april 2025 reads
Hard to believe it's already halfway through May and I'm just getting to my April reading log now! I've just been so busy doing cool translation work that it's been impossible to sit down and get this out. I've been at my computer so much working that it's been hard to get myself to type all this out. Good thing I write little review for all the books I finish over on Bookwyrm, so if you don't want to wait or need more information, checking my profile there is the best bet. That being said, better late than never, so here's what I read in April!
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
What the Fireflies Knew by Kat Harris
This book has been on my TBR (on a real list in an Excel sheet) nearly since it came out. I was thinking of just removing it from the list, but when I read the description, it was likened to The Secret Life of Bees, a childhood favourite, so I listened to the audiobook. It was a great choice, it is a beautiful and empowering book for young Black girls and everyone should read it. Content warnings for death, drug abuse, mental health issues, and sexual assault though.
翻訳をジェンダーする by 古川弘子 (Hiroko Furukawa)
A very interesting nonfiction book that talks about gendered speech and its effects on translation (particularly from English to Japanese). There's a whole section that's basically on the history of feminism that weighed down the linguistic side that I was more interested in learning about, but thinking about how one can overtranslate to accommodate(?) gender is something really worth thinking about.
Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
I continue to make my way through the audiobooks for the Wayward Children series. This one had lots of horses and had strong themes around gender. It was the first book since maybe the first that had a completely new cast and didn't include previous characters, which was refreshing. I really liked this entry in the series a lot.
Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
An interesting climate novel that takes place in the Canadian north. The story has several different perspectives and time moves in really interesting ways between them—including huge jumps into the past. A lot goes unanswered in this book and the lack of explicit reflection from the characters may be underwhelming to some, but I found the ideas presented in this book to be fascinating.
Nippon Nipponica by Kazushige Abe (tr. Kerim Kasar)
I didn't like this. I get that it's some kind of commentary on male solitude and aggression or something, but I don't need to read a tiny novella about that. Remembering enough to write this is making me frustrated all over again.
A Song for Wildcats by Caitlin Galway
This collection of short stories was absolutely lovely and I'm so grateful that the publisher gave me an ARC to review. What a stunning and thoughtful collection. I continue to be moved by it. Check out my full review for more details.
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
Now that I have no Murderbot to read, this is my new bookish obsession. The way gender and humanity are expressed in these books is so incredibly thought provoking. I've been thinking about language, gender, and gender expression so much these past few months and it's so exciting to see those topics make their way into awesome SF novels as well. Excited to read the final book in the initial trilogy.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (tr. Ros Schwartz)
This was a lot different than I expected and also a lot shorter. I'm not sure I know how to put into words how this book made me feel, but I think I would like to buy the paperback at some point and read it again in more detail. A great reminder to think about humanity and what it means to be part of a community.
Life in the City of Dirty Water by Clayton Thomas-Mueller
I listened to this nonfiction memoir. The author is a Cree activist in Canada and he narrated his own memoir. He goes through his upbringing and finding his spiritual connection to his ancestors and heritage after going through rough times (that are common for many Indigenous people in Canada). He also talks about his dreams for the future and continued activism. It made me want to do more for my community.
Finger Bone by Hiroki Takahashi (tr. Takami Nieda)
This is a short book translated from Japanese about a Japanese soldier during the Asia-Pacific War. I think these types of books can be somewhat contentious, but I really enjoyed this perspective. It's just about a soldier trying to survive a bad situation after he nearly dies (the first time). There's no glorification whatsoever. Very important in my opinion.
トランスジェンダー入門 by 周司あきら (Akira Shuji) & 高井ゆと里 (Yutori Takai)
This is an introductory book on transgender issues meant for readers who know zero things about anything. I read it because I wanted to improve my ability to talk about these things in Japanese and also to see a Japanese perspective on specific to Japan legal issues and experiences. It was very easy to understand and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend if you're looking for a starting point on reading about transgender issues in Japanese. It's certainly the post approachable option available at this time.
Valid by Chris Bergeron (tr. Natalia Hero)
I don't know much about autofiction, but this somewhat dystopian yet also hopeful SF novel written by a French-Canadian from Quebec, really blew me away. There are so many different ways to experience gender and being oneself and I think this book illustrates just how much range and possibilities there are for people. Even though the society in the novel is rather bleak, this novel gave me a lot of hope for both myself and others.
Manga
Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 8 by Kamome Shirahama (tr. Stephen Kohler)
Making slow progress with this manga, but the whole story continues to be awesome. Everything about it is beautiful and I love how seamlessly matters of accessibility are included in the narrative. It brings me a lot of joy. This one ended on a pretty intense cliffhanger and I finally have volume 9 from the library, so really looking forward to continuing with this.
And that's it! May is turning out to be a pretty book heavy month as well, but I've still somehow failed to read a single book from the International Booker Longlist even though I want to read them all this year. I have more ARCs coming up too, so who knows when I'll ever get to that. I'm also very behind on my SF magazine reading. Oh well. Reading is still awesome even if it doesn't go as planned. I'm just glad there are so many beautiful stories out there for me to enjoy.
Updated 4 months ago