Another year with lots of reading. Not so many comics this time around but I had to finish my Goosebumps project once and for all. I have no regrets in that respect.
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10. Meddling Kids
by Edgar Cantero.
I love the concept of this book. It was a slow starter but it held me once it got there. It was such a fun take on Scooby Doo and the Hardy Boys. It made me want to rewatch old Scooby Doo and dig out some Hardy Boys books (an itch that faded quickly). There were some odd choices in the writing style, like how it randomly changed to script for certain scenes for reasons I couldn’t figure out.
9. The Obelisk Gate
by N.K. Jemisin.
It definitely didn’t go any of the places I would have expected, especially with the daughter’s narrative. Maybe it’s by necessity of the world, but there is a certain coldness to the main characters that can be tough to get past sometimes. That’s more of an observation than a critique; I’m not sure that the story warrants anything different. I’m still gonna read the third and final book no matter what.
8. Doom Patrol
by Grant Morrison, Doug Braithwaite, Richard Case, Scott Hanna, John Nyberg, & Carlos Garzon.
Joe Corallo has been after me to read this for a while now, so I finally caved and read the first book: I loved it. It almost made me want to re-read the Invisibles… almost. I like my Grant Morrison to be slightly restrained by canon. I didn’t read a lot of comics this year, but I’m glad we read this one.
7. A Visit From the Goon Squad
by: Jennifer Egan.
As a writer, I’m really glad I read this book. Jennifer Egan has a real knack for characters, and that is the beating heart of this novel. The structure of the story was unexpected, and occasionally confusing, but I never stayed lost for long. It goes to show there are many ways to thread a narrative. I also have to say that I was a bit bummed out by Rob’s storyline for very gay reasons. But overall I liked this one quite a lot.
6. These Violent Delights
by Micah Nemerever.
This book was wild. There’s so much to unpack. The character work was fantastic, I also really enjoyed the narrative voice. I want people to read this so I can talk to them about it. If you like gay stories, crime stories, and complicated/messy characters, then you should read this. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author.
5. Leave Myself Behind
by Bart Yates.
Re-reading for the first time since high school. Excellent character work with Noah especially. I remember him being the first gay character I truly related to. This is honestly one of the best depictions of queer rage that I have read to date. It holds up really well. Even if some of the language is dated it’s true to the time it was written.
4. Cemetery Boys
by Aiden Thomas.
This book was really sweet. There were the occasional moments that were very YA, by which I mean that they made me feel very much like a 38-year-old man and definitely not a teenager. That’s because I’m not the intended audience of this book, and that is OK. I was still able to appreciate this book for succeeding in being everything it was aiming for. So even though I predicted a few of the twists, I wasn’t mad. I loved the characters, and that is what matters most.
3. Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult
by Maria Bamford.
I’m a big fan of Maria’s stand up, so it was a pretty safe bet that I was going to like this. And I did. Funny, moving, inspiring, and thoroughly entertaining.
2. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
by Benjamin Alire Saenz.
This book had all of the feelings. I think it might be one of the better examples I’ve found of queer angst, particularly the kind that is born from internalizing the idea that the world is a place you don’t belong in. I really enjoyed Ari as a narrator. He felt very much like people I’ve known. This book was more than worthy of its praise. I didn’t expect to burn through it so quickly.
1. Summer Sons
by Lee Mandelo.
Queer horror with some gnarly imagery and messy characters. I loved it. This book delivered in everything I wanted from a gay horror story. I can’t wait to read more from Lee Mandelo.
Honorable Mentions:
Honorable Mentions is reserved for the books that I loved but for arbitrary reasons were cut off from the top ten. One of them is my favorite collection o fshort stories in awhile. There’s also books tha kick off some wild fantasy and others that have some fun science fiction. All of which have plenty of horror mixed in.
Boys Beasts and Men
by Sam J Miller
Black Sun
by Rebecca Roanhorse
Come Closer
by Sara Gran
Children of Ruin
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
We are Legion: We Are Bob
by Dennis E. Taylor
Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
Kick-Ass Ongoing Series:
Not so many comics this year, but plenty of onoging audiobook series. Rosamnd Pike cannot record the Wheel of Time books fast enough (in my humble opinion)
Mighty Morphin/Power Rangers
by: Ryan Parrot, Marco Renna, Dan Mora, Walter Baiamonte, Raul Angulo, & various other artists.
Wheel of Time
by: Robert Jordan
In Rembrance of Earth’s Past
by: Cixin Liu
Batman & Robin
by: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Doug Mahke, & various other artists.
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