#my posts books

[fitzflint]

February 2026 reading wrap-up

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions- Valeria Luiselli- 11/2/26- 8/10

Titus Andronicus- William Shakespeare- 14/2/26- 4/10 Each time I read this I like it a little more but I still don't really like it.

Unaccompanied- Javier Zamora- 19/2/26- 6/10

Galatea- John Lyly- 21/2/26- 9/10 This was actually really fun. Me when I become transgender to escape the sea monster or whatever.

The Sun and the Star- Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro- 22/2/26- 8/10 I know I'm not the target audience for this but I feel like Rick Riordan needs to write some new characters. Still fun though.

Night Sky With Exit Wounds- Ocean Vuong- 22/2/26- 8/10

[fitzflint]

January 2026 reading wrap-up

I'm still very behind but at least I'm in 2026 now.

The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver- Rafael Torrubia- 5/1/26- 9/10 I really enjoyed this book, I just think it needed better editing and more accurate marketing. That aside, it was a really exciting epic fantasy and a great example of how to write older protagonists.

The Candle in the Wind- T. H. White- 17/1/26

I was dissertation-maxing for most of this month.

[fitzflint]

Top 10 books of 2025

This is going to be short and also only one post because it's about 6 months late. Same terms as always: books are ones that I read for the first time in 2025, not necessarily ones that were published in 2025. Honourable mentions aren't in any order.

You Weren't Meant to Be Human- Andrew Joseph White- October- Horror Showstopping, horrific, relatable. I don't know where I'd be without this book in a weird sort of way. I don't know how to explain how good this book is without spoiling it.

The Discord of Gods- Jenn Lyons- August- Fantasy A satisfying and truly epic ending to a brilliant series with compelling characters and humour just when it was needed.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet- Becky Chambers- January- Sci-fi This made me reconsider what science fiction could be and I absolutely fell in love with the universe and the characters.

Model Home- Rivers Solomon- June- Horror A constantly morphing story that made me feel the full spectrum of human emotions.

All Systems Red- Martha Wells- May- Sci-fi Absolutely gripping action combined with discussions around AI, sentience, and humanity and a brilliant protagonist.

The Outside- Ada Hoffman- December- Sci-fi This was a really cool concept and I loved the characters.

Funny Boy- Shyam Selvadurai- February- Historical fiction A really original (sort of) coming of age story that did interesting things with form and genre.

Notes of a Crocodile- Qiu Miaojin- March- Magical realism One of the most relatable accounts of what it is to be a queer student with some beautiful writing.

A Closed and Common Orbit- Becky Chambers- August- Sci-fi Found family done well and some interesting discussions around what it is to be human vs. what it is to be a person.

Ocean's Echo- Everina Maxwell- September- Sci-fi I got sucked into the plot immediately. It was exciting from start to finish with some interesting characters to top it off.

Honourable mentions: The Story of Silence- Alex Myers- February- Fantasy Testo Junkie- Paul B. Preciado (trans. Bruce Henderson)- April- Biography/queer theory Giovanni's Room- James Baldwin- April- Classic Lost in the Moment and Found- Seanan McGuire- June- Fantasy

[fitzflint]

December 2025 reading wrap-up

Monkey Beach- Eden Robinson- 1/12/25- 8/10

The First Cities- Audre Lorde- 19/12/25- 6/10

Cables to Rage- Audre Lorde- 23/12/25- 8/10

The Outside- Ada Hoffman- 24/12/25- 9.5/10 This took classic aspects of sci-fi and reworked them in original and exciting ways to create a brilliant novel with great characters.

[fitzflint]

October 2025 reading wrap-up

Assembly- Natasha Brown- 2/10/25- 4/10

You Weren't Meant to Be Human- Andrew Joseph White- 6/10/25- 10/10 Jesus christ. Once again, I wrote thousands of words about a book then have found myself unable to write a review of this. It perfectly got the skin-crawling, gut-twisting horror feel of something going wrong and not being able to do anything about it. It was a brilliantly creative commentary on contemporary politics while remaining a gripping novel and the ending was something else entirely.

The Yield- Tara June Winch- 11/10/25- 8/10 This was a very good book that dealt with a lot of things very well, I just wish it had been a bit longer so everything got the attention it deserved.

Open Water- Caleb Azumah Nelson- 15/10/25- 9/10 This has some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read and there are so many layers to the characters and just generally so much in such a short novel.

Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson- 19/10/25- 9/10 Once I embraced that this wasn't really supposed to make sense, it was really good.

Real Life- Brandon Taylor- 22/10/25- 8.5/10 This was very good, I just don't tend to get on with books that take place over such a short period of time.

Nimona- N. D. Stevenson- 25/10/25- 10/10 Top-quality middle-grade fantasy.

Split Tooth- Tanya Tagaq- 27/10/25- 7/10

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September reading wrap-up

Edgedancer- Brandon Sanderson- 2/9/25- 6/10 Has Brandon Sanderson ever interacted with a teenager before?

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax- Paul Stewart & Christ Riddell- 10/9/25- 8/10 Peak children's literature. It was fun, whimsical, and packed with adventure with some stunning illustrations.

The Red Fox Clan- John Flanagan- 13/9/25- 10/10 Plots, mystery, and castles with hidden passageways. What could I possibly complain about?

Ocean's Echo- Everina Maxwell- 24/9/25- 9/10 This was a really interesting way of expanding the universe and I got so completely hooked by the plot and characters.

Hell Followed with Us- Andrew Joseph White- 26/9/25- 10/10 I can't fully express all the feelings I have about about this book. It means just as much to me now as it did when it was first released and I'm still finding new things to appreciate about it, but most of all I appreciate how seen it made me feel, and still makes me feel. I wrote 2000 words on this and it wasn't enough. Queer futures, monstrosity, etc.

Potiki- Patricia Grace- 29/9/25- 8/10

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August 2025 reading wrap-up

The Alloy of Law- Brandon Sanderson- 2/8/25- 6/10 My dedication to mediocre fantasy series cannot be explained.

Once Was Willem- M. R. Carey- 7/8/25- 8/10 A bit different to what I normally read, but I definitely enjoyed it. The characters were probably the strongest element.

Saga, vol. 9- Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples- 8/8/25- 9.5/10 I got emotionally attached.

Sorcerer to the Crown- Zen Cho- 13/8/25- 8/10

Shadows of Self- Brandon Sanderson- 16/8/25- 6/10

Saga, vol. 10- Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples- 16/8/25- 9/10

The Shadow King- Maaza Mengiste- 26/8/25- 7/10 Slow but interesting.

Immortal Longings-Chloe Gong- 30/8/25- 7/10 This was an interesting fantasy novel with some great action scenes, but I think it was really tied down by trying to be an Antony and Cleopatra retelling. If the characters' names were changed and it wasn't marketed as a retelling, I honestly think I would've enjoyed it a lot more, but this is not really, in any way, an Antony and Cleopatra retelling.