But what will I do when it's over? Who will wring out my wet hankie? Who will bring me ice cold lemon drops? How will I keep from being disappointed by sure to be lesser reads that follow?

[Anne]

mc wrote: "Stop, stop, stop the temptation! But what will I do when it's over? Who will wring out my wet hankie? Who will bring me ice cold lemon drops? How will I keep from being disappointed by sure to b..."

It's something we all have to go through, mc. It's a right of passage. Chin up and face it bravely. Think of England.

[Cleon Lee]

Becky wrote: "mc wrote: "Cheryl, I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many time I read the last 50 pages or so of Pirate King. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I still haven't read the next book in the series, becaus..."

Sooo... true... sigh... 1 sentence and Jake redeemed himself utterly.

[Cleon Lee]

Finished by Ariel Tachna. This is her first book I've read and certainly won't be the last. The romance building is sweet and touching, no sex at first meeting, although they did fall in love at first meeting. But the way it's handled, we can see why they fall for each other and how deep their connection is. So sweet, touching, and sad at some time.

It is a very realistic view of a society which allows slavery, (although the society doesn't outright says it is a slavery). It is certainly not a slavery as titillation story. Also, a very realistic view of how someone who works in a brothel feels about sex and get treated by their clients.

I am not familiar with steampunk and I love and enjoy the steampunk-ness of this story. But the steampunk is just a background, not central to the theme of this fic. The theme is more about the unfairness of sexual slavery and caste system.

[Josh]

mc wrote: "I read Other People's Weddings today. So nice and refreshing, given the day I was having."

I'm glad. Sometimes I think that's my favorite compliment -- and this from someone who heartily enjoys being complimented. :-D But the idea that one of my stories makes someone's bad day a little better...gives someone a breather from a painful reality...I think that's the most satisfying.

[Eve]

Re: Administration

Josh, I struggled a lot when I read the first chapter/instalment, it's mainly world-building and I am bad at that whenever I read fantasy/paranormal. Plus the main character requires some patience to get used to (if readers think Jake is an ass, they should read about this guy....:P). But suddenly in 2nd instalment I started to really get into it and finish the whole monster in less than a week.

[Josh]

Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of books you've writte..."

Don't Look Back
Cards on the Table
Ghost of a Chance
Until We Meet Once More

(and probably some others I've forgotten)

Not that these don't all have their share of loyal readers, but they just didn't seem to click like some of them do/did.

[Josh]

Thelastaerie wrote: "Re: Administration

Josh, I struggled a lot when I read the first chapter/instalment, it's mainly world-building and I am bad at that whenever I read fantasy/paranormal. Plus the main character re..."

I absolutely intend to read it!

[Cleon Lee]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

And they are harder to find too, with exception of Don't Look Back! I got your Cards on a Table on your collected novella paperback, but I don't remember seeing it on FW or All Romance where I got most of my books.

But part of the fun is the hunt. lol.

[Eve]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

Out of the four you mentioned, Don't Look Back and Until We Meet Once More are the only two of your stories that I haven't re-read. I do love Cards on the Table ;)

[mc]

Josh wrote: Don't Look Back
Cards on the Table
Ghost of a Chance
Until We Meet Once More

(and probably some others I've forgotten)

Not that these don't all have their share of loyal readers, but they just didn't seem to click like some of them do/did. "

OK, I never read Ghost of a Chance, but I absolutely LOVED the other three - Don't Look Back took a oft-used trope and made it totally new for me, Cards on the Table was a different kind of read from you, which made it even more enjoyable. Ditto for Until We Meet Once More, which was great writing - the main characters only meet up half-way or later in the story, but they are fully-formed, and the relationship so well-drawn.

I've mentioned a few times how much I like longer pieces in the m/m genre - in fact, it is very, very rare that I will buy relatively short stories (your Petit Morts are an exception), but in my general reading, I'm an enormous fan of the short story (Chekhov, James Joyce, Hemingway) and yours are spectacular. Of course, I always wish I knew 'what happens next,' but I never feel like the story hasn't been told. I'm never cheated by the size (which in retrospect sounds a bit raunchier than I mean to be, but so it is).

In re-reading the above, I know I'm gushing, which is rather embarrassing, but I think that I'm feeling oddly...protective...of the stories you mentioned.

I'll go sit in front of fan now.

[Minne]

Oh I loved all your partners in crime stories - and they intoduced me to some pretty good authors that I otherwise might not have read - JPC amongst others - really enjoyed this rough magic ( so looking forward to the next in series) and harper fox's latest will keep me happy until yellow sands - not long now!

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

I've never understood that about Don't Look Back. It's one of my favorites.

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "I've never understood that about Don't Look Back. It's one of my favorites. "

One of mine as well. :D

[Lori K]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

Until We Meet Once More...~sigh~ IlLoved this, it's the reason I bought the anth.

[Josh]

And thank you all for saying those lovely things -- the stories do have their supporters, and I'm grateful to them. I certainly worked as hard on them as anything else. Sometimes it's as big a surprise to me as anyone else the stories that readers really take to heart (en masse) and the ones that just seem to slip through the cracks.

Of course that sometimes can be tracked back to timing or things the publisher did or didn't do to allow me to promote the book in time, or just my own inability to promote at a certain moment...or just who knows?

MC, I agree that short stories are an art. They don't tend to be terribly popular in this genre.

[Charming]

Josh, if you ever gets rights back to your various short stories, I would love it if you would bundle them into an anthology for Kindle/other e-readers. I am resistant to buying short stories one at a time - they clutter up my little screen and they usually don't feel like a great deal. But anthologies I like. For some reason people don't do that much for e-readers, but I'll bet there's a market.

I was thinking this about the Powers of Love stories. I am not going to go buy 25 little stories even if they are $1.50 each. But if JMS put them into anthologies and gave me a bit of a deal . . .

[Cleon Lee]

Charming wrote: "Josh, if you ever gets rights back to your various short stories, I would love it if you would bundle them into an anthology for Kindle/other e-readers. I am resistant to buying short stories one ..."

Great idea, Charming!

[Josh]

I was thinking this about the Powers of Love stories. I am not going to go buy 25 little stories even if they are $1.50 each. But if JMS put them into anthologies and gave me a bit of a deal . . .

It's certainly worth considering. It was a real struggle to put a couple of those short stories up at all because I felt I was damaging the print collection sales (because the stories started out exclusive to the print collections). But I kept getting so many requests...

So basically they went up as an experiment. I still haven't worked out what to do about them in the long term.

[Cheryl]

mc wrote: "Stop, stop, stop the temptation! But what will I do when it's over? Who will wring out my wet hankie? Who will bring me ice cold lemon drops? How will I keep from being disappointed by sure to b..."

You'll do like the rest of us and start over at the beginning and read the whole series another 2 or 15 times, then start bugging Josh like crazy to write more. (Or like me and keep suggesting he rewrite the whole series from Jake's POV because, yes, I would read the whole story again from the other side)

Seriously, though, I admire you're willpower to hold off on reading the last one. Are you saving it for something special?

[mc]

Yes, Cheryl, I am saving it. But I haven't figured out what the trigger is :) Seriously, I am an adult who isn't too insane, but when I write stuff like this down for a group of people to read, I begin to think that need professional help.

Let's put it this way, if we have about a week's warning about the world ending, I'll pull the ebook out immediately.

Fifteen times is an underestimation, I have to add.

But I may buy a Nook soon (the new ones seem absolutely adorable, but I have to see one in the store before I finally commit). Perhaps that will encourage me.

(PS, thank you for not mocking me, at least overtly. By the way, I save my favorite thing to eat for last on my plate, too.)

[Susan]

Josh wrote: "But I kept getting so many requests..."

Josh, these comments today remind me that on the This Rough Magic thread at the end of April we were discussing you getting back your rights from LI to I Spy Something Wicked as soon as it is available since it has never been released to a third party seller.

I also want to remind you to please get back from LI the other remaining story of yours they are still holding onto - Cards on the Table. COTT continues to be only available as part of Partners in Crime I.

You had indicated then, that when you got back these rights, you would make the individual stories available on Amazon. I hope that is still your intent.

[Cheryl]

MC,
I tend to save my favorite part of a meal for last, too, unless that favorite part also happens to be the healthiest. And when I eat Lucky Charms I eat all of the cereal first and save the marshmallows for last, then eat them all at once. I also eat ice cream cake in stages: chocolate, then vanilla, then icing.

[Merith]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

Of the 4 mentioned, I think my huh? look would be Until We Meet Once More. ... I had to go look at what this title was. From the anthology Because of the Brave... very nice story. In fact, I left a review on Amazon for the full anthology. Umm, Laura's is still my personal favorite. There's just something about a younger brother and the older brother's friend that gets to me.

But the other 3? Love them and could never forget them. (Though of those 3, Cards on the Table is my favorite).

[Cheryl]

Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I think of bo..."

I don't know if Cards on the Table can be classified as a forgotten story. I haven't gotten to it yet, but I've seen it recommended several times in various places.

[Merith]

Cheryl wrote: "Josh wrote: "Merith wrote: "Josh wrote: "[...]That's one of what I always call the "forgotten" stories. "

The Art of Dying is a fantastic book, and yet... it's not one I recall immediately when I ..."

I think it's been mentioned here several times in the 'what story would you like to see' topic... Josh mentioned possibly doing a sequel, to give us more. :)

[Candice]

Josh, I recently read your 2nd Holmes and Moriarty book (on my brand new Kindle), and it was very good. I liked the first one, but the 2nd more. I thought Holmes more attractive and likable; and I enjoyed the direction you took w/Moriarty--his warmth and patience. The humor worked very well for me as well. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[mc]

Cheryl, we'd be good dinner partners then. What would make it better is if what one of us disliked is what the other liked. One my closest friends in the world have that kind of relationship, and once plates are put down we're passing items back and forth.

Ah, glorious friendship.

I just checked my master list of ebooks, and I think I have just about everything Josh Lanyon, yet his works are also the highest percentage unread of any authors on the list. Let me revise my comment above. I may need two weeks warning for the end of the earth, unless there is a fully loaded library when we all get to the other side.

[Becky]

mc wrote: "unless there is a fully loaded library when we all get to the other side. "

I know quite a few people who consider this to be the very definition of heaven.

[Josh]

You had indicated then, that when you got back these rights, you would make the individual stories available on Amazon. I hope that is still your intent.



Uh oh. I think I totally forgot about Cards. I'm still waiting for Wicked to pop up. I'd better check and see when Cards comes up again...although I kind of hate to do that to Sarah. But then if she put her story on Amazon and the Nook we'd both probably do better at this point.

[Josh]

Thanks so much, Candice!

[Josh]

When I think about this JL book from Because of the Brave anthology my heart just beats faster. It is an amazing story, so realistic. The heroes race/fight for life in the middle of the Afghan mountains? It is thrilling! It is fast, intense, emotional. It is my fav short story by JL.

What I remember about that is watching all these documentaries about fighting in Afghanistan -- in particular about Robert's Ridge -- and reading a lot of interviews with Navy Seals. It was some of the most fascinating research I've done.

[Susan]

Josh wrote: "Uh oh. I think I totally forgot about Cards."

Thanks, Josh. I'll definitely be on the lookout for these 2 ebooks to appear on Amazon. Come to think of it - that's what I've been doing right along. :)

[Anne]

Edina wrote: "Lori K wrote: "Until We Meet Once More...~sigh~ IlLoved this, it's the reason I bought the anth.
"

When I think about this JL book from Because of the Brave anthology my heart just..."

Edina, I totally agree about "Until We Meet Once More". It's a comfort read for me.

[Anne]

mc wrote: "Yes, Cheryl, I am saving it. But I haven't figured out what the trigger is :) Seriously, I am an adult who isn't too insane, but when I write stuff like this down for a group of people to read, I..."

I save the favorite thing for last, too. But then when I actually get to that last thing? I eat it. The only way I can save a book from a series to read when the world ends is to not ready any of the series in the first place.

I have no impulse control.

OK, mc, here's a little more incentive: Don't you want to know what's going through Jake's mind when Aiden's on that boat and Josh is, you know (how do I hide spoilers?) at the end of Pirate King? You'll find out if you read the fifth book.

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "When I think about this JL book from Because of the Brave anthology my heart just beats faster. It is an amazing story, so realistic. The heroes race/fight for life in the middle of the Afghan moun..."

I've always wondered how you did the research for that one, but never got around to asking.

[mc]

Anne wrote: "OK, mc, here's a little more incentive: Don't you want to know what's going through Jake's mind when Aiden's on that boat and Josh is, you know (how do I hide spoilers?) at the end of Pirate King? You'll find out if you read the fifth book. "

Get thee behind me, Satan.

OK, I have to help someone strategize about their career this weekend. Perhaps this will be my treat for doing so.

And huzzah! In the mail today was my complete Joseph Hansen novels!

[Lori K]

Victor Banis's latest- is out today. I've been waiting for this one. (6th in the series) Thinking I can lock my office door since I'm actually working AT the office today.