#ellen klages

[lairn]

Book 20/24: The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages Rating: 4/5 A friend recommended this book after I told her I watched Oppenheimer. It's historical fiction following 10-year-olds Dewey Kerrigan and Suze Gordon as their (fictional) families move out to Los Alamos to develop the atomic bomb. Of course, the kids do not know exactly why they are there. Only that there's a "gadget" being built to "end the war."

It's definitely a middle grade/young adult book and spent the first 100 pages on setup for young readers, but I thought it picked up a lot after that. By the end it's very affecting. The tone is simultaneously somber and joyful as the book celebrates children learning, growing and making friends, but with a very dark backdrop. I got a little choked up at one part because the book made me care about the characters. The last chapter was an excellent encapsulation of people in a complex and horrible historic moment, living their own significant lives with comprehension of the global context looming like a mushroom cloud.

[artemismatchalatte]

Recently Read Books May-July 2023.

And The Mountains Echoed and The Yellow Birds were both for my grad class but the rest I chose myself. Most of these went towards my personal reading challenge for this year too.

The books pictured above:

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

The Appointed Hour by Susanne Davis

No one is Talking about This by Patricia Lockwood

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Care of by Ivan Coyote

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Lord John and The Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

Frankisstein by Jeanette Winterson

Grrrls on the Side by Carrie Pack

Vanessa & Virginia by Susan Sellers

I also read Edna O' Brien's The Lonely Girl and bell hooks' Feminism is for Everyone, neither are pictured here.

I'm currently reading Self Made Man by Norah Vincent.

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Someone in Time Anthology

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed RomanceAuthors: Nina Allen, Zen Cho, Rowan Coleman, Jeffrey Ford, Sarah Gailey, Theodora Goss, Elizabeth Hand, Alix E. Harrow, Ellen Klages, Lavanya Lakshimanarayan, Margo Lanagan, Seanan McGuire, Sam J. Miller, Sameem Sadiqui, Catherynne M. Valente, Carrie VaughnEditor: Jonathan StrahanPublisher: SolarisReleased: May 10, 2022Received: NetGalley Someone in…

[elliot-amy]

The Scary Ham

Ellen Klages

[trutletruffle]

so i read Passing Strange by Ellen Klages and it was really good quite enjoyed it. not only was it beautifully written and just gorgeous, but also something about what it is to live as a person who is not (or not quite) a woman but who is still defined by womanhood and in some ways always will be. about the balancing act between dragging yourself backwards and clawing forwards, how much can i degrade myself, how much of a show can i put on for people who care nothing for me so that i can carve out a place for myself. how much is worth it. and how even when you have worked so hard to build yourself a world where you can exist it is not enough.

[makingqueerhistory]

I’m actually serious about this, if at all possible, right now is a very good time to request queer books from your local library. Whether they get them or not is not in your control, but it is so important to show that there is a desire for queer books. I will also say getting more queer books in libraries and supporting queer authors are pretty fantastic byproducts of any action.

This isn’t something everyone can do, but please do see if you are one of the people who has the privilege to engage in this form of activism, and if you are, leverage that privilege for all you’re worth.

For anyone who can’t think of a queer book to request, here is a little list of some queer books that I think are underrated and might not be in circulation even at larger libraries:

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco     

Harvard's Secret Court: The Savage 1920 Purge of Campus Homosexuals by William Wright    

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley   

God Themselves by Jae Nichelle

IRL by Tommy Pico        

The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World's Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages             

The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom          

Queering the Tarot by Cassandra Snow              

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser

Queer Magic: Lgbt+ Spirituality and Culture from Around the World by Tomás Prower            

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam   

Beyond the Pale by Elana Dykewomon 

Hi Honey, I'm Homo! by Matt Baume      

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Homie: Poems by Danez Smith

The Secret Life of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw  

The Companion by E.E. Ottoman 

Kapaemahu by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu

Sacrament of Bodies by Romeo Oriogun     

Witching Moon by Poppy Woods 

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt    

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman    

Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist           

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi             

Peaches and Honey by Imogen Markwell-Tweed      

Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color by Christopher Soto

[oysters-aint-for-me]

books ive read so far in 2024

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers

A Closed and Common Orbit, by Becky Chambers

Record of a Spaceborn Few, by Becky Chambers (are you seeing a theme)

The House on the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

The Galaxy and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers

A Marvellous Light, by Freya Marske

A Restless Truth, by Freya Marske

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, by Becky Chambers

Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune

Affinity, by Sarah Waters

The City We Became, by NK Jemisin

A Power Unbound, by Freya Marske

Passing Strange, by Ellen Klages

The Fifth Season, by NK Jemisin

Witchmark, by CL Polk

The Obelisk Gate, by NK Jemisin

The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett

Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsin Muir

Winter’s Orbit, by Everina Maxwell

The Stone Sky, by NK Jemisin

Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo (5/27/24)

Light from Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki (5/31/24)

Tinkers, by Paul Harding (5/31/24)

Strong Motion, by Johnathan Franzen (6/6/24)

The Magpie Lord, by KJ Charles (6/10/24)

Trust, by Hernan Diaz (6/12/24)

The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller (6/16/24)

A Case of Possession, by KJ Charles (6/21/24)

Flight of Magpies, by KJ Charles (6/25/24)

Our Hideous Progeny, by CE McGill (6/27/24)

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin (6/28/24)

Ocean’s Echo, by Everina Maxwell (6/30/24)

Wolfsong, by TJ Klune (7/7/24)

The Broken Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin (7/10/24)

We Could Be So Good, by Cat Sebastian (7/12/24)

Ceremonial Time, by John Hanson Mitchell (7/12/24)

The Employees, by Olga Ravn (7/18/24)

Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen (7/19/24)

Ravensong, by TJ Klune (7/22/24)

Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (7/31/24)

The Candy House, by Jennifer Egan (8/3/24)

Remedial Magic, by Melissa Marr (8/4/24)

Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (8/8/24)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (8/14/24 or thereabouts, i was without wifi for a few days)

The Pairing, by Casey McQuiston (8/20/24 or thereabouts)

Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (again) (9/10/24)

Lightning Flowers, by Katherine E. Standefer (9/15/24)

Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (again) (9/23/24)

The Stars Too Fondly, by Emily Hamilton (9/27/24)

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (10/2/24)

Comedy Book, by Jesse David Fox (10/8/24)

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, by Ashley Herring Blake (10/14/24)

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, by Ashley Herring Blake (11/9/24)

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, by Ashley Herring Blake (11/19/24)

Hot Dog Girl, by Jennifer Dugan (11/25/24)

Nona the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (again) (11/30/24)

Melt with You, by Jennifer Dugan (12/1/24)

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (12/4/24)

Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir (again) (12/8/24)

Some Girls Do, by Jennifer Dugan (12/9/24)

(i only decided to start dating when i finished each book when i was like halfway thru the year oops)

[shark-myths]

do you have any book recs for books about girls that feel like girl out boy. i want to read about girls but i don't want to read about fall out boy yk

I love this question! I am constantly seeking for books that feel like Girl Out Boy because I want to live in that muggy girlspace at all times. These cut a wide swath of genres and probably only 2 of them are genuine read-alikes in tone; the rest share a headspace or ethos or were otherwise important in shaping that world. I would love to collect other peoples’ recommendations on this question, so please chime in!

Nonfiction:

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein

Any book by Melissa Febos

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers by Sady Doyle

The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic by Jessica Hopper

The Riot Grrrl Collection ed. by Lisa Darms

Fiction:

The Scapegracers series by H.A. / August Clarke—the most GOB thing I have ever read in my life!

Supper Club by Lara Williams

Anything Resembling Love by S. Qiouyi Lu

We Were Witches by Ariel Gore

It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

You Know I’m No Good by Jessie Ann Foley

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Girl Mans Up by M.E. Girard

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages

Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson

Comics:

Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Man-Eaters by Chelsea Cain

Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughn

Girl Town by Casey Nowak

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag

Okay, I'm stopping myself now, because this is clearly just becoming a "Book About Women Sharks Want You To Read". And I could go on, and on, and on. Please let me know if you read and like any! Reading and talking about reading are my favorite things in the world.

Go forth and read about girls!

[a-ramblinrose]

JOMP BPC || February 28 || Read In February:

While most of what I read this month was delightful, I read far less than I wanted too. My brain just refused to Focus. Sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles I guess. May my brain be kinder in March!

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 6 by Naoko Takeuchi ★★★★

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 1 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★ [RR]

Sunstone Vol. 2 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 3 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 4 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 5 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 6 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Sunstone Vol. 7 by Stjepan Šejić ★★★★

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton ★★★

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra ★★★★★

Lorehaven Bound: A Hunger Pangs Short by Joy Demorra ★★★★★ [K]

Crewel Intentions: A Hunger Pangs Short by Joy Demorra ★★★★★ [K]

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages ★★★

Marriage Poems edited by John Hollander ★★

[bookclub4m]

Episode 200 - Library Fiction

It’s episode 200, which means it’s (finally) time for us to discuss Library Fiction! We talk about the stereotypes and tropes of library fiction, unacknowledged work of library workers,and more. Plus: we talk way more about our actual jobs than we usually do.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray 🦇 | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges 

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries, and Lore by Paula Guran (below are direct links to many of the stories from this collection)

In the House of the Seven Librarians by Ellen Klages

In Libres by Elizabeth Bear

Those Who Watch by Ruthanna Emrys

Paper Cuts Scissors by Holly Black

Summer Reading by Ken Liu

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

With Tales in Their Teeth, From the Mountain They Came by A.C. Wise

The Librarian’s Dilemma by E. Saxey

The Green Book by Amal El-Mohtar

A Woman's Best Friend by Robert Reed

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu

The Sigma Structure Symphony by Gregory Benford

The Fort Moxie Branch by Jack McDevitt

The Last Librarian: Or a Short Account of the End of the World by Edoardo Albert

How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor 

Souls in the Great Machine by Sean McMullen

Other Media We Mentioned

The Library of Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Empty Crown by Rosemary Edghill 

Meghan meant The Abortion by Richard Brautigan (not Trout Fishing in America)

The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

Unshelved by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes

Library Comic by Gene Ambaum and Willow Payne

Welcome to Night Vale

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Episode 134 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Abbott Elementary

Pounded In The Butt By My Handsome Sentient Library Card Who Seems Otherworldly But In Reality Is Just A Natural Part Of The Priceless Resources Our Library System Provides by Chuck Tingle

My Librarian Is A Beautiful Lesbian Ice Cream Cone And She Tastes Amazing by Chuck Tingle

Party Girl

Public Enemy - Fight the Power

Fictional Librarians

50 Fictional Librarians, Ranked

Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Barbara Gordon (DC Comics)

The Librarian (Discworld)

Lucien (The Sandman)

Evelyn Carnahan (The Mummy)

Marian Paroo (The Music Man)

Librarians (Welcome to Night Vale)

“While their description is never fully given, minor details of their physical characteristics have been described:”

yellow, gnarled teeth

sharp claws and pincers

Wings

Tentacles

thousands of spiny legs

rattles (that make noise when they move)

thoraxes

Links, Articles, and Things

Two-Fisted Library Stories zines

North Boulder Library is ready to open (there’s a slide in image 6!)

15 Librarian & Library Fiction by POC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts

Cora's Kitchen by Kimberly Garrett Brown

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez 

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

The Plotters by Kim Un-Su

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

Bookhunter by Jason Shiga

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group or Discord Server, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, October 1st we’ll be getting ready for spooky season with the Weird West! (That’s Supernatural Horror Westerns)

Then on Tuesday, October 15th it’s time for our “We All Read the Same Book” episode as we discuss A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher.

[hagatha-christie]

YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS. OCTOBER READS

The bad:

Mistletoe and Mishigas by MA Wardell - I know this is not a visual medium so just imagine me rubbing my eyes and sighing extremely heavily. (1000% on me because I sought out something I knew I'd hate because I needed to channel my anxious energy to something. Also doing these lil writeups has made me realize how often I read something specifically because I'm anxious. Humiliating but unfortunately for all of us, true.)

The fine:

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages - this was so average I almost forgot what it was about. Would have made a much better short story!

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake - idk man. There's some stuff I loved in here and some stuff I didn't love but it's what I come to expect from romance novels which are (for me) average at best

Station Island by Seamus Heaney - king, this was not your fault, I am just too stupid to understand a lot of the historical and geographical references you made so it was hard for me to follow. It's me, not you!

The good:

Hyperboreal by Joan Naviyuk Kane - this was so beautiful and sparse and reminded me why I have always been so obsessed with the Arctic.

The Employees by Olga Ravn - strange and foreboding and told in a very interesting format!

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma - I like my short stories weird and emotional and she delivered. Could've been a little weirder but still very good!

The great:

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele - There's a story in here about a girl who steals her (ex)boyfriend's actual heart out of his body so he'll love her again and I just think that's fantastic.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - a reread that is honestly gonna be a forever favorite, though I do prefer the second one over this one!

Welcome to St. Hell by Lewis Hancox - I kept seeing this around and had zero interest in reading it until I saw an interview with the author saying a major source of his gender affirmation as a child was MTV's Jackass, at which point I checked to see if my library had it. Extremely funny and sweet.

The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich - I identified a little too closely with the surly cowboys and sheepherders who went months without speaking to anyone which I don't know how to feel about.

The President and the Frog by Carolina de Robertis - speaking of weird and emotional!!!!! look I do not feel great about the state of politics in the world in general right now and like I know it's fiction but this was really moving and I found quieted some of the dread I've been feeling about current affairs specifically. Favorite author status atp

Currently: slowly working my way through Unfortunately, It Was Paradise by Mahmoud Darwish, Selected Poems and Prose of Paul Celan, and The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Urusla K. LeGuin and also just started I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett

[artemismatchalatte]

Bonus Books for the Pinterest reading challenge- more 2023 TBRs!

[lavenderlemonrose]

I saw @jadelotusflower do this and thought it looked fun!

The last book I read: I'm in the middle of a CaPri reread, so technically the last book I read was Captive Prince by CS Pacat. Before that, though, I read this really niche middle grade called White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages that was the sequel to one of my favorite ever childhood books - it's a historical fiction about two girls whose parents are atomic scientists in the 1940s and it was fantastic.

A book I recommend: So, so many. I think rn I'm gonna have to say Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner, because I just finally got a copy of my own and I'm dying to reread it. It's blurbed as a "cult classic fantasy of manners", with bonus gay swordsmen, and I love it to death.

A book that I couldn't put down: Most recently, it was Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray, which I've been meaning to read for years and it did not disappoint. One of the best Star Wars books I've read in ages.

A book I've read twice (or more): I've read Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild every single summer for probably close to 15 years - it's about a family planning and putting on a pageant that steadily grows in scale as they go, set in 1945 England. It captures the atmosphere of preparing for a show so well, it makes my performer heart happy.

A book from my TBR: Just one?? There are so many (The Sunshine Court, House of Flame and Shadow, and Ghosts of the Shadow Market are a few notable, overdue ones). I am determined to get to the third Locke Lamora book, The Thorn of Emberlain, this summer - even though it'll mean I've caught up on all the Locke books that have been published.

A book I've put down: I'm trying to get better about DNFing, so I don't struggle through books for no good reason. Most recently was The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard, a histrom I had heard good things about but which ultimately contained scenes with dubious consent.

A book on my wish list: I'm gonna cheat and pick two - I'm dying to have a copy of Band Sinister by KJ Charles, which I absolutely loved a few months ago, and I cannot wait for Swordcrossed by Freya Marske to be released later this year.

A favorite book from childhood: I think I'd have to say The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall. It had everything I wanted in a book - an older sister, a rebellious girl, a writer, a mansion, a scene with pretty dresses, and lots of adventures I would never dream of having - and I read it countless times.

A book you would give to a friend: It would depend on the friend! For some reason the one that comes to mind is The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo - a slightly magical retelling of The Great Gatsby from a queer female perspective. It was under 300 pages, with a familiar story, but absolutely stunning writing.

The most books you own by a single author: It's probably Sarah J Maas. I have all 8 books in the Throne of Glass series, plus two duplicates, and then five others from various other series.

A nonfiction book you own: Sex Matters by Alyson J McGregor, about the dangers of the male-centric medical and pharmaceutical world.

What I'm currently reading: I've got a couple going rn - Prince's Gambit by CS Pacat, Emma by Jane Austen, and Gods & Monsters by Shelby Mahurin (via audiobook).

What I'm planning to read next: Kings Rising, obviously, and then probably Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong.

I'm not gonna tag anyone, but feel free to do this if you see it!!

[dserwer1]

Stevenson's army, July 23

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I plan to. Here’s good additional information from Fred Kaplan and New York magazine. I’ve read many books on the Manhattan Project and want to suggest 3 novels and one nonfiction about life in Los Alamos. Joseph Kanon wrote one. Ellen Klages another. TaraShea Nesbit’s is fun. And Jennet Conant’s nonfiction is revealing. The bulletin of the atomic scientists…