Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!
Here’s my favorite flower emoji. Pick it if you like—it’s for everyone to enjoy, but it’s not real, no damage done! Keep it for the road:🪻
You’ve probably noticed by now that I’ve gone into my finals hibernation. The only reason I’m popping on right now is because this post is mostly pre-written, so I’ll probably be radio silent for another week or so. March and April have been topsy-turvy—despite the veil of illusion that is the internet, I’m always on the verge of freaking out about the news. I’ve had my fair share of spirals. I repeat to myself: I do what I can. I can freak out, but I can never give in to fear. Easier said than done, but I’m trying here. I’m donating when I can. I’m getting the word out. And when I actually have the time, I’m keeping up with reading diversely and reviewing intersectionally. The sun is out, the weather is warmer, and I am trying to soak up as much of it as I can.
Today’s my last official day of my junior year of college. I’ve got finals ahead, but I’ve got the humanities blessing of having no in-person finals, just papers to turn in. They’re all longer than I’d care to write, but thankfully they’re all about things I enjoy. I’ve done a lot of writing about science fiction, especially cozy sci-fi and how it’s a counter to sci-fi convention of how everything has to have the universe at stake. It’s worth it to tell stories where, to take Kurt Vonnegut at his most literally, all the characters want is just a glass of water. Quiet stories of kindness are not naïve—they teach us to dream about worlds where everything around us is kinder.
As I look back on junior year, I see a fishbowl with pebbles strewn across the floor, but the goldfish flopped back into what was left and did its very best to thrive. I took on a hefty workload while juggling a metric ton of anxiety, and it’s been an uphill battle to stay mindful and stay present. But I am learning. I’m getting better. I really think I can see clear signs that I’ve gotten better this semester. Sure, I had the workload, but I was able to, y’know, get out and realize that there are people and places beyond my bed and that the voices in my head are full of shit. I stepped out of my comfort zone…within bounds. I expanded the zone, shall we say. I went to some new restaurants and got a tad more social. Most of all, I tried to embody the joy that I don’t see in the word around me. I know there are plenty of lazy people using “joy as an act of resistance” as an excuse to do absolutely nothing to counteract the hellscape around us, but it’s true. When people are unironically saying things like “the sin of empathy” and not even stopping to think about what the hell they’ve just said, being joyful and showing those in power that you won’t bend to their tactics is as powerful as any protest. So keep on finding and being the joy.
Today, I group-hugged some friends of mine after class. Two of them are graduating seniors, and today was their last ever day in undergrad. In an attempt to adjust my position, I ended up jostled to the center of the hug. It embodied the feeling that I hope to give to myself and others: being surrounded by love on all sides. Junior year’s out the window. Onto better things Thursday.
Let’s begin, shall we?
MARCH READING WRAP-UP:
I read 13 books in March! I focused mainly on books by women for Women’s History Month. I also got into a major sci-fi stint (they never go away, every other reading mood just happens in between them), and read some new greats by familiar authors!
2 – 2.75 stars:
- A Children’s Bible – Lydia Millet (for school) (⭐️⭐️.75)
3 – 3.75 stars:
- Stars Uncharted – S.K. Dunstall (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- The Teller of Small Fortunes – Julie Leong (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Water Moon – Samantha Sotto Yambao (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Why on Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology – edited by Rosiee Thor and Vania Stoyanova (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
- All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) – Martha Wells (re-read, for school) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
4 – 4.75 stars:
- Ocean’s Godori (The Alliance, #1) – Elaine U. Cho (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Daughter of the Merciful Deep – Leslye Penelope (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Sheine Lende (Elatsoe, #0) – Darcie Little Badger (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Black Girl You Are Atlas – Renée Watson (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
- Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5) – Suzanne Collins (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
- Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown – Mike Mignola (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- The Last Gifts of the Universe – Riley August (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH – The Last Gifts of the Universe – 4.75 stars, rounded up to 5
REVIEWS:
BONUS:
SUNDAY SONGS:
APRIL READING WRAP-UP:
I read 16 books in April! Trust me, I have genuinely no clue how that managed to happen. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,” or something? We’ll see if I can actually keep up the momentum. Either way, April was a mixed bag—some absolute hard-hitters, but also my very first DNF of the year. (Sorry, The Phoenix Keeper. I just feel like there’s millions of better ways to describe the pale white MC than having skin like “gossamer.” With all of the mythical creatures, I was starting to think that she was one too, given that word choice…)
1 – 1.75 stars:
- The Phoenix Keeper – S.A. MacLean (DNF – ⭐️.75)
2 – 2.75 stars:
3 – 3.75 stars:
- Earthflown – Frances Wren and Mallory Litarnes (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
- Afrotistic – Kala Allen Omeiza (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books – Kirsten Miller (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time – Natalie Hodges (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
- Mrs. Caliban – Rachel Ingalls (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
- Roll for Love – M.K. England (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
4 – 4.75 stars:
- Heartstopper, vol. 5 – Alice Oseman (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Devil’s Gun (The Disco Space Opera, #2) – Cat Rambo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Rumor Has It (The Disco Space Opera, #3) – Cat Rambo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Compound Fracture – Andrew Joseph White (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- The Trees – Percival Everett (for school) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- Faithbreaker (Fallen Gods, #3) – Hannah Kaner (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
- You Sexy Thing (The Disco Space Opera, #1) – Cat Rambo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
- The River Has Roots – Amal El-Mohtar (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: The River Has Roots – 4.5 stars
REVIEWS:
SUNDAY SONGS:
Today’s song:
That’s it for the second wrap-up of the year! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
The Bookish Mutant 