Very much belatedly, the monthly summary of what I read and listened to in April 2021!
BOOKS
I read 9 books in April: 5 in print, 2 in e-book format, and 0 in audio format. They were:
1. Lightspeed Magazine #131 (April 2021 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were An Owomoyela’s “The Equations of the Dead,” Seanan McGuire’s “Swear Not by The Moon,” Ashok K. Banker’s “The Giving One,” and Genevieve Valentine’s “Blood, Ash, Braids.”
2. Angel of the Overpass (Ghost Roads, Book 3) by Seanan McGuire (writer). The third novel featuring hitch-hiking ghost Rose Marshall (also known as The Girl in the Green Silk Gown, the Phantom Prom Date, and more) brings her afterlife-long battle with her killer, the immortal Bobby Cross, to a head. There’s action, character growth, world-changing moments, and my favorite ghost dinosaur ever. FULL REVIEW HERE. (Did I mention the ghost dinosaur? Seriously worth the price of admission alone.)
3. Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die edited by dave ring. Wonderful collection of post-apocalyptic short stories centering characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
4. A Field Guide to the Spirits: Poems by Jean LeBlanc. Poems about life, love, grief, and more, many with a fantasy, science fiction, or mythological tone.
5. Harryhausen: the Lost Movies by John Walsh. Interesting coffee table book tracking all the film projects Ray Harryhausen ended up not working on, from his own aborted ideas to the opportunities he turned down to work on others’ projects. Tons of original sketches, test models, and photographs make this a must-read for any Harryhausen fan.
6. Ancient Songs of Us by Jean LeBlanc. More poems by a truly wonderful poet.
7. The Impossible Resurrection of Grief by Octavia Cade. A stunningly emotional novella in which loss and sadness bring on Grief, an irreversible mental and physical deterioration. FULL REVIEW TO COME.
8. Prince Neptune by Cody Simpson. Poems by the former teen singer/songwriter/YouTube star (and current potential Olympic swimmer), focused on saving the environment but also on teen emotional and sexual angst.
9. A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark. The first full-length novel in Clark’s alternate history, magic-infused steampunk Cairo is a wonderful fair-play murder mystery. FULL REVIEW HERE.
STORIES
I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this 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 Equations of the Dead” by On Owomoyela, from Lightspeed Magazine #131 (April 2021 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams
2. “Swear Not by The Moon” by Seanan McGuire
3. “The Ocean Between the Leaves” by Ray Nayler
4. “Complete Exhaustion of the Organism” by Rich Larson
5. “The Justified” by Ann Leckie
6. “The Giving One” by Ashok K. Banker
7. “Blood, Ash, Braids” by Genevieve Valentine
8. “Single Origin” by A.Z. Louise, from Fantasy Magazine #66 (April 2021), edited by Christie Yant and Arley Sorg
9. “The Woman with No Face” by Alice Goldfuss
10. “So. Fucking. Metal.” by Shane Halbach
11. “How I Became MegaPunch, or, Why I Stay with Dylan” by Y.M. Pang
12. “Earth to Charity” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.
13. “Forward, Victoria” by Carlie St. George, from The Dark #71 (April 2021), edited by Sean Wallace
14. “A Study in Ugliness” by H. Pueyo
15. “Worm Blood” by Octavia Cade
16. “Wrath of a Queer God” by Anthony Moll, from Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die, edited by dave ring
17. “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” by Christopher Caldwell
18. “The Descent of Their Last End” by Izzy Wasserstein
19. “Soft” by Otter Lieffe
20. “The Black Hearts of La Playa” by Jordan Kinella
21. “The Bone Gifts” by Michael Milne
22. “When the Last of the Birds and Bees Have Gone” by C.L. Clark
23. “A Future in Color” by R.J. Theodore
24. “Champions of Water War” by Elly Bangs
25. “A Sound Like Staying Together” by Adam R. Shannon
26. “Be Strong, Kick Many Asses” by Ann-Julie Riddle
27. “Venom and Bite” by Darcie Little Badger
28. “The Currant Dumas” by L.D. Lewis
29. “The Limitations of Her Code” by Marianne Kirby
30. “You Fool, You Wanderer” by Brendan Williams-Childs
31. “A Party-Planners Guide to the Apocalypse” by Lauren Ring
32. “Imago” by A.Z. Louise
33. “Safe Haven” by A.P. Thayer
34. “Note Left on a Coffee Table” by Mari Ness
35. “The Valley of Mothers” by Josie Columbus
36. “For the Taking, For the Making” by V. Medina
37. “When She Nothing Shines Upon” by Blake Jessop
38. “The Last Dawn of Targadrides” by Trip Galey
39. “The Dreadnought and the Stars” by Phoebe Barton
So that’s 39 short stories in April. Back to a bit more than “1 per day” but I’m still slightly ahead for the year. (April 30th was the 120th day of 2021.)
Summary of Reading Challenges:
“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 6 of 24 main titles read. (0 of 4 alternate titles read)
365 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 39 read; YTD: 143 of 365 read.
Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 8 of 52 read.
Goodreads Challenge: This month: 9 read; YTD: 46 of 125 read.
Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 8 of 24 read.
Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.
Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 0 book read; YTD: 0 of 14 read.
Series fully completed: 0 of 4 planned
Monthly Special Challenge: April’s mini-challenge was poetry, as April is National Poetry Month. I am not a consistent reader of poetry, but in April I usually try to read at least a couple of poetry collections. I managed three: two by American poet Jean LeBlanc and one by Australian Cody Simpson. I also read a couple of poems in Fantasy Magazine #66: “Appeal to the Doppleganger” by Terese Mason Pierre, and “The Knitting Bowl” by Tristan Beiter.
May’s mini-challenge is to read some works by authors of Asian Pacific and/or South Asian descent, for Asian Pacific and South Asian Heritage Month.