Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and writing.
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 May: 6 in print, 2 in e-book format, and 0 in audio format. They were:
1. Lightspeed Magazine #120 (May, 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were C. Robert Cargill’s “We Are Where the Nightmares Go,” Millie Ho’s “The Fenghuang,” Charlie Jane Ander’s “Rager in Space,” and Adam-Troy Castro’s “The Time Traveler’s Advice to the Lovelorn.”
2. Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe, by Carlos Hernandez. The second installment in Carlos Hernandez’s Sal & Gabi series, in which Sal & Gabi realized that Sal’s father’s efforts to discover a way to close the holes between the Universes may actually be endangering the multiverse, is as inclusive, fun-filled, and love-filled as the first. Full Review HERE.
3. Zlonk! Zok! Zowie! The Subterranean Blue Grotto Guide To Batman ’66 Season One edited by Jim Beard. Episode-specific essays discuss casting, trivia, and behind-the-scenes facts. The tone of the essays varies from Very Scholarly to Very Silly, but they’re all enjoyable. Fans of the television series should check this out, and be on the lookout for volumes about seasons 2 and 3 in the future.
4. The Shadow Hero by Gene Leun Yang and Sonny Liew. The Shadow Hero is a really fun re-imagining of an obscure Golden Age hero called The Green Turtle. The current creators move the character from the Asian theater of World War II to San Francisco’s Chinatown district, and the plot involves gang activity. The social commentary is interwoven with the character development. The graphic novel also includes an essay by Yang about the original comics character, and a reprint of the original Green Turtle’s first appearance.
5. DC Comics: First Issues Specials, edited by Gerry Conway. A hardcover volume reprinting the short-lived and varying-in-quality DC Comics series called “First Issue Special.” It includes work by Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Marty Pasko, Walter Simonson, Mike Grell, Gerry Conway, Bob Haney, Ramona Fradon, Steve Ditko and others, featuring characters DC was looking to return to prominence (The Creeper, Metamorpho, Manhunter, Doctor Fate, the New Gods) and newly-created characters (an alien Starman, Atlas, and Grell’s Warlord). Full review HERE.
6. Dead Girl Blues by Lawrence Block. Block’s latest self-published novella (still on preorder as I post this, but due to release in mid-June) is not an easy read. It starts with the murder-rape (in that order) of a young woman and then follows the life of the murderer/rapist to the present day. It’s a deep character study of a particular mind and thus may not be for everyone. Full Review HERE. (I received an Advance Review Copy from the author.)
7. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Vo’s novella from Tor.com details the rise to power of a twice-exiled empress, through the eyes of a cleric documenting the contents of the Empress’s home-in-exile and the elderly woman the cleric meets there. Full review to come.
8. A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos by Luis H. Francia. A concise history of the islands-nation from prehistory to the near present. Informative without being too granular.
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. “The Time Traveler’s Advice to the Lovelorn” by Adam-Troy Castro, from Lightspeed Magazine #120 (May 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.
2. “One Hundred Sentences About the City of the Future: A Jeremiad” by Alex Irvine
3. “Melting Like Metal” by Ada Hoffman
4. “Rager in Space” by Charlie Jane Anders
5. “I Bury Myself” by Carmen Maria Machado
6. “The Fenghuang” by Millie Ho
7. “We Are Where the Nightmares Go” by C. Robert Cargill
8. “Destinations of Love” by Alexander Weinstein
9. “The Proper Thing” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.
10. “Perilous Blooms” by Beth Cato, from Daily Science Fiction, edited by Jonathan Laden and Michele-Lee Barasso
11. “Job Placement” by Jim Butcher, from the author’s website
So that’s 11 short stories in May. Once again way under “1 per day,” putting me further behind for the year so far. (May 31th was the 152th day of 2020.)
Summary of Reading Challenges:
“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 3 of 14 read.
366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 11 read; YTD: 95 of 366 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 10 of 52 read.
Goodreads Challenge: This month: 8 read; YTD: 58 of 125 read.
Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 6 of 24 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 1 books read; YTD: 6 of 16 read.
Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned
Monthly Special Challenge: May was Asian-Pacific/South Asian Heritage Month, so my goal was to read some poetry. Three books fit this goal (The Shadow Hero, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and A History of the Philippines) and one short story (“The Fenghuang” by Millie Ho). Not as good as I’d have liked to have done, but better than I did with the poetry challenge last month.
June is Pride Month, so my goal is to read a number of authors from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.