#I haven’t read Nona the ninth yet but I hope this happens

[itsthegameilike]

Best Books of 2022

And I’m back again with another list of books that I think everyone should read. Or, at least, books I think are halfway decent given the other books I’ve read this year. To be fair, it was a better year than I thought. Anyway, without further ado, the best ten books I read, plus some honorable mentions:

Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir In full disclosure, I knew this book would be on my list before I even read it and I was not disproven in that assumption by the time I finished. Hands down, the best book I read this year and it’s not even that close. Books tend to take me a lot longer to finish as I get older, but this one took me two days. Obviously, if you haven’t read Gideon the Ninth or Harrow the Ninth, you should, but this odd little sequel was probably my favorite one yet. Nona is such a refreshing character--a bombshell of light and love and curiosity--and it is as queer as ever. Bonus, if you have a soft spot for Camilla or Palamedes, as I do, you got blessed this book.

In the Dream House - Carmen Maria Machado I actually read far more nonfiction this year than I usually do, thanks to getting burnt out on fantasy, my staple. This book is the best of the bunch and absolutely incredible. The writing is poignant and lovely and careful and the topic of domestic abuse is tackled by an author who is invested in making you understand what they went through. It’s personal, it’s internal, and it broke me more than once. Definitely worth looking up trigger warnings, but also definitely worth reading.

The Half Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley If Natasha Pulley publishes a book, it goes on this list. I have an unending love and devotion for the romances and relationships she crafts. There is such a tenderness and solitude and loneliness to all of them that always punches me straight in the gut. I love her and I am very biased, but this book was as incredible as always. Bonus points, you learn quite a bit about nuclear reactors and nuclear poisoning, too. Not her most realistic and probably not her best, but I still love it to bits.

The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov This is a Russian novel from the 1940s that I think is best described by saying that the devil shows up in Moscow and wreaks absolute havoc. It is bizarre and mythic and surrealist, but it is also heartfelt and an utter joy to read. I was never bored, the characters were five parts humorous and five parts relatable, and I still regularly think about the magician show scene on a daily basis.

Clear Light of Day - Anita Desai This book is in many ways indescribable for me. I read it in August, when the days were hot, and the book felt exactly like those long summer afternoons. It cast a sort of spell over me and I would often sit and read twenty pages, then sit and think about them for forty-five minutes. It’s a deep dive into the decay of a country and the decay of a family and their relationships and an exploration of the choices we make in life, how they alter it, and how often we sit and imagine what would’ve happened if we chose differently.

Time is a Mother - Ocean Vuong My one book of a poetry and another that I was positive would end up on this list. Ocean has been a wordsmith rock of mine since college and he did not disappoint in this collection. I highly recommend “The Last Dinosaur” and “Almost Human”. If you read nothing else, read those.

Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind - Alan Jacobs If there was a required reading list for anyone who would like to approach what they read with critical thinking skills, this would be on it. This book is a manifesto to the grays of the world, a sort of rejoicing in how nothing is black and white, and I felt so refreshed reading it. There are also so many great book recommendations in here, including Clear Light of Day already on this list, so it has alternate functions, as well. This book gave me hope, to be honest, so if you need that, look no further.

Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao Man, this book. It is like an electric shock to the system. There is so much good here that even the occasionally clunky dialogue means nothing to me. The characters are stunning, there is really excellent polyamory the way I wish more media would display it, there’s Chinese myth, and big metal monsters smashing the patriarchy. The end had a twist that was actually shocking and I cannot wait for the second book. I’ve mostly outgrown young adult at this point, but please read this one, even if you feel the same.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess - Sue Lynn Tan This book was breathtaking. It feels lush when you’re reading it, the descriptions so well done, and I was so swept up in the setting, in the plot, in the pleasant, warm reminders of other Chinese dramas it gave me, that I hardly minded the naivete of the main character, Xingyin. The love triangle isn’t unbearable, as there are clear, obvious breaks with the love interests when she is romantically interested in the other, and Xingyin grows into something just as bold and beautiful as the book. One caveat, I also read the sequel this year and I kind of wish I hadn’t. It’s not nearly as good and I sort of wish this had been a standalone experience for me.

Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner I read this at the very start of the year, so I don’t remember everything, but I do remember that this book was profoundly sad, deeply meaningful, and heartbreakingly lovely. Nothing is held back by the author as she explores her relationship with her mother and the grief that came with her death. I would recommend this to anyone at any time for any reason. It’s that good.

Honorable Mentions: The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Deathless by Catherynne M Valente, Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, and The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novak

[a-decrepit-house]

Isaac and Jeannemary know about the coffeeshop AU.

They will never let Harrow live it down.

[ourreverenddaughter]

Long, spoiler filled post ahead for GtN, HtN, and the prologue of NtN

All this time I thought the events of GtN and partially HtN were happening in some far off galaxy, but, if I’m reading the prologue to NtN correctly, we’re in OUR solar system.

Jod, the Lyctors, and the Canaan House are on Earth, specifically in New Zealand, from what I can tell. So this means that Dominicus is our own sun and that Jod renamed after resurrecting it.

Coincidentally, we also have NINE planets in our solar system (justice for pluto). So, I have some theories for the houses and where they live!

First, at the end of HtN, just after Jod reformed after Mercymorn killed him, he makes a comment that stuck with me. Its something like: “I hope the Sixth didn’t burn up in the flare.”

I’m going to assume this means the Sixth house resides on the planet closest to Dominicus, meaning they live on Mercury!

Conversely, the Ninth house is described in detail as very cold, very dark, and very somber. Drearburh is on Pluto for sure.

The rest of the houses have less evidence, so I’ll just put them in list format. These are all based on feeling pretty much

2nd House - Mars

3rd House - Jupiter

4th House - Saturn

5th House - Neptune

7th House - Venus

8th House - Uranus

Now, I have some justifications for these that are rooted in a really intresting theme of tlt series.

Greek Mythos.

The names “Alecto” and “Ianthe” are from greek mythology, and I’m certain there are more I haven’t caught yet. Additionally, I know Astrology, and there is some overlap in the planetary meanings as well. Here’s my justifications:

Pluto is ruled by Hades, the God of the Underworld. Pluto also represents death and rebirth. I do not think I have to explain how this relates to the 9th.

Mercury is ruled by Hermes, the Messenger God. Who’s staff is widely used as a symbol of medicine and medical practices. The 6th house are literally doctors and scholars!! Mercury rules over communication and cooperation, which Palamedes was very adept at.

Mars is ruled by Ares, the God of War. The 2nd house commands the military. Mars also rules over passion, tenacity, and drive. I’d say it fits.

Jupiter is ruled by Zeus, King of the Gods. The 3rd house is for the royalty. They call Coronabeth the Crown Princess many times. Jupiter rules over luck and joy, and the 3rd house is literally called “The Joy of the Emperor”

Saturn is ruled by Cronos, the Leader of the Titans. That alone doesn’t sound very “4th” to me, but the astrological meaning does. Saturn rules over hardship, struggle, and learning through making mistakes. I don’t think I need to elaborate on account of what happened to Issac and Jeannemary.

Neptune is ruled by Poseidon, God of the Sea. Again, not super “5th”, but astrologically Neptune rules over your intuition and your SPIRIT. The 5th specializes in the spirit. Also, I’d like to think the 4th and the 5th are close together planet-wise.

Venus is ruled by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. I think the 7th house fits wonderfully here, since the 7th is all about beauty. Venus rules over your desires, and I think its funny that “Dulcinea” was able to get Gideon to fall head over heels so quickly. EDIT: I did not know that Cytherea was another name for Aphrodite until some wonderful people told me, this basically solidifies my thoughts about the 7th being from Venus!!!

Finally, Uranus is ruled by, well, Uranus, the Father of the Titans. This planet rules over rebellion, independent thinking, and change. This fits the 8th VERY well, since their very speciality, Soul Siphoning, is looked down upon as a practice.

Now, I don’t know why they would’ve settled out of order, but I wholeheartedly believe I’m at least on the right track with this theory. I could go into more theories I have about Alecto and Ianthe and how their greek myth relates to their characters, or who the fuck Nona is but I have to go to bed so maybe thats a long post for tomorrow.

Thanks for hearing me out I’ve bored every irl person who will listen to me to tears about tlt and I had to get this of my chest 🖤

[burinazar]

argh this whole week has actually been so cursed, first over the weekend a family-adjacent person (that i didn’t know at all so no condolences needed) passed away and this necessitated me staying at my parents’ house for longer than planned because they had gone to Jersey (I don’t think my parents knew the person either but wanted to help family who did with the resulting difficulties) and my sister was alone and was like House Empty Come Stay, so it was kind of like I was the back soda can in a vending rack and the decedent was a front soda can I’d never met that was removed and the rest slid forward I had to roll up outta where I preferred to be :-|

then Marnie passed away on Tuesday night :’( she’s been in decline for a while and ultimately this was probably about the best time for her to go on her own, but still really really sucked. I’ve fallen off using my rat sideblog for whatever reason so on here im not sure how many ppl would even know of her. but yeah i. had to …to mourn Marn :( she was a really special and odd rat. she bit me more times than any other and was very smart and strange and rude. as she entered her twilight years we would snuggle a lot, the total opposite of how she used to be. It’s for the best she didn’t linger too long in the semi paralyzed state she had reached in old age following HED and tumors, but i will miss her.

anyway now, since I live a clown life, the internet at my place is out since last night and I’m like crawling around the very inconvenient corner where my router lives to try and fix it, being jabbed in the ass by my own anime figures and things,,, I’ve tried all the suggested fixes and don’t know what to do next lmao I keep hoping it’ll just fix itself so I don’t have to invite a damn Verizon Human to my apartmenr or something

like of course all this would happen bc i was actually excited for this week because !!Nona the Ninth dropping!!!! (and penultimate MiA s2) But obviously now i haven’t read a page of that yet >____> ( i did watch my hole blorbos anime but it’s really hard to finish up my art or fics for it now in this mindset, which is incredibly annoying because I have a few almost-finished fics and as usual dozens of wip art).

anyway, i don’t have a good idea how to end to the post. Uh, wish me luck magically fixing the internet i guess…!..?

EDIT: I have magically fixed the internet. i still do not have a way to end this post but That’s Good