Reading Wednesday
Nov. 11th, 2020 03:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyJust finished: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
adlkgflsrkt;hks;rtlhk;srtlkpwe ahhhhhh this was so good
What can I say? I wish I had a small fraction of the talent that she has because she writes the kind of books I wish I could write. But it's okay because she's writing them and they're the kind of books I also want to read.
There are few things I love more than magic realist books about cities, and she does for New York what many other authors have done for, say, London (except better because Jemisin is a better writer than, say, Neil Gaiman). It's in-your-face political without ever feeling didactic, beautifully written, messy but intentionally so, in the way that a love letter to a city must inherently be messy.
Also I must hand it to her for some clever writing because even though the ending was signposted all over the place, I didn't see it coming, but as soon as the reveal happened, I went, "oh of course it's that" because it's so perfect that all of you need to read it so that we can all be impressed by it together.
Currently reading: Her Magical Pet, edited byrachelmanija.
I made an alternate cover for this one because I really like it:
![oops all coffee shop aus](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50590595923_58a3acd43b_w.jpg")
This is exactly what it says on the tin: lesbian love stories that involve some kind of magical pet, and the pet can't die during the course of the story. Neither can any of the lesbians. Seriously, do you have any idea how many dead lesbians and pets there are in sci-fi and fantasy? A lot. I appreciate any kind of anthology call-out that explicitly forbids this.
There's also a companion gay male volume that's next on my reading list. Both projects feature a lot of really incredible authors and proceeds from the sales go to OutRight Action International.
Anyway it's adorable. Romance as a genre isn't really my thing, but like, put romance in a post-apocalyptic or Gothic horror or Lovecraftian cosmic terrorscape setting, and I'm all over it. Especially if it's queer romance and there are cute animals. I needed some cozy reading after everything this year and this fits the bill.
adlkgflsrkt;hks;rtlhk;srtlkpwe ahhhhhh this was so good
What can I say? I wish I had a small fraction of the talent that she has because she writes the kind of books I wish I could write. But it's okay because she's writing them and they're the kind of books I also want to read.
There are few things I love more than magic realist books about cities, and she does for New York what many other authors have done for, say, London (except better because Jemisin is a better writer than, say, Neil Gaiman). It's in-your-face political without ever feeling didactic, beautifully written, messy but intentionally so, in the way that a love letter to a city must inherently be messy.
Also I must hand it to her for some clever writing because even though the ending was signposted all over the place, I didn't see it coming, but as soon as the reveal happened, I went, "oh of course it's that" because it's so perfect that all of you need to read it so that we can all be impressed by it together.
Currently reading: Her Magical Pet, edited by
rachelmanija. I made an alternate cover for this one because I really like it:
This is exactly what it says on the tin: lesbian love stories that involve some kind of magical pet, and the pet can't die during the course of the story. Neither can any of the lesbians. Seriously, do you have any idea how many dead lesbians and pets there are in sci-fi and fantasy? A lot. I appreciate any kind of anthology call-out that explicitly forbids this.
There's also a companion gay male volume that's next on my reading list. Both projects feature a lot of really incredible authors and proceeds from the sales go to OutRight Action International.
Anyway it's adorable. Romance as a genre isn't really my thing, but like, put romance in a post-apocalyptic or Gothic horror or Lovecraftian cosmic terrorscape setting, and I'm all over it. Especially if it's queer romance and there are cute animals. I needed some cozy reading after everything this year and this fits the bill.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 05:06 am (UTC)Yes, this, all this.
Highly recommend Molly Tanzer's Creatures of Will and Temper which is a gender swapped Picture of Dorian Gray in a world where demons exist and also a romance and does not have a tragic ending.
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Date: 2020-11-12 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 05:08 am (UTC)Oo, I'm in. You know, sometime in 2021.
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Date: 2020-11-12 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-12 08:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-13 03:10 am (UTC)I listened to it and the soundscaping was amazing.
(Also I recently learned that many people will edit their own keyboard smashes to look more keyboard smashy and I love that).
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Date: 2020-11-13 12:28 pm (UTC)I absolutely edit my keyboard smashes. My default smash is awpeorgkaperogkpawoekgpawe, which doesn't look smashy at all.
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Date: 2020-11-13 09:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-13 10:11 pm (UTC)