Let's Get Literate! Halfway Through 2016, Sentient TBR List Consumes Local Reader

[renay]

To say my reading goals were high for 2016 understates the case. I refuse to say they were unrealistic. They were simply not quite doable for someone who has varied interests and also has trouble focusing for long periods of time on one task (in this instance, reading) due to Anxiety Brain and depression. I adjusted a bit in May, toned down some goals, and started tracking them differently. It's been a big help!

I also wanted to read more nonfiction. I've read seven pieces so far in 2016. That's more at this point in the year than any other since college! \o/ I'm finally trusting that I'm smart enough to parse, critique, and understand nonfiction. My goal is to have a year where I can read 15-20 nonfiction titles. But as the fall book season approaches (and Worldcon!), I'll be happy this year if I make it to 10.

100 Unique Women Writers

Predictably, my reading challenge hit the skids due to illness and life. I'm at 26/100, which is pretty great given that most of the books making up the list are prose. There's a few pieces of sequential art and one piece of short fiction, but the majority is books. Since novelettes count toward this, I'll catch up when I read some of the ones that are hanging out in my jar. I'm still using the jar, but Doreen is on holiday and I've been drawing three at a time and choosing from those instead of taking the first draw only.

What I have learned: I am a big fan of quotas! Quotas are helpful as long as you don't make them too restrictive and give yourself breaks. They helped me find a lot of great books. Eight of my favorites were read deliberately as part of my reading challenge with its built-in quota! Because it was so flexible I never felt boxed in or trapped. Quota power! *\o/*

Overall I'm pretty happy, although I feel like I'd be doing better if I wasn't getting socked in the brain by chemical imbalances all the time. But I'm working harder at remembering to be kind to and patient with myself.

Here's my list of my favorite reading so far in 2016, in no particular order!

2016 Mid-Year Favorites

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Binti wants to go to university, so she leaves her home against the wishes of her family and immediately everything goes wrong. But Binti is clever and tough and quick-thinking, and what follows after disaster is watching her step up and be a hero. This was part of Tor.com's novella line, and it's created some neat dialogues around conflicts between cultures, death, accountability, and consent. There's a lot to chew on. I loved the friendship in this book the most out of everything.

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
I don't watch any of the television Shonda Rhimes creates (I am so bad at television), but I saw a rec for this book and grabbed it on a whim when I spotted it at the library. It's very funny and self-aware, and it made me feel much better about anxiety-ridden me.

My Love Story!! by Kazune Kawahara & Aruko
rozurashii recced me this manga. It's still in progress and I've only read the first seven volumes, but I love how adorable and comfortable this manga is. Takeo and Yamato are the most precious Teens. There's cute romance! Great friendships! Delicious food! It is truly a hug in manga form.




Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
This is the weirdest and most fascinating book I've read so far this year, featuring a disgraced captain, a disembodied general who is a tactical genius, and Robot Pals. I reviewed this for Barnes & Noble and then wrote more feelings here, too. Highly recommended for people who like their books to brain wrestle with them.

Monstress Vol. 1 by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
This is a gorgeous comic about war, power, and race, and an exploration of what creates monstrous people. What does it mean to be a monster to yourself, your friends and family, in the world? The art is stunning and its darkness compliments the darkness of the story perfectly. I read this in floppy, but I am so tempted to get the trade when it drops later this July because the art is that good.

Ms. Marvel Vol. 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa , Adrian Alphona, Nico Leon, & Ian Herring
I love Ms. Marvel. She's one of my favorite superheroes right now, and her positivity and empathy as she navigates hero culture while juggling school, friends, and family is heartwarming. This volume is about Kamala being overworked and stretched too thin to keep track of everything going on around her and it's lovely and hilarious. The writing and art are top-notch and the whole volume holds together perfectly. This is why I keep pulling this comic instead of switching to trade only: it's so good.




Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougal
This was a delight; adventures on Mars and in space! Teamwork between friends! More Robot Pals! Girls being super smart and it not being something that drives them apart. First contact between human and alien pre-teens! *happy sigh*

The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
This was a great Lady Friendship story complete with Competence Porn and entertaining applications of the scientific method. There's a mystery at the center of this fantasy narrative and it's great. I loved the relationship between Bel and Rowan so much. I'm so glad there are sequels to this!

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
This was my first Cherryh! It was densely political, but it has some of the greatest, most subtle world building and characterization. I ended up super entralled. It reminded me so much of how Kate Elliott layers her stories and then punches you in the gut with final revelations. Sign me up for more of Cherryh's work.




All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
This book has been Controversial at Lady Business HQ on what it gets right and what it misses on, but I continue to really like the story it's telling and am still fond of getting a story that has a mixture of fantasy and science fiction and romance that respects all of those different things and builds something fascinating with it. Can I count this in Robot Pals? I think I can, so I will. Another win for Robot Pals.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
This is a science fiction thriller set in space after a vicious attack, and what happens when disaster strikes after the survivors flee. There's...an A.I....but I would not put this in the Robot Pal category. I loved Kady and her skill with computers and her desire to rescue someone she cares for when they're all she has left.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
I'm so late to the Schwab party, but consider me fully on board. This was an entertaining jaunt through multiple fantasy worlds that is my favorite kind of fantasy: not too heavy, great characters, and a straightforward quest narrative that actually has a resolution, leaving the loose ends to be not plot-related but character-related. I have the sequel to this but haven't cracked it open yet. SOON.




The Vagrant by Peter Newman
I am super surprised I loved this so much, but I loved all the main characters, and there was a baby! Apparently the way to get me to like super dark fantasy: queer characters (I do what I want), core of optimism, and BABIES. I have been promised a copy of The Malice (which isn't out here yet) in August when Ana and I meet at Worldcon. CANNOT WAIT.

Saga Vol. 6 by Fiona Staples & Brian K. Vaughan
I jammed this in my eyes the day it released, which is why it's on the list. I was maybe 5% nervous they wouldn't pull off the continuation after the last volume's cliffhanger, but they managed to and also leveled up. I'm so into the direction of this comic now that certain characters are a big part of the narrative. I am so sad I gobbled it up so fast and there's not another volume until next year, since I KNOW I cannot handle this comic in individual issues. *puts on waiting pants*

Black Wolves by Kate Elliott
HA HA HA THAT'S RIGHT. THIS WHOLE ENTRY WAS AN ELABORATE PLOY TO REC BLACK WOLVES AGAIN. Because I still love this ridiculously huge book even more than I did in 2015. It ages in my brain so well! It's got staying power. I wrote some reviews of this book. Maybe one will sway you! Team #BlackWolves! >D >D >D

Stats

I debated including stats because in the past few years they've been stressful for me (ugh, math) and the people around me (who have to repeatedly explain to me how to do percentages). But they're useful in seeing some of my trends. The totals are gonna be a little wonky, because some of the categories overlap and also I count artists as creators. :)

All Items: 89
Books: 27 (30%)
Short Fiction Collections & Anthologies: 4 (4%)
Short Fiction: 3 (3%)
Graphic Novels/Comics: 8 (9%)
Floppy Comics: 33 (37%)
Manga: 17 (19%)
Non-Fiction: 7 (8%)
Library Books: 25 (28%)
Digital: 9 (10%)
Women (unique): 56 (63%)
Men (unique): 45 (51%)
POC (unique): 18 (20%)
New Women: 26 (29%)
New POC: 14 (16%)

That's been my literary 2016 so far. What have you loved?

Comments

[tamsin]

Do you know garridebs's Monstress vid? I think you might like it.

[renay]

I do know this vid! It is so good. I'm still marveling over the cuts and the music. IN AWE.

[tamsin]

It's really good. I don't know the comic - though I plan to read it - and it made me feel so much for Maika.

[renay]

It does such a good job capturing her character! I highly recommend it.

The Vagrant

[theillustratedpage.wordpress.com]

When you mentioned queer characters in your section on The Vagrant, do you mean the book has queer characters? Or where you just talking about what you like in general.

SPOILERS *annoyed grumbling about queerbaiting*

[renay]

I reviewed The Vagrant over here and it spoils some of the character development. I think the book has queer characters and I'm the reader so what I say goes for me!! The book seems torn over whether it wants to admit it has queer characters or just keep things ~vague~ and any romantic connection easy to deny/cast as close friendship in case homophobic readers don't like queer content they can live in their Happy Bigot Bubble.

Your mileage may vary!

[bookgazing]

I loved Year of Yes. Downside, I am now always constantly hoping every essay/self-help collection will be just as good and they just are not.

Black Wolves - yay (just because).

I am attempting to order Ninefox Gambit through our shop - wish me luck!

And turns out The Vagrant author is coming to our shop btw.

[renay]

Team #BlackWolves! :D

I took a break from those books because I had the same problem. I totally bounced off Yes Please. :( I've been reading more nonfiction. I meant to ask if you had any recs for good books about ~witches~ in history because I may have access to them now since I can check out books from my academic library!

Oooh, yes! I hope your shop gets it! It's so fun and has some elements I think you'll really enjoy re: politics/culture!

Well, if you get to speak to him tell him I've started a campaign to get other people to read his book. (Maybe leave out all my Grousy Complaints about queer rep tho XD)

[bluemeridian]

I've started listening to Black Wolves! (Do you get a toaster after you get a certain number of people to read it?) I haven't gotten to the downfall yet so it's very nail biting waiting for it.

[renay]

I'm not sure how many people I've convinced to read it so far. At this point I've done enough hand-selling that Orbit has gotten the price of my ARC back at least. XD

[stardreamer]

For some reason I was never able to get into Cherryh's Union/Alliance books. But I adore the Chanur series, with its really ALIEN aliens (methane-breathers who speak in matrix messages!) and an early example of good gender trope-inversion. There's some wonderful character growth in it too, especially watching Pyanfar mature from basic competence into a true cultural and political leader.

[renay]

Well, they're definitely dense and political (well, DS was and I've been told others are similar), and usually that can be hard for me. But I impressed on Damon/Elene/Josh pretty heavily so that helped with this book; we'll see how I do with the others if I don't love a character or two.

I have an omnibus of the Chanur books! That will be the one I try next, actually, because there was a discussion of it on Twitter a few months that made it sound GREAT, and then I'll probably follow it with The Faded Sun trilogy since it's a favorite of a close friend and I want to finally be able to discuss it. XD

[viridian5]

I bounced off the first Chanur book hard, which is unusual since I enjoy the majority of Cherryh's work, but loved the rest of the series.

[renay]

Oh, that's good to know! I have no clue what to expect from the series so I'm hopeful I'll like it. :D

[stardreamer]

"Dense and political" is one of those things that may or may not work for me, depending largely on the flavor of the politics. I would say that the Chanur books are pretty political as well, but it's different from the Union/Alliance politics. But there's a trilogy-long arc about Pyanfar learning to maneuver thru increasingly-wider political circles, which I found fascinating.

[renay]

Well, Union/Alliance politics were pretty confusing (sometimes, I'll be sitting and will think about something and go "OH!" and a political situation from Downbelow Station becomes clear) so different is probably a good thing. Also I know now I need to take notes while reading Cherryh, so that'll help. XD

[calissa]

I think it's always a good idea to tweak goals at the mid-point. Most of us aren't clairvoyant, after all, and life has a tendency to throw curve balls.

I really need to get on to reading Illuminae, especially as I'm likely to end up with the sequel for the Aurealis Awards.

[renay]

I wanted to read 150 books! That...is probably not going to happen. But getting me to change it was an Endeavor on the part of a 3-5 person intervention team. XD

Illuminae is fun and although it looks large it's a little misleading because some pages don't have full text. If you have mobility issues, though, I definitely wouldn't recommend reading it in hardcopy. Turning the book upside down multiple times was a CHORE. XD

[calissa]

Wow, that's a huge target! Have you read 150 books in previous years or were you shooting for a record?

I'm glad you have people looking after you. *hugs*

Illuminae definitely sounds intriguing! Now, if I could just get through a few more books so I could get to it...

[renay]

I read 100ish books last year and wanted to challenge myself! And then I ended up going overboard, oops. I may still make it, though, if I can swallowing manga. XD

[calissa]

Good luck!