Ali D

June Reads

A graphic showing that I read 22 books in February, with my favourite 3 being A city on Mars, Host City and Mean Streak.

Love Storygraph graphics. Also loved these three books in very different ways.

I had a dear friend who died at 32, 4 years after diagnosis. Her decisions in those years abt treatment given diminishing % of survival were so difficult & personal - trite advice (eg 'keep fighting') was offensive & upsetting. She made amazing art & awesome friends & they were great & hard years.

We need stories of hope in the face of impossible odds more than ever now.

I just really hope they get a sweet gig with enough time leftover to write another book (for which we have been waiting for too long). And that Mary Kirby is secretly making something awesome.

It balanced epic and personal perfectly to deliver something that felt affecting and yet grand. I lined up the six memories and made spouse watch the scenes and all he said then was "damn".

But one of those feelings is gratitude. Veilguard is uneven, but Solas' arc and the wrap up of the epic story of the gods is everything the franchise deserved.

I have a lot of emotions upon finding out about the mass firings of the creatives at Bioware, as one of the millions who has found solace in their games for years, especially @trickweekes.bsky.social whose writing has made me sob, curse and laugh out loud.

Essays that Changed Australia: Meanjin 1940 to Today by Esther Anatolitis A curated collection of essays that shaped Australia's culture and society.

This collection is a timely reminder that essays can matter - with a powerhouse collection of words that shifted something in how Australians see themselves or that opened or accelerated existing national conversations. Not always right, always interesting.
app.thestorygraph.com/books/10866a...