As we’re staring down the last three months of the year, I already know that I want to prioritize catching up on sequels. That was a fairly recent topic for a Tuesday Top 10 post though, so instead I’m going to focus on new-to-me reads that I’d like to read before we ring in 2027. Typically the winter months see me moving more into comics and romances, but I don’t want to get totally disconnected from reading queer speculative fiction either.
I will happily say that I have read (or attempted to read, in the case of An Accident of Dragons) every book I promised to read in 2026, so I don’t need to worry about anything on that front. However, will I be cramming all of these plus the sequels I want to try to prioritize plus wherever my mood takes me? Probably not. Let’s consider this list an aspirational one, rather than the most realistic portrait of what you can expect to see me reviewing in the near However, if I keep saying that I can read every book, it’ll come true someday.
There are only 2 novellas that I hadn’t yet read from the 2026 Hugo Nomination slate. I know I’m not interested in Vernon’s offering (though part of that might simply be exhaustion at her getting nominated every year), but had wanted to read Automatic Noodle before the awards were announced. In the end, this was a fairly disappointing slate of Novellas. My pick was Cinder House, which I authentically enjoyed. I was happy to see it on the shortlist, but am still not sure if I consider it Award-Winner material. Automatic Noodle, like the rest of the lot, has some areas I see as significant flaws. However, it’s not the style of book that I would have ever put forward as a nominee, so perhaps I’m judging it on criteria that don’t really fit. It’s great chill pick for someone looking for something quirky, knowing that it isn’t going to be an emotional rollercoaster.
The Premise: Four robots wake up to find their company has absconded to the United States (California is its own country now), threatening their already dubious freedom. They decide to open a a hand-pulled noodle restaurant, despite robot corporate ownership being very illegal.
Read if You Like: allegories for otherness, weird futuristic worlds, stories with personal stakes
Avoid if You Dislike: robots that feel like humans, heavy-handed themes
What an interesting little book this was. What I picked up for a Romance Book Club ended up feeling at once very much like a romance and nothing at all like the romantasy that’s being put out now. I do wish I’d read it at a time when I had more brain power to throw at the book, because I appreciate how this book didn’t neatly fall into any categories of stories in my mind. Come for the optimistic vibes, stay for conversations that refreshingly don’t feel like they’re from a reality dating show.
The Premise: In a vaguely utopian future, a company has gotten a handle on reviving you from accidental death (for a small monthly charge). Metatron is the AI who runs Limbo and consoles the souls of those waiting for new bodies. He’s desperately in love with one of his current charges, however. Meanwhile Sasha has a new body, but can’t get a fresh start at a new life because he keeps feeling Metatron’s love pangs as physical sensations in his new body. He decides to take a job at the company to ask Metatron to tone it down, and ideally get his life back on track.
Read if You Like: Romances with parallel couples, characters making up for past mistakes, consistent empathy, casual diversity
Avoid if You Dislike: ambiguous worldbuilding, characters who make mistakes, unconventional romance structures, upbeat portrayals of capitalism
As Autumn sets in, this is typically the time of year that I transition to simpler and less brainpower-intense books. We’ll see when this instinct fully kicks in. I’ve certainly spent more time on webnovels than I usually do, and I can already feel the quiet siren call of holiday romances calling my name.
This post is the opposite. I wanted to highlight some books where authors took big risks that – in my opinion – paid off wonderfully. These books all have aspects that I think are divisive and mean that readers tend to either love it or hate it.
It’s unfair of me to claim that Fungi are having a moment right now, considering some of the oddly high amount of mushroom content came from books half a decade old, or my tabletop group’s year long campaign dedicated to them elevating their fungal deity to ascendency. However, I do feel like I’m seeing mushrooms around more the past year or two. Maybe it’s because The Last of Us show was such a hit?
Anyways, I thought this one was serviceable. Great mushroom content, but that’s about the only thing I can recommend the story on. I think there’s a New Weird reinterpretation of The Handmaid’s Tale out there for me to love, but this one didn’t hit the notes I needed it to.
The Premise: Nicole’s mother just died, and it is her wedding day. She hasn’t left her house … ever. And now she must obey the whims of a man she has never met. While living in his home, she becomes connected with the mysterious Teagan, whom she as long admired from afar.
Read if You Like: ambiguity on bodies, weird science, disturbing sex scenes
Avoid if You Dislike: mushrooms; extensive depictions of marital abuse, sexual assault, and pregnancy (amongst other things)
This is a sequel to Striker V: Elements of Change, which I enjoyed as a a great innovation on an enjoyable but played-out superhero formula. This book stays that course, and I think most people will have a similar reaction to both. Technically, this collection could probably be read as a standalone, but Vidmar doesn’t give a ton of backstory/context that would help ground readers. I also thought Elements of Change was the stronger book overall, despite this entry having more consistent high points throughout the book.
The Premise: This collection of stories and novellas follows various characters from the first Striker V book. They range from mundane conversations full of found family to stories with a more traditional superhero action focus.
Read if You Like: the humanity of superhumans, slice-of-life elements, bittersweet resolutions
Avoid if You Dislike: superhero stories, combat to be the primary driver of plot, mediocre combat scenes
I’m thankful for a lot of things about my relationship with the r/fantasy and r/QueerSFF subreddits, but one of the biggest has been their insistence on highlighting self-published and small press books. There’s dedicated communities hyping stories that nobody has heard of, a recurring self-published/small press squares both sub’s yearly reading challenges, and a willingness to talk about books that get no press in many other spaces.
Since I’ve started tracking my reading, lots of these books have ended up as personal favorites. So here are 10 Self-Published and Small Press books I’m obsessed with that I think everyone should consider reading.
I picked up Private Eye as a text for the Queer Comics elective that I get to teach when student interest is high enough. While there are plenty of breakout hits in that space, I also force students to expose themselves to a broad variety of stories for our independent exploration units. This was one of the few queer noir comics I’d heard about. It was fun and irreverent, great for helping me manage stress at the start of the school year – probably a running theme in my reviews in the next month or so. Unfortunately, and unfairly, I kept comparing this to Watchmen, and it just isn’t on the same level as the greats in the comic space.
The Premise: a private investigator in a world where masks and pseudonyms are part of everyday life sees his most recent client brutally murdered. Now, the target is on his back as both a suspect of her death and as a mysterious criminal seeks to tie up loose ends.
Read if You Like: weird imaginings of humanity’s future, dynamic characterization (in writing and art), stories that push a little bit on the edges of absurdity
Avoid if You Dislike: classic noir structures, books without a ton of thematic heft, ambiguous endings
When I was browsing new releases in January, I passed over George Falls Through Time; admittedly this was mostly because the publisher dropped Ministry of Time as a comp title. I despised … pretty much everything about that book, and it’s gotten worse with time. Thankfully, this got put back on my radar via being pitched to me as an ‘interior existential fuckshit novel’ which is right up my alley. It’s the type of controversial book that is executed well enough to cater to very specific tastes, meaning that most people who picked this up hated it. Honestly, this is likely going this year’s biggest gap (other than DNFs) between my rating of a book and the general consensus.
And honestly, I blame the marketing. It’s pitched as “A confessional queer romance, a swords-and-sorcery soap opera” … which is missing everything this book is trying to do. It is a glorious train wreck in slow motion. This is not a fun book full of whimsy and romance with a historical serf trying to find his freedom (well, there is that, but not like you’re thinking). Instead, this book is the hollowness that comes when when you fixate on the pointlessness of life, the artificiality of all human connection, and the lack of agency over your own destiny. It is cyclical and frustrating and uncomfortably real.
No matter how conflicted (in a good way) I feel about this book, the sign that this review is looking to be one of my longest is a sign that this novel had lots of interesting things to say.
The Premise: George has lost his job, his boyfriend left him, he has no sense of meaning in life, and now walks dogs. When two run away and things spiral out of control, he ends up falling into 1300s England. Honestly, this was probably the best thing that could have possibly happened. There’s some business with a dragon, but the book is really about George’s internal journey to find meaning in life.
Read if You Like: intense depictions of depression, speculative fiction character studies, the power of a quiet life, simple vocabulary arranged intentionally
Avoid if You Dislike: time travel light on historical detail, books that de-emphasize traditional plot structures, characters (and romances) that are hard to cheer for
It is officially back to school time! Here in Minnesota, we start in September because our State Fair is such a big driver of community competition (in rural areas) and employment for teens (in the cities) that it runs our calendar. This was my second day back with staff, and I can’t wait to meet my new students next week!
In honor of that, here are my favorite (mostly magical) school settings! I was a Harry Potter kid, and while my love of that particular series has withered, I have a long fondness for school settings, including those featuring teacher protagonists!
