Real Book

This year just hasn't had as much downtime for reading as I'd like. Looking at my previous years, I've noticed that I usually read 3-4 times as many books by now. I'm volunteering nearly as many hours as I work these days, which is rewarding but does take away time from leisure activities. That said, I have an obnoxious pile of books from the library waiting for me patiently, and I'd love to hear what's in yours!

First of all, there's Akata Woman, which I've been dying to read for years. It's the third book in Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch series, which I fell head-over-feet for. Then there are a bunch of collections of short stories, which are my favorite type of writing. These were all selected because they all had stories from Rebeeca Roanhouse in them--or most of them did, anyway. From How to Fracture a Fairytale to Ancestor Approved, A Universe of Wishes to New Suns, I am salivating over this list. There's enough for a vacation!

I also have a bunch of LGBTQIA graphic novels, more short story books and a few books of nonfiction, but those are the ones I'm most excited about. If you want to hear about the rest, let me know, but I'm curious about what you are reading! Share what's on your nightstand, what you've read lately or what's on your TBR pile for the month in the chat.

Over the past week I've been falling head over feet with T.J. Klune's The Extraordinairies series. These will be some of the quickest reads you'll ever experience not because they're short--the first book is over 400 pages--but because they are so fun and fast-paced that you'll be a third of the way through before you even realize it.

The books are about a teenager who is obsessed with a real-life superhero in his community. He writes fanfiction (that is so believably-written from a 16-year-old perspective that you can't help but giggle through it) and has no idea his best friend is in love with him. There are so many great jokes and moments. If you are looking for a good laugh and warm fuzzies, try this series!

What are you reading this week? What book is lighting you up these days? Share what you are reading in the chat. 

As a fat person, I started getting thrilled to see more fat representation in recent years. Plus-sized characters of all genders, but especially of femme leads, makes my heart sing, and my favorite examples are those by Talia Hibbert. Those should definitely be the standard by which we see fat folk representation in my humble opinion. 

I've been trying to read other books that have been hailed as triumphs among the body pos folks but wow, I'm having a hard time seeing what they're seeing. One of the most celebrated books is nothing more than a Game of Thrones fanfiction work filled with emotional abuse, a herione who expects the hero to read her mind at all times and an obsession with their weight differences and what they have to eat for their roles. There's really nothing wrong with fanfiction--one of my favorite books of 2021 had big Kylo Ren vibes--but this book had plenty of problems. 

For starters, I'm fat but I don't even like donuts much, and having her talk about them all time may have been a tool to normalize that it's okay for fat folks to eat whatever they want, but it was included way too much. Diet culture, which the boyfriend subscribed to for his job, is also triggering for a lot of fat people to read about. Definitely no fun in a romantic read. Then there are all these thin people saying how much they looooove the representation and it's just... no.

I've been trying to make my way through the sequel but it's filled with negging, the characters just as boring as in the first book and it's  oh... so... long and drawn out that it's been difficult to enjoy.

Length for length's sake needs to GO in 2022. I've been over it for many years.

In 2022, I'd love to see more works like Hibbert's--works filled with fat femmes (and especially trans characters) who have more to their personalities than just eating and getting offended when people don't read their minds. Hibbert has so much diversity, representation, and HEAT in her books. They are some of the best I've ever read and they happen to feature fat characters. Hopefully 2022 will bring us more characters like those who embark on adventures and have more interesting things about them to enjoy.

What do you hope to see in your 2022 reads, regarding fat characters or othersie? Share your wish list in the chat.

As exciting as reading challenges are, they can also get a little intense--especially in times like these. Many people are already undergoing so much stress that yet another thing to accomplish can feel super daunting, or even take the fun out of it entirely. So while there are all kinds of challenges to participate in--from the annual Goodreads Challenge to super low-key, gentle reading challenges like this one--you could also just not do a challenge. At all.

You could just make a TBR pile that sounds interesting so you remember what you want to read. You could avoid lists altogether, browse your library's books online and just pick out one or two that look interesting for curbside pickup. You could even call and have the librarian suggest something for you based on what you like, or something random. Ask for a book with a blue cover. See what's new in the YA section. Try something new and just do it for the fun of it!

What are your reading goals for 2022? Are you doing any challenges, or are there any new releases you are especially looking forward to? Share them in the chat, and happy reading!