#goodreads choice

[doubledaybooks]

Goodreads Choice Awards: Vote in the Opening Round of 2024!

Vote in the opening round of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards! We're thrilled and honored by readers who nominated our authors this year:

Fiction: SAME AS IT EVER WAS by Claire Lombardo

Audiobook & Historical Fiction: JAMES by Percival Everet

Historical Fiction: THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon

Romance: LIES & WEDDINGS by Kevin Kwan

Debut Novel: VICTIM by Andrew Boryga

Nonfiction: FRAMED by John Grisham

History & Biography: THE WIDE WIDE SEA by Hampton Sides

History & Biography: WHEN WOMEN RAN FIFTH AVENUE by Julie Satow

[rosiesfables]

Delilah and Claire on a date night downtown 🌈💄

✨Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake ✨

[bookmuseum]

[REVIEW] Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

3/5 stars (★★★)

I think I ventured too far into the booktok reading list with this one. While it wasn't necessarily bad, it isn't my kind of book despite the very intruiging title -- which ended up being misleading, by the way: I wanted historical period Mexican drama, but instead the book could’ve been set in any time period and it wouldn’t have made any difference. In fact, what disappointed me the most was that most of the book orbited around a white British colonizer family -- the Doyles, named after Arthur Conan Doyle, which is a decent literary allusion, but considering "Doyle" sounds ridiculous it wasn't a good call to use the name for your book's supposedly terrifying villains.

The only two significant Mexican characters are the protagonist Noemí Tabaoda and her cousin Catalina, who was frustratingly passive the entire book. Although Moreno-Garcia does explain that she focuses mostly on the Doyles to explore postcolonial horror, I was still nevertheless sad that I didn't get much exposure to the vibrant Mexican city life Noemí came from and barely referenced. (A grand total of three characters speak Spanish in this book. The overwhelming white majority only know English and canonically never bothered to learn the local language despite living in Mexico for centuries. Like what). In my copy, there was an interview included where Moreno-Garcia mentions that a better title for this book would've been "Postcolonial Gothic," but it doesn't have the same ring as MG does. I agree, but I don't like it. If I wanted to read something Gothic with white people I would've just picked up literally any other book in the genre. I get that ~ the real horror is racism and colonial legacy ~ but I was kind of hoping Moreno-Garcia had more to say than that beyond "white people came to Mexico and it was bad." Once you strip down the entire plot to its bare themes, that's basically all MG has to say, which is kinda lame.

Noemí was a good and compelling protagonist though, -- not a damsel in distress, but also not a cookie cutter excuse for a feminist heroine -- but her power was ironically undercut by Catalina's lack of any personality or a spine. The text also kept bringing up how Catalina's essentially the perfect submissive and romantic light-skinned Mexican woman who reads fairytales, is maternal to all her younger cousins, and puts her family first. Even her one act of rebellion in suddenly marrying into the Doyles is portrayed as tragically feminine since she hoped to find love but instead became a victim to her own marriage. (I'm supposed to believe Catalina, who the book spends a significant amount of time hyping up as this brilliant older sister figure that Noemí looked up to, was so dumb as to not realize Virgil was a sleazeball from the start and that she genuinely fell for him because he's hot and made her sexy promises. Okay). Despite her letter being the catalyst for the book's events, Catalina barely has much time to shine -- let alone much dialogue. She gets to kill her husband, but it was so underwhelming and provided zero emotional catharsis. It almost felt like Catalina was an afterthought. Even though Noemí repeatedly says she cares for her cousin and doesn't want to abandon her to the hellscape High Place estate, I didn't really feel much warmth between them. Their dynamic felt superficial and strictly formulaic.

I guess what Moreno-Garcia was trying to do with Noemí and Catalina being so different was to emphasize the former's strength and deviance from the classic swooning Gothic heroine mold that the latter fits so well into. But I really wish we got a little bit more from Catalina; we didn't even get to see her interact with her asshole husband until way later into the novel. I was thinking maybe Moreno-Garcia was gonna be like, "Virgil may be a creep but he does love his wife they just kind of have a dark romantasy toxic Beauty and the Beast relationship thing going on." That angle would've been interesting, but nah Virgil was indeed simply just a creep.

Which brings in another issue: Even though Noemí was refreshing, everyone else literally paled in comparison to her. I did not like anybody else nor did I much care about what happened to them because they were all painfully predictable. Like a lot of horror and Gothic books, MG relies a lot on shock factor and "big reveals" of sinister things happening underneath the surface, but nothing really phased me because 1. Moreno-Garcia drags out the action too long (to the point of repetitive monotony) and doesn't leave much room for suspense or atmospheric dread and 2. Everything was so on-the-nose that, while some parts did make me grimace in disgust, I was never truly horrified or disturbed. The synopsis claimed MG was slow-burn, but it really isn't. It's actually one of the most fast-paced "Gothic" stories I've ever read; it was amazing how much craziness Moreno-Garcia fit into the chapters. There were not nearly enough moments of "Uh hey that was kinda weird, but not that weird" that makes Gothic and horror so engrossing, which ultimately made the plot dry and uninteresting. Sure, there are a couple of unusual occurrences in the beginning, but it hardly counts as actual teasing. More than 2/3 of the book is "This is a fucked up thing that's happening!" and nothing else. Wasn't subtle at all. Disturbing and gruesome themes are only as good as their delivery and Moreno-Garcia unfortunately stumbles with this. Even Howard -- disgusting as he was -- was a pretty tame antagonist, as well as the rest of the Doyle family and their haunted underground mushroom maiden.

It was also clear that Moreno-Garcia wanted to introduce some complexity to Noemí's character like how she's both attracted to yet repulsed by Virgil, but it turned into an overcompensated rape fantasy that I didn't vibe well with. It didn't add nuance at all. The whole "I want Virgil to ravish me, but he's also my cousin's husband and I hate him also Francis the good quiet boy with no balls or any redeeming qualities loves me so I am torn between these two conventionally boring white men and its supposed to be sexy and riddled with angst" read like ... bad straight woman fanfiction. (Moreno-Garcia also constantly brings up how petite and beautiful Noemí is, which, even though I knew she wasn't a shallow caricature and had some depth as a character, nevertheless gave her pickme vibes). Booktok might've eaten that up but I was totally turned off by it. I didn't care about Noemí's adventures in monstrous femininity and horniness, which sucks because usually that's the most fun part of a Gothic novel. MG fails as a romance. Its hot and cold (lack of a) presence renders the Francis/Noemí relationship laughably pointless. It's astounding how little chemistry they have.

To add, there were a lot of scenes that were just plain unnecessary but you could tell Moreno-Garcia included it because she thought it was hot, like all the times Virgil semi-molests Noemí in her "dreams" and all the borderline fetishistic public cult birth rituals. I'm not sure I like how the book is basically like, "Oh yeah, the Mexican natives discovered black magic via mushrooms because Indigenous people are occult and weird. These mushrooms can only be specifically found in their savage native land, and even though the white people are significantly more inhumane with their incest and cannibalism we're still gonna depict Indigenous peoples as somehow primitive and unintelligent with all their sacrificial priest offerings and wacky tinctures." Being of Mexican descent herself, I don't think Moreno-Garcia intentionally wanted to be racist there, but it came off as quite racist. It doesn't help that there are some passing "critiques" on eugenics, the Revolution, colonialism, etc. that try to be progressive and thought-provoking but are absent of real depth or actual introspection.

To be fair though, this book was pretty entertaining in how batshit crazy the plot gets. I saw some people saying the last 40% of the book feels like an entirely different novel and I kind of agree. Some parts were straight up random and unexpected, like Noemí being into anthropology and it actually being relevant? Even though her priorities kinda change throughout the book, she initially does everything she does because she wants to get a master's degree, which her traditional aristocratic parents are against. That was kinda cool, how ambitious and plucky she was; something I don't see often in literature. I'm not so much impressed by Moreno-Garcia's writing as I am with her imagination because she really came up with a bonkers idea and went with it, which I can respect. I didn't think the book would center so much on malignant mushrooms and fungal horror, but what're you gonna do. (The snake eating its own tail motif was pretty overdone though. I was snoring over it after the first 50 pages). Unfortunately, the novelty of all this only goes so far: Moreno-Garcia doesn't execute a lot of the crucial scenes well, nor does she seriously flesh out the novel's plot schematics or realism. Instead, she leans heavily on melodrama without taking a step back and explaining what the hell is even happening -- and why. The "backstory" of Howard's pursuit of immortality, his sisters slash children slash wives, and the failed silver mine was hastily developed at best and lacks any serious gravitas. When the characters kept referring to "the gloom" all solemn and serious I just snorted. It was just all so silly, which can sometimes be good in a Gothic novel, but not in this case.

I can appreciate what Moreno-Garcia tries to do and subvert with the Gothic genre, hence why I gave this book three stars. I thought it was creative how she made High Place the stereotypical scary castle on the hill yet also not. As a "haunted house" though, it was pretty unimpressive and easily forgettable.

Overall, MG was entertaining and I don't regret reading the book. Apparently in an interview with Goodreads, Moreno-Garcia claims this novel is for people who are "classy and trashy." I think that's a fair description, albeit a bit over-generous on the "classy" aspect. Wouldn't go so far as comparing MG to Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights like all the reviews did though. Like please be for real.

[drchucktingle]

vote BURY YOUR GAYS in final round of goodreads awards, a book that addresses this moment and moments like it by avenging them through what is essentially meta fan art by way of horror satire. a real world chance to pick up a ball that many have dropped.

i know i get a little RILED UP over timelines but i cant ignore the way this moment could potentially create something so potent. a history of dead queer characters leading to a book that directly stands in opposition to the trope finding success and elevated through FAN votes

like a rallying cry for every slain queer character. all of the fan fiction creations and erotic ships crawling from their graves and staggering into the bright lights of mainstream consciousness. BURY YOUR GAYS they groan. the cemetery was FULL. so many votes it cant be stopped

fun to think on potential realities, and especially fun when theyre just a FEW STEPS AWAY. if you want to trot that path with me then take a moment to vote bud, its very easy. if you voted last round you can do it again now.  lets shake things up buckaroos

VOTE HERE:

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[lexreadsdiversely]

Screw Goodreads: Poetry Recommendations

Since goodreads doesn't think poetry matters, here's a random rec list for anyone who wants to read more poetry. You may find many of these titles on Libby and the Queer Liberation Library @queerliblib

Poetry collections I can personally recommend:

bone - Yrsa Daley-Ward

Wound from the Mouth of a Wound - torrin a. greathouse

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities - Chen Chen

Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics - Edited by T.C. Tolbert and Trace Peterson

Postcolonial Love Poem - Natalie Diaz

Thrown in the Throat - Benjamin Garcia

The Hurting Kind - Ada Limón

Night Sky with Exit Wounds - Ocean Vuong

And here are some of the many poetry collections on my tbr (libby, my beloved, please... I'm not above begging) but I figured I'd add them for folks to do their own exploring.

Eating the Archive - Yousif M. Qazmiyeh

If My Body Could Speak - Blythe Baird

Helium - Rudy Francisco

There Should Be Flowers - Joshua Jennifer Espinoza

Corazón - Yesika Salgado

The Orange and Other Poems - Wendy Cope

The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde - Audre Lorde

I am Schizophrenic: Poetry from a Beautiful Brain - Kerenza Ryan

Blood Orange - Yaffa As

MARIPOSAS: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry - Edited by Emanuel Xavier

Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul - Ryka Aoki

Under Her Skin: A Women in Horror Poetry Showcase, Vol 1 - Edited by Lindy Ryan and Toni Miller

Life on Mars - Tracy K. Smith

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On - Franny Choi

Call Us What We Carry - Amanda Gorman

We Will Be Shelter: Poems for Survival - Edited by Andrea Gibson

Crush - Richard Siken

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head - Warsan Shire

The Tradition - Jericho Brown

The End of the Alphabet - Claudia Rankine

Beautiful Zero: Poems - Jennifer Willoughby

Calling a Wolf a Wolf - Kaveh Akbar

Individual poems:

Check out my poetry blog @thispoemisaboutyou

Poem-a-Day (also a podcast)

Appreciating Poetry:

If Poetry Confuses You, Watch This - Introduction to Poetry Appreciation

Disclaimer: I do not personally know if any of these authors are scumbags. I'll be doing research on each one soon (but a lot that goes on happens on twitter, and I don't touch twitter so I might miss shit). I encourage you to do your own research as well, and feel free to message me if you know something I don't.

**And as always, make sure you read the blurbs and check content warnings if you need to. Storygraph is great for content warnings if the author doesn't have them on their website**

okay stopping cuz this post is getting too long, but I'll make a part two at some point

[rosesutherlandwrites]

What is HAPPENING this week Y'all. Y'ALL. A Sweet Sting Of Salt is nominated for a Goodreads Readers Choice Award! (in the fantasy category, which will never fail to crack me up a bit given how very historical fiction with a single fantasy element it is, but I love it)

I am already floored, regardless of the outcome. YOU did this, every one of you who's read, reviewed, shared on my silly promos, and generally helped me maintain my sanity from the very beginning of this little book's journey, and I could not be more grateful to you all. 💕🦭💕

If you use GR and would like to cast a vote for Salty, Jean, Muirin and I will all be very appreciative ❤️

[princessofbookaholics]

the goodreads choice awards manages to piss me off every year

[ikjun]

i hate the booktook and goodreads girlies that are like babel is too verbose r.f. kuang wrote too much about language like sometimes that can be valid criticism for a book but babel is literally a story about language and the several meanings and uses as well as exploitation of words and you're telling me there should be less words in it so it's easier for you. are you crazy.

[books-and-cookies]

every year when the goodreads choice awards roll around, i realise how completely out of touch i am with new releases

i could only vote in 2 or 3 categories this year, which were horror, debut and historical nonfiction, because i haven't read almost any of the books in the other categories

i used to have so much fomo over not reading new releases, or not getting any new releases, and nowadays, i just can't be bothered, nor do i really care about not reading everything as it comes out (or ever, for that matter)

[the-person-that-did-that]

goodreads should have a thing for really really really long fanfics

[fictionadventurer]

There is not a single homely thing that, looked at from a certain angle, does not become fairy. Think of the Dapple, or the Dawl, when they roll the sunset towards the east. Think of an autumn wood, or a hawthorn in May. A hawthorn in May — there’s a miracle for you! Who would ever have dreamed that that gnarled stumpy old tree had the power to do that? Well, all these things are familiar sights, but what should we think if never having seen them we read a description of them, or saw them for the first time? A golden river! Flaming trees! Trees that suddenly break into flower! For all we know, it may be Dorimare that is Fairyland to the people across the Debatable Hill

-Lud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirrlees

[drchucktingle]

truly honored to learn that BURY YOUR GAYS has made it to final round of GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS. even if you voted before you can now vote again LETS TROT BUCKAROOS WERE TAKIN THIS TO THE TOP (SOUND OF BUCKAROO BATTLE HORNS) LOVE IS REAL

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[aidenwaites]

Today for my job that i get paid at I got to look at lists and articles and reviews of popular horror books and curate a list for reference for when we've got limited access to our collection. And I got paid to do that

[jinxy-valentine]

@ Goodreads Choice Awards: Why is there a romantasy category but no category for graphic novels?? Or kids books?? Or poetry??