It was a good reading month! While not every book was a home run, there was a great variety, and the audiobooks in particular kept me company through a very busy month.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: There are multiple levels to this story: There's the suspense of what's happening in the present-day story, there's the sprawling tale of one man's life as he lives by the skin of his teeth from childhood through university, and there's the myth-making aspect, as you see how one man — who is, in fact, remarkably clever and talented — becomes a supernatural legend through the power of storytelling and rumor. I'm looking forward to the next installment of his story!
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse: This was very much a middle-of-a-trilogy book, but that's not inherently a bad thing. The characters are trying to grapple with the fallout from the events of the first book, figuring out who their allies are and where their loyalties should lie, and traveling around the world as needed to advance the plot. Here's hoping she sticks the landing in the final book.
Opal by Maggie Stiefvater: I might have liked this interstitial novella more if I'd listened to it immediately after finishing the Raven Cycle series, when I wanted just a few more minutes with those characters. At the end of the day I'm not sure that it told us anything we didn't already know, though I didn't mind spending an hour and a half in this universe again with Will Patton's narration.
Queer Windows: Volume 2 Summer by Cay Fletcher: I liked this volume more than the previous one, though this too could use a thorough copyedit, which remains distracting for me. But the stories are very sweet, and the varieties of "queer" and "love" remain expansive.
Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper: This was a sweet coming-of-age story about a Black girl in North Carolina in 1932. Draper manages to show transparently the very real discrimination and danger faced by Black communities in 1932, but does it as part of the everyday experiences of an 11-year-old girl whose life also involves love and pride and joy and chores and schoolwork and friendship.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: I had hopes for this going in after recently reading and loving Ness' A Monster Calls, but this just wasn't for me. I found the plot repetitive and the characters' decisions difficult to understand at times, and as usual, my nitpicks about world-building got in the way of my reading experience.
Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper: This book is much quieter than Out of My Mind, following Melody as she travels to a summer camp for kids with disabilities and other special needs. It's all very sweet and wholesome and interesting to see how different activities can be made accessible, but it also wasn't super engaging, especially if you're expecting something similar to the first book.
How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis: While Davis does offer what she calls "gentle skill building" — practical tips for specific care tasks — she spends much of the book breaking down assumptions and cultural messages that feed shame and make care tasks more difficult. She is relentlessly focused on function over aesthetics or appeasing some imaginary judge or taskmaster. I would highly, highly recommend this read!
Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Jessica, Delusions of Gender, and I'll Have What He's Having
Five years ago I was reading: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rebecca, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Ten years ago I was reading: Jesus Calling, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Blankets, Caddie Woodlawn, and Uncle Tom's Cabin
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