Una Habitación Propia by Virginia Woolf
Funny and interesting
~ Fena
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved it. My heart is full and my face is leaking with joy. A scientifically beautiful story of reluctant heroes and unlikely bonds of friendship across galaxies. Very highly recommended!
~ HipHopAnonymous
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
I'm not exactly the demographic for this book, but I picked it up because I had a free book reward from Thriftbooks and because I saw that KA Applegate was in full support of trans rights. It reminded me of what a huge Animorphs fan I had been as a kid, and wonder what her more recent books are like. I'm glad to see that the younger generations are also getting great animal facts and hopefully inspired to be biologists, veterinarians, ecologists and the like just like we were with Animorphs.
This is such a sweet and unfortunately realistic book of a young boy being comforted by his imaginary friend as his family experiences economic instability for the second time in his short life. He loves animals and gives all the animal facts, which gave me such nostalgic memories of reading Animorphs around the age that the narrator is. Things work out in the end but it is not a magical fix and there is a sense that things could go bad again - I feel like KA Applegate understands children very well and writes to them at their level, but with the kind of honesty and sincerity that adults typically reserve for each other.
I'm glad I bought this book, because it means I can gift it to the Free Little Library in front of the local Boys and Girls Club. For the next generation ❤️
~ wannabewesley
The Duke's Sister and I - Emma-Claire Sunday
So, I got this book as a mystery-date-with-a-book. I was initially a bit put off that it was a Mills & Boon historical romance because traditionally I'm an absolute snob who saw those harlequin romances as things my nan read. Well, I was wrong! I read it in under 24 hours! It is an easy read, there are no real surprises here, but it's compelling - the characters are interesting, it comments on lost female and queer voices in history, on identity, and best of all A SAPPHIC HAPPY ENDING! In a regency romance! Ultimate curl up with a cuppa on a Sunday read. I am humbled by queer Mills & Boon and apparently romances are just better gay 🙂↕️
~ Mags (Magziraphale)
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
I appreciated the multiple POV’s. Gave the characters more personality than in the first. An extra .25 star for the line - “I do not know if my tits were built for murder. I don’t even think they were built with my back in mind.” 3.75/5
~ FelinePharma (Bluesky)
Babycakes by Armistead Maupin
The fourth installment of the Tales From The City series, which I've been reading in order on and off, is the darkest and most politically aware so far, but still full of humour and found family
~ moderatecitrus
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
An anti-war classic that I never got around to reading in school, so I read it this summer with my teenage kid. I knew basically nothing about it going in so everything was a delightful, horrible surprise.
~ alimasin
Trans History From Ancient Times to the Present Day a graphic novel by Alex L. Combs & Andrew Eakett
This was a pretty solid & accessible overview of trans history. It's listed as teen/YA but I think adults could get a lot out of it as well.
~ remreader
Finna by Nino Cipri
Another reread of a favorite! I love things that are both absurd and heartfelt, and this novella is plenty of both. Kind of makes me want to go get lost in an Ikea. You never know where you’ll end up…
~ acesaru
Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation by Kate Bornstein and S. Bear Bergman
An interesting collection with distinct highs and lows, like most anthologies. I read it for a trans history book club, and in that way it was interesting as a snapshot of a more recent moment (it came out 15 years ago)
~ acesaru
It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over Anne De Marcken
I've read better zombie books and I've read worse. It was an interesting take, but I wasn't in love with it.
~ callous
Arena One: Slaverunners Morgan Rice
I... Like the concept. It's an interesting, but dark story, that didn't quite scratch the itch that I hoped it would.
~ callous
The Gravity Between Us by Kristen Zimmer
I’m not sure who the intended audience for this is, but I think they’re gonna need a Time Machine to get to it. From the references to blackberries and low riding jeans, my guess is that the setting of the story is supposed to be the early 2000’s - but since that is never explicitly stated, there’s a weirdly anachronistic feel to the proceedings - as if the main characters are visiting the 21st century from the 1980’s or 1990’s.
The vaguely afterschool special feeling reinforces that timestamp - like most stories from those, the references to jobs, school, and the wider world in general are vague enough that we could be in any country or city - while New Jersey and Los Angeles are the settings, neither features in enough detail that it couldn’t be dubbed in as Toronto or Liverpool or Auckland or whatever market it’s in. Kendall’s acting and Peyton’s music could easily be substituted for sports, politics, or any other public-facing roles.
Making the central characters nineteen year olds adds to the vagueness - is this for young adults? If so, why do they act like it’s 1995? Not that there isn’t homophobia in 2025, but the vague discomfort (not to mention the over the top bizarreness of Kendall’s mother) with the entire concept of LESBIANS (no nuanced spectrum of sexuality in this book’s vocabulary) does not come across as believable in the era of Cara Delevigne, Tessa Thompson, Janelle Monae, etc.
The romance, such as it is, is firmly G-rated. I’m not much for explicit love scenes, but in the context of the book’s general tone of queer shame the closed doors come across as hiding something unspeakable more than preserving mystery.
The idea of using two narrators for an alternating perspective story like this is well established…but it helps if the two voices are distinguishable from one another. I was genuinely surprised at the end to learn that there had been two different people - their voices were nearly identical.
Reading or listening to this book is a great reminder of how far we’ve come as a society and in queer representation in media over the past few decades - I’m just not sure that we need more reminders of the bad old days at the moment.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
~ meganreal
Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
This is a lovely and bittersweet YA novel about two boys falling in love in Rome in the 1980s. Like all this author's work, it has beautiful illustrations and really interesting historical details and research. I read an interview with the author where he explained that since he didn't come out until his 20s and fell in love for the first time at 30, he wanted to write the experience of a first teenage love that he never had. 😭
~ alimasin
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I was really enjoying it most of the way through, but the writing never sold me on the two leads being in love. If I ignore that element, I love how the book was written, as a series of interviews telling the band’s story years later.
~ Lindsay (wildflowerstede)
High Rise by J.G Ballard
One of my new favourite opening lines to start a horrible little book. Not sure if I could call the reading experience enjoyable but it certainly was an experience!
~ rueforyou
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Maybe not as spooky as I wanted it to be, though it had one moment that had me curling my toes and clenching my teeth and I love it when horror books do that. Also, it subverted one of the worst tropes in horror when the main character told everyone that something terrible was happening and they all just believed her. Perhaps a story more about grief and female community than anything truly spine-chilling but that's not a bad thing at all.
~ rueforyou
How to Solve Your Own Murder - Kristen Perrin
This was fine, which I mean with no shade at all. I liked the characters, the setting was interesting, I wasn't all that invested in the mystery but it was fun going along for the ride. it was quintessential cosy crime. I'm not a huge fan of embedded narratives but the diary here wasn't too egregious and I'll probably read the follow up if I stumble across it.
~ rueforyou
The Girl From The Other Side Deluxe Edition III by Nagabe
Slip into a dreamlike monochrome world of monsters and men in a fantastical tale of the Other Side. Gorgeous drawings bring to life this bittersweet tale of a world gone wrong, struggling to survive under the capricious whims of a god and goddess that treat their offspring like toys in their endless machinations. What started off as a simple tale of a cursed guardian and a tiny girl has become something so monumental to the very foundation of this society, one that unfolds in a mysterious way sure to leave you desperate to read more if not for the story than the absolutely exquisite art.
~ frazzledwriter@bsky.social
The Girl from the Other Side Deluxe Edition IV by nagabe
I cannot say much without spoiling the story, but the art is still breathtakingly gorgeous, the story as engrossing as ever, and the ending as bittersweet as you’d expect. An absolute masterpiece of a dark fairy tale that feels both ancient and new, a beloved story that haunts you well past the last chapter and the final pages bid you farewell. I loved every second.
~ FrazzledWriter
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Gosh I loved this story SO MUCH. For the first time, Murderbot broke away from its shorter novellas into a full length novel, and my god what a novel it was. It was full of the sassy humor that I adore about Murderbot, some really fun new characters and a particular returning character that had me cheering out loud, and I just. Gosh I love these books. I’ve been listening to the audiobooks too and if you can do them, I highly recommend them! Kevin R Free does the narrations and he does such a phenomenal job.
~ Kerry / CommunionNimrod
Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
I love this book so damn much. May we all live a life which grants a touching eulogy at a cake competition.
(Read the physical copy back in January, and just re-“read” the audiobook).
~ @felinepharma.bsky.social
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
This is by far not the first time I've read the original trilogy, but I finally read the prequels earlier this year and decided to keep going with audiobooks. It's been several years (and a pandemic and the state of the world and having my own daughter) since I've read them and I am struck even more this time by how much of all of the stories revolve around unresolved and unacknowledged trauma. I ache for Katniss who has been let down by every adult in her life, and I also ache for her mother who didn't have the support she needed when her husband was killed.
Also I still love Peeta so much. Team Peeta forever.
~ michellethefan
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Trauma 2: Electric Boogaloo. There's even more frustration now because not only does no one help Katniss, they actively manipulate her. And I know it's just going to keep going! But on we go to Mockingjay!
~ Michellethestan
Bad Houses by John Elizabeth Stintzi
I was really excited for this - I'd heard that it was whimsical yet dark, my favorite combination. And I suppose that's true - but in focusing on the whimsical and dark there doesn't always seem to be a lot of space left for character development or plot. I know, I know - they're short stories - but the best of these (Dumb House, Elephant, The Troll Patch, Engagement, Which House) show that the author is right up there with the best short fiction writers in packing depth and meaning into a small package. The problem is that by theming the collection around houses and living spaces with some degree of malevolent sentience, they may have limited their ability to tell a wider range of stories that would stand apart from one another. As individual stories, any of these would stand out in an anthology or magazine - but as a group they begin to feel repetitive. The very Canadian narrator (excellent choice) does a fine job, but having a variety of voices may have also helped with differentiation. I hope that this will someday be a minor growing pain in a vast catalog of work - this is clearly an author with a lot to say and some innovative ways of saying it - but for now this might be a better one to read in installments rather than listening straight through.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
~ meganreal
MADK vol 2 by Ryo Suzuri
Much like the male lead Makoto, I have a deep love/hate relationship with this story. I love it for being created and I hate it for making me love it. The story revels in the grotesque, making the horrific beautiful without holding back on the absolute depravity of humanity and the demon realm. I feel like I’ve sold my soul to read this series and I have no regrets.
~ FrazzledWriter
MADK vol 3 by Ryo Suzuri
I really didn’t want it to be over. Each page felt like a new revelation in horror. Time slipping past quicker and quicker as the inevitable end rushed up and split the world in two. I’m not good at describing this story because it is an absolutely grotesque experience that defies words and demands your attention whether you like it or not. To say I enjoyed it is both an under and overstatement, I was in its chokehold up until the very end. I wish there was more but I doubt there’ll ever be another story like it.
~ Frazzledwriter
Catching fire : Suzanne Collins
I loved it, it was a phenomenal sequel to the series!
~ Trashdog13
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
I’ve never been the best with poetry—my brain is clunky, doesn’t know what to do with poems even when they’re good—but even I could appreciate how beautiful this book was. Reading it soothes and stings at the same time, in the best kind of way.
~ acesaru
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Loved it. Love Lestat as character although some parts felt too long, in general I still just love Lestat so much and I feel the same way after reading the book. Not really a review sorry
~ Feña
The Raven Boys (graphic novel) by Maggie Stiefvater
I’ve been waiting for this adaptation for YEARS. The art is gorgeous, from the character designs to the backgrounds. What a wonderful way to revisit this world, though I wonder how it will read to series newbies.
~ acesaru
Audrey Hepburn by Michele Botton
Was an interesting read. I knew about her being an actress, but had no idea about all the humanitarian work she did.
~ killerweasel
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
This book is the result of King’s son almost being hit by a truck. It’s the only book of his he says frightens him.
You get a good look at grief & what comes after. It drives someone to do the unthinkable, with terrible consequences.
~ killerweasel
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
I really enjoyed it! It was my first time reading a mystery novel translated from Japanese and it took me a little while to get used to the narration and tone but I thought it was an exciting and well constructed mystery. It reminded me strongly of both Agatha Christie and Christopher Pike (although Pike was probably influenced by this). A lot of entertaining misdirection and a very satisfying conclusion. I immediately wanted to read more by the author but our library system only has this one.
~ Trees
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