So bad, yet I cannot stop reading

Recently I've been reading a lot of indie gay fiction on my nook. Why? Mostly because it's cheap (usually less than $3) to download the book.

Most of it is terrible. Some of it approaches good, but then slides back down into bad. I guess the price really reflects the quality of the writing?? Terrible. But I keep hoping that I'll hit on something good as I continue to search for a good gay romance.

I had a discussion with my friend J about why gay romances are so badly written. We've come to the conclusion that it is because gay romance is such an underground genre that there is a serious lack of quality writing because anyone who is good at writing is writing something else - because God forbid they publish gay romance.

There is a definite stigma attached to it for any respectable writer if they wrote a gay romance. Brokeback Mountain is an exception - but we all know why.

All I can say is that I hope one day American gay romances will someday be something like the yaoi romances of Japan. For anyone who has read yaoi manga or novels, they're rather sweet and do not focus solely on the sex - unlike American romances - but instead on the relationship between the two men. Well, most of the time. Of course there is the occasional shameless sex novel.

But there is definitely more plot building in yaoi romances, which is why I enjoy them so much. Unfortunately they're in Japanese and only so many are translated into English, so there are not that many books I can sqee over. But I definitely treasure the ones I do have - even if they are also shoddily translated sometimes.

I am such a desperate reader.

Twitter

I am now on Twitter thanks to my friend who is a Twitter-fiend!

Now people can follow my inane thoughts and even more random musings @azzie6.

More thoughts on the Nook

I do like my Nook but I have one complaint: the battery does not last long enough. Barnes and Noble claim that if I turn on the airport mode, I can read on my Nook for up to 10 days.

Well, I full charged it yesterday, turned on the airport mode and I can already see that my Nook is not going to last for 10 days. Maybe because I read for too long? What did they mean when they claimed the Nook's battery can last for 10 days? Do they mean 10 days of continuance reading or only a few hours a day?

Oh, Nook, I am so disappointed in you. What kind of whooey is this? 10 days?? It's not going to last 3.

The Nook

My sister bought me a Nook last week and I have been abusing that thing ever since. Learning how to turn the darn thing on, waiting for it to boot, only to have it freeze on me-! Then trying all over again. Attempting to download. Trying to open my books. Click click tap tap - give it a good shake.

I feel bad for the poor thing.

But I think I'm getting the hang of it!

I've had mixed feelings about these eBook readers since The Kindle came out because well, it's so darn expensive. Almost $300 for something that doesn't even come with books yet. If you're a smart book shopper, you can get the actual physical book you paid $10 for on the reader for much, much less - especially if you buy them used.

So. It's very expensive. But it's so convenient! And I didn't have to pay for the Nook myself. Which, of course, makes me happy. I think I love The Nook. Maybe...

I'm still hesitant about paying so much for an electronic copy of a book I can buy a real copy of for much, much less.

So far I haven't spent anymore than $5 for a book on the Nook. I can't bring myself to spend anymore than that. Too bad some of the really good books are $10!

On the bright side, I plan to travel a lot so this will definitely come in handy.

Book: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is the first Neil Gaiman book I have read and I must say I truly enjoyed it. The movie did not win an Oscar but Mr. Gaiman did not expect a win since UP was on the list and how can anyone compete with Russel and Mr. Fredricksen?? They're definitely friendlier than lonely Coraline, although just as funny - well, if you have a twisted sense of humor, of course.

And Coraline IS funny. And scary and dark and just plain creepy sometimes. Reading it was not a very traumatic experience but it wasn't until I put my book down and thought about it that I felt a chill run down my spine.

Anyway, after reading Coraline I found myself ordering Mr. Gaiman's other books on Amazon.com because I don't think I can get enough of him.