dug the mid-year book freakout questions out bc it's that time of year >:D and i wanted to talk books! tagging @ngalitzine and @littlestarsailor and whoever wants to!
Number of books you’ve read so far: 63! occupational hazard of working in a library and being a chronic audiobook listener
Best book you’ve read so far in 2025: tbh it might be supergirl: woman of tomorrow by tom king and bilquis evely. it was soooooo beautiful and really packed a punch. seeing the movie this weekend and I don't REALLY care if it's is super faithful to the story since it's a different medium, slightly different character interpretations, and they're trying to different things with each story. But I really hope they incorporate certain elements/story beats bc the comic just fucks extremely hard. like, goddamn, that ending. been thinking about it for weeks.
Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg - kinda what it says on the tin. a history of trans people, how society's view of gender has changed, and the ways all of this has been obscured
The Employees by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken - really weird 100-page novella that's a series of interviews with a bunch of employees of a space ship. Some are human, some are androids. After they bring these objects from another planet on board, the employees begin to have varying responses to these alien objects, leading many to question their purpose and humanity. LOVED IT! it's this delightful mix of futurism and nostalgia that I associate with YKK, one of my fav mangas, and is beautifully written.
Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2025: platform decay by martha wells, of course. i love u murderbot!!
New release you haven’t read yet but want to: I have All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan checked out on libby but haven't started it yet. it is imminent though! >:D excited to read more about my fav fantasy villainous who is making everything worse!
funny story about this series. one of my siblings, who is dyslexic, is also reading it and when they originally saw the first book (Long Live Evil), they misread the title and thought it was called TOTALLY EVIL. then several months later, they misread book 2's title as well and thought it was ALAS, CHAOS. so now that is what we call them. hope they misread book 3's title too <3
Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: RWRB: THE PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE!!!! obviously!!!! Also extremely pumped for Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo and As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers. I don't even know what the Becky Chambers book is about, I will just read whatever she puts out.
Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you): finallyyyy read a book by Emily Austin (Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead) and I'm very eager to read more of her <3 Devastating, hilarious, and hopeful. I don't read a ton of literary fiction so I'm glad I picked this one up.
Other books I read that made me want to read more from the author:
The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino - queer fantasy (romantasy? idk, i generally don't like romantasy but this one was goooooood!) with codependent leads and secret identities <3 I will read the next book set in the world when it comes out!
Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith - gilded age historical fic about a lesbian and gay man who are in a lavender marriage and decide to build an empire selling soap with an investment from a ridiculous rich heir that the guy begins a relationship with. very fun.
Newest fictional crush: LOIS LANEEEEEE i'm fucking obsessed with her. sexiest woman alive. she's so HOT and COMPETENT. ok i will stop.
Book that made you cry: I so rarely cry while reading but i DID shed a tear or two a few days ago when I finished Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q Sutanto. I'd rec this book if you liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Story from older woman about the love of her life, who is a woman. Gay longing and repression. Unsent letters. Coming of age. Tearjerker ending. All that good stuff!!
Most beautiful book you’ve gotten so far this year: ok probably the supergirl comic i mentioned above. but besides that, I looooved scarlet morning by nd stevenson. very fun middle grade pirate fantasy adventure <3 the illustrations (and plot/writing) were a delightful combo of silly + SOOOO much emotion.
Book that made you happy: Lois Lane: Enemy of the People <3333 was giggling and kicking my feet while reading
What books do you need to read by the end of the year? I would really like to read Octavia Butler's collection of short stories (Bloodchild & Other Stories), which I bought a couple years ago but haven't gotten around to. Also would like to finally start The Bone Season series by Samantha Shannon!! I've been meaning to for years!
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