CITY OF NIGHT by John Rechy
3.5/5
I'm starting to think I am under some kind of curse for books with great 1st halfs... I should emphasize that there are some really great things about this book and I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to read a more literary gay novel which (for its time) must have been pretty groundbreaking. So overall I do think highly of it, even if the pacing (especially of the New Orleans section) was a little slow for me. Maybe a 4/5 if I am feeling generous!
CROSSING TO SAFETY by Wallace Stegner
3.5/5
Sigh... this book had a really excellent 1st half and I love a slow burn character focused book that is light on plot (which this book epitomizes). Unforuntalely the pacing was a little off towards the end and I'm not sure if I loved the ending but I have to give credit for the prose and dialogue being high quality throughout.
INSPIRATION PORN by Ryan O'Connell
-/5
RYAN O'CONNELL I LOVE YOU!!! Thoroughly enjoyable, kind of a non-fiction version of JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM which I deeply loved. Definitely top of my "authors I want to go out and get drunk with" list.
THE DEPARTMENT by John Pring
-/5
Sobering but an interesting read on how bureaucracy can be deadly.
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS by Sally Rooney
2.75/5
My 2026 year in books is really a lot of indifference! Which I guess is not as bad as a bunch of books that I actively dislike. As I work my way backawards in the Rooney catalogue, I find my enjoyment waning. I think any Rooney book, as a baseline, is going to be good (and I do intend to read NORMAL PEOPLE) *also sidenote I just realized that Normal People was her 2nd book and this was her first, I thought it was the other way round*. Here I ran into a familiar problem - I did not particularly care about the main characters!! Both Frances and Bobbi to me were sort of onboxious and I didn't really care for the married couple either so it made the whole 2nd half kind of a slog.
WILD DARK SHORE by Charlotte McConaghy
3/5
I feel like I am always saying "I really wanted to like this" but it's true it's true! I had particularly high expectations as this was a 5/5 for my favorite Booktuber and the premise did seem interesting. I do think the book was well written overall but it fell into the trap of having characters that I just did not care about. I particularly didn't care for Rowan or her husband so towards the end I did not have much invested (emotionally) in the story. I think also the climate change/social commentary, etc. was a little on the nose and not integrated particularly well into the story (in the sense that the most basic aspects of the plot/setting were themselves a critique). Not offensively bad but also not great.
AUGUSTUS by John Williams
4.5/5
This was REALLY enjoyable and easily cements John Williams as one of my favorite authors. The format and subject make it a challenging read even if you are interested in that part of history but it is so impressive how the story does not get bogged down in the history in a way that overshadows the dramatic material. Each character has such a distinct voice, it has great pacing, and towards the end it is so satisfying to see the perspectives and timelines be masterfully woven together. Excellent read!!!
THE BONES BENEATH MY SKIN by T.J. Klune
3/5
I really wanted to like this, considering I stood in the sun for 30 minutes so that I could get a signed copy and alas I... kinda did? Definitely an improvement on SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA which was a complete slog. I did enjoy the love story so that made for an overall good experience. The action scenes around the climax didn't do much for me but the characters were well done and the sex scene was a good payoff for the erotic tension so what more can you ask for.
PEDRO THE VAST by Simón López Trujillo
2.5/5
Not something I would usually pickup but an interesting translated read for a local bookclub. Nothing really standout good or bad but the B plot of the researcher really did not add anything for me and I only really found interest in the son. The more I think about it the more indifferent I feel about it which I guess tells you everything you need to know...
COEXISTENCE: STORIES by Billy-Ray Belcourt
2.5/5
This was a collection of short stories that weren't bad per se but if anything were just too similar to one another? The best of them could have worked well as longer stories so it was a shame for them to be cutt off and lumped in with more mediocre ones.
