July Recap
Aug. 5th, 2023 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sleepypapercrownsHello and welcome to a recap of mostly books, because I didn’t watch anything! Hope you enjoy.
Abbott Elementary (2023, mockumentary)
The second half of season two was finally available where I live and I gobbled it up. What else is there to say? Watch it. I hope that we’ll get to see more of this rag tag group of teachers in the future!
The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo (2020-2022, fantasy)
These are very lovely short audiobooks that I randomly stumbled upon while scrolling through my libby app. We follow cleric Chih and their companion, a bird who has a perfect memory, as they’re travelling through this fantasy land and recording people’s stories. Especially the second one gets into who is telling which stories and how that affects the way they are told. Very enjoyable!
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (2016, sci-fi)
It has been years since I read the first book in the Wayfarers series, so I didn’t fully get all the references to the crew we met there but thankfully that wasn’t essential. I really love all of Becky Chambers’ sci-fi because it is always approachable and mostly about what it means to be human and in community with others. Can’t wait to continue this series, but since the rest are standalones I can take my time!
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (2020, contemporary)
This one didn’t hit as hard as I had hoped for but I am also very sure that this is a me thing. I didn’t grow up remotely in contact with religion so a lot of the struggle of our main character felt far away from my lived experience. I came to care for everyone in the end but for most of the book I felt rather detached from the story.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (2019, graphic novel/memoir)
Memoirs in graphic novel form are definitely my favourite way to consume them. This one is very important and should most definitely not be banned as much as it is. However, I found that the narration didn’t have a strong red string, rather Maia Kobabe was jumping around a lot of different topics. Still, I am glad that I read it.
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (2019, memoir)
Haunting. Important. Shows you how horrifyingly easy a person can find themselves in an abusive relationship and how hard it is to get out of there. The “choose your own adventure” chapter was an absolute gut punch.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (2023, ya romance)
I should just not pick up YA anymore. I cannot deal with teenagers that fake date at someone’s wedding and get tailor made suits with cufflinks worth 10k. I had to suspend my disbelief so hard to get through this… just riddled with ridiculousness although I am sure I would’ve gobbled this up as a teenager. Not for me anymore.
Yellowface by R.F.Kuang (2023, literary fiction/thriller)
Wow, I don’t think a book has ever made me as mad as this one has. This one wanted to do just that and it obviously was successful but I am not sure if that resulted in the best story. That being said, it was the first R.F. Kuang that I did not dnf (sorry), so in that sense it was incredibly readable.
Witch King by Martha Wells (2023, fantasy)
Ok, so… I love the Murderbot Diaries and I was really excited for Martha Wells’ new book, but… I will have to admit that this mostly hurt my brain. I am still not sure if I could explain the world and its politics to you coherently. On the other hand, I loved all the characters. Ziede is also my wife and the way Kai and Ziede took care of Sanja was just sooooo cute. I love them with all my heart, I just wished they existed in a world that was a tiny bit less complicated. (Also I was scammed out of kissy once more. My life is filled with woes.)
I read like no fic this month but these two were still strong favs:
- Be My Side As Your Are by hope_and_hardship(svt seungkwan/txt soobin)
- pixie fever, angel dust by starlost (skz, minho/seungmin)
What have you been reading? Any good fic to recommend?
Shows
Abbott Elementary (2023, mockumentary)
The second half of season two was finally available where I live and I gobbled it up. What else is there to say? Watch it. I hope that we’ll get to see more of this rag tag group of teachers in the future!
Books
The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo (2020-2022, fantasy)
These are very lovely short audiobooks that I randomly stumbled upon while scrolling through my libby app. We follow cleric Chih and their companion, a bird who has a perfect memory, as they’re travelling through this fantasy land and recording people’s stories. Especially the second one gets into who is telling which stories and how that affects the way they are told. Very enjoyable!
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (2016, sci-fi)
It has been years since I read the first book in the Wayfarers series, so I didn’t fully get all the references to the crew we met there but thankfully that wasn’t essential. I really love all of Becky Chambers’ sci-fi because it is always approachable and mostly about what it means to be human and in community with others. Can’t wait to continue this series, but since the rest are standalones I can take my time!
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (2020, contemporary)
This one didn’t hit as hard as I had hoped for but I am also very sure that this is a me thing. I didn’t grow up remotely in contact with religion so a lot of the struggle of our main character felt far away from my lived experience. I came to care for everyone in the end but for most of the book I felt rather detached from the story.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (2019, graphic novel/memoir)
Memoirs in graphic novel form are definitely my favourite way to consume them. This one is very important and should most definitely not be banned as much as it is. However, I found that the narration didn’t have a strong red string, rather Maia Kobabe was jumping around a lot of different topics. Still, I am glad that I read it.
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (2019, memoir)
Haunting. Important. Shows you how horrifyingly easy a person can find themselves in an abusive relationship and how hard it is to get out of there. The “choose your own adventure” chapter was an absolute gut punch.
Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (2023, ya romance)
I should just not pick up YA anymore. I cannot deal with teenagers that fake date at someone’s wedding and get tailor made suits with cufflinks worth 10k. I had to suspend my disbelief so hard to get through this… just riddled with ridiculousness although I am sure I would’ve gobbled this up as a teenager. Not for me anymore.
Yellowface by R.F.Kuang (2023, literary fiction/thriller)
Wow, I don’t think a book has ever made me as mad as this one has. This one wanted to do just that and it obviously was successful but I am not sure if that resulted in the best story. That being said, it was the first R.F. Kuang that I did not dnf (sorry), so in that sense it was incredibly readable.
Witch King by Martha Wells (2023, fantasy)
Ok, so… I love the Murderbot Diaries and I was really excited for Martha Wells’ new book, but… I will have to admit that this mostly hurt my brain. I am still not sure if I could explain the world and its politics to you coherently. On the other hand, I loved all the characters. Ziede is also my wife and the way Kai and Ziede took care of Sanja was just sooooo cute. I love them with all my heart, I just wished they existed in a world that was a tiny bit less complicated. (Also I was scammed out of kissy once more. My life is filled with woes.)
Fic
I read like no fic this month but these two were still strong favs:
- Be My Side As Your Are by hope_and_hardship(svt seungkwan/txt soobin)
- pixie fever, angel dust by starlost (skz, minho/seungmin)
What have you been reading? Any good fic to recommend?
no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 04:35 am (UTC)Oh my I've heard such conflicting things about Yellowface...
no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 09:58 am (UTC)Fake Dates is very much a wishfulfillment kind of romance, and it wasn't for me either. But it's quite easily read!
I thought Witch King's characters were the strongest part of that book as well. Angry wife/Stoic wife otp for sure. When I started I was surprised to realise the two timelines were so close in time - like I expected them to wake up DECADES after they were taken, but it was only a few years?
no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 05:18 pm (UTC)