ownvoices Archives — Page 5 of 14

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In the Intersection: LGBT Lit and Faith

22 June, 2021

The penultimate rec list in this series is one that covers LGBT lit in which faith and religion play a big role (but isn’t always the sole focus, mind). We’ve done our best here to feature as many religions as possible, but, as you might expect, some are (as ever) easier to find than others. The sections are sorted alphabetically (with a miscellaneous section which represents books covering multiple religions) so are easily searchable.

The series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, neurodiversity & disability in lit.

We didn’t find much more examples (outside of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism), but here, have this documentary about a lesbian Taoist priestess and her daughter.

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In the Intersection: Indigenous LGBT Lit

21 June, 2021

This was probably the trickiest list so far. We wanted to cover as many different indigenous peoples as we could—obviously limited by what’s published and/or available and/or translated—of which, there are some easier to find than others (as is probably clear). There’s also a fair amount of overlap with at least some of the previous lists, so we’ve tried not to duplicate books (although authors may feature more than once here, and across lists).

This list is a little bit different to the previous ones. We aren’t marking with flags, or including an emoji to indicate diaspora. Instead, we’ll split the list by continent, and make a note for specifics. As such, this is going to be a longer list than previous ones (although undoubtedly you’ll spot where we couldn’t find any books).

And once again, briefly, some links to the series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

And more links! Hausa lit, New Zealand lit (not all indigenous), some Sami lit (although not translated into English), North American lit (and here).

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In the Intersection: Latine LGBT Lit

20 June, 2021

Next up in our intersectional rec posts is Latine lit! We’ve done our best to cover as much of Latin America as possible here, but once again, what we can offer depends very much on what we can find and, as such, you’ll see pretty clearly where the gaps are. But. We hope you find something to enjoy on here! And there are plenty of links to search further (& if you speak Spanish, you’re in luck, we found some untranslated lit too!).

As before, we’re using flags to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

And once again, briefly, some links to the series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

As ever, more links: this Mexican book, which remains untranslated (boo), Chicana/Latina lesbians, Latine YA books, 9 books to read before you die, this Venezuelan book, again untranslated, some untranslated Ecuadorian essays, Puerto Rican lit (not all LGBT, but some by nonbinary authors), this (translated into German and French) book of stories about Argentine trans women, more Latin American authors, and some poets!

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In the Intersection: Southeast Asian LGBT Lit

17 June, 2021

The last of our lists covering Asia (if only because with the remaining regions we’d probably struggle to get 30 books), today we’ve got for you 30 books by Southeast Asian authors. I’m kind of running out of things to say in this introduction, since it’s much the same as previous posts: we haven’t read all of them, so it’s more a collection, than a rec list. So yeah. Enjoy.

As before, we’re using flags to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

And once again, briefly, some links to the series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

And more links! Indonesian lit (primarily in Indonesian), Malaysian lit, Singaporean lit (and also here), and variously here.

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In the Intersection: South Asian LGBT Lit

16 June, 2021

After digging around for hours for South Asian lit that wasn’t primarily Indian, we finally have managed to get together 30 books for you, of which only about half are Indian (perhaps unsurprisingly those are the easiest to find, comparatively). Once again, there’s a mixture of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, so we hope you’ll find something to enjoy here.

As before, we’re using flags to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

And once again, briefly, some links to the series so far: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, West Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

And if you want more links, there are (so many) more lists here, here, here, here, here, and here. There’s also this zine by a Sri Lankan & an Afghan-Pakistani creator.

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All Recommended, Book Recs, Literature

In the Intersection: West Asian LGBT Lit

15 June, 2021

I hope everyone’s excited for this post, because me and Anna are! Of the posts we’ve collated so far, this is the one that’s required the most digging (I think Anna is most proud of finding a book by a Yemeni author), especially since we’ve done our best to cover as wide an area as we can with these recs. But we managed it! So here are 30 recs for you by West Asian authors.

As before, we’re using flags to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

Before we start, briefly, some links to the series: Black, African & Caribbean lit, East Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

And if you want more links… well we found a couple of untranslated books too! Here’s one from Georgia, one from Azerbaijan and one from Syria (available in Swedish or German).

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In the Intersection: East Asian LGBT Lit

13 June, 2021

It’s like buses: you wait ages for one pride rec list and then two arrive at once! Today we’re covering East Asian LGBT lit, both that which is translated, and that which comes from diaspora authors. Once again, we’ve not read everything on this list (in fact, because we do want to prioritise translated lit in general, there’s a fair bit that’s not read), so it’s more a starter list for everyone.

As before, we’re using flags to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

All of the series: Black, African & Caribbean lit , West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

Once again, some more links if you want to read more: translated literature from Taiwan and China, Japanese literature, Korean literature (also here – in Korean).

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All Recommended, Book Recs, Literature

In the Intersection: Black, African, and Caribbean LGBT Lit

12 June, 2021

For Pride Month 2021, our rec posts are taking a bit of a different shape. Over the course of June, we’ll have nine posts for you (of which this is, obviously, the first) in which we rec books where LGBT-ness intersects with another identity, be it race, disability or religion. These posts are only intended as starter packs, mind, and we’re going to try include books that may be less talked about. Ideally, we’ll have read most of the books we’re reccing, but sometimes that might not be the case (in a way, these are as much lists for ourselves as for you!).

And, also, a brief note on “ownvoices” (or however you wish to refer to it): all of the books we rec are (for the most part—there are a handful of exceptions though) by authors who ID as LGBT, although maybe not the specific identity of their characters. The other part of the intersection will more strictly match up with the character’s identity (within reason, i.e. whether the author talks about it specifically in terms of themself).

In the case of this list, we’ve used flag emojis to mark a country of origin (where possible) and a separate emoji (🏹) to mark if the author is a diaspora author.

All of the series: East Asian lit, West Asian lit, South Asian lit, Southeast Asian lit, Latine lit, Indigenous lit, religion in lit, and neurodiversity & disability in lit.

And, if after reading this you’re looking for more LGBT lit by African authors, let us point you in the direction of this list.

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All Reviews, Literature

ARC Review: The Way It Breaks

5 June, 2021

You won’t find reviews of adult contemporary novels very often on this blog, but both me and Charlotte like to venture out of our comfort zones every once in a while. And whenever we do, we’re lucky enough to come across something we enjoy.

Which is why we are all here today. I already mentioned The Way It Breaks on my post about ownvoices achillean books, and I was actually able to read it a bit early. So read on to find out why you should pre-order this book, and in the meantime, follow Polis on twitter!

Orestis is a young man who refuses to accept his lot in life. He wants a better job, a toned body, his own place, a brighter future. On a night out, he bumps into an old school friend who lands him an interview at her father’s five-star hotel. Orestis feels he is finally on the path to success. That is, until he becomes acquainted with a high-end gigolo who draws him onto a different path – one that takes him to a wealthy Belarusian trophy wife named Darya. Before long, Orestis’ destiny drifts even further out of his control.

Set in Cyprus, The Way It Breaks is a modern tale about fate and free will; love and boundaries; and the value of a human being.

The Way It Breaks

Polis Loizou

Goodreads

Published: 24th June 2021
Rep: bi mc, bi character, gay character
TW: fatphobia, internalised fatphobia, xenophobia

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Book of the Month, Literature

Book of the Month: The Dangerous Kingdom of Love

2 June, 2021

We wavered between a few releases for June’s book of the month and eventually settled on this one on account of the number of adds it has on Goodreads. Because we’re fair and scientific like that (in theory). This month’s selection is for all the historical fiction lovers out there, so feast your eyes on it!

Everyone else? Well, best start reading historical fiction, since you won’t want to miss out on this one!

Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.

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Book Recs: Standalone Fantasy

13 May, 2021

After a few days of unintentional downtime (can you tell neither me nor Anna has the slightest clue about self-hosting), we’re back with a rec list of standalone fantasy books. For those times when you don’t want to invest in reading an entire series, but you do want something fantastical.

I’m sure we can all relate.

But anyway. Enough waffling on, because it’s been days since we’ve been able to post. I’m sure you all just want to get straight into it (so to speak).

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Book of the Month, Literature

Book of the Month: Blackheart Knights

4 May, 2021

For May’s book of the month, I badgered Anna into letting me choose a book that’s out in the month, rather than the next month, because I read it and loved it, so now I have to force it all on you.

(Just kidding.)

But if you’re looking for gay Arthuriana (and aren’t we all on some level), then this is the start of an upcoming mini-boom, and one you really won’t want to miss out on!

Related: Don’t forget all releases can be found in our monthly lists here.

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Book Recs: Lesbian Adult Fantasy

27 April, 2021

In keeping with the fact it’s Lesbian Visibility Week this week, today’s rec list is going to be one of solely lesbian adult fantasy recs (as requested by Anna). And I mean specifically lesbian, rather than sapphic in general (of which I have an old list here), so we’re talking characters who are attracted to women, but also are completely not attracted to men (simplistically put).

A couple of disclaimers: firstly, I’m fairly sure I’m right in reading these characters as lesbians. But obviously, since it’s fantasy, you don’t tend to get the word itself used, or even hedged around like in contemporary. As such, these are to-the-best-of-my-knowledge recs. Secondly, yeah, a lot of these are upcoming ones. Turns out I haven’t read all that many sapphic adult fantasies that you can pinpoint as lesbian. Something to work on.

All that aside, though, here are ten books you absolutely need to read. Call it lesbian canon, if you will.

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.)

Since writing this post, I’ve continued these recs as a series, so if you want to check out the other posts in that:

Gay | Bi/Pan | Trans

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All Recommended, Book Recs, Literature

Book Recs: Lesbian Lit

23 April, 2021

This is a rec list I keep promising and then never coming through on, but finally, finally, I’ve got my act together. If you’ve followed me on twitter, you’ll know I regularly complain about lesbians in (generally YA) lit never using the word lesbian about themselves. I even wrote a whole post about just that.

But I never offered you the books I know that do use the word lesbian (of which, I’m finding, I know depressingly few). So, these are they (with the exception of one, which I had to get Anna to tell me how to rec). If you’re looking for more, there are some in this thread.

Before we start, I just need to make clear how I’m deciding on these books. First and foremost, each book has to feature a lesbian character who claims the word lesbian for themselves. Not someone else calling them a lesbian, not random mentions of lesbianism but the mc never says “I’m a lesbian”. Yes, I’m being a bit strict in cases, but I want to offer you ten books where the mc claims the label in a positive context.

I have also tried to keep only to YA books, but I had to sneak one adult in there to make up numbers.

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All Releases, Book Releases, Literature

Book Releases: Ownvoices M/M books of January-June 2021

15 April, 2021

Well, actually… the term ownvoices here is used very liberally. By that I mean you will find below books with gay main characters written by gay authors but sometimes it will be for example books with gay characters written by bi authors.

Generally, though, novels with mlm characters by mlm authors. Achillean books by achillean authors, if you will. So while the label might not always 100% match between the author and the character, those are still books written by people who understand the experience.

This is also why I opted out of using the rainbow emoji – everyone would get one anyways.

See also: ownvoices m/m books of July-December 2021, of January-June 2020 & of July-December 2020.

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