Tag: Across a Field of Starlight

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

January 2023 Wrap-Up ⛄️

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

Already a month into 2023! I hope you’ve all been doing well and staying safe. I could do without how freezing it’s been, but it’s been

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Happy new year! January is usually my least favorite month in general; now that all of the fun of the holidays are over, all of the snow just makes everything look all sad and sludgy. And it’s been a freezing January—as I’m writing this, it’s a balmy 3° outside. We had our first snow day of the year on the second day of school, even though we really didn’t get all that much snow. Not that I’m complaining. It would’ve sucked to walk in all that. Needless to say, I wore my pajamas all day that day.

Winter break lasted blissfully long, and I got to catch up with one of my best friends for coffee, which was wonderful. As far as college goes, I think I’m in for an easier semester—no math or science credits this semester, and it’s still all English/humanities classes. Again, another reason why I’m enjoying this part of college—I’m taking another class where the reading is all comics, a Science Fiction class, and a class on LGBT studies (specifically focusing on Black/African diaspora)! I’m enjoying all of them so far.

I’ve had a fairly decent reading month, I’d say; break gave me some much-needed time to read after finals, and a family friend very generously gave some of his comics to me, so I’ve been slowly making my way through those as well. My reading’s slowed down a tad bit just from getting back into the rhythm of school, but it’s a lot better than the first semester in terms of how much I’m reading. Not complaining that I’m re-reading Slaughterhouse-Five for my intro to fiction class.

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, playing guitar, trying to write a bit more (gonna need to for class, anyway…), blowing through all three seasons of Derry Girls (we love Clare in this house), and doing my best to stay warm. Fingers crossed that February will be more merciful on the weather front.

Also, you can’t really tell because I’m wearing a beanie in the new pfp, but I shaved my head on New Year’s Eve. Feels lovely, gotta say.

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 21 books this month! I had a few brief slumps, but overall, I’d say it was a fairly even mix this month; I’ve already had a DNF, but I had two 4.5 star reads as well, so I think that cancels out.

1 – 1.75 stars:

You Truly Assumed

2 – 2.75 stars:

The Keeper of Night

3 – 3.75 stars:

The Heartbreak Bakery

4 – 4.75 stars:

The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Little Thieves – 4.5 stars

Little Thieves

POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I ENJOYED:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I ENJOYED:

this has been on repeat in my library for eternity
a find from The Heartstopper Yearbook
if I had a nickel for every Gorillaz song that I haven’t been able to stop listening to this month, I’d have two nickels. which isn’t that much, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
a perfect, wintry album for January
NEW BOYGENIUS ALBUM NEW BOYGENIUS ALBUM THIS IS NOT A DRILL Y’ALL
and as if on cue, I’m on a huge Super Furry Animals kick again

Today’s song:

fantastic album!! just finished listening yesterday

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

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Posted in Book Tags

The Trope Book Tag

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles! Hope you’re all doing well this week.

Before I begin—I don’t have any plans for a bookstagram, but I did just make an art account on Instagram, so if you’d like to see my art more regularly, here you are!

Riddhi @ Whispering Stories tagged me in this one a little while back (sorry for only getting to it now lol, just going through a bunch of tags), and I figured it would be a good day to finally do it! The tag was originally created by Ash @ inkwordsandash, and it sounds like a ton of fun!

Rules:

-mention the creator of the tag and pingback to the original post (Ash @inkwordsandash)
-tag 3+ people
-lastly, enjoy!!

Let’s begin, shall we?

📚THE TROPE BOOK TAG📚

ENEMIES TO LOVERS: a book you formerly hated/disliked but now love!

…I’m with Riddhi here, I’m not sure if there’s any book that I can think of that would fit this prompt. I rarely give books I don’t like a second chance…

SECOND CHANCE: a book you previously DNF’d but now adore!

Again, I rarely go back and give my DNFs a second chance—in my book (no pun intended), a book has to be pretty offensive for me to DNF it entirely, so if it gets to that point, the chances of me going back and re-reading it are pretty much zero.

LOVE TRIANGLE: a duology where you love both of the books

Yay! I can finally answer a prompt!

I just finished Alexandra Christo’s incredibly fun Into the Crooked Place duology (Into the Crooked Place and City of Spells) about a month ago. Each book was just as strong as the other, and I loved the unique and unlikely cast of characters.

FRIENDS TO LOVERS: a book recommended to you that you enjoyed

One of my best friends introduced me to Fireborne, and now I’m hooked on the series! I really need to get around to reading Furysong soon…

INSTA-LOVE: a book you knew you would love at first sight

I knew nothing about Across a Field of Starlight when I stumbled upon it in Barnes & Noble recently, but the cover and the promise of unapologetic queerness in space was enough to convince me—and it delivered in all of those aspects!

THE CHOSEN ONE: your all time favorite (of the year/month/[x] genre)

We’re not even halfway through January at this point, but so far, The Sirens of Mars has been my favorite book of the month! It’s a beautiful glimpse into the history of how our species has viewed, studied, and mythologized Mars, and it boasts some incredible writing.

FORBIDDEN LOVE: a loved book that you don’t talk about often

I feel like I talk about Samira Ahmed a fair amount on this blog, but Internment deserves all of the hype it’s received over the years; it’s a chilling reminder of where hate can lead a country and its people.

SECRET BILLIONAIRE: a book you read and enjoyed before you knew it was popular

I suppose The Umbrella Academy fits this prompt—I read it a few months before the show came out on Netflix, and while the comic is better, in my opinion, I’m glad that the show has helped it reach a wider audience!

FOUND FAMILY: your most cherished books!

I’m fully aware of how much I sound like a broken record at this point, but here are my top 3, again: Frankenstein, Aurora Rising, and Heart of Iron!

FORCED PROXIMITY: a required reading book that you read and enjoyed

I’ve generally ended up at least liking most of the books I’ve had to read since high school, but The Catcher in the Rye is one of the few that got the full 5 stars from me.

I TAG:

Today’s song:

at this point, I’m convinced that Gorillaz is physically incapable of making a bad song

That’s it for this book tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (1/3/23) – Across a Field of Starlight

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy first Tuesday of the year, bibliophiles!

My first review of the year also happens to be the first book that I finished this year! I hadn’t heard anything about it before I came upon it while browsing the YA graphic novel section of Barnes & Noble. I’m always all in for queer sci-fi, and that, combined with the art style, was enough to convince me to buy it. I’m so glad to say that it was a wonderful graphic novel, full of heart, bright colors, and queerness aplenty.

Enjoy this week’s review!

Across a Field of Starlight – Blue Delliquanti

Lu and Fassen have been friends since childhood, after a chance meeting when Fassen’s spaceship crashed onto Lu’s peaceful planet. Though they came from entirely different backgrounds, they kept in contact even as Fassen was forced back into their duty as a soldier. But when the tyrannical Ever-Blossoming Empire begins a siege on Fassen’s resistance front and endangers Lu’s planet, the two are reunited. Together for the first time in years, they must set aside their differences to escape the Empire’s clutches—and discover truths about each other.

TW/CW: sci-fi violence, depictions of injuries/blood, war themes, vehicle crash, loss of loved ones (off-page)

Across a Field of Starlight was the perfect book to start my year off with! With its beautiful art, tender story, and unapologetic queerness all the way through, this is a graphic novel that you won’t want to miss.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how wonderfully diverse Across a Field of Starlight is. I don’t think I’ve read anything—graphic novel or otherwise—quite this diverse in such a long time! Both of the protagonists are nonbinary and POC, Lu is plus-sized, and there is an array of POC and trans characters all throughout the story. I especially loved that Delliquanti didn’t shy away from giving their cast of characters a variety of different body types, and it made their world and story all the more rich.

Delliquanti’s art style made Across a Field of Starlight shine as well. Although the book gets into some dark themes—war, colonization, etc.—the colors are vibrant all the way through, giving it a very fantastical feel. It especially suited Lu’s more peaceful, utopian planet and its welcoming nature, as well as Lu’s caring personality. Delliquanti’s depiction of outer space has a beautiful vibrance to it, making for an incredibly inviting story.

art by Blue Delliquanti
art by Blue Delliquanti

The perspectives that Delliquanti chose gave the story a more compelling angle as well. Instead of most sci-fi/fantasy war stories, Across a Field of Starlight focuses on the Firebreak resistance front and a party completely outside the main conflict; most media (Star Wars comes to mind) focuses just on the tyrannical empire and the rebellion, but I liked that they largely left the Ever-Blossoming Empire as more of a looming threat. It also made the point that even though Firebreak was fighting to free the galaxy of colonization, they weren’t all pure and good either, and although the aim was good, the motives for some of the authority figures may have been less so. Never meet your heroes, kids.

That being said, I would’ve liked more context for the intergalactic conflict that this novel sets up. I did like that we were thrown right into the action, but I would’ve liked more historical context on how the Ever-Blossoming Empire and the Firebreak came to be, how long they’ve been at war, and the consequences for the rest of the galaxy. Across a Field of Starlight is great on its own, but with a world as expansive as the one Delliquanti has created, it’s begging for a few sequels or spin-offs, or at least some more background.

All in all, a highly enjoyable graphic novel filled with heart, diversity, and vibrant color. 4 stars!

Across a Field of Starlight is a standalone, but Blue Delliquanti is also the author of the comic series O Human Star, which currently has three volumes, and has contributed to several other comic collections.

Today’s song:

good mindset for this year, I think

That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!