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Reading roundup
I seem to have got completely out of the habit of book reviews recently. (I have got out of the habit of a lot of things I quite enjoyed, actually.) Anyway, in the hope that I might restart at some point, a quick roundup of the last couple of months.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers: I really liked this novella about a tea monk whose desire to step off the beaten tracks leads to the first meeting between a human and a robot in centuries. It's sweet and hopeful and dedicated "To everyone who could use a break", and as someone who could definitely use a break, I loved it.
Rivers of London: Monday, Monday - Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel: the most recent of the Rivers of London graphic novels, good fun as always.
The Feast - Margaret Kennedy: recently republished, this delightful1950 novel is set in a Cornish seaside hotel populated by a disparate cast of beautifully-drawn characters, and I really enjoyed it.
Heartstopper vol 1 - Alice Oseman: the first volume of the original graphic novel series the recent Netflix series is based on, a lovely romance between two teenage boys.
Are You My Mother? - Alison Bechdel: graphic novel memoir, a bit too much psychoanalysis for me.
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 - P. Djèli Clark: steampunky mystery set in an alternate Cairo, great fun.
Amongst Our Weapons - Ben Aaronovitch: the new Rivers of London novel. I enjoyed it but several weeks later find myself struggling to remember exactly what happened in it.
May Day - Josie Jaffrey: urban fantasy murder mystery set in Oxford, which begins on May Morning and which I started to read because I was at a loose end on the first of May. Plotty and rather enjoyable.
She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan: Chinese historical fantasy, though quite light on the fantasy. I know lots of people who loved this but I wasn't keen, or at least, I loved the first section (where the heroine escapes poverty by adopting her dead brother's identity and joining a monastery) and then lost interest when the rest of it was pretty much all military campaigns, including some pretty gruesome violence, with a lot of time dedicated to the point of view of a second character who I wasn't terribly keen on.
Spellcracker's Honeymoon - Tansy Rayner Roberts: frothy fantasy romance, just what I needed after the rather gloomy slog of She Who Became the Sun.
Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities - Nick Walker: an interesting collection of essays looking at neurodiversity as an identity and a rejection of normative ideas.
Swordheart - T Kingfisher: a hugely enjoyable fantasy adventure-romance.
Digger - Ursula Vernon: a webcomic about a wombat who finds herself a long way from home, and her adventures while trying to find a way back. Features vampire pumpkins and is generally delightful.
Heartstopper vol 2 - Alice Oseman
Gifts - Ursula K Le Guin: the first in the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, a coming of age story set in a bleak and inhospitable land. Thoughtful and interesting.
Chaos on CatNet - Naomi Kritzer: YA technothriller featuring a benevolent AI with a penchant for cat pictures and a bunch of determined queer kids with parental issues.
Sandman: The Kindly Ones - Neil Gaiman
Sandman: The Wake - Neil Gaiman
Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard: sapphic fantasy novella with a background of diplomatic negotiations and colonial politics.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers: I really liked this novella about a tea monk whose desire to step off the beaten tracks leads to the first meeting between a human and a robot in centuries. It's sweet and hopeful and dedicated "To everyone who could use a break", and as someone who could definitely use a break, I loved it.
Rivers of London: Monday, Monday - Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel: the most recent of the Rivers of London graphic novels, good fun as always.
The Feast - Margaret Kennedy: recently republished, this delightful1950 novel is set in a Cornish seaside hotel populated by a disparate cast of beautifully-drawn characters, and I really enjoyed it.
Heartstopper vol 1 - Alice Oseman: the first volume of the original graphic novel series the recent Netflix series is based on, a lovely romance between two teenage boys.
Are You My Mother? - Alison Bechdel: graphic novel memoir, a bit too much psychoanalysis for me.
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 - P. Djèli Clark: steampunky mystery set in an alternate Cairo, great fun.
Amongst Our Weapons - Ben Aaronovitch: the new Rivers of London novel. I enjoyed it but several weeks later find myself struggling to remember exactly what happened in it.
May Day - Josie Jaffrey: urban fantasy murder mystery set in Oxford, which begins on May Morning and which I started to read because I was at a loose end on the first of May. Plotty and rather enjoyable.
She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan: Chinese historical fantasy, though quite light on the fantasy. I know lots of people who loved this but I wasn't keen, or at least, I loved the first section (where the heroine escapes poverty by adopting her dead brother's identity and joining a monastery) and then lost interest when the rest of it was pretty much all military campaigns, including some pretty gruesome violence, with a lot of time dedicated to the point of view of a second character who I wasn't terribly keen on.
Spellcracker's Honeymoon - Tansy Rayner Roberts: frothy fantasy romance, just what I needed after the rather gloomy slog of She Who Became the Sun.
Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities - Nick Walker: an interesting collection of essays looking at neurodiversity as an identity and a rejection of normative ideas.
Swordheart - T Kingfisher: a hugely enjoyable fantasy adventure-romance.
Digger - Ursula Vernon: a webcomic about a wombat who finds herself a long way from home, and her adventures while trying to find a way back. Features vampire pumpkins and is generally delightful.
Heartstopper vol 2 - Alice Oseman
Gifts - Ursula K Le Guin: the first in the Annals of the Western Shore trilogy, a coming of age story set in a bleak and inhospitable land. Thoughtful and interesting.
Chaos on CatNet - Naomi Kritzer: YA technothriller featuring a benevolent AI with a penchant for cat pictures and a bunch of determined queer kids with parental issues.
Sandman: The Kindly Ones - Neil Gaiman
Sandman: The Wake - Neil Gaiman
Fireheart Tiger - Aliette de Bodard: sapphic fantasy novella with a background of diplomatic negotiations and colonial politics.