Hi pals!

It has been a while since I did any book related content generally, but I thought I would do the mid-year check-in (for the first time) and let you know what books I have read so far this year. This tag was created by ReadLikeWildfire and Earl Grey Books, but I won’t be using their name for it as it uses ableist terminology. I grabbed this from my friend Anniek’s blog 🙂

There will be affiliate links to purchase the books I have mentioned

best book you’ve read so far

Babel: an Arcane History was an incredible read. The research and understanding needed to then weave this into a dramatic and terrible (for my fragile heart) story is unmatched. I’ve read a lot of researched books before but this kind of novel is one I can only think about in awe.

best sequel you’ve read so far

I’ve not read many sequels (or not many I’m that stoked about having read) but I did read the entire Paper Girls graphic novel series so I will say the sequels I read were great. It was a lot of fun, great style and colours, but also really hit home on a lot of themes.

new release of 2023 you want to read but haven’t yet

I havent gotten round to reading Fraud Squad yet even though I helped with some online promotion. Sister Maiden Monster and Frontier both sound like my sci-fi dystopian vibes but haven’t picked these up yet.

most anticipated release of second half of 2023

Maybe Gwen and Art are not in love? I wanted to read on netgalley but they had ridiculously high standards. I don’t really follow these sorts of things, and a lot of newer releases I read through netgalley.

biggest disappointment

I have a few flops so I’ll throw in three, the Apollo series by Rick Riordan, second book was boring and I couldn’t get into it. A new release meet cute awkward was not great, I found that barely any of the short stories stuck to the brief. East West was a graphic novel I found rather boring and I didn’t like the art style enough.

favourite new author

I don’t really do favourite authors but R F Kuang does incredible research and her stories are so rich with detail.

new fictional crush

I don’t really do this either sorry.

new favourite character

I don’t think I could choose. The books I really enjoyed all had characters I loved and found interesting even though they were flawed. I loved the cast of Fake Dates and Mooncakes and Babel.

book that made you cry

Fake Dates and Mooncakes and Babel both made me blub a little. Different reasons. Babel is very sad and quite tragic at how it all ends, Fake Dates is a lot more heartwarming and bittersweet,

book that made you happy

Fake Dates and Mooncakes : see above lol

favourite book to film adaption

I haven’t read anything this year that’s been adapted yet but Babel is soon or has been I just haven’t seen it yet. I am definitely curious to see it.

most beautiful book you bought this year

I don’t think I have bought a physical book this year, and if I did they were second hand and probably not bought for how it looks. It’s rare that I buy a book based because of the cover.

what do you need to read by the end of the year

As much off my physical shelf and digital shelf as possible! Mainly my dystopian sci-fi books like Rebuilding Tomorrow and Defying Doomsday and Year One by Nora Roberts

All the books I have read so far this year

The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry:  Leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do’s and don’ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child’s feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips in these pages. Philippa Perry’s sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.

Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth & Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan: 4: Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears at his potential new school, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth – a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. 5: All year the half-bloods have been preparing for battle against the Titans, knowing the odds of victory are grim. Kronos’s army is stronger than ever, and with every god and half-blood he recruits, the evil Titan’s power only grows. While the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster Typhon, Kronos begins his advance on New York City, where Mount Olympus stands virtually unguarded. Now it’s up to Percy Jackson and an army of young demigods to stop the Lord of Time. In this momentous final book in the New York Times best-selling series, the long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy’s sixteenth birthday unfolds. And as the battle for Western civilization rages on the streets of Manhattan, Percy faces a terrifying suspicion that he may be fighting against his own fate.

Heal Your Relationship With Food by Juliet Rosewall, Amy Chisholm and Maureen MoerBeck: You can take control over your eating difficulties – and you can start today. In this book, we’ll get to the heart of why you restrict your eating, binge eat or purge. Whatever pulls you to these problems, whatever your mind is telling you, we’ll give you the tools you need to beat them. With simple steps, and practical advice that really works, this book will help you take healthy control and sustain positive changes to overcome your eating problems. You can do this.Juliet Rosewall and Amy Chisholm are Clinical Psychologists who specialise in treating eating disorders. This book brings together all of their expertise, and that of dietetic expert Maureen Moerbeck, to explore clinically proven strategies for addressing eating problems.

Babel: an Arcane History by R. F. Kuang: 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire’s quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . .

10 Short Lessons in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics by Dr Peter J. Bentley: From the face recognition on your smartphone to the management of our global economy, you cannot live in the modern world without interacting with, or being impacted by, artificial intelligence and robots. But how did this happen? And what does it mean for our lives now and in the future? Is it helping to change our world for the better or creating new problems? 10 Short Lessons in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics examines these key questions and more in this essential guide to the twenty-first century’s most powerful technology.

Paper Girls 1-6 by Brian K. Vaughan: Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s Eisner Award winning series Paper Girls is coming Amazon Prime Video in July 2022! Finally, the entire Eisner Award-winning epic in one complete volume, with a new cover from co-creator CLIFF CHIANG! Four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls from the year 1988 uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this critically acclaimed series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

10 Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby: Gadsby’s unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability to create both tension and laughter in a single moment. But while her worldwide fame might have looked like an overnight sensation, her path from open mic to the global stage was hard-fought and anything but linear. Ten Steps to Nanette traces Gadsby’s growth as a queer person from Tasmania – where homosexuality was illegal until 1997 – to her ever-evolving relationship with comedy, to her struggle with adult diagnoses of autism and ADHD, and finally to the backbone of Nanette – the renouncement of self-deprecation, the rejection of misogyny, and the moral significance of truth-telling. Equal parts harrowing and hilarious, Ten Steps to Nanette continues Gadsby’s tradition of confounding expectations and norms, properly introducing us to one of the most explosive, formative voices of our time.

Lysistrata: Lysistrata and Other Plays centers a disgruntled woman whose attempt to end a war takes the battle from an open field to the soldier’s bedroom. Wives from both camps deny their husbands basic affection in an effort to quell the violence. Set during the Peloponnesian War, the women of Greece, led by Lysistrata, create a plan to stifle the conflict between Athens and Sparta. Together, they agree to stage a sex strike, refusing to sleep with their husbands until a resolution is met. The strategy has an undeniable effect on politicians, generals and soldiers eager for a return to normalcy. It dramatically changes the focus of the warring parties, signifying the potential for peace. Lysistrata and Other Plays confronts gender norms and empowers those who are often marginalized. It’s a common theme in Aristophanes’ work that is also found in The Assemblywomen and Thesmophoriazusae. This political satire illustrates how fundamental needs always take precedence over superficial wants.

Marked, Betrayed, Chosen and Untamed by P.C. Cast and co. : When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampire friends.

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang: Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody. White lies When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song. Dark humour But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. Deadly consequences… What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.

Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan: He was once an immortal God. Now, he’s a teenage boy called Lester. Apollo has angered his father Zeus for the last time. So, how do you punish an immortal? By making him human. Obviously. Cast down from Olympus, he’s weak, disorientated and stuck in New York City as a teenage boy. It’s the first time he’s been without his powers, and he has to survive in the modern world. Which isn’t an easy feat for a four-thousand-year old deity, especially one with as many enemies as he has. Apollo needs help, and he can only think of one place to go . . . an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

Fake Dates and Mookcakes by Sher Lee: Fake-dates, mooncakes and rich people problems. But love wasn’t meant to be on the menu … Meet Dylan Tang: he juggles school and delivery runs for his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Winning a mooncake competition could bring the publicity they need to stay afloat. Enter Theo Somers: a charming, wealthy customer who convinces Dylan to be his fake date to a family wedding full of crazy rich drama. Their romance is supposed to be just for show . . . but soon Dylan’s falling for Theo. For real. With the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being distracted by rich-people problems. Can he save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?

East West 1 by Johnathan Hickman: This is the world. It is not the one we wanted, but it is the one we deserved. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse roam the Earth, signaling the End Times for humanity, and our best hope for life, lies in DEATH!

Meet, Cute, Awkward: For the Queer of Heart ed. Tara Moeller: Love is Love. But Awkward is Awkward, Enjoy these 8 genre-spanning stories of cringe-worthy misunderstandings and angsty first meetings, because even the cutest ending can have an awkward beginning. Includes stories by Kayla Whittle, Jacob Budenz Astra Crompton, Richard Leise, Katharine Bost, Ashe Thurman, Morven Moeller, and Zahra Jons. Uses traditional, deja vu font. (could not find a bookshop link)

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady: A summary of my book: 1. I’m diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it. 2. My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc. 3. My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed. 4. Homelessness. 5. Stripping. 6. More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns. 7. I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc. 8. REDACTED as too spicy. 9. After everyone tells me I don’t look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax. 10. REDACTED as too embarrassing.

Currently Reading

Re-reading: Bisexual Men Exist: A Handbook for Bisexual, Pansexual and M-spec Men by Vaneet Mehta: Being a bisexual man isn’t easy – something Vaneet Mehta knows all too well. After spending more than a decade figuring out his identity, Vaneet’s coming out was met with questioning, ridicule and erasure. This experience inspired Vaneet to create the viral #BisexualMenExist campaign, combatting the hate and scepticism m-spec (multi-gender attracted spectrum) men encounter, and helping others who felt similarly alone and trapped. This powerful book is an extension of that fight. Navigating a range of topics, including coming out, dating, relationships and health, Vaneet shares his own lived experience as well as personal stories from others in the community to help validate and uplift other bisexual men. Discussing the treatment of m-spec men in LGBTQ+ places, breaking down stereotypes and highlighting the importance of representation and education, this empowering book is a rallying call for m-spec men everywhere.

Want by Cindy Pon: Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits that protect them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother, who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.

The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu: A lyrical, queer sci-fi retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a locked-room thriller. Hayden Lichfield’s life is ripped apart when he finds his father murdered in their lab, and the camera logs erased. The killer can only have been after one thing: the Sisyphus Formula the two of them developed together, which might one day reverse death itself. Hoping to lure the killer into the open, Hayden steals the research. In the process, he uncovers a recording his father made in the days before his death, and a dying wish: Avenge me… With the lab on lockdown, Hayden is trapped with four other people—his uncle Charles, lab technician Gabriel Rasmussen, research intern Felicia Xia and their head of security, Felicia’s father Paul—one of whom must be the killer. His only sure ally is the lab’s resident artificial intelligence, Horatio, who has been his dear friend and companion since its creation. With his world collapsing, Hayden must navigate the building’s secrets, uncover his father’s lies, and push the boundaries of sanity in the pursuit of revenge.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this. I find the prompts for tags aren’t really for me so I probably won’t do it again as I don’t have anything to say to a lot of the questions, so I added more info about what I have read as well as what I am reading. Let me know what kind of book content you like to see or read on blogs! If you wanna know my opinions on books I read that may never make it to public eyes, check out my Kofi’s Book Club membership tier. Only £1.50 a month to access my currently reading and my thoughts so far. Brutal honesty is often featured. If you have any questions about what I am reading, you can ask me there once you have subscribed to the membership.

~ Artie

they/them