What else are you reading? (June 2010 - May 2013) *closed* Showing 3,851-3,900 of 13,523

[ns]

Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

Sorry. I can only apologize. (and stop talking :)). This is why you lot are the authors and I'm not!

[Josh]

I seem to have offended the authors here, and for that I do apologize deeply.

You are far too well loved by us all for that to be the case.

[Josh]

Sorry. I can only apologize. (and stop talking :)). This is why you lot are the authors and I'm not!

The only thing you need to stop talking about is apologizing. Seriously.

[mc]

Yeah, ns, what he said.

[Blaine]

Josh wrote: "You are far too well loved by us all for that to be the case."

I agree :)

ns wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

Sorry. I can only apologize. (and stop talking :)). This is why you lot are the authors and I'm not!"

No, you didn't insult and you really don't need to stop talking. That was not the intention of my message at all.

*hug*

and I may be an author ... but as yet unpublished, so I have no right to speak for other authors.

[Calathea]

mc wrote: "I'm strange that way (as in other ways). I'm fascinated by people, and very much enjoy learning about them, but I've got more than a touch of long-bearded hermit in me, too. "

You're not the only one with this hermit-gene. ;-)
Somestimes I feel like internet and email were invented especially for people like me...

[Kaje]

ns,
I am an author and I'm not offended, and I'm glad if we can bring up issues here and not get touchy. Although I do hope my work speaks for itself.

I'm female, and say so, but I hope no one cares, (except I did have a smidge of cultural usurpation guilt when I started m/m writing and didn't want to be lying to any possible gay male readers and so...oh, dear.) Yeah, not as straightforward as it seems.

[ns]

Thanks, all!

[Cleon Lee]

Kaje wrote: "ns,
I am an author and I'm not offended, and I'm glad if we can bring up issues here and not get touchy. Although I do hope my work speaks for itself.

I'm female, and say so, but I hope no one c..."

Such issue naturally arise when you write about group of people that are well... marginalized. I know some people might be outraged that I use that word, but I can't think of other word. Sorry.

So, if you encounter a well written book about Asian people, for example, you generally want to know if the writer is an Asian or not because you want to know if the book is written from an outsider's perspective or an insider perspective.

Perhaps I too should shut up now.

[ns]

Sort of instructive and doubly ironic for me this morning, given what I wrote in my review of Turnskin I posted to Amazon and Goodreads last night.

[Anne]

Blaine D. wrote: "ns wrote: "We were referring to the fact that it was almost impossible to have a discussion about a book/author if their gender were unknown, as our choices were to:

1. assume "he" (undesirable, d..."

"They" actually is used often, but it's not technically correct since it's a plural. So we have to just keep using it in that way until someone decides it's technically correct. :)

[Anne]

Cleon wrote: "So, if you encounter a well written book about Asian people, for example, you generally want to know if the writer is an Asian or not because you want to know if the book is written from an outsider's perspective or an insider perspective. "

Don't shut up, Cleon. :)

[John]

Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

There is that unfortunate a plural association with "they", is there not? The singular "they" sounds, to my ear, like pluralis majestatis. What can I say? I was raised by grammar nazis. Breaking the rules was made to feel like blasphemy. If I haven't been given a clue which gender the author has chosen I avoid personal pronouns altogether. It makes for lugubrious prose now and then, but I don't have to look over my shoulder for lightning.

Honestly, I'm happier to have authors refer to themselves as "we" than hereditary monarchs.

The point is, authors are personae, not real people. They can choose to use their own flesh-and-blood personalities as that persona, or select another. As a reader, that's not my call. Think of how much trouble Salman Rushdie could have avoided had he invented a character to stand in his place...at least until he had to accept the Booker Prize.

I do think that, on a subtle level, gender does matter. (That is, that male experience of the world is subtly different from female experience of the world.) But it certainly doesn't follow that that a male writer can't write convincingly as a female and vice versa.

(This persona thing is why, much as I like interacting with authors who ring my bell, I don't actually want to meet them in real life. Real life blows that persona thing all out of the water (for me, the consumer) - or becomes a impossible strait-jacket (for the author). And after all, we readers can be quite the stalkers, can't we? :)

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "ns wrote: "We were referring to the fact that it was almost impossible to have a discussion about a book/author if their gender were unknown, as our choices were to:

1. assume "h..."

lol
isn't that how words get into dictionaries anyway? Because people use them? (I sometimes shudder to hear which slang words are included in dictionaries in this country ... but, times change and language changes, can't stand in the way of progress ...)

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "Cleon wrote: "So, if you encounter a well written book about Asian people, for example, you generally want to know if the writer is an Asian or not because you want to know if the book is written f..."

Nope, don't shut up :)

I know nothing of Asian culture or people, but since half the world still thinks we wear clogs and live in windmills ... ;) I can so see where you're coming from.

[Anne]

John wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

There is that unfortunate a plural association with "they", is there not? The singular "they" so..."

LMAO

We are going to refer to ourselves in 1st person plural from now on. We thank you for the suggestion.

[ns]

MandyM wrote: "Thanks for the info about LTBL. I was put off a bit by the blurb but now will put it higher on my TBR pile! Did you see that R. Cooper put a little sequel to LTBL free on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_pos...
"

Hey MandyM, thanks for pointing me to that! Hadn't seen it..I'd buy any follow up he wrote to SKoM, or that world, for sure.

[Becky]

I don't particularly care if the person who wrote the books is male or female. But playing footsie with it, all the initial pseudonyms, is getting a little old for me. Say who you choose to be, and be done with it.

On the other side, one thing that really makes me see red is people who insist that Josh is female and gleefully refer to him as "she" at every opportunity. (That goes for any author with a male pseudonym who is treated this way.) There's a particular author I've seen do this, and be nasty in myriad other ways online, and I refuse to read this person. They've got a free book out right now, getting good reviews. Still want nothing to do with them.

In my opinion, if someone chooses to present themselves as a particular gender, you roll with it. To flaunt that is rude and hurtful. One would think that being a reader/writer of gay fiction would mean that people are more sensitive to issues of gender and sexuality, but clearly one would be wrong. I may be more touchy about this because one of my friends is transgendered. Curiosity is one thing. I wondered, based on things she said and reactions she had to particular subjects, if my friend might be trans long before she came out to me. But I would never refer to her as "him". That's cruel and spiteful. And frankly, if we aren't in a romantic/physical relationship, what's in your pants is none of my business.

[John]

Anne, we (plural readers) always love to hear "We are amused" from you (singluar writers). Hee hee!

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "John wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

There is that unfortunate a plural association with "they", is there not? The singu..."

We are starting to feel all Queenish now LOL

[ns]

Antonella wrote: "BTW: do you think the fact that I plan to put in my books only the ones I really liked (5 or 4 stars) influences the validity of the ''Compare Books'' function?

Heh, interesting, because I do the same :)

About Elie Wiesel's Night: I had wanted to read it since a long time, I've got it in German, now I took it in my hands and I found out this is not the original language: he wrote it in French. So now I don't know if I should read it anyway, or buy the French original..."

Interesting you should ask that. In the preface to this new edition, he points out that there were mistakes, omissions and quite a few liberties taken by the translator of the first version (written in French 40+ years ago). At that time he was having a hard enough time just getting it published. The text stayed that way until his wife retranslated from the original French for this new reprint.

I can only say that the English retranslation is absolutely astounding, lyrical and Nobel-worthy writing by itself. Yes, I know he won the Peace prize, not the literature prize. I have, however, read quite a few works of Nobel-winning authors. Night is simply beautifully written (however difficult a book it is to read).

[John]

Blaine D. wrote: "We are starting to feel all Queenish now LOL"

Well, it is Pride season, eh? That's when we all may be queens.

[Cleon Lee]

Becky wrote: "I don't particularly care if the person who wrote the books is male or female. But playing footsie with it, all the initial pseudonyms, is getting a little old for me. Say who you choose to be, a..."

You know what I dislike most about initials as pseudonyms? They're so bloody hard to search! Whenever I want to search for particular author with initials as pseudonyms at FW or ARe I am frustrated. So if I wanted to search for CL Lee, for example, I am so confused if I should type "C.L. Lee", "CL Lee" or "C L Lee" in the search box. Many times I thought the authors don't have book listed at those place, but it turns out that I "misspell" their name.

[Anne]

Becky wrote: "I don't particularly care if the person who wrote the books is male or female. But playing footsie with it, all the initial pseudonyms, is getting a little old for me. Say who you choose to be, a..."

Becky, the transgender issue is so misunderstood it's tragic. I wish more books (fiction and popular non-fiction) dealt with it.

[Blaine]

John wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "We are starting to feel all Queenish now LOL"

Well, it is Pride season, eh? That's when we all may be queens."

Yes we may :D
(though I doubt my men see it that way)

[Blaine]

Cleon wrote: "Becky wrote: "I don't particularly care if the person who wrote the books is male or female. But playing footsie with it, all the initial pseudonyms, is getting a little old for me. Say who you c..."

Yes, searching for names with initials can be difficult.
Though I mostly try just the surname then (and hope there aren't too many of them around)

[Anne]

John wrote: "Anne, we (plural readers) always love to hear "We are amused" from you (singluar writers). Hee hee!"

We believe humor is a two-way street. BTW, we feel writing is somehow less solitary, now. Of course, we should be actually writing instead of posting on this thread...

[Anne]

Blaine D. wrote: "Anne wrote: "John wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "Actually, I thought 'they' was the non-gender alternative, or is that just me? "

There is that unfortunate a plural association with "they", is there no..."

My favorite quote from Project Runway (Anthony from season 7) "We proved you don't have to have the crown to be the queen."

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "We believe humor is a two-way street. BTW, we feel writing is somehow less solitary, now. Of course, we should be actually writing instead of posting on this thread... "

err ... *scuttles away*
we are not here
lol

[ns]

Anne wrote: "Becky, the transgender issue is so misunderstood it's tragic. I wish more books (fiction and popular non-fiction) dealt with it."

Anne, what did you think of Righteous (and the hilarious lines it/she/he have) in Turnskin?

[Anne]

ns wrote: "Anne wrote: "Becky, the transgender issue is so misunderstood it's tragic. I wish more books (fiction and popular non-fiction) dealt with it."

Anne, what did you think of Righteous (and the hilari..."

Well, NS, here's the thing. I haven't read it. So now I should shut up. :) I'll have to read it, though. I didn't even look at your review, yet...

We are a bad, bad author.

ETA: We have read your review. As usual, we are blown away by it. And we want you to read our HSD story and give us your opinion.

[ns]

ROFL! Sorry, I thought you had read it? Who had mentioned it here just recently? Never mind, my memory is a sieve. If you haven't read it, don't worry, I retract my question ... I'm only too sympathetic to the too-many-books-too-little-time-crap-I-Have-WORK scene. So you know you are not a bad, bad author.

Thank you, though, for your kind words, as always. And I am ashamed to admit I have not yet gotten access to that HJD thingy. Nor have I voted for the poll in the ARE thingy. Whatever that was. I tried, I really did. But apparently I didn't have an account, and it asks you for your name, address, postal address (all REAL, for crying out loud, just to vote...).

Anyway, I will read the stories (I really, really, really do want to!) as soon as I get the logistics of how to get to them sorted out. I'm guessing they are only available on the mm-romance group at GR for now?

[Fehu]

Anne wrote: "Becky wrote: "Fehu wrote: "MandyM wrote: "Fehu wrote: "when they published the favorite author of 2010 I was just wondering who nominated them:)."

I'm curious now. Who did they rate as the best au..."

Well in some cases,from what I read of some of this authors, the quality suffers for quantity.

[Fehu]

Cleon wrote: "Josh wrote: "Cleon wrote: "I won't put much stock in ARE's rating or votes. Their highest rated books or most popular books often baffle the hell out of me."

ARE functions as a publisher too so th..."

I agree, all the paswords one has to remember and not all small publisher are accepting Paypal payment, like Loose Id, which is why I usually forget what I wanted to buy there, or simly lost interest by the time the book is out on ARe or Fictionwise.

[Anne]

ns wrote: "ROFL! Sorry, I thought you had read it? Who had mentioned it here just recently? Never mind, my memory is a sieve. If you haven't read it, don't worry, I retract my question ... I'm only too sympat..."

As soon as mine is posted there I'm planning on making a pdf available for free on my blog. Assuming I can figure out how. But yes, for now you have to be a member of the MM Group to see them there as soon as they're posted. The one posted yesterday by Harper Bell/Piper Vaughn was fantastic.

[Blaine]

Anne wrote: "As soon as mine is posted there I'm planning on making a pdf available for free on my blog. Assuming I can figure out how. "

I was planning on doing that as well.

It's easy enough. If you can find a freeware pdf creator, you'll only have to install it, then open your document, print and choose the pdf creator. (once you've got the layout done the way you want it to look)

[Kaje]

All the Hot Summer Days stories have been worth reading so far, and a couple really excellent. I'm waiting on mine to come up in turn, too, and I'll post it outside the m/m group when it's up. A new free short to start the morning is a great bonus for those of us who have a few minutes (I work later and can start my day with a hit of m/m this way.)

[Liade]

Cleon wrote: "So, if you encounter a well written book about Asian people, for example, you generally want to know if the writer is an Asian or not because you want to know if the book is written from an outsider's perspective or an insider perspective. ..."

So you are Asian, and you actually come across well written books about Asian people. Really?

Well, congratulations, just count yourself sooo very lucky.

I am German and I am still waiting to come across a well written English language book about Germans. I.e. not translated. Maybe they exist, in which case I'd be grateful if anybody pointed me into their direction.

In the meantime I am forced to read books with characters with the wrong names ("he wouldn't be called that at his age"), places with the wrong names ("Oberhausen" as a little village for example), going to the wrong places ("why would he go there to do that"), use credit cards when/where Germans wouldn't, etc. etc. Not to mention spelling which is a particular bugbear because it is so easy to avoid.

Of coure these are all minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. BUT they just make it so painfully clear that the author couldn't be bothered to do even the most basic research/consultation with anybody remotely connected to Germany.

And every single one of these mistakes makes me feel strongly for the no doubt existing gay men up in arms about straight women writing m/m stories.

[John]

Blaine D. wrote: "It's easy enough. If you can find a freeware pdf creator, you'll only have to install it, then open your document, print and choose the pdf creator. "

Or, if you're using a Mac: File -> Print -> PDF -> Save as PDF.

[Cleon Lee]

Liade wrote: "Cleon wrote: "So, if you encounter a well written book about Asian people, for example, you generally want to know if the writer is an Asian or not because you want to know if the book is written f..."

Well, that's just example. lol. Most well written books about Asian are written by... well.. Asians. lol.

[Kari]

Edina wrote: "I think most readers respect authors privacy and right to choose how much to expose themselves."

Amazingly enough, my fic readers have by and large been much better behaved than my non-fic readers. Granted, my fic readers simply don't have the option, but...Although I've made it abundantly clear that I have ZERO desire to be contacted in any way other than email & consider any other means of communication intrusive, readers have tried to friend me on facebook (under my real name), contacted me at work and (this one is new) became a fan of my work fb page TO follow me on fb without technically breaking my fb-is-for-family-only rule...Oh my. LOL

The scariest was the guy who called me at home. That was creepy as hell because it isn't in any of my bio's; he had to look that up. And be stubborn about it, too, since my real name's pretty common. O.O

CREEPY.

In the grand scheme of things, a couple people bitching because I don't have an author pic pales in comparison.

[Mandapanda]

Edina wrote: "Sorry I'm coming back to this uncomfortable topic. I just wanted to explain my point of view, since I said before I like to know how to refer to an author. But please, just skip/forget this if you ..."

I don't think your POV could be offensive Edina. I'm feeling a little taken aback by this conversation. I've sent emails to a handful of authors letting them know how much I liked their work but now I'm feeling self-conscious about having any contact. The only time I've been curious about an author's gender is when they use initials instead of a name. I had no idea that there was any question about Josh's gender until you all started talking about it. But then I never use facebook.

On a lighter note, I've just started Rise of Heroes which is the BOM for the new YA MM romance group started by Lori. It's brilliant, funny and action-packed! Lots of pop-culture references, a creepy setting and two adorable protagonists. As you can see I might be slightly loving it!;)

[ns]

MandyM wrote: "I don't think your POV could be offensive Edina. I'm feeling a little taken aback by this conversation. I've sent emails to a handful of authors letting them know how much I liked their work but now I'm feeling a bit self-conscious about having any contact. The only time I've been curious about an author's gender is when they use initials instead of a name. I had no idea that there was any question about Josh's gender until you all started talking about it. But then I never use facebook. "

I was thinking exactly the same, MandyM. I've only ever contacted one author, so it's not a huge issue for me, but I doubt I'll be emailing any others. I don't hang out at any reader forums and sites, and I'm not on FB or twitter, either, so I was pretty clueless as well.

Speaking of clueless, I just noticed that This Rough Magic is available on Amazon! Yay! When did that happen? I sure do miss a lot...

[Anne]

Blaine D. wrote: "Anne wrote: "As soon as mine is posted there I'm planning on making a pdf available for free on my blog. Assuming I can figure out how. "

I was planning on doing that as well.

It's easy enough. I..."

I have Adobe CS 1, can I do it in that?

[Anne]

John wrote: "Blaine D. wrote: "It's easy enough. If you can find a freeware pdf creator, you'll only have to install it, then open your document, print and choose the pdf creator. "

Or, if you're using a Mac: ..."

Okay, that's even easier. I even knew that one, but for some reason I thought it wasn't readable by everyone. Don't know what made me think that....

[Emanuela ~plastic duck~]

ns wrote: "Speaking of clueless, I just noticed that This Rough Magic is available on Amazon! Yay! When did that happen? I sure do miss a lot..."

A couple of weeks ago maybe

[Becky]

ns wrote: "MandyM wrote: "I don't think your POV could be offensive Edina. I'm feeling a little taken aback by this conversation. I've sent emails to a handful of authors letting them know how much I liked th..."

Have you ever noticed how it's only the sane people who worry about these things? LOL! I don't think any author would have a problem with getting an email on their public email address telling them you like their work. Tracking down their unlisted home phone number that is in no way associated with their pseudonym and calling for a cozy chat is what crosses the line.

Kari, if it had been me, I'd still be hiding under the bed!

[Kaje]

Me too. I have a public e-mail for Beta exchanges, and other contacts, and I'm fine with readers using that one. Tracking down my private contacts would be completely over the line.

[Kari]

Guys, this is in my other life. Nothing weird has happened with my fic writing. I use a pen name for that. What I was saying is that fic readers tend to respect our boundaries. I love being contacted. I love getting mail from readers. I don't know of any writer who doesn't like to hear from readers.

My non-fic readers just get...a tad...um...over-zealous? LOL. Some of them don't respect my boundaries at all, even after I made a big issue after the phone incident of explicitly stating what those boundaries are. Which really blows because in non-fic, there's no such thing as a pen name -- everybody wants to see your credentials.

The phone call really did scare the hell out of me, though.

[Murphy]

Victor Banis' work is more GAY Fiction than Gay romantic suspense. The first book introduces the main characters. The second book solidifies the relationship. It is a really good series but you have to like Banis' humor the suspense gets really scary in the third book.