June Wrap Up Part 1

 I've read a ton of short things so I wanted to do a wrap up of what I've read so far.

The first short story I picked up was Randomize by Andy Weir. I love Weir for his great characters and humor but sadly, there just wasn't enough time to develop the characters much. It focuses on technology and gambling but the ending surprised me so I gave it 3 stars.

I read Pet by Awkaeke Emezi. I loved their writing but similarly felt this book was too short. I wanted more character development and world building. The story focuses on Jam, a 17 year old trans girl whose mother's painting comes to life. The painting, known as "Pet" has come alive to fight a monster in Jam's best friend's house. While this wasn't my favorite, I really did like the writing style and will pick up more from this author. I gave it 3 stars.

Then I reread Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. I paired the audiobook with the graphic novel for a fun immersive experience. I love the humor, the artwork, and the three central characters. I gave it 5 stars!\

I listened to the audiobook of Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. Her descriptive writing was beautiful but I wished we had more time with the characters to make the ending more impactful. I guess I'm picky about short stories. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Lastly, I've read the comic Bingo Love by Tee Franklin. I read this for a Read Harder challenge but I'm so glad I did. This focuses on two young black girls who meet and become best friends and girlfriends. When their religious parents catch them, they are separated but reunite nearly 50 years later. The story is of their second chance love and I absolutely loved it. 5 stars!

June TBR

 It's Pride Month so I wanted to focus on queer books this month. I will likely be squeezing in some other books as well.

1. Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Or one of their other books)

2. Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

3. We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker

4. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden 

5. The Irreversible Decline of Eddie Socket by John Weir

6. Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

7. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

8. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (re-read)

May Wrap Up

 Well, the slump hit hard and I didn't finish anything until the second week of the month. I have read 5 books.

The first was For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor. Yes, I was drawn back into the Bobiverse. This is the second book in the series and I loved it. There was first contact with aliens that were destructive and the Bobs join together to defend the humans and other intelligent beings in the universe. It was lovely with its dry humor and wit. I gave it 4 stars.

Then my library had in my hold of Blood Sugar by Sacha Rothchild. This is a mystery book following the main character who has killed three people, but when her husband ends up dead, she was not responsible. There wasn't a huge amount of intrigue because her husband died of his illness and it was more to see if she would be held responsible or not. There is one twist, which I thought was good but overall, not super memorable. I gave it 3 stars.

Afterwards, I picked up my ARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. I wrote a dedicated review for that so I'll just sum up by saying I gave it 3 stars as well.

I read Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. This is eir graphic memoir of growing up with gender dysphoria and struggles with eir sexuality. The author identifies as nonbinary and asexual. I found the art to be simple but nice. The story was mostly well put-together until the end. It ends abruptly. I gave this 4 stars.

Lastly, I squeezed in one more listen in the month. I listened to The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, The Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes. I knew nothing about this series but was drawn in by the intriguing title. It follows Fred who has turned into a vampire, but is still the safe, boring, work-focused person he was before. He goes to his school reunion and meets a real monster hunter. They get involved and his life is suddenly full of parahumans. It is dry, witty, and laugh out loud funny. It's almost a satire of paranormal stuff and I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars and was eager to realize it's a 7 book series. Looking forward to more!

ARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

 I received an ARC of The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. The book starts off with a letter from a beta reader who is helping the author with her book. The story within a story starts with our four main characters in the library when they hear a woman scream. They didn't know each other previously, but are bonded by the mystery of the scream. When they later find out a woman was found dead in the library, they are curious and try to find out more. 

At first, I felt like the framing device (letters from the beta reader) was unnecessary but it eventually became apparent why the author chose this. I did like the letters quite a lot as they helped build a sense of dread. The mystery of who killed the woman in the library was intriguing but there were several moments that I just didn't find believable. For example, a character falls in love with someone whom she's known for less than a month, when she finds out a big secret, she doesn't immediately tell the police or her friends, and some pieces of the story were just not wrapped up. The conclusion was fast and chaotic. For these reasons, I gave the 3 stars. Overall enjoyable but likely not memorable. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy. The book comes out June 7, 2022

Slump

 Well....I guess having a good reading month in April was short-lived. I'm hardcore in a reading slump and keep picking stuff up only to set it back down again after less than a chapter. I really loved We Are Legion by Dennis E. Taylor and want to read the next book in the series but my library doesn't have it and I don't want to buy it.

Will it break my slump? Should I just re-read a favorite? Focus on non-reading hobbies?

I'll keep you updated. So far 7 days with little to no reading. I will at least read my ARC but I waiting until I'm in a better mood so I don't taint that experience.

May TBR

 I've decided that starting this month, I really need to focus on books I own. I am allowing myself up to two non-owned books since I am still reading for challenges and do not own books to qualify for every challenge. Also, anything I'm super excited about can also be included.

Additionally, I've decided to add a tiny element of randomness by using a random number generator for my shelves. This month I picked shelf 13. I let my husband pick a book from that shelf and he chose The Unseen World by Liz Moore.

Here's what else I'm planning to read:

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (ARC for June)

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Triangle: The Fire that Changed America by David von Drehle

Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia

A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

April Wrap Up

 Wow, this month has been a fantastic reading experience. I have read 13 books. I finished all 6 prompts for Archmage. I look forward to continuing the career in August.

I read Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. This book was about clone iterations on a colony planet made for doing the most dangerous missions. I wanted more info about the life on the planet rather than the conflict of having more than one clone active at one time. Still it was interesting and I gave 3 stars.

I listened to Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby. After seeing her Netflix special, I knew I had to pick up this book. She is autistic and incredibly blunt and talks about her struggles with mental illness, violence because she is lesbian, and her journey into comedy. So much of what she talks about is triggering but such an impactful read and at times, hilarious. I gave it 5 stars.

For my short-story prompt, I read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. I don't typically like short stories because as soon as I am attached to the character, the story ends. However, these were really well written and I enjoyed almost all of them. I gave it 4 stars.

I finally read 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. At the risk of offending some, I don't really see the hype with this book. It just a collection of letters between a reader and a bookstore owner from the 1960s &70s. I gave it 3 stars.

I finished an essay collection called Between Certain Death and a Possible Future edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. Some of these essays were incredibly powerful, some were repetitive and poorly written, and others didn't seem to really need to be included. People wrote about their experiences growing up queer during the AIDS epidemic. I gave the collection 3.5 stars.

I was eagerly awaiting the release of True Biz by Sara Novic. It was set at a Deaf boarding school. Both are tropes I love! There was some really important discussion of cochlear implants, lack of language skills when Deaf can't sign, and the importance of accessibility. The book focused on three characters which showed different sides of Deaf life. The ending was not what I expected and was a bit of a bummer. I gave it 4 stars.

I finished the Wizards of Once series by reading the fourth book Never Forever by Cressida Cowell. This was a fun casual read that was improved by David Tennant's narration. I gave it 3.5 stars and found it to be a satisfying conclusion.

For my romance prompt I read The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann. This was an entertaining story of two asexual best friends and their foray into relationships with others. It was easy to read and shed light on the asexual spectrum. I gave it 4 stars.

On a whim I listened to Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano. This was a complete impulse check out of the library. While this was completely unbelievable, I found myself laughing and enjoying it. A writer and stay-at-home mom is paid to kill an awful man, mistaken for a hitwoman. A plan coalesces and she is drawn into organized crime. I gave it 3.5 stars.

After hearing a ton about Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro from Jen Campbell I finally read it. It was very slow and not at all what I was expecting. However, the last 30 pages really make the story and tie together things that didn't seem related at first. I gave it 4 stars because I'm still thinking about it.

I picked up another new release about Deaf people and culture called The Sign for Home by Blair Fell. This was about a Deafblind man who gets a new interpreter who shows him he's capable of more than what his caregivers let on. They are deeply religious and intentionally cut him off from accessibility. I was excited to learn about the different forms of accessibility are available to the Deafblind community and felt compelled to keep turning the pages. 4 stars.

I listened to Wil Wheaton's annotated memoir I'm Still Just a Geek. This is an update of his memoir where he addresses his problematic thinking and also is more honest to his real feelings. He focuses on his abusive relationship with his family, his mental illness, and how he navigated his young life. There are times when he literally cries from addressing trauma or when talking about departed friends. It felt authentic, like I really got to know him. However, the writing is often chaotic, his apologies go on too long, and some of the material was repetitive. I decided not to rate it because of my mixed feelings. I'm glad I read it but be forewarned, it can be triggering.

And barely under the wire, I finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor. This is a fun space opera series where a human is given eternal life by being programmed into an AI. He makes several copies of himself (although they do differ) and he tries to help humanity find a livable world. This book was narrated by Ray Porter who also narrated my favorite Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Because they are both the same voice, similar humor, and focus on first contact with aliens, I would think many who enjoyed Weir will enjoy this too. I gave it 4.5 stars because a few of the perspectives were not as exciting but I'm hoping the next three books will be 5 stars.