the garden of madeline

Hover over each line to read some short comments & thoughts!

Click on the star ratings to go to Goodreads!

JANUARY

The Gambler | Fyodor Dostoevsky |

My first Dostoevsky book! I read this one with my brother and I really really enjoyed it. Novella length so it was a nice quick read. Really dynamic characters & I loved watching everything unravel.

Bestiary: Poems | Donika Kelly |

First time in a while that I picked a random poetry book up. Liked the back half a lot more than the front half.

Yvain (The Knight with the Lion) | Chrétien de Troyes |

FUCKING SLAY!!!! CHRETIAN NEVER MISSES!!!! I grabbed this one at a thrift store ages ago and kept putting it off like a fool. Raffel's translation is delightful, the characters are feel so ALIVE and the writing is so flavorful and funny. Once again, de Troyes features a lot of strong female character who control the narrative while Yvain flounders. Love love love.

Yvain: Graphic Novel | M. T. Anderson |

Recently picked the graphic novel at the library and read it right after reading the full text. It honestly doesn't compare back to back. The illustrations are nice but the story cuts so many fun elements that it's a shame. I feel like it lacks nuance.

The Art and Flair of Mary Blair | John Canemaker |

Mary Blair my beloved. A great book about one of my favorite artists.

FEBRUARY

Moominpappa at Sea (Moomins #8) | Tove Jansson |

Holyyyyyy hell. If lonliness was a book it would be this. I knew that the later Moomin books were a lot more serious, but wow. I really loved this one. Everyone had such distinct characters and arcs. AHG. I loved this.

Moominvalley in November (Moomins #9) | Tove Jansson |

Another superb Moomin book. Was worreid that I wouldn't enjoy it as much since a lot of the focus is on characters aside from the Moomin family, but it was really, really wonderful. I loved watching each person's growth & journey of self disocvery, all while staying at the Moomin house.

MARCH

My Story | Marilyn Monroe |

Marilyn's unfinished autobiography was quite a read. I really loved the writing style, as devastating as the content may have been. It gives a whole new insihgt to who she was as a person- so vastly different from how media of the past & today portray her. She was deeply lonely and introspective, and had very little interest in sex or acting as a sexual icon. In fact, she often expresses frustration becuase she can't understand why so many see her as a sensual sex symbol. A very sad but good read.

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley Artbook | Hyper Games |

A great artbook for a great little game. Almost wish I could get a physical copy of it!

APRIL

Christabel | Samuel Taylor Coleridge |

This was an interesting one. I read that this poem inspired Carmilla, and I can deifnitely see the connections. I wish that It was fully finihsed in the way Coleridge wanted.

De Profundis | Oscar Wilde |

Wilde never misses!!! This is a longform letter that Wilde wrote over the course of a year while imprisoned. I didn't know what to expect going in but I highly recomend it. In the letter Wilde speaks about his depression upon initially entering prison, and subsequent decision to accept the situation for what it is and make it a part of himself. His musing son Jesus Christ were fasinating- he was not very religious and neither am I, but he made an interesting comparsion between Jesus & artists that made my think.

The Secret (Animoprhs #9) | K. A . Applegate |

Animorphs slays once again. We really started diving more into thie psychological horror of the plot & disucssing the fact that nature is not always beautiful.

Old as Time | Liz Braswell |

I despised this book. I knew going into it that this was a YA series, which isn't my usualy cup of tea, but my mom & I love Beauty & the Beast so I figured we could read it together. I don't want to waste my time talking about it but I had a Bad Time.

MAY

The Vampyre | John William Polidori |

An interesting read! Not as good as Carmilla or Frankenstein, but enjoyable.

Wayward Kindred | O'Toole, Allison |

Really fun collection of spooky short stories, great art styles all around.

JUNE

Modern Fantasy | Rafer Roberts & Kristen Gudsnuk |

Really cute little fantasy story!!

Skin Deep | Flo Woolley |

*Chefs kiss* I was eyeing this one up on insta for awhile and it did not dissapoint! Great colors, art style, and spookiness.

Queer Little Nightmares | Ly, David |

I wanted to like this anthology so, so much. Every story I read and then I went... mhmm it;s gotta get better. It didn't. Think I only made it 80% through before I gave up. It's been a hot sec since a book dissapointed me so much.

JULY

Rouge | Mona Awad |

I have... a lot of thoughts on this one. I think that calling it a fairy tale retelling does it a disservice, and is wholly and completely wrong. The whole time I was reading it I didn't want to put it down. However, I feel like Awad created so many loose ends that refused to be tied up. And I don't mind a little mystery, espeicslly in a book that's supposed to be a little spooky & psychological, but there's just some elements that made me crazy. Why make such a bid deal out of the gal being Egyptian & having an eye of Ra bracelet that protects her & naming an antaognist Seth (Another name for Set, an the Egyptian trickster god), but never hammer that home or acknowldge the connection?? Made me insane tbh.

Monsters, Strange Dreams and UFOs | Phyllis Raybin Emert |

A funky little book I picked up at an estate sale! Good collection of weird shit.

Devotions | Mary Oliver |

AMAZING. AS ALWAYS. I've been wanting to get this colection since it was released and I finially found it at an estate sale. Exceeded my expectations. Thought it was interesting that the poems were in reverse chronological order. I deifnitrly identifty with her earlier & mid era more than her later stuff. Maybe I will when I'm older.

The Haunting of Hill House | Shirley Jackson |

CHANGED ME AS A PERSON. What a good fucking book. Jackson's wriiting style is to die for. WAY MORE lesbians than I expected.

The Book of Bill | Alex Hirsch |

Fantastic as expected. Great great graphic desing & writing.

AUGUST

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives | Frank Warren |

I've been a huge fan of the Postsecret project since I was intoduced to it in college, and I was delighted to find this at a used bookstore!! An amazing collection of secrets from strangers.

The Cats of Ulthar | H. P. Lovecraft |

Read for a Halloween Bookclub. Extra half star becuase I enjoyed the ending, losing a star becuase of who Lovecraft is as a whole person.

Mamo | Sas Milledge |

Beautiful, beautiful art. Charming little sapphic story.

SEPTEMBER

A Guest in the House | E. M. Carroll |

A thousand stars if I could!!! E. M. Carroll IS that bitch when it comes to spooky comics. I was so excited for this to come out and it did not dissapoint. On of their first longer form works, and it's brilliant.

Grog the Frog: The Book of Taurus | Alba BG |

Lovely art, fun characters, kind of haphazard plot. Still a fun ride!

A Frog in the Fall | Linnea Sterte |

Another graphic novel I've had my eye on for ages and did not dissapoint!!! A little froggie coming of age story about exploring the big scary world that isn't really so scary.

Radio Silence | Alice Oseman |

Even though I don't really like reading YA, I've been wanting to read an Oseman book for awhile becuase, let's face it, ace rep is few and far between. Really loved the platonic relationship between the two primary characters. The whole book felt very 2012 tumblr, a little nostalgic for me haha.

OCTOBER

Pulzella Gaia (Merry Maiden) | Anonymous |

This short 1800s arthurian story has everything you need..... a maiden who has a dragon form and fights knights undefeated all day? Yes freaking please. And of course Gawain, everyone;s favorite boy. A fun little story. (Note: The translation I read of this was an english fan-translation, so I'm going opff of that)

Gibbet Hill | Bram Stoker |

New Stoker short story dropping in the middle of spooky season? You know I had to read it. However... I can see why it wasn't popularized lmao.

NOVEMBER

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas | Ursula K. Le Guin |

UKLG never misses. Never. She can make more a staement in 30 pages than so many authors do with 300.

DECEMBER

Flatland | Edwin A. Abbott |

This has been on my list for ages, and I finally found it at a used book store. Total score. I really loved this one, though I wouldn't say it's for everyone.

Stealth (Star Wars) | Karen Miller |

Karen Miller understands the Anakin & Obi Wan dynamic like no one else. She fucking gets it. Only gripe is that now I need to get my hands on the second book, I didn't realzie it was a duology when I started.