Since we are coming up on June, it seems like a good time to check in with everyone here on @bookstodon regarding favorite reads of 2024 so far. Whatcha got?
My top five reads of 2024 so far:
The Criminal series of graphic novels by Ed Brubaker (ten primary works)
Ed Park's work in particular is underread, so I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too. I have had trouble describing it, so I tell people that it's like interconnected intervals, written in circles from the outside in, with Korea as its center.
@michelestrider@bookstodon ooooh. Great choices. I had wonderd if the Jesmyn Ward book was good. So glad to hear that it's exceptional.
Her chapbook Navigate Your Stars has been very helpful to me, with a clear honest assessment of the role of tenacity, along with the direct refutation of that Norman Vincent Peale (or "The Secret") nonsense.
@davidpmaurer@bookstodon These are such interesting titles. Color me intrigued. Bookmarked. (I am bookmarking all of the responses, but just wanted you to know that I appreciate you.)
@arratoon@bookstodon I love how eclectic this list is! Makes me think that you are a well-rounded person as well. I bet you're a careful thinker and an attentive listener.
@book@bookstodon This is great. Swimming in the Dark is such a good example of how to establish narrative mood, as well as how to demonstrate that moral dilemma: should you go along to get along? Seems timely.
If I may, for Pride month, I highly recommend The Infinity Particle, a graphic novel by Wendy Xu. It's not as easy to find at libraries, but it's such a tender and meaningful story.
@5teverin0@bookstodon So many great selections! I also loved The Land of Milk and Honey, so sensual and seductive, through food. And The End of Everything made me fall in love with astrophysics. You've got such a powerhouse list, here.
@Jennifer@bookstodon It's so satisfying when you find the best creative authors. I tend to lean toward historical fantasy over high fantasy, but then The Broken Earth trilogy is my favorite of all-time, and that is definitely high (dystopian) fantasy.
Have you ever read Midnight Robber, by Nalo Hopkinson? It's usually described as a sci fi coming of age story, but its so much more than that. It definitely has fantasy elements, and it which for some reason are never highlighted in tge description. It's about the autonomy and power of women, about rethinking the future by not just including Black characters, but by imagining Earth survivors as exclusively Carribean. It's like nothing I've ever read, though it reminds me a little of the style of All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders, another mind-blowing sci fi fantasy (though it takes place on Earth in contemporary times, not in the future).
Sorry, I went down a rabbit hole in my own mind. I am just nuts for creativity and wild imagination. 😁
@penpencilbrush@bookstodon I absolutely love this list! If you ever want a list of great Greek myth retellings, I got you. Just let me know. And IMHO Song of Achilles is Miller's best work, even better than Circe, which is great to begin with.
@alexlubertozzi@bookstodon Wow. How much do I love this list, let me count the ways. And I totally agree, we all need to read more Colson Whitehead and Percival Everett. We are lucky to be alive at the right time.
@olliethewobbly@bookstodon What a great list! I wish all horror fans the joy of discovering Bazterrica. I've read Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird, and I need to get around to Tender is the flesh.
