#The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente Review

[halflingkima]

My Favorite Books of 2023

My book bracket did help me narrow down my actual favorites of the year. It wasn't an exquisite reading year, especially compared to the couple prior, but I did still read quite a few good books. I'll give mini-synopses and brief reviews below the cut, but I've also linked my storygraph reviews for each with their star ratings.

9. This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): When Arthur's wife Amy dies suddenly, he finds himself in her hometown, boarding at the inn run by Amy's childhood best friend Mona and Mona's daughter Oneida.

This was just a right book, right time for me, I think. There's a lot going on in here about motherhood, [best, female] friendship, the selfishness of love, the nebulousness of personhood. I don't know if this would've hit as hard if my best friend hadn't just had a baby, but that's the beauty of it – I'll never know. There was also a focus on art and artistry that I really liked, and I'm a sucker for an ensemble cast. I also appreciated that even though there were intended "reveals" or "twists," they were written as more authentic secrets than as if trying to be a thriller.

8. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): From the afterlife, a group of women from popular superhero stories tell their sides of the tales.

This book is structured as a short story collection, but there's a worldbuilding throughline; the women are having a night together at a bar in the afterlife. I'm not a comic book fan, but even I could discern which characters were were talking around (mostly DC properties). It's more of an exploration than an outright critique of the fridged trope. After all, a character's death is always meaningful: How did she die? Did she deserve to? Was there any other choice? All these women died for valid, viable reasons, could only be saved at the expense of the world, but – that does not make them less of a person. Even as a mere creative writing exercise, I really enjoyed this one.

7. Die: Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen et al. (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): A group of highschoolers in the 80s create a ttrpg that comes to life, literally disappearing into it for two years; now, when they're established adults with families of their own, they're summoned back.

Honestly kinda hard for me to justify putting a single volume of a comic collection on my favorites but... this slapped. As a D&D enjoyer, it brought the best elements of post fiction and RP together; the "real" characters are complex and rounded 40yos with families and lives, but they're as invested in their "PCs" as humanly possible – having had to actually be them for years. The second one went to kind of a weird place, so I reserve judgement on the series as a whole, but volume one is impeccable.

6. And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): An epidemic sweeps the world, manifesting in the infected people hallucinating that all non-infected are zombies; at a rehabilitation center, a cured man tells his story.

This one's hard to convey my thoughts about. The most powerful element in this book is the nuance – of morality, of belief systems, of perceived reality. This isn't strictly a zombie story, but it effectively utilizes the best parts of one to provide a sort of narrative foil to the genre. There's quite a lot of social commentary in the guise of perception-altering disease. I'm certain I didn't pin it all down with one read. Definitely on my re-read list.

5. Our Dreams at Dusk [quartet] by Yuhki Kamatani (⭐️|⭐️|⭐️|⭐️⭐️): When Tasuko Kaname fears he's been outed at school, he flees, contemplating suicide until a mysterious "someone-san" leads him to a community center full of peers and mentors.

I hunted this down on recommendation from Julia Drawfee and was impressed my library has it. I can't resist a short manga series and this is a beautiful one. Seeing as the majority of my manga reading days were in the 00s, I was expecting a subtler story & was extremely impressed by the nuance and diversity of queerness in this story. The whole series is beautiful and wonderful but the kicker was weeping through the entirety of the final volume.

4. Kill the Boy Band by Goldie Moldavsky (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): A group of teen girls – superfans of the boy band The Ruperts – accidentally kidnaps a band member, and events quickly spiral out of control.

It's 👏 camp 👏. God, I'm tempted to stop there. There is a very specific reader this appeals to, and having been solidly in the One Direction fandom, I'm afraid those readers are few and far between. The vibe is, essentially, boyband slash RPF reader/writers that do not genuinely believe the boyband is secretly dating. You have to have genuine passion (peak boybandom obsession) and realistic reason (the boyband is truly just some dudes). And the distance to poke fun at yourself while genuinely empathizing. God this vibe is so difficult to describe. It's my own boyband fandom white whale lmao.

3. Husband Material by Alexis Hall (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): Luc and Oliver are still in love and very happy, but as a number of their peers get engaged, tie the knot, and otherwise build families for themselves, the couple feels pressure facing their future.

I can't believe I read this this year. My only apprehension with this one was that of any sequel – it wouldn't be as good as the first book. And the stakes were high, since Boyfriend Material is one of my favorite books ever. Stakes doubly high because I wanted to reread it first and feared it wouldn't live up to my memory. But they both knock it out of the park. Husband Material's ending glides over some nuance, but I agree with the stance and it's in the UK so I'll let it slide. It's not a "why does this exist sequel," but actually a sequel with something to say which I really appreciate. Right onto my favorites shelf, and can't wait for the rest of the series.

2. Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️): In a world of courtly vampires, Remy is a Reaper (vampire hunter) while rumored to be half-vampire himself. When a mysterious vampire disease begins sweeping the nation, he finds himself reluctantly investigating with a vampire lord and lady from a neighboring empire.

I love vampire books. I love zombie books. Hence: zombie vampire book??? With canonical bisexual polyamory??? I've not seen anyone dislike this, but I've also not seen many people at all reading it. Much like Rin Chupeco's YA fantasy series The Bone Witch; I think they're just a criminally underrated author. This series is giving very similar vibes to bone witch – deep, rich worldbuilding, diverse characters, unique lore – but clearly and intentionally aged up – graphic gore, explicit sex. Which is all to say it's everything I loved as a teen reader, but built out to satisfy me as an adult with wider life experience.

1. The Radiant Emperor Duology by Shelley Parker-Chan (⭐️⭐️|⭐️⭐️⭐️): Zhu Chongba usurps her brother's destiny of greatness and passes herself off as a man from her childhood in a monastery to her adulthood on the battlefields of Mongol China. When her Mandate manifests, she moves to challenge the Great Khan himself, while a number of other political players have their own plans.

Hey this???? Altered my brain chemistry. I'm cheating and lumping the two together because that's how duologies work in my mind; greater than the sum of their parts. But Hoo Boy did these drive me insane in discrete and unique ways. I can't say much about this series without waxing on forever, so I'll keep it to this: I had heard this pitched as a fantasy Mulan retelling and it most certainly is not. It is a historical ensemble saga about duty, identity, and personhood, with some minor magical realism. I can't find it for the life of me but that post about how being aro and/or ace gives ppl access to new relationship flavors, shrimp-color-style? I think this duology might do the same. It felt like the author had hacked into my own genetic code and started braiding something in there.

[shewholovestoread]

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente Review

“What matters is entertainment. Eternity takes forever. The infinite expanse of time just does not know when to quit. The dead fear boredom the way mortals fear death.”

Where do I even start? If you read comics, especially the Marvel and DC variety, then chances are, you’re familiar with names like Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn, Barbara Gordon, Mera, Karen Page to name just a few (the list is disappointingly long). What’s the one thing all of these characters have in common? They were unceremoniously dumped in favour of the main male characters’ narrative, their growth. Gail Simone first gave this trope a name, The Woman in Refrigerators (she actually started a website by this name). I can’t talk about this book without talking about this trope. There is literally a comic where the male protagonist’s girl friend is stuffed into the refrigerator and left for him to find.

“I belong in the refrigerator. Because the truth is, I’m just food for a superhero. He’ll eat up my death and get the energy he needs to become a legend.”

I can’t even begin to sum up all of the reason why this trope infuriates me. The women in most superhero comics, films, television shows are reduced to side plots, actually, they’re plot devices, their only reason to exist is to move the plot forward and they do this even with their deaths. It didn’t matter that a vast majority of women consuming this media were uncomfortable with the underlying message; a woman is disposable and is only useful in propping up the man in her life. The rage is justified and it’s not just limited to comics. How many times have you seen a female character die or suffer some horrible fate in a film or TV show but it’s all about the impact on the man. The most recent and well known example I can think of is the rape of Sansa Stark by Ramsay Bolton. It wasn’t about what was happening to her, it was about finally giving Theon the necessary motivation to break free of Ramsay‘s grip.

If you’re someone who was infuriated at the treatment of these women, then The Refrigerator Monologues is exactly what the doctor recommended! Like many of us, Valente was sickened by the trope and the last straw was the death of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-man 2 (that one still makes me see red) The film sets out to lull the audience into a sense of security. They’ve built up her character, they already killed her father in the first film, she’s brilliant in her own right, the makers of the film know that her death wasn’t appreciated in its comicbook version. All of these things told the audience, that Gwen Stacy is safe, she’ll make it out alive. We saw the film only to have our hope ripped out with her death in the final act of the film, and it felt cheap.

Well, unlike the vast majority of us, Valente actually did something about it. She couldn’t redo Gwen Stacy’s story or any of the women who had been treated so harshly by comic book writers (copyright problems), so she wrote about characters who bore eerie similarities to them and told their stories and told it from their perspective.

“We call ourselves the hell hath club. There’s a lot of us. We’re mostly very beautiful and very well-read and very angry. We have seen some shit.”

The Hell Hath Club is an exclusive club with limited members, they meet at the local club run by a gargoyle called Neil and they share their stories. They are the protagonists of their own stories and they tell you about that superhero you’re so impressed with. They paint a different picture than the one you’re used to seeing. That superhero, you’re so impressed by, he’s insecure, he’s vain, hes full of himself and sees nothing beyond his own ambition. These women were the cautionary tales, these were the mistakes, these were the women who set them on their path, with their names reduced to being a footnote. You perhaps knew their names, but you didn’t know them, their dreams and their ambitions. There was no place for it.

While reading about the various women, Valente puts enough clues, that if you’re familiar with comics and characters, you’d be able to identify them. There’s Paige Embry (Gwen Stacy), Julia Ash (Jean Grey), Pauine Ketch (Herleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn), Blue Bayou (Mera, Queen of Atlantis), Daisy Green (Karen Page) and finally Samantha Dane (Alexandra DeWitt, she has the dubious honour of literally being the woman in the refrigerator) In Deadtown, these women finally have a space for their own lives, their stories. They’re done being pawns, they’re done being used, they’re done playing second fiddle. Most importantly, they find each other, a sisterhood of women of understanding and acceptance.

“What’s the difference between being dead and having a boyfriend? Death sticks around.”

This book is so engaging and well written that it’s close to impossible to set it aside. It’s incredibly clever especially with some of the names. Case in point, a character called Retcon. Retcon is a fairly common term in comics, it refers to when writers change the character, their appearance or their powers, their origin or their narrative arc. Valente creates a character called Retcon to call out those times when a character is changed so that they fit neatly into a box. I especially appreciated this.

It’s also a short read, so it doesn’t take long to get through it. Despite it’s length (or lack thereof) Valente does a brilliant job of really putting you inside the story that the women are narrating, she makes sure that you share in their anger, frustration and heartbreak. And more than that, she gives a fitting conclusion to these amazing characters who were so callously used and then dumped. As someone who read and loved comics for as long as I can remember, I didn’t know just how much I needed this book till I actually read it.

“Never give up your voice for a man, you fucking guppy.”

[chrissybooksandberries]

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M Valente

This book was mostly character based and it was so well done. I felt so much anger from the characters in this book and it was justified. I think this is a must-read for comic fans because it’s a great female perspective on how women are treated in the comic story lines.

[the-knights-who-say-book]

The Refrigerator Monologues

Rating: ★★★★★

Blurb: A ferocious riff on women in superhero comics... a series of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who’s ever been “refrigerated”: comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero’s storyline will progress. In an entirely new and original superhero universe, Valente subversively explores these ideas and themes in the superhero genre, treating them with the same love, gravity, and humor as her fairy tales. After all, superheroes are our new fairy tales and these six women have their own stories to share.

I'm on the verge of tears. Nothing in this book is okay but everything is wonderful. I love it to death. (Yes, ironic)

From the depths of Deadtown the Hell Hath Club gathers in the Lethe Café to share what happened to them. How they died, what they died for, how they were pushed aside. As you'd expect, this book goes after refrigerator narratives with a sledgehammer, a whole lot of bitter coffee, and Catherynne M. Valente's brilliant, elaborate, acerbic style. Though the copyrighted comics characters she goes after are given new names for her new universe, they're thrust right into our spotlight.

Deadtown is the most creative afterlife-world I've ever read, and the rules of death are ridiculously poetic and sadly funny. The characters are original and complex. And the superpowers! I'm pretty sure Catherine M. Valente has casually created a more spectacular superhero world than anything Marvel or DC ever came near just for her sweet heart-clawing little 160-page novel. Seriously, I think she messed with some kind of innate cosmic power of the universe to write this.

For all the coldness of the so-called refrigerator, The Refrigerator Monologues warms you up. Because it's putting the story back into the hands of the women. Because in telling how they lost, Catherynne M. Valente has somehow made them the winners.

[balancingbookact]

Best & Worst Books of 2017:

I had a pretty great reading year in 2017 and read quite a few bangers. Some honourable mentions go out to the Sensational She-Hulk series, Jessica Jones: the Pulse, The Stand, The Drawing of the Three, American Gods, Scott Pilgrim (a re-read so it doesn’t count), The Dark Prophecy, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and It Devours! All good books but now for the actual list.

Best:

1. The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 2), by Rick Riordan.

I could easily put The Ship of the Dead here either, but while I think that book had more crowd-pleasing moments, this one has better pacing and an over-all more engaging plot. This series is great. Not only is Magnus a great lead, but all the side characters are fleshed out and have their own stories to tell. The Norse mythology is so readable in Rick Riordan’s style and I don’t care what people say, I will read anything this man writes. Keep ‘em coming, Rick!

2. Islam and Contemporary Civilisation by Halim Rane.

I had to read this for a class at uni and I have never enjoyed a text book more. This book reminded me of what reading is all about: learning something from another person’s perspective. I learned so much about the Islamic religion and culture through this book and Professor Rane’s tutes, and it was one of the most enriching classes I’ve ever taken.

3. Noteworthy by Riley Redgate.

Everyone stop what you’re doing and read this book about a girl who disguises herself as a boy and joins an all-male a cappella group at her prestigious art school. With a premise like that you’re probably expecting some Pitch Perfect/She’s the Man hybrid, and while it is funny, it’s also very heartfelt and delves into conversations about sexuality, gender, and gender performance that often get over-looked in cross-dressing stories. Jordan, our protagonist, is such a real person, and all the connections she forms are touching in their own, unique ways. I haven’t read a book that made me feel so connected to a character since Fangirl. Read it.

4. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

I also read Last Night I Sang to the Monster, which could have easily made this list as well but I think I like Sammy and Juliana just a little bit more. Anyone who thinks Aristotle and Dante was a fluke is wrong. This man is not some one-hit wonder. His books all hold such a soft tenderness, and even when he doesn’t shy away from some of the brutalities of life, there’s always hope for the characters. Sammy and Juliana is about a town of mostly Latinx people living in the U.S in the 60s. It paints such an amazing picture of what life was like for these people, and is one of the best coming of age (I guess?) stories I’ve ever read.

5. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente.

I already wrote a glowing review of this on my goodreads (check me out here) but this book is everything I’ve ever wanted. It takes a look at the ‘Women in Refrigerators’ trope in superhero comics, which involves female characters being killed or otherwise brutalised for the development of a male characters story and blows it wide open. It looks at looks at six female characters (with the names and stories altered slightly): Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn, Karen Page, Queen Mera, and Alexandra DeWitt, and tells their stories and how pissed they are about being dead. It’s great commentary on the genre and Valente’s writing is just so raw and passionate. It evoked many emotions in me and I will die if more people don’t start reading this book.

6. How to Train Your Dragon, books 10-12 (How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel, How to Betray A Dragon’s Hero, and How to Fight A Dragon’s Fury).

I finally finished this series after years of reading it and let me tell you right now, this is one of the best series ever written, period. The first seven books can be read as individual adventures, but it’s only once you get to the later part of the series that you see all the threads that have been carefully left to be woven together in a feat of masterful story-telling. This series has one of the greatest Heroes Journey stories ever put to page. I will fight anyone who says differently. I can’t pick a favourite out of these three, they’re all amazing. I just implore you to look past some of the outward silliness and read these books. You won’t regret it.

7. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.

After five long years John Green has finally come out with a new book, and let me tell you, the wait was worth it. Some people may fight me on this but I think this is John Green’s best book he ever done wrote. His books have always been personal but seeing the thoughts and feelings Aza has when dealing with OCD, you can’t help but see the heart that has been put into this book. The portrayal of mental illness and the hopelessness one can feel when confronted by this invisible, seemingly unstoppable force, is so genuine, and anyone’s who’s ever suffered with something similar will see their experience reflected back at them with such clarity it’ll break your heart a bit. A damn good book.  

Worst:

None of these books were really terrible, I was just expecting more from them, and I didn’t get it. This list is short though, so there’s that at least. Sadly, here we are:

1. We Go Forward by Alison Evans.

I picked this book up almost solely for the ace rep, and while I have no issues with how that was done, everything else was just so ‘meh’. A story about two Australian girls who meet while traveling in Europe and decided to keep going together sounds like a good time, but instead it was an aimless, meandering mess. We have a basic understanding of these characters from vague backstories, but it never amounts to anything. There’s no real plot, no driving force and no conceivable aim in sight. It’s just a couple of girls, who have some baggage, strolling around Europe and not really focussing on the budding friendship. Just a bit of a let-down, really.  

2. Illuminae (the Illuminae Files, book 1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

This was probably the biggest disappointment of the year. I was so hyped for this book and waited specifically so I could listen to the audiobook and when I did I quickly discovered it just wasn’t really all that good. A book about a colony of people fleeing from a menacing company that destroyed their planet, mixed in with a zombie plague on the spaceships sounds like it would be awesome! Unfortunately so much of the potential was sacrificed for the alternative format, which didn’t really do anything for the story and just seemed like it was there to look cool. When you have a man with saw raw, visceral prose as Jay Kristoff and you limit his narration, you are doing a disservice to the people. Jay flies better as a solo operative, in my opinion. 

3. We Awaken by Calista Lynne.

Another book with ace rep that I was excited for that let me down. This story of a girl who meets a beautiful woman version of the Sandman, and their ensuing romance sounded so promising, unfortunately this book lacked direction. Our characters mill about like some couple in a domestic fanfic (which are great but that’s not what I signed up for), and the book tries to throw in some obstacles at the last minute, but everything is resolved so conveniently that it pretty much made no difference. The writing was sub-par and read like a first draft, which hurts me to say so, but it’s true. 

Here’s to another year of reading in 2018! *releases party-popper*

[rhetoricandlogic]

2018 in books (including the December list)

In many ways this was an exceptionally good year. 

For one: I learned about web-serials; well, not exactly: learned. I knew of them already but since I’m not a serial type of reader (watcher), they never drew my curiosity. Until I discovered the Wandering Inn. But, since I’m not a serial type, I converted and download all of it, that had been there (up to chapter 5.6) to .mobi and then vanished into a reading hole for 2 month to devour all the 9.800 pages that had been written then. This was a completely new experience for me. To linger in the same world for such a long time - I never did the like before. I mean, yes, re-read what there is of Stormlight Archive and Kingkiller Chronicle and occasionally Gentleman Bastard is all well and fine - and over in 3 weeks or so - it doesn’t quite compare. Will repeat next year.

For another: the Murderbot series is finished and that was The Best. I re-read the complete series just to enjoy having the story in one go and then resolved to give the adult books by Martha Wells a complete go, so Ile-Rien it was, followed by The Bone City. Wells is rapidly climbing the list of my fave authors.

Still another: you can’t beat Brandon Sanderson when it comes to creativity and after years of only watching I finally read all of Steelheart and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Even more: new author to watch: Claire North. The Gameshouse series is my fav but this author is so very versatile it’s astonishing. Do recommend, though let it be said that 84K is best not read while depressed.

Aliette de Bodard and T. Kingfisher - enough said. Both already on my fave list since forever. Same as Martha Wells: I have no idea why these women are so underrated. Seriously, what is wrong with readers?

Also: reduce money spent on books by at least 25%. Mission accomplished. Far less than the over 100 books/year I’ve read in the past.

Jade City - Fonda Lee

The Girl Who Dared to Think - Bella Forrest

The Girl Who Dared to Stand - Bella Forrest (abort series ^^ )

Winterglass - Benjanun Sriduangkaew

Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh (re-read)

Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders

Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson

Mitosis - Brandon Sanderson

Firefight - Brandon Sanderson

Calamity - Brandon Sanderson

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls - Aliette de Bodard

The Manual of Detection - Jedediah Berry

Children of Thorns, Children of Water - Aliette de Bodard

The Winged Histories - Sofia Samatar

Spoonbenders - Daryl Gregory

The Stars Askew - Rjurik Davidson

Binti - Nnedi Okorafor

Binti Home - Nnedi Okorafor

Binti The Night Masquerade - Nnedi Okorafor

Traitor’s Blade - Sebastien de Castell

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons

Knight’s Shadow - Sebastien de Castell

The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor Lavalle

Clockwork Boys - T. Kingfisher

The Wonder Engine - T. Kingfisher

Acadie - David Hutchinson

The Tea Master and the Detective - Aliette de Bodard

Clade - James Bradley

Artificial Condition - Martha Wells

Penric’s Demon - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Toymakers - Robert Dinsdale

Space Opera - Catherynne M. Valente

The Refrigerator Monologues - Catherynne M. Valente

Silently and Very Fast - Catherynne M. Valente

Prophethy’s Ruin - Sam Bowring

Iraq +100 - Editor: Hassan Blasin

The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien

The End of the Day - Claire North

The Serpent - Claire North

The Thief - Claire North

The Master - Claire North

Revenant Gun - Yoon Ha Lee

Briony and Roses - T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher - Patricia A. McKillip

The Raven and the Reindeer - T. Kingfisher

Summer in Orcus - T. Kingfisher

The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang

In Shadows We Fall - Devin Madson

The Blood of Whisperers - Devin Madson

The Father of Lies - K. J. Parker

I Reap You Not - Catelyn Winona

All Our Wrong Todays -  Elan Mastai

Night’s Master - Tanith Lee

Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells

In The Stacks - Scott Lynch (author-improved and otherwise revised version)

Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire

The Wandering Inn (9.800 pages of it)  - pirateaba

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard

The Owls of Juttshatan - Benjanun Sriduangkaew

After-Swarn -  Benjanun Sriduangkaew

84K - Claire North

Nyx - D. M. Livingston

Passing Strange - Ellen Klages

Siphon - Jay Boyce (the 1st volume and then up to chapter 88)

Witchmark - C. J. Polk

Death’s Master - Tanith Lee

The Element of Fire - Martha Wells

Slade House - David Mitchell

City of Bones - Martha Wells (re-read)

The Decent of Monsters - JY Yang

The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells

Swordheart - T. Kingfisher

In The Vanishers Palace - Aliette de Bodard

Senlin Ascends - Josiah Bancroft

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

The Wizard Hunters - Martha Wells

2017

2016

2015

2014

Not entirely sure I’ll continue the lists and reviews at this point ...

... but if you like to talk about books, give recs (or ask for some) I’ll be always here for you.

[shadowtearling]

DECEMBER 2018 — We made it! December is over, 2018 is over, and it has been a year. Before I post all my year in review posts (there’s quite a number lmao be prepared), let’s first talk about all the books I read this month. I enjoyed a lot all of them, which is nice.

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

I knew nothing about this book when I went into it, so it was a pleasant surprise to meet Sir Gawain during the couple’s travels. It’s a quiet novel exploring the dangers of forgetting and the pain of remembering. The ending is exactly where you think it would go, and I was sad about it.

The Subtle Knife & The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

I’m trying not to insult myself because it’s a new year and I need to try something new, so I’ll say that this series was mind boggling and definitely something that I need to reread in the future. If you look at how I feel about the books individually, I’d say I was disappointed about all of them. Book one took forever for me to get used to, book two felt lackluster because Lyra’s presence wasn’t as prominent (and she’s why I loved the first book so much), and then book three had a whole chapter on how a certain species worked which I thought was entirely unnecessary (nor was the ending satisfying). But as one unit? It’s great. It gave me so much to think about and got me attached to unexpected characters. Lyra is near and dear to my heart.

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

If I read this physically, I really don’t think I would have gotten past Julia Ash’s story just because Valente’s writing can get overly complicated at times. However, once you get used to it, it’s easier to understand and enjoy the stories. This is a set of six call out posts for the men of comics who use women to further their story. Knowing who Valente was talking about isn’t really necessary because she crafts enough of her own superhero world that things still make sense, but when you know, it’s funnier. I loved the Batman and Aquaman shade.

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Listen. Listen. I love Beauty and the Beast. This was no exception. The writing was great, though there were times that it felt a little repetitive. I think the Beast’s perspective was extremely interesting and because it was always so short, it helped propel the story forward and get you to turn the page again and again. (I also like the blood splatters). I love the fantasy world of the Beast, which is why it’s a shame that so little is known about it beyond what Yeva sees. Speaking of Yeva, girl was a whole dumbass. She never thought to put two and two together while she was captive and honestly that was the most common sense knowledge that I was astounded at how stupid she was. I still liked her despite that. This is very traditional Beauty and the Beast, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

This is a very short but powerful poem. I read it twice and cried. The watercolor illustrations were beautiful. I don’t have much to say. It was good, and all author profits for the book go directly to a charity helping the refugees.

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

GAURI AND VIKRAM GAVE ME LIFE. I can’t begin to describe how much I loved this book (and how much better it was than its predecessor!). Firstly the two main characters are just so funny as individuals and together. The story was interesting and more compelling. Gauri’s intimacy issues were hashtag relatable. The writing was still extremely flowery, and sometimes the characters did things that weren’t previously hinted at (like "He didn’t take his hand off my back” but it was never mentioned earlier that he put it there in the first place). BUT the good outweigh the little nitpicky things I had about it. I put this off for so long because I thought I would have trouble with it, but the only trouble I had was putting it down to go to work. This was so good. Please.

Returning a Borrowed Tongue: An Anthology of Filipino and Filipino American Poetry edited by Nick Carbó

This is the poetry collection I never knew I needed. I’ve been writing emo kid poetry since I was in 5th grade as a coping mechanism for the trauma of assimilation that I was going through. To have a whole collection of voices that resemble my own and echo the very struggles I put out in the world back into my heart is indescribable. This collection gave me a lot to think about in terms of my culture and my language, and I even got to talk with my best friend about this very thing. We’re having a crisis about it. Most importantly, I was inspired to write more poetry that explores my personal struggle about staying connected to my roots and what it means to be Filipino. I can’t wait to read more and learn more in the future!

[redheadedfemme]

"The key to happiness is letting go of that idea of perfection"

Catherynne M. Valente is a writer I like far better at shorter lengths. I couldn't finish her exhausting, over-the-top novel Space Opera, but I really liked her long novella/short novel collection of dead-superhero-girlfriends, The Refrigerator Monologues. The latter turned the unwelcome phenomenon of "fridging" inside out...just as this unsettling novella does to the story of (view spoiler) and patriarchal religion in general. The creepiness begins with the very first sentence--I was made for him--and goes on from there, as the first several pages are vivid descriptions of Sophia's perfect house, perfect husband, and perfect life. But the cracks in this shining perfection soon start to show, from her discovery of a hairbrush holding coarse black hair completely unlike her own, to a fingerbone hidden in her kitchen knife holder, to her "friends" in Arcadia Gardens trying to gaslight her into disbelieving the evidence of her own eyes, to the question everyone keeps asking her: Are you happy, Sophia? Of course she is. She is, isn't she? Until she and her husband go see a play in the Arcadia Gardens community theater which is a retelling of the day when they moved in and she realizes her neighbors are trying to tell her something...and her husband snaps at her, which he has never done before, and tells her he has to concentrate on his work (something dealing with animals) and won't be home that night. So she goes home and she tears her perfect house apart, and finds bones and desiccated organs and bottles of blood and locks of hair tied in ribbons--so many locks of hair that aren't hers, of dead women who came before. Then she runs away into the night and meets a stranger she has never before seen in Arcadia Gardens, who tells her what this perfect place and who her perfect husband really is. I use the spoiler tag above, but I'm going to blow it open here, because Valente lays bare the horror that has always resided in the story of Adam and Eve (and Lilith), and the toxic masculinity most religions generate. It begins with the woman being made for the man instead of herself, and culminates in Adam's extensive loving descriptions of how his Father coddled him and pumped him full of entitlement, and didn't object when he murdered wife after wife, because "I deserve to be happy. I am the only man in the world and Eden was built for me! If I do not deserve happiness, who does?" At least Lilith manages to escape (it was her hair on the brush Sophia discovered) but unfortunately no one saves Sophia. The ending to this book is an utter downer, because the next wife is Eve, who repeats the same refrain: I was made for him. I'm sure this will be a marmite book: other reviews I've seen have people either really love it or really hate it. I think it's a targeted gut punch, especially for people with religious backgrounds. (The author also creates a list of HOA rules for her chapter headings, but as they go along they devolve into tighter and increasingly absurd restrictions on behavior, which is an obvious analogy to what holy books--of whatever stripe--and higher-ups in religious hierarchies try to do to their followers.) At the end, it's enough to make the reader (or at least this reader) wish Lilith would return to Arcadia Gardens with a tank and a machine gun and lay waste to the place. "I was made for him," indeed. Fuck that.

[whilereadingandwalking]

25 Favorite Reads of 2017

Day 24: The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, and it didn’t disappoint. As I wrote in my review, “A thinly veiled Harley Quinn falls for the Joker, holding over his head the secret identity of his nemesis. A play on Gwen Stacy is kidnapped by a man who wants the powers she accidentally unleashed. A ferocious Atlantean Queen has the same exact powers as the man who loves her on land, but he keeps the glory for himself. It might sound like these are all simple twists on the stories we know, but they aren’t. They are wholly original, with rich, complex voices and tales, and new creations that are beyond what you’ve read before.” I highly recommend this for comics fans particularly, but also for anyone who loves strong women and is tired of seeing them pushed aside for the stories of men.

[tithenai]

Lightspeed Column: THE STRANGE CASE OF THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER and THE REFRIGERATOR MONOLOGUES

Lightspeed Column: THE STRANGE CASE OF THE ALCHEMIST’S DAUGHTER and THE REFRIGERATOR MONOLOGUES

The September issue of Lightspeed magazine contains, among many other fine things, a column in which I review Theodora Goss’ The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter and Catherynne M. Valente’s The Refrigerator Monologues. These books make a beautiful double bill, and reading them back to back was intensely gratifying; they’re very much two sides of a coin where women’s anger is concerned,…

[halflingkima]

Mid-Year Book Freakout

It’s that time of year again (jfc). First up, some stats:

I’ve read a total of 57 books thus far

(36 physical, 9 ebooks, 12 audiobooks)

(~13,500 pages, ~130 hours)

I’m tracking DNFs this year, and so far I have a total of 6

I’ve read 36 novels, 13 graphic novels, 4 novellas, 2 nonfiction, and 2 short story anthologies

My most common rating so far is 4 stars, with 19 books

My average raging is 3.37 stars

I’ll tuck the questions and specifics under a cut. If I’ve read the book, I’ll link to my review. If I haven’t, I’ll link to the book’s page for a synopsis/other info. ✌️

1. Best book of 2023 so far

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

I haven’t had a lot of 5-star reads this year, but the ones I have had have been pretty impressive. I think this one wins so far because it delivered exactly what I expected and yet also sparked something special somehow. It’s got vampires, it’s got vampire-zombies, it’s got spies, it’s got complex politics and courtly rituals, it’s got polyamory and angry mobs. I loved the Bone Witch trilogy by Chupeco last year and so far this series delivers the exact same vibes aged up imo. Cannot wait for the rest of it.

2. Best sequel of 2023 so far

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

Had this pre-ordered last year and then put it off because I thought there was no way a sequel could live up to Boyfriend Material, my favorite current book. Finally bit the bullet and reread the first book for my birthday and not as good as I remembered – it’s better. Kept the momentum going and powered through the sequel – and it’s just as good. Idk what it is about these two puzzle-pieced characters (bc imo it’s one of Hall’s weaker larger ensembles) but they truly Hit. It’s likely that this duology found me at the exact right time in my own life, but we’ll put that to the test in the future 😉

3. New release at the top of the TBR

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

I’m really not too up on new releases, I kinda just see something shiny on the shelf and go “ooh!” Of course, Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang is high on my priorities list, but going through these questions reminded me of Chang-Eppig’s new debut. I’ve really not heard anything about it, but I remember the promos pitching an eastern pirate story and after Amina Al-Sirafi I am even MORE on board. Gimme.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

10 Things that Never Happened by Alexis Hall

Again, I’m not super big on new releases, but I did gasp out loud when I saw this got a cover and immediately hunt down the release date. In the Boyfriend Material/London Calling universe, following a new couple (and I believe one of the men is trans 👀). Favorite author. Favorite series by favorite author. What else is there to say.

Wait oh my god honorable mention for the previous question: Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall. Slipped my mind because I’m not really into historical romances but it just came out last month, I believe, and I wanna get my queer little claws on anything Hall writes.

5. Biggest disappointment

This is What it Sounds Like by Susan Rogers

The concept of this book was so cool to me, but it ultimately devolved into basic nonfiction sludge. The book essentially teaches terminology to explain music taste – do you like realism or more synthetic sounds? do you prefer something comfortable or innovative? what kind of rhythm is your favorite? – but it basically accomplishes that in the introduction. I wanted it to push further in some direction; give me a full-out music theory textbook, or outline home experiments for me to replicate. The majority of the book felt like a fluffed up paper with a lot of anecdotes.

6. Biggest surprise

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente

This is a weird one because I’m doing a challenge with myself which leads to random pulls from my library shelves. So far I’ve had quite a few (pleasant) surprises from this challenge, because having heard of none of these books before, I have no expectations whatsoever. This one wins because it’s the one I loved the most. I’d heard of this author in terms of lyrical writing, and I’d read Comfort Me With Apples last year, so what I found surprising was the tone. Valente really matches the voice of comic books and it made the stories land just that much better. One of my favorite books of the year that I pulled practically out of thin air. 😅

7. Favorite new author

Shelley Parker-Chan (She Who Became the Sun)

This one’s really rough, considering I’ve only just read a lot of big names this year. Honorable mentions go to R.F. Kuang, Seanan Maguire, and Kieron Gillen – their books are absolutely on my favorites list for the full year. But Parker-Chan’s writing really hit some buttons in me. I had started with the audiobook, but had to change back to physical so I could languish in the writing and puzzle-piece the plot together as I read. The politics, the gender expression and exploration, the simultaneous moving pieces, the descriptions of both tenderness and violence, everything in that book was exquisite, and I’m really looking forward to more from them.

8. New fictional crush

Ash from Die: Fantasy Heartbreaker & Die: Split the Party

First of all: she’s hot as hell. Second, she’s got this insane power/complex feelings about it dichotomy going on. tbqh the majority of my attraction is probably due to the narrative tension of not knowing What Her Deal Is, you know? In the “real world” Ash is a 40yo depressed man with a wife and some complex feelings about his past. In the “game world” she’s a one-eyed, white-haired, silver-tongued sorceress who had a kid with a vampire. There’s some very vague bi implications in a really early issue, but since then theyve been biding their time with the reveal and I am weak and it is working on me 🙃

9. New favorite character

Jack from the Wayward Children series

My favorite character in the confines and context of their story is General Ouyang in She Who Became the Sun, but since I’ve already rambled about that, I also really liked Jack from the Wayward Children series – funnily enough, I liked her more in the first book rather than in her own story, but regardless; same character. She just feels like such a rounded and realistic character to me and she fits the universe of the series so perfectly. I love her aesthetic and her scientific curiosity (i.e. wanting to take things apart and rebuild them) and her little particularities (her germaphobia, her routines). She’s just a cool kid and I love her.

10. Book that made you cry

MEM by Bethany C. Morrow, The First Ten Years by Meg Bashwiner and Joseph Fink, The Change by Kirsten Miller

I don’t believe a book has truly made me cry yet this year. Tbqh, I’ve simply not been in the mood lol. However, I’ve read quite a few emotionally moving books, so I’m taking the chance to squeeze a few extra books in and listing the ones that I can remember getting a little misty-eyed at.

MEM was a very interesting novella, and I didn’t expect the romance at all, let alone to be so affected by it. The First Ten Years was a precious team-memoir, but having not read anything from Meg before, her writing unexpectedly spoke to me, and her take on being a women in the 2010s hit close to home. The Change was an excellent novel all around, and maybe I was just a little over-tired, but the deaths of the young women and specifically their relationships with their mothers really got to me.

11. Book that made you happy

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Of the ones I haven’t said anything about yet, this is probably the one. It’s a weird pull but it made me happy in the most singular, unique, specific way. I haven’t written a review for it yet because it’s. Difficult to explain. The band in the book is not 1d. but it’s 1d. It’s written very specifically for girls who were 1d fans on the semi-older end of the spectrum while the band was active, who wrote/read RPF but didn’t actually believe any of the boys were dating. If that niche makes sense. Anyway. It just made me feel Extremely Seen in good, bad, AND neutral ways. Also made me laugh/scream out loud at points. Wild book.

12. Favorite book to film adaptation of the year

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This is fully a cop-out, having neither read the book nor watched the series. However – it’s the only one I could think of that even came out this year. AND. the vibes look absolutely exquisite. The promos for the show actually made me wanna read the book, cause I didn’t really plan to lol

13. Most beautiful book obtained so far this year

Glitterland by Alexis Hall (re-release)

Pre-ordered this last year because I was so hyped about it being physically published but then it showed up looking like THIS. Love it. And the sequel’s coming soon with a cover by what appears to be the same artist and I love it so much. Pwetty.

14. What needs to be read by the end of the year

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese, Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Yet again taking the chance to squeeze a few extra in, but basically I gotta get these library loans taken care of lol. And I got Legends and Lattes for my birthday and I am more shocked than anyone I’ve not yet devoured it.

[madscientistjournal]

This week we review The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente. 

http://madscientistjournal.org/2017/07/review-of-the-refrigerator-monologues-by-catherynne-valente/

[bookish-thinking]

Review: “The Refrigerator Monologues” by Catherynne M. Valente

These are the feminist superhero stories we needed to here, the lamentations and complaints of the women from comic books that are too often only there to advance the male heroes development, be their flat and sexy love interest, birth and raise their children at the expanse of their own (superhero) career, suffer from the Smurfette syndrome of being the only female in an otherwise all-male group, and / or are too often simply killed off, again mostly to advance the hero. Here they tell their stories in a wacky version of the underworld where they have formed a kind of self-help group. It is sassy and brutally honest, spilling the tea on these tropes and the male heroes. Never using any of the real names or titles, it is nevertheless pretty clear who is telling her story here, masked by some clever word plays and not-quite-the-real-thing-but-pretty-close parallels: Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn and Mera are among them, plus some others I could not quite identify (though I am not even sure if they have real counterparts). I loved it, it makes you think differently about the movies you love because you are too distracted by the awesome action and visuals to truly think about the female perspective. One tiny piece of criticism that I have would be that all the of women speak in the same sassy voice: sure, they are all pissed off, but I don't really think a Gwen Stacy would talk the same way Harley Quinn does.

[outlawno451]

via Smart Bitches, Trashy Boo...

[twtd11]

In The Refrigerator Monologues, Catherynne M. Valente gives comics’ dead women their voices back. Oooohhhh.