​A Pirate's Life for Tea, by Rebecca Thorne
Second in the series. What a crazy, lovely, cozy read. Kianthe and Reina’s search for the dragons’ eggs take them to the Nacean River where Diarn Arlon rules with an iron fist. He is being pestered by a pirate and demands Kianthe, in her role as mage of ages, apprehend the pirate. But they kind of feel like the pirate is in the right. Hijinx ensues. A lot of fun!
 
Frieren, vols 3 & 4, by Kanehito Yamada
I’m really enjoying this tale of an elf mage as she travels back along the roads she took 100 years before as part of the party that defeated the Demon King. In these books, she defeats Aura the Guillotine—one of the King’s servants. They meet another elf and encourage a village priest to join them for part of their journey. These are easy reads that are more about character development than action. Perfect for me.
 
The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Older
Queer, gender-flipped Holmes and Watson on Jupiter. Loved it before I even began. In the future, the earth is uninhabitable so people colonize a large ring that has been built in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Pleiti is an academic at the most prestigious school on the planet, Valdegard. Mossa is a special investigator. They are old lovers from their time as students, but the spark of attraction remains. Mossa comes to Valdegard in search of answers about a missing person. Working with Plieti, they travel the length of Jupiter to stop a plot that could set humankind back by years.
 
Nine Liars, by Maureen Johnson
The fifth Truly Devious book. Stevie Bell is one of the best characters in fiction. She is so utterly herself, that she feels very real. In this standalone, Stevie and her friends get an opportunity to go to London for a week. And almost immediately, she is given a mystery to solve. This one is twenty years old. Nine friends were celebrating their college graduation when two were mysteriously murdered. Stevie solves it, of course, but at the expense of her relationships. Loved it.
 
To Shape a Dragon's Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose
In an alternate history of the world where Vikings conquered and settled North America, the indigenous people are still treated badly. In fact, the domineering Scandinavian settlers have killed off all of the indigenous dragons on the east coast of the continent. When Anequs discovers a dragon egg and the hatchling chooses her, she is lucky that she and the dragon aren’t killed outright. Instead, she goes to a school that teaches students and their dragons. Having never lived outside her own culture, she has trouble adjusting, but she always stays true to herself. I liked this book. There wasn’t a ton of action, but the world-building and narrative were enough to really catch my interest.
 
We Do Not Welcome Our 10-year-old Overlord, by Garth Nix
While I love Garth Nix’s writing, I find his middle grade to be hit-or-miss. This is a fantastic HIT. When a mind-reading orb lands in their quiet town, and begins to change Elia, Kim and his friends have to resist the urge to join with the orb as it tries to take over the world. Wonderful adventure with high-stakes that are never too distressing.
 
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, by Malka Older
The second in this series. I didn’t mean to read both of them in a month, but what can you do when they are so good? In this mystery, in searching for one missing student, Mossa finds that there are dozens of people missing from Valdegard. Plieti uses her university contacts to dig for more information, even as her life is put into danger.
 
Black Sheep, by Georgette Heyer
A reread, of course. I love this one as the heroine is older and has a wicked sense of humor. Plus it’s a grand old farce.
 
Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire
This is the third in the Wayward Children series of novellas. This book felt almost like a conclusion to a loosely tied trilogy. Maybe that was its original intention, but there are 7 or 8 books in the series now. Each that I’ve read so far have been a solid story. Rini falls from the sky at the Home for Wayward Children looking for her mother Sumi who died before Rini could be born. Cade, Cora, Christopher and Nadya—inhabitants of the school—travel to different worlds with Rini trying to find the pieces of Sumi’s soul so they can bring her back to life. I love me a good portal story and this one was a delight. 

Jingo, by Terry Pratchett
This is the fourth book in Discworld’s Watch subseries. I had only read this one once before and had forgotten a lot of it, so it was lovely to read again. The title, Jingo, pretty much tells you what this book is about—jingoism and going to war to prove that you’re the better country. This one has more political intrigue than we usually get in a Discworld novel, with the added bonus of a lot more Vetinari. We actually get to see him outside his office, getting his hands dirty. So. Tons of fun!
 
Fox Tales, by Tomihiko Morimi
I didn’t realize when I picked this up, but this is the same author as The Tatami Galaxy which I read in December. It is VERY similar to the novel. This book is made up of four short stories—just like Tatami Galaxy—that are not connected. Or, really, connected in a very loose sense. Each one has a supernatural element, gods and spirits. None of them were truly scary—the author’s writing is too vague—and only some of them were interesting. I felt like just when the creepy bit was revealed the story would end. The novel was better.
 
The Steerswoman, by Rosemary Kirstein
Rowan belongs to the order of Steerswomen, who are basically a group of women who travel to make maps and establish historical fact. She is intrigued by jewels that she’s come across and starts to investigate. With the help of a barbarian from the Outskirts, she finds that there are those who will do anything to keep her from finding the truth of their origin. Read this for book club and really got into it. So much so, that I immediately read the second book in the series. My book club all really liked this book.
 
The Outskirter's Secret, by Rosemary Kirstein
In the second book, Rowan and Bel—the outskirter barbarian—go into the outskirts to travel the violent dangerous veldt to find the source of the jewels that Bel wears. This book is a deep delve into the world of the outskirters—violent nomadic goat herders that make a life in a inhospitable land. While the worldbuilding is super interesting, the book didn’t do much to move the story forward from the first book. I did like it, but I’m debating whether or not to read the rest of the series as it’s not complete yet (twenty years since the last installment!!!). I don’t want to be left hanging.
 
Cloud Missives, by Kenzie Allen
Poetry. This one has gotten rave reviews, but I didn’t connect all that much with it.  The poems about Allen’s ethnicity were the most interesting. Her poems about toxic love—there were a lot—were less interesting. Those I felt were the poet working through her own issues rather than finished poems.
 
The Corinthian, by Georgette Heyer
This was my first reread of this Heyer. I liked it better the second time, but it will never be one of my favorites. While a fun read, as all Heyer books are, this one didn’t quite do it for me.
 
The Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao
I reread (listened) to this one in anticipation for the second book in the duology. I loved it when I read it as Zetain is so full of rage, anger, and revenge that I loved following her story. But listening to it now, man, it is so violent—in all the best ways. I just love this character’s unapologetically ruthless behavior. Granted, everything she wants to change is corrupt and despicable, but the extent to which she goes to tear down the patriarchal system is just Wow.

​

I finished 111 books last year. Well more than I thought I would given how chaotic last year was. I didn't count my multiple rereads/relistens to The Murderbot Diaries, cause that would make my numbers jump. Plus I didn't count those rereads. 

Above you can see my reading by genre. Of the books I read, 88% were by women, but I'm still low on BIPOC authors (25%) and LGBTQIA+ authors/main characters (29%). Over 50% of the books I read were actual books. 32% were audio books, 9% were graphic novels, and 8% were ebooks. 

I only read six nonfiction books, which is half of my goal of 12. I read five books of poetry. A little less than half the books I read were by authors I had never read before.

Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies by Leslie Kern was my favorite nonfiction. She writes about the intersection of social justice and geography and it is fascinating. Read all her books.

My favorite books of the year, in no particular order are: 

• The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
• The Red Tree
• This is How You Lose the Time War
• Tell Me I'm Worthless (caveat: this book is brutal and intense but great)
• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies
• A Letter to the Luminous Deep
• Red Rabbit
• The Dark Lord's Daughter

​The Tatami Galaxy, by Tomihiko Morimi
A downhearted Kyoto college student blames all his troubles on meeting Ozu at a social club during his first week of school. Ozu, who seems to know everyone, is trouble incarnate and is the cause of the college student’s current troubles. This is the start to four different stories taking place, mostly, in the student’s 4 ½ tatami mat room. Reading the first part, I got a little bored as our protagonist is not sympathetic. However, once I realized what was happening in the second part, the book became a lot more fun. Each of the stories is actually an alternate universe. Not a great book, but the concept is fascinating and well executed.
 
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
This was a reread (and my choice for book club) and I loved it all over again. This is one of the books that began and defined what Steampunk is now. Time travel, Egyptian magic, creepy clowns, a missing poet, and so much more. Read it.
 
Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 1, by Hitoma Iruma and Moke Yuzuhara
Manga based on light novels, follows two misfit girls who find solace in skipping classes together and start to get feelings for one another. I’ve been looking for more slice of life manga and this definitely fit the bill, but was a little slow, even for my standards.
 
I Kissed Shara Wheeler, by Casey McQuiston
I like McQuiston’s adult romances, so wanted to give her YA a read. It’s really good, but definitely not my favorite of hers. It’s a bit over complicated and tries to do too much, but the characters were well-developed and compelling. After kissing three people, Shara Wheeler walks out of prom and disappears. Those three people—her boyfriend, her next door neighbor, and her class rival, Chloe—all receive notes ostensibly leading them to her. This leads to a lot of soul searching and realizations and a, mostly, happy ending.
 
Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, Unnatural Death, The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers
I had read all the Harriet Vane books in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, but none of the original stories, so I spent all my decorating, cleaning, gift wrapping, and present making in December listening to the first four. It’s a shame that Sayers isn’t as well remembered as Christie because her mysteries are intricate, but super plausible. And through the series, Lord Peter grows as a detective and as a character. Always time well spent reading these books.
 
Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, by Jenny Colgan
The second Christmas Bookshop book. I loved the first, so wondered where this one would take us since there was a happy ending to the first. The author threw some wrenches into the happy ending and made the MCs wait a year to really, really be together. Nice book, probably will reread when I need a cozy something.
 
Blackwater, by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
Queer graphic novel about teens in a remote Maine town dealing with the supernatural. Misfit Eli can see ghosts. Jock Tony has a run in with a werewolf. Together, they need to figure out what’s going on. Good story and characters, great art as both creators took turns illustrating chapters. The story felt a bit rushed, so I would have like to have seen a bit more of a slow burn.
 
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
This has been a bestselling nonfiction title since it came out more than a decade ago, and I see why. Kimmerer combines her indigenous heritage respect for nature with her education as a scientist, botanist, and ecologist. It’s quite a stunning book of essays, best imbibed in short reads so that you can really let the words and concepts really sink in. Highly recommend.
 
How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
The haunting in this house is by puppets and dolls. It is massively freaky and terrifying, and I loved/hated it. The best possible reaction to good horror. The underlying story of grief denied and lack of communication between siblings is where the heart of the plot and is very well done. 

I've been working on this throw blanket since the middle of October. I chose these colors to match the ottoman in my sitting room, as you can see from the image on the left. Super happy with it. Now, all I want to crochet are blankets! It's so relaxing to do while watching TV.