Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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The Dickens with Love
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The Dickens With Love
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Manda
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rated it 5 stars
Dec 08, 2011 05:47AM
I'll put the one near top of the TBR list after reading Johanna's review. Reading the rest of the thread has got me more intrigued now.
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The rules are different for writers, Kaje.
It would be like me joining Suze Brockmann's list in the hope of yes, interacting, but also getting a little name recognition with Suze's readership. And then in a discussion where readers are enthusing about Suze's work, suddenly jumping in with negative comments.
It usually dampens or kills the enthusiasm. Becasue you're not just criticizing Suze's work, you're criticizing the taste and opinions of her readers who love that work.
It's not cool coming from another writer.
Readers are always free to say what they like.
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Actually, I believe it's here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoshLan...
Josh wrote: "Kaje wrote: "You are certainly entitled to keep these threads free from critique...."
The rules are different for writers, Kaje.
It would be like me joining Suze Brockmann's list in the ho..."
Noted. Sorry. You are obviously correct and I will leave.
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Make sure you'll read it before/during the Holiday season! I guarantee you'll feel all Christmassy after you finish. :)
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Actually, I believe it's here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoshLan......"
Hmmmm, does one have to be a member of that Yahoo group to see it? I guess I never signed in to Yahoo...
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Actually, I believe it's here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jos..."
I think it's open access? But you might have to be a member to download? I'm not quite sure how that works.
Mod
Josh wrote: "Josh wrote: "Somewhere -- I think it was in last year's antho promo? -- I included the recipe for Stardust martinis."Actually, I believe it's here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoshLan......"
It's in the cookbook? I know how I'm spending my afternoon! :)
I loved this story. Everything about it - except, yeah, animal person here. I cringed at the ocelot being a pet even though I know it's a reality. Christmas is all about grand gestures. Jimmy Stewart and the Ghost of Christmas Past. It's why someone has dropped a gold coin in a Salvation Army kettle each year for the last fifteen. (worth $1,800 this year)
Sedgwick gives James redemption and peppermint condoms and drinks that sparkle. Best Santa ever. ;-D
Johanna wrote: "@Blaine: I'm now reading the first story of Men Under the Mistletoe. Every time I come across the "it was all he could do not to .........." line, I'm thinking of YOU! Now that is n..."*evil grin*
Blaine wouldn't mind, but she's not so surea about her husband lol
ps: I think I wrote something about 'the Dickens with love' in another thread ... will track it down and post it here as well.
ETA: found it ... I wish there was a search function, might have been easier
copied from http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...31 Januari 2011
reread 'The Dickens With Love' today ... actually, completely lost myself in it while waiting for over one and a half hours for my foster son's truancy hearing to begin (they were running 'a little' late). I finished it about five minutes before we were finally called.
And I loved it just as much as the first time I read it.
Sedgwick Crisparkle was an adorable character and James, I couldn't help but feel for him.
I'm not the most observant reader, so my reviews/opinions will never be complete, but I loved the little hints of the manuscript, loved the ocelot (even though I had no idea what that was the first time I read it - see, learned something :) ), loved how James gave relationship/crawling out of your shell advice to Darcy and she ended up getting a date.
The thing that didn't hit me until I started writing this, was that both men, in their own way, experienced a life changing incident. Only, where Sedgwick's near miss incident caused him to decide to be true to himself and follow his dream, James has been struggling to keep his head above water.
Somehow my two favourite parts were James asking the ocelot what it wanted to drink, and James admitting his arrogance, but at the same time calling Sedgwick on his arrogance.
Great writing, brilliant characterisation ... as always :)
I don't think I could ever tire of your writing. You keep managing to draw me in every single time.
Johanna wrote: Make sure you'll read it before/during the Holiday season! I guarantee you'll feel all Christmassy after you finish. :)It makes me feel Christmassy every time I read it, and I celebrate Chanukah. :)
(On a related but off-topic note, never ask your rabbi if you can put up Christmas lights. Just a general rule in life . . .)
Seriously, this is one of my favorite reads--I come back to it over and over. (I gave it 5 stars when I reviewed it last year, but I don't know how to make that come up in my heading.)
I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't notice most of the Dickensian touches (like orphanhood and family secrets) the first time around; I just loved the relationship and the theme of second chances. But once other readers pointed to those touches in another discussion group I went back and got even more out of my subsequent reads!
Plus I agree with Karan: it's hard to go wrong with "peppermint condoms and drinks that sparkle." :P
That clinches it! "peppermint condoms and drinks that sparkle." lol I'm going to read tonight :) I'm not feeling the Christmas fuzzies at the moment but I'll see if a Josh Christmas story can pull me out my Grinch. I still have Lone star to read as well, left for lucky last.
Josh wrote: "Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "Josh wrote: "Somewhere -- I think it was in last year's antho promo? -- I included the recipe for Stardust martinis."Actually, I believe it's here:
http://groups..."
I had to join the group to make the link work, but I didn't even know about the cookbook so now I'm extra happy. (I'm generally too lazy to cook though.)
Actually I came across an old wallet-sized photo album the other day. It was full of family photos from the 30's and 40's and the last five pages were handwritten drink recipes.
I'm afraid to try a Bronx: 1/3 gin, 1/3 French vermouth and 1/3 Italian vermouth. :D
I need to re-read this. Never made the stardust martinis either. Not enough cheap beer in it, I suspect. ;-)
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Oijoi!!! That sounds too good to me! Maybe with some ice and lemon... *gulp* :)
Mod
Blaine wouldn't mind, but she's not so surea about her husband lol"
LOL! :) I really can't understand our beloved husbands sometimes... what's wrong with them? ;)
Blaine wrote: "ps: I think I wrote something about 'the Dickens with love' in another thread ... will track it down and post it here as well."
I liked your thoughts about The Dickens With Love. You mentioned that you loved how James gave relationship/crawling out of your shell advice to Darcy and she ended up getting a date. I thought about that too - and the meaning of Darcy's character being there on the whole. At first I thought that Darcy and James both were pretty lonely (in their own way), but then it turned out that maybe Darcy wasn't so very lonely and desperate after all (since she had lots and lots of Christmas cards in her apartment, etc.). Maybe she just wanted to be nice and friendly towards James (who no doubt was sending misery vibes all around him). So I'm thinking that Darcy's offer to celebrate Christmas with James is another example of unconditional love. And like James and Sedge were saving each other, James and Darcy both gained from their association.
And ARGH, this is AGAIN one of those moments, I'd like to express myself more clearly (and more intelligent, because I must sound like a six years old), but there is this damn language BARRIER to where I keep banging my head into! I know exactly what I'd like to say, but I run out of English words... :(
Mod
You express yourself beautifully.
And I would be commenting a lot more, but I'm doing my damnedest to not type. ;-)
Mod
You stubborn, you! Stay away!!! ;) Or at least stop typing!!! Like... NOW!!!
(And thank you for the very kind words... that I luckily understood... *grin*)
Kari wrote: "Not enough cheap beer in it, I suspect. ;-)"Which is also a good reason for not dating certain men.
K.Z. wrote: "Kari wrote: "Not enough cheap beer in it, I suspect. ;-)"Which is also a good reason for not dating certain men."
Ah but there are so many good reasons for not dating certain men
Mod
Well, I didn't notice those two either, but when I think back now they fit perfectly in the big picture. I think that was so clever. And it's fun to hear that there are some of you who have already read this book several times and have enjoyed it even more every time! I'm sure it'll happen to me too, because after discussing a book re-reading it can be quite fruitful.
Johanna, you express yourself much more clearly than I can and I have english as a first language :) Almost finished The Dickens with Love. Great story as always from Josh.
J. Rosemary wrote: "(On a related but off-topic note, never ask your rabbi if you can put up Christmas lights. Just a general rule in life . . .)"Aren't the blue lights for Hanukah?
Mod
Thanks, Manda. :) Sometimes I think that all the writers here must suffer terribly while reading my texts, because all the simple words I use and the sentences being all over the place. Combined with my enthusiasm and the fact that I like to talk a lot (we teachers usually do...) it has to be annoying from time to time. Well, people in this site are very friendly and tolerant. ;) And maybe I'm the one that is the most frustrated with the lack of words... I'm so used to mastering my Finnish. :)
So tell me, are you all Christmassy now (if you've finished The Dickens With Love already)?
Finished! Johanna you were right wonderful Christmas story put me in the right place. Loved this story from start to finish, as if there was any doubt ;) Now I am catching up on Josh's other Christmas stories and a few from other authors as well. This is the first year I have actually sat down and read Christmas shorts. I love how places like GR opens up a new world of reading every now and then.
Mod
LOL. :) I agree - about The Dickens With Love and Goodreads!
Read this again last night and loved it even more. It just puts a lasting smile on my face in a way that very few other books can do. I loved the provenance of The Christmas Cake and the way ties in with the current story. The first time reading the story I was wondering why someone would be parting with such an heirloom, but hearing that the book originated as a gift for a founder of a half-way house, was then gifted to a resident of the house, and is now to be sold to raise money for a school for underprivileged children run by the descendant of one of the house's beneficiaries I was struck by a sense of continuity, like the book was coming full circle and Dickens himself would have been quite pleased to hear of it. It made the book seem almost magical. The part where Sedge was telling James about his dream of teaching disadvantaged children and James disbelieving that that could be anyone's dream made me laugh out loud. It also got me thinking about their different backgrounds and how James was a disadvantaged child, and how much that may have influenced Sedge's feelings toward him.
I thought the ways that Sedge invited James to his hotel room were quite charming, and the sex scenes were beautiful, but with a light touch. It pulled my heartstrings when James was thinking about how nice it was to have someone who wanted to hold him and take care of him.
I loved these characters and sincerely enjoyed reading about them. The book ends well and the ending is satisfying enough, but I wouldn't mind reading a follow-up story...:)
Just finished reading The Dickens With Love and I simply loved every word.It's a gem, it's my kind of story for Christmas time. I loved the hints to Dickens stories, I loved the hot sex, the ocelot and I think that the ending is perfect.
A re-reading for sure.
Thanks Josh.
I'm rereading it now and I agree, it's a gem. I love the scratch-a-cynic-get-an-idealist narration. The tone is just perfect.
The Guardian had a link to a walking map of Dicken's London that I thought you all might find interesting.http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files...
Mod
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files......"
That's so cool. Thank you for that, Dev!
Johanna wrote: "I just finished The Dickens With Love and realized that there wasn't a thread for it to be discussed. Since it's snowing outside and it's almost Christmas AND I'm about to burst if I won't be able ..."Thanks, Johanna, for opening this thread on one of my favourite Josh stories :)
I did read it the first time around Christmas 2011, but had forgotten to review it, so I decided to re-read it this month and finally write my thoughts down.
It really is a magical tale, but the characterization and dialogue are realistic enough - like in all of Josh's work - to make me genuinely care about the characters. And it's not just James and Sedge's interaction that sparkles, but there's also something very charming and life-affirming in James and Darcy's relationship.
And like you, I so vividly envisioned the Christmas Cake story with all its quirky characters and the naughty little mouse that I felt as disappointed as James when it emerged that Sedge was going to deny James further access to the book.
And this story encouraged me to explore more about Dickens that I didn't know before. He's one of the English literature 'classics' I know less about and I'm glad Josh made me catch up with what I'd missed so far.
Mod
I'm usually someone who can't stand all the Christmas sales promotions coming out in shops earlier and earlier every year (at least in Britain), basically after Halloween is over, if not earlier :) It just kills the real Christmas atmosphere for me, when the holiday actually comes in December.But I don't think it's ever too early in the year to read such a wonderful Christmas story. It's actually the perfect recipe, at least for me, to counteract all the blatant commercialisation of this holiday and rediscover its genuine magic and charm.
Paola wrote: "I'm usually someone who can't stand all the Christmas sales promotions coming out in shops earlier and earlier every year (at least in Britain), basically after Halloween is over, if not earlier :)..."Yes, that's it! I love the holiday stories, and I agree, they capture the sweetness and joyfulness and all the good feelings that I associate with Christmas, as opposed to the garish and noisy and commersialised madness that so often is the reality of the season.
August is not too early, Johanna, you can in fact read them any time of the year, even at the beach ;)
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It's not Christmas... it's July and I read this story last weekend and it is beautiful. So very Dickensian (I can't count how often I read David Copperfield as a child) yet so very Josh Lanyon. So full of emotions and feeling, sorrow, regret, love. I can not really explain how it affected me but it is the best I've read this year. Absolutely wonderful.
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It's the first Josh book I read and still a favorite. Christmas in July — sounds like a plan. : )
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I so agree with everything you wrote, Ame. I remember re-reading The Dickens With Love in the end of last July ;-) and again at Christmas. It's perfect for the beach and for the blizzard. It's... perfect. :-)
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This was your first Josh Lanyon book, Karen? Wow. What a stunning way to get to know his writing. :-)
Johanna wrote: "What a stunning way to get to know his writing. :-)"And, especially, less traumatic than starting with AE when the series wasn't yet completed ;-).
Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "What a stunning way to get to know his writing. :-)"And, especially, less traumatic than starting with AE when the series wasn't yet completed ;-)."
I think I would have died horrible death if I would have started reading AE with only three books published....
Ame wrote: "Antonella wrote: "Johanna wrote: "What a stunning way to get to know his writing. :-)"And, especially, less traumatic than starting with AE when the series wasn't yet completed ;-)."
I think I w..."
LOL. I agree!!! Luckily i found them when all 5 were completed. I remember sitting down to read books 3 to 5, closing the door, asking for quiet, and coming out of there and rejoining reality two days later. I'm exaggerating a bit, but really not that much.
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Thank you very much! This is my personal favorite of all my Christmas stories. I'm glad you're enjoying it, Ame.
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The Dickens with Love AUDIO BOOK is out!!!!
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The...
Johanna wrote: "THE BESTEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVAH! The Dickens with Love AUDIO BOOK is out!!!!
http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The......"
Yay!!!! I saw that! Next up after Strange Fortune.
Mod
Josh's interview with Sean Crisden, narrator of The Dickens With Love audiobook:http://joshlanyon.blogspot.co.uk/2013...
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