april reading
Apr. 30th, 2025 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
screechfoxDid I forget to do a mid-April post here? Yes.
This was the month for new releases, and also the month of Carmilla, apparently.
--
Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys
Finally got around to this after my Jane Eyre re-read in March. It was intriguing, and I like the glimpses of the social dynamics at play, but overall didn't really click with me.
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender, by Kit Heyam
Very interesting! More academic than I'm used to reading, which meant that the writing still felt a little... defensive? to me? But a lot of good insights into areas of history I now want to learn more about.
Everything is Tuberculosis, by John Green
Really well-written - John Green knows how to write for a popular audience, who knew? - and felt like it gave me a really good overview of the history and social context of tuberculosis, all threaded through with a personal narrative that nearly made me cry.
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar
A lovely little fairytale in similarly poetic prose to Time War, this flowed very nicely. Also, somehow the second book I've read this year with a connection to the ballad of The Two Sisters (and my favourite).
Stag Dance, by Torrey Peters
It always takes me a bit to get into the headspace for Peters' writing. She has a way of taking an unflinching look at the messy, sometimes ugly, ways that people relate to themselves and the world. My favourite story was probably the titular one, but they were all good in different ways.
The Murderbot Diaries, 1-5, by Martha Wells
I find the Murderbot books a little like the Discworld books - I really enjoy them while I'm reading, they're well-crafted and funny, and I forget nearly everything as soon as I'm done.
These were a great reread, though, and I remember more than I did after my first read in 2020. The fifth book was new to me, and I liked it being longer, and how ART gets interactions with non-Murderbot characters. I'm planning to buy 6 and 7 ASAP.
Young Elizabeth: Princess, Prisoner, Queen, by Nicola Tallis
A random grab in a train station because a book I wanted was on buy one, get one half price, and I'm weak. It's about Elizabeth I's early life, the twenty-five years from birth to coronation.
I have the basic knowledge of the Tudors by being a British schoolchild with a lot of books, but I'd never really thought about Elizabeth's early life. Tallis explores the context around the events of her youth really well, with various political and familial forces at work.
Private Revolutions, by Yuan Yang
An interesting look at the lives of four women in modern China, which made a great follow-up to Wild Swans earlier this year, although it isn't so broad in scope. There's a lot in here about the rural-urban divide, class differences, and the education system, in particular.
The Poppy War, by R.F. Kuang
I thought this was fine as I was reading it - nothing stunning or particularly compelling, but functional - but the more I thought about it afterwards, the more I soured on it. Kuang has a reputation for big ideas and poor or unnuanced execution, and I think that's at play here. I've read some reviews of the second book, and I don't think I'm rushing to get it from the library anytime soon.
(Also, I still don't know whether reading a couple of books around recent Chinese history - and about rural girls struggling with the set-up of the education system - this year helped or hindered my experience. Because this sure is the Sino-Japanese War but with magic and a lightly wacky cast of characters.)
The Chromatic Fantasy, by H.A.
This, though, I adored. It's a fantasy graphic novel focusing on a T4T relationship between two thieves, one of whom has a deal with the devil. Stylistically gorgeous, gleefully anachronistic, unafraid of sexuality. Unconstrained by anything except perhaps the physical limitations of Doing Art.
It is, admittedly, more vibes than plot - but what delightful vibes they are. The author has a behind-the-scenes zine and I think is working on a sequel comic, which I'm anticipating eagerly.
Hungerstone, by Kat Dunn
The beauty of the library is that you can request a book that you're curious but dubious about, and sometimes they'll get it for you and you don't have to spend any money.
As a retelling of Carmilla, this was not good. As a novel in general, I also didn't like it! It was fairly blandly predictable to me, and I think it could have been half the length.
Nimona, by N.D. Stevenson
Still in the graphic novel zone, I thought I'd finally reread this, like I was meaning to to prepare for watching the movie... two years ago. It still holds up! It's very 2013 Tumblr, but I mean that in an affectionate way, and I've always liked the art style.
Carmilla and Laura, by S.D. Simper
Another retelling of Carmilla, and another I didn't like. (This one I spent money on, too.) This one skews too close to the original - in places reading like the original has just been slightly rephrased - while also removing some of the horror and ambiguity, and adding a subplot about unwanted suitors.
(Also, pettily: Carmilla's anagram names habit is stated to be because she enjoys it, and not the much funnier original that vampires just have to do that.)
This was the month for new releases, and also the month of Carmilla, apparently.
--
Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys
Finally got around to this after my Jane Eyre re-read in March. It was intriguing, and I like the glimpses of the social dynamics at play, but overall didn't really click with me.
Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender, by Kit Heyam
Very interesting! More academic than I'm used to reading, which meant that the writing still felt a little... defensive? to me? But a lot of good insights into areas of history I now want to learn more about.
Everything is Tuberculosis, by John Green
Really well-written - John Green knows how to write for a popular audience, who knew? - and felt like it gave me a really good overview of the history and social context of tuberculosis, all threaded through with a personal narrative that nearly made me cry.
The River Has Roots, by Amal El-Mohtar
A lovely little fairytale in similarly poetic prose to Time War, this flowed very nicely. Also, somehow the second book I've read this year with a connection to the ballad of The Two Sisters (and my favourite).
Stag Dance, by Torrey Peters
It always takes me a bit to get into the headspace for Peters' writing. She has a way of taking an unflinching look at the messy, sometimes ugly, ways that people relate to themselves and the world. My favourite story was probably the titular one, but they were all good in different ways.
The Murderbot Diaries, 1-5, by Martha Wells
I find the Murderbot books a little like the Discworld books - I really enjoy them while I'm reading, they're well-crafted and funny, and I forget nearly everything as soon as I'm done.
These were a great reread, though, and I remember more than I did after my first read in 2020. The fifth book was new to me, and I liked it being longer, and how ART gets interactions with non-Murderbot characters. I'm planning to buy 6 and 7 ASAP.
Young Elizabeth: Princess, Prisoner, Queen, by Nicola Tallis
A random grab in a train station because a book I wanted was on buy one, get one half price, and I'm weak. It's about Elizabeth I's early life, the twenty-five years from birth to coronation.
I have the basic knowledge of the Tudors by being a British schoolchild with a lot of books, but I'd never really thought about Elizabeth's early life. Tallis explores the context around the events of her youth really well, with various political and familial forces at work.
Private Revolutions, by Yuan Yang
An interesting look at the lives of four women in modern China, which made a great follow-up to Wild Swans earlier this year, although it isn't so broad in scope. There's a lot in here about the rural-urban divide, class differences, and the education system, in particular.
The Poppy War, by R.F. Kuang
I thought this was fine as I was reading it - nothing stunning or particularly compelling, but functional - but the more I thought about it afterwards, the more I soured on it. Kuang has a reputation for big ideas and poor or unnuanced execution, and I think that's at play here. I've read some reviews of the second book, and I don't think I'm rushing to get it from the library anytime soon.
(Also, I still don't know whether reading a couple of books around recent Chinese history - and about rural girls struggling with the set-up of the education system - this year helped or hindered my experience. Because this sure is the Sino-Japanese War but with magic and a lightly wacky cast of characters.)
The Chromatic Fantasy, by H.A.
This, though, I adored. It's a fantasy graphic novel focusing on a T4T relationship between two thieves, one of whom has a deal with the devil. Stylistically gorgeous, gleefully anachronistic, unafraid of sexuality. Unconstrained by anything except perhaps the physical limitations of Doing Art.
It is, admittedly, more vibes than plot - but what delightful vibes they are. The author has a behind-the-scenes zine and I think is working on a sequel comic, which I'm anticipating eagerly.
Hungerstone, by Kat Dunn
The beauty of the library is that you can request a book that you're curious but dubious about, and sometimes they'll get it for you and you don't have to spend any money.
As a retelling of Carmilla, this was not good. As a novel in general, I also didn't like it! It was fairly blandly predictable to me, and I think it could have been half the length.
Nimona, by N.D. Stevenson
Still in the graphic novel zone, I thought I'd finally reread this, like I was meaning to to prepare for watching the movie... two years ago. It still holds up! It's very 2013 Tumblr, but I mean that in an affectionate way, and I've always liked the art style.
Carmilla and Laura, by S.D. Simper
Another retelling of Carmilla, and another I didn't like. (This one I spent money on, too.) This one skews too close to the original - in places reading like the original has just been slightly rephrased - while also removing some of the horror and ambiguity, and adding a subplot about unwanted suitors.
(Also, pettily: Carmilla's anagram names habit is stated to be because she enjoys it, and not the much funnier original that vampires just have to do that.)
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Date: 2025-04-30 09:11 pm (UTC)