I read about my average this month—seven books. There were some great titles and some so-so titles. Let me explain…

Planetfall, by Emma Newman
I picked up this book as I’d read a mini-review of the fourth book in the series and the series sounded interesting. And it was. Set on a far-off planet, a colony of not-quite-cult members waits for their leader to return from a 20-year sojourn inside an alien structure. The story follows Renata—a genius builder who might be slightly mad—as she deals with the arrival of an outsider and the pressure of knowing more truth than she’d like. The world is striking—the alien planet, the alien structure, the daily life of the colonists, and the ideas surrounding belief. It’s not a terribly easy book and Renata can be a frustrating main character, but it reminds me of the best of mid-century sci-fi with the best of a diverse society.

Sick Kids in Love, by Hannah Moskowitz
This is a YA book that just came out. It follows Isabel, a teenager suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, as she meets Sasha, a teenager with Gaucher's disease, and falls in love. Neither disease is life-threatening, but it really messes with each character’s life. The characters have great discussions about what it means to have chronic illness and how hard it is to maintain friendships with other teenagers who just can’t understand. I really liked this one, and YA romance isn’t usually my thing. Isabel is flawed in an emotional way which stand between her and happiness with Sasha, but she realistically overcomes her hesitation and even begins to stand her ground with her friends. So while a bit schmaltzy at times, it was overall a good read.

Race to the Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse
Rick Riordan, of Percy Jackson fame, has a series now that features other writers writing about different mythologies. In this one, Native American author Roanhorse weaves a modern tale, for middle-grade readers, out of Navajo mythology. I’ve had a huge interest in Navajo everything since spending time in northern Arizona as a teenager. I really wanted to like this one more, but it felt very contrived. It was like reading a Percy Jackson book, but with different characters. I wonder if Riordan created a formula for each of the writers writing in this series. It wasn’t that it wasn’t well written, it just felt formulaic. Now, I’m not the intended audience for this one and kids who haven’t read tons of books probably wouldn’t notice. So, for kids I’d say, definitely give this one a shot.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow
This fantasy came out in September and seems to have gotten a lot of traction. Deservedly. Set in the early 1900s, January is a mixed-race girl being raised in the lap of luxury by an extremely wealthy man who employs her father to “treasure” hunt across the world. When January is nearly grown, she finds out that there are doors around the world that lead to other universes. She sets out to find her missing father with nefarious henchmen trying to find her. I almost thing I’ve said too much in this sum-up. A lot of the fun of this book is finding out about things as January finds out. And this book is a lot of fun. I don’t know if it’s meant to be a series, but there is part of me that wants more, more, more, but another part of me that wants it to be a standalone. I guess I’ll find out sometime in the future.

Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
This was a reread of a book I read years ago. It’s remained one of my favorites as it is a Pratchett book that takes all of his themes and wraps them up in one amazing package. The only other one I can think of that does that is Nation, but that one doesn’t take place in the Discworld. The themes I’m talking about are belief, governments, philosophy, self-reliance, responsibility, duty, and sense. I don’t think I can do justice to a sum-up of this book. Just know that Brutha is a wonderful character and what he lacks in wisdom he makes up for with good sense, and the villain, Vorbis, is right up there with Umbrage in terms of sheer creepiness.

Crazy in Love at the Lonely Hearts Book Shop, by Annie Darling
Another reread. (The end of the month was not good for me.) This series is so dang delightful. The first two books took on bodice ripper tropes and Pride and Prejudice, while this one is about using Wuthering Heights as a guide to life. Nina, bookseller in the Happy Ever After Book Shop, is a wild child—tattooed, pink-haired, and devoted to vintage fashion, she lives life to the fullest. But is going on a new first date every night living life right? As she starts to question her choices, she meets Noah, a straight-up nerd in navy blue clothes. It’s a romance, so I’m sure you can work out what happens, but it happens oh-so-good with just the right amount of drama. This one and the other two are definitely on my happy reads list. Fun, bookish, with just the right amount of romance.

Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay
This was my bedside read for the month. I’ve heard a lot about this book and follow Gay on Twitter, but hadn’t read anything long-form by her. I actually picked up this book in a Little Free Library (and it is going into mine soon) and it’s been on the shelf for a while. I liked it, but not all that much. Maybe because it has been so hyped? I don’t read books of essays often, but this didn’t really make me want to read more. There was definitely some very interesting takes on feminism, dating, and sexual trauma, but I could have done without the pop culture reviews. I can see why she’s such a well-loved writer, it just didn’t do much for me.

Yesterday, I had a great session with my writing group. There were only three of us there that day, so it was nice and intimate. After talking about what we've been writing, the upcoming Novel Writing Conference, and other related things, we did our usual 15-minute writing prompt. We used a prompt from one of my books--one that jumped out at me because it was where I was at in my WIP. Write about an epiphany, a moment when the character's world changes.

I wrote out part of a scene with my MC going through a mental upheaval. When I read it aloud, my group was silent (unnerving!) and then asked me to read it again because they liked it so much. I was a bit embarrassed, but it was nice to have a piece so well liked! It also bodes well for my WIP.

An author I truly admire, Jo Walton, is a long-time blogger for Tor.com. Nearly every month she posts a list of books she read the month before with a quick sum-up/review. She reads, usually, around 20 books a month. I’m jealous. I wish I could read that fast. I average about 7 to 8 books a month.  I’ve decided to make a similar blog post this month.

The Kingdom, by Jess Rothenberg
This is a recent YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy about a cyborg princess who is one of the star attractions at an immersive theme park. The princesses aren’t supposed to have independent thought, yet Ana finds herself having real feelings for a young park employee. I read this one on the excited recommendation of some coworkers at the bookstore. It’s a very readable book told in a first-person narrative combined with court records and company memos. I liked it, but didn’t love it. I felt that the ending was not true to the story. It’s like the author wrote the novel, then getting a contract for a series (yes, this will be a series) changed the ending to lead into the next book.

Stargazing, by Jen Wang
I’ve been a big fan of author/illustrator Wang since the first Flight anthology which had an early story of hers. Last year she had a big hit with The Prince and the Dressmaker (that book makes me so happy) and later this year (I read an ARC) will release her first middle grade graphic novel, Stargazing. This book is sweet and funny, but also does a great job of highlighting the awkwardness of sixth grade—trying to fit in, trying to figure out who you are. For the characters in Stargazing, the discomfort also comes from being in a tight-knit Chinese American community and the pressures to be both Chinese and American.

A Free Man of Color, by Barbara Hambly
This was a reread and I’m not going to say much here as I wrote a whole post about this book, except that this is a wonderful book. Great mystery, rich characters that are fully formed—even some of the side characters that don’t have a place in the action. The hero’s mother is one of the least sympathetic/most empathetic characters I’ve read. She’s hard, cold, and judgmental, but given her past, what else could she be. The Benjamin January mysteries have long been a favorite of mine and I can’t recommend them enough.

Sanity & Tallulah: Field Trip, By Molly Brooks
The is the second in this graphic novel series. The first is beyond charming, and this one equally so, but it also raises the stakes for the two best friends living on a space station in the middle of nowhere. When the girls’ class goes on a field trip to a planet the worst-case scenario happens and brilliant Sanity must figure out a way off planet while dreamy Tallulah uncovers secrets held within the planet. This series is meant for kids, but it’s so well drawn (literally and figuratively) that I think it has a lot to appeal to adults too. It definitely satisfies my constant need for good space stories.

The Sweetest Fruits, by Monique Truong
As a huge fan of 19th writer Lafcadio Hearn, I was so excited to find there was a novel coming out about his life. Got the book the week it came out and I loved it. Truong examines Hearn’s chaotic life through the eyes of three women who loved him. His mother, a Greek woman who married an English soldier, his first wife, a former slave in Cincinnati, and his second wife, the daughter of a Samurai family in Japan. This is a beautiful book about a subject I’m interested in, so I loved it. I’m not sure what it would offer (other than lovely prose and authentic voices) to those who don’t know who Hearn is. Still recommended.

What Makes This Book So Great, by Jo Walton
This is a book of blog posts that Walton wrote between 2008 and 2011 reviewing classic Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I started this book months ago, but it was on my night table and I’d only read a chapter or two a night. My list of TBR books got infinitely larger after reading this. Walton has an encyclopedic knowledge of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and other types of, books. There were so many that I’d never heard of that sounded wonderful. That said, I skipped several sections that reviewed books in long series that I’m not interested in reading. All in all a fascinating read.

Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers
I got this book from the library and as I was finishing the previous book, there is a chapter on it. I didn’t read it then, so I could enjoy the book first. Then I saw a blog post referencing it, and after that it was referred to in an article I read. The universe was definitely telling me to read it. I did and I enjoyed it, even though it was hella long and there wasn’t much mystery. As someone who hasn’t read any Sayer before, it was not what I was expecting, and from what I read, it’s not in her usual style. But I loved the immersion in a 1930s ladies college at Oxford. A lot of the book is taken up with the few choices that women can make for their lives—careers versus family. It was particularly interesting to me since a similar conversation still takes place today. I wouldn’t recommend this book as a mystery, but as a slice of life examination of the lives of women in the 1930s, I would.

The Magnificent Nine, by James Lovegrove
This was a potato chip read. It is a book set in the universe of the TV show Firefly—of which I’m a huge fan—and reads like an episode. The one is the second in a series of three and takes place after the show but before the movie. What can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like the show or are a fan of space westerns based on a movie western based on a Japanese samurai movie, you’ll love it too.

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
I listened to this on audio—a reread/relisten. This is about as perfect as a book and an audio reading can get. Gaiman reads his Newbery winner so simply that really makes you feel like you’re in that graveyard too. The story follows Bod, a boy whose family was murdered and who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. It’s a beautiful book about growing up and becoming a real person. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor.

Well Met, by Jen DeLuca
This book only tangentially relates to my “romances in bookstore/romances around books” predilection as it takes place, mostly, at a small Renaissance Faire. There is a bookstore involved and a shared love of Shakespeare, so it counts—my official judgment call. In this delightful little romance follows Emily, a newcomer to town, who has moved there after a bad break-up to take of her older sister and niece after a car accident. She gets roped into volunteering to be a wench at the local Faire, but immediately butts head with the organizer, Simon. As this is a romance, you probably can guess what happens, and it does. What makes this a great story is that both Emily and Simon have character arcs, growing and changing to be better people by the end. Much recommended.

     I’ve been reading Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January mystery series since the first book, A Free Man of Color, came out in 1997. I’m not a big mystery or thriller reader, though to do read a few each year. I’ve kept up with this series for much the same reason I read all the Tony Hillerman books as they came out—the characters and atmosphere. Sometimes the mystery doesn’t even matter since I’m so into the people and places. Reading a new Benjamin January book now is like visiting with old friends.
      The series takes place in 1830s New Orleans, when the city was still in the process of changing from a French/Spanish city to an American one. Many of the stories have to do with clashes between the uncouth Americans and the genteel Creoles. As the title of the first book indicates, Benjamin January is a black former slave who was freed as a child and given a world-class education by his mother’s protector. Much of the conflict in the stories is about racism and class—especially class among the free people of color. (Having at least one white grandparent made you colored, not black—an important distinction. Benjamin is considered colored.)
      I’m a big fan of Barbara Hambly’s writing. She has a gift for sketching out details that make you gather in a whole scene in a few lines—including the clothing and attitudes of the people involved. Her books are extremely well-researched (she lived in New Orleans while writing the first few) and she creates an atmosphere that draws you right in.
      I decided to reread A Free Man of Color, realizing I hadn’t read it since it came out. Although, I remembered a lot of the story, I couldn’t remember the “who dunnit.”
      What a pleasure it was to be reintroduced to the New Orleans of Benjamin—scholar, surgeon, pianist, and informal detective. In the intervening years since I first read this book, I have read a lot of Georgette Heyer (Barbara Hambly is a fan too) and can see her influence on Hambly’s writing about clothing as well as the interpersonal relationships of the “demimonde” (as opposed to Heyer’s “upper ten thousand”).
      What fascinated me most in this reread are the topics of misogyny and racism, that play major roles in all of these books, and how prescient they were in A Free Man of Color about conversations happening twenty-two years later. The story follows a recently widowed woman who is trying to get back jewelry and slaves that belonged to her that her dead husband had given to his “colored” mistress. She attempts to get into a space reserved for “colored” mistresses, but is intercepted by Benjamin January, her former piano teacher, who agrees to carry a message to the mistress. When the mistress ends up murdered, Benjamin must track down the killer or face murder charges.
      Hambly’s descriptions of how powerless women are—their possessions all belong to their husbands—and how powerless people of African descent are is heartbreaking and enraging. But all to good effect to make the story move along at a quick pace.
      A problematic element in 2019 that wasn’t as much a worry in 1997 is that Barbara Hambly, a white woman, is writing the story of a black man and other people of color. In my opinion, as another white woman, I feel she does an amazing job of characterizing the constant fear that Benjamin has that he could be kidnapped and sold as a slave at any moment. His humiliation at having filthy river boat men condescend to him or brutalize him, because they can.
      Coming from my vantage point of privilege, my first reaction is “they can’t get away with that” or “people wouldn’t really do that.” Of course, they can and do. Being so closely aligned to Benjamin’s POV, it’s hard not to take umbrage as he does, but where he has to swallow his pride, I could get in the face of the perpetrator. I feel like Hambly does such an immersive job in her writing, that it gets to the deepest parts of racism and exposes it for the idiocy that it is. How a person of color would react, I don’t know.
     Maybe what this book does best is create an atmosphere of embedded racism that allows me to get an inkling of what pervasive racism can be like. Benjamin is a dynamic hero—clever and smart and very aware—and the reader can’t help but be fascinated by him and his world.

This is the first time I've worked with straw. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I had a tough time decorating it, though, as that pink was supposed to be red. It all came together when I matched it to the cherry blossoms.