Special thanks to Leontine from Leontine's Book Realm for the super header.


Sunday, May 2, 2010

Wheeeee, More Freebies! And one not so free, sort of.

So a few more freebies I've been reading. You really can't go wrong with free. Oh wait, once I did, but in general even if it's only "ok" or "decent" that's still pretty damn good for free.

Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger (180 pages - I think)

Okay, technically this wasn't "free" but Lily let me borrow it, it's a "real" book, made from paper and everything and she mailed it to me so I could read it and it's on it's way back Lily. So sort of free.

Craig and Travis met in high school and fell in love, but they went their separate ways after a summer of living together in NY for college and lost touch. Twenty years later, Craig is in a long-term relationship with Clay and thanks to Travis' influence in high school, is a lawyer who takes on discrimination cases, mostly based on sexual orientation and Travis is teaching college history using baseball analogies (taught to him by Craig) to help get his point across. Suddenly Craig decides after a disastrous 20 years of dating that he has to find Craig again because he is his one true love and thus begins his cross-country trip to find him. This book uses journal entries, comments from the students in his class, memos, phone call transcripts, etc. to tell their story and it flips back and forth between Travis' quest (car breaking down, hitch hiking, getting arrested, finding new friends) and Craig's life with Clay, getting asked to run for state politics, handing some family law cases, etc. So it's told in a very unusual manner but everyone in this book is freaking hilarious. Travis lives with his high school friend Gordo who tries to keep him on the straight and narrow, AJ, the restaurant owner who ends up bailing him out of jail is hilarious, everyone is just so damn funny. I literally laughed out loud on the bus and got a "look". If I had any niggles it was the whole thing of Travis going to find his love (who you see is still a bit hooked on him too) who is in a long term relationship with a great guy who loves him. Hmmm. In the end it works out, although it was all a bit vague at the end and it took me a while to figure out exactly how it all worked out, but the two main characters and the supporting cast that tries to keep them from flying off into space are really worth the read. Like I said, when it makes you laugh out loud in public, you know it's funny. So despite the niggle about Clay and how it ended, it's still so worth the read. Thanks again Lily for sharing. Mwah.

Waiting by PD Singer (7 pages)

This was a freebie from the GLBT Bookshelf. Daniel and his boyfriend Rick are going to Mexico for spring break. When they get there Bree is waiting and she's all over Rick, hugging, kissing, holding hands and he's not pulling away. Daniel is PISSED and Rick knows it. Later you find out who she is and why she's there and there is a good reason but I'd be pissed at Rick too. He didn't want to tell her secret but he didn't even mention to Daniel that she might be there and he could have said she's a family friend (which she was) or something. Instead he told him nothing. People who haven't a lick of common sense and courtesy (like we're sharing the condo honey) tick me off. It's an okay story, I just was left a bit snarly at Rick and Bree too who could have solved it herself as she knew Daniel was upset. (Oh wait, they're fictional, get over it Tam.)

More Than Just a Good Book by Sloan Parker (15 pages)

Scott's a library nerd and when he's kicked out of his seat by one of the football jocks it's just another day in paradise. However library employee (and Ph.D. student) Mark kicks the guy out for being an ass. Scott is totally smitten, he likes his men dominant in the bedroom and smart but hasn't had much luck. Mark has seen Scott around for the last 3.5 years but never made a move. When he sees Scott's interest he invites him up to the special comic book collection area (Scott is reading a comic book) and has plans to make it a bit more than book viewing in one of the private reading rooms with a yaoi (I presumed by the description). Holy crap. This is one of the steamiest 15 pages I've ever read. Smoking hot. This was from Sloan's website.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved the Kluger book, but I shared the same little niggles that you had. I downloaded the Singer short yesterday, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Erotic Horizon said...

I am not looking at the Kluger review - I just got the book...

I must say however that I read a "paper" book the other day and it was so good to spin those pages and dream of folding the edges... it's nice to read paperback sometimes...

Thanks for the link to the other stories - I am trying to read more shorts - I get frustrated with short stories so I dont read alot of them... But I am finding the are really good for breaking up really emotional reads, which I have been reading alot of lately..

Happy Sunday hon...

E.H>

Average Reader said...

Wow, Tam, I'm in a shopping mood so I just bought the Kluger and I picked up the Sloan Parker one. You made them sound pretty good! :) I'm with E.H. on short stories in general -- it's never quite enough for me. But sometimes they work out really well.

Tam said...

I though the ending was the weakest part Eyre, still a great book though and very very funny.

Tam said...

Hope you enjoy the Kluger book EH. I do enjoy shorts a lot, it's a real treat when you can find one that manages to hit all the right notes in very few pages, but I also find they are good for when I don't have a lot of time to commit and don't want to start something and have to stop in 30 min.

Tam said...

Hope you enjoy the Kluger book Val. I wasn't sure I would with the style, but it was very very good.

I guess for me most shorts are like a photograph. Just a little slice in time. I'd say the first one above takes place over about 4-6 hours and the second over maybe 1-2 hours, so very little glimpses of a couple and their life. But I don't mind not knowing everything sometimes.

Lily said...

I'm so glad you liked it. I laughed out loud several times, too. And you're welcome. :)

I think I'll skip Waiting but I'm off to download Sloan's story. Steamy and smoking hot, yeah baby, bring it on!! ;D

Tam said...

You're a great friend Lily.

Oh yeah, Chris put me on to it and we both needed cold showers after. LOL

Jenre said...

I read that Sloan Parker story too. It was really great and ....*fans face*

I still have the Steve Kluger in my TBR pile. Maybe I'll actually have time to read it after the end of the month.

I have the PD Singer short in my TBR pile too. I was planning on reading it next week, but I may just dig it out now.

Tam said...

Yep Jen, steamy. :-D

The Kluger is a pretty fast read because of the style with memos and transcripts and other pieces of paper you don't have paragraph after paragraph of text like a typical novel. I think you'll enjoy it.

Patti (@TheLoveJunkee) said...

I loved the Kluger book, except the ending I though was a bit to abrubt. Once I got use to the style, I thought it was great. And yes, lots of laugh out loud moments for me too.

Larissa said...

Hahaha now I guess I have something to do at work again!

Cheers,
Larissa

wren boudreau said...

Hi Tam! I read the Kluger book while on vacation and kept interrupting my BH doing his own reading. I laughed, I cried, I loved it.

Also, I am not usually one to enjoy short reads, but Sloan's More Than Just a Good Book was totally hot and maybe if more shorts were like this I read 'em!

Erotic Horizon said...

Tam...

I popped over to Sloan site to get the short and ended up reading it...

Dinner got put on late, the laundry stayed in the machine too long and I blame it all on you...

All I can say is same time next Sunday....

Love it...

maybe if more shorts were like this I read 'em!

So agree..

E.H>

Chris said...

Tam: It took me a bit to figure out what was going on at the end of the Kluger book, too. In fact, I started reading the end, thought it was going one way, and put the book aside for a bit because I was upset. Glad I was wrong about the way it was going! :)

Hee hee - glad to see everyone's enjoying Sloan's short story so much! *fans self* I think Wren even mentioned needing some ice after finishing it...

Tam said...

Patti, we all seem to be of the same feeling about the ending, but it was still on the whole a great read.

Hi Larissa, glad I can be a distraction for you. :-)

Tam said...

Wren: It was very steamy for such a short read. Very well done.

I don't laugh out loud often but doing it on the bus and then getting a case of the giggles was a tad embarrassing. :-)

Tam said...

Ooops, EH, your family will be after me for getting fed late.

Maybe I like shorts because I'm on the quest for those special ones and you just never know when you'll find it.

Tam said...

Chris, I agree with Kluger, I was a bit worried but then I liked all three characters and wasn't sure there was a way all could end up happily without someone being hurt in the end, but he pulled it off. However it felt a bit rushed and kind of glossed over.

K. Z. Snow said...

I had such divided feelings about Kluger's book (the ending in particular), I did two posts about it. But all in all it was hilarious and had a lot of heart.

Tam, that hottie cookie makes me lightheaded. Yowza!

And...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Tam said...

The hive mind at work again KZ. It was hilarious though, despite my niggle about the ending.

You better sit down Hon, hate for you to have a cookie related injury. :-)

Not quite my birthday yet. Not till Wednesday which is soon enough. Waaaah.

Kris said...

I'm still stuck on the fact that you read a real book. Holy crap. :P

Tam said...

Heeeeyyy!! I read three if you also count Riddle of the Sands and that yaoi novel. LOL Nothing like being stuck in an airport to get a paper book in your hands.