The new job has remained incredibly intense and has added trips to Denmark every other week to its roster of unexpected demands. Now I’m a bit more settled, I am actually mostly enjoying it (and I love Denmark), but gosh I’m feeling the pressure. Easter was a godsend – four much-needed days off to decompress.

Reading Round-up

Everything is difficult and my Subjective Chaos reading list wasn’t filling me with joy, so I shamelessly went for all-out comfort rereads and spent the month with Amalia Cornaro. Friends, I have no regrets. A little guilt, but no regrets.

• Someone Like Me – M R Carey  ★★★
• The Tethered Mage – Melissa Caruso  ★★★★★
• The Defiant Heir – Melissa Caruso  ★★★★★
• The Unbound Empire – Melissa Caruso  ★★★★★
• Bite-size Books:  Chlorophyll and Gasoline – S J Fleming  ★★
• Bite-size Books:  Beneath A Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire  ★★★
• The Vela – Serial Box  ★★★☆
  • The Heart of the Web – Yoon Ha Lee
  • Fortress World – Rivers Solomon
  • The Traitor – Becky Chambers
  • Gravity – S L Huang
  • The Battle for Gan-De Part 1 – Yoon Ha Lee
  • The Battle for Gan-De Part 2 – Becky Chambers

Review Round-up

I have made a concerted effort to squeeze out what’s left of my brain at the end of a day to try and catch up on some reviews, but – um – I didn’t get much juice. I’ve still got a frankly terrifying backlog, but I am determined to realise perhaps half my Wyrd and Wonder ambitions…

• I Still Dream – James Smythe  ★★★★★
• Tiamat’s Wrath – James S A Corey  ★★★★★

Stacking the shelves

I know, I know, I’m drowning in unread books. But: one of my most-anticipated releases of the year, three Subjective Chaos reads and a SFnal book about breadmaking how could I resist?

Reading statistics

My goal – always – is to read diversely and to love every book. This year, I’m determined to read more books I own, but I am taking it one book at a time!

Books read: 22 / 75 | Game of Books: 132 / 400

• 5 / 22 off the shelf (i.e. not bought in 2019)
• 7 ARCs
• 5 bite-size (excl. short stories)

Authors: 8 male (36%) / 12 female (55%) / 2 trans, non-binary or genderfluid (9%)

• Authors of colour: 4 (18%)
• LGBTQIA authors: 8 (36%)
• Non-US / UK based authors: 2 (9%)

What else is going on?

IT’S TIME FOR WYRD AND WONDER, FANTASY FANS! Why yes, yes I am a little over-excited. And stuck in the wrong country to start the Trail of Lightning read-along (oops: I’m in Denmark, it’s on my shelf in London, DAMMIT) but thankfully I’ve got The Ninth Rain in my pocket. Watch out for the next instalment of Dancing With Fantasy and Sci-Fi fantasy prompts as part of the fun – and expect it to be practically all fantasy all month around here in May!

What have you been reading?