The Life and Times of Butch Dykes by Eloisa Aquino

The Life and Times of Butch Dykes by Eloisa Aquino

The Life and Times of Butch Dykes was originally a series of zines, now collected in a highly illustrated hardcover. I was on board from the title page, where the publisher says, “If you bought this on Amazon, I’m so sorry because you could have gotten it cheaper and supported a small, independent publisher at www.Microcosm.Pub” That turns out to be true: Microcosm Publishing has a sliding scale price!

The day that I read this book, twitter was having an argument about the use of the word “dyke,” so it was fascinating to read the intro and see how the author and publisher had considered this term. They explain that gender is fluid, that some of the people featured in the zine now identify as men (and were left out of the collection on request). Some presented their gender differently later in life. Some are non-binary and use they/them pronouns. Others we have no idea how they would identify if they had access to the vocabulary we have today. They all, however, are queer, love women, and defy gender expectations, which is the thread that holds this together.

Each zine (some have been digitally reconstructed) has a different subject. Most are biographies of individuals, but others are broad categories, like butch filmmakers, or Brazilian fern-haired singers. Every other page is an illustration, and the text is hand-lettered. There are many quotations from the people featured. This is a beautiful book to flip through.

Some of the people included are well-known figures like Audre Lorde, while others were people I’ve never heard of, like a 5’7 tattooed Japanese butch lesbian who became a hugely successful fashion model in the 90s. Even if I was familiar with the people being described, I loved seeing all the portraits. For the people I didn’t know, this acted as a great teaser, providing just enough tantalizing information that I wanted to seek out more.

I loved how diverse this collection is–not only in terms of gender and sexuality, but also race and nationality. Eloisa Aquino is Brazilian-Canadian, and she features butches from all over the world (and across time). Each gets a short biography, which often has very little to do with gender or sexuality. Instead of acting as a 101 on who and what a butch dyke is, this collection offers beacons of people throughout history and around the world who have lived their authentic lives, which inherently encourages the readers to live their own.

This is a great little coffee table book, and I think it would make a perfect gift for fans of butch dykes, gender nonconforming, queer history, or zines! I did have some minor issues: the digital reconstruction means that some illustrations have noticeable pixelation, and one line (pg 52) seemed to imply that coming out as bisexual didn’t count as really coming out, but overall I thought this was a great, one-sitting read.

This was the book voted on by my Patrons to vlog about in August! Here is my vlog, which also discusses some other sapphic books, and features my bookshelf reorganization and my dogs!

If you’d like to pick what I read next, you can support me on Patreon, and you’ll also get queer women books in the mail throughout the year!

Bringing the Lesbian Vampire Home: Carmen Maria Machado’s Reclamation of CARMILLA

Carmilla: Bringing the Lesbian Vampire Home graphic

Carmilla is a lesbian vampire story that predates Dracula by decades. It’s a story I’ve come back to over and over, in the same conflicted way that I am drawn to lesbian pulp. In fact, I wrote a post about queer culture’s tendency to reclaim toxic representation, and how Carmilla and lesbian pulp fits into that. On the one hand, it’s validating to read about queer characters in classic literature, when our presence has been erased from much of history. On the other, Carmilla is literally a monster. I vividly remember my university Gender Studies class about Monstrous Women, and how the pinnacle of this is the lesbian vampire who lurks in the shadows, ready to pounce on innocent women and violently convert them.

Carmilla is a complex character, though. She’s in some ways pitiable and even relatable. She also seems to love Laura in some way, and their relationship is passionate, if veiled and macabre. I’m not the only queer woman drawn to this flawed but compelling character: it’s been adapted into a YouTube series (with canonically queer characters, including a nonbinary side character) that became popular enough to get its own movie and book adaptations.

I’ve always felt conflicted reading Carmilla, though, because while I could reclaim the character, it was with the knowledge that the author and story was painting her as monstrous—and that her sexuality was just an expression of this villainy. I was both repulsed by and attracted to this story—just as Laura is said to be to Carmilla. When I discovered that Carmen Maria Machado was editing and introducing a new edition, I was eager to get my hands on it. I couldn’t imagine that an introduction and new editor could make a huge difference, but if anyone could reclaim this queer narrative, Machado could: the same person who wrote, “I think a lot about queer villains, the problem and pleasure and audacity of them” (In the Dream House).

I shouldn’t have underestimated Machado. This edition rewrites the entire narrative of Carmilla while keeping the vast majority of the text exactly the same. Originally, Le Fanu published the chapters serially in a magazine, then later bound them together with an introduction which claimed that the story came from Doctor Hesselius’s notes. Machado adds another layer. She claims that Le Fanu pulled this story from stolen letters, disguising and censoring the women’s story. Machado claims that the real letters from Veronika (“Laura”) were explicit about her and Carmilla’s romantic and sexual relationship.

In this version, it isn’t queer women who are trying to alter the author’s intention in order to claim Carmilla. Instead, it’s Le Fanu whose heteronormativity has obscured the real story, which can now be unearthed in its true form. This edition also adds a few footnotes and illustrations, though I desperately wanted there to be more of both. The meta-narrative that Machado creates is one in which vampires do exist—and that’s not all. In one footnote, Laura lingers outside of the woods, and the footnote laments, “Lonely as she was, if only Laura knew the potential friends who resided in those woods! Peddlers, mountebanks, roguish-but-decent thieves and brigands, fairies, wolpertingers…” (Another footnote, after a lengthy description, succinctly states, “If this isn’t an orgasm, nothing is.”) And Robert Kraiza’s illustrations are beautiful and compelling.

It’s so nice to have a friendly (i.e. queer) guide through this unfriendly narrative. It was always interesting to read this classic lesbian text, but it was through the lens of heterosexism. Having a queer author shape this story makes it feel entirely new—not a guilty pleasure, but a triumphant one. Machado brings Carmilla and Laura into the fold. In this version, Laura watches in horror as her male supposed protectors execute her lover in front of her, claiming it is for her safety. Veronika dreams of Carmilla, of her corpse intoning “You are mine.” Veronika writes, “How I fear that sound: that it might be true, and that it might never be true again.”

Unfortunately, shame, guilt, and fear intermingling with desire is still a common feeling for many queer people, especially when they are first exploring their sexuality. Laura is drawn to Carmilla at the same time that she feels “something of repulsion,” which can easily be interpreted as compulsory heterosexuality souring desire. Laura even wonders if Carmilla could be a boy disguised—the only way she can conceive of romance. Under Machado’s framing, instead of being horrific, Laura and Carmilla’s relationship seems somewhat familiar. Unhealthy, sure, and conflicted—but not inhuman.

After reading this book, I was filled with pride for how queer readers throughout time have reclaimed and reshaped the narratives meant to destroy us:

I want to seek out every snide reference to a queer woman in literature throughout time, for the same reason that queer people reclaim monsters and villains. Because we stare our fears in the eye and embrace them. We take the boogeyman stories about us and we invite them in. We make monsters into heroes and the heroes into monsters. We queer the story. Instead of shrinking from the terrible associations that have been put on us, we remake them and show them off. Because we are alchemists who turn shame into pride. And this is a book that knows that so intimately.

I finished that book knowing that Machado understood why I kept reading Carmilla, and she had created a version more hospitable to readers like me. Instead of feeling like I was fighting through the text, I was guided through it with a sympathetic hand. The lesbian vampire has long been the cruel caricature of queer women, a weapon used to portray all desire between women as pathological and even violent. Machado has taken that character, and in the grand tradition of reclaiming queer villains, she has humanized her. After long being the spectre haunting queer representation, Machado has invited Carmilla in, finally bringing the original lesbian vampire home.

This article originally ran on Book Riot.

Landice interviews Anna Burke about her book Spindrift

Spindrift by Anna Burke

Anna Burke is not just one of my favorite lesfic authors—she’s one of my all time favorite authors, period. I love her dystopian lesbian pirate debut novel so much that I’ve convinced 6+ different friends to read it, essentially turning my Sapphic Bookstagram group chat into the unofficial Compass Rose fan club, and I credit Burke’s 2019 Goldie Award winning book, Thorn (an F/F Beauty & the Beast re-imagining), with reigniting my long dormant love for reading.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Burke about her newest book, Spindrift. A contemporary romance, Spindrift is definitely a departure from her previous work, but I found it to be equally delightful!

Landice: Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me, Anna! Would you like to introduce yourself to readers not yet familiar with you or your work?

Anna Burke: Sure! I am predominately a speculative fiction writer. My first book, Compass Rose, is a dystopian high-seas lesbian pirate novel, and my next two books, Thorn and Nottingham, are retold fairytales (Beauty and the Beast and the legend of Robin Hood, respectively). But most people know me as Artemis’s dog mom.

Landice: That’s certainly how I know you! [laughs] But, speaking of dogs, Spindrift is a romance between two dog moms, which I loved. I mean, there’s a lot more to Emilia and Morgan than their dogs, but Nell and Kraken do play an important part in the novel! Is Kraken (a German Shepherd) based off of your own pup? These are the sort of hard-hitting questions Lesbrary readers are here for, obviously.

Anna: Kraken is absolutely based on my GSD, and another dog, who will appear in later books, is inspired by my Cocker Spaniel. I couldn’t resist! I love writing animals into my work–and not just because I love animals, though that admittedly might have a lot to do with it. From a craft perspective, how characters interact with their pets can reveal a great deal about them, and they can also serve as a humanizing influence on characters who might otherwise be irredeemable. And, let’s face it—us queers love our pets.

Landice: Very true! Emilia is definitely a bit of an ice queen at first—or, we can tell that’s how she wants to be seen, at least, because she’s still very fragile and sort of cagey post-breakdown. But her interactions with Nell and with other animals in the first part of the novel really help us glimpse past the emotional walls she puts up! And as someone who also struggles with anxiety and other mental illnesses, I really appreciated the care you took in writing Emilia’s own mental health issues. What, if any, were some of the challenges you faced in writing that aspect of the novel?

Anna: This is a great question. Mental health is a topic that is close to my heart, and is something that I–as well as most of the people I know—struggle with. Not only is it a major issue in the veterinary profession, but it also is something that the queer community faces disproportionately. I’m queer and married to a veterinarian (laughs). By far the biggest challenge I faced in writing Emilia’s character was figuring out how to faithfully portray her struggles while also conveying a sense of hope. She’s faced some tough shit, and will continue to deal with that, but she’s also learning how to live with it, and that’s where I wanted to put the focus of the novel. Sometimes surviving is the bravest thing we can do. Emilia is brave, and because I write fiction, her reward is new friends, old love, lots of dogs, and, well… a few boat scenes, let’s just say.

Landice: And what excellent boat scenes they are! The steamier sections of Spindrift are stellar, some of the best I’ve read in a long time, but honestly, the mental health aspects were what really stood out to me. You know that meme that’s gone around lately, “Sure sex is great, but…”? Spindrift reminds me of that. “Sure, sex is great, but have you ever read a romance novel that also has phenomenal mental health rep?” [laughs]

Anna: Omg, that’s amazing. And then there’s Morgan, who is in total denial about her own issues… As a reader (and a writer and a human), I really do think that the deeper the emotional connection, the better the sex/the bigger the payoff. For these characters, an emotional connection isn’t possible without navigating the emotional depths they’ve both sunk to, which also offers such good potential for conflict. And, you know. Some good flannel ripping.

Landice: Flannel ripper! Oh, my god. That is the best possible way to describe this novel, honestly. Why aren’t flannel rippers a thing in the lesfic community, yet? Can we make them a thing? Anyway, I know you’re currently working on the second Seal Cove romance, Night Tide. What are the biggest differences, you’ve found, between writing both speculative fiction and contemporary romance?

Anna: I feel like #flannelripper has to already be a thing, but it clearly needs to be a BIGGER thing. Let’s make it happen. Honestly, I love hopping genres. It’s like solving different puzzles, and it lets me explore different storylines and settings. It also keeps me from getting stuck—I work on multiple projects simultaneously, and working in different genres often gets me out of writer’s block.

It’s funny—I thought there would be larger differences. I did enjoy not having to create entire worlds and societies, and there was less research involved (though again, being married to a vet made the veterinary research component easy). But characterization and world-building are the same regardless of genre. [laughs] Probably the biggest difference is that I wanted the characters in these stories to be happy. Anyone who follows me on social media knows this is a big departure from the norm!

Landice: It’s a nice change from your other books, I must say. I love the others, but they definitely hurt. [laughs] I’d love to have you back once Sea Wolf (Compass Rose sequel) is out in the world, that’d be a very different conversation. But to wrap up, how would you describe Spindrift to a potential reader in a couple sentences or so? Aside from #FlannelRipper, what’s your elevator pitch?

Anna: [laughs] Okay. Butch bottom falls for femme top/flex, plus dogs.

Landice: Yeah, I’d say that pretty much sums things up! [laughs] Thank you so much for speaking with me!

Spindrift’s official release date is August 25th, but you can snag your copy now, exclusively through the Bywater Books website!

Spindrift Description:

Can a hot summer fling mend the hearts of two broken women?

Morgan Donovan had everything she ever wanted: a dream job as a large animal veterinarian, awesome friends, and a loving and supportive fiancée. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancée dumps her after realizing that Morgan’s job will always come first. And, while Morgan still has the job and friends, her heart is broken into a million tiny pieces.

Emilia Russo is a burned-out shelter vet. When the unexpected death of her father triggers a mental breakdown that hastens the end of her relationship, she retreats to his house in Seal Cove, Maine. She plans on spending the summer renovating it while she figures out how to pull the pieces of her life back together. But when she runs into Morgan at the dock where her father’s sailboat is moored, her plans for a quiet summer of healing and reflection sink like a stone—the attraction is immediate and obvious, and Emilia finds herself slipping seamlessly into Morgan’s world.

Each woman knows this fling will end when Emilia returns to Boston at the end of the summer, but they’re unprepared for the intensity and depth of their attraction. And, as the gales of fall begin to drive leaves like spindrift upon Seal Cove, Morgan and Emilia must each come to terms with how much they’re willing to give up to stay together.

Content Warnings: past suicidality, death of a parent (off page), mentions of animal euthanasia

Anna Burke with her dog!Anna Burke was the inaugural recipient of the Sandra Moran Scholarship from the GCLS Writing Academy and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College. Her queer feminist novel, Thorn, was named 2019 LGBTQ+ book of the year by Foreword Reviews. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can usually be found drinking tea or playing with her dogs.

You can find her as annaburkeauthor on Patreon, Instagram, Twitter, or on her website, annahburke.com.

Landice is an autistic lesbian graphic design student who lives on a tiny farm outside of a tiny town in rural Texas. Her favorite genres are sci-fi, fantasy & speculative fiction, and her favorite tropes are enemies-to-lovers, thawing the ice queen, & age gap romances. Landice drinks way too much caffeine, buys more books than she’ll ever be able to read, and dreams of starting her own queer book cover design studio one day.

You can find her as manicfemme on Bookstagram & Goodreads, and as manic_femme on Twitter. Her personal book blog is Manic Femme Reviews.

Link Round Up: June 1 – 10

Lesbrary Links collage

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett  Uncomfortable Labels by Laura Kate Dale  Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis  Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn  The Summer of Jordi Perez

Autostraddle posted 8 Funny Books Featuring Queer Adult Women and The Perfect Queer Poem: When You Need to Find Your Body.

Book Riot posted

Lambda Literary posted 31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Winners Announced.

LGBTQ@NYPL posted Librarians on Meaningful Books in Their LGBTQ Journeys.

LGBTQ Reads posted New Releases: June 2019 and TBRainbow Alert: Memoirs.

Hana & Hina: After School Vol 1  Kase-San and Morning Glories Vol 1   Ash by Malinda Lo  Bloom Into You Vol 1  Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl Vol 1

“The Beginner’s Guide to Yuri Manga” was posted at Anime Feminist.

“Is Yuri Queer?” was posted at Anime Feminist.

“Nina LaCour Wants You To Read ‘Ash’ By Malinda Lo With Bustle Book Club This June” was posted at Bustle.

“50 Unapologetically Queer Authors Share the Best LGBTQ Books of All Time” was posted at Oprah Magazine.

“Pulp fiction was cheap, salacious, and one of the only venues for lesbian love stories” was posted at A.V. Club.

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn   The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire Part One cover   When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll  The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part One  The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

When I Arrived At The Castle by Emily Carroll was reviewed at Study Breaks.

Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part One by Michael Dante DiMartino was reviewed at Okazu.

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon was reviewed by Niamh Murphy.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Sarah Neilson, Shelly Farrell, Martha Hansen, Daniela Gonzalez De Anda, Amy Hanson, Bee Oder, Hannah Dent, Ellen Zemlin, Hana Chappell, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

Link Round Up: May 18 – 31

Lesbrary Links: Bi & Lesbian News & Reviews

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

The Color Purple by Alice Walker  Laure Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki   We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia    The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta  These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

Autostraddle posted The Perfect Queer Poem: For Defining Your Boundaries.

Book Riot posted Out First LGBTQ+ Books.

Bustle posted 26 New LGBTQIA+ Books to Read This Pride Month.

Daily Xtra! posted 10 queer books we can’t wait to read this summer.

Green Tea & Paperbacks posted All of the Queer Books I Want to Read for Pride (But Will Realistically Probably Not Get To).

Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman   The Pursuit of Miss Heartbreak Hotel by Moe Bonneau   The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante   The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos   My Footprints by Bao Phi

LGBTQ Reads posted

Publishers Weekly posted Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ Books 2019 and Beyond Drag Queen Story Hour: LGBTQ Books 2019.

Women and Words updated their Hot off the Press and Coming Attractions page.

YA Pride posted LGBTQIAP+ YA Books by Asian Authors.

Nicole Dennis-Benn was interviewed at Vulture.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado  Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn  Are You Listening by Tillie Walden  Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn  The Afterward by EK Johnston

“41 of the Best LGBTQ Books That’ll Change the Literary Landscape in 2019” was posted at Oprah Magazine.

“Gentleman Jack: What do we know about the real Anne Lister?” was posted at Radio Times.

“A Brief History of Queer Language Before Queer Identity” was posted at Literary Hub.

“The Ultimate LGBTQIA+ Pride Book List” was posted at Penguin Random House.

“Finding Stonewall” by Alexander Chee was posted at The New Republic.

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett  Fun Home by Alison Bechdel  When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll  The Western Alienation Merit Badge by Nancy Jo Cullen  The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett was reviewed at Autostraddle and Orlando Sentinel.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was reviewed at Head Stuff.

When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll was reviewed at Okazu.

The Western Alienation Merit Badge by Nancy Jo Cullen was reviewed at Quill & Quire.

The Stars are Legion by Kameron Hurley was reviewed at Okazu.

LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia edited by by Jeff Mann and Julia Watts  Stonewall Riots: Coming Out In the Street by Gayle E. Pitman  Sacred Fire by Tanai Walker  Cannonball by Kelsey Wroten  Pet Sounds by Stephanie Young

LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia edited by by Jeff Mann and Julia Watts was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Stonewall Riots: Coming Out In the Street by Gayle E. Pitman was reviewed at Washington Blade.

Sacred Fire by Tanai Walker was reviewed at Black Lesbian Literary Collective.

Cannonball by Kelsey Wroten was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Pet Sounds by Stephanie Young was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

The CW adaptation of Batwoman has a trailer.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Sarah Neilson, Shelly Farrell, Martha Hansen, Daniela Gonzalez De Anda, Amy Hanson, Bee Oder, Hannah Dent, Ellen Zemlin, Hana Chappell, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

Link Round Up: April 21 – May 5

Lesbrary links cover collage

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

The Lady and Her Secret Lover by Jenn Le Blanc   Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins   Laure Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki   Carmilla by Kim Turrisi   Waves by Ingrid Chabbert

Autostraddle posted 8 Crime Books Featuring Women Loving Women & Other Queer People.

LGBTQ Reads posted New Releases: May 1-7, 2019.

Xtra posted How social media–savvy youth became the unofficial keepers of queer history.

Ylva Publishing posted Wild Lesbians and Their Animal Companions.

The Prom by Saundra Mitchell   Redwood and Ponytail by KA Holt   Gentleman Jack by Anne Choma   The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister edited by Helena Whitbread   Gentleman Jack by Angela Steidele

“Breakout queer Broadway musical The Prom to get YA novel adaptation” was posted at EW.com.

An article on soft censorship of LGBTQ+ middle grade authors was posted at Publisher’s Weekly.

“Wild Nights With Emily,” a queer Emily Dickinson movie, was reviewed at The Austin Chronicle.

“Gentleman Jack,” the Anne Lister HBO series, was written about at Dorothy Surrenders, Bella Books, The New Republic, Marie Claire, Autostraddle (twice), Mental Floss, and Oprah Magazine.

The Stonewall Reader edited by The New York Public Library   Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy   The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager   Sugar Run by Mesha Maren   Native Country of the Heart by Cherrie Moraga

The Stonewall Reader edited by Jason Baumann was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy was reviewed Lambda Literary.

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Sugar Run by Mesha Maren was reviewed at ALA GLBT Reviews.

Native Country of the Heart by Cherríe Moraga was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Greetings from Janeland: Women Write More About Leaving Men for Women edited by Candace Walsh and Barbara Straus Lodge was reviewed at ALA GLBT Reviews.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Sarah Neilson, Shelly Farrell, Martha Hansen, Daniela Gonzalez De Anda, Amy Hanson, Bee Oder, Hannah Dent, Ellen Zemlin, Hana Chappell, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

Link Round Up: December 13 – January 1

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai cover   Undiscovered Country by Kelly O'Connor McNees cover   On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden   The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta cover   So Lucky by Nicola Griffith cover

Advocate posted

Autostraddle posted 20 of the Best LGBTQ Graphic Novels of 2018.

LGBTQ Reads posted Good News Roundup of LGBTQ Reads, 2018 Edition.

The Lotterys More or Less by Emma Donoghue cover   The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez    Hurriance Child by Kheryn Callender cover   Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado cover   Kim Reaper Vol. 1: Grim Beginnings cover

Okazu posted Why Is It Always Catholic Schoolgirls in Yuri? and Top Ten Yuri of 2018.

“My Queer Southern Lit” was posted at Lit Hub.

The Lotterys More or Less by Emma Donoghue was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

After Hours, Vol. 3 by Yuhta Nishio was reviewed at Okazu.

Growing Up Queer by Mary Robertson was reviewed at the Washington Blade.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Jacqui Plummer, Kayla Fuentes, Muirgen258, Mark, Sarah Neilson, Martha Hansen, Daniela Gonzalez De Anda, Amy Hanson, Bee Oder, Ellen Zemlin, Hana Chappell, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

Link Round Up: November 12 – December 12

Lesbrary Links Nov 12 to Dec 12 cover collage

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan cover   I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson cover   Lost Soul, Be at Peace by Maggie Thrash cover   Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi cover   Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha cover

Autostraddle posted Five Steamy Lesbian Reads for the Holidays and 50 of the Best LGBT Books of 2018.

Lambda Literary posted New in December: Kevin Killian, Mark Griffin, Neil Tennant, and M.K. England.

LGBTQ Reads posted TBRainbow Alert: YA Starring QPoC and TBRainbow Alert: Heists, Thrillers, and Mysteries.

Okazu posted 2018 Yuri Gift Guide.

Women and Words updated their New Releases & Coming Up page.

“75 Best Lesbian Romance Novels to Read” was posted at Fiction Obsessed.

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube cover   Part of It by Ariel Schrag cover   The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai cover   Love Letters to Jane's World by Paige Braddock cover   Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé was reviewed by Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian.

Love Letters to Jane’s World by Paige Braddock was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Four Years by Martha Miller was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan was reviewed at Lambda Literary and GLBT ALA Reviews.

by Bev Prescott was reviewed at Frivolous Views.

Part of It by Ariel Schrag was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

In Development by Rachel Spangler was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Love All by Rachel Spangler was reviewed at Frivolous Views.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Jacqui Plummer, FromTheDustyBookshelf, Kayla Fuentes, Muirgen258,  Mark, Sarah Neilson, Martha Hansen, Daniela Gonzalez De Anda, Amy Hanson, Bee Oder, Ellen Zemlin, Hana Chappell, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

Link Round Up: February 15 – 28

Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado cover            Hurriance Child by Kheryn Callender cover

Autostraddle posted Queers at the End of the World: An Interview with Queer Feminist Fabulist Carmen Maria Machado and Desiree Akhavan on Sex Scenes, Spectatorship, and Shooting ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’: The Autostraddle Interview.

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian posted The Ten Queer Black Books I’m Most Excited to Read in 2018.

LGBTQ Reads posted Around the Blogosqueer: Queer Black Sites, Books, and Posts.

YA Pride posted 8 LGBTQIAP+ Books By Black Authors and Body Diversity in Queer YA.

   Ezili’s Mirrors: Imagining Black Queer Womanhood cover      Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver cover   

Emma Donoghue was interviewed about her Irish/Canadian citizenship. (‘When I was in Ireland, I always felt like a lesbian writer’)

Shira Glassman was on Les Do Books, discussing her favorite lesbian fiction.

“The Literature of Ezili, Vodou Spirit Force of Queer Black Womanhood” was posted at LitHub.

In Orange County, residents call for segregation of LGBTQ books and limiting LGBTQ material purchases.

The Stonewall Book Awards 2018 winners have been announced!

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann cover   Bingo Love by Tee Franklin cover   Kase-San and an Apron cover   Epicurean Delights by Renee Roman cover   My Solo Exchange Diary Japanese cover

Taken In by Erica Abbott was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin,‎ Jenn St. Onge, and‎ Joy San was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Hitori Koukan Nikki (My Solo Exchange Diary) by Nagata Kabi was reviewed at Okazu.

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann was reviewed at YA Pride.

Cracking Love by Emily King was reviewed at Omnivore Bibliosaur (plus snack suggestions!)

Epicurean Delights by Renee Roman was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Kase-san and an Apron by Hiromi Takashima was reviewed at Okazu.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Jacqui Plummer, Ivy Quinn, Breanne Royce, Kath, Kayla Fuentes, Mark, Martha HansenLindsy Lowrance, Amy Hanson, Chris Coder, Ann, Ellen Zemlin, and Casey Stepaniuk.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!


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Lesbrary Link Round Up: August 31 – September 20

Autostraddle posted PHOTO GALLERY: Queer in the Stacks and 10 South Asian LGBTQ Books That Changed My Life.

BiblioSapphic posted Romance tropes in Sapphic books || A rec list.

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian posted Queer Books Coming in Fall 2017 from Arsenal Pulp Press and 10 Canadian Bisexual Books to Read for Bi Visibility Week

Lambda Literary posted New in September: Ariel Gore, Danez Smith, Eileen Myles, and Daniel Mendelsohn.

LGBTQ Reads posted New Releases: September 2017.

Queership posted Ship’s Log: Queer Black Characters in SFF.

YA Pride posted Announcing: GayYA’s Name Change! (& Giveaway).

Malinda Lo posted Read my story “Ghost Town” for free.

            

“In Comic Book World, Queer Is the New Jewish” was posted at Tablet.

“Just Another Day in an LGBTQ Comic,” about how all-ages LGBTQ comics are becoming common in school libraries, was posted at School Library Journal.

Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An Indigenous LGBT Sci-Fi Anthology edited by Hope Nicholson was reviewed at BCLA LGBTQ Interest Group.

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert was reviewed at Rich in Color.

Afterglow (A Dog Memoir) by Eileen Myles was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Enfermario by Gabriela Torres Olivares was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Lena by Cassie Pruyn was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

This post, and all posts at the Lesbrary, have the covers linked to their Amazon pages. If you click through and buy something, I might get a small referral fee. For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on FacebookGoodreadsYoutube and Tumblr.

Thank you to the Lesbrary’s Patreon supporters! Special thanks to Jacqui Plummer, Kim Riek, Breanne Royce, Mark, Martha Hansen, Amy, Chris Coder, Ann, Jodie Martire,Casey Stepaniuk, and Ellen Zemlin.

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!


Keep up with all the Lesbrary posts and extra content by signing up for the Lesbrary newsletter!