March Reading Wrap Up

In the month of March, there was one item which links a couple of key moments: my new bus stress ball.

One of these moments was the latest staff training day at my workplace. There is a lot of stigma in the wider world around fidgets to help concentration, but this is not the case at the library where I work. At a previous training day I attended, fidgets were encouraged for those who needed them, but I did not bring anything with me or felt like I should need these supports; I had internalised the neurotypical ideas about how fidgets are a distraction and are childish. That day I ended up having a meltdown during the lunch hour when everything had got to much.

So, this time around, I knew I would need to approach the day differently, and I took a new fidget – my bus stress ball - with me to give it a go. And it really helped. I was happier throughout the day, and I got more out of each of the sessions. Experiencing the benefit of having a fidget help me get through this training day felt quite revolutionary. Through my exploration of autism and how it affects me, I had already discovered that thoughts come to me more easily while I’m stimming, walking or doing something with someone rather than sitting and/or being face to face, but using fidget toys for concentration in a professional context had continued to feel wrong. But now I know they do help me and that the stigma around fidgets is harmful in suggesting that these “toys” can’t possibly help anyone (something that is based on a neurotypical experience).

I purchased this bus stress ball earlier in the month at the gift shop at Westminster Abbey, of all places. My best friend is in the progress of doing a pilgrimage between the two burial sites of Thomas Hardy, an author who means a lot to her and her story. So, I was honoured when she wanted me to be there at the start of her journey and visit Westminster Abbey together.

It was a wonderful day! Westminster Abbey is not an attraction I think I would ever choose to go to myself, but it was made exciting by my friend’s enthusiasm. I also bumped into an old colleague who now works there, which was a fun moment. And then, near the end of our visit, in the gift shop there was this bus stress ball which I picked up simply to investigate and ended up playing with for a few minutes. My friend, who also knows I am a huge fan of London buses, noticed my attention being captured by this fidget and was encouraging when I then wanted to buy it. The toy now sits with some other bus models and items on the top of my bookcase and already has a lot of history and meaning for me.

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The books I’ve read this month are…

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (reread)
This is the fourth and final book in the Wayfarer series which, for me, are all 5-star books. This one follows a group of strangers who are isolated together on a service station planet when the satellite system goes down and all ships are grounded. Over a few days, they get to know each other including where each of them is travelling to. Unlikely friendships form, prejudices are faced head-on, and they are all better people because of the experience.
I continue to admire Chambers' imagination and ability to create unique species in her sci-fi books, and not just humanoid variants. She also has a skill for effortlessly weaving queer and diverse identities and experiences into her stories which I love!
I originally ordered this physical copy of The Galaxy and the Ground Within two years ago, but couldnt wait to read it and in the time it took to be delivered, I'd read it as an ebook. It's nice to have now read the copy that sits on my shelf.
"The only thing that mattered was that [everyone] felt welcome. And if they didn't, well, then she'd figure out why not, and give it another go"

Revolution: The Rise of Arteta's Arsenal by Charles Watts ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I first got into football during the 2018 World Cup. I was stuck in hospital at the time and ended up watching all of England's games, including the team's successful penalty shoot out against Colombia which I insisted on following even while being transferred between hospitals for surgery. I got really into it, and later would re-live that summer by going to see Dear England at the National Theatre years after - the most magical theatre experience I've ever had.
I then became an Arsenal fan due to a friend at university. Arteta's first game in charge in December 2019 was the first football match since the World Cup that I watched with enthusiasm, and I have followed this team ever since.
Revolution, like Dear England, allowed me to re-live the highs and lows football has provided me. Watt's writing was easy to follow and enjoyable, but, unlike Dear England, was nothing standout.
I was gifted the book by a fellow football-loving relative. It is a record of Arsenal's successes (FA Cup win; PL improvement; team sprirt) and challenges (Covid) during Arteta's era at the club up to 2024, all through the words of football journalist, Charles Watts. I'm glad to have read it, particularly in a time when Arsenal are still doing so well.
"I hope [...] that the next few years bring us all plenty of reasons to smile"

Lord of the Empty Isles by Jules Arbeaux ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book centres found family and the many types of connections - "tethers" in this magical system - people can have. The book is also about grief, hate, revenge, and whether it's ever right to make sacrifices for the greater good.
Idrian Delaciel is known as a space pirate and is someone our narrator, Remy, idolised as a kid. But then Remy's brother dies by withering, and Remy knows it was Idrian who ordered his death.
We join the story five years after Remy's loss when he, as a witherer himself, casts the same fate on Idrian. However, the curse affects him too, and Remy, alongside their close friend Tirani, need to find Idrian to work out what happened and save himself from this fate.
When they join Idrian's crew, they realise that the death of someone - even someone who did seemingly a bad thing - affects more than that one person and can have repercussions. Remy also discovers there is a lot more going on in his world than he realises and teams up with Idrian against these inhumanities.
I found this story hard to get into at first. It felt as if we were meant to be behind Remy's actions and have revelations at the same time as him, but I didn't like him and, for the first stretch, was always ahead of the narrative voice.
But it really picked up pace around chapters 8/9. All the characters had real depth, and I liked the exploration of nuanced morals and difficult decisions that needed to be made along the way.
Warning: There are some really hard hitting scenes with multiple horrors described and devastating moments (particularly on the Empty Isles, isolated moon prisons being starved of air and other resources)
When I was writing up my notes ahead of book club, I actually forgot that there was ace rep in the story. It is minor, but very early on, Remy says their answer to the question of attraction has always been "none."