My niece came to visit me in early October! So most (not all) of this post consists of the sort of books that 6-year-olds like read aloud to them.

People I Sleep With, by Jill FinebergThis is a lovely (grown-up) photo book of people sleeping with animals. Mostly their pets although there are a few others. Wide variety of animals and wide ( Read more... )

Shadowshaper, by Daniel José OlderThis YA fantasy was incredibly well-done, warm and playful and pushing at the boundaries of things. I am not so MADLY in love with it as many of the other people on the internet seem to be, but I am in love with it enough that I wriggle just thinking about it, and about the fact that there are other books by this ( Read more... )

Friday Night Lights, by Buzz Bissinger (reread)When I first read this it was only about 5 years old - now it's more than 20. The age shows, in places, but it's still a very solid and worthwhile nonfiction read about high school football in Texas. And especially about a few particular people involved, in the town of Odessa, and how football shaped ( Read more... )

Invisible Beasts, by Sharona Muir (ARC)I was a bit skeptical about this book - often literary fiction does poorly with anything even approaching science - but Bellevue is rather a wonderful imprint so I thought I would give it a try. Absolutely worth it - exactly the right mix of thoughtfulness, humor, and wonder - and I love how casually she ( Read more... )

Guji Guji, by Chih-Yuan Chen
A charming, ebullient, and sufficiently chaotic new spin on the Ugly Duckling, featuring a crocodile of all things. So fun!
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Bunny My Honey, by Anita Jeram
Comforting and sweet. If I had a kid of my own and this became their "read every night" book, it would take me a long time to get sick of it.
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Dead Ice ( Read more... )

Pool, by JiHeon Lee
A slight story, but lovely artwork in an unusual style. Captivating.
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Savages, by K. J. ParkerThe thing about K. J. Parker is that he can write about anything and I will enjoy reading it. Not just enjoy, but inhale his writing, dance through his writing, wallow in his writing. That said, I *care* more about some of his ( Read more... )

Come As You Are, by Emily NagoskiSo when I read this I was all "Well, this is extremely interesting because it has case studies and stuff but I already knew most of the science and it's not like I have EVER had any issues having orgasms." Then like a month later I went on a new medication and I had to relearn how to have an orgasm (until that side ( Read more... )

Dragon's Breath: and Other True Stories, by MariNaomi
I grabbed this at random from the new books shelf at the library and I'm so glad I did. Even though it was a collection of graphic stories, it all cohered marvelously. Funny and raw and delicate and goofy.
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Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, by Geoffrey HayesThis was adorable, and totally ( Read more... )

Wild Boars Cook, by Meg Rosoff, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Still fun, and chaotic, but not as sly and rumptious as the original book. The authors make a good team, I'll probably pick up anything else they make.
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Prudence, by Gail CarrigerThe thing about Gail Carriger books is that I immerse myself in them SO wholly that I end up not ( Read more... )

God's War, by Kameron HurleyThis sf-fantasy is extremely intense. SO intense. (War stuff, torture stuff, boxing stuff, other stuff.) Lots of great world-building, excellent plot, interesting characters, all so much so that I read it despite not really clicking with the narrative voice (and narrative voice is normally my primary criterion) - ( Read more... )