Apologies for the lack of a weekly roundup last week. I had midterms and my brain was absolutely fried by Sunday afternoon when I normally write these posts. Luckily, since I was so busy studying I didn’t have a ton of time for reading anyway and didn’t get through too many things the past couple weeks, so this won’t be significantly longer than one of my usual roundups. We have two ARCS, two audiobooks, and one backlist title to talk about, so let’s get into it!
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
This is the first book in a fantasy series, and it follows a necromancer named Johannes Cabal who sold his soul to the devil, and now he needs it back. The devil offers Cabal another deal, saying that he can have his
soul back if he procures 100 souls on the devil’s behalf in a year. Armed with a traveling carnival from hell (literally) and a cast of undead performers, Cabal sets out to get his soul back.
I guess it is kind of a weird premise but even then this is a deceptively weird book. I think I like the basic premise and it’s got some fun worldbuilding and humor but it kind of randomly spins off into surrealism in a way I don’t really care for. Like I’d just be settling into Cabal’s attempts to collect souls with the carnival and then the pacing would stop dead in its tracks (haha) for some random POV from a little boy or a ghost soldier that doesn’t really contribute to the overall story. I guess it was a fun enough book but stylistically not for me.
As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers (out now!)
This was an ARC, so you can read my full review here! This is a sci-fi novel about Signy, a plant shop owner who synthesizes medication under the table for people who are otherwise unable to get treatment, and Cora, a pilot
who steers living organisms called rorquals to collect resources. When Cora develops a condition that puts her job and her rorqual at risk, she goes to Signy for help and the two start to kindle a relationship that proves how life and love persist even in the most uninhabitable places.
I have read and loved all of Becky Chambers’ books, and I pretty strongly credit them with getting me into sci-fi, so of course I was super excited to read this (so excited in fact, that I put it off for months). This is very much a return to form for her being a character-focused and emotionally challenging but ultimately uplifting space opera. It’s maybe a little more romance-heavy than her other books, but there’s plenty of time spent on the characters, plot, and worldbuilding outside of the romance. I cried of course, because it’s a beautiful story and also I’m a crybaby. You can see more of my specific thoughts in my full review but I’m glad she’s putting out books again and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel!
(P.S. At the time I’m writing this post, later tonight I’ll be seeing Becky Chambers do a talk at Powell’s! I’ve never been to one of her author talks before and I’m unbelievably excited, so maybe next week I’ll fill you in on how that went.)
Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi (out 11/3/26)
This was an ARC, so you can read my full review here! This is a sci-fi / fantasy novel about a small town in Ohio facing the looming threat of the town’s main employer shutting down. People’s fears and frustrations are mounting, and it’s
only a matter of time before they…explode.
Another highly anticipated release from an author I know very, very well (as I mentioned in my review, I’ve read probably twelve of John Scalzi’s books), but I’m a little more mixed on this one. It’s a fun premise, but it wasn’t as thought-through or funny as I usually expect from Scalzi and I think he could have done more with it. In short, I think this book is pretty good compared to other books generally, but specifically compared to Scalzi’s other books I don’t think it holds up as much. Still, when it comes to rich guys getting their comeuppance in hilarious, bizarre, deeply-satisfying ways, I can always count on John Scalzi!
Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
This is a nonfiction philosophy / psycholinguistic book about metaphorical thinking and the way in which the metaphors present in language actually reflect the use of metaphor in cognitive processes.
Lakoff and Johnson present a lot of linguistic examples, tying them into philosophical concepts and psychological findings to explore what it means for people to think metaphorically.
I took a class in the spring on Language & Thought, ostensibly focusing on the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and the research that’s been done in the field of psycholinguistics to prod at that theory (I’m not going to go in depth on what the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis is because we’d be here all day but I encourage you to look it up with a good amount of skepticism because there’s a lot of conflicting findings). Metaphorical thinking, specifically the “Time is Space” metaphor, came up a few times in that class and this book is really one of the fundamental texts on psycholinguistics even if it’s a little old now and has more of a philosophy lean than I was expecting. I like a lot of the examples Lakoff and Johnson give and a good amount of what they say has since been backed up with research, but as previously mentioned it did lean into philosophy more than I expected and more than I might have preferred. It’s maybe a tad too dense to be considered pop-science, but if you are interested in psycholinguistics and the philosophy of metaphor I think it’s worth your time.
Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik
This is a nonfiction pop-science book on materials science, covering both the history and our scientific understanding of the materials we encounter every day like glass, cement, steel, and plastic.
This is the kind of book I get on audiobook just to satisfy my endless hunger for fun facts, and in that sense it served its purpose. It’s definitely accessible and interesting to learn more about all these things we completely overlook in our day-to-day lives, because knowing that really gives you an appreciation for all the thought that goes into things like ceramic teacups, concrete foundations, and mirrors. It was missing the humor and personality that makes this kind of a book a standout for me (Mary Roach, Caitlin Doughty, and Sam Kean are good examples of authors that bring their personality and life experiences into their pop-science books), but it was a nice listen and I’d recommend it.
Apologies again for the lack of roundup last week, but as you can see the past two weeks weren’t particularly bad or good in terms of books. I’m currently rereading Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee on audiobook before reading the sequel, Mark of the Warrior. The first book is a fun time with the vibe of classic martial arts movies, so I’m having a good time rereading it and looking forward to the sequel. I’m also making my way through an ARC of Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun which is really great so far, so keep an eye out for that review in the next few days. I’m on fall break right now so I have a lot of highly anticipated things I’ve been saving that I can finally get around to, including a bunch of ARCs and a few more books from my twenty-six in 2026 list. At the top of the list are the following: You’re No Better by Andrew Joseph White, Final Cut by Amy James, The Poet Empress by Shen Tao, Three Mages and a Margarita by Annette Marie, and Bloom Town: Genesis by Ally North. Who knows how many of those I’ll get to, but hopefully my next roundup will be full of bangers!
Have you read any of these books? Did I convince you to read one of them (or not to read one of them)? By all means, let me know what you’ve enjoyed recently or what you’re looking forward to!
Happy reading!
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