Tag: books

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Maybe it’s the fact that I wrote every single day last month, or the fact that my default is I write a lot as if to make up for the lost time. At only 202 words a day, I’m still pretty much crushing it. But, yeah. I got prompts out the kazoo: 750 Words has a prompt thingy now, I have an inspirational one-a-day desktop calendar, I get newsletters for prompt topics in my email, not to mention all the lists of prompts I’ve already made, living in "Interesting Times,"… I’ve no shortage of what to write.

I also sat and read Ice Planet Barbarians.

The cover for Ice Planet Barbarians, Spahish edition. It's a lot more dynamic and striking than the bland English version.
I like this cover a lot more!

A bonding moment with a complete stranger over something we both loved? The adventure of diving into something I’d Never Normally Pick Up? Any reason to pick up and read random spicy book things? Maaaybe. I am ready for the potential Hot Mess I may have on my hands.

But first, I had to find the thing. It wasn’t available on my eReader of choice, a Kobo device. At least, I couldn’t find an English version. And since I’ve sworn off anything Kindle-related (fuck their DRM!), I had to get creative. Yadda yadda yadda, and the book is open on my phone instead. I can tolerate a smaller form factor for a short book– it’s only 180 pages.

First Impression

They even got to a BIPOC person eventually!

Oh, this thing is, like, TikTok famous. From what I heard about BookTok, they do enjoy the spicy books over there, and we’re not talkin’ about food (or maybe we are, depending on the book…). In case you’re not picking up what I’m putting down: erotica. It’s erotica. There’s sex in it. It’s for adults that like that sort of thing.

And there are 21 books. One novella even dares reference Vanilla Ice to stay on theme. Because yes, of course, pregnancy and babies do eventually show up. Ice, Ice, Babies. 

oh man is BookTok str8 as hell or–

Before We Crash Land

First off– this is absolutely not a review! Nothing on par with, say, Reads With Rachel. This is so far off of what I normally read that it’d be unfair for me to rate or critique it, you know? I can tell you that it was an alright read– if a bit by-the-numbers– and if you’re into This Sorta Thing you may enjoy it! Read actual reviews or whatever and decide from there!

I begin with that because… yo. The amount of eyerolling I did while reading this.

For transparency’s sake: while proofreading this entry I noted that I Might Protest Too Much, so don’t be surprised if I pick up a few books after this. I ain’t too proud to tell ya that.

SPOILERS FROM HERE, NERDS. 

There will also be frank discussion of all the pre-martial hanky panky going on in this book. I marked it NSFW accordingly, but there are no NSFW graphics.

Additional Content Warnings: sexual assault, pregnancy

Joyce yelling at Joe, "Premartial Hanky-Panky!"
Thanks, Joyce! (And Willis)

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Remember that To-Read list last year? I gave it a honest try, before getting sidetracked. If a long-anticipated book wasn’t dropping, science fiction was calling my name. I read a ton of that last year, according to my StoryGraph.

What I Did Read

  • Around the Way Girl, by Taraji P. Henson – I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, so I made a point to give this attention. Need a physical copy for my shelves– the highest accolade I can bestow a book.
  • Now I’ll Tell You Everything, Volume 25, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor – I caught up on Wikipedia and dove right in. What a wonderful sendoff.
  • The Jade Bone Saga by Fonda Lee – had been on my To Read list for a long time. Enjoyed every damn minute of it and I think I like urban fantasy now.
  • Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson – When this came out in December, I dropped everything and gave this my undivided attention. I was shook. I am shaken. Did I mention I was shook? We have a book club of three dedicated to the Cosmere and I can’t wait for our next meeting.
  • Iron Widow and Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao – Unfortunately, Sanderson writes some doorstoppers so I had to wait before devouring the sequel (and yes, loved the first book!). Again, I was shook and shaken. More. More! Moooooore!!
  • The Children of Time series by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Currently on the final book, Children of Memory; I paused between books to read Sanderson and Zhao. It really scratched my itch for Uplifted Animals in Space. Jumping spiders creating flowy spaceships, octupi who cracked the code on FTL travel, and corvids who outlived humans on a semi-terraformed planet.

What I Didn’t Read

  • Queen Bees and Wannabes – this just fell lower and lower on my priority list. Sorry, nonfiction.
  • Small Steps by Louis Sachar – no excuse, really.
  • So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole – Highest Priority Bump; I’m mad at myself for neglecting this one. There’s a sequel coming out soon so I need to get on it!
  • Winter Without End by Casimir Laski – I’ve yet to come across a physical copy of this.
  • Alecto the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – where is it where is it where is it where is it where is it where is it where is it where is it
  • Connie Willis anything – as Crosstalk made me break out in hives, I won’t be torn up about this if I never get around to it. I’m scared, man.

Looking Forward To

The cover for Their Vicious Games. A hand is holding up a multi-faceted perfume bottle reflecting various faces in a variety of emotions

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

I ate up some some horror/thriller compilations like The Black Girl Survives in This One and All These Sunken Souls. I want more. Apparently I’m setting myself up for thrillers and horrors this year. I am ready to be scared. Consensually. Unlike anything Connie Willis may write to upset my introverted nerves.

Cover for I Fed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me. A Black woman-read person's head is eerily staring at you, from a pool of water mostly covered in blood. A skull is in the background, barely made out in the cavern walls.

I Fed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea

I came across this person while searching for more scary stuff. They’re also featured in These Dreaming Spires collection, so add that to my To-Read list too.

Cover for The Weight of Blood. Black and white, a prom queen with a splash of red blood on her person.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

"Basically an interesting spin on Stephen King’s Carrie," a friend summarized to me. Grrl, say less!

Book cover for A Crown So Cursed. A young Black woman is holding a machete in one hand and nun chucks in the other, looking determined.

A Crown So Cursed by L.L. McKinney

This is the third (and final, IIRC) book in the Nightmare-Verse series that slipped by me as it released in 2023. I’m a sucker for Alice and Wonderland GRIMDARK stories– I loved The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (and now that I mention it, I’ll re-read that series too.) Unlike Beddor’s work, this is YA with the protagonist as a high schooler. I would’ve loved this when I was a Young Adult!

Covers of the Broken Earth Series: Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky, and The Fifth Season. Elaborate stone engravings overlayed with red, teal, and gray respectively.

The Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin

Because why the fuck haven’t I read it yet? Because I thought it a fantasy series, that’s why, and I need to give fantasy books more of a chance. There’s a reason why people keep telling me about this!

the book cover for Dungeon Crawler Carl. A white man in a jacket and heart-patterned boxers. Along with a fluffy cat, he is running ahead of a troll-driven tank-with-spikes.

Honorable Mention: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

One of those "eh, I’ll get to it" nominations, but the premise is interesting: Earth gets turned into a giant dungeon by bored aliens and hilarity ensues. If I get really in the mood for something lighthearted and silly I’ll definitely look into this.

The book covers for the Foundation series-- six books, each with a representation of their theme: Prelude to Foundation has interlocking circles and wavelengths. Foundation and Earth has a person in the center of the planet. Foundation's Edge is a sort of star map. Second Foundation has someone radiating telegraphic waves from their forehead. Foundation and Empire has the scientific model of the atom. Foundation has a spaceship blasting into the heavens.

I’ll Probably Just Read the SparkNotes: The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

A partner and I have been watching the Foundation series and let’s just say I need a refresher. It was years and years ago when I finished the books and– as this entry’s theme– all I could remember was that, eventually The Mule shows up. I’ve been enjoying the episodes but I can’t help but wonder what I’m missing, and what all the changes are (besides some even I picked up). By the way, the casting and acting? Absolutely phenomenal.

The Book Cover for Sunshine. Red and Black, a chandelier and roof at an artistic angle.

The Intrusive Thought: Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Watching (listening) to a Youtube video about some baking scam or another, the cover of a book jumped into my mind as someone described their business as "a romance novel" due to all the smells of baking. It was this one. Was it a romance novel? I don’t remember. All I can recall is that a baker and a vampire get involved with each other, somehow. And I do remember a friend recommending it to me a decade-and-change ago because I wanted something Twilight similar. But I’ll probably pick this up again; I did enjoy it.

…

After I read that one book someone told me about last year. I’m a man of my word.

The book cover for ice planet barbarians. A woman is embracing a larger blue-skinned man. His back is to us.
OH HONEY

And if you have any more recommendations for me, or just want to talk about your latest read, please leave a comment!

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I love my eReader! I have the Kobo Libre2, and I take it practically everywhere. I grew up with this sage advice, and thanks to technology it is even easier to follow it:

Always carry a book with you.

I do a lot of waiting. In the DMV line? Partner got caught behind a gnarly snarl on the interstate for our date and they’re going to be an hour late? Computers down at work? Doing laundry? Arrive to every event super early because your anxiety demands that you do so? Bust out a book and bam, got something to pass the time.

The only downside– if I can call it that– is they act like giant over-ear headphones in use: people come up to you and start a conversation anyway. Fortunately, most of my interactions that interrupt a fascinating paragraph are also book readers, and understand not to take too much of my time. Unless we get caught up with talking about books, of course. Ultimately, I find it a net positive to connect with someone over a mutual passion, despite my initial introverted annoyance.

I’ve recently had once such ultra-friendly waitstaff during a solo date. She asked me what book I was reading, and I may gone on a lengthy spiel about the science fiction I enjoy (the harder, the better– I grew up on Asimov and he basically had two dudes talk about science stuff most of the time). Egghead shit, I guess. But since we both liked scifi, I came away with a recommendation.

"There are women. And there are aliens on this ice planet."

"Can I make it any more obvious?" I laughed, happy to shoehorn a reference to the early 2000s and picking up exactly what she was putting down.

"You might think I’m a freak."

I laughed at that too because… listen y’all. I’m also a freak. To her Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon, I left a rec of my own.

I scrawled on the receipt, Neon Gods (Dark Olympus series) by Katee Robert. Less of an endorsement and more of a "I hope they’ll like it better than I did." It was written well and it frankly, was pretty hot, but I couldn’t shake off those Eight Deadly Words for me, not to mention the few nitpicks I had. (I did make a note to check out how later books in the series; she’s written non-monogamous relationships– if it’s as good as her writing about BDSM consent, I think I’d still have a good time.)

I rarely wander into the romance genre, but I have been trying to read out of my comfort zone. I was more than happy to have this as my "Up Next" on my StoryGraph.

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Bloganuary writing prompt: What books do you want to read?

This year, I’m making a point to go through my To-Read list of over 300 books. Some are recent, but most have been around for quite some time, and some may be pruned as I lost interest over the years. Additionally, excuse any preliminary typos for my Bloganurary posts. I refuse to give myself the luxury of sitting on these entries for months with revisions and hand-wringing (it’s January, after all), but I’ll do my best to edit in post (in-post?). But onward. I promise, this will be a short list!

Around the Way Girl, by Taraji P. Henson

Look, she was the only reason I stuck with Empire to the end (okay, the first reason; the second reason is that I love mess and Empire’s storyline was Mess Squared, ending with someone getting bludgeoned with a prosthetic leg). But I love her in just about everything she’s in. Hell, she’s the reason I sat through one of Tyler Perry’s awful movies, and even her acting couldn’t save that thing. Since quoting Mean Girls is so hot right now, you can say I have a BIG LESBIAN CRUSH on her too (her as Shug Avery? SWOON, I tell you). Admittedly I have a surface-level knowledge of most celebrities and actors, and unfortunately Henson is no different. So I want to read her book and know more about her. I can’t wait to pick this up!

Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence, by Rosalind Wiseman

Since I mentioned Mean Girls earlier I figure I’m obligated to add this. Based on the movie that gave us Boo, you whore, this is actually nonfiction! I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am– this isn’t the first time the film deviated from the book its based on, and it won’t be the last. I’m morbidly curious and a little afraid– and I feel like I could’ve used this book.

Now I’ll Tell You Everything, Volume 25, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

This is what I call a Nostalgia Read. I grew up along with Alice as she experienced loss, befriended friends, and tried to find out what the hell a pomegranate was and why breasts were compared to it. And of course, the series slipped my mind until it was announced that this would be THE LAST ONE. So now I’m getting around to it. Finally. I feel like I should find a synopsis or summaries of all the previous books in the series; it doesn’t feel right just diving in after years of neglect. That’s the only reason why I haven’t gone further than the first chapter.

Small Steps, by Louis Sachar

It’s the sequel to the much-beloved Holes. Enough said.

So Let Them Burn, by Kamilah Cole

Cole was one of the authors affected by the terrible business of that Goodreads Review Controversy, which is… a lot. Here’s a comprehensive video by With Cindy and another from Reads with Rachel for good measure), for they both explain WTF happened and highlight other authors that were unfairly targeted. They aren’t the only writer I plan to check out, but I feel the strongest pull toward this book. A fantasy story based on Jamaican culture, I feel this is an absolute breath of fresh air from the vast majority of European culture-based ones (at least, when I was growing up; y’all kids got it much better these days!).

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Frankly, I’ve been sleeping on this author and I’m forever Late to the Party. (And FYI, she was also instrumental in helping piece together the bigger picture re: Goodreads Review Controversy.) I knew her first from her analysis of Chinese culture and representation in media. I want to check out all of her work. > Iron Widow is a YA sci-fi retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. The series follows an 18-year-old re-imagining of her as she avenges her sister’s murder by an intensely patriarchal military system that pairs boys and girls up to pilot giant magical mecha based on creatures from East Asian myth (Nine-Tailed Fox, Moon Rabbit, etc.), but in which boy pilots are treated like celebrities, while girl pilots must serve as their concubines. https://xiranjayzhao.com/index.php/books/

Now tell me that doesn’t sound rad. I dare you.

Winter Without End, by Casimir Laski

The author is also Cardinal West on Youtube, who I began watching for their in-depth video essays of xenofiction. When they announced and released their debut novel, I was pretty hyped! Their essays are so informative, illustrative, and thorough— suffice to say they know their stuff, and I have very high expectations about this tale of an uneasy post-pandemic alliance between dog and wolf. Yes, I love Watership Down, why do you ask? But seriously: in case you’re wondering what xenofiction even is, look no further than one of his videos.

Alecto the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

No book cover as of this post, so have this. #IYKYKOh. No reason. No reason at all. It’s only the fourth book in an amazing series full of sci-fi, bone mischief, necromancers, lesbians, a certain red-headed badass (that’s also a lesbian), memes (that’s not as bad as it sounds, honest), monsters, ghosts probably, and bizarre magic (in addition to the bone mischief). MY EMOTIONS Y’ALL

Honorable Mention: something by Connie Willis

I could not finish one of her more recent works, Crosstalk. It stressed me out with its hectic farce-y pace. The constant need for the protag to dodge gossipy coworkers and meddling family was incredibly draining, especially for an introvert like me. My DNF Explanation

She is a big name in Science Fiction circles but I haven’t ran into her books until now– probably because she writes romantic ‘screwball’ comedy in the manner of 1940s Hollywood movies (Kathryn Cramer); romances are typically not my forte. So despite the lack of fun I had with Crosstalk (and, I admit, my allergy for romance in general), I want to check out some of her older work to give her stuff a fair shake.

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Damn, this is embarassing that I still can’t spell embarrassing. Nevertheless, I’m still glad I found this draft just bumbling about when I was switching from Evernote to Joplin. I wouldn’t shut up about this science fiction series and my nesting partner finally picked it up: Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Liu Cixin.


I threatened him with My Thoughts on The Third Book once he was finished. And yo did I have some feelings about it. So here they are! With minimal editing since I wanted to preserve as much as my initial thoughts as possible. This series– and the fourth book, when did that happen!? That’s amazing!– requires a (re)read as well.


OK. There’s some editing: I added memes. THERE’S ALSO SPOILERS.


EDIT: One more thing, actually.


I never posted this on Bookreads because there were waaaaaay too many sexism-apologist scifi bros being lil shits. So this was tucked away in my Evernote and rattled about. Until now.

But yeah, right at the jump: if you don’t agree with my read on this book, I don’t care. … Don’t bother engaging; I’ll just mock the shit outta you.

(“Hmm. Should put that disclaimer in my entry.”)


So. There’s spoilers and silliness.

She Hulk flexing and yelling LET'S GOOOOOO!
HOLD ON

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Do you ever think about
The books you left behind?
Every time you moved– and then–


The very first move was an adventure to something greater. Our first real house, with a garage and and attic and my own room. The move after that, a grander adventure away from home.


When I was younger, I had the privilege and the ability to bring with me all I had: every game, every glass bottle, every book. Perhaps I didn’t have too much, or it was easier to let some things go, or I just didn’t notice and when I did, it was inconsequential. The second move found me still young but old enough to choose what to leave behind –a book here, some bottles there… Later in life, there were moves necessitating the need for me to sell some things: gas money for the drive, monetary compensation for what I couldn’t bring with me.


I have moved a total of 8 times, if I am counting correctly. But the one move I think of often is bittersweet, but I did something a little different.


I volunteered at a library for something to do. I was shaken out of a job and aimless. We cataloged books in Excel, recycled others, and dusted the shelves for a few hours each day. Not many people came in. Bored high schoolers, mostly. Locals would come and donate more books and peruse the shelves, occasionally having their names written down in a notebook as they checked out things.


I eventually received an eviction notice; I couldn’t be aimless forever. So I was going back home, again. I had to downsize, again. But not to a pawn shop or bookstore or a GameStop.


While packing I took stock of everything: the furniture, knicknacks, flowers, books… more books. One pile held the ones I wanted to keep, and another of books I wouldn’t mind losing. And this time, there was a new stack: some I couldn’t bear to part with, but I did nonetheless. The last two stacks were to be donated to the library.


I touched each book, recalling fond memories of my discovery. How epic the 3-in-1 paperback felt, and how it left me thoughtful long after I finished. Another I read in high school and the excitement I had when its sequel released. A small book of poems that carried me through college.


They were dear to me, but I found them in a library once. If I left them there, if someone needed them they will be there.


I left books on the library selves.


–Once, it pained you
But you grew used to letting go, so
You gave them up for someone else to read.

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I blame my depression/anxiety on top of current events, but lately I’ve had the urge to reread something-punk dystopian hellscapes. The Windup Girl, specifically.


When I first picked up the novel years ago, it took me some determination to get through the (what I thought was at the time) dense writing. I did not have much trouble, this time. It probably helped that I was familiar with the book.


(There’s going to be spoilers ahead.)


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