#Nalo Mitchell

[dementedfilament]

Lorenzo Godfrey

Nalo’s fierce breath cut her flame’s life short. Then, she glared at the light-blue-haired girl at her side.

After a moment, Pippa burst into nervous chuckles. “You’re still mad about that?”

“Of course I am! I almost lost you!”

A wordless conversation passed between their eyes.

“So then…” Kai said, “What…what happened? Pippa’s like…not a zombie, right?”

“Of course not.” Nalo broke their contact and waved a hand. “That’s when we met the deer-man.”

“What the hell is the ‘deer-man’?” Enzo asked.

Cedric replied, “The guardian of Featherfall’s forest. He wasn’t very fond of the Necromagus not allowing the deceased to rest, though, I am still surprised he emerged from the deep forest to help you all.”

“Well…we were really thankful for it,” Pippa smiled.

“Yeah,” Nalo added. “Really, really thankful for it.”

As they fell back into a stare, Cedric’s eyes stole a glance towards one subtly squirming alumni in the circle. “Let us continue. Enzo?”

 He sat hunched over, folded hands keeping his chin up.“ Well…those two did remind me of one thing. I think it’s related. It’s all I got.”

“...Please continue.”

“Alright.”

***

Enzo was out one day, strolling about with a cigarette in his mouth while ditching class. To ensure he didn’t get caught, he rerouted his path into the forest. It was close by but would still keep him out of sight, so it was a perfect retreat. Right?

Wrong, apparently, at least on this day. While meandering across the dirt, a goddamn skeleton of all things crossed his path. A full skeleton, walking all by itself.

He froze. Blinking, he finally flicked the cigarette ashes and wondered to himself if he should get a new brand.

Then, more sentient bones emerged from behind the trees.

He stood there, watching them while thoughts of ‘what the fuck’ ran through his brain.

The crowd of bones swiveled their heads towards him and paused for several beats.

Then: skeletons attack! They barreled towards him with grabbing hands. He cried out and darted back for the school, but the damn things were popping out of every clean spot on the forest floor.

At some point, he found himself surrounded, and one such corpse decided it would try to seize his arms. Thus, he simply decked the thing in its bony face. Yes it did shatter his hand and yes he did cry about it later. But at the time, he took the opening he got to push the others out of his way, and managed to sprint back to class without further obstruction.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[mercury-72]

The internship

Tw: Mentions of being sick, mentions of death

Ellery Mitchell gets invited to intern at Jurassic world. Your average stressed college student. With a love for dinosaurs. She has some family issues, and still struggles from the impacts of her disorder. :)

Ellery

The thing with being sick is it acts as a sort of crutch against the world.

Oh you didn’t do so good on that test? Its ok because your sick.

You didn’t finish that assignment. Well you were in the hospital because your sick.

But in some cases your not sick forever, or at least in my case you get better. Well better enough. Enough to the point I’m not trapped in those hospitals. All those overwhelming feelings of dread and the smell of bleach and those stupid white walls that could make anyone go crazy.

So it still acts as a crutch in some instances. Though it can be annoying because suddenly everyone around you treats you like your made of glass. They walk on egg shells around you and everyone is suddenly so sorry for you as if being sick makes you more important but less of a normal person.

Well, news flash just because I’m sick doesn’t mean I’m incompetent, or that I’m stupid. There’s no need to treat me differently.

So I was thankful to have that crutch for a while, it got me out of stuff. But that crutch started feeling more like a thorn in my side then a soft pillow to land on.

Because being sick could mean almost dying.

I didn’t care at first. I didn’t really think about it. I kind of just stopped trying for everything at that point. It felt like I had lost so much, I lost who I was, I lost my brother, I hadn’t seen my dad in so long. But my mom, she was still around, and seeing the look on her face everyday as I just got worse and worse. That hurt, more then losing my brother, then not seeing my dad.

 I realized that she also lost her son, and hadn’t seen her husband in forever. I wasn’t the only one suffering and I felt like I was being selfish. So I started trying for her. I slowly got better and graduated my senior year. I was able to walk that stage with a smile on my face as my mom quite literally screamed from the stands.

So if I have learned anything from my experiences its that if you have an opportunity to do something with your life, you have to take it. Which is exactly how I ended up here.

 Well not yet at least. I've been given the opportunity of a life time. An island off the coast of costa Rica. Yes this may sound familiar, Jurassic park? Ringing any bells? Anyways I've been invited to work as an intern at this island called Nalo island, I hate to say it but its not very original. Seriously rich people are so creative.

 Mr. Marley Sato, one of, if not the richest men on the planet who just so happens to love science and looking after the planet has bought an island to fund science programs and build a theme park just like in the Jurassic park movies. Now you would think by now that we all have learned what a bad idea that is, but I’m not even gonna lie, I love the idea and if I weren’t given an invitation to go work there for two weeks I would still spend every penny I have to go anyway.

So here I am on my last day on the main land before I had off for two weeks on an internship to a technically mystery island. Mr.Sato has done a great job of keeping everything happening out there a secret, so I’m really in for a surprise when I get there. Though for my last day this is really shaping up to be a crazy good bye party.

Well its not really a good by party, I really only have one friend here on campus but I like to think I get along with people ok. Phoebe my dormmate is seriously a Monica, if you don’t know what that means I don’t know what to tell you. Essential because of her I've had my bags packed for this trip a good week ahead of time. Though she’s supposed to be the one taking me there and I’m not quite sure where she is.

She’s way over protective of me, like a big sister or even like my mom so its rare to get a moment away from her, don’t get me wrong I love her and all but having two of my mom basically can be suffocating. Its nice though, to know someone cares so much about you.

Phoebe left me briefly because I guess a professor or someone had something for her and she said she would meet me in a second. Well within said “second” the fire alarm goes off and everyone starts to go insane. You know they basically train us since elementary school how to handle a fire drill but I guess we never learn.

I guess we all just assumed it was another fire drill so we all ushered out of the buildings into the court yard were its started to snow.

And to say I was shocked would be a huge understatement, I’m not really sure what to describe it. But the last thing I expected on my last day was for the science building to be on fire.

So I’m just gonna acknowledge it as my going away party.

I make my way over to one of the benches in the court yard, one that’s about 100-200 yards away from the science building. It’s the recommended safe distance a person should stand from a burning building just in case it collapses or explodes, though I don’t think this is anything serious. Everyone is just over reacting. 

I can hear the sound of sirens in the distance and scan the crowd for phoebe. Were gonna have to leave here before the fire trucks get here otherwise it will be a pain trying to get out of here with them and anybody else on campus trying to leave for the holiday break.

That’s another great thing about this trip, because as much as I would love to spend Christmas break at home with my mom, I know she'll be working at the hospital for most of it anyway. So lucky me ill get out of shoveling snow for two whole weeks.

 I feel like snow is one of those things that if you live somewhere that doesn’t get snow often you wish for it and you think its like this wonderful thing.

As a kid I get it, waking up in the mornings to your yard covered in a nice blanket of just white. And as a kid its like the official start to winter time which means Christmas and no school.

I can tell you snow is not all that its cracked up to be, as a kid I will admit it was nice, but as you get older its just annoying honestly. Having to spend hours out in temperatures that are way below what’s comfortable, and don’t even get me started on the shoveling bit. You’ll spend twenty minutes at tops out there before your toes and fingers are numb.

Though due to my past conditions mom doesn’t really like me spending to much time outside if its cold, also doesn’t help that the only shoes I wear are converse, which sadly have absolutely no grip. So if I do have to shovel or go outside in winter basically I have a super high risk of slipping and falling on my ass. I've done it more times then I can count.

Considering phoebe is basically a carbon copy of my mom with how protective she is over me you would think she would be ushering me inside somewhere or towards her car so we can get going. But its been a good couple minutes and there’s still no sign of her. To be completely honest I would not be surprised if she decided to stop and flirt with the new girl in our English class.

I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket, I don’t even get a chance to pull it out to check it before I’m being tackled to the ground in a bear hug. I hit the ground with a soft thud thanks to the snow but I can still feel all the air leave my chest for a second. I cough recognizing phoebes signature perfume. She always puts to much on in the mornings and it can be suffocating.

“Omg, Ellery I thought you died or something, don’t do that to me, I leave for one second and come back and the schools going insane” She moves to get up before giving me a hand up as well. We brush the snow off ourselves and not a second later she’s taking my hand and leading me towards the parking lot.

 “Sorry, I was gonna wait but then the fire alarms went off and everyone just started rushing outside I guess I got swept up with them.”

Phoebe is a step ahead of me and I know if it weren’t for me she would be practically power walking to the parking lot. Its just who she is, once she’s got her mind set to something there’s practically no one who can get in her way.

“Gosh do you know what your mom would do to me if I lost you, you know what don’t answer that I know what she would do. She would kill me, I almost lost you once the time I took you to a concert and she just about had my neck” I laugh, she’s slowed her pace so she’s not really dragging me anymore, instead we’re side by side. So I can see her keys hanging from one finger, swinging back and forth making a jingling sound as they do.

I hate driving but I've always loved the satisfaction of having a lanyard with a thing of keys to make noise as you walk.

“Trust me I know, because she lectured me on it afterword, but come on Phoebe We were both already 18 when that happened sometimes her overprotectiveness can be a little over bearing.”

I feel her give my hand a squeeze as she looks my way, that concerning mother smile on her face that she pulls off perfectly, must be from all those times she used to babysit.

“You know she only does that because she loves you, your practically all she has left since you guys never see your dad” I let out a sigh, seeing my breathe in the air again, she’s right, I know that.

“I know” I just wish dad was around more often, maybe then some of my moms attention would go somewhere else, I guess that’s what working at the hospital does for her.

“Come on Ellery don’t get all sappy on me we’re supposed to be excited, your finally gonna do this!” I cant help but smile, I don’t want to get my hopes up but I cant help it.

“Well we don’t technically know that only one of us is supposed to get the job”

 “They always say that its like a business thing or what ever you don’t know what the other people are gonna be like, you all might be great and he’ll have no choice but to hire all of you” She’s always super optimistic, it would be awesome if more then one of us got to have an official spot there.

Me and five other students across the US are interning on Nalo island for two weeks and after words Mr.Sato will choose one of us to officially work on the island.

“Well in a perfect world that’s how it would go, but we don’t live in a perfect world Phoeb’s” God if only we lived in a perfect world.

 Phoebe spins so fast her hand still in mine, to glare at me, not a real glare or anything like she’s actually mad, she just hates when I point out the flaws in all her optimism.

“Ellery Mitchell if you don’t stop with the negativity then, then, then I’ll have no choice but to ,” She pauses brining the hand holding her keys to tap at her lips. The wind blowing her shoulder length dirty blonde hair around her face and she swats it away.

Then her eyes widen and she has a big mischievous grin on her face and I know this cant be anything good. “I’ll have no choice but to not allow you to have anymore milkshakes and I’ll eat all your Chinese food and I wont let you see cuddles for a whole week!” I laugh bringing my unoccupied hand to rub down my face.

God I love her and I don’t know what I would do without her but sometimes I wonder what she would do without me.

“Phoeb’s you do realize ill be gone for two whole weeks. So technically when I get back your little restrictions will be over.” I say tilting my head to the side to watch her brain slowly catch up her furrowed eye brows shooting up at the realization.

“Well, that is so unfair” Her shoulders slouching as she tugs at my arm to continue our trek to her car.

Phoebe drives a supe nice classic red mustang, I don’t know anything else like a make or year or what ever I don’t understand cars. But she sure understands cars, one of her dads works as a mechanic and they even have their own vehicle repair shop that me and her hung out at last summer.

It’s a great hangout and its right across the street from a dinner so we would go there grab food for the two of us plus extra for her dad and anyone else who wanted food.

We climb in and it starts up with a nice hum. I never really understood people with the fancy sports cars before until I drove around with phoebe in hers.

Since its my last day before I leave phoebe decided we go out to eat first after she asked if I was cool with it like fifty times. She takes off going 10-15 miles over the speed limit.

 Getting food with phoebe is always fun, it makes me forget about the world around me. It makes the time fly literally, which is why she’s currently clinging to me crying. “But I’m not ready for you to go, ill miss you so much!” I laugh tears in the corners of my own eyes.

“Its only two weeks phoebe ill be back in no time” I rub my hand over her back as she continues to bury her face into my chest.

"I know but still, you promise you’ll text me all the time and take loads of pictures” She sniffles finally moving her face away from me to look up with puppy dog eyes and her bottom lip jutting out.

“Here,” I move to push her gently away from me so she’s finally back to her full height, I stick my pinky finger out to her.

“See I pinky promise that I will be perfectly fine, and that ill text you all the I time and send you a bunch of pictures” Though I say it out loud doesn’t mean I fully believe it myself. I’m so nervous because I don’t know who the other people are or what's waiting for me out there.

She smiles sadly and links her pinky with mine. “Fine pinky promise, but promise me that if anything goes wrong you wont be stupid” I look at her, and the look on her face is something I've never seen before, she’s so serious, and it makes a tear slide down my cheek.

The serious look on her face disappears as she unlinks our pinkies to wipe the tear off my cheek. ‘”Oh sweetheart its ok, its just I know you and never mind that just also promise me you’ll have fun and you wont worry about anything back here.” I smile and one again we link pinkies going to press our thumbs together to seal our promises.

She pauses and pulls her thumb away from mine. “Wait are we sure this is the last promise, we’ve just made like five in the last minute” We both laugh as I nod and she smiles big, we both press our thumbs together.

“Ok good you better not try and make anymore promises before you leave because I’m not doing that a third time missy” She says crossing her arms.

“Yes that’s the last promise. I promise” I smile at her as she rolls her eyes at me turning her back to me waving me off. “Oh gone on already wont yuh” I hear her voice crack as she does, I feel my eyes start to water again, I go to walk away but I cant. I run back to phoebe leaving my bags to hug her one last time before I leave.

Its only two weeks I tell myself.

ahhhhhh, omg so uhm that's the first chapter I wrote for this story, i really hope its ok and not to bad

i promise it gets better :')

[illinoiseagle]

Springfield African American History Museum announces Nalo Mitchell as first executive director

The board of directors of the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum announced that Nalo Mitchell has accepted the position of Executive Director. Read the full article

[sophia-sol]

Books read in 2021

It's time for my yearly roundup of books I read over the last year! This time with links to my tumblr posts with my reviews for each book, aww yeah!

Under a cut for length, because a) I read a lot of books and then b) I talk about them a bunch.

January **** Boyfriend Material, by Alexis Hall **** Mirage, by Somaiya Daud **** Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang **** Strong Poison, by Dorothy L Sayers February ***** Winter's Orbit, by Everina Maxwell ***** I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, by Sarah Kurchak - nf *** Court of Lions, by Somaiya Daud *** Rent a Boyfriend, by Gloria Chao ***** Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger March *** That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story, by Huda Fahmy - nf **** Paladin's Strength, by T Kingfisher ***** An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics, Translated with an Introduction and Commentary by James Bailey and Tatyana Ivanova - nf **** Measuring Up, by Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu ** The Forgotten Sisters, by Shannon Hale **** Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice **** Two Roads, by Joseph Bruchac April **** The Devil Comes Courting, by Courtney Milan *** Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark *** Exhalation, by Ted Chiang May *** Act Your Age, Eve Brown, by Talia Hibbert *** The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu *** Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas *** First Comes Like, by Alisha Rai **** Warrior Scarlet, by Rosemary Sutcliff **** Drowned Country, by Emily Tesh June **** Jackalope Wives and Other Stories, by T. Kingfisher *** Falling in Love with Hominids, by Nalo Hopkinson *** Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan *** Skylark, by Patricia MacLachlan **** The Two Princesses of Bamarre, by Gail Carson Levine ***** Catherine's War, by Julia Billet **** Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse *** Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko *** Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn **** The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo ***** When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, by Nghi Vo ** Come Tumbling Down, by Seanan McGuire **** Finna, by Nino Cipri ** Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey *** A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler, by Lynell George - nf **** The Barren Grounds, by David A Robertson **** Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells ***** Beowulf: A New Translation, by Maria Dahvana Headley July **** Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail, by Dave Arnold - nf **** The Vanished Birds, by Simon Jimenez ***** Black Water Sister, by Zen Cho **** The Space Between Worlds, by Micaiah Johnson *** Accidentally Engaged, by Farah Heron **** The Bombay Prince, by Sujata Massey **** The Witness for the Dead, by Katherine Addison *** The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal August *** Silk and Steel: A Queer Speculative Adventure Anthology, edited by Janine A. Southard *** Islamicates Volume I, edited by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad ** A Mosque Among the Stars, edited by Ahmed A. Khan and Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad *** A Treasure of One's Own, by Lydia San Andres *** A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik ***** Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik *** The Girl from the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag September *** The Chosen and the Beautiful, by Nghi Vo *** The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison ***** The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie **** My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir, by Katherine Johnson - nf **** Fence, vol. 1-4, by C.S. Pacat, art by Johanna the Mad **** While We Were Dating, by Jasmine Guillory October ***** She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan *** A Master of Djinn, by P Djeli Clark *** The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers *** Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown, by Anaïs Mitchell - nf *** Paladin's Hope, by T. Kingfisher ***** Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer - nf *** Care Of, by Ivan Coyote - nf **** Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier **** An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, by Chris Hadfield - nf ***** My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier November *** Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko *** Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes *** Superior: The Return of Race Science, by Angela Saini - nf **** Witches of Brooklyn, by Sophie Escabasse **** How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith - nf *** The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik **** Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, by MT Anderson - nf *** Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu *** The Fire Never Goes Out, by Noelle Stevenson - nf **** Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol ***** They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei - nf ***** Snapdragon, by Kat Leyh *** Heartstopper volume 1, by Alice Oseman *** Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?!, by Sophie Escabasse ***** The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen *** Operatic, by Kyo Maclear *** How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch ** Jane, the Fox and Me, by Fanny Britt & Isabelle Arsenault December *** The Kingdom of Gods, by NK Jemisin **** The Awakened Kingdom, by NK Jemisin *** The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste ** The Dating Playbook, by Farrah Rochon **** Light from Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki **** Heartstopper volume 2, by Alice Oseman *** The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang This year I read 102 books! (As a result I'm not going to bother including percentages for any of these stats, as the straight numbers will be pretty close to the percentage of total.) Of the books I read, only 7 were rereads, which is super low when compared to past years; not sure what all factors played into that. Fantasy: 51 Graphic novels: 21 Kidlit: 20 Historical fiction: 14 Nonfiction: 13 Romance: 13 YA: 13 Science Fiction: 11 Old books: 4 Short Stories: 7 Memoir: 5 Famous/Classic: 4 Translated: 3 Mystery: 3 Literary Fiction: 2 Gothic: 2 Folk/fairy tale collection: 1 Poetry: 1 Books with male authors: 20 Books with female authors: 73 Books with nonbinary authors: 12 Books with authors of colour: 52 5-star books: 16 4-star books: 38 3-star books: 42 2-star books: 6 1-star books: 0 Books continue to be an important source of good in my life. I love reading books, I love figuring out what I think about a book and how to express it clearly in my reviews, and I love talking about the books I read with other people who have opinions on them - whether in the comments of one of my book posts, in the comments of their book posts, in person, in twitter DMs, in chat....it's great. I've also been working on feeling like it's okay for me to not write/post a review of a book when I don't actually want to though, for whatever reason, and I feel like this year I was successful at not pressuring myself to! (however: if you want to talk with me about any of the books I listed without a review linked, please feel free to, talking to people is different :)) The kinds of books I read in any given year are highly influenced by what sorts of kicks I end up on. Last year I read a whole bunch of poetry, for example, because I started reading Robert Service and couldn't stop. This year my graphic novel count is the highest it's ever been because I went through the the list of all graphic novel ebooks my library had to offer. Both last year and this year I've done my best to read my way through all the Hugo nominees in all the categories I can, which introduces books into my life that I might not otherwise have thought to give a try to, and which sometimes result in exciting finds and sometimes result in me going "ugh WHY THIS." I've been making good use of my library's curbside pickup this year instead of just relying on their ebooks like I did last year, which opened up more books to my availability even in a time when covid means wandering through the library on a regular basis isn't as safe as it used to be. I started tagging all my book thoughts posts this year with my star rating of them (...at least on dreamwidth, where tags work differently), which I think is a net benefit to my overall tagging/info-conveyance system. It makes it really easy to discover, for example, how MANY of the books I read are ones that I really do like. A good sign that I'm curating my own reading well. And I read so many good books this year! I say this every year but it's really true! There are so many amazing books in the world and I put LOTS of them in front of my face. What's my favourite of them??? How to even narrow it down! She Who Became the Sun absolutely blew me away, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain felt like it was written just for meeeeee, Elatsoe was a delight, An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics was fascinating, Beowulf: A New Translation was endless fun, Spinning Silver continues to be brilliant, The Magic Fish did a perfect job of marrying form and theme to enhance an already amazing story, My Cousin Rachel sent me basically feral for a week straight.....BOOKS!!! I successfully managed to not read any one-star books this year, go me. I think my least favourite would be either Upright Women Wanted or Come Tumbling Down, though it's possible that feeling like the Hugos made me read those ones made my feelings of dislike for them more intense than for the books I personally inflicted upon me. At any rate although both books emphatically did not work for me, they clearly have elements that speak to other readers, and honestly it's nice when my least favourite books of a given year aren't just irredeemable dreck.

[biandlesbianliterature]

The Books That Defined My Decade

The 2010s are over, and in my latest Book Riot video (did you know I make videos weekly on that channel now?), I wanted to reflect back on my decade in reading. I picked a favourite book of each year, as well as a whole bunch of runners-up. Of course, most of them are bi or lesbian. Below are all the books mentioned and my reviews. Non-Lesbrary books are crossed out.

Titles have an Amazon Affiliate link: if you click through and buy something, I get a small percentage.

2010:

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (review and discussion)

Two or Three Things I Know For Sure by Dorothy Allison (review)

2011:

Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue (review)

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

2012:

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (review)

Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy (review)

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery (review)

2013-2019 under the read more:

2013:

Nevada by Imogen Binnie (review)

The Collection edited by Tom Leger and Riley Macleod (review)

Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)

The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernan (review)

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)

2014:

Tamora Pierce, including the Circle of Magic series (review)

Adaptation (review) and Inheritance by Malinda Lo (review)

Prairie Ostrich by Tamai Kobayashi (review)

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

2015:

Bodymap by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna Samarasinha (review)

The Truth About Stories by Thomas King

Falling In Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie (review)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (review)

Beloved by Toni Morrison

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Sailor Moon manga

2016:

Sexual Fluidity by Lisa Diamond (review)

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (review)

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai (review)

2017:

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review)

Hunger by Roxane Gay (review)

2018:

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (review)

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (review)

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)

Space Battle Lunchtime by Natalie Riess (review)

2019:

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (review)

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

This Is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow (review)

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (review)

Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene

[stsathyre]

. . . . For Prime Day Amazon is offering Audible for 40% off for 6 months . . . 

. . . 

Suggest me books that “sound” good? Literally.

Here’s my ever-growing current reading list:

Johannes Cabal The Fear Institute- Jonathan L. Howard

The Passage - Justin Cronin

My Soul to Keep - Tananarive Due

Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson

Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

Cold Heart Canyon - Clive Barker

The Escort Service - Mary Ann Mitchell

On Writing - Stephen King (re-reading)

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston (re-reading)

Summer Sisters - Judy Blume (re-reading)

The Witching Hour - Anne Rice (I’ve been reading this fucker since 1996 and cannot get past page 100)

Forbidden - Beverly Jenkins (Just finished actually)

The Long War - Terry Pratchett

 . . . . and a few more 

One day my “currently reading” list will be . . . not over a dozen books. LOL

[dementedfilament]

Pippa Yarrow and Nalo Mitchell

In perfect unison, the twins ceased their flickering flames with a swift puff of air.

The room was stunned, until Honey hesitantly asked, “I know you two are assassins, but…did that actually happen?”

Smiling, Vega pulled her sleeve and bore the scar from her battle. “Senior year.”

“Yes, and Veda thought it best to bring an unconscious Vega through my window for some reason,” Maggie commented.

“You were close by!” Veda defended.

Bast furrowed a brow. “Did you…post that on your blog?”

“Briefly,” Maggie replied. “I didn’t post any pictures, nor did I mention anything in-depth given the situation.”

“I see.”

Gavin scratched his cheek. “Wait…aren’t you supposed to tell separate stories?”

“Yeah, you guys just took turns telling one story,” Clarissa added.

The sisters waved a hand. “Well, we’re twins so—”

“—we’re practically one person anyways, right?”

Cedric sighed. “It is…acceptable.”

“Yayyy!”

Someone in the group muttered “Freaky…” as he continued. “Pippa, if you’d like to continue.”

“Okay! I don’t know if mine will be quite as exciting, but it’s scary!”

***

Deep within the forest, a little girl ran. Closely behind her did skeletal creatures give chase, causing tears to pour from her eyes. The clacking of bone tapped rhythmically with the patters of her shoes on the dirt.

Through an ocean of haze beyond green, relief flooded her mind as she came upon a clearing. A cloaked woman was there, resting beside a glimmering black circle with shapes and runes all around it.

The woman stopped, moving her gaze from the ground to the girl with surprise, then smiled. “You would make a fine specimen,” she said. “Would you offer your corpse to your local Necromagus for study?”

Still panting, the little girl backed away as void-black illuminations surrounded her. The animated bones of creatures thrust from the dirt, writhing and twisting as they pulled themselves to the surface. Some even had decayed flesh clinging to their bodies, mold and maggots spilling from the rotted insides.

With the previous stalkers closing in, she quickly searched for an opening and rushed that way. Clacks and clatters and rattles lumbered behind her, echoing around the tree trunks.

Her only option was to flee towards the darker parts of the forest, where the greens were even more prevalent alongside tangled roots and thorns. Plants she had never seen before dotted the land, along with a plethora of mushrooms she had initially set out to find.

Slowly, the drum of bone behind her ceased.

But, she continued running. With her legs burning, she sprinted through sharp weeds until she was abruptly knocked back—bleary vision sabotaging her escape.

She rubbed her eyes, then gazed up, and up, and up, at a 9 foot tall man with the legs and horns of a deer, and eyes black with fury.

***

Pippa’s air silenced her flame. “And that’s where the scary part ends. Turns out, the deer-man was actually kind. He brought her back out to us safe and sound.”

“That was…about your sister Aubree, right?” Alina asked, recalling the events from Maggie’s old blog.

She nodded. “It’s the scariest story I know.”

Nalo whipped her head around. “That’s the scariest one you know?”

“Yeah??”

“Not the one where you were chasing after skeletons and nearly died?”

Pippa didn’t reply.

“Then let me tell you my scariest story.”

***

Despite the incoming danger, my best friend ran straight into it. With skeletons abound and a psycho mage-bitch intent on literally killing us all, she still stubbornly went in by herself. Bravely, dauntlessly, stupidly.

We (Maggie and I) were cut off from her before we could give chase, blocked by a wall of unfriendly bags of bones. While Pippa was off who-knows-where in the forest, I finally mustered the courage to rush one, and I grabbed a spare thigh to fend us off from the skeletons as we ran.

Eventually, whilst narrowly dodging death ourselves, we found Pippa collapsed on her knees in front of Necro-bitch. A rotted child’s corpse had been placed at her feet, wearing Aubree’s sweater and had a bit of her hair around it.

I don’t know what was going through her head at the moment. Whether she knew it was a trick, or she was so caught up in the moment that she couldn’t see through it, but she didn’t move as a bunch of forest zombies closed in on her. They dragged her forward kicking and screaming, and our attackers caught up to us and started getting handsy.

Pippa did fight, so I assume she came to her senses by that point, but she was slammed onto a rock and pinned down while Necro-bitch pulled a crooked knife on her.

And I had to watch on in horror, powerless as the mage raised the knife above her head and thrust it down on my best friend.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Clarissa Parker

“That’s it?” Alfie commented.

Alina’s teeth grit as she blew out her flame. “What do you mean ‘that’s it’?!”

“You walked in on your roommate rehearsing? What’s scary about that?”

“You don’t think it’d be scary to walk in on your roommate and best friend suddenly having a tail and acting weird?”

“Well if she’s just acting, then no.”

“Fufufu,” Lottie giggled. “He just doesn’t want to admit the truth.”

“There is no 'truth'.”

“You’re right. You’re openly pathetic,” Alina shot back.

“Excuse me?!”

Nalo sighed and held her head. “Good grief, you two…”

“Just like an old married couple, fufufu~”

“Huh?!” The two screamed in unison.

“Regardless, it is accepted,” Cedric mediated.

As the two fell into a pout, Kenny laughed. “Boy, the atmosphere sure has gotten goofy.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Nalo commented.

“Since they’ve calmed down,” Clarissa said, “how about I continue with my story?”

***

Puttering down the dim hall Clarissa went, attention completely absorbed by her phone. Her fingers danced—lightning taps upon the keys. Her recent ventures captured by Maggie’s blog and dispersed with the spectacled girl’s expertise happened to snag the attention of some small-ish company’s CEO, and she wasn’t about to lose the opportunity for an advertising deal to spread her name further.

What tore her attention was a distinct

Crunch

Dead halt. Pause. Lean slightly. Peer down.

She moved her shoe, revealing the shattered pieces of some hard and shiny thing.

A blink, then her green eyes trailed along the ground to more shiny things scattered in a row. The line led directly into the girl’s shower room.

Soft humming could be heard from inside, despite the mere minutes to curfew. Every few seconds, a fleshy ripping sound followed by light clinks upon the tile arose.

Curious, Clarissa followed it as she hit ‘send’ on her carefully crafted reply. Shiny thing, shiny thing, shiny thing…the closer the thing, the more translucent mounds of goop surrounding.

Against expectation, there was a student inside, adjusting to the soft cloth of her night clothes and running her hair through a towel. “Oh, Clarissa. What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. You know what time it is?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I was just about to head back.”

“Better hurry.” A glance to the ground, then back to the perpetrator. “...What’s with all the scales?”

“I collect them!” Thali smiled sweetly, her ice blue eyes with slit pupils lighting up. “But I…accidentally spilled them everywhere, sorry.”

“You klutz. Need help cleaning up?”

Her forked tongue flicked from her lips. “Sure!”

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Hestia Espinosa

“That’s…” Pippa and Nalo clung to each other, squeezing their hands tightly, “That’s so sad…”

“That story is about the book you lent me, yes?” Cedric asked.

Kory nodded.

“About a person erased so thoroughly, she cannot be found even in private records.”

“She did exist!” The orange-haired girl protested. “She was a student at our school!”

Uncertain glances were traded around the room.

Cedric raised a pacifying hand. “I believe you. However, it is difficult to locate someone who you alone have bore witness to.”

Her expression fell further.

“I haven’t given up. I will find your friend.” Eyes full of skeptical hope met his. “The worlds in which I’m in contact hold many secrets. She is surely one confined within them. And I will unveil it in due time.”

After one last prolonged gaze, her body relaxed. Beside her, Hestia and Kenny offered pats on the back.

“Shall we continue?”

Kory snuffed the candle, signaling to Cedric’s apprentice to speak. “We shall.”

***

In the dead of night, something stirred Hestia from her sleep. Pawing at her legs was a black cat—a cyclops flicking a forked tail of four.

‘Lucky.’ The name arose through the young witch’s intuition. Though, the cat merely appeared to smile at her.

“...Why are you here?”

‘Come with me.’ It leapt away, soaring through the second-story window.

Hestia sprinted to the sill, finding that Lucky had landed perfectly in the grass, and patiently awaited her to join.

After sending a text, she successfully escaped the academy. “Where are we going?”

Whether the creature didn’t respond or she was simply unable to detect it, she didn’t know.

Through the aster meadows, the thousand little flowers parted around them as they strolled into the forest. The stars of the dirt replaced those of the sky. As they traversed, Hestia brought her hands together. ‘Protect me, my Warden.’

Several silent minutes of pitch black.

Eating away at the darkness, an unnatural soft light filtered from an unfamiliar opening. Tangling roots bled into thick, thorned vines devouring the space beyond the forest. Crumbling buildings littered the area, with peaks and towers held into place by the spiraling vines. Brilliant roses dotted the sea of green in a meager attempt to liven the pestilent atmosphere.

“What…what happened to this place?”

Lucky paused, as if to allow the young witch to acclimate. She patted for her phone, but the pocket in which she had placed it was empty. The opposite pocket, her shoes, her bra, even her small buns…the device wasn’t in any feasible location on her person.

Along with that, she could no longer hear the voices of Azokhra. Those plaguing whispers she’d become accustomed to, nor the presence or voice of her Warden. Total silence filled her brain for the first time in several months.

She felt the air leave her lungs.

In only a short time, the cat continued through a safe path for them to walk. Through the wreckage, Hestia felt a weight gradually pressing on her shoulders.

A lone tower stood at the center of the devastation. Vines pouring out the single window indicated the origin of the disaster. And as they drew closer, a haunting melody could be heard streaming across the stagnant air.

Without hesitation, Lucky leapt over the vines, ignoring Hestia’s protests and leading her inside the tower up a cracked, winding staircase. “Where are you…taking me…?” she breathed, placing a hand on the cold stone for support. That terribly burdening aura now rendered her nearly incapable of movement the further she climbed.

Up the merciless steps, they were led to a large, suffocating room. The vines were delicately arranged to allow access to its amenities and furnishings. A garden of roses filled the air with a sickenly pungent smell.

That burden on her back threatened Hestia’s knees, but she forced her body to remain strong in the presence of a young woman; the source of the melody rested by the window. She was still idly singing until she noticed she had company. “Oh? A visitor?”

The woman turned, revealing her vivid red eyes and soft green skin. The dangling vines circling the room all lead back to her—to her head. She wore a gown reminiscent of a princess, green as all the thorns acting as her hair.

Hestia looked towards Lucky, only to find herself abandoned.

“What has brought you here?”

She hesitated. “Do you…need help?”

“...Help?”

“Yes. I…don’t know if I can help you myself, but I know someone who—”

“Oh…” The princess frowned. “You can’t help me?”

Hestia faltered. “No, I…I can, but I, myself, cannot—”

“They never can anyways,” she continued. “Men, women, those inbetween. All have tried, and all have failed. You are no different.”

Blurs of green seized Hestia’s body, pulling at her limbs, piercing her skin, and squeezing her throat.

“You are all food for my garden.” She slowly approached her new captive, stroking the witch’s face with her spiked hands. “You are small, but you have power. The garden will be pleased.”

Slipping around the vines, Lucky appeared and leapt onto the princess’s face. She shrieked as tiny claws thrust into her eye, ripping the organ from its socket. Redness bloomed down her face as she captured the cat and hurled it into her wall of thorns.

Hestia cried out, but the creature phased through the greenery.

“You are always…�� the princess uttered through gnashing teeth, “You are always trying to hurt me!!”

Pain seared through the young witch’s body. Unable to speak in their defense, memories of her life in Guatemala and Featherfall flashed through her mind in a desperate attempt to bring her to peace.

But then, the princess’s expression twisted into that of terror.

And Hestia blacked out.

Then, she woke up in her bed. It was a bright, ordinary morning filled with school bells and chirping birds.

Beside her, a text in reply.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[dementedfilament]

Fuyuki Noya

Silently leaning down, Maggie blew out the candle flame.

“That’s…that’s it?!” Gavin said, shoulders tense.

“What did you do?” Nalo asked.

She glanced across the alumni in the circle. “I walked home as quickly and calmly as I could. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“‘You will kill them all’,” Bast mused. “Do you think that was in reference to—...”

Her expression fell, and she nodded. “Yes, I believe so.”

Beside her, Cedric inclined his head, “It’s not as if that’s a worry you must carry any longer.”

“...You’re right.”

A pause. “Shall we continue then?”

They all glanced at Maggie's left to Fuyuki, sitting tall with her hands folded politely in her lap. “Yes, we shall.”

***

It was a silent summer evening, save for the grasshoppers orchestrating in the field. Fireflies were gleaming—floating decor over the expanse of the local park. The moon hung low in the sky, filled to the brim and lighting the stage for night-dwellers to rise.

Fuyuki was alone, pocketing her device as she made a brisk pace down the sidewalk. The sound of her footsteps resonated in her ear, exposing the emptiness that earlier citizens had left behind. But, the patter of her shoes was a welcome accompaniment to the night’s song.

Every so often, her eyes broke from their trajectory and followed the fireflies dance. The serene pulsing stretched all the way through a clearing in the trees, where the moon stood dominant. That was when her eyes drifted unexpectedly, taking in the soft blue hues showering the earth.

Piercing through them, from atop the light posts, was the shadow of an unusually large bird. She gazed high, searching curiously for the creature, but her steps then ceased.

Space empty as that below waited there. Her eyes fell back to the shadow, still blanketing the grass, then returned to that expanse.

As if by instinct, she then turned to face the moon. Luminous and grandiose, it returned her gaze relentlessly, dappled with nothing more than its usual blend of tones.

Without a clue to the mystery, Fuyuki placed her attention once again on the shadow, met with its vacancy instead.

Scaretober 2023

Brisk Wind on a Dark Trail

Midnight Moon

Gargoyle's Watch

Cold Stones in the Fog

Spirits Rising

Haunted House

Witching Hour

Bubbling Cauldron

Candy

Eyes

Spider Silk

Feathers

Tail

Scales

Fangs or Talons

An Offering of Blood

Dark Ritual

Spook Scary Skeletons

Carnivàle Morte

Still-Beating Heart

Sharpened Blade

Mask

Looming Shadows

The Devil's Hand

Monster

Reflection in the Mirror

Rusted Chains

Stitches

Precious Jewels

Incantation

Halloween

Epilogue

[mercury-72]

The Brightside

Masterlist

When Jurassic world comes to life, Ellery Mitchell one of six college students gets chosen to intern on the island of Nalo Manu for winter break, before the park opens to the public. But of course nothing ever goes to plan, after all its a dinosaur infested island.

TW: Eating disorder mentioned, death? (please let me know if i forgot anything)

part one: https://www.tumblr.com/mercury-72/745861858426273792/chapter-one-the-internship-ellery?source=share

[biandlesbianliterature]

This is part 2 of 3 of the bi and lesbian books that I’ve read and loved! Click here to see the full list at the Lesbrary.

If you like what we do here and want to see more of it, buy us a coffee on ko-fi, or support this tumblr & the Lesbrary on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

Young Adult:

This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow (review)

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Starting From Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review)

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (review)  [children’s/middle grade]

Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo (review)

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (review)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth (review)

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (review)

Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman (review)

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (review)

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (review)

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan (review)

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (review) [Bisexual M/F]

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (review)

P. S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (review) [Bisexual M/F]

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

Under Threat by Robin Stevenson

As I Descended by Robin Talley (review)

Pulp by Robin Talley (review)

The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde (review)

Going Off Script by Jen Wilde (review)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (review)

The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson (review)

↓ Click through for SFF YA, Sci Fi, Fantasy, and Horror! ↓

SFF Young Adult:

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (review)

Love In the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (review) [Bisexual M/F]

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (review)

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (review)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (review)

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (review)

Dreadnought by April Daniels (review) and Sovereign (Dreadnought #2) by April Daniels (review)

All Good Children by Dayna Ingram (review)

Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha

Adaptation (review) and Inheritance by Malinda Lo (review)

Natural Selection (Adaptation 1.5) by Malinda Lo (review)

Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (review)

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft edited by Tess Sharpe (review)

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner (review)

Sci Fi:

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear (review) [Steampunk/Western]

Tierra Del Fuego, Colony Ship: Parting Shots by Caron Cro (review)

Meanwhile, Elsewhere edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett (review)

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (review)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (review)

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by S.L. Huang (review)

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (review)

Fantasy:

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (review)

The Narrows by m. craig (review)

Indigo Springs by A.M. Dellamonica (review)

Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue

Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (review)

The Second Mango by Shira Glassman (review)

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Falling In Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw (review)

Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (review)

A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray (review)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)

Hellebore & Rue edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff (review)

Horror/Zombies/Vampires:

Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)

Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (review)

Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene

Eat Your Heart Out by Dayna Ingram (review)

The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (review)

Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories by Pam Kesey

The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan (review)

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon (review)

If you like what we do here and want to see more of it, buy us a coffee on ko-fi, or support this tumblr & the Lesbrary on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

This is only part of the list! Click here to see the entire list at the Lesbrary, or check out Part 1: Fiction & Poetry, and Part 3: Romance, Comics, and Nonfiction.

[biandlesbianliterature]

Hi, I was wondering if you knew of any lesbian short story collections? preferably not erotica!! thank you! :)

Yes! 

By one author:

Missed Her by Ivan Coyote (review)

Painting Their Portraits in Winter by Myriam Gurba (review)

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (review) [Bisexual]

Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue

Multiple authors:

Hellebore & Rue edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff (review)

Not entirely lesbian, but includes many sapphic stories:

The Collection edited by Tom Leger and Riley Macleod (review)

Meanwhile, Elsewhere edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett (review)

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)

Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (review)

Falling In Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review) [Sapphic novella]

Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

Also check out the Lesbrary Anthology tag, and the Goodreads lists Lesbian Short Stories and Lesbian Anthologies!

Support the Lesbrary and Bi & Les Lit on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

[biandlesbianliterature]

Lesbrary Link Round Up: August 30 - September 16

[image description: a collage of 16 covers of the books mentioned in the links below, with the text “Lesbrary Links: Bi and Lesbian Books, August 30 - September 16]

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!

[image description: the covers of The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson, Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust, Working It Out: A Lesbian Relationship Primer by Frances S. Fuchs, As I Descended by Robin Talley, and Batwoman Elegy]

Autostraddle posted The Ultimate Batwoman Comic Book Reading List and 8 Self-Help Books about Lesbian Relationships.

Book Riot posted 14 LGBT Retellings of Classics.

Lambda Literary posted New in September: Sarah Schulman, Gengoroh Tagame, Olivia Laing, and Eileen Myles.

LGBTQ Reads posted Queer SFF Novels for Under $5!

Ylva Publishing posted Is Lesbian Fiction Ageist? Where Are the Older Women in Lesbian Fiction?

[image description: the covers of Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady by Susan Quinn, Against Memoir by Michelle Tea, Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill, All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell, and As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman]

Kate Christie posted Queer Mama Book Recs.

Michelle Tea on Archiving Queer History that Is Often Erased.

"10 Great Reads From the Feminist Lesbian Sci-Fi Boom of the 1970s" was posted at LitHub.

"The Journey and History of Yuri, Part 1" was posted at Rai's Anime Blog.

"don't blame readers [for not buying f/f romance]" was posted at the feminist librarian.

"A Reading List of Queer Romances in Historical Fiction" was posted at Electric Lit.

[image description: the covers of Tailor Made by Yolanda Wallace, Pretend We Live Here by Genevieve Hudson, Wild Mares by Dianna Hunter, Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson, and Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles]

Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles was reviewed at The Rumpus.

Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson was reviewed at Black Lesbian Literary Collective.

Wild Mares by Dianna Hunter was reviewed at Autostraddle.

Pretend We Live Here by Genevieve Hudson was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

A Proper Cuppa Tea by K.G. MacGregor was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Tailor Made by Yolanda Wallace was reviewed at Lesbian Reading Room.

If you like what we do at the Lesbrary and Bi & Les Lit, support us on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

[biandlesbianliterature]

This is part two of the bi and lesbian books that I’ve read and loved! It covers YA, SFF, and Horror. Click here to see the full list at the Lesbrary!

Young Adult:

This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow (review)

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Starting From Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review)

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (review)  [children’s/middle grade]

Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo (review)

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (review)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth (review)

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (review)

Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman (review)

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (review)

Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (review)

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan (review)

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (review) [Bisexual M/F]

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (review)

P. S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy (review) [children’s/middle grade]

Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (review) [Bisexual M/F]

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

Under Threat by Robin Stevenson

As I Descended by Robin Talley (review)

Pulp by Robin Talley (review)

The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde (review)

Going Off Script by Jen Wilde (review)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (review)

The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson (review)

SFF Young Adult:

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (review)

Love In the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (review) [Bisexual M/F] 

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (review)

Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (review)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (review)

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (review)

Dreadnought by April Daniels (review) and Sovereign (Dreadnought #2) by April Daniels (review)

All Good Children by Dayna Ingram (review)

Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha

Adaptation (review) and Inheritance by Malinda Lo (review)

Natural Selection (Adaptation 1.5) by Malinda Lo (review)

Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (review)

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft edited by Tess Sharpe (review)

Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner (review)

Sci Fi:

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear (review) [Steampunk/Western]

Tierra Del Fuego, Colony Ship: Parting Shots by Caron Cro (review)

Meanwhile, Elsewhere edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett (review)

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (review)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (review)

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by S.L. Huang (review)

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (review)

Fantasy: 

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (review)

The Narrows by m. craig (review)

Indigo Springs by A.M. Dellamonica (review)

Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue

Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (review)

The Second Mango by Shira Glassman (review)

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Falling In Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (review)

Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw (review)

Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (review)

A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray (review)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)

Hellebore & Rue edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff (review)

Horror/Zombies/Vampires:

Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)

Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (review)

Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene

Eat Your Heart Out by Dayna Ingram (review)

The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (review)

Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories by Pam Kesey

The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan (review)

Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado (review)

Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon (review)

If you like what we do here and want to see more of it, buy us a coffee on ko-fi, or support this tumblr & the Lesbrary on Patreon for $2 or more a month and be entered into monthly book giveaways!

This is only part of the list! Click here to see the entire list at the Lesbrary, or check out Part 1: Fiction & Poetry, and Part 3: Romance, Comics, and Nonfiction.

[stsathyre]

Hey. I think you're awesome. As in worthy of awe. Anyway do you like books? Birds? Have you got a favourite type of magic? I hope you are doing ok!

*sniff, sniff* Thanks. No really. My spirits are shot today.

Love books. I am consistently reading a dozen or more books at any given time. My current list is:

Johannes Cabal The Detective - Jonathan L. Howard

The Passage - Justin Cronin

My Soul to Keep - Tananarive Due

Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson

Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

Cold Heart Canyon - Clive Barker

The Escort Service - Mary Ann Mitchell 

On Writing - Stephen King (re-reading)

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston (re-reading)

Summer Sisters - Judy Blume (re-reading)

The Witching Hour - Anne Rice (I’ve been reading this fucker since 1996 and cannot get past page 100)

And more, actually . . .

I love birds. Don’t know a damn thing about them. But they’re pretty.

I like flash magic. Things that can be done quick and dirty.