2023 in Review: The Godless, Pop Gods, and Others
by Cynthia Ward
Another less-than-stellar year, so on to the (mostly) good
stuff
May we all have a vision now and then (Music)
"Happy New Year" by ABBA
- In hopes of a better year ahead.
"Journey to the End"
by Haliok - My favorite song by Norwegian death-metal band Windir lends itself
well to techno/electronica interpretations, as this cover version demonstrates.
Omega Funk 10,000 by
Benjiphonik - If you were wondering (as I'm sure we all do) who stands at the
intersection of P-Funk, Run-DMC, Slayer, B-movie sci-fi, and Weird Al Yankovic,
here's a link to a free streaming EP by SoCal singer/rapper/musician
Benjiphonik (although this particular collection is, to be fair, short on
metal).
The Story of Zamrock! The Zambian Rock
Sound 1972-1978 - Thanks to the writer Manjula Menon for
introducing me to this short documentary and the fantastic psychedelic rock of
1970s Zambia.
It was strange to discover the world was a better place
that you’d believed (Books)
Nonfiction:
ABBA: Bright
Lights Dark Shadows (updated
2014) by Carl Magnus Palm - Very thorough and mostly interesting, but probably
not for the casual fan (or for someone who wants an update that includes ABBA's
recent reunion)
All Creatures
Great and Small by James
Herriot - So everyone read it back in the '70s except me, and I wish I had,
because I could have reread this charming account of a rural Yorkshire veterinarian's
adventures and misadventures many times in the intervening years.
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by
Oliver Sacks - In this justly praised
(though now dated) book from 1995, the late neurologist
sympathetically discusses (from an outsider perspective) several individuals we
would now describe as neurodiverse, including, most famously, the autistic
animal behaviorist Dr. Temple Grandin.
Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End
by Bart D. Ehrman - Fascinating and enlightening book by one of the leading
scholars of the early Christian era.
The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by
Temple Grandin and Richard Panek - Excellent (though dated) book on autism from
someone on the spectrum--which makes this something of a rarity in
mainstream-published books, in my experience.
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H - In this
collection of thoughtful and thought-provoking essays, the pseudonymous queer
Muslim immigrant author explores her relationships with her religion, her
deity, her sexuality, her culture, her partners, and her family.
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles
by Mike Davis - A classic sociocultural history of L.A. from an author whose
political perspective is much like mine, but I didn't finish it because I
wearied of the nonstop negativity.
Confessions of the Other Mother: Nonbiological Lesbian
Moms Tell All! edited by Harlyn Aizley - This anthology of essays by queer
nonbirth mothers is wide-ranging and well-written (if somewhat dated), and it
gave this childfree reader much food for thought about motherhood, parenting, pregnancy,
birth, child-raising, and family.
Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia
Highsmith by Richard Bradford - By all accounts, the brilliant
mystery/thriller writer and trailblazing lesbian romance author Patricia
Highsmith was a reprehensible human being, but the author of this biography is
so busy making sure you know he doesn't like her that I abandoned the book, overcome
by the sound of axes grinding.
The Family Outing: A Memoir by Jessi Hempel - What if
nearly everyone in your family, including you, turns out to be queer and/or genderqueer,
and oh, yeah, you might be involved in a cult?
Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic: Atheists in
American Public Life by R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick - A
thoughtful, nuanced, non-insulting view of religion and irreligion in American
life, and their iterative interactions with U.S. law and custom and with one
another; the authors' reasonable thesis is that nonbelief has generally failed
to provide much to fill the role (meaningful action/activism) of religions and
faith groups, and they speculate on a more coherent approach to secular morality.
Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do
Believe by Greg Epstein - A thoughtful and thorough exploration of not only
the possibility, but the necessity of atheist morality and ethics, written the
Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University.
I Am a Bacha Posh: My Life as a Woman Living as a Man in
Afghanistan by Ukmina Manoori with Stephanie Lebrun, translated by Peter E.
Chianchiano, Jr. - A fascinating first-hand account (in translation) from a
person who was assigned female at birth; was temporarily designated a boy so
her family would have a male child, in accordance with Afghani custom; and
refused to resume life as a girl--of interest to readers of Anna-Marie
McLemore's novel When the Moon Was Ours (2016) or Jenny Nordberg's The
Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan
(2014), or to anyone interested in gender, identity, feminism, Afghani culture,
etc.
Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save
America by Dahlia Lithwick - The gut-clenching account of how women lawyers
across the U.S. fought back the Trump administration assault on democracy, and
let's hope Lithwick never needs to write a sequel.
Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions
by Phil Zuckerman - This carefully researched (if now somewhat dated)
exploration of the United States' fastest-growing religious/ontological demographic
("nones") is written with grace and balance by a leading secularist; the
book's a useful guide, whether you're writing the other as a believer, or just
looking for better understanding, whether as an outsider or as an insider.
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer - A
complex, candid, and sometimes deeply uncomfortable exploration of art,
creativity, monstrous creators, our relationship with them, and other
relationships.
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of
Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman - The best book (and the most recent)
I've read so far on autism.
The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What
Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality by Karen Fine - The
memoir of a woman veterinarian and pet owner who entered the field when it was
male-dominated and built a successful practice in a sexist profession that guarantees
much suffering and death; if you don't cry, your heart is harder than mine.
The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her
Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America by Elizabeth Letts - An
aging Maine farm woman diagnosed with terminal cancer loses her home to the tax
man and sets out to cross 1950s America on a horse--Annie Wilkins is a
quintessential Mainer, the author understands Maine better than any other
out-of-stater I've ever read, and this is one of the best books I read all
year.
Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to
Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang - This impressive, comprehensive,
and sometimes very funny exploration of Asian American pop culture and
historical/political/sociocultural issues includes a handy
"appreciation-or-appropriate" flowchart for those of us who are
writing the other, or who just want not to be assholes.
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer
Finney Boyle - A literate, insightful, candid, and drily funny memoir by the
novelist, trans activist, and former Colby College professor.
Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story
of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli - The subtitle is truth in
advertising.
Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in
Japan by Jake Adelstein - The title and foreword make this engaging work
sound like a true-crime book; the subtitle might have injected more accuracy by
including the word "memoir."
We of Little Faith: Why I Stopped Pretending to Believe
(and Maybe You Should Too) by Kate Cohen – This thought-provoking book
covers considerably more ground than just whether a nonbeliever should identify
and publicly come out as atheist.
What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary
for Living an Ethical Life by Phil Zuckerman - Why morality dependent on
divine command isn't moral, among other subjects addressed logically and eruditely.
Who Gets Believed? When the Truth Isn't Enough by
Dina Nayeri - Odds are, if you're reading this blog, you are or have been part
of a demographic or several whose experiences are routinely disbelieved and
dismissed, and therefore might find this book of interest; but I have known
people who couldn't finish it, because the dismissed people on which it is
centered are refugees and torture survivors.
Harrowing and necessary.
Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx
Diaspora edited by Saraciea J. Fennell - A nonfiction anthology of
graceful, powerful essays from a fairly diverse, broadly defined group of
Latinx authors.
Fiction - Anthologies and Collections and a Story or Three:
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur
Conan Doyle - A fine winter mystery featuring an oft-stolen gem, Christmas
geese, and an almost merry visit with Sherlock Holmes, who embodies the
generous spirit of the season (included in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
Bicycles & Broomsticks: Fantastical Feminist Stories
about Witches on Bikes edited by Elly Blue - If you read the full title,
you know exactly what you're getting; and they're fun and gentle visions.
Futures That Never Were (Broadswords and Blasters
Presents) edited by Cameron Mount and Matthew X Gomez - Jam-packed,
pulse-pounding anthology/special issue of sword & planet and related pulp
space adventure stories (disclosure: I'm
a contributor).
The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh: A Society of Gentlemen
Short Story by KJ Charles - What if you lose everything, only to gain what
you really want?
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by
Claire Keegan - A slim collection of three graceful, insightful, deceptively
simple fictions which serve as a corrective to any starry-eyed illusions about
male-female romantic relationships, and which I should not have read back-to-back
due to a certain monotony of theme; your mileage may vary.
A Sweet Yuletide by EE Ottoman - This short, gentle,
historical holiday FF romance may leave you hungry.
Fiction - Novels and Novellas:
All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim - Kind of uneven,
this ambitiously structured, Filipino/Japanese American, MM romance novel is
not a "hilarious comedy" as misleadingly promoted, but it is a
lyrical love letter to musicals.
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison (who also
writes as Sarah Monette) - A gaslight fantasy, a sort of re-envisioning of
Holmes and Watson after significant alterations, set in a world of werewolves
and vampires and angels, fallen and unfallen; sometimes a mess, but an entertaining
novel.
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls Book 2) by
Ashley Herring Blake - In this insightful and sexy sequel to small-town Oregon romantic
comedy Delilah Green Doesn't Care, Delilah's interior-designer
stepsister/fellow monster-mother-survivor must stake all on a reality-TV
remodel, but the cute lesbian head carpenter proves an obstacle to her goal,
her identity, and her heart.
Babel by R.F. Kuang - Brilliant magic system, audacious
novel, deserving Nebula Award winner.
Bard: Book 1 by Keith Taylor - This Arthurian sword
& sorcery fix-up novel about a wandering Irish musician/warrior/Druid is a compelling
if sometimes dated page-turner, with as harrowing a werewolf as I've ever seen.
Black Orchid Enterprises series by M.R. Dimond - With
four titles released so far, this cozy, diverse, contemporary small-town Texas
mystery series combines crime, cat rescue, an ABBA tribute band, the occasional
holiday, and romantic pining to entertaining (and sometimes sobering) effect
(two of the four titles are collections, not novels).
Bowlaway: A Novel by Elizabeth McCracken - I was
primed to like this literary fantasy/magic realist novel centered on the
endangered New England sport of candlepin bowling, but the prose was so busy
being arch and clever that I gave up.
By Way of Sorrow (An Erin McCabe Legal Thriller Book
1) by Robyn Gigl - Page-turner/voyage of discovery about a trans lawyer seeking
justice, which left me wishing the character had queer/genderqueer found family
instead of operating in painful isolation.
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Tomes & Tea Book
1) by Rebecca Thorne - I finally tried some cozy fantasy, and found this gentle,
romantic (FF), secondary-world novel a pleasant way to while away an afternoon,
as well as a welcome change from ten-tome epic fantasy trilogies; it's worth a
look if you love books or tea and don't mind anachronism.
Chef's Kiss and Chef's Choice by TJ Alexander
- Despite my lack of cooking skills, I greatly enjoyed these queer and genderqueer
culinary romance novels, and found Book 2's Frenchman annoying but, yes! also
charming.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen - This terrific feminist literary
caper novel should be marinating in mystery/suspense awards, but sadly isn't;
don't miss it.
A Coup of Tea (Tea Princess Chronicles Book 1) by
Casey Blair - This recent entry in the recently named cozy fantasy subgenre has
a low-key (MF) romance and a narrator so keenly attuned to political and social
subtleties that the novel might also qualify as fantasy of manners.
Death by Silver and A Death at the Dionysus Club
by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold - Happy to see this alternate-Victorian
fantasy mystery series (featuring characters loosely inspired by Holmes &
Watson) back in print with gorgeous new covers, and delighted to read them
again.
Death on the
Nile by Agatha Christie -
The classic Hercule Poirot whodunnit now also serves as a window into the colonial
English view of Egypt.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - This ambitious
Pulitzer Prize winner has a wonderful voice that pulls you right along (which
makes this grittily realistic contemporary literary novel no less dark or lengthy).
Feel the Bern:
A Bernie Sanders Mystery by
Andrew Shaffer - Set in Vermont (who'd have guessed?), this light cozy mystery from
the author of the Obama/Biden mysteries features the U.S. Senator as an enjoyable
if cranky amateur detective.
The Fiancée
Farce: A Novel by
Alexandria Bellefleur - When a lie blows up in this Seattle-set FF rom-com, a
publisher's heir and a failing bookstore's owner agree to wed, a quick fix which
proves not the simple solution they were hoping for.
Fire Logic and Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks
- Judging by the first two of its four books, Elemental Logic is a gracefully
written epic fantasy series which considers imperialism, colonialism, and magic
not as elements for a sweeping adolescent power fantasy, but intimately and thoughtfully--the
first two titles are difficult, beautiful, sometimes aggravating, and always
demanding and rewarding.
Have You Seen
Luis Velez? by Catherine
Ryan Hyde - This diverse novel stays too close to the surface of its difficult intersections
and issues to avoid clocking out as Representation Lite.
Hen Fever: A Sapphic Victorian
Romance by Olivia Waite - For the holiday I re-read this historical Christmas
romance novella, which offers just the
right level of detail to feel wintry, yet cozy and warm.
Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie - What's the holiday spirit without a bloody
murder, a family riven by hatred, and a fiendish locked-room mystery?
How to
Excavate a Heart by Jake
Maia Arlow - In this Hanukkah/Christmas romance, a young palaeoichthyologist/dog
walker/trauma survivor literally runs into the girl of her dreams; can they
work past their youthful awkwardness and inexperience as a DC blizzard piles
the snow higher around them?
Idol Minds by KT Salvo - A captivating (not to
mention steamy) contemporary MM romance in which a closeted, Oscar-winning
Korean American actor with secrets relocates to Seoul to coach a closeted K-Pop
superstar fleeing his own secrets.
Infamous: A Novel by Lex Croucher - Fun, interracial,
sapphic Regency rom-com which felt rather more like Zoomers running with a
Boho/hippie crowd than I suspect is strictly accurate.
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date (Bright Falls Book 3) by
Ashley Herring Blake - In the conclusion to the FF rom-com Bright Falls trilogy,
a writer's deliberately single life runs afoul of an irresistible actor and an
entire monster family; despite the novel's many strengths, it seems not nearly
aware enough of the absolutely toxic levels of familial meddling.
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal (Las Leonas Book
2) by Adriana Herrera - As this hot historical FF romance novel makes clear, Herrera
really knows how to put her romantic leads--and her reader--through the wringer.
Kiss Her Once for Me: A Novel by Alison Cochrun - Fun
fake-engagement FF love-quadrangle romance that's a love-letter to the Rose
City and the first portrayal of a demisexual character I've seen that resonates
with my experience.
K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee - Riveting romantic
YA novel of a young Korean American woman who may land her dream job, if the
try-out and training don't kill her first; I hope this is an exaggerated
fictionalization of life in Korean entertainment, but fear it is not.
Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love
by Kim Fay - I don't expect white American characters to be aware of cultural
appropriation in writing professionally about Mexican food and recipes in the
1960s, but the additional material appended to this interesting but uneven
short epistolary novel from 2022 make it clear the author is either oblivious
to this ethical gray area or ignored it, which, together with some other issues,
leaves the work as Representation Lite.
Luke and Billy
Finally Get a Clue by Cat
Sebastian - A low-key yet riveting historical MM romance novella in which two prominent
pro baseball players navigate possible attraction in 1953.
The Master of Samar by Melissa Scott - In this terrific
stand-alone queer fantasy, loosely inspired by Renaissance Venice, curses and
genii loci are nothing like you imagined.
Masters in This Hall by KJ Charles - In this
historical MM romance novella, there's no place like home for the holidays, especially
when it's your uncle's grand house in Victorian England and you're on the trail
of the thief who loved and double-crossed you, with far more dangerous men pursuing
you both.
Mecca: A Novel by Susan Straight - As good a writer
about California as Steinbeck; a novel that's a master class in writing the
other and the knowing chronicle of an Inland Empire native; a cri de couer against
the injustices of race and class and gender and citizenship at the core of the
Golden State and the United States; an ending that is unresolved yet all too
clear.
Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of
Mystery by Agatha Christie - Short, tricksy mystery and thriller tales
which are mostly, but not all, set in the winter season.
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall - An amusing historical
fantasy romance (FF) novel, but your enjoyment may hinge significantly on your
reaction to the narration.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang - This recent release
(2023) was published as a literary novel and I found it on a list of
crime/mystery/suspense novels by Asian writers, but my primary impression is
that it is a science fiction novel of body horror...and an unpredictable, thought-provoking,
and deeply creepy one.
Night Sky Mine by Melissa Scott - Excellent far-future
cyberpunk novel of artificial life and the relationship of union and
corporation.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - Seeking distance
from her boundaries-challenged mother, a queer virgin Southern woman relocates
to New York and becomes fascinated by the butch Chinese punk she sees on the
subway...a woman who seems from another time, and perhaps is.
Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell - The sequel to
romantic (MM) far-future novel of political space opera Winter's Orbit
is at least as strong as its predecessor.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - This decades-spanning
National Book Award finalist, a historical novel of Koreans in 20th-Century
Korea and Japan, is gorgeously and sensitively written, and a stone bummer.
The Postcard by Anne Berest, translated by Tina Kover
- In the alternating past and present storylines of this chilling novel/thinly
veiled memoir, 21st-Century fascism and Antisemitism rise around a Jewish
Frenchwoman barely aware of her heritage as she investigates an anonymous,
threatening postcard sent to her bearing only the names of her ancestors killed
in the Holocaust.
The Princess Stakes: A Multicultural Regency Romance
(Daring Dukes Book 1) by Amalie Howard - As part of my quest for the elusive feminist MF romance of
consent-conscious equals, I started this romance novel; I abandoned it
unfinished because I got tired of waiting for something feminist to show up.
A River Runs
through It and Other Stories by Norman MacLean - Graceful, elegaic, infused with love for the West and
family and fly-fishing; reminds me greatly of Hemingway, except for leaving
somewhat less grit in my gears.
The Rivals of
Casper Road (Garnet Run
Book 4) by Roan Parrish - Parrish returns to her popular small-town Garnet Run
series for a strong Halloween-set MM neurodiverse/neurotypical romance.
The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann - As in her
previous ace/allo interracial MF romance novel, Let's Talk About Love,
Claire Kann presents a complex, difficult Black woman character who may leave
you tearing out your hair and/or wondering why the guy might stay with her;
points for creating characters and relationships which really leave you
thinking.
Season of Love by Helena Greer - As Hanukkah and
other holidays pass in this sapphic romance, the Jewish heir to a Christmas
tree farm clashes and sparks with the Gentile manager.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (The Doomsday
Books Book 1) and A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel (The
Doomsday Books Book 2) by KJ Charles - Crimes and secrets, sex and romance, manly
love, KJ Charles--what's not to like?
The Secret of the Lost Pearls by Darcie Wilde (who
also writes as Sarah Zettel) - In the 2022 installment of the Austen-inspired Regency
mystery series, "useful woman" Rosalind Thorne becomes entangled in a
complex mystery that quickly moves far beyond a missing necklace.
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix (Remixed
Classics Book 5) by Anna-Marie McLemore - A gracefully written YA trans
Hispanic take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic of the Roaring '20s, but
perhaps not the novel for those who want no anachronism.
Seoulmates by Susan Lee - Fun if kind of uneven YA MF
rom-com with K-Drama.
Shadow of the Rock: A Spike Sanguinetti Novel by
Thomas Mogford - This opening novel of a Gibraltar mystery series turns out to
be set mostly in Morocco, which is something of a disappointment, given the
historical, ethnic, and sociocultural complexities of the Rock; additionally,
the lead is a bit too much of a lucky cishet white guy that the women can't
resist.
Show Girl by Alyson Greaves - A modern spin on the
Pygmalion/My Fair Lady trope, but also not really like anything else I've never
read, and lovely, too; highly recommended.
Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni - Well written FF rom-com
of finding self and of finding a love that may be shunned in the Bay Area
Armenian American community; the narrator can be intense and irritating, so I
would have preferred to see the PoV alternating with her more centered love
interest.
Sword-Dancer (Tiger and Del Book 1) by Jennifer
Roberson - I wondered about mentioning this superior but trigger-filled heroic
fantasy novel from 1986, because I wondered if anyone significantly younger
than I could tolerate the entitled, misogynistic male narrator; of course, for
a woman of my generation, his kind was legion, except typically less open to
the possibility of change than the damaged Tiger is.
System
Collapse (The Murderbot
Diaries Book 7) by Martha Wells - Another fine novel featuring everyone's
favorite snarky construct (but better appreciated if you do what I didn't, and read
or re-read Book 6 right before this one).
That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey - In this enjoyable
FF contemporary romance, a premonition ends in a far different place than the
viewpoint character expects when she attends a summer camp for adults.
A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles - So you're
desperate enough to rob a guy on the highway and assume a valet's identity, only
to find out said valet's new employer is the guy you robbed--what could go
right?
The Verifiers by Jane Pek -
In this superior literary mystery/thriller novel that may also be science
fiction, a keen-witted queer Asian woman who scorns online dating, investigates
online daters and can't seem to connect to anyone in real life uncovers a
possible crime, with potentially deadly consequences.
Water Horse by Melissa Scott
- A terrific epic fantasy novel,
which is unusual for the subgenre in being queer and possibly unique in
completing its complex story in one (!) volume; the inspiration appears to be
Celtic, but reading this novel as a Celtic fantasy would be confusing at best.
The Water Outlaws by
S.L. Huang - This wuxia novel, which is set in an alternate Song Dynasty China
and based (in queer and genderbent ways) on the classic Chinese novel Water
Margin, is an exciting and thought-provoking sword & sorcery adventure,
but if you have any triggers, they are probably in this book; and if you want
your reads to comfort or reinforce your Western expectations, moralities, or
pieties, you are in the wrong place.
Wear It Like a Crown: A MM Royalty Romance by Zarah
Detand - A gay prince threatened with blackmail takes on a handler who urges
the prince's coming out while keeping his own secrets.
We Could Be So
Good by Cat Sebastian - In
a 1950s New York newsroom, it can be a challenge to stay closeted; and what is it
with this rather intrusive co-worker, anyway?
Cynthia Ward has
published stories in Analog, Asimov's,
Nightmare, Weird Tales, and elsewhere.
For WolfSinger Publications, she edited the anthologies Lost Trails: Forgotten Tales of the Weird
West Volumes 1-2.
With fellow Aqueductista Nisi Shawl, Cynthia
coauthored the Locus Award winning fiction-writing guide, Writing the
Other: A Practical Approach. In 2021, Aqueduct Press released
the concluding novella in her Bloody-Thirsty Agent series, The Adventure of
the Golden Woman.
