![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
books read: 2020 nov-dec
Happy 2021! All right, let's wrap up the last two months so I can tackle the full year in review on books read! In a separate post. I'm not ambitious enough to do it all in one day.
- Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh - I'm trying other Golden Age mystery authors beyond Christie. I just picked what was available at the library and beyond A Man Lay Dead they had this one, so I dove in. Same as her previous book where I didn't hate it but frankly I was not a fan of the guy who was murdered, or that into the characters; I think Christie does a better job drawing them and making me care. The little romance was similar to what Christie has done and that bit was nice, surprisingly.
- Ordinary Men by Lesh - A BL webtoon, set between a doctor and nurse who live and work together. Their relationship is filled with UST they refuse to resolve for some reason? And then drama with miscommunications of other love interests and whatnot, plus an evil ex. Why an evil ex? Why not! I mean, it was silly but it was cute. Sometimes I want the visuals with my tropes!
- The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie - I was aiming for something wintry and seasonal, to get me into the holiday mood because the weather in Houston was definitely not. This had a snowstorm and a séance and was rather ridiculous, mystery-wise, but I liked that the main person solving the mystery was the fiancée of the main suspect, to prove his innocence. And how she in some cases used her feminine charms or whatnot, but only in a very practical way.
- The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht - A little short horror novella set in a gloomy, northern seaside town. There's magic that is mostly unexplained, but a great sense of atmosphere. I guess it's canon slash? It's a weird relationship. But I didn't mind it as a departure from my usual, since it was a quick read.
- Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones - I wanted to get to this around Halloween but clearly didn't get to it until later -- I think around Guy Fawkes' Day, actually, which was fitting. I like a good adventure/school story with kids, if well written, and DWJ writes them well. Part of the Chrestomanci series of which I've only read Howl's Moving Castle but worked fine as a standalone.
- Strength of the Pack by Kendall McKenna - Straight up serial numbers filed off GenKill fic -- Brad/Nate. Needed a better editor, but enjoyable if treated like a fic. If not fic, the two main characters probably fall for each other a little too quickly. It's also kind of funny to see one of them not understand what an alpha's mate is, given that the audience, if familiar with fandom tropes, know exactly why he's so special that alpha wolf while he remains clueless.
- The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - Another fun children's adventure book with a focus on puzzles and wordplay! My fave. And a great collection of different kids from different backgrounds and with different skills, all of which come in handy and complement the skills of the others. They are all necessary, even grumpy little Constance! And of course they are given far too much freedom/agency and not enough supervision/protection, but that tends to be the case when kids are the stars. They have to be given the space to be the heroes! I thought it was a good balance overall for letting them do some superspy things while still having a few adult resources and aid.
- Power Plays and Straight As by Eden Finley and Saxon James - University hockey m/m between a virgin nerd and his brother's BFF, the hockey captain. But of course they've been secretly crushing on each other the whole time. It was played very straight, with the jock wooing the nerd and all that jazz. I liked it well enough, though it wasn't particularly memorable.
- Face-Offs and Cheap Shots by Eden Finley and Saxon James - The sequel/companion to the previous fic, two hockey players compete to become the next captain of the team. Much more rivals to (fuckbuddies to) lovers, and I enjoyed the antagonism more. Lots of switching in the sex as well. Also fun! Also will not merit too many rereads, to be perfectly honest.
- Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - This kept being advertised as a sort of fairy tale, but I don't know! I don't know really if I can summarize what it is but a tale about family, with magic and a story that spans generations (past and future), but one that is also set very much in present day UK. The gingerbread did not play as big a role as I'd thought it would? After finishing, I didn't know how to process it and frankly I'm still not sure how I feel about the book overall, but I'm glad I read it!
- City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett - A fantasy world where the gods are real -- or were real and were banished but are suspiciously returning. A lot of complexities about nations conquering others, and a former colony becoming the new superpower... I liked the mythology a lot, and the family entanglements were interesting, though I'm not sure the resolution of the mystery and plot felt as satisfying or mindblowing. But I enjoyed it enough to add the next two books to my library holds!
- The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart - A sequel! Their mysterious benefactor goes missing and the kids go on a perilous journey to find him and, again, save the world. Still greatly enjoy the kids' personalities and their dynamics -- they do resent each other or annoy each other realistically at times, but also are fundamentally friends who do care about and support each other through all these shenanigans.
- PUBG Online Romance of the Century by Jiang Zi Bei - I learned about a new online/mobile game! Will I ever play? No thanks. The rich benefactor/up and comer youngling he supports is a familiar dynamic after Very Happy (though this is gaming rather than c-entertainment), and I liked the rich benefactor/ML more here. He had more personality (irrationally jealous lol) and there was a little less face-slapping. I always enjoy fan/chat comments in stories. This was short and sweet. I really, really liked the extras about the background couple: main character's "straight" BFF and the online "girlfriend" who catfished him and was secretly a boy band idol lol. I wouldn't have minded a separate story entirely for them!
- Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner - The conclusion of the series! I was afraid it wouldn't live up but, oh, it did. She got around describing some of the battles, but definitely not the main climactic one. Filling in characters and plot she'd set up in previous books. And such a great reminder of how much I enjoy her writing style in depicting Gen and Attolia and all the strange court dynamics. Really love the POV character! How well it worked here. Really lovely. One day I'll buy the whole series as a set and do a reread.
- How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell - Definitely more than a treatise against social media and tech, actually much more a thoughtful mediation on philosophy, community, what we owe each other as a society. It was a little hard to get into the groove at first, but by chapter 3 onwards I was fully committed. She touches on art, land, gentrification, labor, privilege, and more, and it's all really making me think about how I approach my life. Many things she said about identity already resonated with me, which made the rest of it have a little more weight.
- We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry - A fun book with a great sense of time and place: Massachusetts in the late 80s, featuring a girls' field hockey team. But more litfic than YA, but still very fun and accessible. Ostensibly the team gets into witchcraft to win their games, plus the fallout around that. Each girl was distinct, and the writing style is distinct as well (not for everyone), but I really enjoyed it overall. I like stories about teenagers that aren't YA, honestly. Sometimes!
- Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge - Sequel to Fly by Night and a lot of fun! I liked the idea of Toll by Day and Toll by Night, and of course Saracen the goose. Honestly some of my favorite fantasies and adventure stories are middle grade. I also very much enjoyed Mosca's anger, very fitting, and a little larger than she is (age 12?) but it can still carry you farther than you think.
- Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie - A new compilation of existing short stories set during winter, a combo of some Poirot and Miss Marple stories and some that didn't have either of them. I'm sure I've read a few but having no memory whatsoever, they all read like new to me! A quick enjoyable Christmas Day read.
- Lavender Lady by Carola Dunn - Pretty much a straight ripoff of Heyer's Frederica with a genteel family (with some shabby connections) getting involved with a titled gentleman of the ton -- an Earl not a Marquis in this case. And naturally the elder sister is self-effacing and good-humored and only cares about her passel of ridiculous but sweet siblings, including rambunctious children and pets with specific interests (farming and ships compared to steam engines) and a beautiful younger sister who is not interested at all in making a good match because she fell in love directly with someone suitable but not that amazing. And naturally the eldest sister eventually ends up with a lord who loves her. Even less conflict and drama than Frederica! But a fun read and I'm happy to enjoy it for what it is.
- A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher - Absolutely delightful, slightly dark (there's prejudice, poverty, and a war going on), and the little gingerbread man made me very happy throughout. Good adventure, good characters (Bob!), and a grim climactic battle scene that still surprised me into laughter multiple times. A real grasp on how kids shouldn't be expected to save the world -- why aren't the adults doing their jobs? But still gave the kid agency to really make a difference.
- The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton - Set during the height of the Dutch East India Company, a devil supposedly haunts a ship. There's a more satisfying explanation to the mystery than his previous book, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and I thought mostly everything fit together and was explained. I largely enjoyed it! The resolution after the reveal was a little eye-rolly though.
- Salt by Nayyirah Waheed - A book of poetry from a friend who wanted to share her favorite, and I really enjoyed it. The author is a Black woman with a lot to say on identity, motherland, love, men, self. Some lines really merit rereads and digestion. I'll definitely be returning to various poems in the future.
no subject
no subject
no subject
The Monster of Elendhaven was definitely about the aesthetic.
The sequel to City of Stairs was better tbh even though from a personal preference perspective, City of Stairs hit more of my buttons.
no subject
Anyway, I'm looking forward to City of Blades and City of Miracles eventually! So much depends on my library's timing, haha.