lonesome

29 | usa

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2022 reads: Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells, Tor.com, 2018, 172 pages.

Murderbot travels to GrayCris headquarters to try to rescue Dr. Mensah.  This is the fourth novella in the Murderbot Diaries and an exciting conclusion to the story of Murderbot's search for justice and self-determination.  The plot is wrapped up nicely, but still feels like it has room for whatever might come next in the novels.

content warnings: violence

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2022 reads: The Lost Girl

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu, Walden Pond Press, 2018, 368 pages.

Twins Iris and Lark have always been together, but their parents and school have decided that they should be in different homerooms this year.  As they struggle to adjust to the separation, Iris gets angrier at the world while Lark withdraws into herself.  Meanwhile, things are disappearing all over town, and one of the girls might be next.

notes: i would give anne ursu my heart on a toothpick if she asked

content warnings: pg

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2022 reads: Paper Girls

Paper Girls: The Complete Story by Brian K. Vaughan, Image Comics, 2021, 800 pages.

In November of 1988, four girls meet on their morning paper route and team up as a defense against bullies, only to find themselves in much greater danger.  Time travel, war, clones, fate vs. free will, lesbians?!  This absolute brick of a graphic novel contains every issue of the Paper Girls' story of grisly violence and preteen friendship.

notes: i did not read this on purpose.  i picked it up from the library for somebody else.  i looked at the first page.  then suddenly 3 hours had passed and i had read the entire thing

content warnings: sooooo much violence and also some homophobic language.  cigarettes

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old music fridays

A Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love) by Dinah Washington & Brook Benton, released 1960

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old music fridays: Fifth Dimension (1966)

why this album?: it has eight miles high on it.

best tracks: in addition to eight miles high, I was already familiar with the delightful “mr. spaceman”.  I enjoyed nearly everything else on the album but particularly “I see you” and “what’s happening?!?!” (which only has one question mark on spotify)

worst tracks: I am going to look for other versions of “I come and stand at every door” bc I am very interested in the concept (it is adapted from a Turkish poem about a child victim of the Hiroshima bombing) but the tune here is unremarkable

overall thoughts: this is a good album.

misc:  also definitely enjoyed the CD re-issue bonus tracks including an alternate recording of eight miles high!

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2022 reads: Watch Over Me

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour.  Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2020, 272 pages.

Mila, having just aged out of the foster system, takes a teaching job at a remote farm.  She soon realizes that the Farm is haunted, and has to decide whether to trust her new home or keep running from her past.  I predicted the true nature of the "ghosts" from a long way off, which took some of the wind out of the book's conclusion for me, but fascination kept me turning the pages, both negative (wanting to know what horrible things befell Mila in her earlier life) and positive (watching her bond with the residents of the Farm).  Fans of more-sad-than-spooky ghost stories and of LaCour's previous novels (particularly the similarly grief-ridden We Are Okay) will probably like this.

notes: we are okay took me 2 reads to fall in love with it so stay tuned for when i reread this one.  because i know you want to know, rep in this book includes bipoc in the supporting cast (mila is white) and queer mc and supporting characters.

content warnings: child & intimate partner abuse (physical and emotional), mild sexual content

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2022 reads: Soul Lanterns

Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki, translated from the Japanese by Emily Balistrieri.  Delacorte Press, 2021, 176 pages.

After the 25th anniversary of the day Hiroshima was bombed, a group of middle schoolers begin a project to uncover and memorialize their community's experiences.  One girl's search for the secrets of her family's history inspires her classmates to seek out stories from their relatives, teachers, and neighbors.  Ostensibly Nozomi is the protagonist, but Soul Lanterns is less a cohesive novel then a series of interconnected stories about the cost of war.  The trauma explored in this book is harrowing, but the text is clearly meant to be accessible to young readers (grades 3-6) as an introduction to this tragic event and the years that followed it.  Highly recommended for any classroom study of World War II, Japanese history, or peace movements.

notes: whenever any american asks me where to go in japan i tell them to go to the peace museum.

content warnings: graphic descriptions of the effects of the atomic bomb and radiation exposure, references to suicide

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2022 reads: Tales from the Inner City

Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan.  Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018, 224 pages.

A collection of stories about the way humans interact with animals in an urban setting is accompanied by a series of strange and lovely paintings of animals in their inner city environments.  The stories explore the animals we live with, the ones we kill, the ones we fear, the ones we love.  Some of the stories are quite dark and even violent, while others are more sweet and comforting, but all contain that signature oddness of Tan's work.  If you can read, read this book.

notes: read several of these stories when I first got the book in 2019, but never the whole thing.  presented this in my publishing class as an example of excellent book design & won a prize for it.

content warnings: animal death

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old music fridays: Hysteria (1984)

why this album?: I heard “The Lebanon” in a twitter music poll and wanted to listen to more

best tracks: the aforementioned lebanon, rock me again and again and again and again and again and again, the sign, thirteen

worst tracks: louise is a truly exhausting 5 minutes and I am offended that it was a single

overall thoughts: some very catchy stuff, the human league has a distinctive sound that absolutely screams eighties to me.  not exciting enough that I’d hurry back to it in a hurry, but I am still solidly a fan of ~THE LEBANON~

misc: I love that the cropped version of the album cover seems to identify the artist as “mangue”

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there are 2 genders, one is for people who know the names of candle scents, I am the other one

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2020 reads: Call Down the Hawk

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater.  Scholastic Press, 2019, 472 pages.

I’m not sure it’s even worth the effort to be objective about this; Call Down the Hawk was my most anticipated book of 2019 and then school happened and I didn’t even get to hold it in my hands until January.  (”School happened” is also the reason most of my reading journals from the latter half of the year have not as yet appeared on the blog.)

Anyways, I loved it!  A fast-paced, engrossing read that was highly rewarding for a longtime fan of the Raven Cycle like myself.  Call Down the Hawk delivers Stiefvater-typical magic that ranges from extremely cool to extremely terrifying, along with some thought-provoking commentary on art and creation/creativity, and just... an incredibly matter-of-fact treatment of various characters’ gay and queer identities which filled my heart every time I came across it.  I think I could also see this book as a welcoming entry point for new readers, though I’d be curious to hear the thoughts of anyone who actually read it from that perspective!

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2019 reads: Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey.  Orbit, 2017, 560 pages.

Volume 7 of the Expanse series hits hard with a big time-jump on top of a major disruption to the hard-won peace from the previous book.  Persepolis Rising follows in Babylon’s footsteps with a larger array of POV characters, though Holden and Bobbie are featured (and develop in exciting ways!) alongside a new character (who I found quite frustrating at times) and Drummer.  The TV series has made a point to incorporate Drummer from a much earlier point, so I was really excited to finally learn more about her book incarnation.  The strength of this series continues to lie in fascinating characters and the way they relate to one another.

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2019 reads: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green.  Dutton, 2018, 343 pages.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is the account of April May, a young woman who either an expert on an alien lifeform, an opportunistic narcissist, or a traitor to the human race.  Or all three.  Hank Green is probably best known for his vlogbrothers project alongside his brother, YA novelist John Green, so comparing the two Greens is inevitable.  The immediacy and humor of the voice in An Absolutely Remarkable Thing certainly put me in mind of the experience of reading one of John Green's novels, but the sci-fi concept felt very fresh.  I also loved how the novel addressed celebrity and developed April May as a flawed but sympathetic character.

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2019 reads: Babylon’s Ashes

Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey.  Orbit, 2016, 538 pages.

In the (quickly counting off on my fingers) sixth installment of what has been called "Game of Thrones in space" (and, by me, "Game of Thrones in space, but better") the solar system is still reeling from the attacks of the Free Army.  Babylon's Ashes has roughly a dozen POV characters, breaking from the past format of 2-4 and offering an... expansive... view of the different factions' efforts to cope with the conflict.  It's easy to get lost (some of the one-off chapters featuring new characters are particularly hard to follow) but the return of familiar faces like Anna and Prax is rewarding, and the overall story is far less grim than the previous book.  A satisfying follow-up to Nemesis Games, for sure!

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2019 rereads: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  Scholastic Press, 2012, 468 pages.

Blue, the lone non-clairvoyant in a family of psychics, gets drawn into the lives of a group of boys from the local private school as they search for the tomb of an ancient king.  This is my third or fourth time reading the series and I should actually probably not be trusted to recommend them because they mean so much to me on a very personal level, I can't be sure if they're actually... good.  I think they're probably good.  Stiefvater's language is constantly beautiful, and her characters are always drawn compellingly.  The plot could be said to drag in places, but if you get invested in the characters, you likely won't even notice.  A good choice if you like spooky, if you like weird friendships, or if you think more fantasy novels should be set in Appalachia.

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2019 books: Red, White and Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.  Griffin, 2019, 423 pages.

Alex is the son of the first female president of the U.S.  Henry is a prince of England.  It's a match made in heaven, or hell, depending who you ask.  McQuiston packs in romance, politics, humor, and a ton of pop culture references and the result life-affirming and impossible to put down.  (I've already read it twice since its release in May.)  A solid debut and a great addition to the growing-but-still-sadly-limited selection of "new adult" books out there.

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2019 reads: Jane, Unlimited

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore.  Kathy Dawson Books, 2017, 464 pages.

After the loss of her beloved aunt, a directionless young woman accepts an invitation to visit her rich friend's childhood home, an island manor called Tu Reviens.  At Tu Reviens, Jane encounters several mysteries, and a single choice will determine which questions get answered and what fate will befall her.  This is a deeply strange book, which worked for me but might not work for everyone.  If you like stories that push the boundaries of genre (and of how stories work in the first place), you might enjoy Jane, Unlimited.  Or you might just like to admire the beautiful cover (it is very sparkly in real life!)