Weather was pretty much horrible most of this month, so I did a lot of reading. Mind you, the tail end of that was comics (which are shorter) but I also read a lot of new books.

So what was good this month? Honestly, most everything.

Mystery had be finishing the Erlendur series by Arnaldur Indridason. The final book was excellent–I very much enjoyed the series, and the glimpse into a non-English speaking country. I also read the first two Veronica Speedwell books by Deanna Raybourn, which were good (I got fed up with her other series and stopped reading. So far this one doesn’t have the bits that irritate me about the other series.)

All the new books I read that were part of an ongoing series were excellent. Daniel José Older concluded his Bone Street Rumba, and it was of course excellent (there are other books set in this world, even if the main arc for Carlos is done). Ben Aaronovitch‘s newest Rivers of London was long delayed, but I didn’t mind the wait. Lisa Shearin‘s latest SPI Files was also a fun romp. And then there was Paul Cornell‘s latest Shadow Police. The last three are all supernatural police books, but all three are as different as it’s possible to be. And all three were thoroughly enjoyable. If you don’t like dark, avoid the Shadow Police, if you don’t like lighter romps, skip the Lisa Shearin.

And then there were the comics.

If you have not read Princeless, then you must immediately stop what you are doing and go find a copy. ESPECIALLY if you have small people in your life. Princeless is a delightful take on the princess trapped in a tower fairy tale trope. It’s truly lovely–the first book was a ten for me.

Along a similar vein is Princess Ugg, which is more for older kids and younger teens, and I liked it quite a bit.

And then for something completely different AND NOT FOR KIDS was Rat Queens, which I really really liked. I said not for kids, yes? I mean it. It’s a snarky RPG story with sex and drinking and drugs and I really liked it.

Fantasy, Supernatural

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba) (8.5/10)
The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) (8.5/10)
The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (SPI Files) (9/10)
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) (8/10)

Comics

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (9/10)
Princess Ugg Vol. 1 (2014) Ted Naifeh and Warren Wucinich (8/10)
Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: Blood (2012) Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, and Tony Akins
Thor Vol. 2: Who Holds the Hammer? (2016) Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, Jason Aaron, Noell Stevenson, CM Punk
Mighty Thor Vol. 1: Thunder in her Veins (2017) Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman

Comics, Kids

Princeless
Princeless: Vol. 1: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin
Princeless, Vol 2: Get Over Yourself (2014) Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin
Princeless Vol 3: The Pirate Princess (2014) Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, Ted Brandt

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 Beware the Kitten Holy (2015) Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Brooke A Allen

Mystery, Historical

Veronica Speedwell
A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn (8.5/10)
A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn (7.5/10)

Mystery, Police

Erlendur
Voices (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
The Draining Lake (2004/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder
Arctic Chill (2005/2009) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb
Hypothermia (2007/009) Arnaldur Indridasontranslated by Victoria Cribb
Outrage (2008/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Anna Yates
Black Skies (2009/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb
Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb  (9/10)

Non-Fiction, Science

My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places (2013) Mary Roach

Audio Books

Legion (2012) Brandon Sanderson read by Oliver Wyman (8.5/10)

So how did the stats come out? 24 books this month, nine of which were trade paperback (the comics), one audio book, and the rest (14) were ebooks. The six re-reads were all the Inspector Erlendr mysteries–I had re-read the older books so I could finish the lat two books in the series.

Genre-wise things were relatively evenly split:

Fantasy : 13
Mystery : 10
Comic : 9
Non-Fiction : 1

Well, except for that single non-fiction book there.

Gender wise men have taken the lead for the year.

Male : 14
Female : 5
Anthology : 5

Part of that was reading the entire Erlendur series, but the rest of it was reading comics, which are male dominated. Yes, there were female writers and artists, but although there were comics written completely by those bearing the Y chromosome, this month had only a single comic whose crew had all X chromosome comics. (Lumberjanes is very good, but it also is not my thing.)

And that’s how things worked out. Here’s hoping for better weather so I can get out more.