As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to squeeze 3 bookish events into 2 weeks of blogging. I was planning to focus on the #OcTBRchallenge this week, but decided to do an update on ALL THE THINGS because why not.
I’m liking up with:
- The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer.
- The Sunday Salon, hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
- Stacking The Shelves which is hosted by Team Tynga’s Reviews
Deep breath, here we go, it’s gonna be a long one
BlackSFFathon
BlackSFFathon is a readathon for Black-authored speculative fiction. Taking place 10/18-10/31. Hosted by @ThistleVerse, @locpressedbooks, @ndamalicampbell, @Luciereads, and @noriathereader
Spooktastic Reads
- Rin at The Thirteenth Shelf has had so many spooktastic posts, but just to highlight a few with the best names:
- Lisa at Way Too Fantasy reviewed A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
- imyril @ There’s Always Room For One More reviewed The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey – a romance featuring taxidermy
- Maryam @ The Curious SFF reader made a list of Favorite spooky covers
- Jenna @ Falling Letters posted My Spooky Season TBR
- Jess @ Jessticulates reviewed The Once and Future Witches by Alix E.Harrow and I’m so excited for this book
OcTBRChallenge
I meant to officially join @OcTBRChallenge at the beginning of October, but I’ve been with them in my heart, and even earned few badges:
Work published in the last year: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez– a very thoughtful sci-fi novel, featuring found family, interesting ideas, and critique of rampant capitalism.
Borrowed from the library: The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco – secondary world fantasy + necromancy (not actually a library as my local one is mostly unhelpful, but the book is currently free to listen in audible’s library-like program for kids, and that’s as close as I’m gonna get)
Fiction (any length): Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko – This was so much fun. I loved the worldbuilding, only wish I knew more about African cultures so I could picture things more accurately in my head. Heaps of found family goodness. CW for some nasty, but believable, gaslighting.
October books read: Heart of Stone, A Song Below Water, Brown Girl in the Ring, Lady Griffith’s Second Chance, The Vanish Birds, A Princess in Theory, The Bone Witch, Raybearer, Ninefox Gambit. All but two I’ve picked for a reading challenge or book club, and that approach is working out well for me, as having to pick one book in favor of another tends to stress me out. Challenges and plans give me an easy way to pick.
New books
My plan to buy no books this week only slightly failed, I got Ring Shout, which I mentioned I would get, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia, both on kindle. Mexican Gothic was on sale, so really I had no choice.
I also realized I’d failed to download my issues of Fiyah, so while I bought them in July these are new on my kindle
I got a free copy of Africanfuturism: An Anthology | Stories by Nnedi Okorafor, TL Huchu, Dilman Dila, Rafeeat Aliyu, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Mame Bougouma Diene, Mazi Nwonwu, and Derek Lubangakene, you can grab one too over at Brittle Paper
This Week on the Blog
- Spooktastic Recs for scaredy-cats: 17 Not-so-scary monster booksThe Fifth Season, The City of Stairs, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and Turning Darkness into Light
- Can’t Wait Wednesday: Black Speculative Fiction Month edition
- Legendborn by Tracy Deonn – review
I’ve somehow managed to read more than I’ve posted reviews, again, this might be why I keep falling behind. I really loved Legendborn so much, very much hoping I can get more people to read it. It’s a YA contemporary fantasy with Arthurian legends and Southern Black Girl Magic.
And if I do say so myself, I’m really happy with how my recs post turned out, if you check it out there’s also a picture of our totally-not-eldrich cat.
Read/Currently reading
Finished this week:
- Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1) by Yoon Ha Lee – for our Mod Book Club on r/fantasy – that sure was a confusing book. It got easier to follow once I accepted that the technobabble can be thought of as magic, but I was still really detached from it. I think this book’s greatest problem was that the other books I’ve been reading this week was fun easy reads, so I was always more inclined to pick those up/
- A Princess in Theory (Reluctant Royals, #1) by Alyssa Cole – for BLM Book Bingo, loved it, just so much fun, I really need to read more romance.
- The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch, #1) by Rin Chupeco – for FIF Book Club on r/fantasy – very curious to continue the series and see where it’s going, I really liked the flavor of necromancy here
- Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko – for both the BLM Book Bingo and #BlackSFFathon – loved the worldbuilding and the characters, very sad it was over so soon.
Currently reading
- Moving Pictures (Discworld, #10; Industrial Revolution, #1) by Terry Pratchett
- Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
I think I’ve gone on enough this week, so I’m gonna go get started on Ring Shout. Listen, it’s not my fault so many fun things are going on this month! And then next month there’s Sci Fi Month and Norsevember.
I hope you enjoy Ring Shout! Its a pretty quick read😁
I did end up enjoying it a lot! It just felt so good in every way that I got past my scaredy self
I am always drawn to BINGO boards. Which reminds me…I wonder if there will be a Thankfully Reading Weekend this November. I should see if I can find out anything about it.
I like the idea of buying no new books, but I can’t hold myself to that. Sale books? How can you pass them up?
I need to get back to Discworld. I have so many of those to read.
Yeah … I think this year proved I really can’t hold myself to it either, but I did read most of the new books I bought, that’s gotta count for something
I think I’m done with reading challenges for a few weeks! November is going to be hectic in any case, so I won’t try any new ones!
My little Elza is also a serious scary cat, that’s why my other cat hosted the Fraterfest! (Gosh, I do sound like a crazy cat lady….)
Thanks for sharing the post about The animals of Lockwood Manor, it does sound intriguing!
Hope you will have a good week! Here’s my The Sunday Post #16
I’m so torn, I really want to participate in more challenges now, but I haven’t even done anything yet, and I already feel tired!
I rarely participate in challenges because they just stress me out if I don’t get them accomplished. Good for you and all your work this week. My Sunday Salon post
Thanks for sharing my post! The badges for OcTBR are so cute.
Looks like some great reading goals this month. I loved The Jumbies. The sequel is great too. Ring Shout and Maya and the Rising Dark are both on my list as well. Happy reading all the things!
I really like the look of Raybearer – and I know what you mean about deciding to have weeks where you don’t buy any more books – and then fail! It happens to me allll the time… Congratulations on the reading challenges. Because I’m such a mood reader, I tend to avoid them, other than the handful of arcs I request on Netgalley each month. I hope the coming week is a good one, Dianthaa:))
I keep meaning to get on Netgalley, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to manage asking for a reasonable amount of books and reading them in time, so it might just end up stressing me out. Maybe if I start off with a hard 1- 2 books /month limit.
I do give myself a hard limit and I have a 92% rating on there – and I’ve been a member since 2014, so it is possible to be reasonably sensible. I keep careful track of the arcs and when they need to be read and reviewed. Mostly I do it within the required time – October I slipped up, but that’s rare. But it has given me access to books I couldn’t afford and opened up my reading to sample wonderful authors I wouldn’t have otherwise found. I’m very grateful that I’m a member!
Thanks for dropping by! The badges are super cute yes, they say you can draw your own too, but I can’t draw …
That definetely happened to me! I jsut gotta find a balance between fun and stressful and I’m very bad at balance
Really recomend Ring Shout, it was so good!
Maybe at the end of the year I’ll evaluate and see what number would make sense and take the plunge. I admire your restraint, almost everyone I talk to is almost always behind on their netgalleys. A 92% rating is amazing
Instead of a bingo board, I tried to use jars : one big jar with my physical TBR ; one small jar with the books I want to read first – all titles written on small pieces of papers : I’m supposed to shake the jars, pick a paper, read the book. But the jars remain decoratively on my desk, I practically never use them :/ I’d love to read what you’ll think of Mexican gothic, it’s on my TBR too 🙂
Oh that sounds super cute! I’m tempted to try that as I do love starting complicated projects then abandoning them.