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2021 Reading -- February
Mar. 3rd, 2021 02:04 pmHere we are with my reading from Month 2 of 2021! As before, no periodical comics included. So, here we go!
1. The Scarf, Sophie LaBelle. GENRE/MEDIUM: Kids LGBTQIA+/Comics. FINISHED: Feb 12. REVIEW: A new LaBelle story is always something to be happy about, and when I got my copy in the mail (It took a long time to get here, thanks, Covid), I couldn't wait to read it. It's a short story that takes place right at the beginning of the Assigned Male Comics timeline, showing Ciel's (then "Alessandro") first meeting with Stephie. Basically, a prequel to Nail Polish, and it's wonderful. I love these kids.
2. My Life in Transition, Julia Kaye. GENRE/MEDIUM: Slice of life (LGBTQIA+)/comics. FINISHED: Feb 17. REVIEW: It arrived and was read in one day. Well, in about an hour period. This was a sequel to Julia's first collection, "Super Late Bloomer," which was wonderful and came out about the same time I did. It was really important to me, so I was obviously gonna get her new book ASAP. (It came out on Feb 16th!) This book isn't about the beginning of transition, it's about continuing life as a trans woman. 6 months in the life of Julia Kaye, specifically. She did a strip a day for those 6 months (she missed a day or so in there), and it's her life, day by day, no illusions, from January to June, 2019. Breakups, love, dealing with dysphoria, having a lot of euphoria, dating, friendships, everything. And an afterward that made me cry, unabashedly. (I cried a little a few times during the book, honestly.) Some of it I didn't identify with as directly, as Julia and I are at very different stages of life, but I could easily identify with the underlying feelings. (And there was quite a bit I definitely felt in my soul. I have no idea how this will hit cis people, but if you're trans, pick it (and the first book!) up as soon as you can!
3. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine January/February 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: Feb 18. REVIEW: The first issue of the mag's 80th year of publication (!), it was also the annual Sherlock Holmes issue, so it had several Holmes pastiches, a good essay about Conan Doyle, and even a poem, all of which were enjoyable! There was also an unpublished Cornell Woolrich story, which was a lot of fun. Other than that, there was the usual mix of stuff I liked, stuff I didn't, and one story I absolutely hated. As usual, it's great value for money, and I'm glad I have a subscription!
4. Sovereign, April Daniels. GENRE/MEDIUM: Superhero/Prose. FINISHED: Feb 20. REVIEW: Omigosh. And I thought I loved the first book! This one simply continues Danny Tozer's amazing story, six months after the events of Dreadnought. And it filled me with emotions. Joy. Fear, Love. Worry. EVERYTHING. I'm glad I didn't wait to read this, and I'm so sad that April hasn't put out the third and final book in the series yet. (She was pretty heavily harrassed a couple years ago, and I have no idea how she is now; hope she's ok!). Anyway, yes, read these books. They are amazing.
5. Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures, S.M. Beiko (editor). GENRE/MEDIUM: Gothic/Comics. FINISHED: Feb 21. REVIEW: I kickstarted this book a number of years ago (2019?), and it got held up by publisher issues. I got it in November 2020, and finally read it today. A follow-up to "Gothic Tales of Haunted Love," I'll admit I found the former a bit more enjoyable. The remit for this one is Gothic tales in a SFish setting, with an especial emphasis on marginalized people, especially LGBTQIA+ folks. (As a kickstarter backer of the first book, I was invited to pitch for this, but couldn't get it together in time.) It definitely does what it says it would; I just found the stories to be of more variable quality this time. That said, there are some incredible gems here (especially the first and last stories), so I'd recommend buying both volumes, if you like comics and/or Gothic stories with a more inclusive feel!
During February I also read most of Star Trek Adventures, a TTRPG by Modiphius Games. I didn't wind up finishing it (read all I needed to to play in a game), so it's not officially on the list, but it did take up quite a bit of time, so....REVIEW: It's good. Really good. The bulk of the book is actually Trek background/in-universe history, ending just before the Dominion War, but it can be played in three "eras:" Enterprise, TOS, and TNG. The system is really elegant, for both players and the GM, and the whole thing feels like Star Trek. It's very versatile and lets you play the kind of Trek game you want. Highly recommended!
And that's it for this month! (Technically, I read another book during it, but I didn't finish it until March 1, so....live in suspense!) Anyone have any questions, comments, whatever, feel free!
1. The Scarf, Sophie LaBelle. GENRE/MEDIUM: Kids LGBTQIA+/Comics. FINISHED: Feb 12. REVIEW: A new LaBelle story is always something to be happy about, and when I got my copy in the mail (It took a long time to get here, thanks, Covid), I couldn't wait to read it. It's a short story that takes place right at the beginning of the Assigned Male Comics timeline, showing Ciel's (then "Alessandro") first meeting with Stephie. Basically, a prequel to Nail Polish, and it's wonderful. I love these kids.
2. My Life in Transition, Julia Kaye. GENRE/MEDIUM: Slice of life (LGBTQIA+)/comics. FINISHED: Feb 17. REVIEW: It arrived and was read in one day. Well, in about an hour period. This was a sequel to Julia's first collection, "Super Late Bloomer," which was wonderful and came out about the same time I did. It was really important to me, so I was obviously gonna get her new book ASAP. (It came out on Feb 16th!) This book isn't about the beginning of transition, it's about continuing life as a trans woman. 6 months in the life of Julia Kaye, specifically. She did a strip a day for those 6 months (she missed a day or so in there), and it's her life, day by day, no illusions, from January to June, 2019. Breakups, love, dealing with dysphoria, having a lot of euphoria, dating, friendships, everything. And an afterward that made me cry, unabashedly. (I cried a little a few times during the book, honestly.) Some of it I didn't identify with as directly, as Julia and I are at very different stages of life, but I could easily identify with the underlying feelings. (And there was quite a bit I definitely felt in my soul. I have no idea how this will hit cis people, but if you're trans, pick it (and the first book!) up as soon as you can!
3. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine January/February 2021, Various. GENRE/MEDIUM: Mystery/Prose. FINISHED: Feb 18. REVIEW: The first issue of the mag's 80th year of publication (!), it was also the annual Sherlock Holmes issue, so it had several Holmes pastiches, a good essay about Conan Doyle, and even a poem, all of which were enjoyable! There was also an unpublished Cornell Woolrich story, which was a lot of fun. Other than that, there was the usual mix of stuff I liked, stuff I didn't, and one story I absolutely hated. As usual, it's great value for money, and I'm glad I have a subscription!
4. Sovereign, April Daniels. GENRE/MEDIUM: Superhero/Prose. FINISHED: Feb 20. REVIEW: Omigosh. And I thought I loved the first book! This one simply continues Danny Tozer's amazing story, six months after the events of Dreadnought. And it filled me with emotions. Joy. Fear, Love. Worry. EVERYTHING. I'm glad I didn't wait to read this, and I'm so sad that April hasn't put out the third and final book in the series yet. (She was pretty heavily harrassed a couple years ago, and I have no idea how she is now; hope she's ok!). Anyway, yes, read these books. They are amazing.
5. Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures, S.M. Beiko (editor). GENRE/MEDIUM: Gothic/Comics. FINISHED: Feb 21. REVIEW: I kickstarted this book a number of years ago (2019?), and it got held up by publisher issues. I got it in November 2020, and finally read it today. A follow-up to "Gothic Tales of Haunted Love," I'll admit I found the former a bit more enjoyable. The remit for this one is Gothic tales in a SFish setting, with an especial emphasis on marginalized people, especially LGBTQIA+ folks. (As a kickstarter backer of the first book, I was invited to pitch for this, but couldn't get it together in time.) It definitely does what it says it would; I just found the stories to be of more variable quality this time. That said, there are some incredible gems here (especially the first and last stories), so I'd recommend buying both volumes, if you like comics and/or Gothic stories with a more inclusive feel!
During February I also read most of Star Trek Adventures, a TTRPG by Modiphius Games. I didn't wind up finishing it (read all I needed to to play in a game), so it's not officially on the list, but it did take up quite a bit of time, so....REVIEW: It's good. Really good. The bulk of the book is actually Trek background/in-universe history, ending just before the Dominion War, but it can be played in three "eras:" Enterprise, TOS, and TNG. The system is really elegant, for both players and the GM, and the whole thing feels like Star Trek. It's very versatile and lets you play the kind of Trek game you want. Highly recommended!
And that's it for this month! (Technically, I read another book during it, but I didn't finish it until March 1, so....live in suspense!) Anyone have any questions, comments, whatever, feel free!
