#Dorothy Gillman

[dabblingreturns]

Sometimes you go back an reread a story you listened too as a child to see if it holds up

Some times it doesn't (digimon) but sometimes its better as an adult

As for example Dorothy Gillman's 1975 mystery A Nun in the Closet

Just a warning as a go on to recommend.

Despite the title, this book contains no explicit Gayness. :-(

What this actually contain incudes: clergypeople, burnt out 20 somethings, migrant workers, organized crime including, but not limited to the Sherrifs department, and lots of small town white people....

Its funny, entertaining, smart and 25 years years ago it introduced me to Cocain as a street drug.

Most of all Dorothy Gillan stories are very much if thier time....but they are also smart, and funny, and above all, kind.

This book is suitable of maybe ages 10 and up, though the kids may need wikipedia for further research on topics like Watergate.

It's also free at your local liberal or with a audible membership.

Anyways. If you are sad and bored but want to be happy and amused.

I highly recommend

[werewolfetone]

Informative post masterpost

Romanticism

General:

"Who were the Romantics?" (WARNING: the links on this post are broken)

"Sources for the First Gen of Romantics"

"Where should I get started with the Romantics"

First gen:

"The epic breakup of Wordsworth and Coleridge"

"The Spy Nozy Incident"

"Who was Dorothy Wordsworth"

"Coleridge and the Italian opera singer"

"Who was Asra/Sara Hutchison"

"The writing of Kubla Khan"

"The Gillman family"

"Top ten reasons you should hate Robert Southey"

"Coleridge live slug reaction"

"Sources for Wordsworth and Coleridge"

Second gen:

"Why do you hate William Godwin"

Regency politics

"Canning and Castlereagh's duel" (more of a fun post but I'm including it anyway)

[biandlesbianliterature]

The Books That Defined My Decade

The 2010s are over, and in my latest Book Riot video (did you know I make videos weekly on that channel now?), I wanted to reflect back on my decade in reading. I picked a favourite book of each year, as well as a whole bunch of runners-up. Of course, most of them are bi or lesbian. Below are all the books mentioned and my reviews. Non-Lesbrary books are crossed out.

Titles have an Amazon Affiliate link: if you click through and buy something, I get a small percentage.

2010:

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (review and discussion)

Two or Three Things I Know For Sure by Dorothy Allison (review)

2011:

Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue (review)

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

2012:

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (review)

Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy (review)

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery (review)

2013-2019 under the read more:

2013:

Nevada by Imogen Binnie (review)

The Collection edited by Tom Leger and Riley Macleod (review)

Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)

The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernan (review)

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)

2014:

Tamora Pierce, including the Circle of Magic series (review)

Adaptation (review) and Inheritance by Malinda Lo (review)

Prairie Ostrich by Tamai Kobayashi (review)

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

2015:

Bodymap by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha (review)

The Truth About Stories by Thomas King

Falling In Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie (review)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (review)

Beloved by Toni Morrison

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Sailor Moon manga

2016:

Sexual Fluidity by Lisa Diamond (review)

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (review)

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai (review)

2017:

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review)

Hunger by Roxane Gay (review)

2018:

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (review)

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (review)

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)

Space Battle Lunchtime by Natalie Riess (review)

2019:

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (review)

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

This Is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow (review)

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (review)

Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene

[dolphelecat]

Tag, You’re It!

Rules: Answer the five questions then tag nine people you wanna get to know better.

I was tagged by @goodtobealunatic.  Thanks!!

Ships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Crowley/Aziraphale, Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Shizuru Fujino (Viola)/Natsuki Kuga (Kruger), Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Beatrice/Benedick, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Jean Pargetter/Lionel Hardcastle, Taako/Kravitz, Viktor Nikiforov/Yuuri Katsuki, Ginny Weasley/Parvati Patil, Emily Pollifax/Graham O’Brien off the top of my head

Last Song: Always Gold by Radical Face

Food you’re craving:  Buffalo Wild Wings’ mango habanero sauce with their potato wedges to dip in it.

Currently reading: Lots of fanfiction.  I think the last book book I read was Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gillman.  

Last movie: Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

Tagging: Feeling too lazy to tag properly.  If you see this, consider yourself tagged!  I mean you!

[nenya85]

Top Ten Fictional Ladies

I was tagged by @ariasune – Thank you!  I’m sorry it took me so long to reply!

I wasn’t sure how to answer, but I decided to give a quote by or about each character that sums up who they are or why I love them.  I also had a hard time thinking of what order to put them in, then realized the characters were all at different stages of their lives so I put them in age order.  (Well, Sophie of Howl’s Moving Castle could have gone either towards the beginning, but given the quote, I put her at the end.)

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

“Honestly, am I the only person who’s ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?”

Meg Murry, A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle

Meg, I give you your faults." "My faults!" Meg cried. "Your faults." "But I'm always trying to get rid of my faults!" "Yes," Mrs. Whatsit said. "However, I think you'll find they'll come in very handy.”

Catherine Norwood, Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Had she been older or vainer, such attacks might have done little; but, where youth and diffidence are united, it requires uncommon steadiness of reason to resist the attraction of being called the most charming girl in the world, and of being so very early engaged as a partner.

Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

"His pride," said Miss Lucas, "does not offend me so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a right to be proud." "That is very true," replied Elizabeth, "and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine."

Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

“Always resignation and acceptance. Always prudence and honour and duty. Elinor, where is your heart?”

Amanda Jones, The Tightrope Walker, Dorothy Gillman

“Sometimes I think we’re all tightrope walkers suspended on a wire 2,000 feet in the air, and so long as we never look down, we’re okay, but some of us lose momentum and look down for a second and are never quite the same again: we know.”

Éowyn, Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

“Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye." A sword rang as it was drawn. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may." "Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!" Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn, I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin.  Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

Riza Hawkeye, Full Metal Alchemist/Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Hiromu Arakawa

“You’re useless in the rain, sir.”

Molly Grue, The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

“And what good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago, ten years ago? How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this?" With a flap of her hand she summed herself up: barren face, desert eyes, and yellowing heart. "I wish you had never come. Why did you come now?" The tears began to slide down the sides of her nose.

Sophie, Howl’s Moving Castle, Book: Diana Wynne Jones, Movie: Hayao Miyazaki

“When you're old, all you want to do is stare at the scenery. It's so strange. I've never felt so peaceful before.”

And a Depression era screwball comedy addition, because how could I resist?

Clarissa Saunders, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Director Frank Capra

“Look, when I came here, my eyes were big blue question marks. Now, they're big green dollar marks.”

I didn’t tag anyone because I know December is such a busy month – but please answer if you have time and want to!  It’s a lot of fun!

[dabblingreturns]

So I was relistening to the Mrs Polifax series again by Dorothy Gillman. And this time i was struck by Mrs polifax's lack of comment on the late Mr. Virgle Polifax.

Because they were married for years and raised two children together. Buy she goes books without mentioning him.

I'm lucky enough to only have a handful of people to greaves.

But when you love someone and go out into the world and see things. You find yourself going, "so and so would love this."

And after they die, you don't stop going, "so and so would love this" you see things, hear this, and remember your loved ones joy, sometimes it comes from a large pair of sunglasses, or a funny bit of malicious compliance, or a cookie, or a new fact.

And you thing about thier smile, and thier joy.

And Ms. Pollifax travels though 5 countinents and never sees a thing that re minds her of Virgle. And that's so very damning to me.

After i finished the last book I listened to an interview with Dorothy Gillman and I learned that she wrote the first Mrs pollifax book right after her divorce.

And Mrs pollifax is a widow, not a divorcee....but I think that says more about a no-fault divorce accessibility in mid century America than it does about Mrs pollifax "love" for Virgil.

[biandlesbianliterature]

This is part 3 of 3 of the bi and lesbian books that I’ve read and loved! Click here to see the full list at the Lesbrary.

If you like what we do here and want to see more of it, buy us a coffee on ko-fi, or support this tumblr & the Lesbrary on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

Romance & Erotica:

Rescued Heart by Georgia Beers (review)

My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris(review)

A Pirate’s Heart by Catherine Friend (review)

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman (review)

Roller Girl by Vanessa North (review)

The Long Way Home by Rachel Spangler (review)

Macho Sluts by Patrick Califia (review)

Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica edited by Sinclair Sexsmith (review)

Comics:

Heathen, Volume 1 by Natasha Alterici (review)

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (review)

The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars by Michael Dante DiMartino

Motor Crush Vol 1 by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr (review)

Darlin’ It’s Betta Down Where It’s Wetta by Megan Rose Gedris (review)

Spectacle Vol. 1 by Megan Rose Gedris

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (review)

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley (review)

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (review)

Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson (Author) and Brittney Williams (illustrator) (review) (as well as Vol 2 and Vol 3)

100 Crushes by Elisha Lim (review)

Girl Friends: The Complete Collection by Milk Morinaga (review of volume 1, review of volume 2)

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata

Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review)

On Loving Women by Diane Obomsawin (review)

Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill (review)

Space Battle Lunchtime Volumes 1 & 2 by Natalie Riess (review)

America Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Gabby Rivera

Revolutionary Girl Utena manga by Chiho Saito (review)

Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters (review)

Supermutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (review)

Jem and the Holograms by Kelly Thompson and Sophia Campbell

Heavy Vinyl, Volume 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva (review)

Citrus, Vols 1-3 by Saburo Uta (review)

Charm School Book One: Magical Witch Girl Bunny by Elizabeth Watasin (review)

Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Vols. 1-3 by Jeremy Whitley (review)

War of Streets and Houses by Sophie Yanow (review)

↓ Click through for Memoirs and Nonfiction! ↓

Memoirs/Biographies:

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison (review)

The Family Tooth by Ellis Avery (review)

When We Were Outlaws by Jeanne Cordova (review)

Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote (review)

Hunger by Roxane Gay (review)

Prairie Silence by Melanie Hoffert (review)

First Spring Grass Fire by Rae Spoon (review)

Gender Failure by Rae Spoon & Ivan E. Coyote (review)

Before the Rain: A Memoir of Love & Revolution by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa (review)

Licking the Spoon: A Memoir of Food, Family and Identity by Candace Walsh (review)

Nonfiction:

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker, illustrated by Julia Scheele (review)

Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme edited by Ivan Coyote and Zena Sharman (review)

Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire by Lisa M. Diamond (review)

Inseparable: Desire Between Women In Literature by Emma Donoghue (review)

Queers Dig Time Lords edited by Sigrid Ellis and Michael Damian Thomas (review)

Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer

The ABCs of LGBT+ by Ash Hardell (review)

Kicked Out edited by Sassafras Lowrey (review)

The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman (review)

Dear John, I Love Jane edited by Candace Walsh and Laura Andre (review)

If you like what we do here and want to see more of it, buy us a coffee on ko-fi, or support this tumblr & the Lesbrary on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

This is only part three of the list! Click here to see the entire list at the Lesbrary, or check out Part 1: Fiction & Poetry, and Part 2: Young Adult, SFF, and Horror.