books read: 2024 may

[meitachi]

This is late because I spent early June moving to New York. It was stressful but also fine! We are settled and unpacked, and I am continuing the job hunt -- applications and interviews abound.

Did a decent of reading May due to traveling twice: one weekend to NC for my brother's graduation, then the cruise to Alaska.

1. Season's Change by Cait Nary - (Trade Season #1) A cute m/m hockey romance, between a veteran player who's been traded and a rookie superstar. I remember enjoying it but being frustrated by their family issues. Not particularly interested in the next book in the series.



2. In Memoriam by Alice Winn - Essentially m/m WWI origfic starting from a British boarding school into war. It's grim about war and unflinching about a lot of the awfulness of the front lines, but it's primarily about the relationship and romance of the two main characters and how they get through it (altered). The story carried me emotionally and they felt like distinct characters, but beyond the present tenderness for them while reading, they won't live long with me.



3. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Olvidia Yu - (Singaporean Mystery #3) Great job writing unlikeable characters! Great job writing food without being overly flowery. That's really what's driving my reading this series, more than the mysteries/deaths.



4. Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth by Ingrid Robeyns - I love this thesis and thought the proposal (of a specific upper limit to wealth) was fascinating, but the argument was made briefly in the introduction while the rest of the book was more of a philosophical argument that assumed a lot of progressive values. I agree with the arguments, but they were not put forward particularly persuasively, imo, especially for an audience that didn't already start off agreeing: they would be moved less by philosophy than a strong economic argument, which I thought this lacked.



5. Russian Wonder Tales by Post Wheeler - A collection of folk and fairy tales. These were fun! Lots of Baba Yaga. Lots of animals and magical helpers that really solved all the problems for these hapless humans, who then reaped the riches and rewards.



6. Ranma 1/2 (2-in-1 Edition: Vols 5&6) by Rumiko Takahashi - A random early part of the series that I was happy to revisit: these are fun characters! I forgot how much I loved Shampoo: she's so cute as a human and as a cat. Akane and Ranma truly have one of the OG tsundere relationships.



7. The Case of the Murdered Muckraker by Carola Dunn - (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries #10) Set in New York City and has a lot of...American press and cops and maybe mob bosses? Which was fine, and of a certain vibe. Then went on a wild ride literally on a tiny plane flying across the continent to Oregon. What the fuck.



8. Maps of the World's Oceans: An Illustrated Children's Atlas to the Seas and All the Creatures and Plants that Live There by Enrico Lavagno, Angelo Mojetta - A beautifully illustrated atlas I flipped through on the cruise ship's library!



9. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - AS I was reading this, I kept being struck by what wonderful prose Wharton has, and nuance in capturing complex human emotion. The written equivalent of knowing how to "read a room" -- she would be able to describe not only the room but all the people in it and their complicated feelings about themselves, about others, about themselves in relation to others and society's perceptions and expectations. Such a sad story, really!



10. The Love Act by Zara Bell - Self-pubbed but very fun for an m/f fake dating romance. Shows the awful side of celebrity -- maybe to the point of exaggeration, as much as it's common to show the other side. Very funny though, as I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. I liked the main character a lot, she was great (and short and mixed-race!), but did not really catching feelings or get the appeal of the love interest, besides his being tall and hot (and traumatized from his past). A few typos...



11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson - (Ernest Cunningham #1) Set in Australia! The main character is an author of "how to write mystery" guides, so this was meta but not too meta. Set in one of those remote lodges for a closed circle mystery where everyone is a suspect and might have motivation or opportunity. I enjoyed this more than I expected. I will probably read the next couple books in the series.



12. Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge - As with everything she writes, absolutely immersive world-building -- with stunning detail on culture, behavior, language, and not just stuff that would be aesthetically appealing. But the heart of the work are the human characters and their relationships: the dark feelings, the fear and mob mentality, but also the strong connections, the support and care, the bravery that ultimately carry the day. Very New Zealand/Hawaii-esque volcanic island setting, fascinating magical details, and gripping action and plot that actually feel like there are stakes.



13. Letters to Half Moon Street by Sarah Wallace - (Meddle & Mend #1) Set in a Regency London where queer relationships and magic are both par for the course, this is told epistolary style, and there was really...no conflict. Some tension, no conflict, no real risk. But it was sweet and soft, if that is what you're in the mood for. (The magic could have functionally not existed for the purposes of the plot, honestly.) (This made me want to reread Heyer.)



14. The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black - (The Stolen Heir Duology #2) Oh this was emotionally fraught, tense, and not enjoyable for me as escapism from my own real life stress. However, it was a fast read and I was invested in the relationships, so I carried through. It seemed more straightforward, plotwise, than the previous book or her previous series, and hinged primarily on the emotional tension between the main characters (and their familial relationships). Kind of a sputtering ending, after how much I enjoyed the prior trilogy. The world is cool though.

I got my Rochester Public Library card yesterday and still have access to my Houston/Harris County library ebook system, so now that we've settled in and I am not yet working, I am tackling a lot of reading!

Comments

[merit]

Access to two public libraries? Oh what delights.

Might save The Prisoner's Throne for a quieter time then!

Best wishes with the job hunt <3

[meitachi]

Now I need to see if I still have the issue of all my holds coming in at the same time! A good problem to have, probably.

Thank you for the good wishes!