reviews, releases and recommendations of LGBT media
Let me start by saying that my definition of “coming of age movies” is pretty loose & basically any movie featuring teens who learn something about themselves & grow up, is welcomed here.
Now that we cleared that up, let’s go. There are some comedies here, some dramas, some movies somewhere in between. Hopefully a little something for everybody.
A bit of a different post for you today in that it’s not really got a theme as such. Instead I went for books that I’d rec that have fewer than 400 ratings (criminally) on Goodreads (as voted for on twitter, actually).
There is a somewhat…eclectic mix here, for sure. But I hope it’s such that you will be able to find something you’re interested in, no matter what you’re looking for.
Oh, and I tried my best to include books that didn’t have so few ratings just because they had only recently been released.
So check it out!
About, oh a month or two back, I asked a question on twitter. Namely, if you had to rec a single LGBT book (cruel I know), what would it be.
Well, these are the results — 50+ books recommended by 50+ folks!
Even when you’re an adult, sometimes what you really wanna do is watch teens being dramatic. There’s something very soothing about it. And it’s great to see them finally figure their life out and be at peace, so you can feel like a proud parent for a moment.
With that in mind, I compiled a list of ten TV shows about teenagers. There are quite a few genres here, so you should be able to choose something for yourself. Have fun!
At the beginning of the month, I got really into podcasts, because they gave me something to listen to while I was playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Or rather, one podcast. Because this list was initially supposed to be only podcasts, with a few webseries thrown in.
Instead… Well, you can see what it is instead.
But anyway. Sometimes you just need an easily and rapidly consumable shot of LGBT media, hence why on this post you can find recs for podcasts, webseries and webcomics. And this will be an ongoing series too.
If you enjoyed any of these recs, please do support the creators however you can (Patreon, Tapas, etc — there should be links on websites, hopefully, or at least links to the creators’ pages).
So, pick your content and let’s go!
It’s been a while since I last did one of these, and I have since read a fair few sapphic books. So, with the second resurgence of the f/f twitter discourse in a week, obviously my only recourse is to rec posts.
And here I am.
I also figured I’d go back to YA contemporary because, duh, I know more of them. But to mix things up a little, I’ll add a couple of upcoming ones you can support!
As ever, all the previous posts are here. The previous contemporary rec list can be found here.
Also as ever, it’s actually f/f or otherwise sapphic books.
A long promised continuation to my first rec list of LGBT period dramas. Definitely check out that post for more recommendations!
Like in that previous post, I’d like to say that I’m aware there are barely any movies with trans rep on the list. I did my best. All the other period dramas featuring trans characters that I know of, gave those roles to cis actors & I’m not about to recommend that here.
I accidentally made about half of this rec list about titles based on real stories & people, it wasn’t a conscious choice. But it does mean that not all of the movies listed are exactly super happy & gracious to the LGBT characters.
It’s quarantine day 2839394, you already baked your sourdough bread, learned how to embroider, cleaned all the grout in your flat, and – in a ideal world – finished all the books on your bookshelves. What to do now, you ask? Read more, of course!
Because we’re all tight on funds right about now, I would like to remind you that Scribd is offering a 30 days free trial on their whole library. If you’re not familiar with the website, this post would be a good place for you to get going. I tried to include a variety of genres in this list, but like it says in the title, it literally is just a starter pack.
(And if you’ll use my invite link, you will actually get two months off and I will get one, too. It’s a win-win situation.)
Final note: I very much encourage you to leave reviews of the books you’ll read on amazon and/or goodreads, and buying your own copies, if you can afford it. Or requesting them at your local library once it’s open again!
When we selected March’s read, we thought we’d cracked it. A book we’d both like, because we both had read and liked the author before. It was a shoo-in.
It was not a shoo-in.
So if you want to know exactly where things went wrong, read our reviews below.
Big news this month, as we’ve decided to scrap the book club (which, really, was just a series of failed buddy reads), and replace it with something new. A Book of the Month feature!
This, honestly, is in part because of how uncertain everything is right now. We want to use this middling-size platform we have to highlight some upcoming (or backlist at times) books that have, perhaps, gone under the radar (or, simply, people don’t realise are gay).
So, here’s how it’ll go. Each month we’ll post here and on twitter with information about the book, and order links. And hopefully raise your awareness of another amazing book!
I’m a simple reader: give me a good mystery and I will be satisfied. Make it gay and I will be over the freaking moon. And I’ve finally read enough excellent mysteries that I can make a rec list of them!
I have fairly high standards for mysteries, I’ll admit. I mean, I want something where I could potentially guess the culprit myself for a start. But not too easily. Basically I have to be able to follow along but also have some element of actual mysteriousness. I told you it was high standards.
But that, of course, means that all the books on this list are especially excellent (not that they wouldn’t be otherwise but. Stringent criteria and all).
So, onwards.
For March’s read, you voted we pick sci-fi. So the chances of Anna not reading a third book club book in a row have immediately skyrocketed.
We ended up picking a very recent release from an author we have both liked the short stories of for March’s read. Hopefully, that means we’ll both read the book for the first time in about 3 months.
So take a look to see what we selected.
Magic rolls through Orion Tamura’s history classroom like a tidal wave of golden light that only he can see. The spell is deadly, and Orion has no idea who cast it or what they want.
Answers are scarce—all of Port Monica’s sorcerers vanished fourteen years before, including Orion’s father. Armed with his limited knowledge of magic, Orion is the only one left in the city who is strong enough to investigate the origins of the spell.
But the city’s leaders will stop at nothing to censor and sabotage anyone who gets close to the truth. Invisible otherworlders watch every move Orion and his friends make, and a mysterious sorcerer who knows the answers haunts Orion’s dreams.
Jimena I. Novaro
Published: 17th December 2019
Goodreads
Rep: Japanese Argentine American bi mc, nonbinary side character
Because we promised (vaguely, maybe a while back on twitter), me and Anna have some wintery rec lists for you! We’ve trawled through all the Christmas (and other winter holiday) media, just to find something gay all for you (ask Anna about her travails with Christmas films I dare you).
And here is the first of those rec lists! Ten books (mostly novellas in this one) for you set during Christmas (or another winter holiday, but mostly Christmas because it’s surprisingly difficult to find holiday novellas that are a) gay and b) not Christmas-specific. Obviously I wasn’t trying hard enough).
But anyway. Onwards.
Took us a hot second to write down the reviews, but come on guys, it just be like that sometimes… The important thing is that we’re here and we’re ready to talk about the book! Hopefully you have read it with us and we can actually have some fun chatting!
And don’t forget: for November we chose three novellas! They’re so short, you have no excuse not to read at least one of them!
