Some Books I Loved

 **A deeply atmospheric historical fantasy inspired by Taíno (pro-Columbian Caribbean) culture.  An interesting mix of dark vibes and uplifting messaging that works way better than I'd have guessed** I love a book with a really good bibliography at the end.  No . . . really, I'm not being sarcastic.  From "Some Desperate Glory"  and its compilation of books about fascism throughout history, to "Chain Gang All-Stars" and its list of research papers and news articles discussing incarceration around the modern world.  Although I often read, and almost exclusively write about for this blog, speculative fiction . . . the best speculative fiction is the kind that is grounded in the real world.  And I love when the author has clearly put in the research, and invites us to follow in their footsteps So, "Beast of Carnaval" finishes with Rodrigo's bibliography, a list of resources she used as she studied Taíno culture.  In the process, she also expla...

 **So much to say about this excellent, excellent dark fantasy.  But first of all, why aren't more fantasy books set in the Golden Age of Spain???  Amazing** This was a great one.  I need to read more Leigh Bardugo, don't I? At its core, the plot of this one is simple, its elements familiar.  A scullery maid, Luiza, has the power to work "milagritos", minor miracles.  Repairing a dish that was broken, fixing bread that was burnt in the oven.  Her powers are discovered by her wealthy employers, and she's thrust into a world she never imagined of court politics and intrigue, where she will find loyal friendship and vile betrayal and sometimes one that looks like the other.  You know how it goes, a classic setup And yet.  There are so many things that elevate this book, take Luiza's journey and make it something truly fantastic One thing, I have to say, is Bardugo's prose.  She has an absolute knack for everything from scene descriptions to...

Hi everyone!  Ok, we're back from hiatus, really looking forward to diving in to Hispanic Heritage Month.  From supernatural horror and magical realism (which have both been staples of Latin American Literature for a while now) to plenty of modern stuff and some classics I've neglected, this should be a great month. First, here are some books I've loved in the past: * * * "Our Share of Night" by Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell; 2019)  **A masterpiece of supernatural horror.  You're not going to totally understand what's happening, but you're going to know that whatever it is, it's viscerally uncomfortable in the best way** "Signal to Noise" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2015) *A wonderful and personal novel about returning to your childhood home and maybe searching for some of the magic that was once there* Jorge Luis Borges  **Calling him one of the greatest short story writers ever is damning him with faint praise.  One of the greate...

 **A masterpiece of supernatural horror.  You're not going to totally understand what's happening, but you're going to know that whatever it is, it's viscerally uncomfortable in the best way** (note, I read the original publisher's translation by Megan McDowell, released 2023.  I think that's the only translation so far) Ok, elephant in the room:  This is a tome .  600+ pages, and more importantly than that it's one of those books where you're deliberately kept in the dark for much of it.  Oh and it's basically five different novellas combined with each other, with more than four different viewpoint characters and five different time periods (plus a few short story length bits from random viewpoint characters that fit into the gaps).  Even by the end of it, there are still so many unanswered questions.  So if you're looking for a linear, single-viewpoint, clear narrative . . . uh, this is not any of those things.  And if that's not your jam, ...

 **Calling him one of the greatest short story writers ever is damning him with faint praise.  One of the greatest artists to ever put pen to paper, period** If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose a favorite author, there's a very real chance I'd select Jorge Luis Borges.  Erm, or William Gibson.  Oh, Ursula K. Le Guin, obviously.  Or modern torchbearers like Ken Liu and Ted Chiang.  Or obviously Nghi Vo, can't forget her, wow she's amazing.  Or . . . I mean, if you're actually putting a gun to my head, you'd better be prepared to either pull the trigger or have patience for a long debate.  Bring a snack, or something But yes, if there were a shortlist of authors I consider my absolute favorites, Borges would be very near the top What do I love about Borges?  Other than everything, of course.  Well to start, Borges truly mastered the art of the short story.  His entire writing philosophy was basically, "if you can't say...

 **What is there to say about basically one of the most perfect novellas ever written?** (note:  I read the first English-language translation, by Gregory Rabassa.  I don't know if there are more contemporary translations out there, if anyone has a rec of a particularly good one I'd be interested) I actually studied this book in my high school English class (my teacher was Alec Duxbury, great teacher and pretty solid electric guitar player too).  It was senior year, so first semester was obviously spent working on college essays.  But by second semester, most of us were done with college applications and pretty checked out, so we just read a bunch of fun books and talked about them in class (others included "The Alchemist", "Equus", and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead") On the first day we were supposed to be talking about "Chronicle of a Death Foretold", we arrived at class to find that Dux wasn't there.  Confused, we took our...

*A wonderful and personal novel about returning to your childhood home and maybe searching for some of the magic that was once there* Mexico City, 1988: Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said “I love you” with a mixtape Moreno-Garcia is the current darling of the Hispanic specfic scene, and for good reason. Her world-building is great, she does an amazing job of drawing on Latin American culture and bringing it to Western audiences. For me personally she’s a bit hit and miss, I actually thought that “Mexican Gothic” didn’t quite click for me, whereas “Certain Dark Things” I absolutely adored. As for “Signal to Noise”? Easily my favorite work of hers so far (amusingly, it's her first novel--more on that later) This is the story of Meche, a woman who left her hometown of Mexico City basically as soon as she was old enough to do so.  She's back in town for her father's funeral, and in a series of flashbacks we learn the story of exactly why she left town (I'm a sucker for a ...

Hispanic Heritage Month starts today!  This one was tough to pare down, I tried to get not only a range of themes and types of books, but also a range in every other sense.  Some of these were written in English, some were translated from Spanish.  Some are classics of the genre, others are modern works dealing with issues like ICE in the United States.  I'm looking forward to this month, hope I learn something * * * "Tender is the Flesh" by Agustina Bazterrica (trans. Sarah Moss), 2017 (2020) I know, I know, everyone has read this one except for me.  I'm on it!  Visceral horror and terrible dystopia, really I should have read this long long ago "The Savage Detectives" by Roberto Bolaño (trans. Natasha Wimmer), 1998 (2007) A modern classic (let . . . let me pretend that 1998 still counts as "modern".  Please.  Let me have this), one that's been near the top of my to-read for ages.  A book about the beautify of Latin American literat...

 **Not just one of the most heart-rendingly good queer coming-of-age books I've ever read, but one of the best coming-of-age books I've ever read, period** This post will be short, because I don't want to spoil anything.  Let me just say that this book has my very highest of recommendations This book is fascinating, because it's firmly in the Young Adult category.  It's a story about a 16-year-old, growing up and grappling with the pressures of school and family and just trying to grow up.  Solidly Young Adult It's also one of the most soul-crushing, depressing, dark novels I've read recently.  I would absolutely recommend this book to a 13-year-old . . . but I'd also make sure to add, "and hey, I'll be around if there's anything you want to talk about".  And while I don't, for this blog, give specific content warnings, just rest assured that it has just about everything that can possibly be included while still being rated "Gr...