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James
James is on page 270 of 293 of The Literary Six
"They sat with their arms wrapped around each other in a fraternal gesture of unity…Theirs was a private sorority…"
I mean, it's two women, do they have to have a fraternity and a sorority. Can't they just have sorority.
Nov 13, 2024 05:05AM Add a comment
The Literary Six

James
James is on page 161 of 293 of The Literary Six
I'm kind of impressed at how many times "loose/loosing" is used instead of "lose/losing" in this printed book.
Nov 12, 2024 05:20AM Add a comment
The Literary Six

James
James is 13% done with Murder Under Construction (Detective Leon Peterson Mysteries, # 1)
I have the impression this is going to remind me of Karen Pirie, but gay.
Nov 04, 2024 04:33AM Add a comment
Murder Under Construction (Detective Leon Peterson Mysteries, # 1)

James
James is on page 48 of 293 of The Literary Six
"The fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered momentarily before bathing the interior of the boathouse in incandescent white light."
Make up your mind, was it fluorescent or incandescent?
Oct 09, 2024 03:36AM Add a comment
The Literary Six

James
James is on page 36 of 293 of The Literary Six
A little late, but I think it's the guy from the photo.
Oct 08, 2024 05:31AM Add a comment
The Literary Six

James
James is 14% done with A Little Life
Ah. Jude was abused (horrifcly, apparently), and now he’s trying to kill himself. Great. And the punishment for the first attempt was that he has to live the rest of his life paying for that attempt. I guess he was abused by religious persons, so this is some kind of divine retribution. Maybe I should look up Jude in the Bible
May 01, 2024 08:40AM Add a comment
A Little Life

James
James is 11% done with A Little Life
I keep waiting for something to happen, even though I know this isn’t that type of book, and I still don’t actually have a grasp on which character is which.
May 01, 2024 04:46AM Add a comment
A Little Life

James
James is 32% done with Murder at Pride Lodge (Kyle Callahan Mystery, #1)
It's just overly written. There's way too much telling and not showing, and way too much time spent on stuff that's unimportant. Nothing about the previous hostess is important to this story. And if the previous owners of the lodge don't turn out to be important to the story…
Nov 29, 2023 05:25AM Add a comment
Murder at Pride Lodge (Kyle Callahan Mystery, #1)

James
James is 20% done with Murder at Pride Lodge (Kyle Callahan Mystery, #1)
There’s a lot of unnecessary backstory for unimportant characters
Nov 26, 2023 06:22AM Add a comment
Murder at Pride Lodge (Kyle Callahan Mystery, #1)

James
James is 6% done with Drama Queen (Nicky and Noah Mystery #1)
a) I may not finish this very _summer reading_ book because
b) only the white, male Abercrombie model characters get descriptions of what they look like. Ricky Gonzalez, Kayla Calloway, Jan Annondale, Sun Cho, Ariella, David Samson…none of them. Not a word. I can imagine them to look however I want. But the main cast of gay and bisexual men: all white, all model gorgeous.
Jul 03, 2023 03:28AM Add a comment
Drama Queen (Nicky and Noah Mystery #1)

James
James is 89% done with Boys Come First
For the first time, I’ve actively noticed Troy being written in first person (and everyone else in third) and a) it felt really stream-of/consciousness, and b) the transition to third person was really jarring
May 08, 2023 07:05AM Add a comment
Boys Come First

James
James is 41% done with Seeing Sean
There was not near lyenough exposition of who Wyatt is to explain why he makes the decisions he does.
May 06, 2023 04:53AM Add a comment
Seeing Sean

James
James is 64% done with Boys Come First
Ugh. A fucking rape scene. Would I feel better if it were a would-be bashing? I don’t know. I understand that we’re supposed to understand their special bond and that trauma binds in very special ways, and it’s a very realistic scenario…but still…ugh
May 05, 2023 06:11AM Add a comment
Boys Come First

James
James is 2% done with Dracula
“However, there was business to be done, and I could allow nothing to interfere with it.”
I swear, if we could just remove capitalism…
May 04, 2023 09:22PM Add a comment
Dracula

James
James is 33% done with Boys Come First
I don't like this book. It's difficult for me to say because I really wanted to like it, but I don't like it. I don't like the characters. I don't like the setting, I don't like the scenarios they are in. To be clear, all of these are _me_ things and not _book_ things. And not only do I not like the characters, I, as a gay black man (who's only a decade older than the characters) don't connect with them
Apr 27, 2023 05:32AM Add a comment
Boys Come First

James
James is 75% done with Brobots (Brobots, #1)
And I’ve stopped at the rape scene.
Apr 20, 2023 06:30AM Add a comment
Brobots (Brobots, #1)

James
James is 48% done with Brobots (Brobots, #1)
The writing isn't great. The world building is okay (I think it would have been better to set it in an alternate present, rather than a future that looks weirdly like 2010). Also, the clearly English author writing a book set in a future US is equally jarring.
But the concept is novel, and the book is at least aware of the tropes it uses.
And really, I'm just happy to see "born sexy yesterday" but gay.
Apr 13, 2023 11:19PM Add a comment
Brobots (Brobots, #1)

James
James is 71% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
At life's limits-I want so much more of this. It was a great self-contained story. I found myself so engrossed in the story, I completely forgot to think about the writing (which was also good). The quality of the writing reminded my The shipping news, or beloved, in how textured the writing was.
Feb 16, 2023 04:53AM Add a comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

James
James is 66% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Future Christmas-The writing was okay and the setting was okay, but it reads like early 80's straight-guy fiction; this time in a christmas myth setting.
Feb 15, 2023 04:32AM Add a comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

James
James is 54% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
At the Huts of Ajala--Again. Super good. I love this birthing story.
Feb 10, 2023 12:26AM Add a comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

James
James is 52% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Gimmile's Songs-DNF. Love the "men writing women" moment.
Feb 09, 2023 11:06PM Add a comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

James
James is 48% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Twice, at once, Separated--Wow. Not only was it exquisitely written, but I finished it just as the last movement of Hindemith's four variations for piano and orchestra finished: an appropriately grandiose ending for an expertly grandiose story.
Feb 08, 2023 02:48AM Add a comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

James
James is 31% done with Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
Aye, and Gomorrah —it’s well-written, and thought provoking, but it has me feeling uncomfortable and I don’t know why.
Feb 03, 2023 03:30AM 1 comment
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora

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