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


Thursday, June 30, 2011

Anthology Thursday

Okay, it's not really an alliteration per se, but close. It's my last day of work today. Yay. Canada Day tomorrow. Not sure if we'll go downtown or not. There are going to be a bazillion people here because William and Kate are visiting. They will be showing up at noon which means if I want to get close enough to see them I probably have to be there are 9:00 waiting and bored. My kidlet is not all that keen, especially as I'd have to pick her up at her Dad's even earlier. So maybe we'll skip it, perhaps go down for fireworks at 10:00. We'll see. A three-day weekend is always a bonus though. :-)

British Flash (87 pages)
Smashwords (Free)

This is a small collection of flash fiction (2-3 pages each) with a distinctly British flavour. I won't go into each one, but it's free so you have no excuse not to pick it up yourself. Some are quirky and amusing, some are memories of love lost, some tackle more serious themes. There are historicals, contemporaries and even a very appropriate paranormal with a perfect ending to the whole anthology. There are also a couple of f/f and and m/m/f so if you wanted to try one of those but didn't want to pay for it, here's your chance to see if you like it in a couple of pages. All excellent authors with different visions of Britain.

This anthology is a souvenir of the 2011 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. I'm looking forward to the Tea and Crumpet anthology which will be on sale soon with more comprehensive stories with a popular British flavour. 


Skater Boys edited by Neil Plakcy (265 pages)
Cleis Press



This is a paper book *gasp* that I picked up after Kassa recommended it. It's been in my purse forever and I would pull it out and read a story when I was stuck waiting somewhere. There is something for everyone here, but as the by-line reads "gay erotic stories". Some have a definitely romantic bent, and some are pure one-off erotica pieces. Some I adored, some I skimmed. :-) When you're screaming at the character (in my head of course, I do have some sense of decorum) "Are you f-ing nuts? He's a stranger for god's sake, wrap that sucker up!", probably not a favourite story. Some were kind of sad, some were funny and some left you thinking. So if you're in the mood for some hot skater action, or some more straight up erotica with only the slightest dash of romance, it's well done. As I said, not every story will likely appeal which speaks to the breadth of the stories. They aren't just all the same-old-same-old. It was worth a read.


10 comments:

Jenre said...

I really liked the Flash anthology too :).

The skater one sounds like a mixed bag.

Enjoy Canada Day! Hope you get a glimpse of our Wills and Kate :).

Tam said...

It was mixed. Some of the themes in the stories just didn't work for me (son's best friend - a no-no for me). :-) But some I really enjoyed.

We're unfortunately thinking about skipping the whole Will and Kate thing. So many people, so early. We'll watch it on TV.

Chris said...

Enjoy your day off! Ours is Monday.

I have so many anthologies that I need to read....

Tam said...

I find the paper ones handy Chris for just reading on the go, but there are a lot of them.

Chris said...

Oh, that's right - you read ebooks on a netbook, right?

Tam said...

Yeah. So I don't have e-books with me unless I know I am going to be somewhere for a while, like getting my oil changed or something.

Lily said...

I've got the British Anthology on my reader.

Enjoy your 3day weekend. I work on the 4th but since it's extra pay I don't mind missing out on the bbq, or the heat! :)

Tam said...

I think you'll enjoy it Lily. There are some cute stories.

Kind of stinks to work on the holiday, but as you said, extra pay is always nice too.

Kassa said...

Glad you actually found Skater Boys worthwhile. I agree it's a mixed bag but I liked it enough to think it's worth it. Right now I have "I like to Watch" a voyeuristic anthology that is in my bag for those in between times.

I also quite liked British Flash.

Tam said...

On the whole I enjoyed it Kassa, certainly not every story, but as I said, that just means it wasn't a bunch of the same type so everyone should find plenty they enjoy and yeah, skater boys are a bit of a weakness for me. :-)

I have a book about figure skating in my purse now. LOL Haven't gotten very far in it yet, but I haven't been stuck anywhere lately.