Mt TBR Report: September 2019
Oct. 3rd, 2019 08:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calissaWhen I sat down to write this post, I already knew September was a record month for my reading. And then I realised I'd forgotten to look at all the fanfic I'd read, too. It has been a pretty stressful month, so it seems like my favourite coping strategy is serving me well.
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 31 August 2019: 371
Mt TBR @ 30 September 2019: 373
136-140. Sunstone, Vols 1-5 by Stjepan Sejic. Graphic novels about a group of friends in the BDSM scene (so very NSFW). Very much a romance at the heart and I adored all the different relationships--both romantic an platonic. I also enjoyed the art style.
141-162. Skip Beat, Vols 1-15, 21-24, 30-42 by Yoshiki Nakamura. Rereads up to Vol. 40. Manga about a young woman who gets into show business in order to get revenge on her rock-star ex, only to find a love for acting (and perhaps also the love of her life). I love how passionate Kyoko is about everything and I love her fierce loyalty towards her friends. Her tendency to live in fantasy land is also relatable.
163. Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts. (Mostly) genderswapped retelling of the Three Musketeers set in space. As best as I can recall, it's fairly faithful to the book... but with more kissing. It also had plenty of witty banter and I blew through all 800 pages in no time. Such fun.
164. Joyeaux by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A prequel novella to Musketeer Space. In the lead-up to Joyeaux, someone is conducting acts of holiday-themed terrorism on Paris Satellite. It's up to Athos, Aramis and Porthos to figure out who it is and stop them before someone gets seriously hurt. It was fun, but nothing that really added to the overall world.
165. Killing Gravity by Corey J. White. After escaping Mephisto's lab as a young girl, psychic super-soldier Mariam Xi--Mars--has been on the run. When a friend comes back from the dead, Mars wants answers but must stay one step ahead of Mephisto's forces if she wants to get them. This read rather like the Murderbot Diaries but with less cyborg and charm and more space witch and blood splatter.
166. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Fantasy heist. A reread for one of my book clubs. I still stand by my review from the last time I read it.
168. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Sci-fi novella. A crew of four are sent to study four planets before returning to Earth. Completely separate from her Wayfarer series, but still has some of that found family vibe. The first person POV and the stronger focus on science was a nice change. Overall, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Should come with content warnings for small animal death, depression and suicidal ideation.
169. Dragon by Subscription by Tansy Rayner Roberts. Fantasy short story about a library with an overabundance of dragons. One sneaks into the subscription boxes the library have been sending out in an effort to raise funds for better fire safety measures. Nice enough, but didn't do much for me.
170. They Keep Killing Astra by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A short story set in the Cookie Cutter Superhero world. Astra should have died many times over, but each time she finds herself in a strange, metaphysical waiting room before returning to the real world, mysteriously unscathed. It's beginning to take a toll on her mental health. It felt like this was set-up more than anything else, but I very much enjoyed returning to the world and seeing how the relationships have been developing.
171. A Trifle Dead by Livia Day. First in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Reread.
172. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. A young physics student is conscripted to fight a war in distant space. However, time dilation means that the world is a very different place when he returns home. This was originally serialised, so the chapters are nice and short. There's a lot of jargon, though, and didn't have a lot to hold my interest. It was very preoccupied with sex in the military, which surprised me. I was also very surprised that it actually envisaged women in the army but followed it up with a big dose of homophobia. All in all, not my jam and I won't be reading the rest of the series.
173. Drowned Vanilla by Livia Day. Second in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Reread. Previous review
174. Keep Calm and Kill the Chef. Third in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Tabitha Darling signs up for a reality cooking show and finds herself the prime suspect when someone kills the asshole chef hosting the show. This book does something a bit different to the others by alternating the first-person perspective between Tabitha and her best friend Xanthippe, who is now working as a private detective. This didn't entirely work for me, though I can understand why the decision was made. It is nice to see Tabitha's circle of friends slowly expanding.
Keep Calm and Kill the Chef by Livia Day.
Sunstone, Vols 1-5 by Stjepan Sejic
Skip Beat, Vols 40-42 by Yoshiki Nakamura
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Dragon by Subscription by Tansy Rayner Roberts
They Keep Killing Astra by Tansy Rayner Roberts
The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham
Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire
Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
It's Raining Musketeers by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Ray Guns for Ladies by Tansy Rayner Roberts
This continues to be all Guardian fanfic and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
The Crimson Lotus, Ch 15-20 by bonibaru and no_detective. A Guardian au inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel. A Guardian au inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel. When Shen Wei, son of an old warlord, is married off to Crown Prince Zhao Yunlan, he struggles to keep secret his feelings and his true identity as leader of the rebellion. A deliciously slow-burn packed full of wonderful tropes and two idiots in love.
Take Only What You Need by no_detective. A side story to The Crimson Lotus. A young Shen Wei overhears some gardeners discussing the Shen family.
The Unexpected Legacy, Ch 2-29 by FayJay. Guardian Regency AU. The perfect mix of Guardian and the fae courts. I adored it.
More Inconstant than the Wind, An Ever-fixed mark and Nothing like the sun by FayJay. Bonus chapters to The Unexpected Legacy from Ye Zun's perspective.
i want to believe by Xparrot. A Guardian AU in which Zhao Yunlan is abducted by aliens. Hysterically funny.
a constellation of two by naye. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan do some roleplaying. Sweet and pitch-perfect.
Binary Systemby clevermanka. A retelling of a constellation of two from Shen Wei's perspective. Equally as sweet and satisfying as the original.
Underneath your clothes by fkyb (Chrysomie). Clothing porn. The amount of clothing porn in the Guardian fandom is entirely unsurprising, given it's the only show I've ever seen wherein someone is wearing sleeve garters.
save the date by Xparrot. In which Shen Wei and Zhaou Yunlan discuss the importance of birthdays.
Five Times Shen Wei Was Kidnapped + One Time He Was Rescued by qikiqtarjuaq. Pretty much what it says on the label. A bit hit and miss for me. The alien abduction didn't quite feel right to me, but classifying Shen Wei as being kidnapped via being talked into attending a fundraiser rather amused me.
Set the night on fire by yantanteather. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan share their first kiss.
Mt TBR Status
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 31 August 2019: 371
Mt TBR @ 30 September 2019: 373
Books Read
136-140. Sunstone, Vols 1-5 by Stjepan Sejic. Graphic novels about a group of friends in the BDSM scene (so very NSFW). Very much a romance at the heart and I adored all the different relationships--both romantic an platonic. I also enjoyed the art style.
141-162. Skip Beat, Vols 1-15, 21-24, 30-42 by Yoshiki Nakamura. Rereads up to Vol. 40. Manga about a young woman who gets into show business in order to get revenge on her rock-star ex, only to find a love for acting (and perhaps also the love of her life). I love how passionate Kyoko is about everything and I love her fierce loyalty towards her friends. Her tendency to live in fantasy land is also relatable.
163. Musketeer Space by Tansy Rayner Roberts. (Mostly) genderswapped retelling of the Three Musketeers set in space. As best as I can recall, it's fairly faithful to the book... but with more kissing. It also had plenty of witty banter and I blew through all 800 pages in no time. Such fun.
164. Joyeaux by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A prequel novella to Musketeer Space. In the lead-up to Joyeaux, someone is conducting acts of holiday-themed terrorism on Paris Satellite. It's up to Athos, Aramis and Porthos to figure out who it is and stop them before someone gets seriously hurt. It was fun, but nothing that really added to the overall world.
165. Killing Gravity by Corey J. White. After escaping Mephisto's lab as a young girl, psychic super-soldier Mariam Xi--Mars--has been on the run. When a friend comes back from the dead, Mars wants answers but must stay one step ahead of Mephisto's forces if she wants to get them. This read rather like the Murderbot Diaries but with less cyborg and charm and more space witch and blood splatter.
166. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Fantasy heist. A reread for one of my book clubs. I still stand by my review from the last time I read it.
168. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers. Sci-fi novella. A crew of four are sent to study four planets before returning to Earth. Completely separate from her Wayfarer series, but still has some of that found family vibe. The first person POV and the stronger focus on science was a nice change. Overall, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Should come with content warnings for small animal death, depression and suicidal ideation.
169. Dragon by Subscription by Tansy Rayner Roberts. Fantasy short story about a library with an overabundance of dragons. One sneaks into the subscription boxes the library have been sending out in an effort to raise funds for better fire safety measures. Nice enough, but didn't do much for me.
170. They Keep Killing Astra by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A short story set in the Cookie Cutter Superhero world. Astra should have died many times over, but each time she finds herself in a strange, metaphysical waiting room before returning to the real world, mysteriously unscathed. It's beginning to take a toll on her mental health. It felt like this was set-up more than anything else, but I very much enjoyed returning to the world and seeing how the relationships have been developing.
171. A Trifle Dead by Livia Day. First in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Reread.
172. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. A young physics student is conscripted to fight a war in distant space. However, time dilation means that the world is a very different place when he returns home. This was originally serialised, so the chapters are nice and short. There's a lot of jargon, though, and didn't have a lot to hold my interest. It was very preoccupied with sex in the military, which surprised me. I was also very surprised that it actually envisaged women in the army but followed it up with a big dose of homophobia. All in all, not my jam and I won't be reading the rest of the series.
173. Drowned Vanilla by Livia Day. Second in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Reread. Previous review
174. Keep Calm and Kill the Chef. Third in the Cafe La Femme series. Cosy crime set in Tasmania. Tabitha Darling signs up for a reality cooking show and finds herself the prime suspect when someone kills the asshole chef hosting the show. This book does something a bit different to the others by alternating the first-person perspective between Tabitha and her best friend Xanthippe, who is now working as a private detective. This didn't entirely work for me, though I can understand why the decision was made. It is nice to see Tabitha's circle of friends slowly expanding.
Books Acquired
Sunstone, Vols 1-5 by Stjepan Sejic
Skip Beat, Vols 40-42 by Yoshiki Nakamura
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Dragon by Subscription by Tansy Rayner Roberts
They Keep Killing Astra by Tansy Rayner Roberts
The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham
Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe
That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire
Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
It's Raining Musketeers by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Ray Guns for Ladies by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Online Reading
This continues to be all Guardian fanfic and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
The Crimson Lotus, Ch 15-20 by bonibaru and no_detective. A Guardian au inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel. A Guardian au inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel. When Shen Wei, son of an old warlord, is married off to Crown Prince Zhao Yunlan, he struggles to keep secret his feelings and his true identity as leader of the rebellion. A deliciously slow-burn packed full of wonderful tropes and two idiots in love.
Take Only What You Need by no_detective. A side story to The Crimson Lotus. A young Shen Wei overhears some gardeners discussing the Shen family.
The Unexpected Legacy, Ch 2-29 by FayJay. Guardian Regency AU. The perfect mix of Guardian and the fae courts. I adored it.
More Inconstant than the Wind, An Ever-fixed mark and Nothing like the sun by FayJay. Bonus chapters to The Unexpected Legacy from Ye Zun's perspective.
i want to believe by Xparrot. A Guardian AU in which Zhao Yunlan is abducted by aliens. Hysterically funny.
a constellation of two by naye. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan do some roleplaying. Sweet and pitch-perfect.
Binary Systemby clevermanka. A retelling of a constellation of two from Shen Wei's perspective. Equally as sweet and satisfying as the original.
Underneath your clothes by fkyb (Chrysomie). Clothing porn. The amount of clothing porn in the Guardian fandom is entirely unsurprising, given it's the only show I've ever seen wherein someone is wearing sleeve garters.
save the date by Xparrot. In which Shen Wei and Zhaou Yunlan discuss the importance of birthdays.
Five Times Shen Wei Was Kidnapped + One Time He Was Rescued by qikiqtarjuaq. Pretty much what it says on the label. A bit hit and miss for me. The alien abduction didn't quite feel right to me, but classifying Shen Wei as being kidnapped via being talked into attending a fundraiser rather amused me.
Set the night on fire by yantanteather. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan share their first kiss.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-03 08:01 am (UTC)I have two questions:
1) Do you think I'd like Musketeer Space given my predelictions and the fact I barely know the canon?
2) I cave in! Please can you send me links to Guardian? *flutters lashes*
no subject
Date: 2019-10-03 10:03 pm (UTC)From what I can remember of your predilections, I think you would enjoy it. It's a retelling, but doesn't really rely on people remembering the source material--you can just enjoy it as its own thing.
Yay! You can find Guardian on YouTube. Just a warning though that the subtitles are rather low-quality. You can find access to better subtitles here. That link will also take you to one of the fan communities on DW if you end up wanting to chat with people about the show.
Also, I'm compelled to give a warning about the ending. I wasn't prepared for it and it ripped my heart out.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-04 07:39 am (UTC)Huzzah! Tbh, the only major way that your and my predilections seem to diverge is that BDSM squicks me majorly. So, I figured as much. ^_^
~~~
*bounces* Much thanks for the links! And warning noted.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-05 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-08 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-10-09 06:57 am (UTC)