October 2025 Reading Wrap-Up
So, with the disclaimer that I'm currently reading through two very long books that have definitely been taking a while, I did manage to finish 6 books off this month. And set aside quite a few that I couldn't get past the first twenty pages on, but that's neither here nor there. We did hit a total of 1101 pages though!
1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?
None applicable.
2/10 - Trash
None applicable.
3/10 - Meh
None applicable.
4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier
None applicable.
7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats
Hero Factory Secret Mission 3: Collision Course | Greg Farshtey [Juvenile] Hero Factory Secret Mission 4: Robot Rampage | Greg Farshtey [Juvenile] Hero Factory Secret Mission 5: Mirror World | Greg Farshtey [Juvenile]
Putting all three of these together because these are the last three books of the Hero Factory Secret Mission series. I am chewing on drywall because they were working from where the cartoon series ended (episode 10, don't talk to me about episode 11) but they didn't close anything and in fact introduced MORE plot points that never finished up. I'm going insane. But on the bright side, Bulk got more of the respect he deserves.
Queer Mythoogy: Epic Legends From Around The World | Guido A Sanchez, James Fenner [Juvenile]
While this book was overall great and very much meant for a juvenile audience (aided by the fact that the author, Guido A Sanchez, is a middle school teacher), my primary complaint is repetition. While there are many myths from various areas, we return to Greek-Roman mythology six times.
While the goddess Athena does appear, she appears in the context of female lovers, leaving this book rather lacking in aromantic or asexual representation. I am not redacting any points for that, however, as I find the overall myths chosen to be written as wonderful examples of gay, lesbian, and bisexual/pansexual love and a multitude of transgender and nonbinary figures featured.
This book is overall quite short at 112 pages, with each myth taking around 5 pages plus a full-page art piece each. Overall, I cannot recommend it enough for the juvenile demographic or someone returning to reading mythology and wanting something lighthearted. While violence and death do feature in several stories, ultimately the figures do reach some form of happily-ever-after.
And that, more than anything else, is important to me.
9/10 - Very Very Good
Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated, volume 5 | Katsura Ise, Takuma Yokota
We love to see a romance subplot that turns into epic card duels. At least all of these idiots are willing to talk about their crushes and the information eventually gets back to who it needs to. Looking forward to the next book!
Llewellyn’s Complete Book Of North American Folk Magic: A Landscape Of Magic, Mystery, And Tradition | Cory Thomas Hutcheson, Brandon Weston, Melissa A Ivanco-Murray, Starr Casas, Stephanie Rose Bird, H Byron Ballard, Benebell Wen, Jake Richards, Alexander Cummins, Lilith Dorsey, Sandra Santiago, Robert L Schreiwer, Via Hedera, Kenya T Coviak, Ixtoii Paloma Cervantes, Robert Phoenix, Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, Morrigane Feu, E F E Lacharity, J Allen Cross, Morgan Daimler, Dee Norman, Aaron Oberon, Mario Del Angel-Guevara
So with the disclaimer that it's cringe that H Byron Ballard is a loud and proud TERF now, I do genuinely recommend this book. Very good disclaimers, in-text citations with matching footnotes, emphasis on safety... And they don't hesitate to address the realities of North American history. I respect that they're not trying to cover various Indigenous American cultures with this book because there's a limitation on pages and space, and the editor and all authors also recognize this even though the title is "complete". Generally, I would recommend this book as an introduction to folk magics in areas and as a way to work through what feels like coming home if you're also in North America and looking for direction for learning about folk magic in or from your area.
Random guess at the target demographic: Pretty much anyone interested in the idea of folk magic in North America but has no idea where to actually start and thus needs a "road map".
10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone
None applicable.
