books read and unread
So, it's only the middle of the month, and I had thought of doing a reading wrap-up at the end of the month. But I'm not sure I'll remember to do so every month, since I've been out of the habit of doing so for the last two years or so, and I'm not sure some of my recent reads will still be fresh in my mind by then, so here's a reading wrap-up for the first two weeks of January.
I. BOOKS BOUGHT/BOOKS READ
I placed orders for 7 books this month. None have arrived. Of these 7, I haven't read 2 of them - the rest, I've read digital ARCs of, or I've listened to on Scribd, and just wanted my own copies.
I bought 1 book for myself (I'm not counting books bought as gifts/on behalf of others, of course), which I've read and will talk about below
I've read 12 books, most of which are comics.
II. ON TO THE BOOKS!
I started the year with two queer YA books - the first (Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes) is a timeslip story, and the second (Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram) is a boyband romance. Both are digital ARCs, and will be published this year.
I enjoyed Spin Me Right Round both more and less than I thought I would. More, because I've read less-than-enthusiastic reviews that tempered my own enthusiasm (brought on by the pretty pretty cover), and I was surprised to find myself actually enjoying the read. Less, because some of the criticisms I've read were quite valid and despite my enjoyment it bugged me and I had to point it out.
This book is being marketed as "Back to the Future with a twist", and as a big fan of the movie franchise how could I resist? Luis Gonzalez - the very hip, much annoying MC is sulking because his somewhat conservative school wouldn't allow him to go to prom with his boyfriend. Okay, I mean, that's a valid thing for a teenager to be sulky about. But one bump in the head, and he finds himself back in 1985, and meeting his then-teenaged parents, as well as Chaz Wilson, his parents' classmate who died the night of their prom. Chaz was suspected to have been murdered for being gay. And Luis, the overconfident entitled kid who only cares about being crowned prom king, decided that this timeslip was a chance for him to help Chaz come out of the closet. facepalm
As annoying as this bit is, I enjoyed a lot of the side characters, especially Chaz and Ernie. I would love to read this story from their point of view, and in fact I felt a little cheated that we don't get to catch up with their characters when Luis finally gets back to the future/present.
Adib Khorram's Kiss & Tell is something I knew I was going to be biased about before I even started, because it's about a boyband and music and fandom and it's intersectional af. I love that Khorram gave us a cis white queer MC and then has him face his own privilege and internal biases, especially with his interactions with his straight (but non-white) band mates. The romance with Kaivan wasn't so believable to me, but since it wasn't what I was here for, I didn't mind at all.
This month I restarted my Marvel Unlimited subscription, which meant I was continuing my Reign of X reads. I don't really have much to say about that, because where I am in the comics is post-Hellfire Gala, pre-Inferno, and things are... very tense? I'm enjoying some series (Hellions, New Mutants) a lot more than others (Excalibur, X-Men) and sometimes this surprises me. Not that I like some more than the others - the styles/tone/types of stories in each series are very different, so of course I'd like some more than others. But I had assumed I'd be more into Excalibur (the fantasy series) than X-Force (the espionage/thriller series) and it surprises me to find that it's the other way around. Also the fact that I'm enjoying Hellions, which doesn't include any characters I'm particularly fond of (besides maybe Alex Summers), a lot more than X-Men which includes so many characters I love. This is why the writer is very important!
Giving some writers a chance is also important, though - I finally continued reading Saladin Ahmed's Miles Morales: Spider-Man series, and I'm finding that after the first arc that I couldn't get into, the following storylines are way more fun. Some made me a bit concerned, because I didn't want Miles' stories to be so dark, but he's Spider-Man, and spider people always get back up.
(Having said this, I am still partial to Bendis' run, and probably always will be.)
Oh, and I also read some DC Comics! I know right, how new and different for me. While I've been known to indulge in the occasional DC comic I think this is the first time I've been actively following a few titles at once? I blame Wayne Family Adventures on Webtoon reminding me that regardless of my feelings for Mr. Wayne, I would die for the BatFam. Especially Damian Wayne and Dick Grayson, which is why I started subscribing to Robin digitally on ComiXology. I just needed to catch up with Damian's character post-Tom King's Batman run, as I figured he would be badly affected by Alfred's death. And I was right - in the Lazarus Tournament arc (which I'm still in the midst of) - Damian is haunted by the voice/image of Alfred Pennyworth, constantly giving him advice and trying to warn him off doing stupid things, which of course he does anyway because he's a little shit and that's exactly why I love him.
As far as I'm concerned, Jon Kent is an honorary BatFam member, being Damian's BFF. Which is why I'm also subscribed to Superman: Son of Kal-El, which is one of the most addicting comics I'm currently reading. Tom Taylor! I've loved his All-New Wolverine and X-Men: Red, so I'm not surprised to love his writing here. I think a lot of dudebros are probably hating on this as much as they hated on the other two Marvel series I mentioned, because it's just as concerned about social justice and finding out what we can do to make the world a little bit better, other than punching monsters and villains.
Yesterday I "accidentally" bought Nightwing Vol. 1: Leaping into the Light which is also written by Tom Taylor, with brilliant art by Bruno Redondo. I'm going to miss Redondo's art in the second volume, for sure. But that'll only be out in June so I have a long torturous wait in front of me. Anyway. Collecting issues #78-83, the Dick Grayson in this run only just got his memories back (he was shot in the head in Tom King's Batman series) and is trying to figure out how to fix all the things that broke in his absence, how to best help his city outside of just beating up the mobs and kingpins (see a pattern here, this is a Tom Taylor book for sure), and how to deal with the fact that Alfred died while he was gone. Alfred was as much of a father figure to Dick as Bruce - perhaps more so, because it was Alfred who was always there for him when he got into scrapes at school, and who picked up the pieces every time he and/or Bruce fell apart. I love that even though Dick isn't in Gotham, this arc makes it clear that he's not alone - Barbara Gordon is in every issue as the Oracle, and Tim Drake/Robin visited to help out. When Dick's in trouble, Batman and his teammates from the Team Titan rushed over to help, and when he needed advice, he went to Clark Kent/Superman (who asked him to be there for Jon as he steps up as Superman, setting up the Son of Kal-El series, how sweet.)
This volume was totally an impulse buy, that I kept saying was an accident because I knew if I didn't just grab it on the way to buy something else, I probably would never have bought it (especially since Tom King's Strange Adventures was highlighted RIGHT NEXT TO IT AND I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL TODAY AND NOW AM TOO BROKE), but I did, and I'm so glad I did. And I will probably get the next volume, and the next, as long as Tom Taylor is writing this series.
(So - to the me who said I will only by X-Men comics, er... I'm eating my words.)
I also reread Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, which was one of the reasons why I started this post, because I have Thoughts. Thoughts that I guess I'll be writing about another time, assuming those thoughts are still in my head by then, because I'm finishing this newsletter at work and I have like 5 minutes before I need to leave. I'll just say, I still love Maia, and I can't wait to read Witness for the Dead.
This morning, I read Kamila Shamsie's Duckling in the bus on the way to work. It's part of this Fairy Tale Revolution series by Vintage and is a pretty short, twisty retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's Ugly Duckling. I recommend it!
Now I'm reading Dead Collection by Isaac Fellman, another digital ARC that I'm liking a lot so far. Maybe because it's a vampire story, but I am imagining this with the vibes of that Tom Hiddleston vampire movie.
I'm getting my booster shot today, hopefully :)
Until next week.... stay safe!
THINGS TO READ