Part 4: The Year In (and out of) Reading
The last months of 2024 were not a time period I will want to recall. From September to December (so far, I have two days left as I first draft this) I read forty books and not one did I consider a five star read. And nary a one got four stars. And a few I’d been waiting for were major disappointments, shockingly so, not unlike the results of the so-called election. I will go to my grave — no doubt far earlier now thanks to the outcome of November 5 — believing that between the Russians and Musk and the oligarchy of cis-het-white-wealthy men who rule the world and buy the politicians and the courts — the election was stolen from Kamala. It is a matter of self-preservation: I cannot live in a world where I believe a majority of people want a racist, homophobic, sexual-predatory moron to be the leader of the free world — albeit, in obeyance to Putin and Musk.
So, what earned four stars for me?
There are some fictional worlds about which I’ll read almost anything. Camelot/Avalon/Arthurian lore is one of those worlds. THE MISTS OF AVALON by Marion Zmmer Bradley is one of my very favorite books, and one of the few I have re-read because I so missed its imagined reality. And so I had been anticipating THE BRIGHT SWORD by Lev Grossman. I confess, I did not love his Magicians trilogy. I read the first and didn’t go on. I did enjoy this, however, for my second “I confess” of this paragraph, I had thought from what I’d read about it pre-release that it was going to contain considerably more LGBTQIA content.
Here’s the thing: I have been waiting since I was 18 and played Mordred in CAMELOT for the version of the Arthur/Guenevere/Lancelot story in which it’s a love triangle which is not just emotional and admirational, but, physical. Arthur is primarily gay, and while he genuinely loves Guenevere, it is a friendship/companionship love — they don’t consummate the marriage until well into it, one night, not really on purpose but in sorrow over something — not sure what, one of them loses someone important to them? And Lancelot is bisexual but primarily hetero, and he falls hard for Guenevere but out of respect for Arthur does not act on it, but he and Arthur do become sexually intimate, after a battle, and it continues. Arthur realizes as he and Lance and Gwen spend time together, that his two best friends and beloveds are in love with each other and he encourages them to be together in that way, perhaps thinking it will burn out once they explore it. Mordred is in lust for Lance, and working his way through various of the other Round Table Knights who he then blackmails into exposing the love triangle.
Someone who can write, please, get going on that, would you? I promise five stars for it. Well, okay, no promises. But a pretty strong maybe.
Another four star was I’M ONLY WICKED WITH YOU, which is number 3 in Julie Anne Long’s wonderful PALACE OF ROGUES regency romance series, about which I declared my love somewhere in parts one, two, or three of this end of year round-up.
Then there was THE ALICE NETWORK, by Kate Quinn, whose THE BRIAR CLUB, and THE ROSE CODE, I’d read earlier in the year and so was determined to get through her backlist. I’ve yet to be disappointed. Bonus points for Kate Quinn when I later realized shewas an admirer of and had blurbed one of Susan Elia MacNeal’s MAGGIE HOPE MYSTERIES.
And finally, so far anyway, BORED GAY WEREWOLF, by Tony Santorella. It was loads of fun, kind of sexy, and you had me at Grindr.
So went my reading in 2024. In general, I increased my use of the library and bought fewer books. Money is an issue. Sister and I certainly aren’t starving or anywhere near homeless, but our rent increased again, our electric bill doubled, food is outrageous, and we’re more or less living on Social Security and minuscule retirement dollars. Which is fine, neither of us needs nor wants much, and we are more or less happy if you subtract from the equation the election results and who’s running the world.
I am lucky, always have been. I have a small and glorious group of very good and dear friends. I do not suffer from loneliness, but, rather, am truly content with myself. I never had that long-term love story people write about and long for; I certainly wanted it for a while, or, I thought I did, but the men with whom I thought I wanted it were probably proof that somewhere deep inside I DID NOT want it, because they were all lovely people but there was no possibility of long term commitment with any of them (and there were very few, anyway).
And because of that I have been free to liaise with many, many, many (did I mention, many?) beautiful, amusing, skilled, fun, built, out of my league, often younger, grateful, men for brief (and briefless) encounters. I’m not complaining.
Great family. Great friends. Great liaisons. Great books. Great memories. And finishing my 2024 reading round up Part 4 in under 900 words.
Score. So, here I am, going.