#ESPECIALLY book recs

[tulip-wizard]

i need to consume sapphic media.

[nedlittle]

apropos of nothing, here are some gay historical fiction novels that engage with historical queerness in thoughtful, complex, and interesting ways (organized chronologically)

hild by nicola griffith ↪ early 7th century england

a tip for the hangman by alison epstein ↪ 1585-1593 england

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg ↪ 1702-1724* england

the confessions of frannie langton by sara collins ↪ 1812-1826 jamaica to england

patience and sarah by isabel miller ↪ 1816 america

devotion by hannah kent ↪ 1830s prussia to australia

the sweetness of water by nathan harris ↪ 1865 america

whiskey when we're dry by john larison ↪ 1885 america

the city of palaces by michael nava ↪ 1897-1913 mexico

tipping the velvet by sarah waters ↪ 1890s england

at swim, two boys by jamie o'neill ↪ 1915-1916 ireland

the gods of tango by caro de robertis ↪ 1913-1920s argentina

uncommon charm by emily bergslien and kat weaver ↪ 1920s america

the book of salt by monique truong ↪ 1930s vietnam to paris

the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay by michael chabon ↪ 1939-1954 america and beyond

the flight portfolio by julie orringer ↪ 1940 france

the savage kind by john copenhaver ↪ 1940s america

a thin bright line by lucy jane bledsoe ↪ 1950s america

*this one has a framing device and footnotes from the present day but the bulk of the story is set in the early 1700s

[exdeputysonso]

Excerpts from Child's Play: A Visual Memoir

[hood-ex]

@mysterycitrus dude I didn't even realize I was reading your fic until Dick picked up an elephant from Jason's altar.

Btw, I thoroughly enjoyed how Dick verbally flayed Jason alive.

"So, let's go kill the Joker, then."

And Jason being flabbergasted by the suggestion lmao.

[up-in-flames-writing]

In lieu of Stuff Your Kindle day, can we talk about the issue of how the m/m genre of books, romance or not, is almost entirely dominated by women? Can we talk about how the most recognisable gay couples in media are written by women? Can we talk about how queer men can't even write about ourselves, how we are only allowed to exist when it's from the point of view of a straight woman sexualising us?

Can we talk about that? Or am I going to get called misogynistic for pointing out the disparity between who gets the writing deals, & who gets their books turned into movies, & whose shit gets popular versus whose doesn't? Can we talk about how m/m fiction is only allowed when it appeals to a cishet gaze, or is that too much for tumblr to take?

Can we also talk about how trans queer men are even more hated by publishing? Can we talk about how we get shit from both sides? Can we talk about how books about the experiences of being a queer man, written by queer men, never get the same recognition as books written by women on this subject (barring academia which has its own problems)?

Can we talk about that? Can we?

[sharkneto]

Do I have books in my tbr list? Yes. Do I want more? Also yes. Hit me with anything good you've read recently!

[timelesslords]

If you like the post-apocalyptic and worldbuilding and religious deconstruction and found family aspects of tlou I am B E G G I N G you to read parable of the sower by Octavia E. Butler it’s so good you will not regret it I promise

[eclecticopposition]

seeing personality disorder discussion on the dashboard. the impulse to share all the self-therapy books and tools we have has never been stronger

[oldtvandcomics]

Book Shout-outs for Pride Month #1:

Ever wanted a series of lesbian superhero romances, all stand-alone, but set in the same universe and building off of each other (think Phase 1 MCU)?

Hearts of Heroes series by Molly J. Bragg. They're more romance than superheroes, but once you know what to expect it's GREAT.

Scatter is about a US Deputy Marshal who gets promoted to work with the team around the superhero Focus. From the first moment on, there is something strange between her and Focus, but only when she accidentally time travels back to the early 90's begins she to realize that she may be Focus' mysterious long-lost partner, Scatter.

Transistor is about a woman who gains superpowers because the doctors forget to deactivate the supercomputer used in her gender-affirming surgery. It only really becomes an issue when an angry angel comes after her neighbour and long-term crush, very determined to kill her.

Aether has a disabled protagonist, who dies when the building blows up during an experiment. Luckily for her, her consciousness gets somehow preserved, and she gains extremely strong powers. Now she just has to stop the guy who caused the accident from doing it again...

Rhapsody isn't out yet, but based on the summary, it is going to go more into the dragon side of the lore.

[eileen-crys]

I just finished reading Shadecursed • The Bestiary book one by the super talented @chaoskirin and trust me, I'm dead serious:

Y'all must read it as well.

It tells the story of a quartet of friends, each uniquely shaped and with their own quirks, who find themselves at the center of a world-changing divine plan... without really knowing how to deal with it 😅

If you're a Queen fan, Meadow, Luka, Ptery and Benji's looks and personalities might seem awfully familiar, but they're also perfectly written original characters that have a life on their own, and the similarities with Queen become just a delightful extra treat without taking anything out of the immersion. The worldbuilding mixes Fantasy and magic with modern technology and it's very creative, cured in deep detail, but also not hard to understand. I adore also how the non-human/half-human characters move around, never forgetting wings, tails, hooves, ears...

Mind you, this is not a book for children, and touches deep themes like past traumas, violence, racism and disability with depth and care, with some tints of horror when necessary. The four protagonists' friendship is wonderful, in its ups and downs as they learn to love each other during hard times.

The story and dialogues are incredibly engaging, sometimes very funny but also very deep and introspective in a perfect balance *chef's kiss*. It's seriously a delightful book that deserves more recognition and love!

(^^^ art by Sherbies, with the main characters -left to right- Benji, Luka, Meadow and Ptery.)

You can find it on Amazon as Ebook and physical copy! But if you're in difficulty, Aeryn has offered to give the digital book for free, just be sure to leave a review anyway! 💕💕💕

[dumbbullet]

if you are a creator of any kind I would highly encourage picking up "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin the next time you see it in a bookstore

I haven't been able to read a book in YEARS and this thing has me annotating like some sort of book pervert

[acotars]

i think i'll do 30 days of romance novels this april again so if you have any recs, please send them my way! anything goes but i'm not a fan of billionaire/mafia/macho man content so bonus points for soft mmcs, queer recs (of all kinds!), and underrated faves.

[lesquatrechevrons]

45, 34, 50, 11 and 27 for the books and reading ask meme please :D

Thank you so much for the ask, and so many questions!! ヽ(o＾▽＾o)ノ woohoo!!!!!! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ It got a bit long... hope it's ok! ^.^"

(questions are from Books and Reading Ask Meme)

45. Do you use a bookmark?

I mostly read digital!! (I have... so many apps and tabs and!) *waves hands apologetically* (what moving too often does to a mf). but the few times I do read physical... if the book is mine... I dog hear the corners. :') If the book is not mine, I try to remember the page number!

34. Quick - what is the closest book to you right now?

I'm by my work desk, so I have a bunch of illustrated stuff: Natsu no Ichinichi (a summer's day) by Koshiro Hata; look how pretty the art inside is (image from the French amazon edition)!

50. What was the last book to make you cry?

It was a fanfic!! Little Sharp Toothed Privates by Moxibustion! The fit does a wonderful job to take crack seriously so that when the tension ramps up it hits you sideways with the reality that it's still very much Star Wars and yannow there are wars in these stars. (so good! I will comment as soon as I find words again!!)

11. What book(s) have you read more than once?

Oh, I love (l o v e) urban fantasy/paranormal and I love competent characters (like yes, please info dump on all the niche stuff you know), so I have reread Wild Fire by Ilona Andrews quite a lot. My favourite part is the heroine grappling with what it means to have power, yield it, and how you will terrify some and loved by others. IA does a good job in having queer characters in all their series (in relationships and not, both as allies and as part of the inner circle so to speak) I just hope one day we'll get them as protagonists!

Fanfic wise, I'll give you 2:

edge of providence by adiduck, whimsical images (jangobi, fix-it, clone centric & huge cast) a lot (Clones getting a CHILDHOOD! And many other things!!)

those who can by K_R_Closson (educorps f!Obi-wan x Alpha-17, fix-it, clone culture by the kazoo) ... and I can't count the amount of times I've reread it. Their dynamic is so good!!! not for the faint of heart though! (emotionally speaking I guess??)

27. Do you write in your books?

On physical books, not really! I used to spill and stain them (smuggling books to school lol) as a kid, but in digital I am a serial highlighter (I have 2 file copies of I Got My Head Checked by frostbitebakery because one is so highlighted/annotated it's unreadable... I want to devour it, it's that good).

Thank you again for your questions!!!! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡

[ashintheairlikesnow]

hey hi! I remember you're interested in cults and so i had a book recommendation! unfortunately it is written by j. k. Rowling, who we all know to be a terrible person, but her most recent book in the Robert Galbraith (pen name) Cormoran Strike series, The Running Grave, does have detailed and interesting depictions of intense indoctrination and cults in it for a lot of the book, as one of the main characters go undercover. I absolutely dont suggest support j.k. and I know u wouldnt, I deal with my conscience by getting it from the library and side eyeing any underlying opinions in her books. but I thought you might be interested because it is, I think, a scary and interesting portrayal of a fictitious cult and I'd be interested in your thoughts. :)

<3

I don't know that I'll read it, to be honest, Anon - even before she threw herself headfirst into the TERF volcano her writing style didn't always resonate with me - but I do like the idea of cults in fiction in general! Thanks for the rec.

Also, since I think her adult books tend to be mysteries, please let me recommend a totally unrelated author/series that I love:

Firewatching, Nighthawking, and Cold Reckoning by Russ Thomas.

The series all focuses on the same main character, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler. Includes some really fun twists and turns, Adam Tyler being a dry sarcastic bastard, some sweet queer love moments undercut by Adam's way of never quite being able to give his lovers back what they gave to him, and an overarching mystery that only slowly reveals itself through the stories, book by book.

I've already preordered the next book in the series for when it's released, and all three published ones have a place of honor in my shelf (next to @whump-tr0pes's Honor Bound books I've bought so far, actually).

EDIT: Literally just realized it's available in the US now I think! I need to double-check my delivery date.

EDIT EDIT: Yesssssss it's coming on sunday

[shazleen]

Hi! I just wanted to pop in here and tell you that your webcomic BUUZA!! was one of the first ones I read and one that I hold really dear to my heart. After reading it for the first time a few years ago I realized how much I love fantasy and fiction based in non-western settings. Though I don't read comics/graphic novels often anymore, I wanted to thank you for creating such an amazing world and characters ❤

Hey!

Thank you so much for enjoying Buuza!! ;w; that means a lot to me!!

I hope even though you don't read comics as much now, you have found lots of other fantasy media that centres black, asian and global majority voices :)

[oliveroctavius]

To reply to this without cluttering up someone else's reblogs:

I DEFINITELY have my issues with Alan Moore, but that quote has been taken widely out of context to fuel the anger machine. In context, this is commentary on the modern mass-media superhero movie, specifically how far it is from its working-class Jewish roots:

Today’s franchised übermenschen, aimed at a supposedly adult audience, seem to be serving some kind of different function, and fulfilling different needs. [...] The superheroes themselves – largely written and drawn by creators who have never stood up for their own rights against the companies that employ them, much less the rights of a Jack Kirby or Jerry Siegel or Joe Schuster – would seem to be largely employed as cowardice compensators, perhaps a bit like the handgun on the nightstand. I would also remark that save for a smattering of non-white characters (and non-white creators) these books and these iconic characters are still very much white supremacist dreams of the master race.

This is a legitimate criticism of popular superheroes, even early on. An example relevant to this quote: Alan Moore grew up with Marvelman, Britain's homegrown 1950s stand-in for Captain Marvel. Some pretty visible choices were made about who could be superhuman in their version of this story.

Not obvious from this image: Freddy Freeman (left image, in blue) was the one Marvel Family member with a Jewish co-creator (Mac Raboy). He was a disabled boy with a very personal vendetta against the Nazis who had targeted him and his grandfather. All this was left out of his (fully abled) Marvelman counterpart. But even Captain Marvel was a version of Superman made marketable by filing down the anti-establishment edges! (Unlike early Supes, Cap would never talk back to a cop.) All three publishers used racial caricatures in their stories.

All this buries the lede: Mick Anglo, creator of the Marvelman Family, was also Jewish. I don't know why he made the choices he did.

The initial image in the post you commented on is from "Superman is Jewish? How comic book superheroes came to serve truth, justice, and the Jewish-American way" by Harry Brod. It's available on archive.org and while it's ultimately a celebration of Jewish contributions to comics, it touches on a lot of these points: the popular re-capture of the underdog's dreams of righteous violence, the "de-Jewification" of superheroes in the modern movie imagination, and the idea that not all art created by [identity] people will actually express that identity, especially when writing into a different dominant culture.

Alan Moore can be dismissive of the Jewish histories to superheroism, but I don't want to throw out his argument--white supremacy has sunk its hooks deep into the genre's imagery since Siegel and Shuster put pen to paper.