A Choir of Lies, by Alexandra Rowland
The second book in a series of fantasy novels about the Chants, an organization of wandering storytellers. Choir is about a young queer man struggling with abandonment, self-actualization, and ethical employment in a capitalist system. I really liked it! Nothing about the book rocked my world or anything, but it was a good story well-told.
I did think its inclusion of obvious, real-world historical events with thin analogues was a little cheesy. I can't say much more without spoiling the main plot, but I can tell you that that I texted a friend "I can't believe they're about to invent futures trading in this fantasy novel".
The Strange Bird, by Jeff VanderMeer
A novella set between VanderMeer's Borne and Dead Astronauts. I'll be honest, even as a dyed-in-the-wool VanderMeer fan I didn't love Borne; its characters, world, and plot just didn't grab me. I was hoping that Strange Bird would take my love for Dead Astronauts and tie it back to book 1; I would say it is much more a Borne side-story than a bridge between the two novels.
On its own merits, I thought it was fine! Short and sweet with a payoff that made me a little teary.
"The Wretched of Middle Earth: An Orkish Manifesto" by Charles W. Mills
A work of cultural criticism that demonstrates racist underpinnings to the hierarchy of Tolkien's "races". Elves are an Aryan analogue, Orcs are a racialized other, you know the drill. I expected this to be a little more revelatory than it was; the RPG sphere has this sort of discussion constantly due to Tolkien's influence on D&D. The arguments put forth were comprehensive, clear, and also not new to me. (If you're reading this and somehow unfamiliar with "orcs are racist", check out the above essay I guess?)
The Queer Art of Failure, by Jack Halberstam
(Still in progress)
Highly influential cultural studies text arguing for a queer politics of failure and negativity. I'm running up against my lack of postmodernist bona-fides quite painfully; not only am I having a difficult first read, I think I'll need two read-throughs to really grok the contents.
However, even on a first pass, I can see the influence of Halberstam's ideas on Friends at the Table. Certainly a show that is queer and is interested in failure