#left-handed booksellers of london

[agardenandlibrary]

I am listening to the Left-handed Booksellers of London and am hoping that Susan's mom had an acid fueled affair with the king of the faeries* and then took his child and fucked off to live in the countryside on her family's money. Signs don't point to no, yet!

*or whatever. You get me.

[winter2468]

I really like what Garth Nix did with Merlin's gender.

In Left-Handed Booksellers, Merlin is explicit about the fact that he's thinking about changing his gender. It's an option he's thinking of taking. Throughout the book he wears both masculine and feminine clothing, and is equally comfortable in both.

And he still gets to be attractive and confident - and a love interest. It's so rare in fiction for a person to be explicitly questioning their gender, but they're still portrayed as attractive, confident and desirable.

In Sinister Booksellers, it's revealed that Merlin doesn't want to transition - between the first book and the second, he's figured himself out. But he still enjoys wearing all kinds of clothes, he still rocks a dress just as well as he rocks a suit, and he's still socially gender-nonconforming (referring to himself as both a master and mistress of disguise).

I really like how we have this attractive, confident love interest who

Questions his gender

Figures it out - he doesn't want to transition

Decides that he still wants to wear any type of clothing, not just 'men's' clothing, and then goes on to wear a fancy, pretty dress with his family and girlfriend not even questioning it.

[book--brackets]

Young Wizards by Diana Duane (1983-2016)

Nita Callahan is at the end of her rope because of the bullies who've been hounding her at school... until she discovers a mysterious library book that promises her the chance to become a wizard. But she has no idea of the difference that taking the Wizard's Oath is going to make in her life. Shortly, in company with fellow beginner-wizard Kit Rodriguez, Nita's catapulted into what will be the adventure of a lifetime—if she and Kit can both live through it. For every wizard's career starts with an Ordeal in which he or she must challenge the one power in the universe that hates wizardry more than anything else: the Lone Power that invented death and turned it loose in the worlds. Plunged into a dark and deadly alternate New York full of the Lone One's creatures, Kit and Nita must venture into the very heart of darkness to find the stolen, legendary Book of Night with Moon. Only with the dangerous power of the wizardly Book do they have a chance to save not just their own lives, but their world...

Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey (1989-1990)

Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wasn't no part in such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard.

Yet such talent as his, if left untrained, may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the fame Herald-Mages of Valdemar.

But, strong-willed and self-centered, Vanyel is a challenge which even Savil cannot master alone. For soon he will become the focus of frightening forces, lending his raw magic to a spell that unleashes terrifying wyr-hunters on the land.

And by the time Savil seeks the assistance of a Shin'a'in Adept, Vanyel's wild talent may have already grown beyond anyone's ability to contain, placing Vanyel, Savil, and Valdemar itself in desperate peril.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (2016-2018)

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...

But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most... including herself.

The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson (2008-2014)

Janner Igiby, his brother, Tink, and their disabled sister, Leeli, are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that they love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang, who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice. The Igibys hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera.

Myth Adventures by Robert Lyn Asprin (1978-2002)

Skeeve was a magician's apprentice--until an assassin struck and his master was killed. Now, with a purple-tongued demon named Aahz as a companion, he's on a quest to get even.

The Land of Elyon by Patrick Carman (2003-2008)

Alexa is curious about what lies beyond the massive ramparts that surround the city and the walled roads that link Bridewell to nearby towns; soon after town leader Thomas Warvold passes away, Alexa finds herself outside the walls, acquires a stone with remarkable powers, and discovers that she's meant to stop a potential war from occurring.

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (1974-2018)

Mildred Hubble is a trainee witch at Miss Cackle's Academy, and she's making an awful mess of it. She's always getting her spells wrong and she can't even ride a broomstick without crashing it. Will she ever make a real witch?

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (2020-2023)

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke (2021)

When single mother Liv is commissioned to paint a mural in a 100-year-old lighthouse on a remote Scottish island, it’s an opportunity to start over with her three daughters–Luna, Sapphire, and Clover. When two of her daughters go missing, she’s frantic. She learns that the cave beneath the lighthouse was once a prison for women accused of witchcraft. The locals warn her about wildlings, supernatural beings who mimic human children, created by witches for revenge. Liv is told wildlings are dangerous and must be killed.

Twenty-two years later, Luna has been searching for her missing sisters and mother. When she receives a call about her youngest sister, Clover, she’s initially ecstatic. Clover is the sister she remembers–except she’s still seven years old, the age she was when she vanished. Luna is worried Clover is a wildling. Luna has few memories of her time on the island, but she’ll have to return to find the truth of what happened to her family. But she doesn’t realize just how much the truth will change her.

Reckless by Cornelia Funke (2010-2020)

Jacob has uncovered the doorway to another world, hidden behind a mirror. It is a place of dark magic and enchanted objects, scheming dwarves and fearsome ogres, fairies born from water and men born from stone.Here, he hunts for treasure and seeks adventure in the company of Fox - a beautiful, shape-shifting girl, who guides and guards him.But now Jacob's younger brother has followed him into the mirrored world, and all that was freedom has turned to fear. Because a deadly curse has been spoken; and Jacob must risk his life to reverse it, before his brother is turned to stone forever...

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Characters, book, and author names under the cut

August Landry/Jane Su - One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Susan Arkshaw/Merlin St. Jacques - The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Jude/Pixie - Stake Sauce Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient is Love (No, Really) by RoAnna Sylver 

Paul Fleischer/Julian Fromme - These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

[evenaturtleduck]

I know I gripe about a lot of the new YA fantasy novels (cue old lady grumbling about how back in my day we didn't have multiple love interests in a toxic death match for the protag's affection or a zillion glamorous ball gowns, reading uphill both ways, blah blah blah don't mind me) but I do really appreciate the authors who are taking the mythology and imagery from some of my middle school favorites, like the Dark is Rising sequence or the Chronicles of Prydain and saying yeah, these are cool, but what if instead of defining The Defenders of Britain Against The Forces Of Evil as pastoral, straight, and white, we made them urban, queer, and non-white?

[libraryleopard]

Young adult urban fantasy novel set in 80s London

While looking for the father's she's never met, art student Susan Arkshaw stumbles into a hidden magical world in which a secret order of booksellers are trained to protect humans from the legendary creatures of the mythical Old World

With the help of Merlin, a charismatic bookseller on a quest to avenge the murder of his mother, Susan's search for her father becomes more dangerous and magical than she ever could have expected

Genderfluid love interest

[lindensea]

Started on The Left-Handed Booksellers of London and it's silly & goofy so far! It's giving Doctor Who vibes, if the writers of doctor who cared more about clothing brands. There are a lot of details about clothing, actually

[reading-cat]

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

This was so cute oh my god???

It does suffer from the usual YA problems like underdeveloped characters and a predictable plot, but otherwise it’s unexpectedly good.

Yes, Susan, the MC, is very much the "chosen one" with special powers and special parentage but it’s not annoying and they don’t make her overpowered. And she’s punk!

Merlin is a delightful love interest. Loved the approach to his gender and how the fact that he’s questioning it doesn’t make him any less attractive, flirty and self-assured. Again, I would have loved a bit more elaboration on this topic, but maybe we’ll get it in the next book.

I thought at first that the constant clothes descriptions would annoy me, but they ended up being a really fun detail.

The worldbuilding is interesting but sparse. Not developed enough.

Overall, very easy and light read.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of. Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden. In this timely and timeless speculative novel, award-winning author Kelly Barnhill boldly explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. When Women Were Dragons exposes a world that wants to keep women small—their lives and their prospects—and examines what happens when they rise en masse and take up the space they deserve. Fantasy, historical fiction, alternate history, 1950s

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London series (The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, The Sinister Booksellers of Bath) by Garth Nix

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New. Fantasy, young adult, urban fantasy, adventure

[the-dust-jacket]

Authorized to kill…and sell books.

[gollancz]

If you're on Instagram, be sure to follow us there too - Garth Nix fans will be in for a treat this week as we run him up and down the country to various events! Send good wishes and energy to our incredible publicity team.

[nyx-b-log]

it's saturday so time for an update!

would you believe i actually finished children of time oh my god it took so long to read asdfghjkl but! i enjoyed it. i maintain that the spider sections are far and away the best part - the human drama wasn't compelling to me until maybe the last 100 pages or so, and the relationship between holsten and lain is paper-thin and dull (imo). the world-building tho (evolution-building? ig) is fantastic and only gets better as the book goes on. like, ant supercomputers!! what!!! i've honestly only come to appreciate the book more as it gets more time to breathe in my head. i was a bit on the fence on whether i would continue the series, but i'm looking forward to it now!

also finished the martian, which had some bonus material at the end i'd never read before, which was an unexpected delight. was a bit of a strange experience finishing it and then almost immediately the news on titan coming out. ofc the two situations aren't entirely comparable, but i couldn't help thinking about it.

haven't started a new physical book yet, but my next audiobook is the left-handed book sellers of london by garth nix, a young adult fantasy set in an alternate 1980s london. characters are ehhh and plot is glacial but the world-building is clearly where all the passion is. could be a bit info-dumpy for some people, but i'm enjoying it. also the clothes descriptions, the clothes oh my god. surprised it doesn't have a queer tag on goodreads, main character susan is very much bisexual (and punky af, at least aesthetically) while merlin's approach to gender is incredibly loose (and affirmed throughout). i'm roughly halfway through, should have finished it by next week i think.

that's all for now! see you again next week!

[book--brackets]

Ohhh me too me too me too

I love you, op.

That being said, could you add the works below to the list, please ? :

The Supernaturalist (Eoin Colfer)

Skylark (Meagan Spooner)

The Once and Future King (T.H. White)

Once & Future (Kieron Gillen)

The Checquy Files (Daniel O'Malley)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

Monk & Robot (Becky Chambers)

Legacy of Orisha (Tomi Adeyemi)

Villains (V.E. Schwab)

Falling Kingdoms (Morgan Rhodes)

Chivalry (Neil Gaiman)

The Sleeper and the Spindle (Neil Gaiman)

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr (Ram V)

The Unwritten (Mike Carey)

The Left-Handed Book Sellers of London (Garth Nyx)

Die (Kieron Gillen)

The Wicked + the Divine (Kieron Gillen)

I added most of these, but like some other Neil Gaiman titles, Chivalry and The Sleeper and the Spindle are short stories, not technically novels (even in graphic format)

[ghosts-of-love]

anyone have any magic book recs? i'm really enjoying reading books that have some kind of magic in and seeing the different world building that takes place and how different authors interpret magic/witchcraft/powers and stuff