#TL Huchu

[libraryleopard]

been on a ghost book kick lately so i read the library of the dead by t.l. huchu which is about a girl living in edinburgh who earns a living talking to ghosts and i thought it was super interesting that it's set in a near-future, somewhat dystopian version of edinburgh, i didn't realize that at all when i picked it up but i thought it was a very interesting and distinctive choice

[newnamesamecharlotte]

I just finished The Mystery at Dunvegan Castly by T.L. Huchu (third book in the Library of the Dead series) and it’s soooooo good!!!

I love Ropa so much, she’s such a great character 😭 I hope there will be more books in the series

[kikiswayside]

Library of the Dead

By T. L. Huchu What a beautiful and melancholy read. I mean sure... when your main character is a ghost whisperer, melancholy is sure to follow. This was different. This is the melancholy we get just living. The sadness of struggle. It was a good read and I will read the next in the series soon.

[labyrinths-library]

Book 37 of 2024

The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by TL Huchu

★★★★★

Find the author here. Find the book here.

Pages: 378

Genre: YA Fantasy

Review:

Oh, Ropa, Ropa, Ropa! It was so interesting to try to see where it was going. Major twists and turns in the third installment of the series. I can't believe I have to wait til November for the next book in the series. It's like a Scottish Ghostbusters vibe and I am and will always be here for it.

[napoleanbonafarte]

I'll read these books in the order of their poll rankings

[ya-world-challenge]

Hello!

I was wondering if you had any good recommendations for books containing disability/disabled characters? Fiction or non fiction. I'm trying to put together a little disability literature resource, and I've occasionally seen you share some books on it. I thought your blog would be an excellent place to come to for some more global ones!

Thank you, and I hope your reading is going well!

Oh wow, I haven't been making many lists lately so I'm not searching out books as much as I used to. But here are some more global/non-US ones that I know of/have gathered from various lists ( I haven't read all of these but most are on my TBR if I haven't.) I'd love to see your resource when you're finished!

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman (India) A girl must relearn to dance with her new prosthetic.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff  (France) In 17th-century France a girl with POTS/chronic dizziness wants to become a Musketeer.

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf (Malaysia) A girl with OCD must survive riots in 1960s Malaysia to find her mother.

Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternack (medieval Khazaria) A Jewish girl defies angels to find her twin a cure for his leprosy.

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani (fantasy N. Africa/Arabia-ish series) A girl with clubfoot teams up with a thief to tackle child trafficking.

The Library of the Dead by TL Huchu (Scotland, diverse heritages, series) Magical mysteries with a wisecracking wheelchair-user secondary character.

I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork (Mexican-American) Contemporary novel about an undocumented boy developing schizophrenia.

Scar of the Bamboo Leaf by Sieni A.M (Samoa) A girl with a limp finds a relationship with a delinquent newcomer boy.

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor (Nigeria) A woman with cybernetic enhancements due to disability finds herself on the run.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Nigeria) A girl with albinism discovers that she has magical powers.

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (Netherlands) An autistic girl worries about being chosen for a survival group before an apocalypse.

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali (Qatar) Romance where the love interest has multiple sclerosis

Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann (Czechoslovakia) 3 teens try to escape communism, including an autistic boy whose father threatens institutionalization.

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray (pan-African fantasy series) One of the main characters has OCD.

Dear Fang, With Love by Rufi Thorpe (Lithuania) A bipolar teen and her estranged father search for their heritage in Lithuania.

Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans (Australia) Short romance with 2 disabled trans people.

Russian Doll by Cristelle Comby (Swiss author, set in London) Series of mysteries with a duo of private detectives, 1 of whom is blind.

Crazy by Benjamin Lebert (Germany) Autobiographical coming-of-age, the MC has partial paralysis

[shadowmaat]

Reading a lot of books in a row sometimes leads to noticing threads of commonality in fascinating ways.

This 14 year old Black Scottish ghost-talker has read some of the same books as this thirtysomething Indian-descended empress of a far-future multi-system empire. Sometimes their lines of thinking are close as well.

This alien religious acolyte from a far-future empire begins exhibiting signs of precognitive abilities, voicing some of the same concerns as this other alien religious type who has had years to refine his future-sensing abilities and can also talk to ghosts.

One of his crewmates is an alien teen in an agony of grief over the loss of his twin, and he uses up almost all of the innate magic within himself; magic that he needs to live, much like a talking gryphon in a high fantasy series.

Vastly different books, with different moods and agendas and writing styles and, of course, authors. But there's still tiny threads connecting them all. I love it. It makes me happy to see stuff like this. Storytelling as a whole is a vast tapestry, and sometimes no matter how different two (or more) tales may be, some things still echo through, each in their own unique way.

For reference, in case anyone cares:

14-year-old Black Scottish ghost-talker: Edinburgh Nights series by TL Huchu

Indian-descended future empress and the alien religious acolyte: Indranan War series by KB Wagers

Future-sensing alien religious type who talks to ghosts and has a crewmate who needs magic to live: Disco Space Opera series by Cat Rambo

Talking gryphon who needs magic to live: the Valdemar series (specifically Gryphon of Light) by Mercedes Lackey

[greywolfheirs]

[notjanine]

i did not make my reading goal of 69 books this year. life was crazy and my brain was bad. but i did read 53 books, and of those, i liked 50- good hit rate! favorites--in no particular order--under the cut

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez - black lesbian vampire period piece starting in the 19th century (iirc) through the 20th and into the future. good compelling stuff.

Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer - a delightful natural history of mosses. they're more interesting and cool than you think they are. i can't wait to go out and look at some with the loupe i was given for christmas.

Sorcerer to the Crown and The True Queen by Zen Cho - british wizardry stuff, but good. if i hadn't already known, there is no way i would have guessed that these were written by the same person who wrote Black Water Sister. darling she has the range. Sorcerer was surprisingly hilarious and they are both such fun. whimsical, but not overly so. i hope she writes a third, but either way, she's got me, i'll read anything from her.

Rocks by Jan Zalasiewicz - yes, this is about literal, actual rocks. i read it during a little geology phase early in the year. it's rocks. yes. but... it reads like a fairy tale? idk. i usually tune out when it comes to geologic timescales, but this guy made even that interesting to me. it's surprisingly lovely. and very short.

You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Janina Matthewson and Jeffrey Cranor - i had mixed expectations for this one. a podcast spinoff book could never be good, could it? if it's my favorite podcast, is it more likely to be good or more likely to be extremely disappointing? but a title like that... visceral, pulling you in (YOU feel it, YOU FEEL it), all phonemes spoken at the front of your mouth like it's meant to be whispered... oh. oh it's good. i think this is the only book i read all in one sitting this year. the alternate history in this fictional universe has been worming its way into my brain for years, and finally learning more was so compelling and satisfying. (note: read this book with Stephen Rennicks' score for the little stranger as background music, would recommend.) and i love that the stories told within this universe are all able to stand alone, including this one, but there're always enough details (big and small) to tie them together. gosh. i haven't listened to the new season of within the wires yet, but i look forward to it emotionally destroying me when i do :)

Provecho by Edgar Castrejon - vegan mexican cookbook that fuuuuuucks. the writing is so straightforward and warm, the photos are plentiful and gorgeous, and the recipes are mostly very approachable. however, there were a few surprises that made me gasp out loud. amazing

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - this is one of those books i was reluctant to read because i didn't think it could live up to the hype. it does tho

Certain Dark Things and Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - i do not like noir! and she made me like it twice!

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - i had only seen the 2010 tv adaptation of this (bonkers cast). the original ending is way funnier

The Bone Ship's Wake by RJ Barker - last book in the tide child series :( i will definitely read and enjoy the whole trilogy again someday. fantasy pirates on ships made of dragon bones and also there are freaky bird creatures who control the weather. plus like politics and war and stuff. interesting subversions of typical white western cultural norms. and cool monsters. a lot to like in these books. (playlist for reading this series is heavy on the assassins creed black flag score, and daniel pemberton's for king arthur)

Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee - when she said This body isn't a trial run for your real life... Make your hands useful or you'll be sorry....

The Library of the Dead and Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by TL Huchu - i don't understand why these aren't classified as YA, but i'm glad they're not, or i wouldn't have read them. street-smart teenage girl in near-future edinburgh talks to ghosts and solves mysteries. sometimes it's gross. sometimes it's silly. there's a vibe and it's enjoyable

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones - he does one thing i really, really hate in this book. but i understand why. other than that thing, it is a blast. a literary take on the slasher genre. gets meta, but not annoyingly so. it was just the right level of scary for me (i.e., i had to stay up late to finish it so i could be DONE with it, but the scariness didn't persist past that).

plus some honorable mentions:

I'm Waiting for You by Kim Bo-Young - short story collection bookended by parallel stories about a couple separated in time. the first half wrecked me. the second didn't. i fell out of love in the middle. this book will always remind me of that.

A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske - victorian (?) era fantasy that's like 30% smut. not bad. but i mostly like them because i read the first one very soon after Sorcerer to the Crown, and in my head, they are in the same universe. delightful.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers - the usual Becky Chambers stuff. thinly veiled personal philosophy with a veneer of sci-fi bullshit. it's pretty sweet tho

ngl my book completion rate steadily decreased as the year progressed; most of these are from before i started my internship in august. i have no idea what to expect in my life next year, so i'm not even going to make a reading goal. i will, however, keep my self-imposed rule that no more than 25% of the books i read in a year can be written by white men. (i have read wayyy fewer mediocre and shitty books since implementing this policy.) i might even try no more than 25% white authors full stop. we'll see. i'm excited to see what books i'll find next year! i wonder if i'll knock out all of the unread books in my apartment before i move...

[butimnotseventeen]

Book recs by author and my three fave genres! Fantasy: Robin Hobb, Garth Nix, TL Huchu. Historical fiction: Jodi Taylor, Markus Zusak, Madeline Miller. History/Biography: Ben Macintyre, Katie Hickman, Jung Chang, Sathnam Sanghera.

This is such a great list, thank you so much!!

[nevinslibrary]

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Ropa is a ghostalker. That means that she gives messages from the dead to the living. So, when something starts sucking the souls out of the children of Edinburgh she feels like, dead/alive stuff is her bailiwick, so she should investigate. Of course, it’s a dark, dark road that she starts on, and the stuff she learns well… maybe she will have wished that she didn’t.

It was a nice combination of spooky, and fun, and creepy, with characters that really pulled me in (well, not literally thankfully). It was a great, great read. I mean, there’s a library in it, I should have known it would be good.

You may like this book If you Liked: The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith, The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost by Lucy Banks, or Unraveling by Karen Lord

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

[newnamesamecharlotte]

'Ladies and gentlemen, you can all eat my vag,' I say, flipping the bird on both hands.

The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T. L. Huchu

[metrogeek]

@metrogeek​

[stcriestcld]

Free Download of Africanfuturism: An Anthology

Stories by Nnedi Okorafor, TL Huchu, Dilman Dila, Rafeeat Aliyu, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Mame Bougouma Diene, Mazi Nwonwu, and Derek Lubangakene

[fabledshadow]

Just finished The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu. It was an excellent read, totally engaging world building and an extremely likable main character. If you like Rivers of London, you will probably like this book, and it is the first in a new series. I am definitely looking forward to more of this story!