Categories
TBR

TBR Fulfillment Transition

Hi there, reader friend!

TBR turned 3 last month, and it’s hard to believe how much we’ve grown since the very first round of recommendations was packed and shipped out of our executive director’s dining room. So far, we’ve recommended over 50,000 reads to book lovers like you, and one thing we’ve learned is that all these books take up a lot of space! 

As TBR has grown, we’ve realized that it needs its own home, so effective August 30th, we are bringing the fulfillment operation in-house at Book Riot. Our partners at Print: A Bookstore have done an incredible job these last three years, and we couldn’t be more grateful for all the ways they’ve worked magic for TBR, especially through the myriad challenges of the pandemic. If you’re ever in Portland, Maine (or if you’re looking for a great indie to support online), pay them a visit and check out their fantastic staff picks. 

This change shouldn’t impact your experience as a TBR customer—we’ve been working behinds the scenes for several months to make it a smooth transition, and we are grateful for your patience with any hiccups along the way—but we wanted to let you know why you won’t see Print’s name and branding on TBR materials anymore. 

As we look to the next three years (and hopefully many more) for TBR, having fulfillment under our own roof will allow us to explore new additions to the service and continue expanding the ways we help passionate book nerds find their next great read. It’s an exciting time, and we’re so glad you’re here for it. 

Read on! 

Team TBR

Categories
Check Your Shelf

What is an ISBN, Anyway?

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. My husband went in for planned surgery this week and is resting at home (doing fine), and somehow I thought I was going to get work done from home during all this. I stand seriously corrected. We’ll try again next week. Meanwhile, hubby and I are re-watching The IT Crowd to get our Noel Fielding fix now that we’ve mostly caught up on Great British Baking Show.

Libraries & Librarians

News Updates

The Craighead County (AR) Library board voted “no” on two key policy changes that would have created board oversight on the creation of library displays, as well as all materials added to the children’s collection.

If the library tax renewal fails in Lafayette Parish, only one or two libraries may be able to remain open in the entire parish.

Hawaii’s public libraries are enforcing temporary closures due to high COVID rates.

Worth Reading

The critical role that Black librarians play.

During the height of segregation, Indiana’s first Black librarian changed lives.

Can Maryland’s new eBook law help change the marketplace?

Book Adaptations in the News

Jodie Comer talks about Killing Eve’s bittersweet end. (My husband and I became similarly obsessed with Killing Eve this year, as well as with Jodie Comer. She is magnificent.)

Mindy Kaling is adapting Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin for Amazon Studios.

Carol Leonnig’s Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service is being adapted for TV.

Vince Vaughn is starring in the Apple TV+ series Bad Monkey, based on the Carl Hiaasen book of the same name.

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches series is being developed for TV at AMC.

The graphic novel Gun Honey is reportedly being adapted for TV.

John Lithgow joins the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon.

Jack Kerouac’s estate is working to produce new podcasts based on his work.

24 book-to-screen adaptations that didn’t disappoint.

Books & Authors in the News

Anthony Horowitz has become Japan’s most-decorated foreign crime author.

Janet Dailey and the curious case of the missing author. This is a really interesting read…

The picture book fighting back against Russia’s LGBTQ propaganda law.

Award News

The Shirley Jackson Award winners have been announced.

The 2021 Arthur C. Clarke Awards have been announced.

Bouchercon has been canceled due to COVID concerns.

Penguin Random House and Amanda Gorman launch a new creative writing award for poetry.

“Romance Writers of America was doing better with race – until a recent award choice.” Was it, though?…

Pop Cultured

The best true crime documentaries streaming on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO Max. (Brb, adding all of these to my watch list.)

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Megan Rapinoe has a new book club with Literati.

Our connection to physical books during the pandemic.

On the Riot

The ethics of selling advanced reader copies.

Bookish hotels and BnBs for your next getaway.

How to enter a flow state while reading.

How to remember more of what you read.

What is an ISBN?

Catch you next week, and we’ll see what TV shows we’ve moved on to by then.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

Categories
Swords and Spaceships

The Best SFF Books of the Decade

Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, with your heading-for-the-weekend links and book deals and a challenge I set for myself that turned out to be way tougher than I anticipated. Have a great weekend, space pirates, stay safe, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ and anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co

News and Views

NPR: We Asked, You Answered: Your 50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade

Emily Wenstrom on Why We Need ADHD Representation in Fiction

The Importance of “Trash Fantasy”

Cixin Liu’s short stories are being adapted into graphic novel form

Chicken Feet and Fiery Skulls: Tales of the Russian Witch Baba Yaga

LeVar Burton will be hosting the 2021 National Book Festival broadcast on PBS

Soviet Sci-Fi Film and Different Modalities of Future Ecosystems

More Wheel of Time series news

Hans Zimmer Has Composed a Second Dune Score That You Can Download for Free

SFF eBook Deals

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee for $0.99

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood for $2.99

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots for $1.99

On Book Riot

This week’s SFF Yeah! podcast is about fiction at the edge of SFF.

This month you can enter to win a $250 Barnes & Noble gift card, a $100 gift card to a Black-owned bookstore, a pair of airpods pro, and a QWERKY keyboard.

Free Association Friday: Faves From the Last Decade

I linked to NPR’s 50 Favorite SFF books from the last decade above, but since I’m the one writing this newsletter, so I get to be self-indulgent at times, I wanted to call out some of my favorites… though with a slight twist. I’m picking one from each year. So here we goooooooooo:

Cover of The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

2020

This was the easiest pick of the entire list, because this book is definitely my favorite of the the last decade, hands down, no contest. I still cannot get over what a beautiful read this book is, and that’s not even getting into the twists and turns of the parallel worlds and the people in them.

The Light Brigade cover

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

2019

A year that made my choice very difficult because it was one hell of a time for SFF. Ultimately, this book won out because I am a sucker for time loop stories, and this takes what made All You Need Is Kill interesting and then gave it a twist by doing everything out of order, and it’s also such a scream of rage at systemic oppression. Beautiful.

an illustration of a spaceship with engines firing against a multicolored nebula background

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

2018

This is my favorite of the Wayfarers series, and I think it’s one that stands on its own to be read. It’s about people finding their place in a changing society, and traditions, and it made me cry — not because I was sad, but because it was just beautiful.

cover of The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

2017

Another tough choice, considering this is also the year of All Systems Red by Martha Wells. But what Neon did with gender in this book and its companion volume (The Red Threads of Fortune) and the absolutely bonkers world they built has imprinted this book indelibly on me. And the rest of the series is great, too.

cover of lovecraft country

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

2016

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did when I read it, and it’s one I just devoured in about two days because I couldn’t put it down. The structure of the story is what makes it work so well, I think: they’re interconnected, self-referential standalone stories that give Lovecraft’s work another twist.

uprooted by naomi novik

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

2015

I just want you to know how hard this choice was, coming in from the year that also gave us The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. Ultimately, this book won out because I’ve reread it more times. Is that fair for criteria? This is my personal challenge, so yes.

cover of The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addision

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addision

2014

The only surprise about this selection, considering the number of times y’all have heard me go on about this book (and the number of times I’ve listened to the audio), is that it came out when? How has it been seven years? HOW?

Cover of The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

2013

This is some Le Guin level storytelling, an intense look at a post-genocide refugee alien race coming to Earth and trying to make a new home, and told with some incredibly compelling characters in a great love story. Still not over it.

Cover of The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

2012

Ancient Egyptian fantasy! A fairly rare sub-genre to begin with, but this is just such a rich book in character and description. It’s one of N.K. Jemisin’s earliest works, and her absolute writing talent still shines through.

Cover of The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin

The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin

2011

While putting the third book of a trilogy on a list is kind of a jerk move, I love every book in this trilogy to pieces, and the other two were published before 2011, so this is what you get. Start out with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and you can thank me later.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Categories
The Stack

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Riot Rundown

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Today In Books

BRIDGERTON’s Phoebe Dynevor to Star in EXCITING TIMES Adaptation: Today in Books

NPR Announces the 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Last Decade

Over the summer, NPR conducted a poll to find out what listeners’ favorite sci-fi/fantasy books of the last decade have been. Now, with the help of an expert panel of judges and the results of the poll, NPR has announced the 50 best science fiction and fantasy books of the last decade. NPR took the votes of the poll (over 16,000 this year) and narrowed it down to 250 semifinalists, and from those semifinalists NPR’s panel of judges narrowed it down to 50. Check out the full list on NPR’s website!

This Picture Book is Fighting Back Against Russia’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws

One month ago, a Hungarian bookshop was fined for selling a children’s book that tells the story of a day in the life of a child with same-sex parents. That same book has now been published in Russian. However, the book had to be published with an 18+ sticker to comply with the country’s “gay propaganda” law. In spite of the laws against the book in Russia, the charity organization Sphere chose to publish the book in that country. Sphere explained that this book “is a book that is not only about LGBTQ+ families, but for them. In that sense, this book stands on its own as the very first of its kind in Russia…Because of the existing legislature there was no other choice but to publish a children’s book for adults only…This is the ridiculousness of the propaganda law, which only raises discrimination against LGBT+ and limits access to information.”

Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor to Star in EXCITING TIMES Adaptation

Deadline has reported that Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor has signed a deal to executive-produce and star in Amazon’s adaptation of Naoise Dolan’s debut novel Exciting Times. Unfortunately, that could very well mean that season 2 of Bridgerton will be Dynevor’s last season with the show, even though the series has already been renewed through season 4. Exciting Times, meanwhile, is a story that follows Ava, an Irish woman who teaches English grammar to children abroad. But when she’s not working, Ava finds herself involved in a love triangle. Ava will be played by Phoebe Dynevor in the TV adaptation. The series will be produced by Black Bear Pictures and written by Naoise Dolan and Cooper Raiff.

What is an ISBN?

You’ve probably heard of or seen an ISBN, but do you know what it is? Let’s dive into what it is and why we use it.

Categories
Book Radar

LeVar Burton Wants to Read Your Stories and More Book Radar!

What a week it’s been, book friends. I hope you’ve been taking care of yourself and giving yourself moments to breathe amidst any stress or chaos you might be personally feeling.

I know Thursday isn’t technically the beginning of the weekend, but it certainly feels that way to me, so around here, we’re going to start thinking about weekend plans on Thursday. What’s my weekend looking like? Lots of cuddling with cats, drinking iced coffee, and reading. As you can see, I’m going to be very busy. I hope you’ve got fun reading plans as well! And in the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about books today.

— xoxo, Gossip Emily

Book Deals and Reveals

seasonal fears cover

Here’s what you all came here to know: from now until 8/31, you can submit a short story for LeVar Burton to read on his podcast LeVar Burton Reads. Hop to it, creatives!

Tordotcom Publishing has revealed the cover of Seanan McGuire’s Seasonal Fears, a companion novel to Middlegame.

Speaking of our hero LeVar Burton, the actor will be hosting the 2021 National Book Festival Broadcast on PBS.

Nnedi Okorafor has announced the title of the final book in her Nsibidi Scripts Series: Akata Woman. Cover reveal coming soon!

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has started a monthly book club with Literati called The Call In.

MGM has landed the rights to Lisa Taddeo’s Animal. Plan B is set to produce the film adaptation as part of its overall deal with MGM.

After 46 years, Judy Blume’s Forever is finally becoming an audiobook.

Hachette is buying Workman publishing, an independent publisher known for titles What to Expect When You’re Expecting and Brain Quest.

The Shirley Jackson Award winners have been announced!

Author Ashley C. Ford is starting a newsletter.

AMC is working on an adaptation of Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches series.

Here’s the cover reveal of The Tobacco Wives, a debut historical novel from Adele Myers.

Book Riot Recommends 

I’m a Contributing Editor at Book Riot, I write the Today in Books newsletter, and I’m a Bibliologist for Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations subscription service. I also have a PhD in English, so I’m basically a doctor of books. Books are my life, in other words, so in this section of the newsletter, let me share with you some upcoming books I’m super excited about. And I think you will be too!

Can’t Wait for This One

The Undertakers by Nicole Glover

The Undertakers by Nicole Glover (Mariner Books, November 9, 2021)

This author only has one novel currently out (The Conductors), but I already feel confident enough to say this: Nicole Glover is the absolute master of genre mixing. Glover’s Murder and Magic series is the perfect mix of fantasy, alternate history, and murder mystery. And she doesn’t cut any corners here. This is 100% a fantasy series. The world-building is incredibly detailed and unique. This series is also totally satisfying from an alternative history/historical fiction perspective. The world of this book is set in an alternate version of post-Civil War Philadelphia. The characters and storyline are heavily influenced by this setting and its real historical background. And if you’re looking for an intriguing mystery, you’re going to get that too. This isn’t a little bit of everything. It’s everything of everything, and Glover makes it all fit seamlessly together.

The second book in the series, The Undertakers, is out in November. The Undertakers continues the story of Hetty Rhodes and her husband Benjy, two people practicing celestial magic and solving crimes in the city that the Philadelphia authorities are likely to ignore. In this book, Hetty and Benjy investigate the death of Raimond Duval, a victim of one of the many fires that have erupted in the city recently. The more they look into the case, the more suspicious the circumstances surrounding Raimond’s death are. And they discover a powerful Fire Company is actually allowing homes within the Black community to burn to the ground.

One of my favorite things about this series is that each book is pretty self-contained. So if you read The Conductors, you’re getting a full mystery story, from beginning to end, with a definite conclusion. With this next book in the series, we’re getting another full story that can stand on its own, but we’re also getting to learn more about the characters we love and the world they live in. I’m especially excited to learn more about the magic systems in this world as the series continues.

Words of Literary Wisdom

“I judge people two ways—on how they treat animals, and on what they like to eat. If their favorite food is some kind of salad, they are definitely a bad person. Anything with cheese, they are probably OK.”

— The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

What’s Up in the Book Community?

My iPhone is constantly telling me I spend too much time staring at my screen, which is honestly so rude. But this means I spend a lot of time scrolling around the online book community: BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, BookLinkedIn (JK. That’s not a thing… I don’t think). You get the idea. Don’t have the time, energy, or the will to do all of that yourself? No problem. I got you. In this weekly section of Book Radar, we’ll take a look at something cool, interesting, and/or newsy that’s going on in the book community.

So what’s going on this week? Well.

On Monday, I told y’all about the OwlCrate scandal. In case you missed it, the book subscription box announced on Instagram that they would be selling Harry Potter merch once again (and now, a few days later, they’ve reversed that decision). Overall, the Bookstagram community was not happy about this choice. For a thorough, thought-provoking, and funny overview of how that conversation went down, I highly recommend checking out BookTuber Jesse’s video about the controversy over at Bowties & Books. And definitely hang around and check out some of their other videos. They’re great!

Your Weekend Reading Soundtrack

If you’ve got weekend reading plans, you need a good soundtrack. I put this one together for you, and it’s giving me good mid-August vibes. I hope you enjoy! 🎶 🎵🎧

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

an orange and white cat next to an orange and white pillow

On Monday, I introduced you to Murray and Phantom. Today, it’s time to meet cat #3: Cersei! Her full name is Cersei Anne Boleyn Lannister. Sometimes I call her Cersei Anne for short. And although I just called her cat #3, she’s the one we’ve had longest, so she’s still #1!

She loves this BB8 pillow because it looks like her. Orange and white. One of a kind!

It’s been fun, everyone. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to delivering you more book news and other such things next week!

❤️ Emily

Categories
Kissing Books

Flawed is Beautiful

Welcome to the Kissing Books newsletter y’all. I’m P.N. Hinton, your guide to the world of romance novels. I hope your spirit is doing well today. Whether it’s a backlist, new release, or an under the radar delight, I aim to help you find a book or two that you can get lost in. If you’re new to the Kissing Books newsletter, welcome and enjoy your stay. If you’re a long-time reader, welcome back; it’s good to see you again. 

By the time you’re reading this, we’ll have gone through the first full week of in-person school. I’m less apprehensive because of an email I got Sunday saying that my district is mandating masks effective as of Monday. The change in my son was noticeable after only two days in person so I was really stoked to hear this. And I was way less stressed working from home. So, I’m going to continue to do what I need to do to keep him safe and in person, since I know that it is better for him in the long run for his education. 

Oh, and quick Ice Planet Barbarians update, hubby got to like page 25 and was like, “This is in galactic sex trade.” Which, from what I’ve heard about it, he’s not exactly wrong. I still died laughing at the phrase. 

Around the Web in Romance

Rioter Megan gave us a few recommendations for New Adult Romances to indulge our taste for the genre.

Claire also has a round-up of books similar to Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

Don’t forget that Saturday is Bookstore Romance Day! Our own Jessica Pryde will be hosting this panel on Sunday, the 22nd, so you can look forward to extending the celebration all weekend!

Here’s an interesting article from author Thien-Kim Lam about how her sex education started with romance novels

As a fan of romance novels and The Golden Girls, I really enjoyed this thread.

Katee Roberts wrote about her dream cast for Neon Gods and…I’m totally here for it.

Author Christina Britton was a guest-writer on Nick of The Infinite Limits of Love’s Blog with her recommendations of romance novels featuring scarred characters.

Cover reveal for Something Fabulous, the latest from Alexis Hall.

If you need a beginner’s guide to sci-fi romance, then this list is for you!

Recommendations

Britton’s article helped prompt this week’s recommendations. We as a society seem to have this unsettling obsession with everything being perfect and having no flaws. I’d like to say this is something that extends to just women, but men are also subjugated to this kind of scrutiny. The cruel memes disparaging Brendan Fraser and comparing how he looks now to how looked almost thirty years ago are the ones that readily come to mind and it just sucks. People are people and shouldn’t be expected to be perfect.

Scars are interesting because they always have some type of story behind them. I have a scar on my elbow from scraping it across a broken car antenna. My son has a scar on his chest from his live-saving open heart surgery he had at four months old. It doesn’t make either one of us less beautiful. I love that this is something that more romance authors are realizing and are implementing this into today’s stories. With that in mind, here are some of my recommendations for you in that regard.

cover of romancing the duke

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

I want to say that this was my first full-length novel form Dare, since everything prior to that were novellas. However, I’m a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, which this certainly is, down to the hero being scarred, which means by society’s standards he is a beast. This is a really sweet romance about a woman who is on her down after the death of her father trying to start over but keep her optimism and love of fairy tales alive. Plus, it has the healthy dose of humor and banter that Dare is known for and is definitely re-read worthy. Which I may do soon now that I think about it.

cover of battles cars

Battle Scars by Meghan O’Brien

Iraq war veteran Ray returns home with physical, mental, and emotional scars from her tour overseas, the lone survivor of a hostage crisis. Struggling to deal with her unwanted celebrity status on top of everything else, she finds comfort in her therapy dog, Jagger. When she walks into Dr. Carly’s vet clinic, the women strike up a friendship that could bloom to more if they can both overcome the pain of their pasts. I am recommending this one not just because there is a noticeable dearth of F/F romances but also because there is a definite lack of books representing females in the military at all. And both of those representations need boosting,

cover of getting schooled

Getting Schooled by Christina C. Jones

When Reese accepts a new position as a grad assistant, she crosses path with Jason who is a combination of intelligent, handsome…and rude. Jason, at 28, has already had some real-life experiences that left him scarred and with a prosthetic leg. So, he is focused on just moving on to the next phase of his life after graduate school and not the female population matriculating school with him. Or so he thinks. This is a story about two passionate people who won’t back down from a fight and may find out that they work better as a team than as opponents.

And that’s all I have for y’all today. Remember to stay hydrated and masked if you go out this weekend to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day. I’ll be back with y’all on Monday with the latest edition. Give me a follow over on Twitter under @PScribe801. Who knows? I may be posting pictures of my own haul from Saturday. 

Categories
Giveaways

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We’re giving away five copies of Bloodless by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child to five lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance, or click the cover image below!

Bloodless book cover

Agent Pendergast takes on a bizarre and gruesome case: in the ghost-haunted city of Savannah, bodies are found with no blood left in their veins—sowing panic and reviving whispered tales of the infamous Savannah Vampire. As the mystery rises along with the body count, Pendergast and his partner, Agent Coldmoon, race to understand how—or if—these murders are connected to an infamous skyjacking, and together they’ll uncover not just the answer…but an unearthly evil beyond all imagining.

It’s a case like no other in the new installment of Preston & Child’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Categories
Our Queerest Shelves

The Importance of Queer Fanfiction

Last weekend, I went to a barbecue with family I hadn’t seen in years. It was surreal to have a get together that felt so normal. It’s only recently in Canada that vaccines were widely available, so I’m still shocked at the possibility of actually seeing people. It’s nice, even if socializing that much left me exhausted — I’m not used to it anymore!

As I’ll explain soon, I’ve been forsaking books in favor of fanfiction lately. It can be very habit-forming! Hopefully my obsession will wane enough to get back into books soon.

Today, I wanted to highlight the charity Human Dignity Trust. They use litigation to support the rights of LGBTQ people around the globe, challenging unjust laws. You can find out more about them on their website, and you can donate here.

The Importance of Queer Fanfiction

I’ve recently gotten more into fanfiction; my obsession with Ted Lasso was bound to lead me there eventually. It’s gotten me thinking about my relationship with fanfic in general, and why I think it’s so important to many queer people.

While fanfiction is almost as old as literature itself, the phenomenon we call “shipping” has been queer from the start. Kirk/Spock was not just the original “slash” ship, but the original ship. It was followed by many other M/M fandom favorites — and no wonder. There were far more complex male characters on screen than female one, and besides, fanfic was the only outlet for M/M ships. They certainly weren’t going to become canon. Fanfiction allowed queer readers (and plenty of other readers) to explore a relationship that they knew wouldn’t appear on screen — and explore they did…

When I was a teenager, I read fanfiction from a franchise that will remain nameless — suffice to say that I’m angry that this queer memory has been tainted by the transphobic author. Fanfic turned into roleplaying: a sort of collaborative fanfiction writing, where two or more people play a character in a scene. I started, would you believe it, on Neopets chat boards. Of course it was an M/M ship, because that was the most popular pairing not just of that fandom, but of all fandoms at the time.

Neopets, however, was not so open to our PG-rated M/M roleplays, often deleting them (and leaving up more explicit M/F roleplays). A few of us migrated over to a new board, called Rebels Against Homophobic Neopia. (I remind you that I was about 14 at the time, and this was obviously very cool.) With no moderators, we were free to explore these stories however we pleased.

There, I met Real Life Queer People. People who not only shipped gay couples, but related to them. I began to contemplate by own sexuality — but nah, I was definitely straight. I invited my best friend to the board, also a fan of the franchise. We began roleplay flirting as our characters. I… was not straight after all. We started dating IRL.

I know lots of people, especially Millenials, who discovered their sexual orientation through fanfiction. It was a way to explore and experiment safely. It made being queer feel more normal: we knew and loved these characters already. If they could be queer and it was okay (in this fictional version of a fictional story), maybe it could be okay for us, too.

Even today, with far more mainstream queer representation (in books, movies, and TV shows), many queer young people flock to fanfiction to find representation. It’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s a pairing, a mood, or a certain trope. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for, there’s no barriers to making your own.

So here’s to queer fanfiction, from Spock/Kirk to Xena/Gabrielle (which basically jump-started the lesbian romance genre) to the K-pop ships dominating today. Long may it reign.

All the Links Fit to Click

Publishing announcement for Cafe Con Lychee with an illustration of the two main characters sharing a milkshake

LGBTQ Book Riot Posts

New Releases This Week

Note: This week’s new releases is overwhelmingly white. Do better, publishing.

The Origins of Iris cover

The Origins of Iris by Beth Lewis (Sapphic Thriller)

Iris ran from her abusive wife, escaping to the Catskills, which were a childhood place of comfort. She intends to find herself there, and she does… literally. Other Iris is beautiful, happy, and seems like an all around better version of herself. She made different choices. But what is she hiding, and can Iris survive in an isolated cabin with this mysterious doppelgänger?

This is an atmospheric, thought-provoking book that promises to be Wild meets Sliding Doors. 

Lost On Planet Earth cover

Lost on Planet Earth by Magdalene Visaggio and Claudia Aguirre (F/F Sci Fi Graphic Novel)

Basil Miranda knows exactly what’s next for her. She’s on the brink of graduation, and once she passes one more test, she’ll be on one of the best ships in the fleet, working beside her best friend. There’s only one problem: she forgot to ever ask herself if this is what she wants. When she runs from this path, she finds herself colliding with a revolution.

This is from the author of Kim & Kim and Eternity Girl, joined by the artist from Kim & Kim. It’s a bittersweet graphic novel with a philosophical bent — and Star Trek references!

Growing Up Trans cover

Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words edited by Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry (Trans YA Nonfiction)

Imagine my surprise, as I added this book to the list, to realize I know one of the editors! Kate Fry and I used to work at the same bookstore together. She and Lindsay Herriot co-founded the Trans Tipping Point project in 2017, a trans youth writing workshop.

This is a collection of writings (stories, essays, art and poetry) by trans youth, ages 11-18, exploring different aspects of the trans experience. It also includes tips on how to be a good trans ally.

After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang (Gay, M/M Fantasy)

Foxhunt by Rem Wigmore (Bisexual Solarpunk)

The Left Hand of Dog by Si Clarke (Aro/Ace Agender Science Fiction)

Sink or Swim by Tash McAdam (Trans Guy YA Contemporary)

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The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke (Lesbian YA Fantasy) (Paperback rerelease)

Being You: A First Conversation about Gender by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Anne/Andy Passchier (Gender Board Book)

Missed Connections by Brian Francis (Gay Memoir)

All In by Billie Jean King (Lesbian Autobiography)

Center Center: A Funny, Sexy, Sad Almost-Memoir of a Boy in Ballet by James Whiteside (Gay Memoir)

That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog the Lesbrary as well as on Twitter @danikaellis. You can also hear me on All the Books on the first Tuesday of the month, and I post weekly New Releases videos on the Book Riot YouTube channel. You can bet I sneak in as many queer titles as I can.

Happy reading!

Danika