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    Book Recs: Sapphic Paranormal/Horror Fiction

    8 September, 2022

    By popular demand (also known as two people requested this same topic when I asked for rec list ideas a couple of days ago), today I’m returning to my sapphic book rec posts with a genre I haven’t touched upon at all before. That’s right! One month out from spooky season proper, I’m finally giving you some sapphic paranormal and horror recs! A full 20 of them! (Little disclaimer, there are a few on here I’ve not read, but most of them I have.) So sit yourselves down, and find something to read.

    As ever, all the other sapphic posts I’ve done can be found here.

    A lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

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    Book Recs: Dark Academia

    24 August, 2022

    I have to start off today’s rec list with a little definition because, above all others, dark academia seems to be a genre that could mean absolutely anything. I mean, when I was researching for this list, someone had added Pride and Prejudice as dark academia to their recs. So, before we go anywhere, I’m going to lay out what I consider to be the hallmarks of dark academia (and thus, the criteria by which I’ve selected these recs).

    First and foremost, I think this is a genre that needs to be set in and around academia. I mean, it’s in the name! Thus, these books are set at university and/or other schools (or school-equivalents). Secondly, I think what makes this genre is the themes, that is those of obsession, possessiveness, unhealthy relationships and desire. There’s a certain headiness to the genre, where, while events may seem outlandish, while you’re reading you’re just as absorbed as the characters themselves. Oh, and there might be a little pinch of murder to spice it up.

    So, with luck, I’ve selected 10 books that fit this description. And hey! They are, as ever, all gay.

    A lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

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    Book Recs: Asian Sapphic Novels

    15 August, 2022

    A recommendation list that’s a bit longer than usually (40 books instead of 10), but I feel like that’s justified: Kate @ Your Tita Kate requested Asian sapphic books, and that’s just too vast a topic to cover it with ten novels. (Forty aren’t enough either, but I had to stop somewhere.)

    Yes, I am sadly aware of the lack of North and Central Asian books on this list, but despite my best efforts, I simply could not think of any. The list does cover four other main regions of Asia, though, and it’s all fiction. I opted not to include poetry this time.

    A lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

    Related: Southeast Asian LGBT Lit, South Asian LGBT Lit, West Asian LGBT Lit & East Asian LGBT Lit.
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    Book Recs: Poetry Collections (III)

    13 August, 2022

    It’s been a while since we did a rec list of poetry collections—and Anna took on the last two—so what better way to break up your Saturday than to sit and read a poem or few! Trust me when I say each of the collections here are ones that’ll make you feel a little hollow on finishing, in the way only the best poetry can. Or don’t trust me and read it for yourself!

    As ever, the why you should read it sections have been replaced with favourite quotes.

    And hey, a lot of these titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

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    Book Recs: Twitter’s Favourite LGBT Romance Novels

    21 July, 2022

    Once again, I have asked people on Twitter something and was overwhelmed with the responses. This time my question was: what are your 5 favourite LGBT romance novels? Almost fifty people replied! It’s amazing to see how much this community loves to hype up their favourite books!

    But it also means that I had to take some time to decide how to make this post. In the end I settled on dividing it into three parts: one for recommendations from me & Charlotte, one for books which were mentioned multiple times (some more than five times!), and one all the other hidden gems. I still ended up with close to 200 titles! (In each category, the books are in alphabetical order.)

    A lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

    💛 = sapphic rep (not necessarily an f/f relationship)
    💚 = achillean rep (not necessarily an m/m relationship)
    💙 = trans & nonbinary rep

    Related: Twitter’s Favourite Sapphic Books, LGBT Books & Trans Books
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    Book Recs: 100 LGBT Books to Read Before You Die

    23 June, 2022

    …a personal list.

    When we thought about what we might post in Pride Month ourselves, we had very few ideas (they tend to become quite thin on the ground when you’ve been doing this schtick for…nearly 4 years). The one idea we did have was creating a list of 100 (LGBT) books to read before you die. So, here we are!

    There is a great variety in how we decided which books would go on this list. Some are favourites. Some are classics or nonfiction. Some are ones we simply thought to be important in the grand scheme of LGBT writing. This, in part, is why this is a personal list. It’s not definitive, and there are a number of books that you might think of that aren’t here (chiefly, because we’ve not read them). Really, it’s only a start.

    So strap yourselves in, and have a look to see how many you have read!

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    Book Recs: Anna’s Favourite Love Confessions

    26 May, 2022

    A long time ago Charlotte made a rec list of her favourite love confessions in LGBT books, and I decided it’s high time for me to make one as well. Let’s be honest, don’t we all read book just waiting for characters to make a beautiful romantic speech? Give us reasons to happy-cry!

    Also, I just want to be clear that I absolutely agree with all of Charlotte’s choices (the ones from books I’ve read, that is), and especially The Pursuit Of… & Midnighter and Apollo. They would be on my list, as well, but I don’t wanna repeat her.

    Related: Charlotte’s Favourite Love Confessions
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    Book Recs: High Fantasy (III)

    23 April, 2022

    With no clue what new rec list to possibly do, I turned back to an old(er) one to refresh. I last did a high fantasy rec list back in March 2021, and before that, April 2019, both of them before a number of books I now consider favourites were even released. So, what better time to do an update than now? And here we are, with 10 high fantasy recs for your delectation and delight!

    And hey, a lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

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    Book Recs: LGBT Witches and Other Magic-Doers (II)

    20 April, 2022

    It’s been three years since Charlotte has done the original post, and we decided that’s long enough for me to update her recs a little bit. Actually, it is always interesting to see which books for any given topic she recommends vs. me. There’s a lot of overlap, but our tastes aren’t identical.

    Anyway, if you’re craving some gay magic? Enjoy!

    And hey, a lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

    Related: LGBT Witches and Other Magic-Doers (part I) & Get Your Spook On
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    Book Recs: LGBT Contemporary or Literary Fiction

    17 April, 2022

    Contemporary and/or literary fiction is, I’ll admit, a genre I struggle with. On the whole, I find it bores me so finding books within it that I enjoy is… occasionally a futile-seeming exercise. However. I thought I’d challenge myself for you today and put together a rec list of the genre so, here we are! If you’re as little enamoured by this genre as I am, let me suggest these few exceptions to maybe change your mind.

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    Book Recs: LGBT Books That Make You Feel Feral

    24 March, 2022

    Specifically, I mean, they make you the personification of this gif:

    Because sometimes that’s what you want from a book, right? You want it to make you feel ever so slightly (or maybe not slightly at all) insane. Well I have good news for you! Each of the 10 books here will provide just that. So, enjoy!

    And hey, a lot of those titles are available on Scribd, so if you want to check out that service but don’t have an account yet, use my invite code to get 2 months for free! (This also gives me one free month.)

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