Booksology 
The best book I read in May was the ten incarnations of the rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel, author of Kaikeyi. I was a bit threatening to pick up this alternative history of India in the 1960s, so I decided to listen to the audiobook, read the first chapter and get into it. I have become such an immersive reading for the entire novel. This is my first time. The audiobook was great, and I felt like I got it even more than that by reading and listening at the same time.
I could say a lot about this book – and I would say in the June 3rd episode of every book – but it’s enough to say that this is a complicated and realistic story about resistance and revolution. There’s a odd main character relationship with Suffic, but don’t expect a pleasant romance. There are some really dark moments. This is a 5 star read and I hope it will attract the critical attention it deserves.
Another book I picked up in every book episode on June 3rd was Annie Marle’s Love of the Universe at a Multiverse Hair Salon. This is a very fun sufficient romance about falling in love across the timeline. It’s romantic to the point that it’s sometimes a bit cheesy (our love is strong enough to rearrange the universe!), but that’s nothing wrong. I also really enjoyed the queer community/friendship and subplot romance with some of the side characters. This is Annie Mare’s debut and I can’t wait to see what they write next.
Being Gay, Doing a Crime: I also picked up 16 Queer Chaos stories edited by Molly Llewellyn and Christel Buckley for the podcast, but after finishing it I realized I didn’t think I could eagerly recommend it. There are a few stories I really liked, but most of them weren’t great matches for me. It’s a lot of messy people who are doing petty crimes. I’m sure many people enjoy this, but I wasn’t a worthy reader.
I recently joined a (another) queer book club, and my first pick was a housemate at Emma Copley Eisenberg. Emma Copley Eisenberg is about a queer photographer and writer who are on a road trip together in 2020 to collaborate on a project about Philadelphia. Unfortunately, I was one of those who didn’t like it. It felt like a passing slow. It had an element I usually love (slow, character-based stories), but I didn’t invest in the story. But some other people in my book club loved its descriptive prose and realism, so don’t discourage it from trying it!
I am currently reading Bury Our Bones in the midnight soil of Ve Schwab, the upcoming “toxic lesbian vampire” book. This is my first VE Schwab book. We’re talking with Rebecca, Jeff and Vanessa on our Book Riot Podcast in June.
