Reading Round Up: Words and Music

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Reading Round Up. This post, however, is slightly different from my periodic summaries of the books I’ve read and reviewed in that it is focused on reading and music.

Music has always been a very important aspect of my life, including my reading life, and as with books my tastes in music are varied and eclectic. There is almost always a connection between a story that I’m reading at any given time and a particular piece of music. It is the rare occasion when no musical piece comes to mind for a particular story. One of my favourite features of LiveJournal is the ability to list a specific song or music with each post. Something I have taken full advantage of over the years when posting or linking my book reviews there.

Continue reading

Reading Round Up: The Best in Gay Fiction for 2010

When I began writing this post I had the intention of listing ten of my favourite books in gay fiction for 2010. But it quickly became apparent that it would be impossible to restrict the list to only ten. Despite the fact that my reading time was more limited over 2010 due to the demands of real life and work and I read much less than in previous years, there were too many reading gems that I did read and could not omit from the year’s best.

Over the course of the year I made several wonderful discoveries in new-to-me authors, finally got around to reading books that had been sitting on my shelves for years, I received some great recommendations from online friends, some of my favourite authors released incredible stories and I gave myself permission to re-read some past favourites without guilt.

In the end, twenty books (novels, novellas, anthologies and short stories) made the final cut of my best in gay fiction for 2010 across several genres – contemporary, erotica, horror, historical, mystery, romance and young adult. Some were weighty stories, others lighter fare with happy endings, and several had unforgettable characters that continued to haunt me long after I was done reading their stories. But all the books listed as my best of 2010 in their own way dealt with the stuff of life and fed my mind, heart and soul.

Continue reading

Reading Round Up: November-December 2010

Match Maker by Alan Chin (Dreamspinner Press) – Read Review

Turn The Other Cheek by Chris Owen (Torquere Press) – Read Review

Shell Shocked by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks (Pink Petal Publishing) – Read Review

Painting by Numbers by David Thyssen (Smashwords) – Read Review

Painting By Numbers by David Thyssen

Painting By Numbers by David Thyssen is a visceral account of the journeyed descent into hell of an adolescent boy who has been pushed into the darkest of emotional places and as a result, his life and those of many around him end in tragedy. Although a fictional account, the story is based on the author’s own experiences of being bullied and humiliated in school.

Continue reading