[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]
The Girl From the Other Side, Vols 3-8 • Martyr! • Nocturnos • The Mountain in the Sea • Good Things • Some Desperate Glory • Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales
November was another super busy month, but what I did manage to read, I really enjoyed! And I did indeed make progress on my little reading nook area—it now has pillows! I can actually sit there! What a concept
Longer (GR) reviews linked where I felt like including them!
The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún Vols 3-8 ★★★1/2☆ - Still a middling-to-solid story with really nice art.
Martyr! ★★★★★ - I was worried this one wouldn't live up to the hype and then it absolutely did. The sentence-level prose is an absolute feast. I loved how philosophical the story got and the way it managed to be hopeful without ever sugarcoating.
Nocturnos ★★★1/2☆ - I really like Laura Pérez's art. Like yeah man draw me some weird goth shit. Draw me a giant forest cryptid with a cat. And I'll look at it
The Mountain in the Sea ★★★1/2☆ - The first book I read during the Great Winter It's Fucken (100mph) Wimdy Power Shutoff of 2025! And hmm. I had high hopes for this, and it wasn't bad or anything, but it needed a little less Bill Nye and a little more plot. I liked the parts that were about sentient octopus killing people with knives and shivs and such. Also fun fact my local bookstore has this book front and center in their "Recommended Reads" display when you walk in the door, where it's right next to Remarkably Bright Creatures. The store is going hhhhhnngnhhhgggg we want you to read about The Octopus SO bad. Starting to think the owners are cephalopods with an agenda
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with the People You Love ★★★★★ - Samin Nosrat literally can't lose and she's teeming with useful knowledge and lovely personal philosophies. Run don't walk to make the carrot (or squash. I made the squash/green curry paste version) soup from this book holy tastebuds Batman you NEED it
Some Desperate Glory ★★★★☆ - The other book I read during the Great Winter It's Fucken (100mph) Wimdy Power Shutoff of 2025! Went in knowing next to nothing about this one, and I'm glad I did. I know most people are wowed by the third- (really more like second-) act twist, but my favorite part was the characters, especially the unreliable narrator's POV. By the end I was shaking the book going WILL SOMEONE BE NICE TO HER PLEASE??
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales ★★★★☆ - Finally pulled myself together enough to say goodbye to this series (after putting this book down in February because I wasn't ready for it to be over.) Definitely a book I enjoyed more because it contained characters I already knew and loved than because it's particularly good on its own, but it did a decent job wrapping up the series. Curious to see whether Fawcett's new 2026 book is as good or whether Emily was a fluke!
December superlatives: here
2024: july august september october november december
2025: january february-june july august september october november
