#I'm currently listening to the audiobook book because I've lent out my copy of the book to a friend and i really wanted to reread it

[viscountessgrabalba]

is this relatable?

[puttingwingsonwords]

October Reading Wrap Up

My reading has picked up speed this month (though I'm still behind on my reading goal, which is, granted, very high for me); I finished eight books and am in the middle of four more. Yes, four... I usually read two books at a time, one audio and one digital/physical, but I'm embracing the ADHD chaos right now! Hopefully it will help me finish 21 books before the year is over. If not, reading goals are meaningless anyway <3

Stats

total books read: 8

2023 reading challenge progress: 79 out of 100 (somewhat behind)

formats: 5 print, 2 digital, 1 audio

Books

My favourite this month was, predictably, The Sun and the Star. Overall this was my most mixed month yet, with a range from 2 to 5 star ratings—but mostly good!

• The Sun and the Star by Mark Oshiro and Rick Riordan (print)

rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A book about one of my favourite characters from one of my favourite series written by two of my favourite authors, and somehow it still pleasantly surprised me!

• Devout: An Anthology of Angels edited by Quinton Li (print)

rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazing indie speculative anthology exploring the horror, queerness and sexuality of angels.

• Victims of a Map: A Bilingual Anthology with Mahmoud Darwish, Adonis, Samih al-Qasim (digital)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A great introduction to these influential Arab poets, with the Arabic and English side by side.

• A Flame in the Night by Morgan Dante (audio)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

First erotica I've ever read so it was a bit like jumping in at the deep end... Luckily I loved it! It's polyamorous, it's queer, it's gothic; yes, please, give me more.

• Heart, Haunt, Havoc by Freydís Moon (print)

rating: 4 out of 5 stars

More queer indie horror! I only wish it was longer.

• Wolf, Willow, Witch by Freydís Moon (print)

rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I was ever so slightly less into this one than the first book, but it was still great. I support women's rights and wrongs. Anticipating the final book with bated breath!

• The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (print, borrowed)

rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It was fine. I only read it because my friend wanted to talk about it and lent me her copy. Not sure why this series got so big, except for the interesting magic system it's not all that special?

• Δάιος by Andromeda Ruins (digital)

rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I was drawn in by the premise and loved the autistic rep, but it really felt like it needed a couple more rounds of editing to improve story structure and overall writing quality.

Currently reading and TBR

I'm listening to the Chameleon Moon audiobook, which I had hoped to have finished already so I'm going to set aside more time to read it! I'm also listening to Juniper & Thorn and reading Activestills: Photography as Protest in Palestine/Israel and A Map of Absence: An Anthology of Palestinian Writing on the Nakba.

I've added several more books on Palestine and/or by Palestinian authors to my immediate TBR to further educate myself. I talked about that in this instagram post, and I've also shared a couple of reading lists and free book offers in the Free Palestine highlight on my page there if you're looking for recommendations yourself.

My attention span has been all over the place, so I'll probably continue to switch between several books. Might have found a good way to avoid reading slumps there? We'll see how far I've gotten by next month!

[nedlittle]

top 5 mary oliver poems OR top 5 classics

i've answered my top 5 mary oliver poems before here even though i'm constantly reading more so let's do top 5 classics trying not to repeat any i've said before

the left hand of darkness - ursula k le guin

i am always ALWAYS thinking about the scene where genly finally manages to mind-speak to estraven and how it's a mirror of the scene in jane eyre where jane hears rochester psychically calling out for her to come home across the moors. it's about acknowledgement of each other as equals against a hostile environment.

i capture the castle - dodie smith

very sweet and accessible for people who aren't really into classics. i first listened to the audiobook narrated by emilia fox and thought it was wonderful and i'm very picky with audiobooks

the roman way - edith hamilton

good crash course for people who already have some background in ancient roman literature (thank u latin lit/tragedy in the ancient world courses). the chapters on seneca are unfortunately lacking but it's also surprisingly hilarious? in the chapter about plautus and terance, hamilton writes "Plautus' plots, when he has one, are extremely poor, and there is a distressing similarity between them" and my annotation below reads "get his ass!!"

medea - seneca

speaking of seneca and my latin lit course....this is my favourite greco-roman play i've ever read. i like the problems it raises re: being fit for stage, and i like how everyone is absolutely 10000% of the shits the entire time. nobody is rational and everything is on fire. when we read this for class i was the ONLY person out of 30ish people who did the assigned reading because it was around finals (it was the only time in that class i actually finished the assigned reading) and i was crushed that we couldn't properly discuss it

the master & margarita - mikhail bulgakov

haven't reread this in a hot minute and my very beautiful copy is currently lent out to a friend, along with about 10 other books that i've been meaning to reread, but this book truly has everything. #girlbosses, a scathing critique of stalinism, trolley decapitation, the literal, actual devil, a six foot tall anthropomorphic cat who drinks vodka and shoots at people, elegant balls, a love story for the ages, and literal, actual jesus. if none of that interests you then i'm not sure what you're getting out of my blog