Today's review! In the Dragon's Lair" by Joy Lynn Fielding:
"Another fantastic tale... I highly recommend this book - I was thoroughly entertained by it, and hope Fielding has more stories planned for the “Wings Over Albion” series."
I finally finished The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh. I meant to finish it during AANHPI month, but I got busy and distracted, so there’s that. I wanted to finish it by mid-June though, so I could start reading queer novels for Pride Month.
I’d give this book 4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As the first person in my family to be born in the U.S., it was interesting reading the perspectives from the different generations of women (the refugees who fled to America during the Vietnam War and the first generation Americans who grew up having to toe the line between assimilating into American society and respecting familial traditions).
I learned some new Vietnamese words that I didn’t know before. For example, đặc biệt means special. In the book, someone’s mom always called her special in a demeaning way. I know đặc biệt from ordering rice and noodle dishes at Vietnamese restaurants.
I’d like to read more fictional books written about the Vietnamese diaspora that are based on local legends/mythology etc. I don’t know much of the country’s history or folklore because my parents didn’t spend a lot of time passing on this information. It kinda helps me feel some type of connection to my background.
Does anyone know of other Vietnamese diaspora stories?
THE WORLD OF 1950s BOMBAY comes alive in this story of twin sisters trying to follow their own dreams and meet the expectations of their very proper Punjabi family, still unsettled by the violence of Partition. Lovely, rich saga. A MINUS
_Book Review: Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher In which the last human finds a super weapon disguised as a lava lamp. @bookstodon@sciencefiction
SHARP, SATIRICAL DYSTOPIAN near-future adventure skewers privatized government, social censorship, and unrestrained avarice—and it’s a high-energy thriller as well! B PLUS
A VIRTUOSO RIFF ON AN AMERICAN classic: the inimitable Percival Everett retells the story of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective, transforming it from a familiar picaresque to a more complex adventure and a meditation on code-switching. A MINUS
Book Review: Bitter Waters by Vivian Shaw A barrow wight turns up with a recently turned 11 yr. vampire. Dr. Helsing and friends search for the attacker, and help the kid adjust.
My #bookreview is brief/won't spoil, to spread good, great, & spectacular #horror#books far & wide.
💙📚 You may presume you'll know the story that unfolds in I THINK I'M ALONE NOW, but you'll be wrong as hell. I read this novella in a single sitting: Ali Seay has written a thoroughly enjoyable, vivid, violent, deliciously dark chunk o' horror set in the 80's that's, like, totally rad. (Grindhouse Press)
New review: Biocivilisations locates supposed human achievements amongst a wide range of organisms and is a book that is as fascinating as it is frustrating.
@bookstodon Another really good graphic nonfiction book I've read recently, and recommend, is WE HEREBY REFUSE, regarding the Japanese-Americans forced into concentration camps in WWII.
The story addresses a common victim-blaming response to the plight of others: "Why didn't they fight back?" It's almost always the wrong question, even though indeed, they did fight back. Victim-blaming is a pernicious permission structure, allowing us not to care about terrible events that happen to other people.
A FORMER CHILD INFLUENCER comes to terms with how the exploitation of her image changed her life. More than just a “problem novel,” this thoughtful book deftly takes on issues of family trauma, love, friendship, racial and national identity. A MINUS
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO Jasper Fforde’s enigmatic 2011 novel Shades of Grey is a fascinating, mysterious science fiction picaresque where decoding the secrets behind the worldbuilding is part of the fun. B PLUS