July was…heavy, to say the least. There was some writing professional news that netted out less than positively, a meteor of a personal emergency that is still unfolding, and I think I finally figured a writing time management system that works for me (and a realization that I definitely write to run away, and there is a lot I want to run from).
I also went to NYC to see my family and catch up with some friends. Equally restful and stressful. I’ve stayed safe from disease the best I can, and wish the same for you and yours.
This month’s blog interviews were:
- Izzy Wasserstein debuted a collection of short stories, All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From, with Neon Hemlock
- Tim McGregor released his new novella, Lure, with Tenebrous Press
- Sarah Gailey returned to the blog to talk about Just Like Home
In August, I have four days off from my dayjob, which I intend to use for making lots of paintings
ARCs
- A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk and Robot #2) by Becky Chambers (adult, science fiction, sequel)
- The adventures of Brother Dex and Mosscap continue
- They wander some more towns and ponder the meaning of existence
- I loved the currency of service
- All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From by Izzy Wasserstein (adult, speculative, short stories)
- Impressive, intricate, queer as all get out
- Something for everyone across speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy
- Author interviewed on 7/26/2022
- I Never Liked You Anyway by Jordan Kurella (adult, mythology retelling)
- Orpheus and Eurydice get the CW treatment as dramatic music majors
- Do you like coffee or “coffee”?
- Forthcoming author interview on 8/15/2022
- The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia (adult, fantasy)
- Novella about a healer trying their best as a plague ravages their newfound home
- Compact with dense queernormative world-building that centers people of color
- Forthcoming author interview on 8/9/2022
- The Sleepless by Victor Manibo (adult, science fiction)
- Jamie is physically incapable of falling asleep and that is the least of his problems
- A murder mystery with unexpected twists and a meditation on the toxic myth of productivity
- Forthcoming author interview on 8/23/2022
Audiobooks
- Hide by Kiersten White (adult, horror, 2022)
- Hide and seek in an abandoned amusement park where something supernatural is afoot
- A final reveal I found insulting, especially in the context of how small this book is
- Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe (adult, nonfiction, 2022)
- A collection of New Yorker profiles, each as thoughtful and careful as the one before it
- Excellent as far as humanizing the people involved with shades of gray with regards to endorsement or condemnation
- The Ones That Got Away by Stephen Graham Jones (adult, horror, 2010)
- Masterfully crafted horror stories that drop you in the middle of it all
- Gently guides the reader until the rug disappears beneath their feet
eBooks
In the Bedroom of Medusa by Magen Cubed (adult, horror romance, 2022)
- An escort starts working for dommy mommy Medusa
- Hot, short, and respectful of all kinds of work and says that all women are women
Physical Copies
- Into the Drowning Deep (Into the Drowning Deep #1) by Mira Grant (adult, horror, 2022)
- An expedition to find out what killed a documentary crew trying to film mermaids discovers that it is, in fact, mermaids
- Choices made in the name of inclusion did not land as thoughtfully as they could have
- Jagged Little Pill by Eric Smith (YA, contemporary, 2022)
- Novelization of the jukebox musical of the same name
- Every problem I had with this book is a problem with the source material itself
- Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh (adult, historical fiction, 2022)
- The real horror is trying to exist in a fictional medieval village
- Seriously, heed the content warnings, everyone is vile and every new sentence provided either the new worst thing I ever read or a beautiful turn of phrase (complementary)
Light Novel
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World Vol. 1 by Kei Sazane and Ao Nekonabe (seinen, fantasy, 2019)
- A war of magic and tech in which neither is winning
- Enemies to lovers and I’m obsessed with the world building
Manga
- Land of the Lustrous Vol. 1 – 11 by Haruko Ichikawa (seinen, fantasy, 2017-2021)
- Meticulously researched world full of gem people
- Ship of Theseus of a character arc, beautiful art, and so much angst
- The Rokudo Rounds Vol. 1 – 3 by Serina Oda (science fiction, seinen, 2022)
- A cyborg named En enters a competition for literal upward nobility
- Rad art, rad world-building, cool fights
Jo Writes Fantasy 
This is such a great list of books! I have to ask: have you ever heard of or read House of Leaves? It’s really creepy and very artfully done. I think you would enjoy it. I first saw it at Comic Con about five years ago, and it is one of the best horrors I have ever read 😊
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I have not yet but I have heard a very many great strange things about it!!
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It’s really good 😃 you would definitely like it
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