2023 Reads

 34 completed; ~15 did not complete; acquired fewer than 10 books under the belief of “sure, I will DEIFNITELY read this”

 

WINS: instituted JAMES time, a technique where I condition my cat to expect READING time with JAMES. Read a lot of octavia butler and a decent number of books where I was like, “well! yes! I enjoyed that!” This was also the year where I decided to start finishing McPhees instead of starting them and then deciding to only read them while getting tattooed.

 

LOSSES: This was also the year I read a lot of critically acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy that sucked. I hate that for me.

 

The books that made me go “I LOVE this book I want EVERYONE to read this I need to ABSORB this writer’s MIND inside my OWN” to varying degrees are Time Square Red, Time Square Blue by Delany, Fledgling by Butler, and The Control of Nature by McPhee.

 

Books I enjoyed and can recommend to a fairly wide audience: Pure Colour by Heti, Young Mungo by Stuart, White Negroes by Jackson, Caudwell’s Hilary Tamar series.

 

Books added for reference in writing/reading: The Erotics of Restraint by Glover and Playing in the Dark by Morrison

 

Books I Largely Enjoyed: Queer Phenomenology by Ahmed; Sterling Karat Gold by Waidner (different set of caveats for both)

 

For 2024, I hope I will find the strength to abandon books with more aggression–nay, with joy! with recklessness! with cruelty!