2023 was an incredibly slow reading year for me, but there was a lot of great music, and Worlds Beyond Number and Dimension 20 truly brought me so much joy.

ETA 1/22/24: Can’t believe I forgot the Genre Grapevine newsletter!

Books

N. Cáceres’s Obsidian Feathers (Fire on the Horizon #1)

New author alert.

M.A. Carrick’s Labyrinth’s Heart (Rose & Rook #3)

An immensely satisfying trilogy closer. Found family + true love.

Adriana Herrera’s A Caribbean Heiress in Paris (Las Leonas #1)

Bridgerton eat your heart out.

Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Library of Broken Worlds

alfjdal;fjsaklf; please just read it and yell about how awesome it is with me. I need Alaya to rake in the $$ so I can continue to read her stuff.

Sas Milledge’s Mamo

Did you wish Studio Ghibli was more sapphic? Look no further.

Nghi Vo’s Siren Queen

Femme as a knife, Hollywood as Faerie, prose that shimmers like a legacy made of starlight.

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Music

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Books

M.A. Carrick’s Labyrinth’s Heart (Rose & Rook #3)

Excellent trilogy ender. I laughed, I cried, and it’s one of the few books this year I stayed up late finishing.

Prachi Gupta’s They Called Us Exceptional

Courtney Milan’s The Marquis Who Mustn’t (Wedgeford Trials #2)

Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s The Siren, The Song, and The Spy (The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea #2)

Nghi Vo’s Siren Queen

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Things to read

Comic: S. Bear Bergman & Saul Freedman Lawson’s Special Topics in Being Human

Book: Angelina M. Lopez’s Full Moon Over Freedom (Milagro Street #2)

Reread: Alisha Rai’s Be My Fantasy, Stay My Fantasy (Fantasy #1 & 2)

Reread: Alisha Rai’s A Gentleman in the Streets (The Campbell Siblings #1)

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Not a lot of books, but there are a lot of interesting articles to read.

Reread

Ilona Andrews’ Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #4 & 5)

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Music

Juliana’s A Tiempo

Juliana’s Narices Frías (A COLORS SHOW)

Allison Russell’s Sparrow (ft. Allison de Groot)

Utada Hikaru’s Gold -Mata Au Hi Made-

Music video: Jamila Woods’ Tiny Garden (ft. Duendita)

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Things to read

Novella: Ilona Andrews’ Magic Claims (Kate Daniels Wilimington Years #2)

Always a comfort to return to Ilona Andrews’ worlds.

Book: Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Library of Broken Worlds

Whewww, I need y’all to read this book, this is some N.K. Jemisin level stuff.

Article: Alaya Dawn Johnson’s T minus 2 weeks: Recognition

“When I was a child, I could not open my mouth except to question or create or pretend not to understand. There is a painful earnestness in someone constantly forced to lie. I grew accomplished at it, but that was beside the point. I didn’t want to get better at hiding, I wanted to find some way to reveal myself. I had to find a way to tell the truth without actually saying the words that would destroy a limited safety.”

Comic book: Sas Milledge’s Mamo

Fills the Hayao Miyazaki shaped hole in my heart.

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Things to read

Manga: Kore Yamazaki’s Bride of the Ancient Magus vol. 17-18

Brings the College Arc (effectively S2 of the series) to its end (or well, minus the denouement in 19) and the scope of the arc becomes really clear: how far Chise has come and her reaching back for someone much like her in the beginning of the series.

Reread: Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Enigma (Guild Hunter #8)

Short fiction: Jessie Mihalik’s Books and Broadswords

Cute short story about a bookhoarding dragon and a knight. ❤

Comic, honorable mention: Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

Article: Saskia Vogel’s Beyond Deep Throat Part 1

“If porn is relegated to a secret room, not only does this sideline sexual art and expression, but it means that questions of the body, gender and sexuality, including science and education around these topics, become unnecessarily complicated and charged.”

“Sexual shame is one reason for the lack of nuance in discussions about commercial pornography. Another reason could be that sexually explicit media asserts the value of pleasure, turning the focus of sex away from reproduction and challenging heteronormative, patriarchal and capitalist ideals. In doing so, it has the potential to change the way we think about ourselves, about lust, pleasure, desire, and therefore our relationships. If you change the way people think about sex, you change the way people think about family. And so the refusal to treat porn with nuance serves to uphold a certain order of things.”

Music

Durand Bernarr’s Smoke!

Mahalia’s Terms and Conditions

Mandinga’s We Don’t Talk Anymore (Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez Cover) (Live)

Nakupenda’s Kuongoza (ft. Sarafina Ethereal)

NNAVY’s Come and Get It (Colors Show)

Lizbeth Román’s Agua que vuelve (live)

Wild Up’s Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine

Stevie Wonder’s All I Do (Tammi Terrell Cover)

Books

N. Cáceres’s Obsidian Feathers (Fire on the Horizon #1)

Will be absolutely checking out the rest of this dark paranormal romance. Mind the dark fantasy label.

Mari Costa’s Belle of the Ball

I feel like this was made just for me.

Claire Kann’s The Romantic Agenda

Also just for me.

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Books, honorable mention

Lucille Clifton’s poetry

Joanna Lowell’s Artfully Yours

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Music

Bondax’s Energy (ft. Andreya Triana)

Desta French’s Guajira (Live)

Mandinga’s We Don’t Talk Anymore (Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez cover) (Live)

Raquel Rodriguez’s You Are Everything (ft. Stan Taylor) (The Stylistics cover)

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Misc.

Article: Adrienne Matei’s Live Closer To Your Friends

“Friends who already live in the same city could decide to move within walking distance of one another—the same neighborhood, block, or even apartment building—and campaign for others to do the same. Doing so would likely involve a lot of effort on the front end, but the resulting community could pay emotional dividends for years.”

“Moving close to your friends requires some masterminding. Cities can make doing so easier by dismantling single-family zoning codes and encouraging a variety of housing types in neighborhoods, giving those with different budgets and living situations options that fit their needs. But even without official policies, people can make it work on their own—assuming they’re persuasive enough.”

Article: Clementine Morrigan’s They Don’t Even Know They Are Tops and Bottoms

Article that I’m thinking about around the assumptions of “Compulsory Heteronormativity and Consent.”

Musical: Six

Would absolutely see this again.

Misc.

Author: Kennedy Ryan

Her smut! Wheww.

Article: Roxane Gay’s The Honeymoon Hasn’t Ended

Cosign everything she decries about marriage not having to be miserable.

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Music

Durand Bernarr’s Volume (ft. Kaytranada) and Passport (ft. Anna Wise)

Beyoncé’s PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA, ALL UP IN YOUR MIND, PURE/HONEY, SUMMER RENAISSANCE, CUFF IT (WETTER REMIX)

Yes, I know I’m late to the party.

Cynthia Erivo’s I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me) (Whitney Houston cover)

Elton John and Britney Spears’ Hold Me Closer

Obsessed with the music video.

Rihanna’s Work

Yes, I know I’m late to this one too. But better late than never right?

Jamila Woods’ Giovanni (Live at NPR’s Tiny Desk)

January continued to be a slow reading month for me, so a short post.

Books

Ilona Andrews’ Magic Tides (Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years #1)

Anything that makes me cackle out loud is a good thing.

Melissa Caruso’s The Ivory Tomb (Rooks and Ruin #3)

while the first book is by far my favorite, kudos for sticking the ending

Adriana Herrera’s A Caribbean Heiress in Paris (Las Leonas #1)

By far the best thing I read in January. A heroine who has a flask strapped to one thigh and a pistol on the other, a hero who takes contraceptives, one of the best safer sex conversations I’ve read in the genre, and some sex scenes that had me raising my eyebrows in the best way. Get into the future of historical romance y’all.

Re-read: Jeffe Kennedy’s Pages of the Mind (The Uncharted Realms #1)

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Honorable mention:

Music: Lizzo’s Live in Concert

Yes, I am still listening to this on repeat.

Podcast: Within the Wires S7

A joyous season (a rarity in this series) with a hopeful ending, told through a world wide scavenger hunt. Patreon here. Transcripts available.