1, 20, 47? π
1. Read the best book you've read so far this year.
I read Lord of the Empty Isle by Jules Arbeaux last month and was blown away by how brilliantly written the story around grief and anger and power was all intertwined*. I double checked my reads from the rest of the year, and, while Will of the Many and Strength of the Few by James Islington is incredibly clever world building and plotting, Lord of the Empty Isles hit me in the feels and pushed very specific buttons perfectly for me, so it wins.
* Also casual ace rep in regard to the main character.
20. Where and how do you find new books to read?
I tend to get hyperspecific concepts into my head that I want to read and go down an internet rabbit hole. A few months ago I REALLY wanted a gay sports romance that would appeal to me and found the single gay NASCAR romance I think exists (other than some novellas) in addition to F1, motocross, and street racing titles to add to my half interested list. I've also been going through the now rather lengthy lists of aspec fiction so I can create my own list of vetted aspec fic. Storygraph challenges and Pagebound Quests are also fun places to peruse - whether on those hyperspecific deep dives or just scrolling.
47. What are the last three books you read?
Remember my hyperspecific lists? π I read Revolutionary by Alex Myers (about Deborah Sampson, a historical figure that dressed as a man to fight in the American Revolutionary War) and Washington's Gay General (a nonfic graphic novel about the immigrant General von Steuban, a fairly confirmable gay historical figure that shaped American military though the book was about gay people throughout history about as much as von Stueban). I went hunting for queer figures from the Revolution as my own way to quietly celebrate 250 years of United States independence. Hard to be terribly proud, either when we take the time to recognize the horrors done to get where we are or when looking at the current administration, but I wanted SOME way to recognize a big anniversary.
The third book was Sky On Fire by Jenn Lyons (queer dragonrider fantasy that has a sapphic romance and is queer normative but is arguably not romantasy imo and is in my top... probably top five of this year.)
