What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 3,301-3,350 of 13,523

[Candice]

I just ck'd for any responses I might have missed, and thank you, ladies, so much for all the thoughts on Victor Banis' Deadly Mystery series. Y'all got me excited to start it. It's Friday night, as good a time as any...

[ns]

Candice wrote: "I found it online, but couldn't get it on my kindle. I don't have wireless; so, I saved it to my desktop, transferred its icon to my kindle documents page-then nothing. It still didn't show up on my kindle. Can we not do that w/this? Help, pls?
"

Hey Candice,

I don't have the site/source you are referring to (the goodreads links for books never help on that front!), but I'm guessing you have an html doc?

You can do any of the following:

1. Email the document to your free kindle email, and Amazon will make the Kindle-compliant format available to you via usual Whispernet etc.

2. You can convert the document yourself -- import the html into Calibre, convert to mobi output, and then copy over your .mobi doc to your Kindle/documents dir.

3. You can also save your webpage as text (from your browser), make sure you give the file a .txt suffix, and then just copy it over to your Kindle/documents directory.

Depending on the original source, this can vary from perfectly fine to wacky mess, but usually is somewhere in between.

[ns]

Candice wrote: "I just ck'd for any responses I might have missed, and thank you, ladies, so much for all the thoughts on Victor Banis' Deadly Mystery series. Y'all got me excited to start it. It's Friday night, ..."

I read all the Victor Banis' Mystery series books recently. Definitely enjoyed them to some extent, but they lost some lustre when I discovered they were published fairly recently, starting in 2009.

When I read Deadly Nightshade, I was under the impression (from the content, and Victor Banis having written for so long) it was one of the seminal books of the genre (particularly the rugged, closeted, confused gay cop archetype).

It felt like it had been written much earlier (80s, or even perhaps late 70s). It felt dated, particularly with the level of homophobia and some of the MC's hang-ups. Definitely didn't feel like a modern enough sensibility (for 2008/9).

And if it's 2009, it's written much after a lot of books with the same theme (AE, for that matter, and tons of others). So it didn't feel new/fresh original or unusual in any way. I still went ahead and read the rest (series completeness issues, I have, yes).

As I keep saying, the first is usually interesting, the 35th considerably less so, and has to really step it up and be incredibly well-written to stand out. I don't know that Mr. Banis really accomplishes that, but we do buy the books and read them any way, so the proof is in the spending, I suppose. Or that we're junkies and bad crack is better than no crack :).

[ns]

Calathea wrote: "I'm almost done with Half Pass by Astrid Amara. I like it a lot. It's been a while since I've read a book with so much detail on horses. Reminds me a bit of my teenage..."

Astrid Amara is one of those mystifying authors -- very uneven levels of writing. You really don't know what you're going to get. Half-Pass wasn't bad at all, I enjoyed it. I suppose authors + deadlines is not a good mix sometimes.

I'll confess to never having been near a horse in my life, but did read a lot of horse books as a young child. They seemed fictional creations to me then, and effectively still are, I suppose.

My animal riding history, before you all start a pity party for me:

1. Camel - YEP
2. Elephant - YEP

[Becky]

ns wrote: "My animal riding history, before you all start a pity party for me:

1. Camel - YEP
2. Elephant - YEP "

After reading last month's book, I'm more likely to pity you now that I know you've ridden a camel!

I've lived in Texas for most of my life so far, and I've only ever been on a horse once. An excursion with my Girl Scout troop. It was scary and fun, but not something I was ever desperate to repeat. I guess I missed out on that "all girls love horses" gene.

I enjoy reading about them in a story, but I'm generally much more interested in the humans. :P

[Josh]

Lou wrote: "Ironically, Robert B. Parker "partnered" with the late Raymond Chandler to write Poodle Springs that so wasn't a Chandler novel."

Poodle Springs was half-written (okay four chapers) when Chandler died and Parker had Chandler's notes to go by. And Parker was the logical successor to Chandler. He'd done his thesis on Chandler, he was constantly compared to Chandler (yes, sometimes by himself) and he was the only genuinely qualified writer at the time writing in the Chandleresque tradition. So, to me, at least, that one made sense.

Nor did anyone pretend Poodle Springs was really Chandler. Nor did Parker go on writing "Chandler" books.

**he did get lambasted for "daring" to write Chandler** which I think tells us how much the attitude toward that thing has changed.

[mc]

All good points, Josh - I'm just so surprised about Parker because it hasn't even been that long since he passed. His estate must be allowing it, but really, couldn't they wait a little?

I'll be curious to see what sales will be. Will there be people like me who won't be interested on principle? Or will people buy it because they love the character so much (which I do)?

[Anne]

You know, there are a lot of people out there who may read Dick Francis or Chandler or Parker, but have no real clue that they aren't the ones who are writing the books anymore. I used to be pretty into Marion Zimmer Bradley, and I read at least a couple of books post-stroke with her name on it and a lot of someone else's writing in it before I caught on. Now that she's gone, someone seems to keep reviving her...

[Jordan]

Anne, was there no other author's name on the book? If there isn't, that's just wrong in my opinion. I mean, if Marion was cool with someone else continuing her work for her, that's fine. But to not put that other name on there is decieving to the readers.

[Liade]

Anne wrote: "You know, there are a lot of people out there who may read Dick Francis or Chandler or Parker, but have no real clue that they aren't the ones who are writing the books anymore...."

Yes, Lord Peter Wimsey lives on (sort of :() in books written long after Dorothy Sayers' death, but at least the name of Jill Paton Walsh is shown on the cover above the one of Dorothy Sayers.

[Merith]

Anne wrote: "You know, there are a lot of people out there who may read Dick Francis or Chandler or Parker, but have no real clue that they aren't the ones who are writing the books anymore."

A true ghost writer, hmmm? :D

[Anne]

Jordan S. wrote: "Anne, was there no other author's name on the book? If there isn't, that's just wrong in my opinion. I mean, if Marion was cool with someone else continuing her work for her, that's fine. But to no..."

I think the later ones all do, but after her stroke she was sort of still writing with the help of an assistant. At least that's my understanding. This was a few years ago (she died in 99, I just found out when I looked at her profile), so I could be wrong.

[Jordan]

Well, I guess if it was with the help of an assistant, that's a different matter entirely.

[Charming]

Becky wrote: "Charming wrote: "I wonder if there is any slash?"

Rule 34.

http://dickfrancisfic.livejournal.com/

I don't know if it's any good, and that's the first link I found. If it's bad, I'm sure there a..."

Right, rule 34. I'm half horrified, half intrigued.

[Charming]

Liade wrote: "Yes, Lord Peter Wimsey lives on (sort of :() in books written long after Dorothy Sayers' death, but at least the name of Jill Paton Walsh is shown on the cover above the one of Dorothy Sayers.
"

I tried one of the new Nero Wolfe books. It did not work for me.

[ns]

Charming wrote: "I tried one of the new Nero Wolfe books. It did not work for me. "

Rex Stout does take a certain mood and a bit of patience to get into, but once you're in, it's very easy to get completely hooked by his world and stories.

I've got most of his Nero Wolfe series, and love them very much, formulaic, cliched and stodgy though they very much are.

I sort of liked the TV series they had made with Timothy Hutton playing Archie, but the guy who played Nero Wolfe overplayed him dreadfully, which got a bit irritating after a while, and ruined an otherwise good series for me.

[Charming]

ns wrote: "Charming wrote: "I tried one of the new Nero Wolfe books. It did not work for me. "

Rex Stout does take a certain mood and a bit of patience to get into, but once you're in, it's very easy to get ..."

Oh, I like the originals very much. I meant the new ones by a different author.

Nobody point me to any Nero Wolfe slash please!

[ns]

Charming wrote: "Oh, I like the originals very much. I meant the new ones by a different author."

Eek! What! Who's writing them?

"Nobody point me to any Nero Wolfe slash please"

AMEN.

[ns]

Wikipedia filled me in, and I have to say I'm glad I didn't know.

However, something else caught my attention in that article, and I cannot resist quoting it here:

While not mentioning Nero Wolfe by name, John Lescroart suggests in two books that the main character, Auguste Lupa (the son of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler), later becomes Nero Wolfe.[53]

The things I'm learning this Sat morning are just DISTURBING.

[mc]

Wait, what?

[ns]

mc wrote: "Wait, what?"

That's what *I* said!

Here's the Wikipedia article on Nero Wolfe. I've linked to the scrolled down section on other authors. It came with citations and all.

Of course, this recent xkcd comes to mind...

[mc]

Love that!

You know, I appreciate creativity a lot, but apparently, some things are sacred enough to me that I prefer they aren't messed with. Who knew?!

[Minne]

Hello Mandy M and mc - how do I get hold of Mann of my Dreams - to download - I can't seem to do so - thanks

[Calathea]

ns wrote: "Astrid Amara is one of those mystifying authors -- very uneven levels of writing. You really don't know what you're going to get. Half-Pass wasn't bad at all, I enjoyed it. I suppose authors + deadlines is not a good mix sometimes. "

I've only read Love Ahead: Expect Delays, Half Pass and her short stories in the Hell Cop anthologies. I liked all of them.
The deadline thing might explain why Half Pass felt a bit hasty in the last quarter. I would have wished for some more space for the ending. Nevertheless I really liked the story.

I'll confess to never having been near a horse in my life, but did read a lot of horse books as a young child. They seemed fictional creations to me then, and effectively still are, I suppose.

Neither have I. I admire horses from afar. Maybe that's why I like to read books with horses... ;-)

[mc]

Minne, I didn't download it, per se; I read it online. Here's the link to crvboy by author, scroll down to Tinnean:

http://www.crvboy.org/authors.html

If there's a way to download it automatically, perhaps someone else might know.

[Minne]

thank you - mc - I will read it on -line - I was hoping to take it away on holiday. Cleon alerted us to the fact Damon has reveiwed yellow sands on jessewave - just fabulous - can't wait to read for the 14th.

[Murphy]

I don't think you will be sorry for your interest in the Victor Banis Deadly Series. Someone said that the feel of the series is not realistic because it is more homophobe than in the 2000's. I didn't find that to be so. I have had a couple of folks in my bridge club tell me not to talk about my "homosexual interests" they are very sinful. Maybe M/M is more progressive but there are still lots of folks who would still like to see us gone. Look at the guys in Africa that want to kill homosexuals just cause they are homosexuals. That has happened in the last couple of years. It think there is a backlash -- how the pendalum swings. I think eventually, folks will get to the "I don't care mode" but I sure don't think we are there yet.

[Mandapanda]

Calathea wrote: "I've only read Love Ahead: Expect Delays, Half Pass and her short stories in the Hell Cop anthologies. I liked all of them...."

If you liked those you'll love Holiday Outing and Carol of the Bellskis. Her co-author in the Hell Cop series (Nicole Kimberling) wrote some enjoyable contemporaries that have a similar feel, Primal Red, Baby, It's Cold Outside and Black Cat Ink.

[Mandapanda]

Minne wrote: "Hello Mandy M and mc - how do I get hold of Mann of my Dreams - to download - I can't seem to do so - thanks"

Minne, I made a pdf copy of Mann of My Dreams which i could send you if you like. I make pdf copies of the free online stories then I email them to amazon and they convert them and deliver to my kindle.

[mc]

MandyM, is it complicated to make a pdf file out of a word document? Do you need a special program?

[Mandapanda]

I use this free online converter. It's worked very well for me so far. http://www.freepdfconvert.com/support...

[mc]

Thanks, MM.

[Candice]

ns wrote: "Candice wrote: "I found it online, but couldn't get it on my kindle. I don't have wireless; so, I saved it to my desktop, transferred its icon to my kindle documents page-then nothing. It still did..."

What did you...? I'm sorry; I can't hear you; my stupid meter's going off. I understood a little of that. I just saw the rest of it flying over my head like Superman.

Thank you, ns--that was so nice of you. I don't think I can do any of that. I have a printer I know how to use...I guess I shouldn't have asked. You're cool though.

[Candice]

Edina wrote: "Candice wrote: "What y'all are writing about Evenfall--its epic length; I gather it can be very addictive--reminds me of Marquesate's Special Forces. Anybody read that? While there were things to..."

Agreed. In fact, I thought the story was awesome right up through their shared Tahiti-type vac. As I recall, pretty much every chapter was no-put-down up to that point. Thereafter, unfortunately, came way too many sex scenes w/extra or other guys most of which bored me silly, distracting from the story's theme, irritating me; and bringing what to the whole? The fact of Dan stepping out w/others and needing that, I can live with. I did not want to explore that aspect of him in detail, over and over. I thought that was mostly self-indulgent and struck me as Voinov's contribution. He seems to be fond of threesomes.


Happily, however, there were some payoff moments along the way--Vadim getting the therapy he needed at last and finding his feet and his independence again; in that context, the phone call Dan made, demanding to talk to him--for some reason that has stuck w/me as a powerful moment.

The wedding was way overdone and kind of silly, I thought.

I'm gonna read the whole again, though, some day, and just skip the stuff that bores me. It'll be great.

[Josh]

Nobody point me to any Nero Wolfe slash please!

:-D Too funny.

[Josh]

I have had a couple of folks in my bridge club tell me not to talk about my "homosexual interests" they are very sinful. Maybe M/M is more progressive but there are still lots of folks who would still like to see us gone

I had -- have (because it's not easy for me to let go of the people I love) -- a friend phone me last weekend to tell me that after a long and painful struggle with her conscience she's determined that the Bible is correct and that while God does not hate homosexuals, he does hate homosexuality.

So, yes, many things go in cycles, and many of the freedoms and benefits that we take for granted -- such things that seem as fundamental as child labor laws -- are sometimes only as solid as a couple of national elections.

[Josh]

I think maybe one reason I have a natural resistance to one author taking over another's series -- look at the Ludlam franchise, for example -- is the implication that it's all pretty much paint by numbers anyway. That any competent author could do exactly what any other competent author does, and the reader will never know (or care) about the difference.

And I don't think -- although I guess I don't *want* to think this -- that it's quite that simple.

[Cleon Lee]

Josh wrote: "I have had a couple of folks in my bridge club tell me not to talk about my "homosexual interests" they are very sinful. Maybe M/M is more progressive but there are still lots of folks who would st..."

*snorts* Tell her that Jesus has never said a word against homosexuality, but from His own mouth he said that if a man divorces his wife and then live with another one, he's committed adultery. I want to see those fanatics up in arms against divorcees.

[Josh]

What Jesus *mostly* talks about is taking care of others, in particular the poor and the sick, how we all have a responsiblity to our fellow man and woman. The angriest Jesus gets is with the moneychangers in the temple. He's far angrier over greed and blasphemy than being wrongfully put to death.

And yet the major part of his message is the part that so many people want to waive as being no longer relevant given historical context.

Anyway, not to get into a big religious thing or to bash my friend who is in a great deal of pain, I think.

That was actually the thing that started me thinking about the role of religion and spirituality in m/m fiction.

[Anne]

Josh wrote: "I have had a couple of folks in my bridge club tell me not to talk about my "homosexual interests" they are very sinful. Maybe M/M is more progressive but there are still lots of folks who would st..."

I always find the bible thing hilarious. Let's see, after the bible was edited for about the 20th time by the ecumenical councils, it was then translated multiple times into various languages. Then it was transcribed by hand by multiple monks working long hours in poorly lit rooms. Not to mention most of it was written at least a century after the historical events.

IMHO it's not something that can be taken literally.

[Murphy]

I certainly agree, but if you want to feel better than, it is always easy to pick on us sinful types.

[Anne]

Murphy wrote: "I certainly agree, but if you want to feel better than, it is always easy to pick on us sinful types."

That's so true. I've always wondered who it will be once the GLBTQ community is generally accepted. I think we're hardwired to include and exclude, and it's always got to be someone.

[Kari]

Cleon wrote: "*snorts* Tell her that Jesus has never said a word against homosexuality, but from His own mouth he said that if a man divorces his wife and then live with another one, he's committed adultery. I want to see those fanatics up in arms against divorcees."

My idiot SIl and her equally idiot family is utterly convinced that my dh and I are living in Sin (with the capital S) because he was married and divorced before we met. Barring the extremely awkward family gatherings (I'm the only one of my family who's even close to respectable, but alas, apparently not...LOL), I think it's pretty funny. They pull their self-righteous snotty crap and I'm like, dudes, you don't know the half of it. LMAO

All kidding aside...It never ceases to amaze me what ugly, hateful & hurtful things people do in the name of religion. As though belief in God (regardless of faith/denomination) earns you a free license to be a butthead? *sigh*

[Josh]

That's so true. I've always wondered who it will be once the GLBTQ community is generally accepted. I think we're hardwired to include and exclude, and it's always got to be someone.

Because it's easier to worry about someone else's sex life than contemplate the fact that what God *really* wants is for you to spend your life (and money) helping your fellow humans.

[Cleon Lee]

Kari wrote: "Cleon wrote: "*snorts* Tell her that Jesus has never said a word against homosexuality, but from His own mouth he said that if a man divorces his wife and then live with another one, he's committed..."

Kari, you always have the most interesting stories. lol.

[Anne]

Kari wrote: "As though belief in God (regardless of faith/denomination) earns you a free license to be a butthead? *sigh*"

Yeah, see? I never got my secret decoder ring for that club, so I un-joined.

[Minne]

Thank you MandyM - - thats really kind of you - my e-mail is mannu18@hotmail.co.uk. I am now leaving for Florence - art and wine - perfection! I wonder if yellow sands will get to me there - hope so!

[Ami]

Kari wrote: "It never ceases to amaze me what ugly, hateful & hurtful things people do in the name of religion. As though belief in God (regardless of faith/denomination) earns you a free license to be a butthead? *sigh*

I wholeheartedly agree!! People go to WAR because of religion!! Which is sad because isn't the idea of religion is also being tolerate and peaceful to others??

[Ami]

Anyway, while waiting for the latest Josh's release, I just finished M.L. Rhodes' Music Of The Night and J.R. Loveless' Swift's Temptation. Then I'm going back to a mainstream paranormal romance :)

[[deleted user]]

I am reading and seroulsly feel like doing a jig after too many disappointing books this week...Solid writing, very interesting world building and so far...just damn good!