Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got a second installment of 2023 standalones for your perusal and enjoyment. And…this is it — the last newsletter of the year. I won’t get into detail, but 2023 has really sucked for me on a personal level, so I am beyond glad that we’ll soon see it only in the rearview mirror. Whether you had a rotten year like I did, or a great one, I think it’s safe to wish that 2024 will bring better things for us all. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you in 2024!!
It’s happening, readers — we’re bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you’re on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations, or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we’ve got three different levels for gifting (to yourself or others) to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Ernesto’s Sanctuary, a cat sanctuary and animal rescue in Syria that is near and dear to my heart.
Bookish Goods
Gingerbread Dragon Sculpture by ArtByAelia
The dragons will continue until morale improves. We had a dragon made out of gingerbread, but here’s a helpful little guy who is here to dispose of your extra holiday cookies. #helping, truly. $67
(Not) New Releases
The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
The war between the Holy Vallbaran Empire and the Ominirish Republic has ended, not that scribe Enitan really cares. Her ambition is to quit her day job and dedicate herself fully to her tea business…until her lover is assassinated and Imperial agents kidnap her sibling. With tea tray in hand, she embarks on a mission of rescue — and revenge.
The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins
Thirty years after the worst of the climate crisis begins to truly ravage the globe, society has been remade by the so-called Great Transition into something imperfect, but still potentially utopian. But when a dozen climate criminals are publicly assassinated, a young woman whose parents were involved in that world-changing movement must go searching for her mother Kristina, who is one of the suspects in this crime.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
And here are excellent standalones, part the second!
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
With the climate collapsing, Earth sends a single ship out to carry humanity’s last hope, crewed by eight people who will birth the next generation in deep space. But halfway to their destination, a bomb kills three of the crew and knocks the ship badly off course…and Asuka is the only witness and therefore chief suspect.
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
Destry is part of the environmental rescue team terraforming Sask-E, the newest generation of her family to have done so. But then she discovers a city in a volcano, which should not exist, let alone be populated by people. This is just the first thread she tugs — and soon the tapestry of her life is unraveling.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.