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of reading ten fiction books by queer writers featuring queer characters in February, which meant my Shannara took a back seat (and I've already found a bunch of other books so who knows how long it'll take me to get through them all, since there's a LOT!)

Every time I get a book off my to-read list, I find at least 20 more.

The A-List:

This Is Our Place by Vitor Martins A A cute YA book from Brasil from the POV of a house who shares the stories of three tenants (1999, 2010, 2020).

We The Animals by Justin Torres A- Hard to describe this one. It’s a short harrowing story of three brothers growing up in poverty.

The B-List

An Honest Man by Ben Fergusson B+. A spy story told in Berlin in summer 1989, where a young man falls for a spy yet doesn’t know who to trust, the new guy or his family.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix B+. The book resembles an IKEA catalogue since it’s about an IKEA ripoff store that’s haunted. It was fun.

The Case of the Missing Maid by Rob Osler B+. The Windy City’s second female private investigator’s first week on the job (this is a fictional character but it mentions the real one) as she finds herself in turn of the century Chicago

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess B+. Two queer teens race to save their town from an alien invasion. It was cute, maybe a bit twee, but fun.

A Deadly Walk in Devon and A Lethal Walk in Lakeland by Nicholas George B. Mystery books about murders on some trails in the U.K. Nothing special, but I liked reading about the walking paths more than anything.

The Shining by Stephen King B (re-read). I skipped Salem’s Lot per doesthedogdie, (I don’t remember that one at all though so I may figure out what pages to skip and give it a go), and the next on my SK re-read was The Shining. I remembered Kubrick’s movie (and know how much Stephen King hates it!) better then the book…and as much as I like the book, I think I may actually like the film more. *hides* Bad constant reader! Going to re-read Doctor Sleep next.

The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks B. I had only read the first in middle school, so it was a decent fantasy novel I suppose. (Fantasy is my least fave genre, but for some reason I like Brooks.) This one at least had a couple of strong (for the 1980s) women. The Ellcrys tree is dying, and all of the Chosen, save one, caretakers have been killed. If the tree dies, the magic that keeps demons from re-entering will shatter unless they get the seed to a special place to receive the magic.

Finding Myself Along the Way by Michael Burnett B-. I usually enjoy Camino memoirs, but the writer became more and more insufferable as the book went on. Like, I find it hard to believe so many women fell for his charms as he seemed like a creep and the type of people I avoid on Caminos…

The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani B-. I always say Trigiani is hit or miss…and this one was so forgettable I just had to look up the synopsis as a refresher! I must have thought it was okay to give it a B- over a C+. Still going to try to complete all her books as I love her Big Stone Gap books so much, but most of her books seem derivative of that awesome series. She did such a good job of setting up the story of an Italian American woman forced to work at the factory in the 1930s instead of teaching…and the second half of the book rushed 50 years into 75 pages more or less…

The C-List

World Running Down by Al Hess C+. Couldn’t get into this one at all. A quasi love story between a human and physical AI in post apocalyptic Utah. I had high hopes after enjoying Key Lime Sky.