Open Thread for Readers for October 2014
Misc / Need A Rec!book-pimp / Open Thread / promotions22 Comments
Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?
There is this wonderful new book out “A Man called Ove” by Fredrick Backman. At it’s heart, it’s a romance. I recommend this book to everyone I talk to these days.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774964-a-man-called-ove
I’m enjoying Carolyne Chand’s THE KNIFE OF NARCISSUS. It’s M/M historical (Rome, 1st C CE), and the setting is rich without being heavy-handed. This is the first serial I’ve bought into in progress, with a tasty chunk released every two weeks.
This month, I’m looking forward to Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch; In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins; and Too Friendly to Date by Nicole Helm
My favorite reads for September were Carla Neggers’ Harbor Island (Sharpe & Donovan series), Shannon Stacey’s No Place to Hide (The Devlin Group), Jill Shalvis’ It’s in His Kiss (Lucky Harbor), and Carla Neggers’ Cider Brook (Swift River Valley).
I had a lot of issues with the hero in Nalini Singh’s first Rock Kiss book, Rock Addiction, but I really liked the heroine and supporting characters. Glad we only had a short wait until the second book/novella. Read Rock Courtship yesterday and loved it.
After many, many years I finally got around to reading the third book in Jayne Ann Krentz’ The Lost Colony series. Shield’s Lady (written as Amanda Glass) was by far my favorite in that trilogy.
Kate Willoughby’s Across the Line (In the Zone), Jayne Castle’s The Hot Zone, and Alison Packard’s Catching Heat (Felling the Heat) were all solid entries in their respective series.
For October I am looking forward to reading Jaci Burton’s Hope Burns and the last two books in Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series.
I’m really excited about nonfiction this month, which is incredibly odd for me! The first is Anne Helen Peterson’s “Scandals of Classic Hollywood.” The scandals are fascinating and her voice is so engaging and fun. She used to write shorter essays on The Hairpin, so here’s the archive in case you want to give them a look-see.
http://thehairpin.com/tag/scandals-of-classic-hollywood/
I also heard on NPR about a book of essays called “On Immunity: An Inoculation” by Eula Biss that explores the complexity of the motivations behind the vaccination/anti-vaxxer movement. It’s marketed as a way to understand where both sides are coming from, without immediately wanting to scream your head off and punch someone in the face. So, I’ll be reading that!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/30/351242264/vaccine-controversies-are-as-social-as-they-are-medical
I read advance copies of some things that are coming out this month. That never normally happens! Very exciting.
Anyway, I liked both Sonali Dev’s A Bollywood Affair (which I won in the DA giveaway – thanks DA!). It inspired me to make rotis and dal for dinner last week. There is a LOT of food in the book, which is always a good thing. Lots of other good things too, although I did wish that the conflict hadn’t depended so heavily on a Big Mis. But other than that, I recommend it.
I also read Sarah Morgan’s latest, Maybe This Christmas. I have not absolutely loved this series (and I do miss her category romances) but I enjoyed this one by far the best. Awkward teenager daughter moments FTW.
@Tracey: This sounds great and the kind of read I’m looking for. Just finished Orphan Train which was really good but now something charming would be nice.
I also just picked up Bitter Greens based on Jayne’s review and am looking forward to reading something historical after quite a while.
Hey, I’m hoping this is okay to post here as it is for readers, but is also promo for my library.
For my day job I work as a public librarian and host a romance fan festival called Fall into Romance, which is coming up November 7th and 8th in Durham, North Carolina. If you live nearby, I’d love to see you at any or all of the events. The whole thing is free and the only thing you need to register for is the Friday kickoff party. You can check out the complete schedule with descriptions at fallintoromance.org, but here’s a rundown:
Friday, November 7
Fall into Romance Kickoff Party
6 – 8 p.m.
Six Plates Wine Bar, 2812 Erwin Rd. #104, Durham, NC 27705
Light hors d’oevres provided. Beverages available for purchase from the bar. Registration will open on October 1st. Call 919-560-8594 to register.
Saturday, November 8–all events at the Southwest Regional Library, 3605 Shannon Rd, Durham, NC 27707
Queer Romance with Sarah Frantz
10:30 a.m.
Falling in Love in a Small Town with Farrah Rochon
1 p.m.
The Suspense of Romance and the Romance of Suspense with Carla Neggers
2:15 p.m.
Five Things I Have Learned about Life through Writing with Cathy Maxwell
3:30 p.m.
Fall into Romance Book Signing
4:45 p.m.
We will be selling books by Farrah Rochon, Cathy Maxwell, and Carla Neggers and the authors will be here to sign them.
If you have questions, call 919-560-8594 or email me at my work address jlohmann (at) dconc (dot) com
Thanks!
Jennifer
@Jennifer Lohmann: OMG! I used to live in Durham many, many years ago!
The Durham County Library system still stands as the best library system I have had the pleasure of using and it just makes me incredibly happy to see someone from the Durham Library here. *squee* I’ll make sure to pass this along to my Durham friends!
I loved The Obsession by Liliana Lee. It’s my favorite read of the year so far. I told Janine that it kind of reminded me of the Countess Trilogy by Alison Richardson. The heroine is the emperor’s sister and she has a harem of men at her disposal. Hero is a soldier from her brother’s court and she demands for him to serve her. He resists. Sort of. ;)
I picked up the (still!) 99 cents Darkly Dreaming, an anthology of five full length fantasy romance novels. I read Grace Draven’s Master of Crows based on recommendations at DA and loved it. I haven’t read a fantasy romance outside of YA in years and I’ve been searching for a good re-entry. While the beginning was a little slow, Master of Crows had great world-building and I liked the dynamic between the h/h. I’m looking forward to reading the other novels in the anthology.
I also finally picked up World After by Susan Ee after having read so many reviews that considered this long-awaited sequel to Angelfall mediocre. However, I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. While the protagonist took a little longer to be her normal badass self, I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. The heroine’s love interest took awhile to show up, but it made me all the more excited for the next book when I think we’ll see him play a more central role.
I’ve been reading Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series throughout this year so I’m excited for Archangel’s Shadow, which comes out at the end of the month. I still have to read Archangel’s Legion first so I have that to look forward to as well.
@Nancy: I’m excited about “Archangel’s Shadow” too! “Archangel’s Legion” was fabulous. Guild Hunter is one of my favorite UF/PR series.
In other reading news from me, I’ve read “The Strain” and “The Fall.” I will say it’s very confusing to watch the TV show and read the books at the same time! Maybe that’s just me. I’ll finish the series, but I prefer the TV show to the books, which is unusual for me. The books seem very frenetic and disjointed.
I loved “Festive in Death,” but JD Robb is always an automatic buy for me. I also liked “Girl on a Wire.” Suddenly, I found myself wanting to try walking a high wire, which would be a really bad idea!
Books I have on preorder for October:
Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins – Because I cannot resist a pirate romance.
Archangel’s Shadows by Nalini Singh
Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews – I’ve never read her but the first in a series is less intimidating than Kate Daniels.
Wystan by Allison Merritt – I found this one just cruising Samhain’s website and decided why not?
I just finished reading an ARC of A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev. I know DA featured it a while back but seriously this book is not to be missed! Is it possible to go through withdrawal from reading a standalone (and debut) novel? I’m literally partway through about seven books right now and I just could not put it down. The romance and the culture and the writing are just so, so beautiful. I had a digital copy preordered but now I’m getting the paperback instead so I can loan to friends.
I’m also currently reading Maya Rodale’s Bad Boys & Wallflowers series and Meljean Brook’s Guardian series. Both are delightful so far (though I wouldn’t call Brook’s series a lighter read).
@Nancy: I loved Master of Crows, too! All the books in Darkly Dreaming are wonderful. Did you see that Grace Draven has a new serial called Radiance that she’s posting on her blog? She’s due to update it any day now, and I’m biting my nails for the next installment.
I just read Heidi Cullinan’s latest – Fever Pitch. I enjoyed it – much more than her last couple books. The last third was too meladramatic for me, but it was still really satisfying.
I am reading “Champion of the scarlet wolf” by Ginn Hale – for those who do not know this is a loose sequel to “The Lord of the White Hell” (one of my top favorite m/m books ever). One of the secondary characters gets the main part in this one. I just started but really like it so far. This is book one, book two is out in December, only available from Weightless books for now.
@Sirius I can’t wait to read Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, although I may wait until the second book is out as well. Rifter is my all-time favorite Ginn Hale, but I thoroughly enjoyed Lord of the White Hell, and I look forward to Elezar’s story. (I believe I correctly remember who he is!)
I’m one who is very much looking forward to reading Sonali Dev’s A Bollywood Affair. As well as: Ancillart Sword by Ann Leckie and The Boy With the Painful Tattoo by Josh Lanyon.
Also, Liesmith by Alys Smith has piqued my interest, and I want to read more Molly O’Keefe (particularly Between the Sheets) after loving Rita-winner Crazy Thing Called Love. The other great contemporary romance I read was Ainslie Paton’s White Balance (bought because of DA’s review).
I read Beauty by Robin McKinley and I highly recommend it! Gorgeous retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Sarah over at SBTB raised my curiousity recently when she mentioned The Blue Sword (also very good) so I’ve been on a McKinley trip for the past few weeks . Next up The Chalice.
I also read Bad English by Ammon Shea. It was very enlightening…….I’ve been using words like “awful”, “lovely” and “economy” incorrectly all my life! A good library read to be sure.
I am very excited for Burn for Me and Archangel’s Shadow. Oct. is always a good month for new books.
@mel burns – The Outlaws of Sherwood is my favorite McKinley. It’s a Robin Hood retelling.
@Jorrie Spencer: Oh I thought I would have a patience to wait. I really did. Heh. Yes “Boy with painful tattoo” is waiting on my kindle and ‘Bollywood affair” getting so many good reviews that preordered as well.
@cleo: I have it. I struck gold in a USB in South Bay. I wish I had known of these when my boys were younger. Great stories to read aloud.
I read Another Place in Time – a new mm anthology of historical short stories and it’s so, so good. I liked all of the stories and that never happens. Authors include KJ Charles, Kaje Harper, Tamara Allen and Aleksandr Voinov.