Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and writing.
Going strictly by these numbers, March was a slow reading month for me. Except not really. It’s just that a good chunk of what I read in March was proofreading, copy-editing or beta-reading on books that won’t be out until later in the year: one novel, two novellas, a memoir, and a large pile of short stories. They’ll be added into the tally for whatever month the books actually come out in.
BOOKS
To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues as “books.” I read or listened to 8 books in March: 5 in print, 2 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:
1. Lightspeed Magazine #118 (March 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Kristina Ten’s “Tend To Me,” Tahmeed Shafiq’s “Love and Marriage in the Hexasun Lands,” and A.M. Dellamonica’s “Living The Quiet Life.”
2. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark. An intriguing novella set in an alternate Cairo in which magic works and supernatural creatures interact with humanity, with a very steampunk feel. And it’s a mystery, featuring two detectives trying to figure out exactly is haunting the titular tram car and how to exorcize it. Interesting characters, strong world-building.
3. A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark. This is actually the first novelette set in Clark’s alternate history magic-imbued Cairo, but I read them out of order. The order doesn’t really matter – there are two characters from this one who play supporting roles in the other, but otherwise they are stand-alone tales in the same setting. I really, really loved the lead detective in this one and hope to see more of her. This is a very “fair play” mystery – all the clues are there for the reader to follow.
4. Choke Hold (Angel Dare #2) by Christa Faust. This made it onto my To Be Read Challenge for 2020 because I should have read it a long time ago. It’s a sequel to Faust’s award-winning first Angel Dare thriller, Money Shot, and it’s every bit as intense and full of violence and sex. The sex isn’t particularly graphic, but it’s also not completely off-screen. Faust is one of only two female authors to appear under the Hard Case Crime imprint, and I have to assume low sales are why we haven’t seen a third Angel Dare book, as this one ends with a strong hint that Angel’s story isn’t over. Sad, because for noir/crime/thriller fans this should be an ideal series.
5. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Recommended by my friends Dan and Mikayla, I finally listened to Ali’s first memoir, narrated by the author. What an incredible story of indoctrination and rebellion at the personal level and how it can also affect the larger picture. I find that I get much more out of memoirs when I can listen to the actual author read/perform their own story.
6. Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Volume 1: Spider-Geddon by Seanan McGuire, Rosi Kämpe, others. I have been out of touch with most Marvel and DC Comics for a long time, including the Spider-Man family of books. I started buying monthly issues again largely because of the comics work Seanan McGuire, Saladin Ahmed, and Kat Howard have been doing the past two years, including Seanan’s Spider-Gwen runs. I have to say Seanan did a wonderful job introducing me to a character I was completely unfamiliar with and getting me to care about her quickly. And the art is fun, even in the midst of a line-wide crossover event (Spider-Geddon) for which I was not reading ANY of the other titles.
7. Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Volume 2: The Impossible Year by Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa, others. The second and final Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider volume collects the second half of McGuire’s initial run at the character, setting up the title’s relaunch. More solid characterization, and lots of “let’s blow up everything in Gwen’s world” scenes.
8. Ghost-Spider Volume 1: Dog Days Are Over by Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa, others. A new, shorter, series title for a relaunch that sees Gwen taking advantage of her status as one of the only Spider-folk who can cross dimensions on her own to go to college on Marvel’s core-Earth where nobody knows who she is. Except the Jackal does, and he wants her as he’s wanted every version of Gwen. McGuire writes the creepy stalker character very well.
STORIES
I have a goal of reading 366 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year (366 because it’s a Leap Year). Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it:
1. “Giant Steps” by Russell Nichols, from Lightspeed Magazine #118 (March 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.
2. “Living The Quiet Life” by A.M. Dellamonica
3. “Many Happy Returns” by Adam-Troy Castro
4. “Reliable People” by Charlie Jane Anders
5. “Viewer, Violator” by Aimee Bender
6. “Tend To Me” by Kristina Ten
7. “Three Urban Folk Tales” by Eric Schaller
8. “Love and Marriage in the Hexasun Lands” by Tahmeed Shafiq
9. “Another Beautiful Day” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.
10. “The All-Night Horror Show” by Orrin Grey, from The Dark #58 (March, 2020), edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Sean Wallace
11. “The Summer Is Ended and We Are Not Saved” by Natalia Theodoridou
12. “Escaping Dr. Markoff” by Gabriela Santiago
13. “Casualty of Peace” by David Tallerman
14. “Goodbye” by Jim Butcher, from author’s email newsletter
15. “Whoever Fights Monsters” by Cynthia Ward, from Athena’s Daughters, edited by Jean Rabe
So that’s 15 short stories in March. Once again way under “1 per day,” putting me further behind for the year so far. (March 31th was the 91th day of 2020.)
Summary of Reading Challenges:
“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 3 of 14 read.
366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 15 read; YTD: 58 of 366 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 3 read; YTD: 7 of 52 read.
Goodreads Challenge: This month: 8 read; YTD: 39 of 125 read.
Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 4 of 24 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 books read; YTD: 5 of 16 read.
Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned
Monthly Special Challenge: March was Women’s History Month, so my goal was to read primarily female writers. Of the eight books read in March, five were by female authors (okay, yes, three were by Seanan McGuire.) (Also, of the 15 short stories read, 8 were by female authors.)
April is National Poetry Month. I am notoriously not a reader of poetry, but I’m going to try to read at least a little.