Mt TBR Report: October 2019
Nov. 1st, 2019 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calissaAbout a week ago, I mentioned that I was having a mini reading slump. It appears I was wrong. While I didn't read anything like last month's numbers (on the far, far right of my bell curve), I did actually manage to get through a fair bit. Friends who gently suggested my perspective was out of whack were right.
But although I read a lot, I also acquired more than I could keep up with. I should probably try reeling in my acquisitions for November.
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 30 September 2019: 373
Mt TBR @ 31 October 2019: 383
175. The Writer's Book of Doubt edited by Aidan Doyle. A collection of essays on writing. Contains lots of reprints from various authors and turns several Twitter threads into actual essays. These are interspersed with essays from the editor. I found it all a little bland.
176. That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire. Eighth book in the InCryptid series. Urban(ish) fantasy. Annie has been on the run ever since making a deal with the crossroads. When she finally finds the perfect place to catch her breath, the crossroads calls in its favour: kill the only other sorcerer in town. An excellent choice for the start of the Halloween season, with some autumn horror vibes. The road trip, small town and the crossroads elements put me a little in mind of Supernatural, too, but obviously has much better representation. Seanan makes sure to include some of the found-family feels she's so good at. All in all, a lot of fun.
177. Heart of Iron by Bec Mc Masters. Second book in the London Steampunk series. Fantasy romance. Debutante Lena Todd becomes a spy for the humanist movement but discovers the price may be the freedom of the only man she's ever loved. A wonderfully passionate story and I feel the world-building held up a bit better on this one than the previous book. However, while the villain was well-chosen, his integration into the plot felt a bit weak.
178. Sunstone, Vol. 6 by Stjepan Sejic. Graphic novel. This volume begins the second arc in the series, focusing on the relationship between Alan and Anne. The structure to this was excellent, alternating between Alan and Anne's perspective. This meant we got some new material from Anne along with the generally familiar stuff from Alan. It also put Anne's perspective on equal footing with Alan. It was all very much about the journey rather than the destination and I enjoyed the ride. It has some very entertaining segues.
179. Jigs and Reels by Jonanne Harris. A collection of short stories, some speculative, some not. I tend to struggle a bit with short stories; I'm not sure whether I don't read the form because I don't get much from it or whether I don't get much from it because I do read much of it. Either way, I enjoyed these a little less than most. Although the style was fine, some of the themes were a bit repetitve and I found that on the whole the collection had something of a mean spirit.
180. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. Science fiction novel. When one of the moons of Saturn reveals itself to be an alien spaceship in disguise, the only ship close enough to catch up to study it is a rag-tag crew of comet miners. Gets bogged down with jargon a bit in places, but still surprisingly readable. It was nice to see two female leads, but I wasn't a big fan of the way they were pitted against each other. Their characters didn't seem wholly consistent either, bowing towards the demands of the plot.
181. Big Digger, Little Digger by Timothy Knapman, illustrated by Daron Parton. Kids picture book.
182. Winter's Tale by Nike Sulway, illustrated by Shauna O'Meara. Children's book. A non-binary orphan searches for their forever family. Charming, but I found the story lacked some coherence.
183. Provoked by Joanna Chambers. Historical m/m romance. First in the Enlightenment series. A low-born lawyer has a one-night stand with a nobleman, who may also be the government agent responsible for betraying the lawyer's radical clients. I found it an uneasy story, thanks to both the historical period of the Scottish Enlightenment and the perspective character's internalised homophobia. Very much a Happily-For-Now story (of a sort), than a Happily-Ever After. Given that there's another two books with these characters, I expect the romantic relationship will be very slow burn, even if the sexual relationship isn't.
184. Headless Males Make Great Lovers by Marty Crump. A non-fiction book of unusual natural history. Reasonably well structured with some interesting tidbits of info. However, I think I prefer a David Attenborough documentary.
185. Beak, Full of Tongue by Julie Reeser. Poetry collection. This seemed a bit darker than the previous collection and I didn't enjoy it quite as much. However, there were some very lovely poems and I continue to appreciate the natural imagery.
186. The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey. Sci-fi novel read for Lady Vaults Book Club. A collection of short stories about the voyages of Helga, a spaceship with a human brain. There's some icky stuff here regarding disability and the relationship between men and women, but I enjoyed the adventure aspects and its meditations on grief.
187. Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts. An anthology of stories about AI and their non-male creators. I was very fortunate to have a story included.
188. My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster. F/m romance, alternative history, fantasy. Third in the London Steampunk series. The commander of the Nighthawks finds himself attracted to both the rebel leader, Mercury, and his secretary, unaware that they are the same woman. My favourite of the series so far; it seems I have a thing for identity shenanigans. I also found the large-scale plot held up better than in the previous books.
189. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. Reread for the LDUH book club.
190. Dance and Macabre by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A triptych of a short story, short play and a poem. Mrs Macabre, a widow-in-waiting with Morticia Adams' fashion sense, works for the Ministry of Cold-Blooded Crime, solving cases with her vampiric partner, Mr Dance. Fun and entirely too short. I loved the world-building and the delicious romantic tension between the partners. I'm very much looking forward to more.
The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey
Poems by Jonathan Swift
Sunstone, Vol. 6 by Stjepan Sejic
The Ferryman's Apprentice by Lee Cope
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
A Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
Big Digger, Little Digger by Timothy Knapman, illustrated by Daron Parton
Marry Me Mischa McFee by Kate Gordon
Merry Happy Valkyrie by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Winter's Tale by Nike Sulway, illustrated by Shauna O'Meara
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
A Ratcatcher's Daughter by KJ Charles
Gilded Cage by KJ Charles
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare
The Girl Next Door by Amy Jo Cousins
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
Navigating the Stars by Maria V. Snyder
Showtime by Narrelle M. Harris
Dance and Macabre by Tansy Rayner Roberts
As You Wish by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
Da Capo by glymr. A Guardian AU in which Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan meet as teenage musicians at a competition. I found it a really sweet story that did a good job of hitting some touchstones of the original fic, despite being so short. I kinda hope there's going to be more somewhere down the line.
Whatever Fear Invents by naye. Shen Wei begins to see people's nightmares and Zhao Yunlan must talk him through the night. Another adorable story about looking after each other. It would have been really easy to turn this into something smutty, but instead it becomes a quiet, domestic dreaming of another step along their relationship.
The Crimson Lotus, Ch 21-24 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.
By Careful Art by no_detective. An epilogue to The Crimson Lotus. It was sweet to see a bit more of the happily-ever-after.
Sleeping in spring, I missed the dawn by marycrawford. An alternative ending, diverging from Ep. 33. Zhao Yunlan's certainty that he is still dreaming in the final scene is a little bit heartbreaking.
The World That We'll Invent by yantantether. An explict coda to Ep. 21.
meditations ex post facto by Raven (singlecrow). A delightful AU in which the characters are constitutional lawyers trying to close a disastrous loophole. I'm not entirely sure I followed all of it (the author clearly has a legal background), but it was a wonderfully refreshing take and I enjoyed seeing Zhao Yunlan be a disaster bisexual (though not too disastrous).
But although I read a lot, I also acquired more than I could keep up with. I should probably try reeling in my acquisitions for November.
Mt TBR Status
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2019: 442
Mt TBR @ 30 September 2019: 373
Mt TBR @ 31 October 2019: 383
Books Read
175. The Writer's Book of Doubt edited by Aidan Doyle. A collection of essays on writing. Contains lots of reprints from various authors and turns several Twitter threads into actual essays. These are interspersed with essays from the editor. I found it all a little bland.
176. That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire. Eighth book in the InCryptid series. Urban(ish) fantasy. Annie has been on the run ever since making a deal with the crossroads. When she finally finds the perfect place to catch her breath, the crossroads calls in its favour: kill the only other sorcerer in town. An excellent choice for the start of the Halloween season, with some autumn horror vibes. The road trip, small town and the crossroads elements put me a little in mind of Supernatural, too, but obviously has much better representation. Seanan makes sure to include some of the found-family feels she's so good at. All in all, a lot of fun.
177. Heart of Iron by Bec Mc Masters. Second book in the London Steampunk series. Fantasy romance. Debutante Lena Todd becomes a spy for the humanist movement but discovers the price may be the freedom of the only man she's ever loved. A wonderfully passionate story and I feel the world-building held up a bit better on this one than the previous book. However, while the villain was well-chosen, his integration into the plot felt a bit weak.
178. Sunstone, Vol. 6 by Stjepan Sejic. Graphic novel. This volume begins the second arc in the series, focusing on the relationship between Alan and Anne. The structure to this was excellent, alternating between Alan and Anne's perspective. This meant we got some new material from Anne along with the generally familiar stuff from Alan. It also put Anne's perspective on equal footing with Alan. It was all very much about the journey rather than the destination and I enjoyed the ride. It has some very entertaining segues.
179. Jigs and Reels by Jonanne Harris. A collection of short stories, some speculative, some not. I tend to struggle a bit with short stories; I'm not sure whether I don't read the form because I don't get much from it or whether I don't get much from it because I do read much of it. Either way, I enjoyed these a little less than most. Although the style was fine, some of the themes were a bit repetitve and I found that on the whole the collection had something of a mean spirit.
180. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. Science fiction novel. When one of the moons of Saturn reveals itself to be an alien spaceship in disguise, the only ship close enough to catch up to study it is a rag-tag crew of comet miners. Gets bogged down with jargon a bit in places, but still surprisingly readable. It was nice to see two female leads, but I wasn't a big fan of the way they were pitted against each other. Their characters didn't seem wholly consistent either, bowing towards the demands of the plot.
181. Big Digger, Little Digger by Timothy Knapman, illustrated by Daron Parton. Kids picture book.
182. Winter's Tale by Nike Sulway, illustrated by Shauna O'Meara. Children's book. A non-binary orphan searches for their forever family. Charming, but I found the story lacked some coherence.
183. Provoked by Joanna Chambers. Historical m/m romance. First in the Enlightenment series. A low-born lawyer has a one-night stand with a nobleman, who may also be the government agent responsible for betraying the lawyer's radical clients. I found it an uneasy story, thanks to both the historical period of the Scottish Enlightenment and the perspective character's internalised homophobia. Very much a Happily-For-Now story (of a sort), than a Happily-Ever After. Given that there's another two books with these characters, I expect the romantic relationship will be very slow burn, even if the sexual relationship isn't.
184. Headless Males Make Great Lovers by Marty Crump. A non-fiction book of unusual natural history. Reasonably well structured with some interesting tidbits of info. However, I think I prefer a David Attenborough documentary.
185. Beak, Full of Tongue by Julie Reeser. Poetry collection. This seemed a bit darker than the previous collection and I didn't enjoy it quite as much. However, there were some very lovely poems and I continue to appreciate the natural imagery.
186. The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey. Sci-fi novel read for Lady Vaults Book Club. A collection of short stories about the voyages of Helga, a spaceship with a human brain. There's some icky stuff here regarding disability and the relationship between men and women, but I enjoyed the adventure aspects and its meditations on grief.
187. Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts. An anthology of stories about AI and their non-male creators. I was very fortunate to have a story included.
188. My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster. F/m romance, alternative history, fantasy. Third in the London Steampunk series. The commander of the Nighthawks finds himself attracted to both the rebel leader, Mercury, and his secretary, unaware that they are the same woman. My favourite of the series so far; it seems I have a thing for identity shenanigans. I also found the large-scale plot held up better than in the previous books.
189. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. Reread for the LDUH book club.
190. Dance and Macabre by Tansy Rayner Roberts. A triptych of a short story, short play and a poem. Mrs Macabre, a widow-in-waiting with Morticia Adams' fashion sense, works for the Ministry of Cold-Blooded Crime, solving cases with her vampiric partner, Mr Dance. Fun and entirely too short. I loved the world-building and the delicious romantic tension between the partners. I'm very much looking forward to more.
Books Acquired
Poems by Jonathan Swift
The Ferryman's Apprentice by Lee Cope
Ruined by Amy Tintera
Angel Mage by Garth Nix
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
A Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
Marry Me Mischa McFee by Kate Gordon
Merry Happy Valkyrie by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
A Ratcatcher's Daughter by KJ Charles
Gilded Cage by KJ Charles
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare
The Girl Next Door by Amy Jo Cousins
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
Navigating the Stars by Maria V. Snyder
Showtime by Narrelle M. Harris
As You Wish by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden
Fanfic and Online Reading
Da Capo by glymr. A Guardian AU in which Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan meet as teenage musicians at a competition. I found it a really sweet story that did a good job of hitting some touchstones of the original fic, despite being so short. I kinda hope there's going to be more somewhere down the line.
Whatever Fear Invents by naye. Shen Wei begins to see people's nightmares and Zhao Yunlan must talk him through the night. Another adorable story about looking after each other. It would have been really easy to turn this into something smutty, but instead it becomes a quiet, domestic dreaming of another step along their relationship.
The Crimson Lotus, Ch 21-24 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.
By Careful Art by no_detective. An epilogue to The Crimson Lotus. It was sweet to see a bit more of the happily-ever-after.
Sleeping in spring, I missed the dawn by marycrawford. An alternative ending, diverging from Ep. 33. Zhao Yunlan's certainty that he is still dreaming in the final scene is a little bit heartbreaking.
The World That We'll Invent by yantantether. An explict coda to Ep. 21.
meditations ex post facto by Raven (singlecrow). A delightful AU in which the characters are constitutional lawyers trying to close a disastrous loophole. I'm not entirely sure I followed all of it (the author clearly has a legal background), but it was a wonderfully refreshing take and I enjoyed seeing Zhao Yunlan be a disaster bisexual (though not too disastrous).
no subject
Date: 2019-11-01 09:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-03 08:22 pm (UTC)Your comment made me realise that the reason I probably felt like I was in a bit of a slump was because there was that string of books I felt ambivalent about. (Huh)
If you're looking for a taste of Guardian, I recommend the Da Capo fic. It contains a few references to later episodes, but nothing I'd consider majorly spoilery.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-04 08:09 am (UTC)Mmm, I tend to feel that way too. A string of ambivilancy is never good.
Thankies! I'm up to episode 20 (and the formal appearance of Mr Douche-Pillar). I also detest spoilers. Would it still be ok?
no subject
Date: 2019-11-04 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-11-04 08:38 pm (UTC)