June 2021 - What did you read?

[Beige]

Hey everyone! I hope you're all well! If you're in an area with a heat wave, I hope you and your loved ones are coping okay.

We wanna know, where did your reading journey take you in June? What did you like, what didn't you like and which (if any) do you think might be suitable for our DB bookshelf-database?

Pop by anytime this month and share. Elena and I will research/validate all member's suggestions for the DB bookshelf-database at the end of the month.

Note: For any books you are recommending, if possible, let us know of any common content warnings that you noticed. Here is our current list on our bookshelf-database: (view spoiler)[

Animal abuse
Animal Death
Body Image
Bullying
Child Abuse
Child Death
Child Neglect
Emotional Abuse
Fat Shaming
Graphic Violence
Homophobia (that is acknowledged)
Low female rep
Mental Health
Memory Manipulation
Oppression
Racism (that is acknowledged)
Self harm
Sexism (that is acknowledged)
Slavery
Suicide
Transphobia (that is acknowledged)
Enbyphobia (that is acknowledged)
(hide spoiler)]

[Beige]

I finally got over my recent reading slump (yay!) and had a month of interesting reads.


Recommending to DB:

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
I really loved this collection of SFF stories, I think Pinsker has great characterization and created really interesting, emotional and quirky situations for them to express themselves.

The Stone Wētā by Octavia Cade - A near future novella where the climate and scientists are under threat. I liked the unconventional narrative and will definitely read more from Cade. I'm seconding Silvana's nomination, so I'll remove it from our pending list. Note: A character does ask a doctor if someone was a victim of SV, but the answer was no. I don't believe this is sufficient to be excluded, but I'm willing to open this up for discussion.

Temporary by Hilary Leichter - How on earth do I describe this? A weird, fantastical commentary on the gig economy. The temp jobs just get stranger and stranger, it's reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.




Not Recommending to DB:

Remnant Population - like many others, I enjoyed this older character living life for herself. I also agreed with the flaws many mention in their reviews, but the pov made up for it imho. Not recommending to DB because of a mention of (view spoiler)[domestic violence. (hide spoiler)] While it's part of the MCs past and has shaped who she is, it is not a main focus and detailed description are not included.

The Library of the Dead - Brief mention of (view spoiler)[ rape. This future apocalyptic/magical version of Edinburgh is not safe for women. They are authorized to carry knives to protect themselves from rape. (hide spoiler)] Note: It's really not a big part of the story and it doesn't impact the characters, so some members might be okay with this one.

Oryx and Crake - Onscreen account of (view spoiler)[childhood prostitution (hide spoiler)]



Not SFF:
I also read two fiction books I really enjoyed. Neither had any mentions of SV. Weather and Convenience Store Woman

[Mary]

Only one I can recommend for the DB An Oath of Dogs mix of SF + F + mystery on an alien planet CW (view spoiler)[ animal death (in the past and not the main dog) and Mental Health main character is dealing with PTSD, her dog is a therapy dog. (hide spoiler)]

[Mary]

Beige wrote: "
Recommending to DB:
[book:Sooner or Lat..."

All three recommends are on my TBR so good to know - Thanks!

[Kam]

Hey all! I've also read quite a lot this month, so let me see.

Recommending to DB:
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I don't want to talk much about the book itself because of reasons, but I LOVED it. It was my last read of this month (still have to update challenges) and I absolutely loved it. I did hesitate to mention it due to (view spoiler)[an uneasy scene around the third act where there seems to be necrophilia (hide spoiler)], however my understanding after finishing the book is that (view spoiler)[the body actually was posessed and the kissing was mutually approved by both souls in charge, while neither of those two are actually the original souls attached to those bodies. Even if it is sketchy, I do not think that it counts as SV? I'm a bit unsure, happy to explain further in case someone is okay with a longer explanation (hide spoiler)]. Trigger warnings would be: (view spoiler)[Child Neglect, Mental Health, Memory Manipulation, Self-harm, Suicide (hide spoiler)].

Not recommending to DB:
Dragons of Winter Night (Dragonlance Chronicles #2), by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman - As with the previous installment, there is (view spoiler)[mention of rape, as one of the characters was born from it (hide spoiler)].

Not adult SFF:
Neither of them had any mentions to SV.
Middle grade SFF: Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant #2), by Derek Landy.
Others: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, and Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata (¡yay, Beige!).

[Rebecca]

Hi all, I think the only read that qualifies is a sapphic rep story, in an Indian setting called The Jasmine Throne, which has TW for violence and captivity but not of a sexual nature.

Ooohhh, and a friend recommended Burn for Me and White Hot, which have horrifically misleading covers, but were very good. Some sexy bits (consensual), but mostly just cool magic powers, action, and politicking. I think they are categorized as paranormal romance, but are more fantasy-romance IMO.

[Beige]

Thanks, everyone! We'll do our mod search on your DB suggestions at the end of the month


@ Mary - On to my tbr pile it goes 😁

@ Kam - I'm saving Harrow the Ninth for as long as I can. I'm trying not to click on your spoilers 😄 question: in your opinion does it have a big cliffhanger? Are you desperate for bk#3?

@ Maddie & Rebecca - Hidden Legacy is probably my favourite UF series. I thought it played with some of the usual tropes and some of the family banter really made me laugh out loud. I agree, though it has a (view spoiler)[ kidnapping early on, it ends quickly so it doesn't feel like the typical consent-questioning 'captive to lover' storyline (hide spoiler)]. And really, a contender for the worst covers! I don't know anyone who thought they were appropriate.

[Beige]

Maddie wrote: "I can't remember if I saw it in the rules or not, but how do we feel about comic books? I know YA isn't really included, but I am a big comics reader and a lot of it falls under scifi...."

Comics/graphic novels are welcome 😁

[Mary]

Hidden Legacy with the delightful Sargeant Teddy ? I think was his name?

Andrews has some mysterious novella coming out in the fall, can't wait

[Silvana]

Read these books that are not recommending to DB even though they are super good:

Dawn
CW (view spoiler)[Attempted rape
Non consensual impregnation & body manipulation
Child Abuse
Emotional Abuse
Graphic Violence
Mental Health
Memory Manipulation
Oppression
Sexism (that is acknowledged)
Slavery (hide spoiler)]
And the whole Monstress series
CW (view spoiler)[
Dubious consent
Animal abuse
Animal Death
Child Abuse
Emotional Abuse
Graphic Violence
Mental Health
Memory Manipulation
Oppression
Racism (that is acknowledged)
Slavery (hide spoiler)]

[Kam]

Beige wrote: "I'm saving Harrow the Ninth for as long as I can. I'm trying not to click on your spoilers 😄 question: in your opinion does it have a big cliffhanger? Are you desperate for bk#3?"

Definitely don't click on anything, and save it as much as you can. I made the mistake of reading it and now I definitely don't know how I'll survive until #3 comes out. It IS a big cliffhanger and I AM desperate so don't fall into the same trap I fell, please 😂

[Beige]

Kam wrote: "I made the mistake of reading it and now I definitely don't know how I'll survive until #3 comes out. It IS a big cliffhanger and I AM desperate so don't fall into the same trap I fell, please"..."

Argh, good to know! Thank you for the warning.

[Amanda at Bookish Brews]

I'd like to recommend The Left Hand of Dog for the shelf!

It's a humorous sci-fi about an alien abduction. SI Clarke wrote this book in response to everything being so intense in 2020. It's a statement on how speculative fiction can be excessively silly and doesn't always have to be so serious. Anyway, I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did, but I really adored it. :)

[Beige]

Lady Amanda wrote: "I'd like to recommend The Left Hand of Dog for the shelf! ..."

Thanks, Amanda! Sounds like a great pick me up 😁

[Beige]

Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your monthly reads with us!! Without your contributions, we wouldn't be able to keep the project going.

We have completed the research for your July recommendations and here are the results of what has been added to our DB bookshelf-database, our pending list or our excluded list based on our agreed upon group guidelines.


Beige:
Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea - ✔️ added to DB shelf with no CW

The Stone Wētā - ✔️ Seconding Silvana's recommendation. Removed from pending list and added to DB shelf with no CW

Temporary - ✔️ added to DB shelf with no CW


Mary:
An Oath of Dogs - ✔️ added to DB shelf with CW (view spoiler)[mention of animal death, rep for mental health (hide spoiler)]


Kam:
Harrow the Ninth - ✔️ added to DB with CW (view spoiler)[Child Neglect, graphic violence, rep of Mental Health, Memory Manipulation, Self-harm, Suicide (hide spoiler)]


Rebecca:
The Jasmine Throne - ✔️ added to DB with CW (view spoiler)[child abuse, emotional abuse, graphic violence, homophobia, self harm, sexism, suicide ideation and xenophobia (hide spoiler)]

Burn for Me & White Hot - ✖️ While the two of us were not triggered by Rogan's pursuit of Nevada, a few GR reviewers viewed it as "rapey" because he consistently ignored the boundaries that Nevada had set and I cannot dispute those facts. At DB we decided together to err on the side of the sensitive reader. Therefore, as much as I personally love this series, I think we have to exclude it. 😿


Lady Amanda:
The Left Hand of Dog - 🔄 Added to our Pending list. With it not being released yet, there are an insufficient number of reviews for us to research/validate content.