📚Book Review📚

‘Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame’ by Neon Yang.

Cover art by Tran Nguyen.

I’ve been feeling a bit disillusioned with fantasy lately, but I took a chance on this novella (partly because it was a novella) because of the beautiful cover art. I really enjoyed this story of self-discovery and identity that reminded me in some ways of Yoon Ha Lee’s ‘Phoenix Extravagant’. Yeva is a very relatable character shaped by circumstances outside of her control, and only just learning how to make her own choices.

There is a definite sense of the damaging effects of colonialism, and how removing a child from one culture and putting them in a situation where they are forced to conform to another culture’s rules and expectations - whilst simultaneously being othered - strips them of agency and prevents them from developing a healthy sense of self.

The romance element is very gentle and subdued and centred on the loneliness of the two main characters and is as much about a blossoming and unexpected friendship as it is about attraction.

Features disability representation of both acquired hand deformity and chronic illness.

The lovely Twiglet is, as usual, keeping me company.

Q. Have you read any good novellas, novelettes, or short stories lately?

#reading #novella #fantasy #queerrepresentation #neonyang #caturday

I re-read ‘All Systems Red’, the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, in preparation for watching the television adaptation. I’m happy to report that I still love the book just as much the second time around (I only read it for the first time last October, so that makes sense), and that - though not entirely how I imagined it - I don’t dislike the television show and feel like a lot of the changes make sense for the change of medium. The casting choice of Noma Dumezweni as Dr Mensah is great, but I’m still getting a feel for everyone else. It threw me a little bit that they ditched both Volescu (this cut kind of made sense to be honest) and Overse (whose removal necessitated some changes in relationship dynamics), but I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad thing. The show also does some story elements differently from the book, in a different order, or appears to omit them entirely. Again, I can understand some of the changes for pacing issues and the need to show things rather than relying on the constant internal monologue.

I’ll definitely be tuning in next week to see how the show progresses.

#reading #scifi #sciencefiction #tvadaptation #television #marthawells #themurderbotdiaries

I’ve been trying to read more poetry this year, so I’ve continued this trend by reading the newly reissued ‘Dream Work’ by Mary Oliver. Cover photo by Vicki Jauron.

Dogfish, Wild Geese, The River, and Starfish are definite favourites, but the haunting end to The Journey really hit me:

‘But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognised as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do -
determined to save
the only life you could save.’

#reading #poetrycollection #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk #readingbuddy #caturday #catsandbooks #booksandcats

I’m starting off the month with another much-anticipated sequel. ‘The Tainted Cup’ made my top five for 2024, so I’m very glad to report that I was not disappointed in this second installment.

‘A Drop of Corruption’ by Robert Jackson Bennett.

Cover art by Tom Roberts.

Book two in the Shadow of the Leviathan series sees the eccentric detective Ana Dolabra match wits with a formidable adversary. Ana and Din are again called to investigate an unusual murder, this time in a case that spirals into a conspiracy decades in the making, and one that will push Ana’s abilities to new limits in her quest to solve the mystery before time runs out.

This story was exactly what I wanted it to be, and I’m very happy to have spent the past few days revisiting this world and solving another mystery with Ana and Din. I’m very satisfied, and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

The weather is unpleasantly sticky at the moment, which made the descriptions of Yarrow feel that much more visceral.

#reading #fantasybooks #murdermystery #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk #readingbuddy #caturday #catsandbooks #booksandcats

📚Book Haul📚

I decided that I needed a mental health purchase from Bookshop.org - allowing me to use up my book token, and I also picked up another Alice Oseman offering for the Teen.

📖The Broken Dragon by Karen McCombie
📖Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
📖What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition by Emma Dabiri
📖This Can't Be Happening by George Monbiot

I picked up ‘What White People Can Do Next’ because it was recommended by Olivia-Savannah, and ‘This Can’t Be Happening’ by George Monbiot because I admire his journalism. I added ‘The Broken Dragon’ because I like to read books aimed at children from time to time (and it looks like a good story).

Hopefully I will read some of these next month, though April is going to be pretty busy.

#books #bookrecommendations #bookhaul #bookpost #bookcollection #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk

I missed out on the Collector’s Box from LitPins&Co for the 10th Anniversary of ‘Vicious’ by V. E. Schwab but, because I’m a huge fan of Corey Brickley as an artist, I reached out to them and the lovely people there - thank you Hannah - put me on the waiting list to get some of the merch when it was restocked.

The poster tube contains the book cover versions of the art prints, but I’m going through a flare right now and my arthritic hands do not currently have the manual dexterity to deal with the necessary folding to re-cover the book.

I placed an order without having even read the book but, fortunately for me, ‘Vicious’ is an excellent story and I loved it.

LitPins&Co were sadly sold out of copies of the book, but I was able to get one from SciFier.

#books #bookrecommendations #readingrecommendations #reading #bookcollection #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk #LitPins&Co #CoreyBrickley

💛🤎📚Book Recommendations📚🤎💛

I tend to read a mix of new and backlist titles - so I might read and equally love both a book published that year and another that came out ten years ago. I’m always looking for book recommendations, so I thought I would share my top five favourites from the past two years in case anyone has missed any of these gems.

In 2024 I read a total of 67 books, and rated 16 of them 5-stars.

📖The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (fifth place)
📖Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (fourth place)
📖Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum (third place)
📖All Systems Red by Martha Wells (second place)
📖Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho (the winner, in first place)💛

In 2023 I read a total of 49 books, and rated five of them 5-stars.

📖The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (fifth place)
📖Dragonfall by L. R. Lam (fourth place)
📖Starter Villain by John Scalzi (third place)
📖Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman (second place)
📖Weyward by Emilia Hart (the winner, in first place)💛

Q. Have you read any of these books? Or are any on your TBR list?

#books #bookrecommendations #readingrecommendations #reading #bookcollection #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk

💛 Shelfie Sunday 💛

These books are pretty much all fantasy / science-fiction stories, and I have other bookshelves here and there throughout the house for things that don’t fit here (either due to lack of space, because they belong to different genres, or ones that I’m trying to get my Teen to show some interest in reading). Most of them were 4 or 5 star reads for me, though ‘Immortal Longings’ was a 3 star and is mostly coasting on the beautiful cover art by Corey Brickley.

Since August 2024 I have read and shelved all of the currently available stories in The Murderbot Diaries series, gradually completed my Earthsea collection, and added ‘The Children of Time’, ‘The Chrysalids’, ‘Dragonsdawn’, ‘In the Shadow of the Ship’, ‘Mickey7’, ‘Navigational Entanglements’, ‘Someone You Can Build A Nest In’, and 'The Cybernetic Tea Shop'.

My book collection isn’t neat and uniform, but it does accurately reflect who I am as a reader.

#bookshelves #sundayshelfie #books #shelfiesunday #reading #bookcollection #bookshelfie #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk

I’ve only just started my first book for March, which is a re-read of an old favourite.

‘The Spellcoats’ by Diana Wynne Jones.

Cover art by Manuel Šumberac.

I first read this story in childhood, and had no idea that it was part of a series because it was the only one that the library in my hometown had and the book cover of the first edition - with beautiful cover art by Pamela Goodchild - didn’t make it obvious like my copy does. Also, this is the third book in the series, but the first chronologically, so it was fine to read it as a standalone.

Anyway, last year I finally got around to reading the first two books in the Dalemark Quartet, so now I’m re-reading this one before reading the final book in the series.

The story is woven by Tanaqui, and tells how she and her four siblings flee their village. It also details the various people and experiences that they encounter as part of their journey.

#reading #books #fantasybooks #childrensbooks #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk

📚February 2025 recap📚

I read four books in February, including one non-fiction related to my course work. Given that it has been an incredibly challenging and busy month, I’m really happy that I still did more reading than in the same month last year - where I read three books, and two of those were manga volumes. I’ve also made a good start on my reading goal for the year, with twelve books completed so far - compared to only five at the same point in 2024. I’m also - thus far - meeting my goal of reading a short story each month.

💛💛💛💛🖤Alien Clay - Adrian Tchaikovsky
💛💛💛💛💛 Vicious - V. E. Schwab
💛💛💛💛🖤NeuroDiversity: The Birth of an Idea - Judy Singer
💛💛💛🖤🖤A Month in the Country - J. L. Carr

I also read the short story ‘Two Sisters in Exile’ by Aliette de Bodard.

I’ve felt very burnt out over the course of this month, and ‘Vicious’ - with its short chapters and pithy lines - just perfectly suited my mood.

My husband and I have been watching ‘Interior Chinatown’. We’ve been continuing to watch season two of ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ and the first season of ‘Sakamoto Days’ as a family.

#reading #scifibooks #fantasybooks #bookishcommunity #bookishcommunityuk #booksandcats #catsandbooks