It's Hugo Award Eve!

 Tomorrow evening at 8Pm Pacific Time, the Hugo Awards will be awarded.  (cue sad trombones, for that very awkward sentence.) 

I'm pleased to say that I have read all 6 of the contenders for best Novel, and also several of the contenders for best Novella.  

Since I have read all 6 of the Nominees, I feel like I really should be making a prediction. Last year I predicted incorrectly, but the novel I would have chosen if I had gone with my heart, won. This year, I am again torn.  Firstly these 6 are all strong contenders.  They were all pretty much bangers, well written, well composed, addressed interesting issues in unusual ways. None of these were novels I finished and forgot about. 

That said, I did have my favorites. If you follow the blog you won't be surprised that I adored Robert Jackson Bennett's book two in the Ana and Din series, Emily Tesh's The Incandescent and also the Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson.  You might be surprised to find that I did not really enjoy Alix Harrow's The Everlasting, and that I was impressed by Okorafor's novel but I honestly didn't enjoy the reading of it. And Tchaikovsky.  Well.  He is a brilliant writer, but I do not think he is exactly the writer for me. Many of his novels seem incredibly inventive, until one has read several and then suddently it's always disgruntled academics, and insectoid creatures (that said Preaching to the Choir, a new novella he put out, has my heart, I loved that one, insects and all) . 

For me my TOP contenders are The Raven Scholar  and A Drop of Corruption. The Incandescent was a book that I really really enjoyed, but when compared to the others in this list, it just didn't pack the same punch as Some Desperate Glory did. If I was giving the award, I think I might just give it to Robert Jackson Bennett, AGAIN.  But honestly if I was giving the award, I might just go with The Raven Scholar, since Mr. Bennett won last year.   I do feel like A Drop of Corruption is superior to the first book, but still... I don't know that people should hog awards year after year.  Looking at Hugo's of the past, I do see that this has occasionally happened, so it could happen again. 

The Raven Scholar was fascinating to me because when I describe it to others, it sounds like a very standard fantasy novel, but at every opportunity Hodgson injects twists that I did not expect, lore that makes the world feel familiar and foreign at the same time, and characters that are hard to forget. 

So frankly, if I had all the power, I would choose Hodgson's The Raven Scholar. 

Do I think the Raven Scholar will win? 

I feel like that may be a No. 

From watching reviews and discussion, I am going to predict that actually Alix Harrow's The Everlasting may take the podium.  I personally do not like time travel and this novel... was heavily time travel. I also sort of got sick of the circular time frame and once I realized that there would be some sort of success in this desperate battle, I mostly wanted the repetitive time loops to just.. cease and desist. Others did not feel as I did and I saw so many 5 star reviews from readers all over the world. Readers who normally read only romantasy were all over this book.  Sci-Fi readers enjoyed  the time bending aspects, and others just thought it was a great story overall.   

I don't think I'll be mad if Harrow's novel takes top spot. It's well written, and although I had issues with it, I was still able to finish it, and I did enjoy many aspects of the novel. 

I look forward to waking up tomorrow evening around 11-12 eastern and finding out who prevailed.  let me know if you have predictions in the comments!!!! 

Book Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

  I soft DNF this back in May.  I was overly stressed out and I thought after reading the first chapter or so that I was going to like it but I didn't have time for it. 

Interestingly, I thought from that first chapter or so that I knew where this story was going.  It actually seemed like a fairly predictable romantasy  where the exiled girl  and the guard assigned to make sure she stayed exiled would fall in love an escape.  I was ready for that.

But no. 

The exiled girl stays exiled.  And our first plot twist emerges just pages into this tome. I should have realized at that point that this was not your average "Romantasy" where the Main Male character burns the world down for his love. I didn't.  

Instead, our main character is the woman who penned the exile order. Not the woman who decided she should be exiled. Simply the woman who created the documents for the task. In this day an age where a lot of people bark out that they were "just doing their job" the repercussions of this one act of "doing her job" are interesting to examine as they unfold over time. 

But, I digress a bit. This is really a bit of an EPIC fantasy novel.  It is over 600 pages, and because I had a 2 week audiobook loan, I listened to this one pretty much non-stop to be sure I could return it on time.  In the end, I put all other projects aside to finish because I wanted to know what happened and returned the book 9 days early.  It really was that good. 

Readers are taken to a land where dragon magic is real, wild and dangerous. We arrive as seven exceptional warriors, philosophers, strategists are joining a traditional series of trials to replace the current ruler. Each competitor represents the best of their "house".  Houses are tied to various animals and it's said that the people reflect the values/skills/attributes of their animals.  If that all sounds a bit strange, well- it is, but it works, and the best thing to do is just jump in and enjoy the journey. Ultimately each contender- and the people aligned with the contenders are all seeking power. 

Who will win?  What will winning look like? What will be the cost of the win?  Will it be worth it? 

5/5 stars  I wish I had read this one sooner. 

STATS

First Published  4/15/2025

Pages: 672

Available as an Audio Book : ~ 24 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, blood, body injury, death, Genocide,  Xenophobia, drug use, mild sexual innuendo, death of child, death of parent, supernatural animals.

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review: Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky

 I am not a super-fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky.  I've read Alien Clay, and I thought it was OK, but then I read Service Model and it was so horribly repetitive that I decided no more.  

But, the book world had other plans for me!

Shroud is one of the nominees for the Hugo Award in 2026 and since I usually try to read all of the nominees, I had it on my list. 

A friend of mine (who loves Tchaikovsky) started it with me, and was immediately put off by the part where one of the space travelers runs about nude strung out on Space Travel medications.  He has not read more, even though honestly, in the 13 hours of narration, I think that bit was added for color and is maybe 5 min long. 

So.  Shroud. 

Lets give a nod to this amazing cover: Cover Design by Lauren Panepinto; Cover Illustration by Yuko Shimizu

Real people, making real art. 

This book is unique in that is is a dual POV with on POV being a Researcher's assistant, and the other being an alien being.  

We start on a "generation" type ship that is trolling the universe stripping assets off other planets and moons. Our main human characters are part of a special projects team and suddenly- an engineer and the research assistant find themselves catapulted on to the moon. They come close up to the moon and find that there is indeed life, and it seems to be a touch dangerous. Capable of consuming them, and indeed, not all will survive this alien encounter. Readers follow this intrepid crew as they work to reunite with the ship. Our main character imagines that once reunited with the ship they will be celebrated as returning survivors and heroes with lots of valuable intel.  Of course, dedicated readers of Sci-Fi can see where this is going. Interspersed within we are given the POV of an alien being who is trying to figure out exactly what the human researchers are.   And if you are curious, you'll want to read more! 

For me, this was an interesting premise, and a surprising ending. It hinted at the need for a second book, but this is billed as a stand- alone.  Tchaikovsky describes an epic journey across an unknown moon in lugubrious detail. The opportunity was there to possibly flesh out the back story of both the main narrator and the engineer who were thrust together to escape this danger, but while he approaches this with some very fun conversations, in the end, I never could quite find myself to care that much about either person, as relatable as they seemed. I just never quite knew them. I found myself cheering more for the alien creature, but also didn't feel I knew the creature that well either. All that said, I can see that Tchaikovsky's story will appeal to so many that it may be just a me thing. I can see him becoming the Heinlein of a new generation (and I will say, significantly less problematic and creepy than Heinlein!!) 

Will this win the Hugo?  I don't think so. This year's nominees seem kind of weak to me, but I am not done with the list, I still have the Raven Scholar to dip into! 

STATS

First Published  2/27/25

Pages: 436

Available as an Audio Book : ~ 11 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, blood, body injury, death, Genocide,  Xenophobia

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

 The Everlasting is one of the 6 books nominated for a Hugo Award this year, so it was high up on my list to complete before the awards are given out. 

I think it's a possible winner. 

That said, it is not going to be my choice for winner, although I have only read 4 of the 6, I am sure that I've read at least two that I enjoyed more.

That said, this was inventive, deeply romantic and tragic in a way that readers of One Dark Window and Wolf Worm are bound to LOVE. 

It's difficult to give a synopsis without spoiling at least one of the gentle surprises. But, I'm game to try. 

    We start our story by meeting Owen Mallory, a misfit and an outcast who's received a medal for bravery that even he feels he didn't deserve, and a discharge from the military with a post at a college teaching and researching literature.  Mallory struggles with family and social relations, but he's on point with his scholarship and is working on a project to provide a definitive translation of the story of a National Hero- Una the Everlasting. One day, he receives a mysterious book in the post. Generally not one to take risks, he risks transporting this book away and to a mysterious address. This action sends him on a journey for the ages. 

  In this novel we get  a tender love that transcends the ages, knightly battles, some dragons, and a villain who is also a victim. There are political machinations, and manipulation as well as a stubborn time loop. It really is a time bending, gender bending love story for the ages. On top of that, it's well imagined and stunningly well written. 

  For me, I did find it somewhat repetitive which of course can't really be helped in a time looping novel, I suppose.  In addition, it seemed to go ON and ON.  I was shocked to find out after bearing through the audiobook that the print is only 320 pages. The audiobook is 13 hours and 21 min.  An average length of audio book for 320 pages is between 9 and 12 hours.... and thus, after about 9 hours, I was a bit tired of Owen, his father and the woman who would be called Una. It was an honest relief when the story concluded in a masterful and gentle way. 

   I think it's highly possible this is a winner, despite it dragging on quite a bit for me. I think, quite honestly I'd recommend reading this one with the eyes rather than the ears. 

First Published :  10/28/2025

Pages: 320

Available as an Audio Book :  YES

Trigger Warnings: Violence, death, on page sexual content, alcohol use/abuse, war (this is not a full list, read responsibly)

Hugo Awards nominees!!!

 I am so excited about the Hugo Awards every year! 

There are 6 books in the Best Novel category this year.  I'm  actually not entirely sure how I feel about these selections. I've read 3 of them, and have to get to the other three. 

Because I have read so many of the novels already I think I will branch out into the novella category aw well (As I've already read a few of them also!) 

Here's the rundown for Best Novel! 

BEST NOVEL NOMINEES: 

• A Drop of Corruption, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)
• 
  
  
• The Everlasting, Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK) 
• 
  
  
  
• The Raven Scholar, Antonia Hodgson (Orbit US; Hodderscape) 
• 
  
  
  
• Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor (Morrow; Gollancz)
• 
  
  
  
• Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK; Orbit US) 
• 
  
  
  
• The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (Tor US; Orbit UK) 
• 
  
  
  

Out of the Six, I've read A drop of Corruption, The Incandescent and Death of the Author.  I have partially read The Raven Scholar, but couldn't finish it in time for my library loan. So I will have to tackle Shroud, The Everlasting and finish up The Raven Scholar. 

From my reading the three are all strong contenders. I enjoyed all three in various ways, but I'll say that Robert Jackson Bennet's Drop of Corruption really tops the list for me. I just don't know that he can win two years in a row.  I don't think Okorafor's book was well liked, despite it being well written, with great presentation and an interesting story. I personally enjoyed it, but didn't love it. The Incandescent was great fun, but didn't have the pull of Some Desperate Glory which won a few years back. So... I've got some reading to do. 

Which ones are on your radar? Will you be joining me inreading all six?  

Book Review: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick

 

I'm back on the Hugo Awards as I complete a reading prompt for my local bookstore's reading challenge.  This prompt was for a Classic.  While The Man in the High Castle might not come to mind as rapidly as Pride and Prejudice, it is most assuredly a classic of Sci-Fi. 

  Frankly, I am learning I'm not a big fan of early Sci-Fi.  It's really a strange mash up of male insecurity, weird obsessions and a heavy dose of the times in which the writers were living.  These guys were inventive, but it's clear their imagination didn't go as far as I originally thought.  Even with Space Travel as a part of the novel, the entire imagining of space travel was pretty nebulous. And I suppose that's fair, given that travel on airplanes itself was generally priced for only the wealthy and business class at that time.  I can see that imagining a future where cargo was carried all over the place without a blink of an eye wasn't top of mind.  It is always interesting to see how we imagine the future world.  In Dick's case, it's one where Germany can colonize Mars, but secret info is still passed on by Photostat.  Since currently, we can not colonize Mars, but have well outgrown a photostat, the juxtaposition is jarring. 

    I didn't love this book, but I also did not hate it.  Readers follow several main characters who are all pieces of literary art. We have:

 I could likely write a post about the motivations, emotions and representations of all the characters. But, I'm not that kind of book reviewer!  What I found interesting, was that the characters didn't all come together in one defining moment. Instead they all seem to share in common a loss of identity and a seeking for meaning in life. They are all passionate, but- they aren't finding satisfying outlets for their passion. 

Juliana was a fascinating character- at once shallow- concerned about wardrobe, getting a nice meal or hotel, and on another level, literally murderous when protecting people- who are really representatives of ideals she holds dear. She definitely doesn't totally understand her own actions.

The shared passion and seeking is what unites the characters, even though some of them never interact at all. 

  There is no Hero's arc here.  PKD leaves us all sort of feeling drained and fizzled out there at then end, wondering what the point of these semi-intersecting stories was.  I think Dick maybe meant for us to sit and stew in that for a bit.  I definitely have been thinking about the book in the days since I finished it. 

I'm not sure the whole story works for me, but the characters he created are amazing and worth the read.

STATS

First Published  1962

Pages: 240

Available as an Audio Book : ~9 hrs 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, racism, weird I-ching consultations, murder, sexism

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

 

Book Review Starship Troopers By Robert Heinlein

 I cannot believe this book won a Hugo award, even taking into consideration the times and political climate when it was written.  

With my theme of outer space, I was pretty sure that heinlein was going to come into play.  I don't know why but I've not really been able to appreciate his work, even when I am taking it with a grain of historical context. 

The original cover, is, however, very nice.  I will say that. 

Starship Troopers- as far as my read goes- is a book written by a man,  about men, and essentially for male readers. 

 

Our Main Man, Johnny Rico enlists in the Army, pretty much by accident, when he comes along for his friends enlistment. He works his way up through boot camp and to officers school, all the while occasionally fighting an alien spider/bug like species.  Johnny's father is inspired to sign up for the military as well, to discover if he's a "real man" and with the added bonus of being awarded voting rights if he completes his term of service. The entire novel really read like the author's experience in the 1950's military with a few space suits thrown in for decor. There are a lot of detailed moral and political messages throughout the book which may have seemed more prescient at the time, but now currently seem quite out of date. 

  With this novel heinlein was credited with creating the Military Sci-fi subgenre.  I honestly just kept waiting for the Science part to appear, because, this story could have been told without space travel and it would have been pretty much the same. my entire face through the whole thing was set in a glum frown.  I read this for a book challenge the prompt was 'A book that had a film made about it", and because I do one day hope to read all the Hugo award winners.  I must say I've now read 3 pre-1970 Hugo award winners and they were all... kinda terrible. I also note my Dad telling me he really had never been able to get into Sci-Fi, and yeah... if Starship Troopers was what was on offer, I totally understand. 

      I should note here, that-  the 1997 film, which was loosely based off the novel- and the novel- are two different animals. The 1997 film is a set up to mock the actual novel for it's gung-ho military stance. 

   Overall - heinlein is known as an innovative writer who was apparently ahead of his time, a nudist, and into some unconventional relationships. For whatever reason, this doesn't translate into Starship Troopers.  I wondered if I had missed a point, but I see that this book was controversial at the time because it was considered to possibly be promoting fascism, and indeed, I suspect it might have been though heinlein would have stated that was not the case. 

The only reason I can see to read this book is if one is interested in the evolution of science fiction over time.  I loathed my time with this book. I felt as if I was in a recruitment propaganda meeting and I honestly didn't like it. 

 

I have looked about and read some interpretations of this work and was hoping that maybe I missed the mark, but no... it seems this was just what he produced. 

Should you read this?  If you are interested in the development of American Science Fiction, yes... Otherwise... please pick something else up- anything else. 

STATS

First Published  11/5/1959

Pages: 264

Available as an Audio Book : Yes (10 hours) 

Trigger Warnings:  violence, sexism, war

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)  

Book Review NK Jemison's The Fifth Season

  So,  I don't really need to do a book review on this do I? 

Published in 2015, this is a Hugo award winner, and is very well known. 

 I have kind of been skirting around it. In part because it has a HUGE wait list at the library and in part, I think because I was afraid I might not love it. 

 I LOVED IT. 

Image from: https://www.facebook.com/groups/freeprintablesdesigns/posts/1637550117243782/

  I did initially text my book buddy saying "I do not think I am smart enough for this book." So it was a love that grew on me as I continued to read.  I had it on audio and fortunately for me and it, I was on a piece of exercise equipment and didn't have a hand available to stop it so I listened to a good part of it and it began to reveal itself so I was indeed able to find my footing. 

   This novel did demand a lot more of me than other books I've read, and as such, I pretty much stopped reading anything else, and concentrated all of my book time on this until I finished it. There were details upon details of world building, character building and plot points to ponder.  I was grateful for the audiobook given some unfamiliar names and place names- I did not have to make up any pronunciation. 

  

 As a "no spoiler summary"  We follow several persons who are born as "Orogene's"- people who can manipulate earth energy who are both feared and at the same time, valued by society. Society is arranged with a goal of surviving frequent environmental disasters, and people are sorted into Use groups which seem to become their identity.  As the plot develops these persons move toward a new environmental disaster, each with their own memories, abilities and motivations. Readers are definitely left with a cliffhanger leading into the next book, so I can say this one definitely leaves a reader feeling a bit "unresolved"

  I really loved that the plot really had some gentle surprises and some other "oh wow" moments all through the novel. I was never bored and the pacing was really spot on.  Coming off reading Clay Cane's Burn Down Master's House, I was quite attuned to the references to slavery in the Americas and was able to appreciate that I was able to see those and connect with them through the novel.  Combined with an awareness of climate changes over time, this one packed a significant reading punch. 

 I can say after avoiding this for several years, I wish I'd read it earlier, so if you are on the fence, go ahead and pick this one up. 

First Published :  2015

Pages: 512

Available as an Audio Book : Yes   ~ 15 hrs

Trigger Warnings:  racism, classism, domestic violence/abuse, medical issues, body horror, slavery, climate issues, 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)

It's the BEST time of year- Hugo Award time!

  As a reader, Book Awards are really always interesting to me.  Sometimes some really inexplicable choices are made and I'm left scratching my head, or thinking that I failed to see the beauty in a certain written work. 

   Over the past several years, I've become fascinated with the Hugo Awards.  Particularly the one given for best novel.  The Hugo's as a whole are pretty broad, there's a Best Series award, the Best Novel, one for Short fiction, Best Fanzine, Best Artist, Dramatic Presentation... the list goes on and on. 

One of the reasons I have focused on the Hugo is that- in recent years- the winners have all been really solid novels that I enjoyed. So, I of course, decided I'd read all the Hugo award winning novels. Sadly for me, the early ones... are just full of sexism, and reflect a strong lack of imagination about women's roles in the world.  It's kind of amazing how Science Fiction may reflect the times it was written in much more than it really looks to the future! 

That said, after the finalists were announced, I decided to check out ALL the finalists for BEST Novel. 

 I am glad that I did this, and I hope to do it every year. 

This was an interesting exercise as I would not have actually picked up many of these books if they had not been in the list of nominees. I enjoyed them all to varying degrees! One thing for certain, they were all well written, polished pieces of fiction. You can't really go wrong with one of these as a selection. 

    It's so hard to predict a winner. For me, my TOP top read of this bunch was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I never even actually wrote a full review of this! I finished this one in July which was a month of oblivion for my reading. I had the road trip, an unexpected surgery, and a complicated series of job interviews which lead me to conclude that my current employment is pretty darn good. While I still was reading, I was focused on reviewing advanced copies, so my apologies to Robert Jackson Bennett. 

The Tainted Cup is a winner for me based on it firstly being the most enjoyable one of the six for me as a reading experience. The characters are likeable, and unique. The story is a mystery set in a fantasy world with sci-fi elements (lots of personal augmentations). It was easy to follow, and fun to try to figure out who did what and when! I enjoyed the blending of fantasy and sci-fi, and feel like this one really reflects the Hugo Award. 

Do I think it is going to win?

I actually do not. 

Last week, I made a TikTok Video saying I think that Wiswell's Someone You Can Build a Nest In would be the winner.  Today, as I sip my coffee and stare at this screen, I'm leaning toward Alien Clay - which I liked, but didn't love. 

So lets go from my least favorite to my most. 

Service Model  I actually gave this a 3.5 /5 stars.  I enjoyed it but I did find the "robot doesn't understand" humor to be funny but repetitive. the novel read like it was written for a young audience, but it was not marketed for a young audience. 

A Sorceress Comes To Call.   Interestingly I loved this one when I read it.  My review says it all.  Fantasy with magic. Over time, however, I have found that while it was effortless to read, it was also easy to forget. Would I still recommend it?  Yes. Is it the Best SFF novel of 2025, I don't think so. 

Alien Clay  is a book that I enjoyed, but I found the beginning to be interminably slow. There is a lot of academic chatter, that I didn't really enjoy and thus, the lower ranking. It did show a wild imagination on the part of the writer, and in some ways I think because this one is literally the ONLY NOMINEE that's set in space, maybe it will win? 

Someone You Can Build A Nest In -  Was a really interesting read for me. Like The Tainted Cup, it's set in a fantasy type world with Sci-Fi elements. As an added bonus there was an element of horror involved, which I thought added to the book. Overall, I feel this has a very strong chance to win. 

The Ministry of Time  was a "Dark Horse" read for me. I really really really did not like the cover, and it made me not want to bother. In addition, it was heavily marketed on Tik Tok and I was not so sure about that. But, I fell in love with this novel, even though the end was a little messy and confusing to me. The reason it is sitting in my number two spot is that I haven't found myself burning for a second book. I haven't looked up more by the author, so I guess I am not entirely enamored.  

As I noted before, at the top is The Tainted Cup. 

My prediction... is swaying between Wiswell and Tchaikovsky. It would help if I knew more about the people who vote on this award, but... I'm going with Wiswell as a prediction (which will likely be wrong!!!) The award is going to be presented at World Con on August 16th! 

Please comment below  who you think will win and who you'd vote for!  

Book Review The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 5/5 stars

  Readers!  I'm ashamed to admit that I essentially slept on Bradley's The ministry of Time because 

I frankly did not like the cover. 

I mean... 

It honestly did nothing for me.  I heard a lot about this novel, but I kind of think that most of the nice people trying to sell it on Tik Tok either hadn't read it, or didn't have the ability to really speak about it. (I've seen many negative reviews from people complaining that they "Had to look up words from the book")  They all made it sound sort of...well, lets just say not one of those hundreds of Tik Toks influenced me in a good way. 

But it has been nominated for a 2025 Hugo award, so I decided I'd give it a go. So... this was a lesson for me.  Firstly Tik Tok reviewers are not always very good at their reviewing, and I guess the old adage about judging a book by it's cover would also be true.  I would hope maybe - given it's smashing success- they might consider a different cover, one without the fake GMA sticker that no one wants on their cover, and something other than just circa disco era lettering? 

So, I LOVED THIS NOVEL WITH MY WHOLE HEART and possibly some of my soul as well. I'm not sure how it holds up against the others, but it's definitely one of my favorites of the six. 

  In short (with no spoilers because spoilers are just the worst...) This is a story that one could tackle on many levels.  The basic premise is that in a near future UK, the Government has found a way to time travel. The agency then decides to displace 5 figures from history that "would have otherwise perished"  and bring them into the current time. Each is assigned an agent to assist them in adjustment to time and monitor their health and behavior. All of these displaced persons are fascinating and well fleshed out- not one is a cardboard cutout for things to "happen to"  (Kudos to Bradley for this feat!) As this year winds along, our narrator discovers that there is far more going on than just an experiment with temporal space. Suddenly she is embroiled in a high stakes cat and mouse kind of game between the displaced persons, people in her era and those in the future. Throughout the novel, our narrator - who is the child of a Cambodian refugee, opens up space for her characters and readers to reflect on how we perceive race, gender, religion, mental health, sexuality and power. We end with a definite change in circumstances for all involved, but one that was entirely gentle and somewhat hopeful. 

  My only disappointment is that I wasn't able to read it with a group of people because I just know that would have enhanced my enjoyment tenfold. 

I am very interested in what Bradley is going to produce next! 

STATS

First Published : May 2024 

Pages: 352

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  racism, confinement, institutionalized racism,  emotional abuse, alcohol, gun violence, mental health, sexism, death, 

May Reading Wrap Up!

 May apparently was not a month for me to finish up a load of books.  My Total is 12. 

Kind of a far cry from February's 21 books.  May was a difficult month overall, and it shows that I wasn't really able to complete a lot of books.  I did have several that I just had to return to the library and place on hold again because I couldn't get them finished in the 2 week loan period, so... I did do a bit of soft DNF, because I just couldn't get the book done. It will be available in about 3 more months, and hopefully I won't have forgotten too much plot! 

Like this human, my head was full and I was unable to concentrate on anything that made sense. 

Albertus, D. O., Albertus, M., Farfengo, B., Giles, O. R., Albertus Magnus, S. & Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection. (1490) Opus Philosophie Naturalis. Brescia, Baptista Farfengo, 10 Sept. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/47043534/.

 Despite my small reading, I do think I got a bit more variety in there this month. Let's look at the statistics!

Books in Translation: 1/12 It's a lower number, but I'm still glad to see that one of my books was a translated work! 

Books By Diverse Authors: 58% of the books I read were written by an identified diverse author. Much better than April's 19%.  

Buddy Reads: We started a book , but I failed to finish it.  I have been struggling with print books and leaning heavily on audio and this was a print book so it just.. fell a little by the wayside. 

Book Club: I DNF both the Local Book club book and my own On line Stabby and Smoochy Book Club book. The Stabby Book was in print, and no audio available and I just wasn't finding it to be that great. The Local library club was another tale of a heroic WW2 woman, and I decided after about a chapter that I'd read enough.  (And we see now why I may have only finished 12 books! 

Hugo Awards: I have made progress on reading this year's nominees, so, depending on which one wins, I might have made progress on this goal.

Water Theme:  33% - or 4 books this month fit in to my water theme very nicely. 

I have yet to review two of these for the blog. But, As soon as tumultuous May is finished maybe I can hope right on that! Overall, i was pleased with my mix of non-fiction and fiction about water, and our use of it in life and our stories. 

TOP Read for May?  

I think hands down it's the novel in translation:  Oromay  by Baalu Girma. 

Not only is it an interesting novel which presented me with a unique window into time, but it is one that I wish more people would pick up and read. 

IN very close second was Emily Tesh's  The Incandescent! 

This book was everything I wanted in a grown up world of magic, demons and finding meaning in ourselves and our lives as we navigate adulthood. 

Overall, I had a fun reading month, given that I had some fairly intense home/work life balance stress going on that's kind of very slowly resolving itself. (please send good thoughts) 

I am hopeful for June. Firstly I plan on READING the WHOLE book for my Stabby and Smoochy Book Club!  I'm skipping the library book club book because it looks like hot garbage,  and I am half way through some other books that I'm really enjoying so I'm hoping that will help me tally up some nice reads for June.  I don't really plan the TBR out, I just take what's available at the library. 

How do you plan your TBR?  

Book Review Someon You Can Build a nest in by J. Wiswell 4.5/5 Stars

 Wiswell's Someone you can Build a Nest in  is another Hugo award Nominee. (and OhGosh! It is also nominated for a Nebula Award and a Locus!!!)   I saw this book ALL over Book tok  when it came out and people were loving it. I may have formed some opinions, as many of the popular Booktok Books turn out to be popular mostly due to strong marketing.  After delving into it, I think in part, it was being  marketed by lots of creators that normally market romantasy books and they had a bit of a hard time seeing the nuance in this novel and talking about it, because it is nothing - nothing- like what they described in effusive tones. 

Someone you can Build a Nest In, is a cut above all those romantasies, and romance disguised as fantasy. 

  I was - in equal parts- enchanted and repulsed by the narrative!  Quite a feat for an author!

  A No-spoiler "synopsis"  for those who haven't read this yet.  Our protagnoist is Shesheshen, a very terrifying blob of a monster. She is singular, but for an odd companion - a Blue Bear she has named Blueberry. Society loathes and fears her and spends quite some times looking for ways to repel and eliminate her. After a bad encounter with society, Shesheshen finds herself tended to by a human, and she must reexamine her beliefs about humans, relationships, family and belonging.

Obviously there's "So MUCH More"  but we are keeping things spoiler free here. 

For me, the horror was horror-ing but not in a jump scare kind of way, just more in a way that I found myself entirely ready to gag at some of the great descriptive, evocative writing in the book. Totally creeped me out! I felt like Wiswell did a great job keeping me engaged well through the novel and that the story was well paced.  It left room for thought on issues of identity, relationship, community, and love. 

   The world he built was familiar but also somewhat unique in nature and I thought he struck a nice balance between the two, it was very easy to understand, and as a reader, I appreciated the lack of a very complex magic system that I would need to dissect carefully. 

The conclusion was sort of a soft landing after a book filled with quite a bit of body horror, family trauma and violence, so it's worth sticking around for. 

Wiswell is an interesting author who is living with a neuromuscular disability  which he talks about candidly HERE. 

   So,  overall I've now read 4 of the Hugo nominated novels.  I enjoyed this one, but it was not my favorite. I can see it being the winner, however, because it hit all the right plot points, told a delightfully macabre story without jumping down any long winded rabbit holes. The world was original as was the plot, and it was so very relatable for anyone who's felt like an outsider. 

So do I think this will end up winning?  There's definitely a good chance of it. Have you read this?  Would you nominate it for a Hugo?