reading update 5/18/2022
May. 18th, 2022 05:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwalla2 more books to fifty! I think I'm gonna make it :)
The list is probably going to look like this for a while...Dracula Daily isn't over until April and I think Tyrant is gonna take me a few months as well. The Way Spring Arrives is on hold temporarily because I'm moving and have to box up and ship all my books.
Ten Book Shortlist:
Down to 8 now! Not really feeling any of these right now though.
Reviews:
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae
3/5. This is a mixed bag of short stories. They vary in quality and it does feel like there's a lot of worldbuilding crammed in that's poorly developed or not fully thought out. But there's a lot of interesting stuff there, too. I'd definitely be interested to see what else Janelle Monae writes, and I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for queer black sci-fi or who's a fan of the album.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
1/5. Tiktok needs to stop because this book is so far up its own ass it could give itself a colonscopy. For 300 pages this book wastes your time with six characters, only 2 of which experience anything resembling normal human emotion, none of whom actually do anything interesting. Mostly they sit around and talk or think while the author forces you to read some of the most pretentious drivel I've even seen in my life. Then for the last 50 or so pages, characters who have been barely present arrive to deliver a completely new plot with no connection to what we thought the plot was. This isn't a twist where you can reread and catch all the clues. There aren't very many. And yes, I read the new edition that's been professionally edited, so there is no slack being given.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall
5/5. I loved this. It's not a traditional romance, per se--I've seen reviews say it's closer to women's fiction--but I thought it was great, despite being deeply bored by GBBO in real life. I thought the romance was good and in general I think Alexis Hall is very good at creating webs of relationships that make his books come to life. I tore through this over the course of an evening, no regrets.
Currently Reading:
- The Way Spring Arrives And Other Stories edited by Yu Chen
- The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
The list is probably going to look like this for a while...Dracula Daily isn't over until April and I think Tyrant is gonna take me a few months as well. The Way Spring Arrives is on hold temporarily because I'm moving and have to box up and ship all my books.
Ten Book Shortlist:
- The Councillor by E. J. Beaton
- The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis
- The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
- A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
- These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
- Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Down to 8 now! Not really feeling any of these right now though.
Reviews:
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae
3/5. This is a mixed bag of short stories. They vary in quality and it does feel like there's a lot of worldbuilding crammed in that's poorly developed or not fully thought out. But there's a lot of interesting stuff there, too. I'd definitely be interested to see what else Janelle Monae writes, and I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for queer black sci-fi or who's a fan of the album.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
1/5. Tiktok needs to stop because this book is so far up its own ass it could give itself a colonscopy. For 300 pages this book wastes your time with six characters, only 2 of which experience anything resembling normal human emotion, none of whom actually do anything interesting. Mostly they sit around and talk or think while the author forces you to read some of the most pretentious drivel I've even seen in my life. Then for the last 50 or so pages, characters who have been barely present arrive to deliver a completely new plot with no connection to what we thought the plot was. This isn't a twist where you can reread and catch all the clues. There aren't very many. And yes, I read the new edition that's been professionally edited, so there is no slack being given.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall
5/5. I loved this. It's not a traditional romance, per se--I've seen reviews say it's closer to women's fiction--but I thought it was great, despite being deeply bored by GBBO in real life. I thought the romance was good and in general I think Alexis Hall is very good at creating webs of relationships that make his books come to life. I tore through this over the course of an evening, no regrets.
