Time Is A Mother by Ocean Vuong

As I think I have mentioned in other posts one of my goals is to get back into poetry. I loved it in high school, but after I stopped studying it I stopped reading any poetry. So I really took my time reading this book, I didn't want to rush it, and I still have to get back into being used to reading poetry. I read a few poems a day when I was in the mood for it, I annotated it, I savoured it. I have yet to learn how to review and discuss poetry collections to be honest. I don't know where to start. The author's writing is absolutely stunning,the imagery is beatiful, and the phrasing is gorgeous. I feel like it would be worth it to read just for that. The themes are varied, but you can always feel how personal they are to the author. Some of my favorutie poems from this collection were: Beautiful Short Loser, The Last Dinosaur, Not Even, Reasons For Staying and Almost Human. These of course are just a few, but I really loved them. I am definitely looking forward to read more poetry, to read more stuff by Ocean Vuong, because it's an absolute pleasure to read his words, and to reread this poetry collection in a few years. I feel like once I get more into reading poetry it will feel differently, and maybe being in a different moment of my life will make me pick on different things. In general I can only say that if you are curious about his work, is surely worth it.

Also I had completly forgot that I added this on thestorygraph as my book for the studyblr w/knives pride reading challenge #own voices prompt. So I should have waited to post my last reading challenge update, but whatever.

THE STUDYBLR WITH KNIVES SERVER PRESENTS:

the Pride Reading Challenge🌈

you'll hear it everywhere in the next month and you'll hear it here too: Pride Month is every month and you're not less entitled to happiness outside of these random 30 days! So, we're kicking off our queer reading challenge with a bang in June and will be serving you hot and steaming queer recs for the next couple of months! we hope you enjoy it as much as our previous challenges; worry not, there will also be a Summer Reading Challenge 2.0, since so many people enjoyed it last year :)

RULES:

◆ please reblog this post if you’re participating

◆ for each of the prompts, read a book of your choice and cross the prompt out on the above template

◆ post your updates in the form of text posts, bookish photos, or anything else you come up with under the tag #studyblr w/knives reading challenge!

◆ the challenge will last from the 1st of june till the 31st of december, but feel free to finish it at your own pace

! be sure to hide any spoilers under the cut when posting updates/reviews, so people can avoid them if needed :)

if you want to make this a Pride Month only challenge or if you’re just starting to dip your toes into lgbtq+ literature, we have a template with fewer prompts for you as well (see below the cut). the storygraph challenge has the corresponding number of bonus prompts, so you can tailor it to your own preference

if you have any questions, feel free to send them to me or @bulletnotestudies

stay tuned for our recommendations for each prompt!​

[transcript of the prompts and what each of them means under the cut]

This challenge consists of 16 rad prompts:

queer found family you might not like this but this is what the ideal atomic family looks *like points at 5 very close friends who mean the world to each other*

queer academia the nonfiction prompt; queer history/politics/etc. - this includes essays and articles!

fucked up queers horror, crime, thriller books featuring queer characters

abolish annihilate aspec characters on the aroace spectrum

coming out book a book where coming out is a (relatively) major plot point

Public Universal Friend and Sappho Are Dancing On Your Grave or, alternatively, queer characters in a historical setting

epic queers because being queer is better with dragons and life altering journeys through space (a larger than life story featuring queer epic heroes)

in sappho's footsteps queer poetry

yes homo a queer romance book

queer joy everyone is queer and nothing hurts - what's on the tin, no hurt only queer joy, angst? we don’t know her

sword wlw a book featuring any kinda badass wlw characters

old queers as in old(er) queer characters or old(er) books (published before 2000) with queer characters

yes, i'm queer, mind your business characters are queer but it's not a major plot point

down with cis aka books that transed your gender a book with trans character(s)

ownvoices books by queer authors - fiction, memoirs, etc.

not gay as in happy but queer as in fuck you books featuring characters with lesser known orientations/gender identities

ALTERNATIVE TEMPLATE IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THIS A MINI READING CHALLENGE:

TAGLIST:

@kkul-bee @melaschnie @fluencylevelfrench @myhoneststudyblr @serendistudy @condenasttraveler @welcome-fuckers @thebudbblylinguist @caroloveslife @booksnscience @three-blogs-in-a-trenchcoat @soleciito @companion-of-the-earth @pencilspeaker @pothimi @autumnalglaze @starguiders @ngisi @hold-fire @yourneighborhoodbibliophile @thankstosoullesslovers @anurennero @dreamsdemandhustles-blog @selkiestudies @the---hermit @emdashaddict @thiqqachu @happylightdragonalmond @tranquilstudy @aaalias @perpetualanon @gloriousinternetpaper @dostoevskyforthewin @idkbruhhhhwtf @pandetrigo @simons-studyblr

we’re finally truly reaching summer here, meaning it’s time for slow mornings spent on the balcony instead of the bed! along with this, the first pride reading challenge update! if i may say so myself, i’ve truly been on a reading streak these past two weeks and i don’t want it to ever stop.

here’s a short overview of which books i read for which prompt, in chronological order. a short opinion on each (at least each of the books) is below the cut :)

original post || my storygraph (tell me if you add me so i know to add you back!)

queer academia

Workplace support and affirming behaviors: Moving toward a transgender, gender diverse, and non-binary friendly workplace (Huffman et al., 2021) and  Implementing LGBT-Diversity Management in a Global Company: The Case of SAP (Martins et al., 2016)

abolish, annihilate, aspec 

Never Been Kissed - Timothy Janovsky

queer joy (aka everyone is queer and nothing hurts)

The Heartbreak Bakery - A.R. Capetta

yes homo

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

Never Been Kissed - Timothy Janovsky

i really enjoyed this one, and i certainly did not expect to tear up while reading it but i sure did. there are a few places where you notice that this is the author’s debut novel but imo the characters make up for it mateo beloved

The Heartbreak Bakery - A.R. Capetta

this was a very light-hearted read, and it really felt like an ode to underrepresented identities (in a good way, i’d say). sometimes confusing, but oh well that happens and is more a me thing than a book thing lmao. i think i would’ve liked it even better if it was less teen-y and with a little more focus on the magic itself, but that wasn’t what i was signing up for so it’s perfectly fine

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

so. damn. sweet. honestly, this book was so good to read. i liked the setting, i liked the characters, and the awkwardness in this is so lovable. 10/10 would read again

Haven’t had time to read lately, I’ve been studying for licensure so I’ll be giving these very few recs for Pride Month instead! I think I’ve mentioned some of these books before but giving them another boost wouldn’t hurt.

1. A Door Behind a Door by Yelena Moskovich

In Yelena Moskovich's spellbinding new novel, A Door Behind A Door, we meet Olga, who immigrates as part of the Soviet diaspora of '91 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There she grows up and meets a girl and falls in love, beginning to believe that she can settle down. But a phone call from a bad man from her past brings to life a haunted childhood in an apartment building in the Soviet Union: an unexplained murder in her block, a supernatural stray dog, and the mystery of her beloved brother Moshe, who lost an eye and later vanished. We get pulled into Olga's past as she puzzles her way through an underground Midwestern Russian mafia, in pursuit of a string of mathematical stabbings.

2. Waiting on a Bright Moon by Neon Yang

Xin is an ansible, using her song magic to connect the originworld of the Imperial Authority and its far-flung colonies— a role that is forced upon magically-gifted women “of a certain closeness”. When a dead body comes through her portal at a time of growing rebellion, Xin is drawn deep into a station-wide conspiracy along with Ouyang Suqing, one of the station’s mysterious, high-ranking starmages.

3. The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho

A tale of first love, bad theology and robot reincarnation in the Chinese afterlife. In the tenth court of hell, spirits wealthy enough to bribe the bureaucrats of the underworld can avoid both the torments of hell and the irreversible change of reincarnation. It's a comfortable undeath … even for Siew Tsin. She didn't choose to be married to the richest man in hell, but she's reconciled. Until her husband brings home a new bride. Yonghua is an artificial woman crafted from terracotta. What she is may change hell for good. Who she is will transform Siew Tsin. And as they grow closer, the mystery of Yonghua's creation will draw Siew Tsin into a conspiracy where the stakes are eternal life – or a very final death.

4. After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang

Dragons were fire and terror to the Western world, but in the East they brought life-giving rain…

Now, no longer hailed as gods and struggling in the overheated pollution of Beijing, only the Eastern dragons survive. As drought plagues the aquatic creatures, a mysterious disease—shaolong, or “burnt lung”—afflicts the city’s human inhabitants.

Jaded college student Xiang Kaifei scours Beijing streets for abandoned dragons, distracting himself from his diagnosis. Elijah Ahmed, a biracial American medical researcher, is drawn to Beijing by the memory of his grandmother and her death by shaolong. Interest in Beijing’s dragons leads Kai and Eli into an unlikely partnership. With the resources of Kai’s dragon rescue and Eli’s immunology research, can the pair find a cure for shaolong and safety for the dragons? Eli and Kai must confront old ghosts and hard truths if there is any hope for themselves or the dragons they love.

After the Dragons is a tender story, for readers interested in the effects of climate change on environments and people, but who don’t want a grim, hopeless read. Beautiful and challenging, focused on hope and care, this novel navigates the nuances of changing culture in a changing world.

5. The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

A "highly imaginative and utterly exhilarating" (Thrillist) debut that is "the best of what science fiction can be: a thought-provoking, heartrending story about the choices that define our lives" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).A mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever. I expected many things from this trip. I did not expect a family.

A ship captain, unfettered from time. A mute child, burdened with unimaginable power. A millennia-old woman, haunted by lifetimes of mistakes. In this captivating debut of connection across space and time, these outsiders will find in each other the things they lack: a place of love and belonging. A safe haven. A new beginning.

But the past hungers for them, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.

6. Robbergirl by S.T Gibson

SAVE THE WITCH, KILL THE SNOW QUEEN

In a Sweden wracked by war and haunted by folk stories so dark they can only be spoken of in whispers, Helvig has been raised by her brigand father to steal whatever treasure catches her eye. When her men ambush a girl on the road with hair pale as death and a raven perched on her shoulder, Helvig cannot resist bringing home a truly unique prize: a genuine witch. Drawn irresistibly into the other woman’s web, Helvig soon learns of Gerda’s reason for walking the icy border roads alone: to find the Queen who lives at the top of the world and kill her. Anyone else would be smart enough not to believe a children’s story, but Helvig is plagued by enchantments of her own, and she struggles to guard the sins of her past while growing closer to Gerda. As Christmastide gives way to the thin-veiled days when ghosts are at their most vengeful, the two women find themselves on a journey through forest and Samiland to a final confrontation that will either redeem them or destroy them entirely.

7. The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

Before Verity . . . there was Julie.

When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she'd imagined won't be exactly what she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather's estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family's employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital.

Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scottish Traveler boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister, Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she witnesses firsthand some of the prejudices they've grown used to-a stark contrast to her own upbringing-and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation.

Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travelers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.

This exhilarating coming-of-age story, a prequel to the Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, returns to a beloved character just before she first takes flight. 

BONUS:

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez (release date: August 30, 2022)

Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this new epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.

But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before.

Note: This bonus is UNIQUE fantasy, I swear it.

Made a Tik Tok to suggest some less-popular & variously strange LGBTQ books for pride month 😌 I got tired of seeing the same limited sets of books and genres — and the dominance of white authors — on every "pride month reading list" post, so I decided to try something different.

Also if y'all use Tik Tok you should follow me ! I post about books — sometimes mine, sometimes others, usually queer genre fiction.

Pride Reading Challenge Update #1

Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

4.5/5

Review and image descriptions under the cut!

Not gonna lie, I adored this! The writing style is a little convoluted and hard to get through, but once I got used to that it wasn't a big deal. I loved all the characters, I loved the setting and plot, and I loved the snarky sense of humor! Harrow is the singular biggest mood, I too am a mean lesbian with short dark hair and 0 muscle mass. What an icon. I will be cosplaying her. I also really appreciate when authors don't pull their punches in terms of killing characters or letting characters do morally ambiguous things, and Tamsyn Muir does a fantastic job of that.

[Image 1 ID: The 4x4 bingo square for the studyblr with knives reading challenge. From left to right, top to bottom, they read "Queer Found Family," "Queer Academia," "Fucked Up Queers," "Abolish Annihilate Aspec," "Coming Out Book," "Historical Setting," "Epically Queer," "In Sappho's Footsteps" "Yes Homo," "Queer Joy," "Sword WLW," "Old Queers," "Yes I'm Queer, Mind Your Own Business," "Down With Cis," "#OwnVoices" and "Not Gay As In Happy But Queer As In Fuck You". "Sword WLW" is crossed out.]

[Image 2 ID: A photo of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir.]

Pride Reading Challenge, 1/16

I've already written about Harrow the Ninth on my Summer Reading Challenge post so I won't repeat that here. I'm just glad the emotional pain gave me a double prompt fulfilment at the end of it :)

Pride Reading Challenge

Books so far:

Heartstopper 1-4

Loveless

The priory of the orange tree

Solitaire

The Girl from the Sea

Radio Silence

a day late to my 6 years on t anniversary ✨🏳️‍⚧️ a short comic about looking back

🌈📚 WLW Bookshelf is excited to announce that we're hosting a Pride Month Readathon! You don't need to identify as WLW to join in, or even have every book be WLW, but please respect it is a Pride Month Readathon and choose LGBTQIA+ books! 🏳️‍🌈💕

For this readathon, we've crafted some fabulous prompts to get you diving into different genres and exploring fresh narratives. Whether it's a comic or graphic novel with a sapphic romance, a memoir of a trailblazing queer woman, or a science fiction epic with a badass lesbian heroine, we've got you covered! 🚀🔮

Over the next few days, we'll be making a series of posts with book suggestions that fit the prompts. So stay tuned and keep those bookmarks handy! 📖✨

And here's the most exciting part - we want to hear from YOU! What are you reading? What have you loved? What would you recommend? Share your picks, reviews, and reading experiences with us because this readathon is about community and celebrating our love for WLW stories. 📣💬

So grab a cup of tea, cozy up with a good book, and let's get this reading party started! 🎉 We can't wait to go on this literary adventure with you. Happy reading, everyone!

You’re gonna die if you keep that up (Patreon)

The Faggots And Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell

This book was published in 1977, and for this reason I read it for the studyblr w/knives pride reading challenge for the prompt old queers. This is a fantasy novel, often categorized as a queer utopia, that in my opions has major fairytale vibes. I am pretty sure the first idea of the author was to create a children's book, but then since one of the main focus turned out to be sexual liberation he changed the target. The story is inspired by the author's own experience living in a queer comunity, and in my opinion it feels very much like a time capsule. The general way things are described, the themes used are evidently those on which queer people focused their protests in the 70s. As I was saying sexual liberation plays a major role, and it's one of the central themes. There are huge critiques to how society is formed, and how mutual support and empathy are what keeps people who stand outside of what this society's norms are standing up. I personally appreciated how different ways of opposing one self to this society are shown, some people rebel with anger, some use pacific methods, there is not a fixed way. Each character has different stories and backgrounds, reminding the reader that as queer people we do stand together but we are different people with different stories. This is a point to our favour and we shouldn't push each other into a specific set of rules to be part of the group. Overall the book is not the easiers read you'll find on your path, at least I did find it harder than expected, but it's surely a book I would recommend reading. As I said if felt like a time capsule, I feel like reading it is a good way to learn a bit more how those who came before us fought for our rights, what were their ways. I read this book as an ebook, but if you plan on reading it I would recommend looking for a physical copy. There's some great illustrations, and the digital version doesn't make them stand out as much as it should. I feel like I might reread this book in a few years to see if I can get more out of it, because although I did like it the feeling I have now that I am done with it is that I still missed something. I would be very curious to know if anyone else has read this and what your opions are on it, because I haven't really heard many people talk about it.

I will soon post a new update on the pride reading challenge.

I'm back! With new blorbos!

queer found family: The Hourglass Throne by K. D. Edwards // 5 stars

reminder to go check out the cw on the authors website!

Where do I even start with this book? It has unlocked at least 12 new emotions, made me physically scream and completely eradicated my ability to communicate like a normal person. This book ticked All The Boxes. All of them. The family is FOUND. Oh my GOD is this family found I am going to cry about this for months???? Honorable mention to Rune Saint John and Brandon Saint John for making me experience what the allos call YearningTM because their friendship. their devotion. their trust and understanding. I have no words. Where do I sign up to become a companion?? Apart from the to die for character dynamics theres also plot that is fast and dense and political and so spicy and good and interwoven it was a joy to peel back all the layers the further I read! I'm down bad for the worldbuilding and the rules magic and this beautiful urban fantasy setting. If the speed at which I decoured these books doesn't tell you how hyped I am I don't know what will. New blorbos from my books have arrived. Thank you for your attention. I will now go be normal about Rune Saint John and his family. Good night.

it’s time for pride reading challenge update #2! two bingos, let’s go! 

listening to audiobooks whenever possible alongside reading the books truly did wonders for my reading speed lmao. here are the additions to my challenge reads since the last post, the short opinions on all books (in chronological order of when i read them) are below the cut :)

original post || my storygraph (tell me if you add me so i know to add you back!)

#ownvoices

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas

down with cis

The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons

historical seeting (aka public universal friend and sappho are dancing on your grave)

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske

sword wlw

Motor Crush Vol. 1 - Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart

epically queer

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

old queers

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

Never Been Kissed - Timothy Janovsky

i really enjoyed this one, and i certainly did not expect to tear up while reading it but i sure did. there are a few places where you notice that this is the author’s debut novel but imo the characters make up for it mateo beloved

The Heartbreak Bakery - A.R. Capetta

this was a very light-hearted read, and it really felt like an ode to underrepresented identities (in a good way, i’d say). sometimes confusing, but oh well that happens and is more a me thing than a book thing lmao. i think i would’ve liked it even better if it was less teen-y and with a little more focus on the magic itself, but that wasn’t what i was signing up for so it’s perfectly fine

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

so. damn. sweet. honestly, this book was so good to read. i liked the setting, i liked the characters, and the awkwardness in this is so lovable. 10/10 would read again

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas

every time i leave a book with a favourite character they are the same. this book made me realise that i am predictable af. anyway, this book should really not have made me cry my eyes out (because nothing super surprising happened and also *takes a deep breath* melli, these are fictional characters. not that my one (1) braincell would truly comprehend that but yk) and that’s all i’m gonna say about that.

The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons

i am torn about this book. i think i would have enjoyed it a lot when i was around 13/14 but there are simply so many things that annoyed me in this book now, i can’t really just ignore them. it was still a good read and stories like this are important, but i feel like there were so many plot points opened that didn’t get wrapped up? to me it felt like too many issues that the author wanted to include, but not enough space (or plot, idk) to pay each the attention it would’ve deserved.

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske

what a joy to have read this. the main characters are lovely and the setting was very cute as well. i think this might’ve been the first book in a while where my brain was somewhat on the backseat and i was able to enjoy it just based on the vibes. definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Motor Crush Vol. 1 - Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart

i’ve never been very into comics until i read heartstopper earlier this year, but once again i did enjoy the format here! i think all the racing isn’t exactly my Thing(tm) so i won’t be reading the other volumes/issues but it was nice regardless of that.

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

to be honest, this book was pretty underwhelming. i went in not knowing much about the actual story behind it and still what happened in the end didn’t come as a surprise to me. it was very predictable in my opinion, and i don’t quite get the hype surrounding it.

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

omg. omfg. this man do be writing good books and he’s well on his way to become my favourite author of the year. this one in particular was such a joy to read. the kids are absolutely amazing and a delight, would 10/10 befriend if they were older. pure joy, i cannot emphasise that enough.

call 'em the "nobody knows we're queer" squad.

just a little edit for pride month of my 1930s generation's queer characters. nobody knows because as famous actors in the 1930s they do have a certain image to keep up.

Pride Reading Challenge Update #2

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

5/5

Review and image descriptions under the cut!

This book was written for this prompt, to be honest. It's the epitome of queer found family and I loved it. It plays with a lot of themes that I'm always down for, like monstrosity as a metaphor for queerness. I also just love love love the magic system (book magic!!!! Yes!!!!), and the author's deconstruction of the "not like other girls" nonsense. Also really fond of YA with only minimal romance (the focus is on platonic relationships). The pacing could have been better I guess? I'm still buying book 2 in a few months though. Anyways yeah this was great if you're into queer witches and characters learning that they are loved outside of what they can give to others (I am. I cried.)

[Image 1 ID: The 4x4 bingo square for the studyblr with knives reading challenge. From left to right, top to bottom, they read “Queer Found Family,” “Queer Academia,” “Fucked Up Queers,” “Abolish Annihilate Aspec,” “Coming Out Book,” “Historical Setting,” “Epically Queer,” “In Sappho’s Footsteps” “Yes Homo,” “Queer Joy,” “Sword WLW,” “Old Queers,” “Yes I’m Queer, Mind Your Own Business,” “Down With Cis,” “#OwnVoices” and “Not Gay As In Happy But Queer As In Fuck You”. “Sword WLW” is crossed out in gray. "Queer Found Family" is crossed out in black.]

[Image 2 ID: A photo of The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke.]