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Summer Reading

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What did you read on your summer vacation this year? Ingrid gave me a wonderful idea for a post. She’s on her summer vacation right now visiting France (almost everyone who lives in Europe seems to be vacationing in France). Feliz just returned from there yesterday and LeslieS is going tomorrow. I’m so jealous as it’s been a long time since I’ve been there.

That wonderful picture in the post is not of France but of Greece where Ingrid visited on her last vacation and it shows her on a sailboat reading Sean Kennedy’s Tigers and Devils. 🙂 She told me that she also took along Longhorns by Victor Banis to read as well. Imagine reading about Aussie rules football while sailing on the Mediterranean or about the old wild west while the sea softly rocked the boat (her words). 🙂 Damn! That woman sure travels. 😆 😡

I know that summer is not yet over because yesterday it was 30C (86F) here, but the cooler days will soon make summer a thing of the past. So if you have been on your summer vacation or just to the beach, even your backyard if you can’t afford to go away, what did you read this summer? When on vacation do you take along some old favourites? Do you read different types of books when on vacation? Is summer vacation the time for that really BIG book that you have been setting aside because you knew that once started you wouldn’t want to put it down?

Tell us about what you read to give us some ideas of books for our future summer vacations. I’m not going on vacation until the fall so I’ll share with you then what I read. Ingrid promised to tell us what she read when she returns from France in about a week. 🙂

Looking forward to reading about your vacations and the books you read.

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56 comments

  • My vacation was at the beginning of August. We went to Manitoba for a week to visit family and then on to Chicago to be tourists for a week.

    I usually take a couple of paper books (which I rarely read anymore) because they are easier to whip out in an airport for 15 min. that get out my netbook. I finished some yaoi and then I read Lord of the White Hell book 1. LOVED it. I have book 2 on the go now but I really don’t get into paper books at home. I will though because I want to know what happens.

    I always read a lot but some of the ones I really enjoyed were Lucky by KM Mahoney, Paper Planes by M. Jules Aedin and A Change of Pace by JM Cartwright.

    We had a blast in Chicago, went to the Lollapalooza music festival one day but were staying at a friends place in the suburbs so had a one hour train ride each way which gave me more reading time. Even at the music festival my daughter found 1/2 second clip of me on someone’s YouTube video and what am I doing in the background? Lying on the grass reading a book. 🙂 I highly recommend Chicago as a vacation destination.

    • Hi Tam
      Thanks for sharing your vacations and books with us. I’m hoping to visit PEI next year – I’m so ashamed that I haven’t done nearly as much travel in Canada as I would like.

      Every time I go to Chicago I’ve loved the city. I always think that Chicago and Sydney, Australia make Toronto look like a shabby bridesmaid.

      I’ve read some of your books and reviewed Paper Planes. Lord of the White Hell is such a marvellous adventure. I hope some of the readers will check out your recs.

  • We just returned from our vacation. First DH and I and dog Henry went to Tuscany for a week, with lots of sightseeing, eating wonderful food and tasting really great wine, lugging quite a number of bottles back home 🙂 Then we picked up the kids and their partner and went to the northernmost point in Germany, a beautiful island called Sylt, for our 25th anniversary. During all that driving I managed to read quite a few books on my kindle, among them:

    Timing 1 + 2 by Mary Calmes
    Life Lessons 1, 1.5 + 2 by Kaje Harper
    Several shorts from the HSD
    and now just finished Bear, Otter and the Kid by TJ Klune

    These books were just wonderful and I would like to recommend them.

    Now I’m looking forward to GayRomLit in Oct. and for sure will take my kindle with me!

    Oh, and Tam: I loved the Paper Plane book, too!

    • Anke

      Tuscany is on my list of travel destinations – I almost went there last year but the tour group wanted too much money so I’ll try doing it with a friend next time.

      I’ve never heard of Sylt. It sounds as if you had the best time.

      Re your books – I haven’t read Kaje Harper’s books as yet. I need time for just fun reading. I’m looking forward to setting aside some time to do so. I’ve heard great things about Bear, Otter and The Kid so that’s next on my list. I was waiting for Raine to review it but I can’t wait any more.

      I reviewed Paper Planes by Jules and I absolutely loved it. I’m so glad you loved it too.

      Thanks for sharing your holidays with us Anke.

  • We mostly take trips to France when we go on vacation. First, most French people are dog lovers. In France, we never had any problems finding a hotel that allowed our two dogs, as opposed to what we met in other European countries. (in France, when you walk through a crowded market with two dogs, people smile at you as they give way or untangle them and their own dogs from leashes…. 🙂 )
    We went to Normandy this time since we both can’t stand heat and thought we’d meet a little nice rain and fog. Well, best laid plans…we had 30°C for most of the time. I’m not complaining, mind you, even though I had to buy a swimsuit (I had brought a raincoat, but no bathing clothes). Anyway, I got to swim in the Atlantic ocean, something I haven’t done in ages.
    And reading on the beach:

    Prep Work by PD Singer
    Bareback by Chris Owen
    Life, Love and Lemon cookies by Ally Blue
    18% Grey by Anne Tenino
    White Flag by Thom Lane (such a delicious, wonderful read!)
    The Finder by Brandon Fox

    We’re fond of markets of any kind, so we visited quite a few of those. Then there was sightseeing, and lazy evenings eating outside with Cidre and seafood 😎

    • Welcome back Feliz. Whatever your reasons for going to France it’s a beautiful country. The picture you sent me of your dogs dying of the heat made me want to throw them in a pool. lol.

      I’m so jealous of everyone who went away. 🙂

      How did you like Bareback? Was it too much for you? That’s one of my favourite books but many readers don’t like it because of the cheating. I keep forgetting to review White Flag – I reviewed Red Light by the same author which was set in Provence and has such a sense of place. I liked it a lot and must see about reviewing White Flag. I haven’t read some of the other books on your list so I’m anxious to find out how you liked them

      The food has already put 10 pounds on me and I haven’t eaten any of it. lol

      • Bareback was a little too much for me because of the number of sex scenes, as in finding myself thinking “Oh no, they’re at it AGAIN…” Then again, given how long ago it was first published – I remember that in the first m/m books I read, there couldn’t be enough smexxin’, this has changed over the years. The cheating didn’t bother me at all, it fit the development of the relationship and I found it a believable element to forward the plot.

        I really loved White Flag, it went immediately on my comfort reads shelf. I think it has a great sense of place too; you can almost taste the wine and feel the heat. Thanks for mentioning Red Light, I’ll check it out as soon as possible.

        • Feliz
          I understand what you’re saying about the amount of sex in the book, but you have to remember that Bareback was released in 2003 and I believe it was the first print book by Torquere. It was probably the first “real” M/M cowboy story I read apart from M/M stories like The Charioteer, The Front Runner etc. which were a different ilk of gay romances.

          I think that Bareback is supposed to represent how sexual cowboys are in RL and I found it believable, just like I believed the way the cheating unfolded.

          I now have White Flag on top of my TBR and as soon as I finish my current book that’s next. 🙂

  • Now I can’t edit and I wasn’t finished yet 🙁

    We got home with our car loaded to the brim with Normandy delicacies like Cidre, Calvados, Chreese, Caramels, Cookies…and now we can’t wait to go back. Normandy is always worth a trip!

    @Anke: I love Sylt too – it’s one of the most beautiful places in Germany in my opinion. and it has Leysieffer AND Gosch!

  • Vacation?

    I get 10 days off a year. I use most of them in the form of 3 and 4 day weekends, going to conventions to promote my books. I mostly see the insides of hotels. and nothing of the city or sights.

    So, last year, it was OutLantaCon in May in Atlanta GA, DuckCon in Chicago IL and FandomFest in Louisville KY.

    I met Amber Benson (Tara from Buffy), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Robert Wall (Enter the Dragon). I sold about 30 books, sat on about two dozen panels discussing everything from vampires to BDSM to small press and author collectives.

    I read very little, since I wrote two novels.
    I read Mike Shade’s SLIPPING THE STREAM and Jan Suzukawa’s KAMINISHI, both m/m and I’m currently working on Eric Wilson’s FIELD OF BLOOD, a Christian vampire novel and Crymsyn Hart’s Circus Diabolique series.

    • You should move to Europe – they believe in annual vacations of at least a month (I think) 🙂

      I guess what you’re saying is that your vacations are working holidays not true vacations.

      I think everyone needs down time but that’s just me.

      Thanks for the list of books Angel – I like Mike Shade so I’ll put Slipping the Stream on my list – don’t know about Field of Blood. It doesn’t sound like my kind of book. 🙂

      • The US doesn’t believe in vacations. They don’t believe in any worker benefits and we have major presidential candidates who are in favor of repealing child labor laws and minimum wage. Don’t get me started on the 40 hour work week.

        My holidays are indeed working holidays, as GayRomLit and ConTraception in Oct will be.

        Field of Blood uses a lot of Christian and Jewish mythology. I’m only a couple chapters in and I’m not sure about it. But I like Eric, so I’m trying the book.

        SLIPPING THE STREAM is cyberpunk, with Shade’s trademark too much sex. It wasn’t bad but I’ve had better cyberpunk.

  • My hubby and I took some friends to see the natural wonders of Oregon and then to California to see redwoods, San Francisco, and Yosemite. We ate too much wonderful, rich food and had a truly awesome time.

    While traveling, I risked carsickness to read M.J. O’Shea’s DARK SUN, Xara Xanakas’ CRAZY WIND, Amy Lane’s IF I MUST and YEARNING, Andy Eisenberg’s PATIENT EYES, Andrea Speed’s INFECTED: LIFE AFTER DEATH (and of course now I’m off to by the other INFECTED books!), Z.A. Maxfield’s FUGITIVE COLOR and WHAT CHILD IS THIS?

    I liked them all. INFECTED: LIFE AFTER DEATH is all morose-action-hero-detective stuff with the barest mention of sex, but it was a page-turner for me. PATIENT EYES concentrates on fun, steamy sex. FUGITIVE COLOR impressed me because of the way the main characters were up-front with one another instead of acting out roles we’ve seen before.

    Before vacation, I bought a bunch of Jordan Castillo Price’s books in paperback–including ZERO HOUR–but in the end I decided not to take them so I wouldn’t risk losing them. It was a good choice. I left my iPhone charger in one hotel somehow; and fifty dollars’ worth of wine in another hotel’s refrigerator. And when I replaced that wine, my friends accidentally tucked a bottle away where they didn’t find it until too late to drink it. I made hotel cleaning staff happy all over the west coast.

    • Charles

      WOW what a list! You must have been away for a long time. How did you manage to read that many books travelling with your husband and friends?

      Re your list of books – what did you think of Crazy Wind? I’m thinking of reviewing it because it sounds like a gas. 🙂

      I just reviewed JCP’s Zero Hour and if you still haven’t read it you should as soon as possible. It’s an incredible adventure.

      Thanks for sharing your holidays with us. I did the California trip some years ago and I still remember it fondly. Sorry about all the items you lost – wish I had found the wine. As you said, the hotel cleaning staff were a happy bunch – they should tip you. 😯

  • Hi, This European isn’t going to France this year, but to the US for the first time. I am SO excited. We will be in Pennysylvania for the first week (to include visits to NY, Washington); then Virginia/N Carolina for a week finishing up with a week in San Fransico and like Charles Edward we are including a visit to Yosemite.
    The wonders of Dropbox combined with my Ipad mean that I can read any of the many books in my TBR, but I do like to read books set in the places I am staying. I have some Amish books, does anybody have any other suggestions for me?
    Thanks.

    • Oh, Rachel, I can give you a couple of great suggestions, most of which I have reviewed here on the site (search the titles to find my reviews)…

      The Rest of Our Lives by Dan Stone — takes place in Washington DC, Provincetown, MA, and North Carolina.

      Take My Picture by Giselle Ellis takes place in New York City and is very much entwined with the location.

      This Rough Magic by Josh Lanyon takes place in San Francisco. Also by Josh, I Spy Something Bloody takes place in Virginia (if I recall correctly).

      Enjoy your trip!

      L

      • That’s great, thank you Leslie. I have This Rough Magic in my tbr, but I will follow up on the others. I’ve read I spy something Bloody, so will have to reread. Thank you.

    • Hi Rachel

      It’s always great to go “across the pond” rather than stay in your part of the world. I’ve visited NY, DC and Virginia often and have travelled to North Carolina a few times so you will have a blast although I believe that some of the states had a bit of flood damage as a result of the recent hurricane. You will absolutely love San Francisco – it’s just beautiful.

      I don’t have recs. since I don’t know your taste in books but I’m sure that many US readers will come up with wonderful suggestions for you. Have a great holiday.

      • Hi Wave – I read extensively (also het which I know you don’t touch) though I’m not so keen on fantasy or paranormal. I am so looking forward to this trip.

        • Rachel
          We’re all anxiously waiting for your report on your summer vacation when you return to Great Britain. This post will remain open indefinitely so you have no excuses. 🙂

          I used to read het erotica in addition to M/M until I stopped completely 5 – 6 years ago because I got bored with the plots and the characters. I have around 3 – 400 het print books that I will be getting rid of on eBay as soon as I get around to cataloging them 🙂 and I’m in the process of deleting my het ebooks.

          • I’m quite picky and read less than I do M/M.

            Yes, I’ll write you a report – it could be based on the books I read if I find enough – hint,hint.

    • I have trip recommendations! If your budget allows in San Francisco, I suggest eating at the Franciscan at Fisherman’s Wharf. If you get a clear day, drive up to Twin Peaks to see the whole city.

      At Yosemite, take the drive to Glacier Point. It’s amazing.

      • Hi Charles Edward, I love the SF recommendations – we are staying in Fisherman’s Wharf so I’ll look for the Fransiscan. Thanks for the tips about Twin Peaks and Glacier Point. We have a niece in the city so are hoping she will also give us some good tips.

        • Hi Rachel! If you have a car try to go to Muir Woods which is just over the Golden Gate– See the Red Woods in an easy walk. You can stroll through Sausalito or Mill Valley after. If you go to Yosemite, you can sign up (on internet) for an all day bus tour. They drive you to all the prime spots, so you can just relax, and they give you the history etc.. I recommend it for one time visitors.
          If you can’t make it to Napa/Sonoma there are Wine Tasting Rooms in SF like the Winery Collective there at the Wharf. Have Fun!!

          Oh,Yes, Victor Banis’ Nightshade is in SF!

        • Also, if you get a chance, see Beach Blanket Babylon (www.beachblanketbabylon.com) — it’s a hoot. And come across Bay to the east to Berkeley by BART and see the UCB campus and Telegraph Avenue. Yes, it’s changed since the 60s, but it’s still fun. And you must visit the Castro.

          When are you coming?

        • I’d like to give a rec. for Sausalito: If you have a little bit of time, go to “Horizons”, sit on their deck and have a cocktail/glas of wine! The view of the skyline of SF is simply wonderful 🙂

          Have fun!

          • Thank you everybody for all the recs for books and places to visit. I am so looking forward to the trip and will post when I get back in October.

  • Heh, I did a bus trip from New York to California stopping in several states in April, so I kinda forgot what I read too (read so many since then :)), but I do remember listening to “Cut and Run” audiobook on my itouch. You have to understand, for all my excessive buying and reading, I rarely get audio books, I maybe have five or six all together in my collection, so it was so much fun. 🙂 especially when guide got on my nerves and I needed to shut her voice out 😉

    • Hi Sirius
      That must have been a lot of fun. I drove from San Diego to Napa Valley and it was a wonderful trip with many stops in between. However I didn’t get to do any reading since I was the driver. 🙁

      Funny you should mention Cut & Run since I’m re-reading it right now to prepare for the newest book which will be released next month. I never thought of audio books because if the narrator’s voice is annoying that would spoil the book for me.

      Next time you’ll have to remember all of the details since I plan to ask the other readers to post about their holidays in future. 😎

      • I did enjoy the narrator’s voice, thank goodness, because it can definitely spoil the book. Yes, taking notes next time is in order. Trip was fun, because I got to see many places in America I would have never visited otherwise, and probably never will. However we had on average spent nine ten hours in the bus every day, not something I want to repeat any time soon 🙂

        • Bus trips are not my favourite way to travel but they are probably the best way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, while still giving you the opportunity to stop and enjoy the roses. 🙂

  • We went to Whistler in Canada for vacation. They have a huge dirt biking complex along with lots of hiking and paved bike trails. They also have some yummy restaurants. I’ve never seen so many fit people in one place!! 😀

    I read MUSCLING THROUGH, JL Merrow, THIS ROUGH MAGIC, JL and Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane. I think they’re all from reviews here!

    We had a fun and relaxing vacation in a beautiful place!! :forit:

    • Hi Reggie
      I’m so glad you had a good time in Whistler. If this was your first visit to Canada – welcome. 🙂 You’re absolutely correct – Whistler is the place to go for the fittest people; it’s all that skiiing in the winter.

      I hope you enjoyed the books – Muscling Through is one of my faves this year and the others are not chopped liver. lol

  • Those of you who know me or read my blog will know that I go on camping holidays. I go three times a year – once at the end of May and at the beginning and end of August. Due to the vagaries of the British weather I don’t take my book reader when I go camping because I worry about it getting wet so I store up paperbacks to take with me when I go. I seem to be on a bit of a fantasy bent when I’m not reading m/m romance because all the paperback books I read whilst on holiday were fantasies!

    This year I read:
    The first 3 books in Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series.
    Lord of the White Hell 1&2 by Ginn Hale.
    Melusine by Sarah Monette
    Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
    Storm Front by Jim Butcher

    It rained a lot this year, especially when I went last week, but I still enjoy it because we go with friends and it’s nice to socialise.

    • Hi Jen
      I know that you enjoy camping and go as often as you can. Obviously that hardy British spirit. 🙂 What I found amazing about the responses to this post is the difference (except for France) in most of the holidays mentioned in the comments.

      Thanks for your book recs. I only read the first book in the Nightrunner series but I did read both Lord of the White Hell books as well as Swordspoint and absolutely loved them. I’ll make a note about the others for the future since fantasy was one of the first genres that I read. Other readers will enjoy your suggestions as well.

      How can one enjoy camping in the rain? Aren’t flies and being bitten bad enough without being wet all the time? 😆

  • I’m one of the Europeans that didn’t go vacationing in France 🙂 Hubby and I went to the UK (partially because of the GLBT UK Fiction Meet) for a week of camping.
    We had a great holiday (a week without the boys is heaven 😀 ), and we had lovely weather too (while the kids kept texting about rain at home).

    What I read? Well, aside from a bunch of HSD stories (36), I read ‘Fragile’ by Monika Krasnorada, ‘The Lord’s Tale’ by Sue Brown, ‘Muffled Drum’ by Erastes, the British Flash anthology, ‘Left of Center’ by Zathyn Priest, ‘Language Lessons’ by Jay Bell, and ‘Over the Mountain of the Moon’ by Reiko Morgan.

    I have to admit that I read most of these during the trips to and back (and on the Ferry). Plenty of time to read while hubby’s driving. I love my ereader 😀

    I was in the middle of reading the Matthew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom just before we went to the UK (finished the second part the night before we left), but I really didn’t want to bring any actual books with me … and I still have to get back to that series …
    So many books on my to-read list.

    Typing this list reminds me how terribly behind I am on updating my GoodReads *sigh*

    • Hi Blaine
      Another camping fan – you and Jen’s family should join forces. 🙂 You were lucky with the weather because most of the readers from England talked about the rain and cold they had all summer.

      Except for Muffled Drum I haven’t read any of books on your list. I can see I have a lot of new books to add to the pile.

      • Hubby and I have mostly been lucky with the weather while camping in the UK. We do occasionally suffer rain, but never enough to ruin the holiday (and no rain this year at all)

        I actually met Jen during the GLBT UK Fiction Meet, so she might have seen our VW campervan at the parking lot. It’s a rust bucket, but great to spend our holidays in 🙂

        I think that next to Muffled Drum, Over the Mountain of the Moon is my favourite book on that list, with Left of Center as a very good third 🙂
        The Lord’s Tale is the third in a series, btw.

        Oh, and the CJ Sansom series is non m/m, but an absolutely brilliant mystery series (set mid 1500s)

  • First, I want to go with Ingrid on her next vacation!
    This summer I’ve been reading old favorite & new favorite authors:

    Josh Lanyons “Come Unto These Yellow Sands” – a beautiful story all around

    Helen Saito “Under Contract” a society where sex slavery has been legalized (intense but very good)

    “Lines in the Sand” Lyn Gala (loved it!)

    Tuareg by Sarah Black (loved it!)

    Timing by Mary Calmes

    Life Lessons 1, 1.5 + 2 by Kaje Harper (I love Mac & Tony and look forward to book 3)

    • Don’t Ingrid’s vacations sound wonderful? She should take all of us. 🙂

      I’m not sure that I like AU books about sex slavery but I read a few others on your list and loved them. I have to get on with Life Lessons 1 & 2 soon before 3 is published. 🙂

  • Vacation? What vacation? All I got was a bunch of knights, a medieval campsite and lots lots lots of rain 😉
    Okay it wasn’t too bad, but it did indeed left me wanting to go toa tropical deserted island with a bunch of books and some prety hot man servants.

    My summer reading this year wasn’t really interesting. A lot of short stories with some hot smexxin’. What did stand out was a non-m/m series by Toni McGee Causey: Charmed and Dangerous (also called Bobbie Faye’s very very very bad day), Girls just wanna have guns and When a man loves a weapon.

    Boy, did I ever identify with a main character! ‘Cause when Bobbie Faye has a bad day, she really has a bad day and damn are we a like much (except I don’t have a governor running like mad when he sees me, although, my co-worker…)

    Reading these books made my days so much bearable!

    • Larissa
      You know you’ll never get me to read het books. I’ve had my fill of them. 🙂 They do sound like a lot of fun though. lol

      Sorry you were so annoyed about the knights this year 😯 but maybe next year they will learn to behave. 😀 That tropical island is the place to be.

      Now that you’re no longer the knights’ handmaiden I hope to see a lot more of you on the site.

      • Well it was non-erotic because I’m not interested in those any longer either. It was romantic, but in a good way. And damn Bobbie Faye sure can kick some ass.

        It wasn’t all bad, the show went great, but all the work was too much combined with a fulltime job.

        Anyways, yes, I should be around a bit more now. Though I have a tendacy to hide with a book in my bed 😉 But i missed this place and you! 🙂

  • I have an idea for next summer when you guys go on your vacations. In June I’ll ask you to post the countries/cities that you will be visiting and I’ll ask the locals to provide tips for places to visit including quaint out of the way locations that only someone who lives there would know. But it won’t be free because you’ll have to tell us about your holidays when you return. 😀

  • I am baaack! To France also, Normandy (21C, windy and some sunshine)and the Dordogne. I went camping as well. Yesterday I drove 1160 km in one day by myself. My navigator made me drive the Blvd Peripherique in Paris because it was the shortest way *sigh* but….. I did see the Eiffel tower and the Sacre Coeur.

    I read Dancing in the Dark and Dance with the devil by Megan Derr. City Falcon by Feliz, Lone Wolf (Shelly Munro), Not in the NFL (Terry O’Reilly), some other fluffy stuff and I am still reading Cryptonomicom by Neal Stephanson in paper.

    I didn’t read as much as I would have liked because I got a rather busy program and only two weeks.

    It is nice to read about your vacations and reading habits. Thanks everyone

    • Hi Ingrid
      It’s great to have you back and hear about your vacation and what you read. You have the best ideas. As you can see, I used your comments in your email to write this post and look what you created. 😀
      I think I’ll do an annual post in June to get holiday ideas from everyone.

      Thanks also for the list of books that you read. I read Not in the NFL and I’ll be reviewing it next week. Lone Wolf is on my TBR.

  • I actually read this post when it came out on my phone :yes: but wasn’t able to comment. I remember thinking silly Feliz for not taking bathing suits! I had three 🙂

    Didn’t take any books pictures this year but I did take 273 others.

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