Neil Gaiman – The Bookish Mutant

The Bookish Mutant’s 5-Star Reads of 2022

Posted on December 26, 2022 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

2022 was a strange, messy, and transitional year for me—graduating high school, starting college, and all of the chaos in between. It’s been an unusual reading year for me too—I haven’t been able to read as much, what with college and finals throwing me off of my reading rhythm for most of the second half of the year. I didn’t have as many 5-star reads as I have in previous years (not counting re-reads, for which there were many), and that might be a consequence of how weird this year has been, but that maybe the more I read, the more selective I get with my 5-star ratings. It’s not every day that a book changes your life, rocks your world, or shifts you in some other way. But there were still several books that deserved that rating this year, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give these truly wonderful books all my love as the year reaches its end.

(NOTE: re-reads that I previously rated 5 stars will not appear on this list.)

Let’s begin, shall we?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S 5-STAR READS OF 2022⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wide Starlight – Nicole Lesperance

My first 5-star read of the year, and an unexpected one as well; a beautiful story of northern lights, fairytales, and family.

Read my review here!

Art Matters – Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell

An essential read for anyone with creative aspirations of any kind. Neil Gaiman never misses.

Alone in Space: A Collection – Tillie Walden

A beautiful collection of vignettes and short comics from one of my favorite creators in recent years!

The Reckless Kind – Carly Heath

Another 5-star read from a new-to-me author, The Reckless Kind captured my heart with its tale of queer love and disabled identity.

Read my review here!

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects – Mike Mignola

Another beautiful anthology from one of my favorite artists and storytellers. The Magician and the Snake always gets me choked up.

Call Us What We Carry – Amanda Gorman

At this point, Amanda Gorman is incapable of writing anything that doesn’t immediately awe me; Call Us What We Carry is filled to the brim with creativity, wisdom, and timely insight that will surely stand the test of time.

Honorable Mentions (4.5 stars):

Today’s song:

probably the last album I’ll listen to in 2022, and it was a great one!! this definitely my favorite track

That’s it for my favorite books of 2022! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Book Tags

A to Z Book Tag

Posted on July 20, 2022 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

I was in the mood for a book tag today, so I thought I’d try this one out. I found it over at Birdie’s Book Nook (who you should absolutely follow if you don’t already!). I haven’t been able to find who originally created the tag, so if you know, let me know and I’ll link to their blog.

This one looks like a lot of fun…let’s begin, shall we?

🔠A TO Z BOOK TAG🔠

A – Author you have read the most books from

I haven’t picked up a Warriors book since middle school, but given the sheer volume of books in this series (aren’t there…there’s probably 40 or 50 books now, right? I stopped at the 5th series 💀), I’d say that Erin Hunter is the author that I’ve read the most books from. These books were my childhood…

B – Best sequel ever

the emotional damage that Aurora Burning inflicted on me remains unparalleled…

C – Currently reading

I’m a little over halfway through Follow Your Arrow right now! I’m not super invested in the romance, but the bisexual rep is great.

D – Drink of choice

Definitely tea—hot cinnamon spice is my favorite!

E – E-reader or physical book?

As much as I love my Kindle, physical books always win. Can’t beat the feeling of having a physical book in your hand—plus, a Kindle can’t give you that book smell…

F – Fictional character you would’ve dated in high school

Auri and Kal from Aurora Rising are my ultimate bisexual panic, so I probably would’ve gone for either of them…

G – Glad you gave this book a chance

I don’t usually read historical fiction as often, but The Reckless Kind was an unexpected 5-star read!

H – Hidden gem

The Wide Starlight ended up being my first 5-star read of the year! It doesn’t get nearly as much praise as it should, it’s a stunning book!

I – Important moment in your reading life

Reading and subsequently falling in love with The Search for WondLa in 5th grade. I’d liked sci-fi books before, but I give that trilogy credit for being my gateway into sci-fi literature. Haven’t turned my back since.

J – Just finished

I finished The Final Strife yesterday! Definitely a long haul, but the worldbuilding was great.

K – Kind of book you won’t read

I don’t usually do horror, and I’m also not a huge fan of the kind of romance books with airbrushed, shirtless/scantily clad people on the covers. Again, no shade to the people that enjoy the aforementioned books, but they’re just not my thing.

L – Longest book you’ve ever read

Technically, Invincible: Compendium One is an anthology, but 1,092 pages is still pretty thick.

M – Major book hangover because of…

Aurora’s End WRECKED me…I think I re-read it two or three times before I could pick anything else up…

N – Number of bookshelves you own

Three—two for most of my books, and a smaller one for all my graphic novels and trade paperbacks.

O – One book you’ve read multiple times

I re-read The Kingdom of Back a few weeks back, and I loved it just as much as I did the first time!

P – Preferred place to read

Either the couch, my bed (at night), and when it’s warm enough, outside in the hammock.

Q – Quote that inspires you

For the sake of brevity, I’ll just link it here, but Neil Gaiman’s “Make Good Art” speech never fails to be an inspiration to me. Go read it. You won’t regret it.

R – Reading regrets

Spending any money—even just $4.99—on Off Balance. What an awful excuse for a sequel.

S – Series you’ve started and need to finish

I really enjoyed Surviving the City, I don’t know why I haven’t picked up From the Roots Up!

T – Three of your all-time favorite books

Aurora Rising, Heart of Iron, and Frankenstein have been my steady favorites for the past few years.

U – …I just looked through several iterations of this tag, and it looks like U got skipped somewhere down the line?

moving on…

V – Very excited about this release

I need to pick up Godslayers soon—I think it just came out last month!

W – Worst bookish habit

I read relatively fast, and sometimes it comes back to bite me…I’ve learned to read my school books a little slower, at least.

X – X marks the spot. Pick the 27th book from your top left shelf.

Turns out it’s Nyxia! It’s been years since I’ve read this one, but I remember enjoying it.

Y – Your latest purchase

I bought Adaptation and a few other books on my Kindle for my trip to California in June. This one was my least favorite of the books I bought, but it was still decent. I finished it on the plane ride back.

Z – Z snatcher: book that kept you up way too late

nothin’ like staying up way too late reading The Darkness Outside Us and having a minor existential crisis, am I right

I TAG:

Hundreds & Thousands of Books
becca @ Book It With Becca
Elli @ AceReader
thea @ thea reads
+ anyone else who wants to participate! If you see this tag and want to do it, I’d love to see your answers! If I tagged you and you’ve already done it, then my bad.

Today’s song:

this album was pretty hit or miss for me, but I like this one—feels like their old stuff!

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

Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: May 23-29, 2022

Posted on May 29, 2022 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

My sense of time has been w a y off this week; I’m still recovering from all the chaos and festivities from graduation last week, so this week has all been coming down from all that. The weather’s warmed up after that big snowstorm we had on the day of graduation, and I’ve been trying to get some stuff done for college and get some more reading done.

I haven’t been able to read or write much this month, so I’ve been trying to remedy the reading part, at least. I’ve had more time to read this week, and it’s been a hit or miss batch this week, but I found some great ones (one of which was a graduation present from my parents—thank you! 💗) I have some Fantastic Four comics that I want to read next week (from my dad and my brother, after realizing that I hadn’t read any while we were discussing the new Doctor Strange), so that’ll be fun.

As far as writing goes, I haven’t written much lately—more outlining, but I’m not sure if I should go on editing the WIP, fine-tuning its sequel, or just starting something new. I’m leaning towards the latter, but I’m not sure what I’ll write…we’ll see.

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing when I can, playing guitar, seeing Spoon live (amazing, as they always are), listening to the new Wilco, and watching Everything Everywhere All At Once (tears were shed).

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea, #1) – Judy I. Lin (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak (Unstoppable, #2) – Charlie Jane Anders (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

The Chosen and the Beautiful – Nghi Vo (⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Art Matters – Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

“Wait, it’s all Fantastic Four?”

“Always has been.”

Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four, vol. 1 – Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four, vol. 1 – Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham

Fantastic Four, vol. 2 – Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham

Fantastic Four, vol. 3 – Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham

Fantastic Four, vol. 4 – Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham

Today’s song:

one of my absolute favorites from this album—and a serendipitous play while we were driving home after seeing Everything Everywhere All At Once

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

Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (5/17/22) – Gallant

Posted on May 17, 2022 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

I’ve only started reading V.E. Schwab’s books since last year, when I read the Shades of Magic trilogy and loved it (for the most part). Since then, I’ve had most of her other books on my TBR, including this one. It unexpectedly came on hold at the library recently (originally I was probably at…#43 on the waitlist or something💀), and so I jumped at the chance to read it. What I got was a lush and atmospheric fairytale and an ultimately satisfying read!

Enjoy this week’s review!

Gallant – V.E. Schwab

Olivia Prior knows little about her past. All the clues she has are in her dead mother’s journal, which seems to chronicle her descent into indescribable madness. After graduating from the Merilance School for Girls, Olivia has nowhere to go, until she is invited by letter to Gallant, the Prior family home. She is met with hostility by her estranged, distant relatives, but soon discovers a dark secret: every place in the world has its shadow, but the shadow at Gallant may be larger and more unpredictable than any of the Prior family could have expected.

TW/CW: animal death, ableist language (outdated), blood, murder, loss of loved ones, violence

Strange, dark, and atmospheric, Gallant is a lovely gem of a modern, Gothic fairytale. It’s only my third or fourth (though I remember next to nothing about This Savage Song) foray into Schwab’s writing, but it’s enough to almost put her at auto-buy/checkout status for me!

Where Gallant excels is the atmosphere surrounding it. Even though the supernatural aspect of the book isn’t explicitly shown until the last third or so, there was a consistent air of darkness that hung around it. Every description, from Olivia’s experience at the Merilance School to the mystery of the Gallant house, was filled with dark and creeping prose. It called to mind so many pieces of media that I love—I know Coraline (and Neil Gaiman in general) and Guillermo del Toro have been common comparisons, but they absolutely fit the bill. Reminded me a lot of Courtney Crumrin too.

But what created this atmosphere was all V.E. Schwab’s writing. She has such a unique way with words, and her specialty with crafting immersive settings is much of what made Gallant a success for me. Everything from Olivia’s mother’s descent into madness to the supernatural occurrences converging into Olivia and her cousins was described in such an artful, deliberate way that I could almost feel the dark atmosphere like misty fog on my skin. It’s hard to think of a writing style as unique and layered as V.E. Schwab’s.

However, I still had some complaints. From reading the Shades of Magic trilogy, I felt like the plot itself was what dragged some of the books down. The same was true for Gallant; although the setting, characters, and general premise were set up and well-executed, the plot itself felt nebulous at best, clinging to the singular plot thread of Olivia moving from the girl’s school into her mysterious family home. Everything sped up in the last third of the book or so, and the elements of that section were some of the most interesting—I wanted more!

Additionally, I would’ve liked to know when the book takes place in the first place—there wasn’t a concrete establishment of that. From bits of the worldbuilding and some of the language (particularly the outdated language that surrounded Olivia’s mutism), it was implied that it could’ve been anywhere from the 1800s to the early 1900s. Not necessarily essential, but it made some aspects confusing. (Same problem I had with Encanto—no way I would’ve known that it was set in the 50’s if I hadn’t googled it.)

All in all, a dark and immersive fairytale from an author that I’d love to read more from. 4 stars!

Gallant is a standalone, but V.E. Schwab is also the author of several other book series, including the Shades of Magic trilogy, the Villains trilogy, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Today’s song:

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

Goodreads Monday

Goodreads Monday (12/27/21) – A Peculiar Peril

Posted on December 27, 2021December 28, 2021 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles! Last Goodreads Monday of 2021, whoa…

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme originally created by Lauren’s Page Turners, but has since moved to Budget Tales Book Blog. All you have to do to participate is pick a book from your Goodreads TBR, and explain why you want to read it.

I’ve been meaning to get into Jeff VanderMeer’s books ever since watching and loving the movie adaptation of Annihilation. This one’s apparently his first YA book—I’m not sure if I’ll read it before or after Annihilation or anything else of his, but either way, I’m interested.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GOODREADS MONDAY (12/27/21) – A PECULIAR PERIL by Jeff VanderMeer

Amazon.com: A Peculiar Peril (The Misadventures of Jonathan Lambshead, 1): 9780374308865: VanderMeer, Jeff: Books

Blurb from Goodreads:

After Jonathan Lambshead’s elusive grandfather dies, the recently orphaned teenager inherits the family mansion—and its contents. Jonathan soon discovers that the mansion’s basement holds more than just oddities: three doors serve as portals, with one leading to an alt-Earth called Aurora, where magic abounds, history has been re-written, and an occult dictator called Aleister Crowley leads an army pillaging alt-Europe. Jonathan learns of his destiny as a member of The Order, a secret society devoted to keeping our world separate from Aurora, and embarks on an epic quest to protect Earth from Crowley’s dark magic.

Over the course of the duology, Jonathan uncovers more of the worlds outside of our own, the magic that permeates them, his own destiny, and the secrets buried in his family history.

So why do I want to read this?

SPINE-Aurora Parlegreco on Designing Jeff VanderMeer's A Peculiar Peril — art by Jeremy Zerfoss (illustrations from *A Peculiar Peril*)

From what I’ve seen, most of Jeff VanderMeer’s books don’t get the best reviews. From what I’ve read of them, most of the reviewers had problems with either the writing or the hazy worldbuilding. This one in particular has a lot of complaints about very sparse worldbuilding (regarding the alt-Earth, Aurora) and overly flowery prose. Both of those are usually turnoffs for me.

So why am I still on board?

Because this looks weird. The best kind of weird. Alternate Earths? Dark magic? Old mansions with portals and hidden oddities? I’M ALL IN. A lot of reviewers have likened it to a modern Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or compared it to Neil Gaiman, and both of those comparisons are just the kind that hook me in. I’m not expecting a new Neil Gaiman (and maybe comparing a book to him is a bit of a curse—The Absolute Book, anyone?), but given that this is the same mind who dreamt up Annihilation, I have faith.

Today’s song:

I cleaned up some of my room for a good hour or so this morning and I played this album all the way through

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

Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: October 26-November 1, 2020

Posted on November 1, 2020November 1, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, happy November, and happy Día de los Muertos, if that’s your thing!

Whew, October’s definitely been a rough month for me, and this week wasn’t much of an exception. Junior year is weighing heavy on me, but through it all, at least I’ve had lots of good music and books to keep me going. Having a snow day on Monday was lovely, and now the weather’s nice and moderate. (Oh, and this fourth season of Fargo might just be my favorite, but I’m just hoping Rabbi Milligan survives for a few more episodes…) And Halloween season is always fun–we celebrated on Friday with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and we carved our pumpkins and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice on Saturday night. Here’s how my pumpkin turned out, I carved the logo from Fargo on it!

Just carved on left, on the front porch at night on the right!

It was promptly eaten by a deer this morning, but hey, I was really proud of it while it lasted.

All things considered, I’ve had a good reading week. I had a couple of disappointments, but I finally got around to reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and really enjoyed it! (Expect a review next week!)

And…NaNoWriMo starts today, so there shall be writing aplenty tonight…

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Radio Silence–Alice Oseman (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

All the Stars and Teeth–Adalyn Grace (⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth Duology, 1) (9781250307781): Grace, Adalyn: Books

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)–Suzanne Collins (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' by Suzanne Collins book review - The Washington Post

The Athena Protocol–Shamim Sarif (⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: The Athena Protocol (9780062849601): Sarif, Shamim: Books

Tweet Cute–Emma Lord (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: Tweet Cute: A Novel (9781250237323): Lord, Emma: Books

The Sleeper and the Spindle–Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell (illustrator) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: The Sleeper and the Spindle eBook: Gaiman, Neil, Riddell, Chris: Kindle Store

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Six of Crows–Leigh Bardugo (re-read for book club)

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, 1): Amazon.co.uk: Bardugo, Leigh: Books

Today Tonight Tomorrow–Rachel Lynn Solomon

Amazon.com: Today Tonight Tomorrow (9781534440241): Solomon, Rachel Lynn: Books

Black Moon (Zodiac, #3)–Romina Russell

Amazon.com: Black Moon (Zodiac) (9781595147462): Russell, Romina: Books

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves! Here’s to a much better November.

Books

My 5-Star Reads of 2019

Posted on December 28, 2019January 2, 2020 by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Hi there, everyone!

As 2019 (and this decade) draws to a close, I’ve decided to make a comprehensive lists of all of my 5-star reads for this year, and, by proxy, my favorite books that I’ve read this year. Most of these are what’d you’d expect, if you’ve scoured my book tags and reviews, but I know there’s a few that I haven’t talked much about. These are in chronological order of when I read them, though their actual rankings vary a fair bit.

Now, without further ado…this year’s 5-star lineup!

KING OF SCARS–LEIGH BARDUGO

Bardugo’s veritable masterpiece, all at once a rollicking adventure and an exploration of internal conflict, was my first 5-star rating of this year. And…Nikolai. ‘Nuff said.

Read my review here!

THE ILLUMINAE FILES TRILOGY–AMIE KAUFMAN and JAY KRISTOFF

I mean, I read all of these in the span of a few months, and I gave all three books five stars…

For good reason, I think. I doubt that we’ll ever come across a trilogy quite like this in a very long time.

Read my review (Illuminae) here!

NEVERWHERE–NEIL GAIMAN

I’ve been a fan of Gaiman’s work for some time, but I chose this one for an English project, and I fell so in love with the fantastic world-building, as well as each and every character.

Find it on Goodreads here!

ONCE & FUTURE–AMY ROSE CAPETTA and CORI MCCARTHY

A feminist, LGBTQ+ retelling of the legends of King Arthur…need we say more? A wonderfully fast-paced space adventure, reminiscent of Captain Marvel.

Find it on Goodreads here!

HONOR BOUND–ANN AGUIRRE and RACHEL CAINE

Even more daring than its predecessor, Honor Bound is a complex space opera to die for.

Find it on Goodreads here!

TENNYSON: POEMS–ALFRED TENNYSON

Yes, I was/still am that kid who sits in the corner reading depressing, 19th century poetry. Do I regret it? Absolutely not.

Find it on Goodreads here!

AURORA RISING–AMIE KAUFMAN and JAY KRISTOFF

You’ve already sing praise of this one innumerable times, so I’ll just leave it at this: I FOUND MY DREAM BOOK, PEOPLE. THIS IS EVERYTHING.

Read my review here!

THE PIONEER--BRIDGET TYLER

An inventive, heart-pounding sci-fi adventure, The Pioneer was very nearly flawless, and I’m itching to get my hands on the sequel next spring! 😀

Read my review here!

AN ANATOMY OF BEASTS–OLIVIA A. COLE

Delving deeper and growing even twistier than its predecessor, A Conspiracy of Stars, this novel is dazzlingly well-thought out, the prime example of what speculative sci-fi should be.

Find it on Goodreads here!

THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES–RAY BRADBURY

Did I mention how much I love sci-fi? No?

Ray Bradbury is a talent to be reckoned with, able to deftly weave together a thought-provoking story in the span of under 100 pages with ease.

Also, I was today years old when I realized that the hand on the cover has six fingers.

Find it on Goodreads here!

SOUL OF STARS–ASHLEY POSTON

The epic conclusion to the Heart of Iron duology, Poston deftly wraps together a complicated universe of familial bonds and political intrigue. Love, love, love, LOVE…

Read my review here!

FAHRENHEIT 451–RAY BRADBURY

Again, Ray Bradbury. I rest my case.

Find it on Goodreads here!

SPARE AND FOUND PARTS–SARAH MARIA GRIFFIN

A futuristic Frankenstein for the modern age, this is a grossly underrated writing, atmospheric and poetic.

Read my review here!

THE DEMON WORLD–SALLY GREEN

The pulse-pounding sequel to The Smoke Thieves, Green delivers an even more potent punch of her signature world-building and fantasy action.

Read my review here!

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X–JONATHAN HICKMAN

The newest installment in the legendary X-Men mythology, Hickman weaves a mythical and symbolic world, with a hopeful conclusion and the potential of many mutant tales to come.

Find it on Goodreads here!

LIKE A LOVE STORY–ABDI NAZEMIAN

Would you look at that…I think this is the only historical fiction in this post…

A hearstring-tearing and poignant coming-of-age LGBTQ+ novel. So many feels. INFINITE feels.

Read my review here!

THE TOLL–NEAL SHUSTERMAN

The conclusion to the unforgettable Arc of a Scythe trilogy, this novel is solid proof that Shusterman is a sci-fi author to be reckoned with.

Read my review here!

Man. What a year this has been…

Have you read any of these novels, and what did you think of them? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!

Have a lovely rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!