Wrap-up: May 2020

When writing this post, both me and Anna thought to ourselves that we could have sworn it was longer since we read certain books. Which probably sums up May as a whole, really.

Anna had a generally positive reading month, meanwhile I read some great books, but also suffered through some really really shit ones. About the usual then, really.

Also starting this month, if only because I got into podcasts, our “watched” section has become a “watched and listened to” section.

What we read

Anna

🔥 Crush by Richard Siken (poetry, gay author) – 5 🌈
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool (mlm mc, side m/m relationship) – 3 🌈
Pieśni miłosne by Sappho, trans. Janina Brzostowska (poetry, sapphic author) – 3 🌈
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by Carl Phillips (Black sapphic mc, sapphic character, Egyptian characters & setting) – 4 🌈
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht (mlm mcs) – 4 🌈 (tw gore, blood, murder, violence, rape)

Where We Go From Here by Lucas Rocha, trans. Larissa Helena (Brazilian cast, gay mcs, HIV positive mcs, gay side characters, drag queen side characters) – 3 🌈 (tw outing, homophobia, prejudices against HIV) [review]
Camp by L.C. Rosen (gay Jewish mc, half-Korean gay Jewish li, Middle Eastern gay Jewish side character, demi lesbian side character, Afro-Brazilian-American sapphic side character, Black trans side character, nonbinary side character, gay side characters (really, an LGBT cast)) – 4 🌈 [review]
Heels Over Head by Elyse Springer (gay mcs) – 3 🌈 (tw internalised homophobia, homophobia, homophobic slurs, abusive parents, homelessness)
🔥 Whatever.: or how junior year became totally f$@ked by S.J. Goslee (bi mc, gay li) – 3 🌈 (tw outing (brief scene, no real bad outcome), biphobia, fetishising of mlm characters)
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (bi Jewish mc, Chinese-American lesbian mc) – 2.5 🌈 (tw sexual harassment, homophobia) [review]

Ghosted in LA, Vol. 2 by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan & Cathy Le (bi Jewish mc, sapphic side character, gay side characters) – 3 🌈
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callendar (Black trans demiboy mlm mc, Black Bengali mlm li, lesbian side character, mixed-race Black, Puerto Rican & white gay side character, poc sapphic side character, sapphic side character, gay side character, nonbinary side character) – 5 🌈(tw transphobia (exposing old pictures and deadname, transphobic messages), mentions of past emotional abuse, absent parent)
The Four Proufound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (poc cast, trans mcs, nonbinary side character, past polyamory) – 2 🌈 (tw deadnaming, misgendering, transphobia, torture)
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (gay mc, gay li, Black bi side character, South Asian Muslim lesbian side character, gay side characters, lesbian side characters) – 3 🌈 [review]

Charlotte

The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (lesbian mc, Black lesbian character, gay character) – 4 🌈
Soft Science by Franny Choi (poetry) – 4 🌈
The Tradition by Jericho Brown (poetry) – 3 🌈
Autopsy by Donte Collins (poetry) – 4 🌈
Silverchest by Carl Phillips (poetry) – 4 🌈

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (lesbian mcs) – 5 🌈 [review]
Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Chinese American gay mc, Taiwanese American mlm li) – 5 🌈
Cenzontle by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo (poetry) – 4.5 🌈
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Black lesbian mc, lesbian li, gay side character) – 2 🌈 [review]
Burning Roses by S. L. Huang (Chinese trans lesbian mc, Latina lesbian mc) – 4 🌈 [review]

The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard (gay mc, Vietnamese bi mc, lesbian mc, Vietnamese wlw mc) – 4 🌈
Children of Thorns, Children of Water by Aliette de Bodard (Vietnamese bi mc) – 3 🌈
Of Books, and Earth, and Courtship by Aliette de Bodard (Black lesbian mc, wlw li) – 3 🌈
The House of Sundering Flames by Aliette de Bodard (Black lesbian mc, lesbian li, wlw side characters, Vietnamese bi mc, gay mc) – 4 🌈
The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen (lesbian mc, pan li, gay side characters) – 1 🌈 [review]

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass (gay mc & li, lesbian, bi & trans side characters) – 1 🌈 [review]
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard (Vietnamese bi mc, gay mc) – 4 🌈 [review]
The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover (gay mc, bi mc) – 1 🌈 [review]
Beyond the Dragon’s Gate by Yoon Ha Lee (lesbian mc, nonbinary character) – 5 🌈
The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron (lesbian mcs) – 2 🌈 [review]

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner (Jewish bi mc, Chinese American lesbian mc) – 1.5 🌈 [review]
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (gay mc, mlm side characters, lesbian side character) – 1.5 🌈
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender (Black gay mc, gay side character) – 4 🌈
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (wlw mc) – 4 🌈
Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald (lesbian mc, Indigenous Australian wlw character) – 3 🌈

Melt My Heart by Bethany Rutter (bi mc, Black wlw li) – 3 🌈 [review]
Wench by Maxine Kaplan (bi mc, wlw li, gay side characters) – 3.5 🌈 [review]
Sinew and Steel by Carrie Ann Vaughn (mlm mcs) – 3 🌈
The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz (Black gay mc, gay li) – 2 🌈

What we watched (and listened to)

Charlotte

9-1-1 (S3) cr. Brad Falchuk, Tim Minnear, Ryan Murphy (Black lesbian characters, Black gay character) – 3.5 🌈
The Half of It (2020) cr. Alice Wu (Chinese American lesbian mc, Latina wlw li) – 5 🌈
Kontrola (S1) cr. Natasza Parzymies (lesbian mc, wlw mc) – 4 🌈
King Falls AM (podcast) cr. Kyle Brown & Eric Kimelton (gay mc with depression, wlw, bi & gay side characters) – 5 🌈
Solutions to Problems (podcast) cr. Nathan Comstock, Michael F. Gill & Austin Hendricks (wlw mc) – DNF

The Strange Case of Starship Iris (podcast) cr. Jessica Best (wlw mc)
Arden (podcast) cr. Christopher Dole, Sara Ghaleb & Emily Vanderwerff (wlw mcs)
Superstition (podcast) cr. Sarah Kolb (bi mc, wlw li, gay characters)
Schitt’s Creek (S6) cr. Dan Levy & Eugene Levy (pan mc, gay li, Black lesbian side character)

Anna

The Half of It (2020), dir. Alice Wu (Chinese American lesbian mc, Latina sapphic li) – 5 🌈
The Thing About Harry (2020), dir. Peter Paige (gay mc, poc bi li, gay side characters) – 4 🌈
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019), dir. Shelly Chopra Dhar (Indian lesbian mc & li) – 3 🌈
A Secret Love (2020), dir. Chris Bolan (documentary) – 4 🌈
Westler (1985), dir. Wieland Speck (German gay characters) – 2.5 🌈

Ben Platt: Live from Radio City Music Hall (2020), dir. Alex Timbers & Sam Wrench (concert; gay Jewish artist) – 4 🌈
🔥 Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2018), dir. Jon Olb & Madeleine Parry (stand-up comedy; lesbian comic) – 4 🌈 (tw homophobia, rape, sexual abuse, physical assault)
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020), dir. Madeleine Parry (stand-up comedy; lesbian comic) – 4 🌈
Betty (S1), cr. Crystal Moselle (Black sapphic mc, lesbian mc, lesbian characters) – 4 🌈 (tw sexual abuse, misogyny, drugs)
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (S3-6), cr. Noelle Stevenson (lesbian mc & li, lesbian characters, Black gay characters, nonbinary character) – 4 🌈

On the blog

• Interviews with Hayden McHugh and Meryl Wilsner.
• Rec lists for podcasts, webcomics and webseries, TV shows for teens, music recs for February and March, and Twitter’s favourite trans books.
• Our May book of the month.
• Lists of 2019’s YA releases and sapphic releases for Jan-Jun 2020.
• Five reasons you should read The Four Profound Weaves.
• All of June’s releases.

On other blogs

• The Quiet Pond celebrated AAPI Heritage Month with a whole series of blog posts (which we highly recommend you check out all of) and featured interviews with Xiran Jay Zhao, Emery Lee, Lyla Lee, Adiba Jaigirdar, Aliette de Bodard, and Yao Xiao.
• Fadwa @ Word Wonders interviewed Adiba Jaigirdar.
• Louise @ Foxes and Fairytales recced some gay fantasy.
• Kate @ Your Tita Kate wrote an amazing review of Steel Crow Saga.
• Silvia @ Silvia Reads Books recced some more Asian shows.
• Jami @ Jami Shelves reviewed one of Anna’s favourites, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.
• Lili @ Utopia State of Mind interviewed Maggie Tokuda-Hall.
• Faith @ Pages Left Unread reviewed Felix Ever After.

So, how was May for you? Did you read or watch anything great?

Since you’re here, please consider doing any number of the following to support Black Lives Matter, and the protests regarding police brutality in the USA.

Donate to bail funds and supplies for protestors, gofundmes of victims of police violence, mutual aid organisations and Black-owned businesses impacted by the violence.

You can donate even if you have no funds by watching videos where all ad revenue will go towards the BLM movement.

Sign petitions.

Get in contact with mayors and district attorneys, and maintain pressure on them.

Educate yourself further through the resources found on the carrd and others.

Pride was initiated following riots against police violence and raids, and those at Stonewall Inn were led by trans and lesbian women of colour, many of whom were Black. We owe them our support.

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