BOOKS-2021(7)          Miscellaneous Information Manual          BOOKS-2021(7)

NAME
     Books 2021 – a review, I guess

DESCRIPTION
     In 2021 I read 26 books.  Finished the 26th right on December 31st.  It's
     not a lot but it's more than last year.  Here are the ones I loved (in
     the order I read them).  I will avoid spoilers, of course.

   Network Effect by Martha Wells
     I've been reading the Murderbot Diaries series for a while.  They're fun
     stories.  I liked this full-length novel entry a lot.  I guess it felt
     like it had more room for the characters to develop.  This is probably
     when I started asking my friends if they'd read it because I wanted to
     talk about Murderbot gender vibes.

     You may like if: you're trans.

   The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
     Um, it's about witches!  One of them has the same name as me.  Kind of
     has some similar vibes to The Future of Another Timeline, which was my
     favourite book I read in 2020.

     You may like if: you like women.

   A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
     I was so excited for this sequel to A Memory Called Empire, another
     previous favourite and something I've been wanting more of.  I kinda wish
     there was more fucking in it though honestly.

     You may like if: you like women.

   Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
     Really something different.  It turned out to be a different story than I
     expected from reading the first few pages.

     You may like if: you like statues, I guess?

   A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
     Ok yes I do give 3/3 stars to every Becky Chambers book.  They're so
     fucking good.  I'm looking forward to more entries in this novella
     series.  (Also I'm currently reading the fourth Wayfarers book and loving
     it too!)

     You may like if: your pronouns are they/them <3

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
   Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
     I really enjoyed the short story “Especially Heinous: 272 Views of Law &
     Order SVU” in this collection.  It goes on a bit too long but the format
     is unique.  You can read that one online, actually.

   The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
     Yeah I hadn't read this until last year.  I borrowed it after marathoning
     the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy during a heat
     wave.  As I said at the time, pretty good for something written by a man
     like a hundred years ago.  Kind of hilarious that women just don't exist
     in the world of The Hobbit.

   Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
     Pretty fucking wild.  I'd recommend it, but I have to say it extremely
     needs a child sexual abuse content warning on it.

   Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders
     A surprising number of these short stories are actual stories!  They have
     beginnings, middles and ends!

   The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
     It's got some Xenogenesis series vibes.  Sophie is a goddamn lesbian
     idiot though and she never even realizes it.

SEE ALSO
     https://git.causal.agency/src/tree/txt/books.txt

AUTHORS
     june <june@causal.agency>

     Listening to Ear Massage with Latex Gloves 100% Sensitivity 40 minute (No
     Talking).

Causal Agency                  January 12, 2022                  Causal Agency