Books of 2026: June Wrap-Up.
'Twas the month of homes and hearts and murder islands, apparently?? Happy Pride?!?
I did try to read exclusively queer authors (plus Poetry Quest material), and I was successful on that front! I'm also still chugging along on my revision project (and feeling the deadline squeeze)(we won't talk about that)(much).
Reviews linked!:
BEING ARO ★★★ Enjoyed some of these a lot! Unimpressed with some, too, though. BEING ACE is the stronger collection, but I'm glad they both exist!
COME HOME TO MY HEART ★★★★★ This fucked me up so bad I had to set it down for a week. Achingly and heartbreakingly well done
MODEL HOME ★★★★ I will follow Rivers Solomon anywhere, up to and including a horrible HOA in Dallas suburbs. More literary bent than haunted house, still extraordinarily well done.
THE ODYSSEY ★★★★ Phenomenal and fascinating translation, hugely approachable and thoroughly modernized language (with good pedagogical reasons for why!), I will be checking out Wilson's ILIAD also because of this.
MAKE ME BETTER ★★★ I will also follow Gailey anywhere, up to and including coral cult island :)
SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON ★★★★ Amal El-Mohtar once again knocking it out of the park!! Loved this prickly collection.
THE ENDING WRITES ITSELF ★★★½ Indulgent fun! Check it out if you're a writer and want someone coming for your jugular, maybe skip it if you're a mystery/thriller aficionado.
ANNA AKHMATOVA - 169/942 pages read. Made it through "Rosary"! I'm still scribbling a LOT of fragments in my notebook, I dig her stuff a lot, I think.
Next month, I will be swinging back around to read more Driscoll-adjacent fiction (writing project reasons). I've got seven (7) scenes I'm trying to finalize by the end of July to stay on my Oft-Revised Target--I need to have this manuscript wrapped up by early September, so we're approaching the Final Sprint. Send more caffeine, I'm gonna need it!!
Under the Cut: How I Conceptualize ~*★Stars★*~
