#july 2024 bookclub

[tokidokitokyo]

Seitokai July 2024 Japanese Bookclub

This month our winner is the manga 気になってる人が男じゃなかった (vol 1)!

Aya, a high schooler, is interested in a mysterious dude who works in a CD shop. However, the dude's true identity is Mitsuki – an inconspicuous classmate whom she has never spoken to - and also... a girl!

Join us for the July bookclub on the discord server!

What if I'm not confident in joining the bookclub because I have difficulty with vocab? - We've got that covered! For the Seitokai Bookclub, we collectively add to a shared vocab list so that a) no one feels ashamed of coming across a word that they didn't know, and b) you can access the vocab list at any time (yes, even when that book is no longer being read by the group, you still have access to the vocab lists). If you have any other questions about joining the bookclub or the discord server, feel free to send me a DM or an ask!

[wreckitremy]

So this year i started out in 3 book clubs.

I have dropped out of 2 book clubs since then.

I am now somehow in 4 book clubs.

[megamindfandombookclub]

July 2024's Book Club's winner was submitted by Anon!

Metro's Demon by IRegretNothingAndEverything Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Fandoms: Megamind (2010) Relationships: Bernard/Metro Man, Megamind/Roxanne Ritchi Characters: Megamind, Roxanne Ritchi, Bernard (Megamind), Metro Man, Minion (Megamind), various citizens Additional Tags: Royalty AU, Metro Man Is King, Then Megamind is King, Roxanne becomes Queen later, she's bamf, Megamind cries, twice, Bernard shows emotions, Let Megamind Say Fuck, he did Summary: Royalty AU Megamind is the bad omen of Metro. His appearance causes fear and hate to spread, shows bad things to come. He shows up in town one day. The next, Wayne, the Prince of Metro, is gone. Words: 3,547 | Chapters: 1/1 | Language: English | Published: 2019-03-26

[gcantread]

July 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

^borrowing this format from @ofliterarynature—hope that's ok!

The Blue Castle • The Metamorphosis • A Reaper at the Gates • And Then There Were None • I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons • To Be Taught, If Fortunate • The Mysterious Affair at Styles • Till We Have Faces • This Ravenous Fate • Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch • Dragonhaven • [title withheld; SMP] • The Name of the Wind • Better Left Buried • The Body in the Library • Rose Daughter

My biggest reading month so far in terms of quantity, though only third-biggest in terms of "pages" (which I think is a bad metric anyhow—you can typeset them so differently! I wish every book told me its word count.) I read a lot of books in order to see if they're worth reading in @bellasbookclub for the 2024-2025 season, plus I was doing the BBC summer reading challenge! I also devoured my way through several ARCs coming out in August.

The Blue Castle ★★★★★ - I reread this once or twice per year at this point. This time around I read it to @flowerslut and we had a blast! Still the ultimate comfort read.

The Metamorphosis ★★★☆☆ - Also with Shannon (we listened to the audiobook on the way to and from San Diego!) Figured it was high time I actually read this if I was gonna go around calling things "kafkaesque." Somehow exactly what I expected.

And Then There Were None ★★★★☆ - Pre-screened for book club! So I don't wanna say too much other than "I liked it."

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons ★★★☆☆ - Disappointing. Plot was a bit all over the place and it was difficult to sympathize with the main characters. A shame, because I like the premise!

To Be Taught, If Fortunate ★★★★☆ - Read for the BBC 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. Fun and reflective! This was my first time reading Becky Chambers, and I liked the writing style and themes.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ★★★1/2☆ - Another book club pre-screen. A solid mystery.

Till We Have Faces ★★★★☆ - Yet another book club pre-screen. My best friend's favorite book and now I can totally see why.

This Ravenous Fate ★★★☆☆ - An ARC I got signed by the author after seeing her speak on a panel about YA and romance. Unfortunately a huge letdown, possibly because I had such high hopes for the premise of "queer Black 1920s vampire x human." Alas, it had some cool vampire lore but was overall a convoluted mess and not nearly 1920s-enough!

Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch ★★★★☆ - Another ARC I got from the same event and liked much better. Cool Jennifer's Body-esque premise, snappy voice, and a fun protagonist in the murdered and vengeful Annie. Perfect Halloween vibes!

Dragonhaven ★★★★☆ - Also pre-screened for book club so I shouldn't talk too much about it but I can't help myself (@ book club LOOK AWAY) I wasn't expecting much from this book because I've heard Robin McKinley fans voice their disappointment in it, but it turns out I'm the exact niche target audience for this. National Park politics and conservation science struggles and zookeeping?? I'm seated. I can see why others didn't like the pacing, but I was nodding along like "Yes, the difficulty of procuring grad students to come study dragons, of course. Do go on"

[title withheld; SMP] - I didn't realize this was an SMP book until I was halfway through it. Oops. A shame they still don't have their act together, because I'd love to talk about this one.

The Name of the Wind ★★★★★ - A title I've heard raved about a million times by a zillion people, so naturally I picked it as one of my BBC 2024 summer reading challenge books to see if it lived up to the hype. IMO it does! Fun, poetic writing style, cool framing device, and interesting worldbuilding and magic system. Curious to read the sequel.

Better Left Buried ★★★☆☆ - Another ARC. Cute queer YA murder mystery that I honestly don't have much to say about other than "it was cute."

The Body in the Library ★★★1/2☆ - And another book club pre-screen book. My first Miss Marple! Mostly elevated by having an interesting ending twist and class themes.

Rose Daughter ★★★☆☆ - And to no one's surprise, my final book of the month was also pre-screening for Bella's Book Club. Very pretty writing and it was fun to read while wearing a bit of rose oil (smell-o-vision!) but I didn't loooove the pacing and overall prefer Robin McKinley's other Beauty and the Beast retelling, Beauty.

DNF

A Reaper at the Gates (50%) - I sprinted through book 1 and walked sedately through book 2 of the Ember in the Ashes series, but this one (book 3) was taking me forever to read (and is almost 700 pages), and I was impatient to move on and read other stuff. Reaper at the Gates was decently interesting and I still care about the characters, but the timing just wasn't right. Will probably pick this series back up later.

July superlatives

[onigiriforears]

Jul. 2024 Seitokai Bookclub | 気になってる人が男じゃなかった

For July 2024, the Seitokai Bookclub will be reading the first volume of 気になってる人が男じゃなかった (The Guy She Liked Wasn't a Guy at All).

What if I'm not confident in joining the bookclub because I have difficulty with vocab? We've got that covered! For the Seitokai Bookclub, we collectively add to a shared vocab list so that a) no one feels ashamed of coming across a word that they didn't know and b) you can access the vocab list at any time (yes, even when that book is no longer being read by the group, you still have access to the vocab lists). If you have any other questions about joining the bookclub, the discord server, books we've read in the past, or where to start your Japanese reading journey, feel free to send me a DM or an ask!!

If you need assistance accessing a digital copy of the book, feel free to drop me a line!

Hope to see you there! | Seitokai Bookclub

More detailed FAQs under the break:

What if I've never read a book in Japanese yet? I'm not confident in my skills. That's fine! Not only do we always have a group vocab sheet that we collectively add to (anonymously), but we have ongoing discussions about whatever book we're reading. That means you're free to ask questions, send screenshots, rant about a character or anything like that. You'll definitely find me asking about certain grammar points or if using a particular set of kanji for a word changes the nuance in a particular sentence.

What's the goal of your bookclub? Well, we're interested in fostering confidence in reading in your target language without feeling that you have no one to turn to. Our server has people of all levels of fluency, meaning that there's always someone who can answer your question. And if we can't, we have people we can reach out to ask. We won't leave you hanging!

You don't seem to choose books I'm interested in--how can I change that? Well, we take suggestions and vote as a bookclub for what we'll be reading next. If your book doesn't win the first time you submit it, try try again! We've had many books that didn't win the first time, but were eventually read, so don't be discouraged!

We're waiting for you! | Seitokai Bookclub

[dhr-ao3]

Seargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Book Club

Seargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Book Club https://ift.tt/i5f1umD by VikingWearingHeels Hermione is in the first week of her new life as a single woman. With teenage kids and her whirl-wind romance with Ron officially over, she moves to a tiny impossible-to-pronounce village in Wales to be closer to her work at the only Co-Operative Wizarding & Technology University in the world. Who should she encounter in this new chapter of her life but her old friend, Draco Malfoy! Well he did promise to run a book club with her all those years ago... if not now, when? TLDR: Hermione & Draco reconnect over their shared love of books and food and magic and dancing, and start something new and exciting, now that life is ready for new beginnings. Words: 43587, Chapters: 6/8, Language: English Series: Part 1 of The HP Friends in Adulthood Series Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M, M/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Fred Weasley, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, Pansy Parkinson, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Marcus Flint/Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini, George Weasley/Oliver Wood, Luna Lovegood/Fred Weasley, Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter, Daphne Greengrass/Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy Additional Tags: No Ron Weasley Bashing, BAMF Hermione Granger, Sweet Draco Malfoy, Past Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass Dies, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Original Character(s), Divorced Hermione Granger & Ron Weasley, Molly Weasley Bashing, Good Draco Malfoy, Adult Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Everyone Is Gay, Except Harry, Fluff, Smut, Light Angst, magical university, Professor Hermione Granger, Post-Canon, Potions Master Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley is a Little Shit, Harry is a Little Shit, Christmas, New Year's Eve, Pregnant Pansy Parkinson, Sex Toys, Draco Malfoy is So Whipped, I mean aren't we all?, Harry Potter Characters in their 30s, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy Friendship, Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy do a Bookclub via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/bFro0Hh July 10, 2024 at 04:53AM

[missys-mansion-of-mistakes]

July 18th, 2024. Thursday.

------------------------------

✨ Nails have been done! This is my third time ever doing my own nails, and I think I'm rapidly getting better and better at it. This topper is supposed to be "moon and stars" but it appears to mostly just be stars. Ah well, still really pretty!

📚 My reading is going along well. Almost done with my bookclub's book of the month (several months ago...) Why We Sleep, then Malas is our pick for this month, and Seed to Dust is something I'm reading for my own enjoyment. The Road Trip is a book I got in a "mystery book" package and honestly? it's pretty terrible! The other books are pretty great though. Why We Sleep is informative, Malas is gripping, and Seed to Dust feels like all of your cottagecore-iest inclinations come true. Don't tell my partner but I'm gifting him a copy with the books he accidentally left at my house when he visited last from the east coast in May.

🧳 The conference I'll be presenting at is coming up very quickly, early August. Me and my presenters need to get our stuff together very quickly here. It's also probably my last opportunity to see my boyfriend for the next few years, which is very sad. So there's that. Even though the conference is 20+ days away, I feel like we're doing it last-minute. That's just how I am I guess.

🍎 Of all the things doing really well, my health is in the pits. High BMI (which I know is a poor measurement tool) in the low 40's, high cholesterol and LDL. Years of struggling with overeating, alongside years of agoraphobia, are finally catching up with me. I don't really know what to do right now but I have vague ideas. I can't afford therapy with the low salary the new job pitched me. So I think I'll be attending free meetings held by the Eating Disorder Foundation, and see what they can offer me. They offer mentoring pairings (allegedly, I applied a year or two ago and they never got back to me) and support groups. So, probably just a lot of support groups. We'll see.

What obstacle in your life are you tackling right now?

[Photos: Nails in front of one of my book stacks, Beanstack the app that helps you track your reading progress]

[aceinabook]

Monthly Wrap-up~

July 2024

Books Read: 19

DNFs: 2

Holy I read a lot this month, haha. There was a lot of Manga to be fair though! I've never read this much in one month! It didn't feel exhausting either!

The Last Hero: I absolutely loved this one. It finished off the series with a banger and made it's way to one finishing this series and as well as making it a favorite!

Remarkable Bright Creatures: I'd never heard of this before, but it was my bookclub's August pick! It was a nice cozy read. I really enjoyed the character work in it!

Sword of Summer: The first in the Magnus Chase series! I love Rick Riordan's writing, but did not care for the Kane Chronicles so I was wary of the gods of asgard series. I shouldn't have worried I loved meeting Magnus!

The Midnight Lie: I loved Rutoski's Winner's trilogy. So I was excited when I saw a Lesbian romance by the same author and didn't really know much about it before I read it! I was very intrigued with it and am excited to pick up the sequel. I think it was only a duology. \

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: This was such a nice cozy Sci-fi it made me think of Mass Effect. I loved it and the Wayfarer crew really made me happy

Golden Kamuy Vol. 5: I like the many expressions and how much Japanese history i'm learning with this series. Also love Asirpa.

Heaven Official's Blessing Vol. 8: This was such a good ending to such a beautiful story. I will not shut up about how much I love this story. Xie Lian you are such an icon.

Requiem of the Rose King Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: This is all gonna go in one seeing as I feel it will get blurred together haha. My Partner was reading this and told me it had some playings with gender. I like reading things like that! It is defintely very political and I am actually really enjoying that, I'm not the biggest fan of shakespearean stories at times but this one feels just right.

Hunter x Hunter Vol. 4, 5, 6: I love the Hunter x Hunter anime. I started the manga to get caught up and see what happens after the anime ended. I like this series, and the anime was pretty on the nose.

Divine Rivals: I read this for a challenge to read the past years GR best of the year, this was YA fantasy & Sci-Fi pick. It was ok, but I do not understand how it won. I look at the nominees and I hadn't really read any of the others, but look it was not the best book I read. There were some good bits, but it felt under-developed. Not interested in continuing this duology.

Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 7: Ah, I have never really read a horror manga. Tokyo Ghoul has been something I've been reading for a while but slowly. I loved this volume, it was peak. I loved that Kaneki went through a major character break. I love this boy.

The Hammer of Thor: Magnus Chase! He Strikes again! I listened to the audiobook for SoS and HoT, there are two different audiobook narrators so that was a little off putting. I'll be honest Kieran Culkin the narrator for HoT was better than the one in SoS. I liked this because of Alex Ferraro, I enjoyed she/he's banter with Magnus it was fun. It was also funny to hear Alex call Magnus a golden retreiver. This series is fun!

Icarus: I had not really have heard of this, I got it in the Rainbow Crate book box so It came to me via book recommendation boxes. It is kind of a retelling of the myth of Icarus and Helios. It was pretty good and is def not a close retelling. K Ancrum writes so beautifully. I do highly recommend it

Dnfs:

Godly Heathens: This seemed like really good potential, but I just didn't care about the characters and there were too many dream sequences and it blurred with what was happening. Maybe listening to the audio was the problem haha.

Westside: I just didn't want to read about a detective with a cop dad that was admired who did some police brutality. I'm sure some will like it, I just can't read about that.

That's about it! It was such a good reading month I had a great time. Once I started I just couldn't stop!

[davidbysouth]

This Book Changed How I View the Environment

This Book Changed How I View the Environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYAMv1AkOGg The Right to Be Cold by Sheila Watt-Cloutier is a book that had a big impact on me during my PhD. It shares personal examples of how historical trauma and climate change have shaped Watt-Cloutier's life and experiences and the current work she pursues. It is a great book to think about how climate change and environmental destruction impact the culture and livelihoods of northern people. You can find the book here: https://ift.tt/utESADf Please visit my website to get more information: https://ift.tt/GdHz3KR 🔔Subscribe for more stories about the environment, conservation, climate change, and the world we live in: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidBysouth/?sub_confirmation=1 #arctic #climatechange #environment #forest #cold #ice #travelvlog #books #booktube #bookclub #reading #bookreview #conservation ⚠️Disclaimer: I do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of my publications. You acknowledge that you use the information I provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of David Bysouth. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to my YouTube channel is provided. © David Bysouth via David Bysouth - PhD https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ZyPtFAKgvbn7bkp2x7iHg July 27, 2024 at 06:00PM

[bewitchingbooktours]

A Bewitching Thursday 

A Round-Up of Daily Virtual Book Tour Stops

A Tale of Something New by D. S. McColgan #bewitchingbooktours https://buff.ly/3LjQ5lT

Check out Space Cats: Making Enemies by Craig A Price and Shayne Price, book 1 of the Space Cats series. This is a  new Middle Grades/YA Sci-fi adventure releasing on July 16 on Kindle and in paperback. #bewitchingbooktours https://buff.ly/4bQOjnF

Quest for Copia by E.P. Bellows #bewitchingbooktours https://buff.ly/3W2Fq42

Bright Midnights by LS Delorme #bewitchingbooktours https://buff.ly/3WgKoeK

Author Interview- A Tale of Something New by D. S. McColgan #bewitchingbooktours https://buff.ly/3xR4TFx

INTERVIEW - CHILDREN'S FANTASY - QUEST FOR COPIA by E.P. Bellows https://thebookjunkiereadspromos.blogspot.com/2024/07/spotlight-winterview-childrens-fantasy.html

“Deliciously unpredictable and absolutely engrossing, Nicola Solvinic’s The Hunter’s Daughter is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a very long time. With a dash of magical realism and the kind of complicated, conflicted heroine I love, Solvinic pulls off a nearly impossible feat: making the reader care about a woman who may well be following in her serial killer father’s footsteps. Put The Hunter’s Daughter at the top of your TBR list—I loved this book!” —Karen Dionne, bestselling author The Marsh King's Daughter The Hunter’s Daughter by Nicola Solvinic https://amzn.to/48NTMdP https://bit.ly/3YDcQHB #nicolasolvinic #mysteryauthor #crimeauthor #thrillerwriter #criminology #criminologymastermind #crimefiction #crimethriller #crimenovels #detectivenovels #suspensenovels #thrillerbooks #murdermystery #mysteryseries #whodunit #mysteryreads #bookcommunity #mustread #bookrecommendation #bookish #booklovers #readinglist #bookclub #bestseller 

From Travelers' Haven to Spectral Hideaway: Explore The Hauntings of the Blue Pelican Inn Haunted Hotels of Michigan by Roxanne Rhoads https://amzn.to/3Touz4p #MichigansMostHauntedHotels  #MichigansMostHaunted #HauntedMichigan #MichiganGhosts #GhostlyGetaways #MichigansGhostlyGetaways #HauntedTravel #GhostTravel #GhostTourism #HauntedTourism #DarkTourism #HauntedHotelsofMichigan #MichigansHauntedHotels

Authors! It's time to sign up for the Bewitching Book Tours' Haunted Halloween Spooktacular!  A special Halloween book tour package October 1-29 and a Trick or Treat for Books event on October 30 & 31. Sign Up Here:https://forms.gle/xqKkHdNiPR6Ma98g8

As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases #Amazon #ad #CommissionsEarned

[karen-carlisle-off-the-artboard]

2024 Events Confirmed (Updated)

https://karenjcarlisle.com/2024/04/02/2024-events-confirmed-updated/

Burton Author Market – 9th March – Free Event (was great)

Adelaide Comic & Toy Fair – 21st April

ANNOUNCEMENT – EVENT CONFIRMED! I’ve been accepted for the Artist Alley at this year’s AVCON (Adelaide). (29-30th June)

ANNOUNCEMENT – EVENT CONFIRMED! I’ve been accepted for the Artist Alley at this year’s Adelaide Oz Comic Con (1-2nd June)

Nullus Anxietas 9 –  (Aus Discworld con – Adelaide, as a guest author) – 12-14th July

Temporal Textural Talks –   (Guest author when online steampunk book club reads Doctor Jack & Other & Tales) – 19th August (Australia time) [bookclub is held live via FB on the 3rd Sunday (US time) of every month, except March and December.]

Adelaide Supanova – 2-3rd November 

[tokidokitokyo]

Seitokai July 2024 English Bookclub

This month's bookclub pick is Idol, Burning by Rin Usami!

Akari is a high school junior obsessed with "oshi" Masaki Ueno, a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to him, and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate to analyze and understand him, Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior, her backbone, someone she believes she cannot survive without--even though she's never actually met him. When rumors surface that her idol assaulted a female fan, social media explodes. Akari immediately begins sifting through everything she can find about the scandal, and shares every detail to her blog--including Masaki's denials and pleas to his fans--drawing numerous readers eager for her updates. But the organized, knowledgeable persona Akari presents online is totally different from the socially awkward, unfocused teenager she is in real life. As Masaki's situation spirals, his troubles threaten to tear apart her life too. Instead of finding a way to break free to save herself, Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki, still believing her idol is the only person who understands her. A blistering novel of fame, disconnection, obsession, and disillusion by a young writer not much older than the novel's heroine, Idol, Burning shines a white-hot spotlight on fandom and "stan" culture, the money-making schemes of the pop idol industry, the seductive power of social media, and the powerful emotional void that opens when an idol falls from grace, only to become a real--and very flawed--person.

Join us for an English-language read in the discord server!

[gcantread]

November 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

Sundown in San Ojuela • Wuthering Heights* • The Scorpio Races • The Serviceberry • Graveyard Shift • Saga (Vol 1) • Shubeik Lubeik

"Fingers crossed I'll have more time to read in November," she said.

What happened instead was that I had a busy month of grass-touching and then, in the last few weeks, panicked about how little I had read (compared to how much I wanted to read) and brought a huge stack of novellas and graphic novels on my road trip to Santa Fe. This turned out to be exactly the right move because I read them ALL and there was not a single flop!

Sundown in San Ojuela ★★★1/2☆ - A book that is a lot confused, but got the spirit (and vibes.) Great prose, but it definitely suffers from that debut novel condition of "way too much going on." Oh well. We may not have killed our darlings, but we killed a lot of cop characters in assorted gory ways!

Wuthering Heights ★★★1/2☆ - Had to use the hilarious Scholastic Twilight-esque cover, of course, because I read it for @bellasbookclub! I think I liked it better this time around. These characters are so delightfully ridiculous—scenery chewed swallowed digested. (Yes, Cathy, I do have queer dreams.)

The Scorpio Races ★★★★★ - I half expected this book to let me down, and it DIDN'T! The characters? Compelling. The burn? Slow. The horses? Killin' folks left and right. I should probably write up a longer review because I have so many fun notes on this one.

The Serviceberry ★★★★★ - Robin Wall Kimmerer is an auto-buy for me (I can't wait to see her speak in person this month!) and this short and beautiful book is a great example of why. An especially lovely read if you're familiar with the fandom gift economy and want to ponder how one might work in the offline world. Also it contains the recurring phrase "I store my meat in the belly of my brother" and homies I'm snickering childishly

Saga ★★★★☆ - Has been much raved-about to me and now I can see why. Extremely gripping beginning to a series I didn't realize is up to 72 volumes?? That can't be right. Anyway, fantastic intro to the world and its "scifi dirtbag Romeo and Juliet" characters. Did this book just babytrap me?

Graveyard Shift ★★★☆☆ - Not so much a novella as "the first two thirds of a novella that suddenly cuts off" (insert Zuko gif here.) But a very suspenseful, well-executed and page-turning two thirds. Turns out "A bunch of smokers in a graveyard witness some guy burying a small mountain of dead rats" is a pretty ironclad concept.

Shubeik Lubeik ★★★★★ - The more I think about this one, the more I like it. The worldbuilding ("wishes are a commodity that can be mined and sold to the rich") was interesting and perfect for class commentary, the three (really four) main characters were well rendered (Shawqia my beloved!) and I loved the subtle and non-subtle interconnectedness of their stories.

DNFs: I have officially put The Wise Man's Fear on hiatus. I'll finish it eventually, I just need to be in the right mood and/or steel myself, I think.

November superlatives

Next up:

It's only December 2nd, but I've already finished A Memory Called Empire and made a dent in Jade City. So... sci-fi epics and finishing ongoing series month, I guess? Cheers I'll drink to that bro

previous months:

july august september october

[gcantread]

October 2024 reads

[loved liked ok nope dnf bookclub*]

A Dark and Drowning Tide • The City in Glass • We'll Prescribe You a Cat • Five Broken Blades • The Professor • The Wood at Midwinter • Murder on the Orient Express*

October was a slooooooow reading month for me! I traveled, I hosted, I did irl stuff generally, but I didn't make much of a dent in my TBR. Oh well! One thing about living in this frozen mountain wasteland is that as soon as the weather turns, it's Reading Season. Fingers crossed I'll have more time to read in November.

A Dark and Drowning Tide ★★★☆☆ - Eh. It was fine. Nothing special, but fine. I can now definitively say that I've given Allison Saft's work a fair chance and it's not quiiiiiite my thing.

The City in Glass ★★★★1/2 - Nghi Vo never flops!! I was stoked about this new release and I was right to be. I didn't looooove the ending, but I loved the prose and really enjoyed the angel/demon "fucked up Good Omens" dynamic at the story's core.

We'll Prescribe You a Cat ★★★★☆ - This one is just fun. If you like cats even a little bit, it's a silly sweet time. I love reading works translated from Japanese/set in Japan in general for the way the cultural differences translate.

Five Broken Blades ★★★★☆ - Listen, I am Not Immune to books hyped by booktok/booktube. I 100% get the criticism of this one, but I still had a blast reading it. There are so many characters and they're all soooooo delightfully dumb in such fun ways. Also Aeri and Royo are like 80% jalice-coded and we all know I'm EXTRA not immune to that

The Professor ★★1/2☆☆ - Read this because I'm slowly making my way through the entire Brontë canon, and oof. Boy does this read like a shitty first draft of Villette (where's the beef??) I will not be inflicting this one on Bella's Book Club. That said, I had a great time laughing at the virulent Victorian xenophobia as usual (we get it, Charlotte, you hated your French boss.)

The Wood at Midwinter ★★★☆☆ - Susanna Clarke is another of those authors whose grocery lists I would treasure. This little snippet was fun in both a "picture book for adults" way and in a "Please elaborate on that" "No" way. ily Bear Jesus

Murder on the Orient Express ★★★☆☆ - A reread for Bella's Book Club's Detectober! It was fun to reread while already knowing the twist this time around.

DNFs: None, but I'm starting to stall out on The Wise Man's Fear because I suspect I'm gonna dislike the second half. Go back to the universityyyyyy I'm booooored 😞

October superlatives

Next up:

I'm currently reading my ARC of Sundown in San Ojuela, and so far it's truly the perfect "October into November" book. I'm also gonna keep on trucking through The Wise Man's Fear. In more exciting news, I get closer every SECOND to cracking open my beautiful shiny copy of Absolution—I can't wait!! I've been informed that November is The Scorpio Races month, and that one's been on my tbr since @catja recced it for BBC summer reading, so I'd love to pick that one up. Other than that, I'd just like to get to everything I didn't get to this month! (In addition to my reread of Wuthering Heights for @bellasbookclub Brontë November, of course. I'd never miss Wutherin' Time.)

previous months:

july august september

[megamindfandombookclub]

August Fanfiction Drawing!

July has been a great month in reading Run by impatientseamstress and finished off with an engaging Q&A session in the bookclub channel! I am very thrilled that everyone participated! If you have not read it yet, here is the link. Highly recommend!

Now it's time to start thinking about our next drawing!

Same rules as before, the link to the drawing will be posted to the Book Club channel for members to submit their recommendations for the next random drawing. The winner will be announced on August 1st.

If you'd like to join the bookclub feel free to ping wither Corni or Clucky in the Evil Lair server

Are you a Megamind fan and want to join a server full of other fans yelling about the Megamind series in 2024????

Come say Ollo here! https://discord.gg/theevillair

[megamindfandombookclub]

I been so busy trying to promote Megamind Rules that I have neglected my own fanfics. But please! continue to read and leave positive feedback for our fandom writers!!!

July 2024's Book Club's winner was submitted by Anon!

Metro's Demon by IRegretNothingAndEverything Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Fandoms: Megamind (2010) Relationships: Bernard/Metro Man, Megamind/Roxanne Ritchi Characters: Megamind, Roxanne Ritchi, Bernard (Megamind), Metro Man, Minion (Megamind), various citizens Additional Tags: Royalty AU, Metro Man Is King, Then Megamind is King, Roxanne becomes Queen later, she's bamf, Megamind cries, twice, Bernard shows emotions, Let Megamind Say Fuck, he did Summary: Royalty AU Megamind is the bad omen of Metro. His appearance causes fear and hate to spread, shows bad things to come. He shows up in town one day. The next, Wayne, the Prince of Metro, is gone. Words: 3,547 | Chapters: 1/1 | Language: English | Published: 2019-03-26