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    Book Recs: It’s About the Yearning

    I had absolutely no idea what rec list to make for today so, in a sort of democracy I suppose, I got people on twitter to choose between this, butch lesbians and yes this book is gay. (Don’t worry, the latter two will be coming, although maybe not so soon.)

    We all know that yearning is a massive part of the best LGBT lit, at what we all yearn (lol) for. So, here are ten of my favourites that just hit that sweet spot.

    Yes, there are some upcoming books on this list, I can’t be held accountable for it though.

  • All Recommended,  Film & TV Recs,  Film & TV Shows

    Film & TV Recs: Gay Comedies

    I don’t know about you guys, but most of the gay movies I end up watching are dramas and if there’s anything funny about them, it’s like one scene. So it got me thinking: where are the comedies? And I’m talking actually hilarious stuff. Not romcoms (that is going to be another rec list in the near future!), not slice-of-life with a few joke thrown in. Comedies.

    I put one TV show on this list, just for some variety. In all fairness, I was initially going to include Schitt’s Creek, but I figured everyone knows about that absolute gem so there’s really no point.

    And yes, I’m painfully aware there’s no trans rep on this list, hence the title, but finding good comedies with trans characters played by trans actors proved beyond my powers. If you know any, please let me know, so I can make a list just for them!

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    Book Recs: Bi MCs and M/F Romance (I)

    Today’s list, brought to you late this evening, is one I touted doing a few months’ back, which got added to my (long) list of post ideas and which I am just now finally getting around to. So, here we are. Ten books featuring bi MCs in m/f romances. And, because when I started listing all the books I knew, the list got steadily longer and longer (if we include those I still need to read), this will have multiple parts to come.

    One little note before we start: this list includes bi MCs with POVs only. That is, a bi love interest, despite the fact they are a pretty major character, would not get included. For this list alone, obviously.

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    Book Recs: LGBT Graphic Novels (II)

    I’ve made a rec list for LGBT graphic novels before (funnily enough, it was on Christmas Eve two years ago) and you can check it out here. But the truth is, you can never have too many of those in your life! Which is why I decided that part two of that particular rec list is long overdue.

    So here we are! Ten more LGBT graphic novels, across a bunch of genres and for various target audiences. Hope you will find a new favourite here.

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    Book Recs: Books With Less Than 400 Goodreads Ratings (II)

    It’s been a good few months since I did a post like this, and since I hit…uh…500 books so far this year, I figure I’ve read enough more books to do a second post. So, here we are! Once again, there is a wide range of books on this post, so hopefully you find something you’ll enjoy.

    If you want to know what I recced in the first post, take a peek here.

    And, once again, the books on this list, where possible, are not ones that only have fewer than 400* ratings by dint of being published recently (i.e. within the last month, I figure).

    *Although by some strange coincidence, none of these actually have over 204 ratings…

  • All Recommended,  Film & TV Recs,  Film & TV Shows

    Film & TV Recs: Movies with two QPOC leads

    I’m sure y’all noticed that weird trend in Hollywood where if one half of a gay couple is POC, the other, without fail, is white. Yeah, we can have some diversity, but just not too much.

    So that’s why this rec list came to be. Here you will find ten gay and lesbian movies where both the main character and the love interest are QPOC. Turns out, it’s not impossible to achieve!

  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: King and Lionheart

    Initially, I had not a clue what my second rec list this month would be. Spooky season recs was an obvious one, but after that, I was stuck. But then along came Shri and told me to rec books that fit the king and lionheart trope.

    Before we start, though, a quick definition, courtesy of Shri, again:

    it’s like hero burdened with the main problem and person who is unconditionally loyal to them and a protector. their rock if you will.

    For want of a better example, think Merlin and Arthur from BBC’s Merlin. And since what’s better than a trope, than that same trope made gay, I come bearing recs (sometimes romantic, sometimes not).

  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Spooky Season

    It being October, and almost Halloween, clearly the time was perfect for a rec list that combines the best of the spooky season and LGBT rep. Now, full disclosure, I’m very easily spooked (ha) when it comes to these things (especially if I’m reading late at night) – although not as easily as Anna.

    I’ve tried for variety in these recs, so it’s not going to be all horror (since I don’t read a whole lot of that, for the aforementioned reason), but anything that features something that you might see around All Hallows’ Eve/All Saint’s Day.

    So have a scroll, and let me know what else you would rec!

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    Book Recs: Gay books matching the feeling of Siken poetry

    My credentials to write this post are as follows: I have read War of the Foxes 6 times, and Crush 27 times. When I say I’m obssessed with Siken’s poetry…

    I asked people on twitter to share their favourite quotes by Siken with me. And granted, that happened a few months ago, but time flows differently in 2020. So here I am today, with gay and sapphic novels that somehow match the feelings evoked by said Siken quotes. Some of them will make you cry, as they should, but some of them are just beautifully hopeful.

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    Book Recs: Middle Grade

    Have you ever picked up a gay middle grade book, in the hopes of something lighter to read in between YA or adult books, and suddenly found yourself bawling over it, because there’s something about MG that just hits and yet is so hopeful?

    If you haven’t, you’re missing out.

    So, in the interests of helping you not miss out any more, I have compiled a rec list of MG books for you to cry over*.

    *Disclaimer: you might not actually cry. I don’t know.

    Because I haven’t read huge amounts of LGBT MG myself, here you’ll find 6 books I’d rec, and 4 upcoming releases I can’t wait to read.

    Enjoy!

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    Book Recs: Sapphic Science Fiction (I)

    After a last minute switcheroo, today’s rec list is a long-awaited continuation of all those other sapphic rec lists (all the previous posts are here) which you have probably forgotten about. On request, this iteration is the first of (hopefully) many sapphic science fiction rec posts!

    Same disclaimer as in that adult sci fi rec list (in which I apparently recced most of these books anyway…huh) applies: I really like hard sci fi, but I know that that’s not the case for everyone, so there are soft sci fi recs in here too (although by some strange coincidence, most of these recs take place in space…proof space is gay I think).

    And, because I like fun, 5 of the books on this list are upcoming! (Okay, 6, but does it really count when that 6th is out in 5 days?).

    So have a gander!

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    Book Recs: LGBT YA books with supportive parents

    If there is one thing I care about deeply when it comes to YA literature, it’s supportive parents. I firmly believe that at least in fiction, LGBT kids deserve only the best. And nothing can be more formative than your parents being perfectly fine with who you are (as they always should be!) & allowing you to grow up with love and confidence.

    So this is why this rec list got made. Because as much as I personally adore supportive parents, it’s still not the opinion shared by majority and books featuring them are scarce. All the more reasons to appreciate them!

  • All Recommended,  Music,  Music Recs

    Music Recs: Love Is Home

    Not to get ahead of myself, but this is probably the best mix I have ever made. Not just because I used only great songs which also work together very well, but most of all because of theme of those songs.

    I used one of the Twenty-One Love Poems by Adrienne Rich (from the collection “Dream of a Common Language”) as the original description of it & it should tell you better than I ever could, what the theme here is.

    I wake up in your bed. I know I have been dreaming.
    Much earlier, the alarm broke us from each other,
    you’ve been at your desk for hours. I know what I dreamed:
    our friend the poet comes into my room
    where I’ve been writing for days,
    drafts, carbons, poems are scattered everywhere,
    and I want to show her one poem
    which is the poem of my life. But I hesitate,
    and wake. You’ve kissed my hair
    to wake me. I dreamed you were a poem,
    I say, a poem I wanted to show someone . . .
    and I laugh and fall dreaming again
    of the desire to show you to everyone I love,
    to move openly together
    in the pull of gravity, which is not simple,
    which carries the feathered grass a long way down the upbreathing air.

    I think you will all agree that having someone love you makes you feel like you’re home, safe & sound. And gay love somehow makes that feeling more pronounced. And so here we are! Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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    Book Recs: Urban Fantasy (II)

    …or urbanish, since most of these turned out to be historical fantasies. But that still counts, in my opinion.

    But anyway! Today’s rec list is a continuation of a previous one, because I’ve done high fantasy, I did adult fantasy, and Anna did (some) YA fantasy. So where else to turn to next, but (back) to urban fantasy. So. Without further ado, let’s start!

    P.S. you can see what I recced in the first of these posts here.

  • All Recommended,  Book Recs,  Literature

    Book Recs: Arthuriana

    A little while back, I touted the possibility on twitter of doing a rec list of Arthurian retellings, but gay (obviously). Now, I thought this would be a pretty niche rec list, but apparently not, which is why I’m here today with 10 gay retellings of Arthurian legend.

    First things first, I haven’t read any of these myself, and a fair few are upcoming because, as it turns out, gay Arthurian retellings aren’t that big a market (shamefully, let’s be real). So I have dispensed “why should I read it” sections, since all I can really say is it’s gay, it’s Arthuriana, why aren’t you as excited as I am already.

    One last thing before we start though. You will probably notice one book in particular missing and I just want to say, before people start mentioning it in the comments, I do know about it. I didn’t get along with it. That’s why it’s not on this list.

    P.S. if you want more than this post, I made a list on Goodreads of everything I could find.