New month, new book thread! First up, The Intermediaries: A Weimar Story by Brandy Schillace (narrated Daniela Acitelli).
I knew about the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft. Or rather I was aware that it existed. And I knew the Nazis destroyed huge amounts of data and information. But this book provides so much more detail. I especially appreciated the intimate portrayal of Dora Richter.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ace85c20-9fab-4d16-ba01-dfb6fe26e236
Book 2 was Lunar Logic by Adeena Mignogna (narrated by ST:SNW’s Bruce Horak).
Lighthearted sci-fi with humour but with a deep undercurrent, considering what it means to be a person.
Get it direct from the author: https://crazyrobot.myshopify.com/products/lunar-logic-ebook
Book 3 was PJ Norris and the Town with the Butterfly Problem by S. Usher Evans (read by Caleb Summers).
Having dropped out of university, PJ and Grant roam the country in search of potential dragon-shifters. But what they find instead is a town plagued by butterfly attacks.
Get it direct: https://susherevans.com/pages/firewing
Book 4 was The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke (narrated by Greg Wagland).
This book is very much a product of its time. Women? Never heard of them. Smoking! In spaceships! Fax machines! In spaceships! Carbon paper. Typewriters.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/20de0701-610c-4998-a600-bb8b4b7826fb
Book 5 was A Drizzle of Magic by S. Usher Evans (narrated by Jess Moran).
Lillie finds her fresh start in Silverkeep. But someone doesn’t want her there. In fact, it seems like no one wants her there.
But it direct: https://susherevans.com/products/a-drizzle-of-magic-audiobook
Book 6 was Those Old Gods: Short Stories by N. J. Leaver.
Juno is the semi-human equivalent of a ginger cat: a double helping of chaos with zero brain cells.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e392569c-7d0c-4e0d-a1a3-d9de9062bf59
Book 7 was Burial of Ghosts by Ann Cleeves (narrated by Colleen Prendergast).
This isn’t my first Cleeves novel, but it was a strange one. I’m not a fan of novels where the main character is stupid.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/d0cd9432-f908-47a4-afc9-e16ad7f44bbf
Book 8 was Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (narrated by Grover Gardner).
Classic sci-fi often forgets that women exists; this takes that trope and cranks the dial to 11.
As well as being a fascinating look at gender constructs, this is just a really a fun story with fantastic characters.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0ec19705-a348-41bb-9512-2cd72197bbfd?redirect=true
Book 9 was Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans (with multiple narrators).
The opening and closing, written by the author’s husband and friends after her death, are heart-wrenching. But the rest of the book is so full of hope and affirmation. Definitely worth a read.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/c7a8a5c2-bf5f-4db4-b4f2-e9097971184e
Book 10 was Still Life by Louise Penny (narrated by Ralph Cosham).
This series is incredibly popular. I don’t know, maybe I should try a later book; this one didn’t work for me.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b5aad067-fb64-423a-bae8-2834fcec5751?redirect=true
Book 11 was Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (narrated by Gabra Zackman).
This book was *harrowing*. I normally read about a book a day, but I had to take this one in small doses over about a week. But it’s vital for this story to be told.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/53bf740f-c9c6-48a0-91eb-52105509503e
Book 12 was The Halfling's Harvest
S.L. Rowland (narrated by Eric Jason Martin & Jessica Threet).
Marigold is happy with her life running the inn and vineyard her parents started. But one day a beautiful stranger comes to town.
Get it for a steal direct from the author: https://shop.slrowland.com/products/the-halflings-harvest-audiobook
Book 13 was Erebus Dawning by A.J. Super (narrated by Amy Landon).
Nyx just wants to prove herself to her father, the leader of the space pirates. After he’s murdered in a mutiny, she discovers she’s some sort of AI-god-star-hybrid.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/69dcb10c-a10b-4108-8c94-99474a1c096d
Book 14 was The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith (narrated by Lisa Flanagan).
In the library of unwritten books, a hero escapes from his book. Librarian Claire has to track him down with the help of a former muse and an anxious demon.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/923c9d8b-eb96-4285-b686-dddb23d13c33
Book 15 was Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic by Richard A. McKay (narrated by Paul Woodson).
A must read for anyone interested in the history of the AIDS crisis.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/5d296e32-6df8-4ed6-ba3a-4ecae3fadfd2
Book 16 was Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch (narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith).
When an angel of death starts hunting down former members of a cult, the Folly is on the case.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/18bb40ba-92a0-46e2-9b78-bbb42565a1e0?redirect=true
Book 17 was The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (by Katharine Chin).
Reformed thief Maya is working on her PhD, when she comes across an opportunity she can’t refuse, leading to a galaxy-spanning adventure.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ab386130-f695-44f0-acee-618f53237f6e?redirect=true
Book 18 was Death On Ice by R. O. Thorp (narrated by Olivia Dowd).
I picked this one up without knowing it would be queer, so I was delighted to find not only positive gay rep, but also a sensitively portrayed trans character. Highly recommended.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/5d06504e-83e1-4b37-8aca-98933c21a1ef
Storygraph is down, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what book 19 was.
Book 19 was The Life Impossible by Matt Haig (narrated by Joanna Lumley).
Grace is 72 years old and recently widowed. When an old friend leaves her an unexpected bequest, she has nothing left to lose.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f119ed23-5288-4b89-8b0f-4c19ab48dcef
Book 20 was Starship Titanic by Terry Jones & Douglas Adams (narrated by Bill Nighy).
This one had funny moments. But the misogyny and playing to stereotypes is just gross. Skeevy. Ick.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3ef418c2-34b4-40b3-bda1-faefb6bcb188
Book 21 was Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini (narrated by Jennifer Hale).
In the depths of grief over the loss of his wife, Alex joins the crew of ship going to investigate a mysterious hole on a mysterious planet.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/199a4dc3-6acf-4773-8d10-ca6c114c4eb3?redirect=true
Book 22 was No Free Parking: The Curious History of London's Monopoly Streets by Nicholas Boys Smith (narrated by Charles Armstrong).
This is a book about the game Monopoly – except it’s not about that at all. It takes each of the places on the UK Monopoly board and digs into the very real history.
A fascinating read for all lovers of London and history.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f526a4ce-a73f-4496-a03a-3da51a4b557d
Book 23 was Shift Happens written and read by T.M. Baumgartner.
Angela’s the most competent and efficient officer in the magical probation department. And yet, when her boss drops dead, it’s the men who take over.
Readers of urban fantasy with older main characters will love this one.
I’d share my full review, but StoryGraph is down. Again.
Book 24 was Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (narrated by Kenny Blyth).
On a dark winter night in rural Scotland, a teenage girl is killed. The community decides it must be the local developmentally disabled man because they all blamed him when another teenaged girl disappeared a decade ago.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/f67278fd-2ebf-49e9-86c5-789fb7fe4965
Book 25 was The Trading Game written and read by Gary Stevenson.
Stevenson is known as an economist focused on inequality. But from 2007 to 2014, he was a trader at Citi. I expected this book to be about how the author got from there to here. But it’s entirely about the very dark ‘there’.
A fascinating glimpse into the world of high finance – sometimes bitingly funny, always ugly.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/081cdb66-18b4-45fe-8b0a-c617a2d75f5c?redirect=true
Book 26 was The Shepherd by Robert M. Kerns (narrated by Tia Rider).
If you read The Left Hand of Dog and thought, ‘You know what this needs? Gender roles and guns!’ … Then, you’re going to love this one.
Seriously, though… Big fun with plenty of heart.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/acfe3df7-ccbf-4cd1-8cad-23c56bae5ae0?redirect=true
Book 27 was Surviving Sentience 2040 by Sharon A. McDonell.
Comma is a sentient AI … the first one, in fact. But someone out there REALLY doesn’t want her to exist.
Review: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9adce02e-651e-4877-9f5d-76b53c08c21d?redirect=true
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🔥 Mireille Sillander 🔥
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