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2021 Reading -- March
Apr. 5th, 2021 01:36 pmWow, I did a lot of reading in March. Although some of the books were short, and the first book I just finished in March, but read most of it in February, but....Anyway, on with the post!
1. True Detective, Max Allan Collins. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: March 1. REVIEW: I really enjoyed this. It takes place in Chicago in late 1932-late 1933 and deals with (mostly) real life events with a fictional PI inserted into it seamlessly. Capone, Nitti, Cermak, Dawes, the '33 World's Fair...it's authentic Chicago, the Chicago of my grandmother's childhood. Wish I could talk to her about it! There are a whole series of these books, and I think I might want to read the second....
2. Girl Haven, Lilah Sturges/Meaghan Carter/Joamette Gill. GENRE/MEDIUM: Fantasy (LGBTQIA+)/Comics. FINISHED: March 2. REVIEW: This book...this book gave me all the feels. It's an egg cracking story, it's about the exploration of identity, it's about doubt and fear and love. Yeah, it's written for kids, but it spoke to me like it was written for me, personally. I already knew Lilah was great, but this book...tears and fears and joy.
3. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: SFF/Prose. FINISHED: March 10. REVIEW: This issie, Charles Finlay's final one as editor, was excellent. Normally, there's at least one story I dislike and/or one I outright hate, but I liked every story in this issue. The most damning thing I can say is that one of the stories wasn't to my taste, but I still enjoyed reading it. Honestly, with the line-up of writers (including Karen Jay Fowler, Robert Reed, Susan Palwick, James Morrow, and a novella by John Fowler!), it's not a huge surprise. I hope the new editor, Sheree Renée Thomas (whose work I do not know) can do as well!
4. Owly: vol. 1 The Way Home, Andy Runton. GENRE/MEDIUM: Kids/Comics. FINISHED March 10. REVIEW: What can I say? Owly is review-proof. I love Owly, but I've never owned any of the books. Well, now Scholastic is reprinting them, and I'm getting 'em! Some of the gentlest, most wonderful kids comics of the last...40 years? Maybe? If you've never read Owly, you should, no matter what your age is!
5. Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, Andrew Cartmell. GENRE/MEDIUM: Memoir/Prose. FINISHED: March 13. REVIEW: Andrew Cartmell, script editor for the last 3 seasons of 20th century Doctor Who, kept diaries. Apparently, he was writing in them constantly. This memoir is closely based on said diaries, so the events and conversations in it appear to be frighteningly accurate--from his point of view, of course. I really enjoyed this different look at the McCoy era, and all the people who worked on the show. It was definitely right in the middle of a huge upswing when it was cancelled (season 26 is excellent), and it's good to learn more about how scripts were commissioned and written, and about how production...often let those scripts down. A hugely interesting thing, to me, was that Cartmell apparently either purposely ignores or never understood the lesbian subtext in "Survival." The writer has talked about it, the actors have talked about it. but Andrew seems completely in the dark. But the book itself is great; really engaging and a fun read.
6. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters. GENRE/MEDIUM: Fiction (LGBTQIA+)/Prose. FINISHED: March 19. REVIEW: So, people are going nuts over this book, and I was excited to read it. Trans chick-lit! Parts of it I liked, but...I ultimately found it kind of depressing and a little alienating. Like, every now and again I saw something I recognized, but, for the most part, it just didn't get me. I don't know; it could also have been my state of mind while reading it, but it didn't work for me. It's very good, but it didn't work for me.
7. The Flash: 80 Years of the Fastest Man Alive, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Superhero/Comics. FINISHED: March 20. REVIEW: This is a great collection, featuring the 3 main Flashes (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West), along with short essays from several creators. A bunch of the stories I had read before, but I still really enjoyed it. Only criticisms--I would have liked a bit more Wally, and there's one 1979 issue that ends on a cliffhanger, which bugged me. Also, no Cary Bates essay? I wonder why?
8. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine March/April 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: March 26. REVIEW: Another fun issue. Among many other things, this one contained a "collaberation" between Mickey Spillane and Max Allen Collins--basically, Collins adapted a script for a short movie Spillane wrote. It was ok. There were also a bunch of delightful stories (including one by Charlaine Harris), and some ok ones. No bad ones, though, so winner!
9. Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England, Gemma Hollman. GENRE/MEDIUM: History/Prose. FINISHED: March 30. REVIEW: Essentially a biography of four of the most powerful women in 15th century England--Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jaquetta of Luxembourg, and Elizabeth Woodville--as well as the men and events that affected them. I really enjoyed it; it reads very easily (I can't believe I finished it in 4 days!), and is mostly good for the layman. I found one bit that didn't explain a situation well, but it was minor. This is apparently an expansion/full rewrite of Hollman's Masters thesis, which tells me she has a bright future ahead of her!
And there's March! Lots of fun reading, and the first thing this year I wasn't too keen on. But a good month. I doubt I'll read this much in one month again this year, tbh. Hope you've all been able to do something fun with your time too!
1. True Detective, Max Allan Collins. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: March 1. REVIEW: I really enjoyed this. It takes place in Chicago in late 1932-late 1933 and deals with (mostly) real life events with a fictional PI inserted into it seamlessly. Capone, Nitti, Cermak, Dawes, the '33 World's Fair...it's authentic Chicago, the Chicago of my grandmother's childhood. Wish I could talk to her about it! There are a whole series of these books, and I think I might want to read the second....
2. Girl Haven, Lilah Sturges/Meaghan Carter/Joamette Gill. GENRE/MEDIUM: Fantasy (LGBTQIA+)/Comics. FINISHED: March 2. REVIEW: This book...this book gave me all the feels. It's an egg cracking story, it's about the exploration of identity, it's about doubt and fear and love. Yeah, it's written for kids, but it spoke to me like it was written for me, personally. I already knew Lilah was great, but this book...tears and fears and joy.
3. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: SFF/Prose. FINISHED: March 10. REVIEW: This issie, Charles Finlay's final one as editor, was excellent. Normally, there's at least one story I dislike and/or one I outright hate, but I liked every story in this issue. The most damning thing I can say is that one of the stories wasn't to my taste, but I still enjoyed reading it. Honestly, with the line-up of writers (including Karen Jay Fowler, Robert Reed, Susan Palwick, James Morrow, and a novella by John Fowler!), it's not a huge surprise. I hope the new editor, Sheree Renée Thomas (whose work I do not know) can do as well!
4. Owly: vol. 1 The Way Home, Andy Runton. GENRE/MEDIUM: Kids/Comics. FINISHED March 10. REVIEW: What can I say? Owly is review-proof. I love Owly, but I've never owned any of the books. Well, now Scholastic is reprinting them, and I'm getting 'em! Some of the gentlest, most wonderful kids comics of the last...40 years? Maybe? If you've never read Owly, you should, no matter what your age is!
5. Script Doctor: The Inside Story of Doctor Who 1986-1989, Andrew Cartmell. GENRE/MEDIUM: Memoir/Prose. FINISHED: March 13. REVIEW: Andrew Cartmell, script editor for the last 3 seasons of 20th century Doctor Who, kept diaries. Apparently, he was writing in them constantly. This memoir is closely based on said diaries, so the events and conversations in it appear to be frighteningly accurate--from his point of view, of course. I really enjoyed this different look at the McCoy era, and all the people who worked on the show. It was definitely right in the middle of a huge upswing when it was cancelled (season 26 is excellent), and it's good to learn more about how scripts were commissioned and written, and about how production...often let those scripts down. A hugely interesting thing, to me, was that Cartmell apparently either purposely ignores or never understood the lesbian subtext in "Survival." The writer has talked about it, the actors have talked about it. but Andrew seems completely in the dark. But the book itself is great; really engaging and a fun read.
6. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters. GENRE/MEDIUM: Fiction (LGBTQIA+)/Prose. FINISHED: March 19. REVIEW: So, people are going nuts over this book, and I was excited to read it. Trans chick-lit! Parts of it I liked, but...I ultimately found it kind of depressing and a little alienating. Like, every now and again I saw something I recognized, but, for the most part, it just didn't get me. I don't know; it could also have been my state of mind while reading it, but it didn't work for me. It's very good, but it didn't work for me.
7. The Flash: 80 Years of the Fastest Man Alive, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Superhero/Comics. FINISHED: March 20. REVIEW: This is a great collection, featuring the 3 main Flashes (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West), along with short essays from several creators. A bunch of the stories I had read before, but I still really enjoyed it. Only criticisms--I would have liked a bit more Wally, and there's one 1979 issue that ends on a cliffhanger, which bugged me. Also, no Cary Bates essay? I wonder why?
8. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine March/April 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: March 26. REVIEW: Another fun issue. Among many other things, this one contained a "collaberation" between Mickey Spillane and Max Allen Collins--basically, Collins adapted a script for a short movie Spillane wrote. It was ok. There were also a bunch of delightful stories (including one by Charlaine Harris), and some ok ones. No bad ones, though, so winner!
9. Royal Witches: Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England, Gemma Hollman. GENRE/MEDIUM: History/Prose. FINISHED: March 30. REVIEW: Essentially a biography of four of the most powerful women in 15th century England--Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jaquetta of Luxembourg, and Elizabeth Woodville--as well as the men and events that affected them. I really enjoyed it; it reads very easily (I can't believe I finished it in 4 days!), and is mostly good for the layman. I found one bit that didn't explain a situation well, but it was minor. This is apparently an expansion/full rewrite of Hollman's Masters thesis, which tells me she has a bright future ahead of her!
And there's March! Lots of fun reading, and the first thing this year I wasn't too keen on. But a good month. I doubt I'll read this much in one month again this year, tbh. Hope you've all been able to do something fun with your time too!
