Reading in June
2020 Reading Goal: 48/100
1. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown - As with so many others, I'm reading and learning right now. Brown first came on my radar two years ago with the publication of this book. I heard of her in an interview with another faith leader I follow, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to actually read her book. She's an amazing writer, and her story gripped my heart from page one. I read it in two days...and then bought a second copy to gift to my 17-year-old daughter. (My daughter crawled in bed with me after she finished reading it, clearly touched and a bit overwhelmed by what she had read.). Brown is richly deserving of the spot she currently holds on the New York Times Bestseller list, and I sincerely hope she writes more. Brown has been in the media a lot lately, and if you'd like a fantastic introduction, I would highly recommend the episode she did on Brene Brown's Unlocking Us podcast. (Props to Brown, because she's the only other person I've ever heard admit they like the movie 2012.)
2. River of Teeth, 3. Taste of Marrow, Sarah Gailey - These were just fun. Gailey reimagines American history in a wild west meets hippopotami set in a Gulf Coast that's been flooded to give them their natural habitat. It's a really wild concept that she totally makes work. The hippos are stand-ins for horses, although they are more than that. The characters are modern twists on stock Western characters, and I loved that there were LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. Super fun to read. Hoping Gailey writes more in this world!
I then turned to two books which I pulled off of my usual recommendation sources (although I can't remember which ones), but which had been hanging out in my to-read queue forever.
Which brings me to 2020 Reading Goal #2: Work through the books that have been hanging out in my to-read queue forever. I have a tendency to collect some great books, but they get passed over for new releases or whatever has grabbed my attention for the moment.
4. Spin the Dawn, Elizabeth Lim - So, so deeply satisfying. In many ways, Lim has created a very traditional fairy tale. Girl pretends to be her brother to save her family. There's a storybook competition and royal intrigue. There's magic and a mysterious wizard. A quest for magical options comes into play. All normal elements that could be quite boring in a lesser writer's hands. Lim, though, is a very talented writer. She swept me up and carried me along - with enough unique twists on the comforting traditional to make it interesting and exciting. It is also deeply steeped in Asian culture - and as you know, I love fairy tales that exist outside of the white, Eurocentric canon. This is the first in a series...and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
5. Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed - Speaking of fairy tales that exist outside of the white, Eurocentric canon, here's another! In the last few years, I've discovered some really fantastic fantasy writers who base their stories in the Middle-East, which is fascinating and beautiful. I was immediately drawn to the main characters - in part because it's really rare to find a book that centers around older people, and in part because they were so darn realistic, warts and all. To my surprise, the book did become more of an ensemble story than I expected - which was fantastic. In all honesty, though, much as I loved the characters and the worldbuilding, the plot was maybe a bit light. I don't feel drawn to follow this author as I've followed others. Glad I read it, it was fun, but that's that.
Then back to a preorder/new release that had to be read immediately.
6. The Angel of the Crows, Katherine Addison - I preordered this based on the strength of Addison's first novel, The Goblin Emperor, but I wasn't entirely sure of what to expect as she only had the one book. To my delight, I discovered a fantasy take on Sherlock Holmes. (There's an author's note at the end that explains that this book began as "Sherlock Wingfic" a subgenre of fanfic that I'd never heard of - but which makes total sense.). I've discovered in recent years a fondness for Sherlock inspired works, even as I'm not crazy about reading the original source material. I do feel like this book felt like more of a collection of tales than a complete novel - but then, perhaps that's also natural given the source inspiration. I don't really want to give any secrets away...but my love for inclusion and diversity in books prompts me to suggest that this is a great example and there are some things in here that mean a lot to me.
1. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown - As with so many others, I'm reading and learning right now. Brown first came on my radar two years ago with the publication of this book. I heard of her in an interview with another faith leader I follow, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to actually read her book. She's an amazing writer, and her story gripped my heart from page one. I read it in two days...and then bought a second copy to gift to my 17-year-old daughter. (My daughter crawled in bed with me after she finished reading it, clearly touched and a bit overwhelmed by what she had read.). Brown is richly deserving of the spot she currently holds on the New York Times Bestseller list, and I sincerely hope she writes more. Brown has been in the media a lot lately, and if you'd like a fantastic introduction, I would highly recommend the episode she did on Brene Brown's Unlocking Us podcast. (Props to Brown, because she's the only other person I've ever heard admit they like the movie 2012.)
2. River of Teeth, 3. Taste of Marrow, Sarah Gailey - These were just fun. Gailey reimagines American history in a wild west meets hippopotami set in a Gulf Coast that's been flooded to give them their natural habitat. It's a really wild concept that she totally makes work. The hippos are stand-ins for horses, although they are more than that. The characters are modern twists on stock Western characters, and I loved that there were LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. Super fun to read. Hoping Gailey writes more in this world!
I then turned to two books which I pulled off of my usual recommendation sources (although I can't remember which ones), but which had been hanging out in my to-read queue forever.
Which brings me to 2020 Reading Goal #2: Work through the books that have been hanging out in my to-read queue forever. I have a tendency to collect some great books, but they get passed over for new releases or whatever has grabbed my attention for the moment.
4. Spin the Dawn, Elizabeth Lim - So, so deeply satisfying. In many ways, Lim has created a very traditional fairy tale. Girl pretends to be her brother to save her family. There's a storybook competition and royal intrigue. There's magic and a mysterious wizard. A quest for magical options comes into play. All normal elements that could be quite boring in a lesser writer's hands. Lim, though, is a very talented writer. She swept me up and carried me along - with enough unique twists on the comforting traditional to make it interesting and exciting. It is also deeply steeped in Asian culture - and as you know, I love fairy tales that exist outside of the white, Eurocentric canon. This is the first in a series...and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
5. Throne of the Crescent Moon, Saladin Ahmed - Speaking of fairy tales that exist outside of the white, Eurocentric canon, here's another! In the last few years, I've discovered some really fantastic fantasy writers who base their stories in the Middle-East, which is fascinating and beautiful. I was immediately drawn to the main characters - in part because it's really rare to find a book that centers around older people, and in part because they were so darn realistic, warts and all. To my surprise, the book did become more of an ensemble story than I expected - which was fantastic. In all honesty, though, much as I loved the characters and the worldbuilding, the plot was maybe a bit light. I don't feel drawn to follow this author as I've followed others. Glad I read it, it was fun, but that's that.
Then back to a preorder/new release that had to be read immediately.
6. The Angel of the Crows, Katherine Addison - I preordered this based on the strength of Addison's first novel, The Goblin Emperor, but I wasn't entirely sure of what to expect as she only had the one book. To my delight, I discovered a fantasy take on Sherlock Holmes. (There's an author's note at the end that explains that this book began as "Sherlock Wingfic" a subgenre of fanfic that I'd never heard of - but which makes total sense.). I've discovered in recent years a fondness for Sherlock inspired works, even as I'm not crazy about reading the original source material. I do feel like this book felt like more of a collection of tales than a complete novel - but then, perhaps that's also natural given the source inspiration. I don't really want to give any secrets away...but my love for inclusion and diversity in books prompts me to suggest that this is a great example and there are some things in here that mean a lot to me.
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