#jenn northington

[queer-ragnelle]

im not sure if you take suggestions for your retellings list, but have you heard of sword stone table, an anthology edited by swapana krisgna and jenn northington? it came out in 2021 and it's one of my favorites, but not very popular

Hi!

I've added this to my retelling list with a link for everyone to read the preview on google books. Thanks for the suggestion!

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined

Edited by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams.

[qbdatabase]

Daily Book - Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices

Sword Stone Table ed. Swapna Krishna, Jenn Northington Adult Fantasy / Fiction, 2021, 480 pg North African Muslim; gay male; albino Ugandan female; lesbian female x wlw female; Native American male; Thai gay male; Anishinaabe; black Malaysian-American; Latinx; bisexual; gay male, British-Indian gay male; Mexican; gay male x Hindu gay male Featuring stories by a bestselling, cross-genre assortment of the most exciting writers working today, an anthology of gender-bent, race-bent, LGBTQIA+, and inclusive retellings from the vast lore surrounding King Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.

[mosswolf]

reading summary - march

vespertine, by margaret rogerson: i really enjoyed this one, YA but no romance, about a horrible fucked up little death nun who gets possessed by a bitchy ghost and becomes a joan of arc figure in a fantasy french setting. whats not to like really

river of teeth, by sarah gailey: this one's like alternate history lousiana, usa, with hippo cowboys. the concept fucks, but i was definitely hoping for more mystery than this novella had, possibly due to it being a novella? but if you like fantasy cowboys u gotta check this one out

sword, stone, table: old legends, new voices, edited by jenn northington and swapna krishna: LOVED this anthology, lots of really interesting retellings of arthuriana. my favourite was flat white by jessica plummer which is about elaine who works at a coffeeshop and gets tangled up with regular customers lancelot/arthur/guinevere in a messy codependant poly situation and i genuinely think about it such a lot. really really well written,,,

lorehaven bound by joy demorra: love ursula cant wait to see more ursula!!

the starfang trilogy by joy chng: hugely let down by these. theyre about werewolf clans in space which sounds great but they were super nothingy when it came to the main plot, had a really random cousin incest thing and a really weird attitude towards drug addiction? finished the trilogy because theyre all really short and feel super incomplete alone, but man. what a disappointment

clockwork boys & the wonder engine by t kingfisher: these were really fun, you can definitely tell that theyre earlier books than the saint of steel series but still lots to enjoy. the end of wonder engine had me screeching

swordheart by t kingfisher: wasnt as immediately engaged with this one because theres no paladins..... but i listened to this audiobook on a long coach ride basically all in one go and it was extremely solid in a very familiar and comforting way.

guides for dating vampires 0.5, 1, 1.1, 1.2, by d.n bryn: predictable in a very soothing way, loved vincent as a character

the dawnhounds, sascha stronach: very discworldy, but if discworld was biopunk and way more specifically about autonomy. i was also hoping for more of a mystery or central plot from this one, it felt quite scattered, but the concepts were super cool.

atomic awakening by james mahaffey: read this for uni, and it SUCKED. i always forget that people think that nuclear weapons are cool and that the usa is good. why.

gathering moss: a natural and cultural history of mosses by robin wall kimmerer: this was really interesting, and robin wall kimmerer reads her own audiobooks and her reading is super relaxing to listen to as well

consort of fire by kit rocha: this was about dragons and magic and poly romance and stuff but i dont know, i didnt really like it. just didnt really ever grab me despite the subject theoretically being exactly my thing

dirty strays 1 & 2 by riley nash: okay i picked these up because the description starts like this "We’re lost boys, wild and forgotten. Born into a world of poverty and crime, my two best friends and I have nothing to rely on except each other. But I have a plan: if I can film viral BDSM porn" and it carries on but THAT WAS SO HILARIOUS TO MEEEE LIKE BRO REALLY WENT THERE INSTANTLY. DIDNT CONSIDER ANYTHING ELSE FIRST. but yes theyre EXTREMELY horny and also i really liked them especially the first one. a fucked up family of fucked up people, semi verbal mc, they get a dog. really endearing in a strange kind of way

how to do nothing by jenny odell: this was okay, nothing lifechanging and i'd read a lot of the books that are quoted already, so i kind of felt i already got the gist

[tardis-stowaway]

Books I read in 2023

I completely fell down on keeping track of books I read this year as I went, but I decided to try listing my 2023 reading as best as I can remember so I have some record of it. This list includes middle grade, YA, and graphic novels, but not picture books (I have to read a lot of those for professional purposes) or fanfic. Text categories include both print and eBooks. They're alphabetical by author within each section.

New Reads: text

Adult -Borderline by Mishell Baker -Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold -Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold -Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher -The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher -The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune -The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal -Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices. Edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington -My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine -A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske -Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston -Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse -Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims -Witch King by Martha Wells

YA -Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Booth (graphic novel) -In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan -Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton -Nimona by ND Stevenson (graphic novel)

Middle Grade -The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle by Shawn K. Stout -The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud -Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith (graphic novel)

New reads: audio -Bad Cree by Jessica Johns -Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle -Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Rereads: text -Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire -A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire -An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire -I reread several Murderbot Diaries books at some point within the past year and a half, but I really can’t recall if it was 2022 or 2023.

Rereads: audio -Dracula by Bram Stoker (as performed in Re: Dracula. It may be a podcast but it had the full-length novel text so I'm counting it)

My favorites of the new reads were probably Nettle and Bone, The Hollow Places, Nimona, and In Other Lands. Yes, that's two T. Kingfisher books in my top four. This was my first time reading her books, but I will definitely be seeking out more; she's fantastic. Weirdly, I don't think I read a single nonfiction book this year, which is something I'd like to change next year.

Any of these you're interested in and want to know more about? Or any here you've read and want to chat about? Any books you loved this year that you want to shout about?

[paulsemel]

In the new short story anthology "For The Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined," writers Sarah Gailey, Valerie Valdes, Susan Purr and others put a gender-bent, queered, race-bent, and inclusive take on those ancient tales. I spoke to editors Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams to find out how this came to be. 📖🇬🇷

[sheshallfromtimetotime]

It's that time of year again - book list season! My only goal was to read more than I did last year, and I did that. Asterisk denotes a reread.

Siren Queen – Nghi Vo (audio)

Gideon the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir

The Kaiju Preservation Society – John Scalzi

The Complete Maus – Art Spiegelman

Chivalry – Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran

The Goblin Emperor – Katherine Addison

The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley

We Could Be So Good – Cat Sebastian

Wrapped Up In You – Talia Hibbert (audio)

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi – Shannon Chakraborty (audio)

The Chosen and the Beautiful – Nghi Vo (audio)

The Last Unicorn – Peter S. Beagle (audio)

*Lioness Rampant – Tamora Pierce

Big Girl, Small Town – Michelle Gallen

Roaming – Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

The States – Norah Woodsey

We Do This ’Til We Free Us – Mariame Kaba

*Record of a Spaceborn Few – Becky Chambers

*One Last Stop – Casey McQuiston

The Saint of Bright Doors – Vajra Chandrasekera

Spear – Nicola Griffith

The Fragile Threads of Power – V.E. Schwab

Sword Stone Table – Various, edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

*To Be Taught, If Fortunate – Becky Chambers

The Dallergut Dream Department Store – Miye Lee, trans. Sandy Joosun Lee

The Hard Tomorrow – Eleanor Davis

Good Talk – Mira Jacob

Last Night at the Telegraph Club – Malinda Lo (audio)

*Never in a Hurry: Essays on People and Places – Naomi Shihab Nye

And What Can We Offer You Tonight – Premee Mohamed

Thirsty Mermaids – Kat Leyh

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century – Timothy Snyder

[ofliterarynature]

Bookish asks: 3, 14, 22!

thank you!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

already answered, but here's another 5 that I like -

North Woods by Daniel Mason

Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

answered here! it's been a few days and I still haven't finished anything lol.

22. What’s the longest book you read?

already answered, so I will specify that the longest thing I read in PRINT (not audiobook or ebook) was Fit for the Gods ed. by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams at 480 pages! A solidly good anthology as they go, though none of the stories quite stuck with me as much as a few from Jenn's first anthology did.

[glorious-catastrophe]

hi. i'm currently reading the ill-made knight and feeling insane, so naturally i looked it up on tumblr to find the other sickos and saw your tags on some random "have you read this book" poll about queer lancelot and i just have to ask. is there, like, more of it? i honestly know pretty much nothing about arthurian legend in general, i just found out about this specific series and started reading it, but now i'm kinda hooked. on lancelot especially. what a guy. are there other interpretations of lancelot as being queer?? it's just so interesting to me if he's not just the guy who's fucking king Arthur's wife but is also in love with him too.

hi anon!

first off: i’m so excited that you’re getting into arthurian legends!! it’s a really cool field with some really cool stories :) i wish i could go back and re-learn everything over again

ill-made knight is the most well known arthurian retelling with overtly queer themes, so you’re off to a good start. if you’re looking for similar vibes, i would recommend the sword stone table edited by swapna krishna and jenn northington—it’s an anothology, so it’s got a bunch of queer retellings of arthurian legends (but it might be a little difficult to track all of the characters if you’re unfamiliar with the source material) i know there’s queer lancelot in the story flat white, which is in that anthology

coming out later this year, you have tristan and lancelot: a tale of two knights! i obv haven’t read it yet but it seems like a good introduction to the knights of the round table at large and morgan la fey!

if you’re looking for something other than books, try the album high noon over camelot by the mechanisms (i usually listen on spotify!) if you’re into the magnus archives, the guy who voices jon is in the band—hnoc is a mix of a radio drama and musical retelling of arthurian legends set in space. and they’re cowboys. honestly what more could you want

if you’re interested in learning more about the source material, i would recommend le morte d’arthur as a starting point! it’s like THE arthurian book for people who aren’t insane about the middle ages and cant translate old english and old french. some serious academics are weird abt le morte for various reasons but it is a REALLY good starter text (and lancelot is a bit of a tragic figure and it makes me weep)

if you’re more interested in source material/lancelot stories, start with knight of the cart! there are some good translations (and bad ones) out there—i would recommend a poetry translation over a prose (so it’s written in poem format) because i’m a translation purist but it’s really down to taste

if you’re looking for more source material with more of a queer leaning/playing with gender i would recommend marie de france’s lanval—it’s short and sweet and has some really interesting moments, but, unforch, no lancelot

i do have to put a disclaimer here and say that 1) i have unfortunately been involved more on the academic side of queer lancelot (and queer and trans medieval studies) to know what’s really popping off in the arthurian legends fandom these days and 2) i am one of those people who is insane about medieval literature and have done a research about medieval lit as a whole and so some of the recommendations here are not… fun in a traditional sense. but nevertheless!

OH ALSO if you’re interested in a story about a trans medieval knight, i would recommend yde et olive—it’s a french chanson de geste (if i remember correctly) and from the same literary tradition as most lancelot stories

if you have any questions about arthurian legends in general, feel free to shoot me another ask! i love talking about it and i would love to be a help! and if i think of any more recommendations to send your way, i will reblog this post and add them! happy reading!

[asecondglassofcinnamonwine]

December 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Read Count: 9 books Average Page Count: 448 Goodreads Unread Count: 446 books Owned Unread Count: 4 books

Books: Mask of Mirrors - M.A. Carrick How Far the Light Reaches - Sabrina Imbler The Half-Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley *Fool's Fate - Robin Hobb Childhood's End - Arthur C Clarke Fit for the Gods - edited by Zainab S Williams & Jenn Northington Last Days - Adam Nevill Pnin - Vladimir Nabokov *The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Read from Owned TBR: 2 Day/Night Challenge: 0 Finishing Series: 1 *Starred Reads: 2 Nonfiction: 1 Deep-Dive Author: 2

Genres: Fantasy: 3 Histfic: 2 Memoir: 1 Scifi: 1 Horror: 1 Litfic: 1

Goals Not Reached: Ingathering (stretch goal, currently reading) A Brief History of Seven Killings (stretch goal, abandoned)

[rheadionne]

Come check out my reviews! We review books, movies, tv shows and more!

[myupostsheadcanons]

(Audio) Books for July

Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices - Swapna Krishina, Jenn Northington

Priest of Lies (War for the Rose Throne, Book 2) - Peter McLean

Archetype - M. D. Waters

Doors of Eden - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Seas The Day (Bad Guys, Book 5) - Eric Ugland

Explorer of the Endless Sea (Empress of the Endless Sea, Book 2) - Jack Campbell

Farilane (Rise and Fall, Book 2) - Michael J. Sullivan

Riser of Gales (Vampire Hunter D, Book 2) - Hideyuki Kikuchi

The Mad Mage of Sevendor (The Spellmonger Series) - Terry Mancour

Malefactor (War with No Name) - Robert Repino

Check out the “#myu reads” tag to find other books/series I have listened to. If you feel like I have not said enough: drop an ask, reblog, comment, or chat message.    

[wastelandbabyvirgo]

Greek Retelling Recs:

- Medusas Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear (ONE OF MY FAVSSSS)

- A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair (I did not like this book it just wasn’t for me but it might be for you!)

- Pandora by Susan Strokes-Chapman (not a retelling but has a touch of Greek Mythology to it that brings it to life)

- Elektra by Jennifer Saint (this also was not for me but i love this authors work it might be for you)

- Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (THIS BOOK IS SO BALLER IT HAD ME IN TEARS OVER ARIADNE THATS MY GIRL)

- Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined by Jenn Northington (it’s basically a bunch of AUs )

- Circe by Madeline Miller (DUH!!! i would sell my soul for this book)

i love a good greek retelling

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Arthuriana

Fave Five: Queer Arthuriana

Once & Future by AR Capetta and Cory McCarthy (Bks) Blackheart Knights by Laure Eve Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (Bks)* The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider (Bks) Spear by Nicola Griffith Bonus: For an Arthuriana anthology with queer rep, check out the upcoming Sword Stone Table ed. by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington (Bks), coming July 13, 2021 Bks = Bookshop affiliate links *MC is not queer…

[morgan--reads]

Sword, Stone, Table - eds. Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington

Summary: An anthology of Arthurian stories that expand upon the legends in past, present, and future settings. 

Quote: “Everyone deserves to see themselves on the page, and even if you don’t find your specific identity within these stories, perhaps you’ll see some small part of yourself inside these characters and these old, yet entirely new, legends.”

My rating: 3.0/5.0    Goodreads: 3.70/5.0

Review: Most of the stories in this collection aren’t any good. This is particularly frustrating because several of them are brilliant. It’s rare that an anthology is consistent all the way through, but this one was particularly variable in quality. I loved "The Once and Future Qadi" by Ausma Zehanat Khan and "Mayday" by Maria Dahvana Headley might be one of the best pieces of Arthurian fiction I’ve ever read. A few other stories were entertaining or thought-provoking, which ultimately made the collection worth the frequent slogs through the less developed stories. I appreciate the focus on queer, BIPOC, and non-Western interpretations of the Arthurian legends, but the writing often falls short of the ideas.