Hellooo!

The counter comes close to a revolution of the earth and its time to briefly look back! I’ve enjoyed 2022, got to travel, meet people again; Fantasycon was fun and also I started a new job. I won’t say we are back to normal because I don’t think our world post pandemic is going to ever be the same and add in higher bills and stresses I think we may be in for a tough year but personally I end this one a lot happier and fitter than I have for a long time.

The blog turned five and I am now just part of the scenery in a world where book blogging can be on page, screen, video or even tik-tok. I remember when blogs were being taunted as not proper ways to blog and I actually welcome the new entrants. We may learn a few new tricks! Social media is still in flux. Twitter is still around but I think recent events have persuaded us its time to diversify via other places and of course a newsletter (which will go out tomorrow!). We had another really interesting Subjective Chaos year and found great books to talk about.

The stats!

Overall I’ve got through 261 books (last year 219) books, anthologies and graphic novels. Still not commuting that often so I think I’m at a comfortable reading pace for what I like to do. But I do think I’ll watch a bit more TV next year!

The blog has grown quite a bit with a large regular audience. Thank you very much Gentle readers I’m also blogging more regualarly since July and that’s helped keep you coming back. I intend to keep that going too!

So this year I read

53.6% books by women (previously 50%)

37.3% books by men (previously 37.1%)

7.6% mixed collections (11.4%)

1.5% Non-binary (previously 1%)

22.4% of books read were by authors of colour (previously 28.3%)

Overall a reduction in anthologies was noticeable this year. Also work needed to read non-white authors so they’ll be in our aims for next year. I should do better

Now onto my best reads of 2022!

The Why By Great Uncle Bulgaria Have I Not Read This Earlier

We Who Are About To... by Joanna Russ - Loved this bleak SF tale with a slice of horror. I didn’t read many classics this past year but this one stood out!

The Tomsk - Scream if You Want to Go Faster

For Horrror I loved two novels

Sundial by Catriona Ward — - this tale is a cold, powerful, not quite a ghost story told in the middle of a desert night. Tense, mysterious and uncomfortable

All The White Spaces by Ally Wilkes — - A story I keep coming back especially as winter came around again. Cosmic horror, grief and a touch of paranoia made this another memorable tale and a great debut

The Wellington - Novellas Have I Told You Lately How I loved You?

Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy by Sam J Miller — - This was a glorious tale that actually made me care about boxing, tattoos offered romance, magic and also changed the course of the world. Its rather brilliant and well worth a try!

The Aldernay - Anthologies are the bees’ knees

Bridging Worlds edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki — - something a little different this year. A non-fiction collection by African speculative fiction writers discussing their thoughts on the pandemic and their experiences across the world. I read this for the first time this year and it was helpful to process a difficult time and reminder of our similarities and that also some of us had very different experiences too. Its also now free to download!

The Madame Cholet - Its the End of the Tastiest Series as We Know It?

It had to be The Children of Time series concluding with Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky a series that offers , adventure, strange new forms of life and asks big questions as to what is life, intelligence and even what is reality itself! Books that make you look at our own world just a little bit differently afterwards are to be treasured.

The Bungo - Hold Me, Kiss Me Thrill Me

A thriller that stood out for being light and dark, playful and making some points about current society was Incy Wincy by RJ Dark —detective work, skills and jokes that all works really together. A series to get on if you’ve not yet tried them!

The Wellington - Let me Be Your Fantasy

Two stayed with me the longest last year

Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher — - a tale of family, women’s rights and doing the right thing. Its the closest in tone to Pratchett yet still does its own thing and makes its points with quiet anger too

Spear by Nicola Griffith — - not only a beautifully written novel but one that plays with and reinvents Arthurian legend in myriad ways. A read to treasure

The Tobermory - Together In Electric Dreams

Two stunning SF novels of mind-expanding thoughtfulness that work in very different ways

Tell Me An Ending - a tale exploring what could happen if we had the ability to delete our memories. The way this makes the reader into a judge of what the right outcome is and then seeing the results made this tale stand out a lot. It is even handed and thoughtful on new technology’s pros and cons.

Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi — - Gentrification is not usually a theme for SF but this tale explores it on racial and socio-economic grounds and creates a stunning future that is disquieting, concerning and highly relevant to today (as all great SF should be). The enemy is less any one person and just a system of capitalism that never dies properly. Its brilliant.

The Runalong - These Two I Loved the Most

The Entropy of Loss by Stewart Hotston — - This story I am still thinking about for its beauty and thoughts on life, love and the wider universe. The blend of first contact story with a lovers’ final goodbye is delivered perfectly. An absolute triumph that no other genre could ever manage

The Coral Bones by E J Swift — - another stunning read. That manages to combine a three hundred year trip through science and naturalism, adds in a possible murder mystery and also explores climate change and our past, present and future role dealing with it. It also manages to deliver some hope too in the process. A delight to read.

And that is it for 2022. Hope you have a great year ahead and here is to a new year of books and booktempting. I leave you with these words from the novel Far From Uncommon Stars

“Tomorrow is Tomorrow. Over there is over there. And here and now is not a bad place and time to be, especially when so much of the unknown is beautiful”

I hope you have a beautiful surprise next year. May there be cake and joy in your future keep reading!