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Well-written and smart in the way that makes you notice just how many sci-fi books … aren’t. The ideas aren’t new—alien life forms, AI, mind-hacking, new linguistic systems, and questions of sentience—but Nayler’s take and world-building are inspired. Especially how he connects capitalism to climate collapse, exploitation, and species extinction. Humans really are terrible. Highly recommend this book. 🐙

Five really different short stories, most drawn in different media: ink, watercolor, colored pencil. Kelso's writing comes from a place I often can't predict, her observations a revelation. I don't think it was her intent, but I felt unsettled in the way that good art often leaves you.

Four stories, the two with Violenzia were the best. I love Sala’s creepy sensibilities, but this didn’t do it for me. My library doesn’t carry many more of his books so this may be my last. We’ll always have “Invisible Hands” though, which I’ll link to (again!) for your delectation: youtu.be/n5sP4yRb8Mw

I've read and enjoyed all of Kowal's books. The worldbuilding is considered & smart, and her characters are always horny for each other (often, newlyweds).

Didn't expect a mystery, but this was fun. Initially annoyed by all the cocktail recipes, but she persuaded me to seek out complex flavors of the non-alcoholic variety (my preference). I always learn something from her, including a 5-senses grounding technique.

Her second graphic memoir, it explores her Arabic and Muslim side. A bit more angsty given it was Gharib's teenaged years (and it was the 90s). I love her openness in relating messy family stuff, and cringe at the same insecurity I felt from wanting to fit in with dominant (American) culture.

The colors and panel structure in this book are more varied. It's exciting to see this cartoonist grow.

A local artist I’m lucky to call a friend. I did not expect such a serious and mature story. The art style seems so … innocent. The villages have their own traditions, belief systems, and a shared history that I didn’t follow enough to fully understand. But I know how to load a cannon now, and there are some lovely moments beautifully drawn.

Written like bad streaming TV: mandatory "plot twists" clumsily done, drawing things out artificially, a rushed final episode, and introducing a shadowy character in the last shot to laugh menacingly.

Frustrating, like most Dark Academia books. It’s got some interesting ideas and moments, but the writing doesn’t sustain them. The magic system and world-building are underdeveloped. Is it a rule in this genre that magic users have to be assholes?

By the end, I really liked this. Up until then, it felt a bit YA in how it treated the leads’ feelings for each other. Why draw things out with the whole “not talking to each other honestly” trope? I have nothing against prolonging things, but it needs to be deftly done to not feel cheap. This wasn’t cheap though! I loved these boys. Their marriage (not a spoiler) feels hard-won. Plus, look at that cover. SO gay.

I wanted to read more mysteries. Slowly making my way through The Inspector Armand Gamache series, mostly in winter. This strengthens a sense of continuity between the books and offers history lessons on Quebec; the long-standing tensions between French and English Canadians. If it wasn’t clear before, Gamache is not infallible, and we see the large-scale and deeply personal effects this has on him and others around him.