Space Station Mir

 I feel like I've been DNFing a fair amount lately, mostly with review books. I feel obligated to read review books longer than I would if they were books I just picked up on my own. That said, I have a caveat in my Book Review Policy  that if I feel I am not the right audience for the book, I won't post a review. I try to avoid that by only picking books I genuinely think I will enjoy, but of course I can't always predict that before I read. Also, while book clubs have been a great way to get exposed to books I wouldn't normally read, tastes will differ and every once in a while, I find a book I'm just not willing to finish. I also want to say no shade to the authors or anyone who enjoyed these books--they just weren't for me. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish 1. Caribbean Competitors by Poppy Minnix--LibraryThing review--This one sounded great and has a beautiful cover, but while the island setting was compelling, I just couldn't ge...

This is the feminist Arthurian retelling I didn't know I could have. I've read and watched Arthuriana from kids' books and TV shows, The Sword in the Stone to Camelot , Excalibur to King Arthur , the Bernard Cornwell books, the Rosalind Miles books, Le Morte d'Arthur , the Merlin TV movie to the Merlin TV show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot, Cursed , and more. So I want you to understand what I'm saying when I say: this is my favorite. I've never seen anyone (other than Tennyson) take Elaine as the central point-of-view character, and it's (literally) a revelation. Sebastian brings a distinctly contemporary sensibility and diction to the narrative, which may put off some fans of older Arthurian legends, but in my opinion makes this all the more the right Arthurian retelling for this day and age, and Elaine, a character who sees different versions of the future, the right narrator.  We live in a world with many possibilities, and too often, we sh...

Today is a Top Ten Tuesday freebie, so I took a look at topics I missed earlier this year, and found this one. There definitely are certain tropes and subject matters that can immediately steer me off reading a book--and others that are just annoyances or preferences.  Happy Top Ten Tuesday! My Top Ten  Nine Book Turnoffs Enemies to lovers--From Darcy and Elizabeth to Kylo and Rey, I am not about it. In a lot of cases, I don't find it believable or desirable. There are often genuine reasons to hate these bad guys (i.e., they are jerks or ACTUAL KILLERS), and them being nice to the Special Protagonist Girl is not enough to redeem them. Then, how many of you ended up dating a person you really didn't like in the first place? I never have, anyway, although, sure, I will acknowledge that you can misjudge someone and get to know them better, but I think Much Ado really takes the cake on that--and that's more lovers to enemies to lovers again, which I find more believable! May/De...

It was a good month for reading! I kept going with the Bean series, read books for two book clubs, and threw a little nonfiction into the mix (and enjoyed it). I also started reading Horse  by Geraldine Brooks, a chunker I have to finish for yet another book club this weekend. Hope my fellow Americans had a good Fourth, Canadians had a good Canada Day, and everyone else a happy July. Books Read This Month  Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card--This (sadly) finishes up Petra and Peter's arc and all the Battle School military/political fallout on Earth, setting up for what I'd consider more "hard" science fiction. The Cost of Living and Other Mysteries by Saul Golubcow--Local author wrote a Jewish detective novel, it's set in the '70s but published in 2021 so it has more modern sensibilities. I saw this on a local book club meetup, so I had to try it. Not my usual book club and don't know if I'll keep up with it, but very glad I joined this session wh...

Although I am forever catching up on the backlist, I have seen a lot of great books that are going to be released later this year, especially a lot of great sci fi and fantasy. I've also been lucky enough to receive a couple of the books below for review from LibraryThing, so I'll let you know what I think pretty soon.  Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2023 The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord-August 29, 2023 Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer-August 29, 2023 The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa -July 11, 2023 Learning to Fly Alien Spacecraft by Fay Abernethy-July 14, 2023 A Gift of Stars by Renée Gendron- Coming Summer 2023

 I love these seasonal TBR lists! Even though I usually don't end up reading all of them, it sets a good mood for the reading season. Plus, I've learned to game it by including books I'm already reading, book club books, and books I already have :-) There are so many exciting books coming out this summer too, and I keep seeing books on other people's lists that I'm adding to my TBR! Case in point, I stole a couple from Jana's list. Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Top Ten Books On My Summer 2023 TBR Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman-This was already on my TBR and happened to be on Jana's too--Gender-bent Cinderella with a Jewish protagonist set in 1830s London--how's that for ticking like 5 of my interests! Roleplaying by Cathy Yardley--Saw this on Jana's list--I love the idea of a book about an older couple that meets online! Horse by Geraldine Brooks--Book club read. Wouldn't have picked this one myself, but I've liked her other books. Last S...

It's been a long time since I reviewed a short story. This story, at 15,460 words, is a novelette, whatever that means. I don't often read short stories that aren't on Tor.com or part of the occasional collection. This one, as most shorter fiction that I like, is speculative fiction. It tells a fairy-tale-like story with an intrusive narrative voice I love, reminiscent in tone and theme of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas  and in content, like something out of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me , although this one isn't tied to a specific fairy-tale (that I know of), though perhaps it contains notes of Chicken Little, if Chicken Little were wise. In any case, go read it now . All authors leave a swath of destruction. We maim and move on. The privilege of the happy ending is accorded to few.

 I'm doing last week's TTT topic since I missed it. Also, although I of course love books and have an ever-expanding TBR list, I'm actually trying to get rid of books to open up more space in my home and hold less literal baggage in my life. Actually, I should probably post books I am looking to let go of because I would like to give them to new homes that want them. That would be my actual wish list! Anyway, on to summer books and Happy Top Ten Tuesday! Books or Covers that Feel Like Summer Caribbean Competitors by Poppy Minnix-I got this for review *checks notes* in November 😯but it looks like more of a summer book, so hopefully I'll finally get to it! The Villa by Rachel Hawkins-Sultry, sordid summer secrets. Summer at the Garden Cafe´ by Felicity Hayes-McCoy--haven't read this one yet, but loved the first book! Happy Place by Emily Henry--I enjoyed Book People , and this one has a very summery cover. That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrisey--Adult summer camp! H...