Books read in July

Everyone and their mother had been raving about the movie Project Hail Mary, so I impulsively bought a half-price-Tuesday ticket and saw it one day in June after work. Reader, I loved it. It's so good, interesting and sad and beautiful and hopeful. PHM is streaming on Amazon Prime; if you haven't watched it, do. I then obviously signed up to read the ebook on Libby, and because the movie and consequently the book were so popular, the ebook wasn't available to read for like 16 weeks. I also really like the book. If you haven't heard of it, a middle school science teacher wakes up on a spaceship with no memories. He has to figure out why he's there and how to keep an extraterrestrial virus from dimming the sun. The book is much more technical and scientific than the movie, which I liked, but it is sadder because it goes more into what they did to the earth to try to stave off global cooling (even a few percentage points cooler can cause famines and therefore mass death). Ryland is such a genius and has such staggering leaps of logic; I never would have come up with half of the ideas he thought of. The writing felt like an older middle grade/younger young adult novel about adventure or survival or something for boys. The science was above my knowledge (which is low; I'm a humanities major) but not too much; it was mostly followable. I feel like the book and the movie are really good companion pieces; reading the book makes me want to see the movie, and vice versa. Trigger warnings for injuries and blood and an instance of consent being ignored (nonsexual but it's a spoiler so I can't get into it). ★★★★ 

 

I was at my parents' home a lot for family reasons, so out of boredom I picked up and read one of my little brother's favorite books when he was a kid, Flat Stanley. I remember that we used to love reading about his adventures as a two-dimensional child. Upon rereading it, I was surprised by how proper and old-fashioned the writing felt. When I looked up the publication date, I found it was actually first published in 1964! That explains the language. The illustrations are modern (at the time of publication in the nineties), so I never picked up on that. It's a fun story, but there is one instance of sexism (Stanley is disgusted at having to dress up as a girl for plot reasons), and of course the medical inaccuracies (a child will not become flat after a bulletin board falls on him). My copy's illustrations had probably zero people of color, so it was clearly published before people cared about that. ★★★½

 

My last completed read of July was Mooncakes, an adorable YA graphic novel I picked up at the thrift store. Former childhood friends (one a deaf witch, one a nonbinary werewolf) reconnect as teens and have to figure out what is haunting the woods and how to defeat it, while figuring out how to be in each other's lives again. This was very cute and cozy, rather Ghibli-esque, but scarier (to my wuss sensibilities) than it first appeared. There is also a couple of adorable grandmothers. I recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy and graphic novels. The witch girl is Asian, Jewish, biracial I think, and a hearing aid user, while the werewolf kid uses they/them pronouns. TW for kidnapping and forced demonic possession, ableism mentions, and a few instances of wrong pronouns usage, if memory serves. ★★★★

Books read in June

 Pride month, we barely knew ye. I had a massive book hangover from rereading all of the Murderbot Diaries in May, so I didn't read as much this month. As always, DM me for trigger warnings. 

 

I was delighted to find that the second Dorothy Gentleman book available to check out on Libby, so I did so immediately. I adored the first book, Murder by Memory, so much that I bought it. I love what the author, Olivia Waite, has created with this series (queernorm retrofuturistic murder mystery). In this book, a baby in a basket has turned up on Dorothy's nephew Ruthie's and his husband's doorstep, which is especially mysterious because everyone on the ship is supposed to be sterile until they get to the planet they're heading to in a few hundred years. Dorothy investigates and starts to suspect foul play when the mother turns up in a new body with no memory of the baby. This story was very interesting and gave us even more details about the ship's culture; everything seems much more 1930s than I originally noticed. Dorothy's pocket watch is a smartwatch, but she has to write out paperwork by hand?? Come on. Also the cover confused me, as the people are all dressed like Victorians (1890s) for some reason? I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one (it also suffers from Being Too Short), but I'm looking forward to reading the next book when it comes out.  ★★★★

During my last probably-unnecessary trip to the thrift store, I found and bought God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines (along with a huge stack of books). I was excited to get this as it'd been on my to-read list for ages. Vines is best known for his viral video where he gives a presentation that would become this book. He goes over the clobber verses (the ones Christians use to reject gay people) and their scriptural, historical, and cultural context, which I expected, but he also uses theological arguments as to why Christians should accept gay people, which I found interesting. While not a Biblical scholar (officially, as far as I can tell), Vines has thoroughly studied this issue, including people who take the opposite stance as him, and has tons of meticulous endnote citations (dozens per chapter). I did find it a bit naive for Vines to use the argument that even though the Bible reflects the deeply misogynistic cultures of its writers, surely no one today would actually think that women have no value (and therefore we mustn't think the same of gay people etc.). There are tons of Christians to whom the Bible's low view and treatment of women is a feature, not a bug. The book was written in 2014, though, and we had yet to see the virulent misogyny the rest of the 2010s would bring about. This book is very firmly for Christians; this would be a great book for LGBTQ+ people (themselves Christians or not) to give to their Christian parents to try to get them on board. I do recommend this, although I did find it slightly surprising Vines didn't use David and Jonathan as an example of a gay commitment ceremony in the Bible (he probably understandably didn't want to push it). ★★★★, lots of references to sex and sexual assault but that is not what chili ratings are for

 

The same day I finished G&tGC, I read Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong. I had bought this book during Bookshop.org's pride month sale, but I stupidly forgot to apply the coupon code; to add insult to injury, Bookshop.org had a free shipping weekend during The Evil Smile's sale event after I made my purchase. Ah well. I'd come across Ocean Vuong's poetry online and found it beautiful and impactful, but it was "Someday I'll Love Ocean Vuong" that pushed me over the edge to buy this book. This is an excellent poetry collection: beautiful and painful and nostalgic and raw and loving. I meant to savor it, but I just had to keep reading. May I one day write a fraction as wonderfully. ★★★★   🌶🌶

Murderbot May

I reread all of The Murderbot Diaries (TMBD) series by Martha Wells in order to prepare for the newest book, Platform Decay, coming out on May 5. I read them all last year and have been obsessed with them ever since. I made a "Michelle's guide to the Murderbot Diaries" Canva carousel and posted it on my bookstagram in lieu of a May wrap-up, as the only books I read that month were TMBD series. You can see it here. I am tempted to post all the slides here in this blog entry, or replicate the information on the slides, but I'll hold off. The IG post has general information about the series, such as genres, themes, and reading orders (for which I relied heavily on Book Series in Order but also made my own suggested reading order list). The last slide is my Murderbot moodboard; you can see the Pinterest board here. 

You can read my general summary for the series in my TMBD guide slides. Here are my flash summaries of each book; flash reviews would be useless because they'd all be "I love this book and Murderbot" etc. I've given each book 4 stars. No chili peppers as there's no spice, although some references to sex are made. 

BOOKS

The books are Murderbot's personal logs and are in first person POV. 

All Systems Red (TMBD #1) - We meet Murderbot, a SecUnit (security construct that is part human, part robot, completely sentient) that hacked its 'governor module' so that it is no longer forced to follow orders and is free! ...to continue pretending to be a regular governed SecUnit, since it can't figure out how to escape or what to do with its life. At least it can watch as much television as it wants. Murderbot is on a planet guarding an environmental survey group called PresAux, who are all nice to Murderbot (very weird, after having been treated like property for so long), when suddenly they're all thrown into danger... 

Artificial Condition (TMBD #2) - Murderbot is on its own for the first time and on a mission to find out the truth behind a tragedy it was in... or behind. To get to the planet where it happened, Murderbot hitches a ride on an unmanned cargo ship, whose bot pilot turns out to be very different than it expected. With guidance from its new friend ART, Murderbot takes a job protecting some humans while they attempt to get some stolen work back from their ruthless ex-boss on that planet. Can Murderbot pass as an augmented human, keep its clients safe, and find out the truth?

 

Rogue Protocol (TMBD #3) - Its own fact-finding mission over, Murderbot decides to travel to an abandoned mining station to find out what GrayCris, the company behind the murders in All Systems Red, was doing there, hoping that that information can help its PresAux humans. It gets roped into helping a different survey team there, which consists of more humans (some nice, some with unknown intentions) and a human-form "pet" bot that might be able to see through Murderbot's "human security consultant" cover story. 

 

Exit Strategy (TMBD #4) - Murderbot learns that Dr. Mensah, the PresAux leader and its favorite human, has been kidnapped by GrayCris. It travels to the planet where she's being held prisoner and reunites with some of the other PresAux humans in order to help free Dr. Mensah and get them all off that planet safely. 

 

Network Effect (TMBD #5) - Murderbot is helping its PresAux humans on a mission when a big transport vessel shows up out of nowhere and kidnaps Murderbot and Dr. Mensah's teenage daughter Amena. The people on the ship don't seem quite human and have strange, unhackable tech, while the ship seems really familiar... Can Murderbot keep Amena safe and figure out how to help ART and its crew?

 

Fugitive Telemetry (TMBD #6) - This book takes place before book 5, on Preservation station (the space station above Preservation, the planet the PresAux humans are from). There's been a murder, and detective Murderbot is on the case! This means having to work with Station Security, who suspect it of the murder and limit its technological access, and having to talk to humans and bots (ugh). Can Murderbot solve the case? Will the Station Security humans finally trust it?

System Collapse (TMBD #7) - This book takes place right after Network Effect, on the same planet where everything goes down in book 5. Murderbot, ART's crew, and the PresAux humans are trying to help the planet's human colony, as a corporation called Barish-Estranza is trying to use their ignorance of capitalism to trick the humans into entering corporate slavery. Murderbot is also dealing with PTSD after the events of book 5. Can Murderbot, ART, and their humans figure out how to save the colonists from corporate slavery, and themselves from Barish-Estranza's retaliation?

Platform Decay (TMBD #8) - Murderbot must rescue and lead 3 kidnapped members of Dr. Mensah's family through a huge Corporation Rim space station to safety. The mission is made even more complicated by the addition of another kidnapped family to protect and wrangle. Murderbot must keep its humans safe while navigating the huge space station ring, all of the various corporations that own parts of it, the lack of consistent  transport, air pirates, corporate warfare, and clingy children. All while posing as an augmented human, of course.

    This is the only one I'm bothering to do a review for as it's new. I really enjoyed this book, while also not enjoying it because it was so suspenseful the whole time. Even so, I read it twice, basically back to back. This is similar to Network Effect in that Murderbot is entrusted with Mensah's family members who don't even like it but it has to keep them safe. Farai is nice but struggling to understand SecUnit and her wife's bond with it, and Naja (her grandmother, I think) is one of my favorite things in the world, a badass old lady. The third family member is Mensah and Farai's daughter Sofi, whose age isn't given (Murderbot refers to all children and teens as juveniles), but I think she's a tween, somewhere between 9 and 14 years old. Murderbot's growth is really shown in this book; it's actually installed a mental health program (!) and does frequent emotion checks (!!), and its main reason to avoid giving its humans a gun is because it's afraid shooting people will give them trauma! What a change from its previous reason for withholding guns from humans (because it was afraid of being shot by them)! It's also making a real effort to incapacitate instead of kill. I'm so proud of Murderbot :')  ★★★★

 

Martha Wells said in an interview that she's on contract to write one more book, which may be the last one in the series 😭

SHORT STORIES

"Compulsory" - published on Wired.com - This is a TMBD prequel that takes place before book 1. Newly rogue Murderbot decides to disobey its orders and save a human worker.

 

"Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory" - This short story takes place on Preservation after Exit Strategy and is told from Dr. Mensah's point of view. Mensah is struggling with PTSD after having been kidnapped, and takes comfort in knowing Murderbot is there for her and will protect her.

 

"Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" - This short story takes place after Artificial Condition (book 2), but we don't meet most of the characters until book 5. It's told from Iris (ART's "sister" and favorite human)'s point of view. ART's crew is on a mission on a planet undergoing a hostile corporate takeover. Iris notices ART is acting unusually, moping like it misses someone...

 

"Obsolescence" - published in an anthology called Take Us to a Better Place (free on most ebook platforms) - I kind of hesitate to add this one, as none of TMBD characters are in this, but it does take place in TMBD universe, only way earlier (still hundreds of years in the future for us). In one of the later books, Murderbot mentions having started watching a historical TV show about rovers exploring and terraforming planets, and this short story centers rovers (which are like cyborgs I guess). This does have a lot of overlap with TMBD books and stories: human/bot hybrids, augmented humans, precocious children, murder mystery, the themes of capitalism exploiting humans and treating them like things, what it means to be human, etc. This was very sad and rather horrifying and I did not enjoy reading it, but it's very thought-provoking. 

 ~

Trigger warnings for this series: violence, murder, death, gore, corpses, blood, body horror, torture, slavery, kidnapping, that thing of constructs being forced to obey by being electric-shocked by their governor modules and forced to hurt and kill (SecUnits) or have sex with humans (ComfortUnits), Murderbot makes references to having been forced to record humans having sex in the past, inferred threat of gendered sexual violence (Platform Decay only; Murderbot stops it), PTSD, anxiety, depression, trauma, capitalism, constructs and bots not having full sentient person rights and being treated like things/property

~

TELEVISION SHOW - Murderbot

I don't think I've ever talked about the TV show, only that I wanted to watch it! I broke down and paid for 6 months of Apple TV+ (they had a pretty good deal for Black Friday) and have probably watched it 3 times at this point. It's a fairly faithful adaptation, although they trimmed down the PresAux crew and kind of dumbed down/simplified everybody a bit. Like show!Pin-Lee is way less confident than books!Pin-Lee, and they made Ratthi a himbo. Casting Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot feels a little uninspired, but he's actually so good in the role; he constantly looks like he's seconds away from vomiting from anxiety, which is perfect. The first (and currently only) season adapted All Systems Red (book 1), and it's a pretty decent adaptation. They added and changed things unnecessarily, of course (I wish we could read the feed stuff that pops up better as it's a little too translucent, and the cubicle's design is ridiculous to the point that it's not a cubicle anymore, and don't get me started on Labeebee), but I really like it. They've greenlit a second season, which will adapt books 2-4!! They're novellas, and all part of a story arc, so it makes sense to do them all at once. I can't wait. Murderbot and ART's friendship is so important to me, and I hope the show does it justice. 

Books I read in April: singles

I probably could have put all the books I read in April in one post, but it felt too long with just four; hence, the split. These books were chosen for Autism Awareness Month (MZGTG), Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) Heritage Month (TIHYLTTW), and Lesbian Visibility Week (both).

 

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - science fiction - hardcover, my library (TBR)

I bought this book nearly five years ago and finally read it; please clap. The premise of this book is that there's a Time War being fought between two factions, and two soldiers, one from each side, chase each other across timelines and eras, leaving behind letters for each other that are taunting and then passionate as they fall in love. Both soldiers are women, although I don't really think the people from the deeply futuristic? factions are human or possibly ever were. This is definitely science fiction, but it's also partially epistolary and very poetic, rather genre-bending. The writing is so beautiful; this is such a lovely, puzzling, fascinating, romantic book. When I finished it I felt the impulse to immediately flip to the beginning and start again, something that rarely happens. I have so far been able to resist the impulse, although I keep thinking of this book. Highly recommended. ★★★★¼  TW for violence, gore, body horror

 

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Sara Waxelbaum and Briana R. Shrum - young adult contemporary romance - ebook, Libby/my public library

I realized I hadn't read anything with autistic rep this month, so I looked up books with both autistic and lesbian rep (TIHYLTTW's rep is unspecified sapphic) and found this book available on Libby. Popular straight-A student Margo realizes she's a lesbian during a fateful spin-the-bottle game at a party. She's used to using her autistic hyperfocus to study things until she's an expert, but she has no idea where to start with the gay stuff. Margo marches up to Abbie, an out bisexual girl, after their swim practice and asks her for lessons on how to be gay. Skater girl Abbie is failing US history and desperately needs to get her grade up in order to keep her admission at the college she wants to go to after she graduates. Thus, the girls strike up a partnership: Margo will tutor Abbie in US history, and Abbie will tutor Margo in Gay 101. No, not like that! Well... 👀 Margo has to deal with her newfound identity (is she too femme to be gay? etc.) and how it conflicts with the persona she's crafted for herself, and Abbie has to deal with her terrible neglectful parents, biphobic friends, and realizing she has ADHD. This book was so good and funny, although some of the Gen Z girls' jokes and pop cultural references were suspiciously Gen X/older millennial. It was also kind of sad due to Abbie's home situation, but the girls get a happy ending. Lesbian, bisexual, autistic, Jewish (both girls), and some ADHD rep. ★★★★, 🌶½ (spicier than most YA books)  TW for some homophobia, biphobia, parental neglect & emotionally immature parents 

Reading slump + reading update

I've been on a reading slump lately that lasted over a month. I think it started because I wanted to read one of my many unread books with latine protagonists for Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, and I think just the concept of "having to" read a specific type of book triggered my brain's ADHD* mental block against reading in general.

 

I did actually read one book (very slowly) during this time: this cute little book about historical and designer purses, which was actually very interesting and informative. I've always loved purses and fashion history, so this was a fun and interesting book to read. It was originally published in 2001, so the book only has purses up to that point, and has kind of a gap for the 1990s (too soon ago at the time to be considered historical). The writing is very similar to fashion editorials like they have in Vogue; lots of glowing praise for the fashion designers' creativity. My only quibble is that I wish she'd put the prices for the designer handbags. I don't remember if she put a works referenced list in the back of the book (another usual quibble of mine when it comes to nonfiction books). I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes purses and fashion history. ★★★★

 

In desperation, I decided to actually bring a physical book with me (safe in its padded book sleeve) to work, where surely the boredom of working the Thursday night shift would force me to reach for the book and read it, thereby breaking my reading slump. It didn't, but it did make me start reading an ebook on my Nook app (my second, sneakier reason for bringing a physical book to read)!

That book was A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J. Charles, a sequel to The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (flash-reviewed here). This book is about brand new earl Rufus d'Aumnesty, whose hostile formerly-estranged family is fighting tooth and nail against this "interloper", taking any and every reason to question his legitimacy as earl, which brings us to the other lead, Luke Doomsday, whose mother may or may not have married Rufus' ho dad before he married Rufus' mom. Luke was a very young teenager during the events of TSLoCG (he's the smuggler chief's nephew), and he grew up to be a secretary (Gareth the baronet from the first book gave him an education). Rufus needs help sorting out the truth, his office, and the family books (which are all as fucked up as the estates and the family), so he hires Luke as his secretary. They're both super attracted to each other, fight it a bit due to the whole boss/employee thing, and fall in love. Luke helps Rufus with being an earl and dealing with his family, but he has secrets of his own, and his own agenda for being at the estate... This book was excellent, with a bit of a Gothic flair towards the end, and actually settled a mystery that began in the first book. ANG2SaS has the same themes of healing from childhood trauma as its predecessor. Luke has a facial disfigurement (scar from an attack), and Rufus is demisexual and dyslexic. ★★★★ 🌶🌶🌶  DM me for trigger warnings

As is usually the case, this broke me out of my reading slump and I started reading again like it was going out of style. As it was still Ace Week (my reason for picking the above book), I decided to finally start on the Murderbot Diaries, which I had bought (along with several other Martha Wells ebooks) during a charity bundle purchase thing. I'd been wanting to read the Murderbot Diaries ever since I first heard about them, and I'd really been looking forward to reading them ever since the trailer for the Murderbot Apple TV+ series came out (it looks so good. I need to get a free month of Apple TV+ code or get someone I know who has Apple TV+ to let me watch it). I love stories about sentient robots making friends. I was going to start reading them through Libby, but my public library doesn't have them on ebook :((( I started reading these books on Friday afternoon, and as of writing this (Sunday evening), I've read the first six books in the series plus a short story, and that's that I couldn't read for most of Saturday. I lied when I told you I was reading like it's going out of style; it's more than that: I've INHALED them. I am obsessed. They are so freaking good, and I love Murderbot (it/its pronouns). It's anxious and depressed and autistic (hates eye contact etc.) and aroace and nonbinary (duh, it's a robot) and deeply funny and sarcastic. Murderbot (Murderbot is its private name; to others it goes by SecUnit, which is somewhere between a human being going by "Human" and going by their occupation title instead of a name) dislikes humans but also can't stop caring about them. It'll be deeply annoyed by them then be like, "Is anyone else gonna protect these stupid humans and keep them alive?" and not wait for an answer. When its friends make it experience an emotion, it has to turn and face a wall. I love it so much. I need eleventy thousand more books in this series; I'm preemptively mourning running out of them. I recommend this series to anyone who likes sci fi action stories with a touch of mystery, and stories about robots gaining sentience and friends and dealing with what it means to be a person.  ★★★★ DM me for trigger warnings 

I'm writing this blog post instead of reading them because the epub ebooks are all on my computer, and Apple Books didn't transfer them over to my Apple Books app on my iPhone. Ugh. I'm counting down the minutes of this ref shift until I can go home and keep reading the series. This is basically me right now:

 Update: I made some Murderbot memes and posted them to my Instagram (I forgot to include the one above tho). My IG handle is in my Social Media note. 

*undiagnosed, but like let's be real

Book Review: Murder By Memory by Olivia Waite

A mind is a terrible thing to erase...

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty's most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

Near the topmost deck of an interstellar generation ship, Dorothy Gentleman wakes up in a body that isn’t hers—just as someone else is found murdered. As one of the ship’s detectives, Dorothy usually delights in unraveling the schemes on board the Fairweather, but when she finds that someone is not only killing bodies but purposefully deleting minds from the Library, she realizes something even more sinister is afoot.

Dorothy suspects her misfortune is partly the fault of her feckless nephew Ruthie who, despite his brilliance as a programmer, leaves chaos in his cheerful wake. Or perhaps the sultry yarn store proprietor—and ex-girlfriend of the [person whose] body Dorothy is currently inhabiting—knows more than she’s letting on. Whatever it is, Dorothy intends to solve this case. Because someone has done the impossible and found a way to make murder on the Fairweather a very permanent state indeed. A mastermind may be at work—and if so, they’ve had three hundred years to perfect their schemes...

I discovered this book on Libby while looking through their Pride Month featured books. It sounded fascinating, so I joined the holds list and read it when it became available. 

Listen: this book is so freaking good! You already know I love mysteries, especially cozy and/or classic British mysteries, and this book is just that, only with a futuristic sci-fi setting. We're on a generation ship going from Earth to some far-off distant planet that humanity will live on several hundred years from now. They've figured out how to store people's consciousnesses or minds in "books", like documents in a hard drive, and you can just get a new body when your current one gets old and is no longer up to living. Consequently, everyone on the generation ship is functionally immortal. The generation ship is huge and high-tech, with lots of residential neighborhoods and businesses that people can run as they are interested; capitalism is no more, although there is mention of "posh" apartment complexes, so it sounds like there's still a little income inequality and class differences for some reason. The "Her Majesty's ship" thing makes me think this ship is English, which would I guess provide a reason for that, plus the whole "we're going to find a new planet to live on" which is colonization in a sci-fi way.

I was a bit confused at first, as the book just throws you into what is happening (Dorothy waking up in someone else's body), but that's actually perfect because Dorothy is confused as to what has happened to her, and it makes you feel her confusion. Dorothy has been offline for many years, her consciousness preserved in her "book". Unbeknownst to Dorothy, her nephew Ruthie (very Bertie Wooster-ish, if Bertie was also a software & mechanical engineering genius) wrote a program into the ship's computer that any ship's detective (which Dorothy is) whose book is destroyed gets their consciousness immediately put into the nearest available body. The thing is? Somebody was murdered right before this happened, and the murderer may have been the person whose body Dorothy is in... The chatty ship's computer is offline due to an electrical storm, so Dorothy has to figure out what's going on without any help or her detective status to get her places. Dorothy herself is one of those very practical British aunts who solves mysteries and knits, and she's queer! She's attracted to her accidental host's lovely ex-girlfriend (a fellow knitter who owns a yarn shop), but the ex-girlfriend hates her (ex's) guts and may have had something to do with the murder...

I'm going to stop there as I don't want to spoil it for you, but I really enjoyed this book and wished it was longer! The worldbuilding was very interesting, and I thought it was fascinating how they drank beverages that let them experience memories (a summer rainstorm, for example). I naturally loved the Library, where all the consciousness books are kept. There were lots of little mentions/analyses of human nature, and we meet interesting characters I hope we get to know better in future books (this is the first of a series). I cannot wait for future books!

Score: ★★★★.5 out of 5 stars (half star off for being too short lol)
Spice score: 1 instance of sexual attraction but otherwise zero
Read in: June 20
From: my public library - borrowed via Libby, read in the Kindle app

Genres/classification: mystery, science fiction, futuristic sci-fi, classic British mystery a la Agatha Christie (especially with the aunt element)

Representation: sapphic/wlw (possibly lesbian) main character, several sapphic secondary characters, several canon sapphic couples, gay couple, 1 queer male character of color (Asian, I think), 1 Black woman minor character. As this is a near-utopian future there is no homophobia or transphobia or racism

Trigger warnings: murder, drowning death, toxic relationship where one partner is constantly lying to and manipulating the other (possibly cheating as well), putting someone's mind/consciousness into someone else's body without the consent of either party, financial fraud, distrust of police mention

Book Review: Adrift in Starlight by Mindi Briar

When set adrift in the universe, some things are worth holding onto.

Titan Valentino has been offered a job they can't refuse.

Tai, a gender-neutral courtesan, receives a scandalous proposition: seduce an actor's virgin fiancée. The money is enough to pay off Tai's crushing medical debt, a tantalizing prospect. 

Too bad Aisha Malik isn't the easy target they expect.

A standoffish historian who hates to be touched, she's laser-focused on her career, and completely unaware that her marriage has been arranged behind her back. This could be the one instance where Tai's charm and charisma fail them.

Then an accidental heist throws them together as partners in crime.

Fleeing from the authorities, they're dragged into one adventure after another: alien planets, pirate duels, and narrow escapes from the law. As Tai and Aisha open up to each other, deeper feelings kindle between them. But that reward money still hangs over Tai's head. Telling Aisha the truth could ruin everything… 

Their freedom, their career, and their blossoming love all hang in the balance. To save one might mean sacrificing the rest.

I bought this ebook during one of those stuff your ereader sales last year. The premise sounded interesting, although the book is not as scandalous as the premise makes it sound. The setting is in the distant future, where many different planets are known about and colonized. The POV trades off between Tai and Aisha, who could not be more different: Tai is white, nonbinary, a cyborg, an orphan, in debt, and a sex worker who can charm anyone; Aisha is Black, asexual, touch-averse, an archeologist/historian, and an heiress who has been fighting against her ultra-rich and controlling parents to live the life she wants. Aisha's father arranged her marriage without telling her to a famous actor, the one who hires Tai to try to 'find out what she likes' and seduce her. The 'fiance' chooses Tai because they're a cyborg whose brain implant lets them read other people's moods and body language. Tai accepts the job despite their misgivings because it will pay off their medical debt: the shady doctor who saved Tai from the car crash that killed their parents and critically injured them when they were a child used the opportunity to implant the unregulated technology that saved their life, but also kept them chained to the doctor (who probably programmed the implant to malfunction every couple of years to keep the money rolling in), and no one stepped in because Tai was an orphan. This debt drove Tai to go into sex work when their parents' money dried up, mid-high school. So fucked up.

The story really takes off at Aisha's big museum exhibit of fossils from an ancient, presumed extinct ant-like alien culture. Aisha, her colleague Jimin (a nice Korean guy), a pilot named Hue who discovered an alien fossil in the exhibit, and Tai somehow figure out how to get an ancient piece of alien technology working, and it brings the fossilized alien to life! The ant-like creature takes back the alien technology and starts trying to escape, killing a security guard in the progress. Hue is able to communicate with the alien thanks to the dragon she's bonded with (dragons are aliens that can teleport and communicate telepathically, sort of eldila-like). The humans all help get the alien onto Hue's ship so they can get it back to its own people. From the outside, however, it looks like the four humans stole a valuable alien fossil and killed a security guard in the process, and they are now considered criminals on the run. 

They go to several different planets, all very different and interesting: a lush jungle-y planet with no sentient life, where they leave the alien; a pirate port planet named Tortuga after the pirate stronghold!, and Jimin's home planet Halcyon, a peaceful farming community watched over by dragons. All sorts of crazy stuff goes down, and Tai and Aisha grow closer throughout it all and fall in love, but Tai knows the lies will ruin everything between them. In my opinion, it was stupid of Tai to think that Aisha's 'fiance' would still be willing to pay them for seducing Aisha after they became fugitives from the law. In what world would that business transaction be kept? Tai should have realized this and just owned up on like day 2 or 3 when they realized they liked Aisha as a friend. Aisha was rejected in the past for being asexual, and it broke her heart; you can guess what happens when the truth is found out. More wild stuff goes down, and our lovebirds save each other and find a happy ending. I really enjoyed this book and the world it was set in, even though I hated how sexism, classism, and capitalism were still a thing. I'd be down to read more books in this series. 

Score: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Spice score: 🌶
Read in: April 6
From: Barnes & Noble Nook

moodboard for Adrift in Starlight

Genres/classification: science fiction with some romance and borderline-fantasy elements

Tropes: opposites attract, sex worker x virgin (sorry), flirt x shy/standoffish, presumed criminals on the run, "this other person hired me to trick/date/bed you without you knowing I was hired to do so but now we're falling in love and I know it'll break your heart if you find out but I can't bring myself to tell you because I don't want you to be upset/break up with me" but she finds out anyway and leaves/breaks up with them but the liar apologizes and affirms they do love the lie-ee for real and they end up together anyway. You know the drill

Representation: Black ace female MC, nonbinary femme sex worker MC with they/them pronouns, straight? Korean male SC, Vietnamese bi or pan middle-aged female SC. Queernorm society, no homophobia or transphobia from what I remember

Trigger warnings: violence, death, suicide (very minor character, past), a character is drugged and imprisoned, medical abuse of a non-consenting patient since they were a child, a character began sex work as an underage teenager (all off-page), abusive/controlling parents, a character is shot with a future!gun, orphaned character whose parents died in a car crash (past), drugs and tripping/being high mentions, alcohol mentions, vomiting mentions, allergic reaction, gender dysphoria

Book reviews: C.S. Lewis's Space/Ransom trilogy

The Space Trilogy (or Ransom Trilogy) is C.S. Lewis' only other fantasy (under the guise of science fiction/scientifiction) series, and when I read them the first few times, I loved them so much that I listed them among my favorite books. I've reread them now for my C.S. Lewis class, and my feelings about the books have changed. 

 

Out of the Silent Planet (description) - The first book in the trilogy remains my favorite. The fascinating planet and its inhabitants, their language and Ransom's learning of it, and the way Lewis marries science fiction with fantasy and Christianity makes this book so enjoyable to me. The opinions CSL promotes in this book are of the "we should not colonize other planets/don't be obsessed with furthering the human race to the point that we lose our humanity" variety, which is slightly surprising until you remember he's Irish. On the whole I agree with him; I think I enjoyed the other books in the trilogy less because I don't agree with the beliefs he endorses there. A couple things I found funny are that Dr. Ransom (a philologist) is based on J.R.R. Tolkien, and the space travel science is completely silly. Anyway, I really liked this book but I don't think I count it a favorite anymore. 4.5 out of 5 stars, permanent collection. Trigger warnings: everything you should expect from a male-written 1940s sci fi book, murder, death, animal abuse and killing mention, ableism, kidnapping, guns/shooting death, colonialist genocide mentions

Aesthetics moodboard for Out of the Silent Planet

Perelandra (description) leans almost completely outside of the science and into fantasy. The medieval cosmology he folded into his science fantasy is much more dwelled on, and I love the mythological references Lewis added to the story. Perelandra is new, lush, and beautiful, and I enjoyed spending time in it. I did not enjoy the spiritual horror that threatened it through one of the antagonists from OotSP. I also wasn't crazy about traditional/old fashioned gender beliefs being shoehorned into the story through the planet gods. Lewis was nonplussed that most people didn't pick up on the Christianity in the first space book, so he really hammered it in here. I gave this one 4 stars. Trigger warnings: murder, death, violence, cosmic/spiritual/supernatural horror (demonic forces), demonic possession, body horror, zombie if you squint, animal abuse and murder, blood, gun, a huge bug-like creature shows up for a bit

Aesthetics moodboard for Perelandra

That Hideous Strength is the last book in the trilogy and takes place entirely on earth. Ransom is no longer the main character/focus; instead, we have alternating POVs from Jane and Mark, a young married couple who are bored with their lives and each other. Jane's dreams of the future bring her into Ransom's circle, and Mark's desire to be in the inner ring/popular & intellectual group brings him further into a shadowy organization (ironically called N.I.C.E.) that wants to control the universe. There's an exciting subplot with Arthurian fantasy and more medieval cosmology planetary influence stuff that I really enjoyed. There's also spiritual/supernatural horror in this book, albeit less direct that in Perelandra, but still creepy because an organization like N.I.C.E. could really exist and take over cities with police control and make bad people evil. There's a so-bad-it's-almost-funny butch lesbian cop stereotype who is written to be monstrous and evil. Lewis hammers in even more nonsense about gender roles and how it's an "erotic necessity" for the woman to obey her husband, which, like, your k!nks are not universal, babe. Just because you feel that way doesn't mean it's a natural law. Jane is not a very likeable character (Lewis is famous for being sexist, at least until he met his wife), but almost all the men are dicks to her in this book. It's not her fault her husband sucks and neglects her by eating all his meals at the university and then ditching her for weeks and weeks to live at the Institute. Jane never asked to get future dream visions or (spoiler, highlight to read: be part of a bloodline that was supposed to end with her birthing a future warrior for God or something, which no one told her about!) Justice for Jane! One thing I did find kind of funny is that Lewis posits there are seven genders because of the seven heavens/planets. Kind of based? 3.5 stars. Trigger warnings: murder, animal attack + massacre, gore, rape, torture, body horror, cosmic/spiritual/supernatural horror, police violence, town placed under police control and people driven from their homes, mob violence, animal abuse and experimentation (vivisection), guns and shooting deaths, eugenics and ableism mentions, genocide mentions, homophobia, homophobic stereotype character, misogyny and sexism, gender roles, homelessness, sex mentions

Aesthetics moodboard for That Hideous Strength

SimonTeen's free December ebooks

SimonTeen (the teen books arm of publisher Simon & Schuster) did a fun promotion where every day from December 1-25, they had a book you could read for free digitally if you made an account on their website. Being my parents' daughter, I love free stuff; naturally, I had to avail myself of the opportunity. I read so many good books due to this promotion; here they are. 

 

Pride & Prejudice & Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott ★★★★ (December 10) Aesthetics moodboard for P&P&P

Rather than being a lesbian Pride & Prejudice retelling, as the title suggests, it's about a 21st century girl who somehow time-travels to Regency England. Audrey, who had been trying to rediscover her spark for art, needs to figure out how to get back to her time and home in Pittsburgh. Lucy, the young lady whose backyard Audrey ends up in, is being forced into marriage by her domineering father. Can they figure out how to get Audrey home and Lucy out of getting married, and figure out their feelings for each other??? This book was so good and I really enjoyed it, even if the title feels like a placeholder they never got around to replacing. The story is not P&P enough to justify the title. No spice, just kissing. Trigger warnings: controlling & abusive father forces daughter into engagement/marriage and threatens to kick her out of the house, internalized and societal homophobia, a girl is tied up and locked in a room, semi-controlling boyfriend/codependent relationship (past)

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat ★★★★ / 🌶🌶🌶 (December 12)

Go read the book description at the link above and then come back, because it's hard to sum this book up succinctly. Rana is so full of grief at the loss of her best friend and angry at her mother's unequal and sexist treatment: her mom will nag her to diet and be more girly while pampering Rana's brother and letting him do whatever he wants because he's a boy. Their dad visits once a year because he lives in Iran, and the family frays under the weight of pretending to be one happy family. Rana wants to enter a rap battle in her friend's memory as it was his dream, and in starting to practice and gain confidence, she befriends and starts to fall for a fellow Iranian American girl. I really rooted for Rana and wanted her to have every happiness. I gave it 3 chilis because of a couple of sex scenes and explicit language. Trigger warnings: car accident death that may have been suicide, lesbian has sex with a guy which could be seen as self-harming, depression, mental illness, homophobia, bullying, anxiety, controlling parents, fatphobia and diet culture, drug use, underage drinking, sexism, infidelity, partying, sexism

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds and Zeke Peïa ★★★★ (December 14)

I loved both Miles Morales Spider-Man movies, so I was excited to read this one even though I don't usually read comics-based middle-grade novels. This one reads like Miles is writing in his diary or talking to you and includes poetry by Miles that moves the plot along. It's a sequel to MM: Spider-Man; you don't have to have read it to get what's going on here as it's summed up, but MM: Suspended is a continuation of that story. Miles is suspended for standing up to his racist teacher, and something is not quite right at school... I feel that Reynolds really captured Miles's voice, and I enjoyed being along for the ride, even though the villain/threat is creepy. Reynolds deftly folds Miles' personal and superhero dilemmas with the current racist book-banning issue in an age-appropriate way, and with such economy of language, all in a 14 year old AfroLatino boy's voice! I was really impressed by his writing and will have to check out more of what he's written. Peïa's art is dynamic and fun but never distracting. It's not illustrated enough to be a graphic novel, but it's got way more illustrations than your typical middle-grade novel (Miles should always have art). There's a librarian character I found very intriguing. Highly recommended. Trigger warnings: insects/bugs, violence/fighting (if your kid watches superhero movies it's probably fine), racism, racist/unsupportive school and teachers, lying to teachers (see prev. so it's fine)

A British Girl's Guide to Hurricanes and Heartache by Laura Taylor Namey ★★★.5 (December 17)

This is the sequel to a book I asked for for a couple of birthdays ago and still haven't read, A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. I hate reading series books out of order, but ABGG2HaH was only available one day, so I read it anyway. It seems to be a reverse of the first book, which was about a Cuban girl going to England after suffering loss; this one's about an English girl going to Miami after suffering loss. Flora has just lost her mum and has hurt her family with her grief and anger, so she runs away to stay with her friend Lila (first book girl)'s family. Her best friend Gordon, who had just confessed his feelings before she ran, follows her to Miami, just after she's met Baz, a Cuban cutie who's part of a famous photographer dynasty. Flora goes to cool places I'm dying to visit, deals with the Cuban chisme grind, and tries to figure out where her heart lies, all while continuing to throw herself into photography. I enjoyed this book a lot as a Cuban American, even though I know nothing of Miami. I'm not from England either but I'm not sure how true Flora's Englishness rang. The right words are there, but idk. Still, a great read! I def want to read the first one now. No spice, just kissing. Trigger warnings: death, early onset dementia, grief, hurricane/natural disaster

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

I learned about Xiran Jay Zhao through their excellent takedowns/analyses of the Mulan movies on YouTube and find them to be just hilarious and wonderfully nerdy. I consequently put their first book, Iron Widow, on my to-read list immediately. I bought it in January when Barnes & Noble had their 25% off preorders sale, and read it for the trans rights readathon the third week of March. Book summary:

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

WOW THIS FREAKING BOOK. It was so freaking good. This book is the embodiment of female rage and the phrase "I support women's rights and women's wrongs". I rooted for Zetian (who is very loosely based on the iconic empress of China) and her plans for revenge as a fellow sister-haver. I seethed with her when she encountered casual and violent sexism during the story and her life (in flashbacks). Zetian had her feet bound as a very small girl and consequently suffers chronic pain and difficulties walking. In the mecha animal suit she psychically links with, she is finally powerful and free of pain. Zetian is all about righting wrongs through violence and murder, and she's so valid.

Zetian is secretly in love with her friend Gao Yizhi, a rich boy a year or so older than her who secretly visits her in her village and taught her to read. She's angrily attracted to her forced pilot mate Li Shimin, who is a murderer/criminal a couple years older than her whose sentence got commuted since he's so psychically strong and therefore great at driving chrysalises. Ugh love triangles, right? WRONG! Spoiler, highlight to read: Zetian has two hands! and so do each of the boys!! Boo yeah. THIS is how you do love triangles. Mind you, I don't really like the term love triangle since the boys are never in love with or attracted to each other, just to the girl and sHe HaS tO cHoOsE. This is such a refreshing change from that.

Chrysalis pilots are basically superheroes and celebrities, so Zetian has to deal with all sorts of political machinations and publicity stuff on top of the sexism and attempts on her life. I was super into this book and then BAM, cliffhanger! And the second book isn't out for ages!! I am bereft. READ THIS THO.  Ooh, just learned (in googling the characters' names) that Xiran posted her face claims and descriptions of the characters!! Unfortunately I kept picturing Li Shimin as that villain who got airbending powers in The Legend of Korra :(  Godfrey Gao is SO much better.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Read in: March 22
From: Barnes & Noble
Status: keeping

See my aesthetics moodboard for Iron Widow!

Representation: main character with disability and chronic pain who uses mobility aids, bisexual side characters, nearsighted, glasses wearing character; all the characters are Chinese but this is SciFi/Fantasy Silkpunk China so idk if that counts

Cover notes: Perfect. My paperback has gorgeous metallic accents and I love it.

Trigger warnings: message me for these since Google got all puritanical 🙄

Book Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—derailing the War Between the States and changing the nation forever.

In this new America, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Education Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead.

But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It's a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose.

But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. 

And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

I read this book for Halloween, as it has zombies. This one was purchased from the thrift store a while back. Bookstagram informed me that a side character is ace, which made me happy. Part of the reason I picked this book above my other spooky reads was because I wasn't ready to let Ace Week go. 

Anyway, WHEW THIS BOOK. It was so gory and horrifying and suspenseful and amazing. While it does take place in an alternate timeline, the racism and inequality of the Reconstruction South feels like it rang true (obviously I was not alive then but I'm guessing it was like that). It's really saying something when the racism is scarier than the zombies. The zombies themselves are pretty standard; the only unique qualities are that their eyes turn yellow, and the newly turned are faster and stronger than the longer-undead ones. I don't consume a lot of zombie media, but that was new to me. There was a line in the book about white people claiming certain people of color had been bitten in order to enslave them, in an echo of the 13th amendment loophole. There were parts of this that were hard to read and very sad (zombies attacking children etc., the kind of racism that you already know to expect).

I liked Jane, although I found her impulsivity and inability to keep her mouth shut annoying. You'd think a Black girl raised in the mid- to late-1800s would know when not to mouth off, even if she was raised by a white mother who coddled her and didn't believe in corporate punishment for Black workers. She was pretty badass though. Katherine, Jane's classmate in the finishing school, begins as an annoying tattling prig, but due to circumstances that bring them together, grows on Jane and us. She's the ace character, and due to her lack of interest in relationships, I read her as aroace. There's a fun surprise as to another character's LGBTQ+ identity. There's also a Black smoothtalking conman and nice white scientist for Jane to have sparks with. One of the more interesting characters was Mr. Redfern, a Native American badass and morally gray character who is only in the first half of the book. I hope we see him again in the sequel, which I can't wait to read. 

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Read in: October 31
From: Savers thrift store
Status: giving away eventually

Cover notes: I really like this cover. "Jane" with her sickles in front of the American flag? Perfection. My only quibble is that she seems to be wearing an Edwardian dress and the book clearly takes place in 1880 or so.

Trigger warnings: murder, gore, zombies attacking/eating children and other people, attempted murder of infant, attempted murder of child, attempted drowning of child by adult, white supremacy, racism, death/murder by shooting (multiple instances), racial slurs, violence, Black character struck and flogged by white men, use of Black servant as zombie bait in medical experiment, police brutality, evil sheriff character, starvation, enforced hunger, imprisonment, internalized white supremacy in Black characters who betray their own, the Bible/religion/Christianity used to support racism, segregation and slavery; corrupt preacher character, sexism, misogynoir, whorephobia (prejudice against sex workers)

Book Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

I love Jules Verne, his 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea being a childhood favorite of mine, but I hadn't read this book of his. The copy I read belonged to my brother, or at least had ended up in his room. I grabbed this one to read on the plane to New York to visit my sister and her family, so that I could leave it behind if I wanted to. Back of book summary:

In Verne’s science-fiction classic, Professor Lidenbrock chances upon an ancient manuscript and pledges to solve the mysterious coded message that lies within it. Eventually he deciphers the story – that of an Icelandic explorer who travels to the centre of the earth, finding his way there via a volcano.

Inspired by the manuscript, the Professor is determined to follow in the explorer’s footsteps and builds a crew of men which includes his nervous nephew Axel. Together they begin their journey to the centre of the earth, facing fearsome danger and adventure at every turn.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as 2LUtS, or even Around the World in 80 Days. It was definitely an enjoyable way to pass the time in an airport, but I found the story somewhat lacking somehow. Maybe it's the cringing, scaredycat narrator, the way everything is described in the same tone of fearful amazement regardless of whether it's interesting or important to the story, or maybe it's the unchanging rigidity of the characters, maybe it's the silly science, ridiculous even to me with my one (1) college geology class.

Professor Lindbrock is an incredibly rigid, stubborn, egotistical, self-centered man. He lost my respect within the first 2 or 3 chapters when he forced the whole household, including his servants, to go without eating for over a day because he had decided to not eat or sleep until he cracked the manuscript. He literally locked them all into the house and took the key, so the cook couldn't leave and go to the market for the day's meals!! He ignored his nephew's trepidation about the accuracy of his science and the danger of the trip, strong-arming him into going and even forcing him to endure vertigo by repeatedly dragging him to the top of a tower (supposedly to get him used to great heights). Just because Lidenbrock decided something, it was right and everyone else was wrong and not worth listening to. He never got any comeuppance for being such a jerk, although he did almost lose Axel a couple of times and was therefore forced to come to terms with his actions, in a way. 0/10 uncle and person.

Axel is the narrator, and I found him quite annoying. Like I said, he's fearful and can't stand up to his uncle. Lindbrock was only able to crack the code because of Axel, who figured out the cryptogram. Axel is in love with Lindbrock's ward Grauben (forgot to say, they're all German for some reason), which weirded me out because Axel rhapsodizes about her youth and beauty in a truly Victorian creepy way, and I'm not sure how old he's supposed to be. I think he's a university student, and Grauben is 16. Another edition of J2tCotE gives Axel's age as 16, but I don't think it's mentioned in the book. I'm guessing he's 17-18 years old, which I guess is why he's such a scaredycat and won't stand up to his uncle. I'm guessing the romance was there to give him interest (he's otherwise very boring), but it served no purpose. 

Hans Bjelke is their Icelandic guide, who makes his living as an eiderdown collector (okay.). He communicates in Danish to Lidenbrock and is very taciturn and non-emotional, even when they're in great danger. He goes along with whatever Lidenbrock wants in what Axel describes as a feudal way, even when they could all die. Since he and Axel can't communicate, we never hear his side of things, and he's a very flat character. 

Ok, what I liked about this book: I thought them finding living prehistoric plants and creatures and even an early man (?!) was cool. I liked the chapters where they were trying to translate the Icelandic runes and break the code so they could read the ancient manuscript (you all know how I feel about runes and manuscripts and cryptograms). I liked their travels through Europe, despite the classist attitude towards peasants and rural people. There was one part when Axel (who doesn't speak any Scandinavian languages) finally meets one person he can talk to: some scholarly guy who also knows Latin. The underground travels stuff was interesting and suspenseful, even if the science is silly and they're saved by Deus ex volcano. How did they not die from that? It's silly.

Like I said, this whiled away the time in an agreeable way, but it's not my favorite of Verne's books. I do recommend reading it if you like Victorian sci fi and want to read a classic book to pass the time. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: August 16-September 8
From: my brother's room
Status: left it at my parents' house

Cover notes: This is clearly some stock picture of a person exploring an ice cave. Pretty, but not very accurate.

Trigger warnings for this book: being lost underground/in a cave without light, nearly drowning, being deep under the ground in caves, nearly dying of thirst, extreme thirst, anxious character forced to do the things he's afraid of, acrophobia (fear of heights), claustrophobia, thalassophobia (fear of deep water), vertigo mentions, controlling parental/father figure, adult man deprives teen/young adult of food for a day, rich/landowning man deprives servant(s) of food for a day (power imbalance), controlling man locks others inside his house, creepy descriptions of teen girl and narrator's attraction to her, fetishized female youth and innocence, teenage girl simultaneously infantilized and romanticized

Book Review: Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

I bought this one from Book Outlet because it seemed light and fun and sapphic. I was right about the last part. Book summary:

Claire has always wanted to work with superheroes, from collecting Warrior Nation cards as a kid to drafting "What to Say to a Hero" speeches in her diary. Now that she's landed a coveted internship with the Chicago branch of Warrior Nation, Claire is ready to prove she belongs, super or not. But complicating plans is the newest WarNat hero, Girl Power (aka Joy), who happens to be egotistical and self-important... and pretty adorable.
 
Bridgette, meanwhile, wants out of WarNat. After years of dating the famous Vaporizer (aka Matt), she's sick of playing second, or third, or five-hundredth fiddle to all the people-in-peril in the city of Chicago. Of course, once Bridgette meets Claire—who's clearly in need of a mentor and wingman—giving up WarNat becomes slightly more complicated. It becomes a lot more complicated when Joy, Matt, and the rest of the heroes go missing, leaving only Claire and Bridgette to save the day.

The setting is an alternate universe Chicago where superheroes are real and are a cross between celebrities, public figures, and law enforcement. It's similar to Marvel/DC, except the celebrity angle is really pitched up (disclosure: I've only read a few comics). Each big city region gets four superheroes to protect it, and Warrior Nation is a national corporation/publicity machine/etc. The Chicago WarNat headquarters were really cool to read about; they were kind of like a cross between what I imagine the Avengers tower, CIA headquarters, and Google headquarters to be like. The worldbuilding was fleshed out, and the author's love for Chicago shows.

 Claire is obsessed with the superheroes and with Warrior Nation. Her diary mentioned in the book summary is actually a bulging super-scrapbook filled with files and information on all the superheroes and every aspect of WarNat. She's geeky and a little much with her superhero worship. While she initially thinks Joy is full of herself and used to getting her way due to her pretty girl privilege, it's a very short hate to love thing that quickly becomes them making out in WarNat headquarters broom closets. Their relationship is cute, if a bit first-love-cloying. I liked that the WarNat top brass made Claire the Girl Power advisor because she's young; there's a cool scene where she talks them out of making Girl Power wear a revealing sexy costume.

Bridgette's an old hand in WarNat, having dated Matt/Vaporizer for four years. Her part of the story shows the dark underside of superherodom and celebrity. Vaporizer's fangirls bash her online and, when they come across her in real life, scream into her face that her boyfriend can do better than her. She's called all sorts of horrible names, both online and in person. Also, she's in constant danger since Matt has no secret identity and everyone knows they're dating, so she's been kidnapped countless times, attacked in the street, had important public events ruined by mobbing fans and her boyfriend flying though glass windows. Matt often stands her up, and while it sometimes is to rescue a kidnapped girl, it's just as often to film a commercial for something. It was really sad to read about everything she went through, and I'm pretty sure she was only 18 or so. Bridgette deserved better. I liked that she was friends with the other superheroes' significant others, and they made a little "super-adjacent" club.

The summary makes it sound like Bridgette takes Claire under her wing, but in the story, Bridgette and Claire are thrown together because they're kidnapped by superpowered bad guys. Those baddies are the reason why the superheroes disappear, and WarNat is being all tight-lipped about it. With the help of smarmy assistant Teddy, Claire and Bridgette must find out the truth and save the superheroes.

This book was a fun read in the beginning and suspenseful in the middle and end. It really took a hard look at how difficult it must be to be the significant other or parent of a superhero. Much like professional athletes, the supers join Warrior Nation in part because of the huge paychecks, but their loved ones are constantly afraid they will be hurt or killed. The part where the superheroes go missing is harrowing to read about because of their families' and partners' grief and worry. This book isn't afraid to go dark, despite the cover and premise, and for that I respect it. In terms of the queer representation, there is no homophobia in the book. Claire is out, and while no mention is made of whether Joy is out, she does take her on dates in public and stuff, even after she's famous.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Read in: June 20-21
From: Book Outlet
Status: give away eventually

Cover notes: I like the hardcover (which I have) book's purple cover better than the paperback's blue cover. The font is fantastic; lightning bolts and hearts are the letter's holes and sometimes legs, which is perfect for the subject matter. The superheroes are on top of the word "Super", while the girls gaze up at their paramours: Claire lovingly and Bridget exasperatedly. I like that Claire is holding her notebook, but the paintbrushes Bridgette is holding aren't her medium (I don't like the splashes of paint on her jumper; if she did paint she would totally cover her regular cute clothes). Bridgette makes intricate paper sculptures; she doesn't paint. It's an important plot point in the book! They gave Claire red hair when it's said to be purple (with an undercut) in the book. This book cover is fairly neutral, if you're worried about being seen reading a gay book; it will appear to the casual cishet observer that Claire is gazing up at Girl Power in a hero worship way, not a gay way.

Trigger warnings for this book: teen girl is stalked and grossly touched/sniffed by creepy adult man, kidnapping, teen girl grabbed and has her hair set on fire by adult man, violence, misogyny, online trolling/hate directed at teen girl, a character's hand is broken (sound mentioned), blood, injuries, verbal abuse of teen girl by strangers, obsessive parasocial relationships with celebrities

September books

 I actually read more than 2 or 3 books in September! Love that journey for me.

Immediately after Remember Me?, I read She's Come Undone, which was a mistake. It's just so horribly sad and depressing in a way that is in no way hinted at in the rather quirky summary. Wally Lamb is a good writer, and I cared about Dolores and wanted her to be happy, but yikes. Dolores is aptly named; the author points this out quite obviously in a patting-himself-on-the-back-for-being-so-clever way, and puts her through all sorts of sad situations. There is sort of a happy ending, at least, and Dolores finds the love she so craves. I did find the 1950s-70s upbringing interesting. Massive, massive trigger warnings for rape of a child, grooming by a predator, domestic violence, mental illness and institutionalization, fatphobia, nonconsensual sexual situations, semi-manipulated abortion, death, sex, homophobia, predatory lesbian trope, AIDS, stalking, religious abuse, alcohol and drug mentions/usage, binge eating and eating disorders, stillbirth, racism from an elderly character, infidelity. There's probably more but that's all I can think of. I left it behind in Mexico with a note telling my family not to read it (there's no way my Christian parents can handle that kind of story). Cover notes: I actually picked this up due to the interesting cover and title. It's actually the title of a 1970s song. 3 stars (4 stars for writing + 2 stars for story). 

Immediately after flying back from Mexico, I flew to New York to visit my sister and her family (I have a nephew now and he's the cutest baby in the world). We mostly hung out and went to restaurants and

bookstores. I bought Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman from Westsiders Rare & Used Books (such a fun bookstore). This feminist utopia is a reread for me, and I love it. Read my previous review here, and my mini essay comparing it to The Left Hand of Darkness here. It's so interesting how she points out that a lot of what we consider gender or how women naturally are is a result of the patriarchy and its gender roles (this was written in 1915!). However, I noticed this time how eugenics-y the book is: the Herland women are all white, despite being in a hidden part of South America or something, and they've deliberately bred themselves to be strong and tall and good at stuff and resist disease and smart, etc. I didn't really realize it until I read a quote from CPG that said that white men and women need to come together to improve the lower races, or something. All the great 19th and 20th century white feminists were all racist as hell, unfortunately. Anyway, I do like this book, but be aware of the racism and eugenics-y ways of thinking. It's critical of capitalism, the patriarchy, and Christianity (but rightfully so, imo). Loved the misandry though. 4 stars, keeping. 

Another reread this month was James Finn Garner's Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. These are fun PC satires of classic fairy tales, and it's funny to read how the tales were transformed. For instance, Red Robin Hood and the wolf chop up the woodcutter for being so sexist and speciest as to think RRH needed his help with the wolf. Per usual, one isn't sure whether Garner is poking fun at capitalism etc. or PC culture itself. I reread this one because I'm giving the series away. Trigger warnings for fairytale-typical violence, I guess? 3.5 stars, giving away. 

My last read for September was The Chickens Are Restless, a The Far Side comics compilation. I love Gary Larson's The Far Side so much. I got this from the thrift store, and I'm pretty sure I'd already seen all of these (although there were some comics I didn't remember seeing before). These are classics for a reason. I wonder, if I were to walk past all the faculty office doors at my school, how many would have a TFS comic taped to it. Probably a lot, in the sciences. 4 stars, keeping.