Space Station Mir

 Happy Top Ten Tuesday!  I am trying to write a spring TBR in line with my goals this year, so books that I already own or can get from the library or Kindle, and at least 25% by authors of color, and at least two women writers in translation. Fortunately, I have some books kicking around that should help out. Books On My Spring 2023 TBR Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare Women in Sunlight by Frances Mayes With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo LA Weather by Maria Amparo Escandon Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura The Other Man by Farhad J. Dadyburjor At the End of the Matinee by Keiichiro Hirano

  Happy International Women's Day! To celebrate, I'm doing a post on 10 amazing writers to check out if you haven't already. I've tried to range the gamut with authors from different backgrounds and identities, as well as different time periods and nationalities. These are all books I've loved. Hope you enjoy! 10 Amazing Books by Women Authors to Check Out The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers--Perfect cozy scifi--if it were TV, it would be a bottle episode where a few characters from different species spend a few days contained together and learn as much about themselves as they do each other. The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders--Such an amazingly realized world of how humans would adapt to a tidally locked planet, and the native alien culture. The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck--Fictionalized true story of a woman with a wooden leg from Virginia who became a spy in WWII Europe. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab-...

The Shadow of Theron by Kathryn Troy Published February 28, 2023 Amazon  Goodreads UBL Blurb (Provided by the Author) The powers of old are fading. A new Age is dawning.   Holy relics are all that remain of Theron's sacred legend.    Now those relics, the enchanted weapons forged by the Three-Faced Goddess to help Theron defeat the wicked Sorcerer Argoss, are disappearing.   Lysandro knows the village magistrate Marek is responsible, and he searches for proof disguised as the masked protector the Shadow of Theron.  But when Marek wounds him with an accursed sword that shouldn't exist, Lysandro must find a way to stop Marek from gaining any more artifacts created by the Goddess or her nemesis. The arrival of the beautiful newcomer Seraphine, with secrets of her own, only escalates their rivalry.  As the feud between Lysandro and Marek throws Lighura into chaos, a pair of priestesses seeks to recover the relics and return them to ...

February has been an okay reading month in terms of quantity but great for quality. I enjoyed Mary Jane , about a teenage girl growing up in 1970s Baltimore who becomes the nanny for a more freewheeling Jewish family. This was fun for our synagogue book club, many of whom can remember growing up in the Jewish neighborhoods in Baltimore (specifically NOT the WASP-y neighborhood where Mary Jane lives). Then, I whipped through the graphic novels that the TV show Heartstopper is based on--I like the TV show more but it's based deeply on this source material (down to exact lines and scenes) so it was fun to see that and get a sneak peek ahead at next season. Finally, I got to read Kristin Cashore's Seasparrow, which I feel so lucky to read so soon after the last book Winterkeep came out in 2021, and that it was such a chunkster (624 pages!). I hope she never stops writing this series, I love them all so much, and I'm glad I got to fall in love with the character of Hava for this...

I have a lot of top genres, of course including science fiction and fantasy, but I saw that Jana did historical fiction, so I thought I would try that too. This is an easy one for me since both of my book clubs predominantly read historical fiction! I would say this is a genre I used to read a lot on my own, but I don't know if that would still be true if not for my book clubs. I am pretty excited about some of our upcoming reads though, including one on Hedy Lamarr and one on Rosalind Franklin. And, of course, I am always adding to the list for sci fi and fantasy. Top Historical Fiction Novels I Want to Read The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict--My book club read for March, about Hedy Lamarr's history as a scientist and wife in Nazi Germany before she became a Hollywood actress. Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum--This is kind of a hist fic/sci fi crossover, about a woman who goes forward and backward in time to prevent Chernobyl. Spear by Nicola Griffith--a gender-bent ...

January started off as a strong reading month, with a mix of comfort and practical reads. It's always nice to bank a nice start on my reading goals at the beginning of the year!  Books I Read This Month Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree--Described as the perfect cozy fantasy novel, I requested this a few months ago from my local library, and it came in just at the end of the year. Set in a D&Desque world where a female orc decides to leave her adventuring party and open a coffee shop, this is truly the perfect relaxing read for fantasy fans. Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer--Jewish romance with anxiety rep; I didn't like it as much as The Matzah Ball but still a fun read. Fair Play by Eve Rodsky--A game to divide household tasks and the research behind it. Definitely an interesting and hopefully productive contribution to the emotional labor/mental load/household labor debate.

 My 2022 reading stats will not be as impressive as former years in overall numbers and also less impressive when I break it down, but I did do at least some diverse reading in 2022, which I hope I can significantly improve upon in 2023. I've modified my usual survey to just some basic stats that matter to me--it was originally taken from the sadly now discontinued blog, Boston Bibliophile . 2022 Reading Stats How many books read? 38 Fiction/nonfiction? 31 fiction, 3 nonfiction, 4 poetry Female/male/nonbinary author ratio? 32 female, 5 male, and 1 collection with mixed genders  Writers of Color/Minority Writers? At least 3 books by writers of color, at least 7 books by Jewish authors, at least 1 Muslim author, 1 collection with multiple writers of color and minorities, at least 2 LGBTQ writers Favorite book? Fresh Water for Flowers  by Valerie Perrin, about a French cemetery keeper finding joy after tragedy Longest and shortest books? Longest:   Fresh Water for ...

 This year, I want to go easy but still have some overarching guidelines for my reading. Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for continuing to host Top Ten Tuesdays.  Bookish Goals for 2023 Read at least 36 books. Read books I already own, library, or Kindle books. Read at least two books by women in translation. Read at least 25% books by authors of color. Rearrange my bookshelves.