Bayana’s Book Corner

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a reading streak. I’m not sure whether it’s because I’m getting older and therefore have less time, or whether the uptick in quality television has made me either impatient or just lazy, or maybe I needed a longer break from reading after college than I thought. Either way, it’s been a little over a year and I haven’t finished nearly as many books as I used to.

Books have always been my first nerd love. I’ve written countless times at this point about Harry Potter and how it’s shaped my life, but one of the main things it did was spark my love of reading. I was known for finishing books in one or two days, my parents often lamenting about the amount of money spent per week at the bookstore. I’ve missed the feeling of going to the bookstore and searching for books even if I didn’t have any in mind, coming home and laying up all night to finish a book that captivated me so much.

In the past 2 months I’ve found two books that have given me this feeling back, and I’m eager to continue. The Queen of the Tearling and The Fifth Season both had me rushing to the end trying to find out what would happen next. I’m almost desperate to go back to my binge-reading days of old, in part because of how it made me feel but also for my own writing. Reading is a hugely important part of writing, and as a writer I have to be more diligent in harnessing the tools I have to get better.

I’m hoping that writing about the books I read will both help me read more and help me explore the things I want my own books to encompass. And so, I’m starting Bayana’s Book Corner. Below is a list of books I plan on reading, hopefully by the end of December. To hold myself accountable, I’m going to write reviews on them. This is a short list and I have some more in mind and am open to suggestions. Now that I look, most of them are sequels to few books I actually read in the past year and a half. The list isn’t in any particular order, but these are the books I’m thinking of so far.

Midnight Taxi Tango – Daniel Jose Older

The Living Blood – Tananarive Due

The Invasion of the Tearling – Erika Johnson

Clay’s Ark – Octavia Butler

Shadowshaper – Daniel Jose Older

The Obelisk Gate – N.K. Jemisin

Sister Mine – Nalo Hopkinson