That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story by Huda Fahmy

Cute and lighthearted graphic memoir.

Setting: USA.

March 1, 2024.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall (ARC)

This book publishes April 23, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ebook Advanced Reader Copy (ARC).

This is an epistolary debut fantasy novel. It’s set in world centered on oceans. The novel was slow and it only picked up in the last third for me. What kept me reading was that the characters and their relationships. Everyone was likeable and there were developed romantic and platonic relationships. The book seemed to be a set up for a sequel or series. The ending did leave me intrigued but I am unsure if I will continue. As someone who likes epistolary novels and classics, this book’s prose and style was a lot. The floral and almost overwrought writing prose is not for everyone.

This was my first ARC and I am grateful for it but I do not plan on reading too many because my current TBR is too overwhelming.

Setting: Fantasy.

Read on Kindle. March 2, 2024.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

Read by the author. This has been on my TBR for awhile. I think I started it back when it was published in 2019. A couple of my book club friends were reading it so I finally committed to listening to it at least. The beginning of the book felt like I was back at school because I have a background in public policy, development, and took gender classes as well. I had read some of the studies the author used. The author and I are both alumni of the same graduate school which made more sense to me. This sense of deja-vu cared through a lot of the book for me. I did not always align with her conclusions or how it was presented. It’s a lot of information which sometimes lacks cohesion since it covered so many subjects. I do think this book is very important and it was fitting that I finished it at the start of Women’s History Month.

1.25x. February 25-March 3, 2024.

Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams with Joe Sutphin (Illustrator) and James Sturm

I loved this. It reminded me that the novel is a masterpiece. It’s not a book I would like to reread because it had many dark elements. It is the perfect allegorical novel about the hero’s journey, change, environmentalism, and political corruption. Seeing it illustrated was even more visceral as the rabbits are hurt constantly in their quest to find a home and to be free. I liked the moments where they discussed their folk stories and the importance of it in all cultures. I even think the original novel is sometimes underrated when compared to other epic novels. I hope adaptations like this one can keep the story in the active in culture. The recent TV adaptation was unwatchable. I hope there is a better one in my time. I am now tempted to read the follow-up anthology.

Setting: England.

March 3, 2024.