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sweet pea
Books are alright, i guess. I mainly read queer, trans, BIPOC, and disabled authors. My favorite genres at the moment are: speculative fiction, romance, middle readers, and world folklore. For nonfiction, i love reading interesting history, disability justice, and evolutionary biology. Among my favorite authors are Octavia E Butler, Yosano Akiko, Zora Neale Hurston, Alyssa Cole, Zitkála-Šá, and Astrid Lindgren.
Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Vol. 1
Simultaneously a beautiful art book and a history of Turtle Island. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, horny, hallowed, and homosexual. The encounters with real historical figures are delicious. The history is irreverent and made me mourn for what was lost. Monkman is a talented artist who has been painting Miss Chief for decades and this is their history. [sweet pea]
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
This is a fun enemies-to-beards romance [becuz both parties in the arranged marriage hate each other, but then realize they are both queer and use it to their advantage]. Set hundreds of years after King Arthur, the kingdom is still steeped in the legacy, mysticism, and political intrigue of the past. Plus there is a great female knight, with shades of Alanna. An intriguing spin on Arthurian lore. [sweet pea]
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror
This new anthology of Black horror does not disappoint! It's hard to read more than a story at a time as the worlds created are so rich that it's hard to leave them. I'm still living in one of them (in a good, although slightly terrifying, way). Filled with heavy hitters (NK Jemisin, Tananarive Due, etc), there are also some authors i was unfamiliar with. A perfect gift for the horror fan in your life. [sweet pea]
To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul
In this lyrical work, Smith delves into her own family past, piecing together their stories from archives and oral history as a way to illustrate Black resilience against violent oppression. Written in a conversational and personal style, the book draws you into her journey of personal exploration and questions what that means about our present country. [sweet pea]
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
This is a fascinating coming-of-age memoir of a gay Chinese American in 1980s Detroit. It was a fun and layered read that resonated with me on many levels. My ma is from Detroit, so we visited every summer in the 80s. Also, a lot of the queer coming-of-age moments were familiar. [sweet pea]
Horse Barbie
This was a fascinating read! From Geena's life in the Philippines, where everyone follows the trans beauty pageants (making her a national celebrity), but trans and queer people have few rights, to her life in the US, where she initially wasn't out as trans to have a successful modeling career. I feel like i learned a lot and Rocero is an engaging narrator. [sweet pea]
Aster of Ceremonies
This is a visionary, nerdy, and innovative collection of poetry, history, botany, and music woven together to give us a new perspective of, well, everything. Starting with advertisements of 'runaway' enslaved Ancestors who stuttered, stammered, or had a speech impediment, Ellis combines the history of dysfluent Ancestors with botany and his own history to create a work unlike anything else i've read. [sweet pea]
A Minor Chorus
I impatiently waited for Belcourt's poetry to be published in the US. Now we have two books of poetry, an essay collection, and this debut novel! Belcourt is thoughtful and innovative, weaving together stories of Indigenous life, queer life, and state violence with beautiful prose. [sweet pea]
A Scatter of Light
I was SO EXCITED for this stand-alone companion to 'Last Night at the Telegraph Club,' this one set in 2013 (unlike the 1950s of the former). It captures queer coming of age, the messy parts of teen life, identity, and of course love. Plus, that cover! [sweet pea]