Music

Olivia Dean’s I Wish I Didn’t Miss You (Angie Stone cover)

This grooves hard.

dollstr!ke’s In the Blue

I love a good pop song.

KAINA’s Casita (Live at NPR Tiny Desk x SXSW)

Rebirth Canal’s AI

I keep thinking about these lines: “i want to you be gentle / i want you to be strong // with all senses uncompressed”

Allison Russell’s Nightflyer (Live at the 2022 Grammys)

I love her voice in this lower register.

Sophia Subbayya Vastek’s The Seas That Made Us

The Suffers’ Don’t Bother Me

Doesn’t it just make you wanna dance?

---

Misc.

Film: Maggie Q’s The Protege

The cat-mouse UST? *chef’s kiss*

TV: Bridgerton S2

OMFG. SO GOOD! I know a lot of people weren’t into all the changes between season, but I am into it. (Also, it’s normal in romance books anyways.) The eye-fucking! The UST! A dark-skinned leading lady! I do think the season could’ve benefited from additional episodes to work through the fall-out though.

Podcast: Where Should We Begin? S5x06, Twice Married, To Each Other

I really liked her tips that to help diffuse an argument, try arguing while lying down or touch each other. Transcript here.

This was a slow month for me, but was carried by good TV and film.

Books

Melissa Febos’ Body Work

Will be thinking about the essay “Mind Fuck” for awhile.

Erica Ridley’s An Affair by the Sea (The Siren’s Retreat #2)

Hilarious.

Reread: Nalini Singh’s Whisper of Sin (Psy-Changeling #.75)

---

Music

Caitlyn Scarlett ft. Her Ensemble’s Forgive Yourself

---

Videos

Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Grrrls S1

I binge-watched this and it was so much fun.

Niecy Nash Betts & Jessica Betts React to Couples Astrology Reading

11 minute video, English captions available. I believe in love!

Queer Disability Justice Dreams

1 hour 45 minute video, ASL and English captions available. Discussion between Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Sami Schalk. I’m especially thinking about the mutual aid parts.

Honorable Mention: Domee Shi’s Turning Red and Lana Wachowski’s Matrix Resurrections

Books

Jessie Mihalik’s Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1)

Tremendous fun. I picked this up sight unseen based on how much fun I had in her previous trilogy, and it was totally worth it.

Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis

Hysterically funny. Also the demisexual rep took me out.

---

Read More »

Books

The Mask of Mirrors and The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick (Rose and Rook #1 & 2)

I binged these. Once Mask of Mirrors popped off at the 50% mark, I read like… 1100 pages in 3 days? During which I read 90% of The Liars’ Knot in one day. TMoM is broody, but TLK is rip-roaring fun full of humor and identity shenanigans.

The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith

Hello, yes, sisterhood of nuns who spin the wind into magic. I need a sequel ASAP about Grace when she’s older and on her pilgrimage. And yes the magic system is cool AF.

Read More »

Books

E.J. Beaton’s The Councillor (The Councillor #1)

Dom/sub UST. *chefs kiss*

Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert and All the Feels (Spoiler Alert #1 and #2)

If you read fanfic, don’t miss this self-aware series.

Kiese Laymon’s How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America

JFC the way this man writes.

Trung Le Nguyen’s The Magic Fish

JFC what Trungles accomplishes in a debut no less. Patreon.

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1)

This makes it onto the list solely for the tenderest bathing scene I’ve ever read.

C. Spike Trotman, Emilee Denich, and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s Yes, Roya (2021 color edition)

Kinky OT3? Yes, please!

Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue’s Katie the Cat Sitter (Katie the Cat Sitter #1)

A delight. I’m still thinking about Chat Guevara. XD

Read More »

Books

N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector

Everything I love about Jemisin, plus creative world-building around cat memes! Would love to see more from her in this universe.

Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans, and Clayton Cowles’s Die vol. 4

Ash!! When she faces herself? *chefs kiss* I’ve always loved moments like that. Would’ve loved a longer epilogue on how the lessons in-game effects everyone’s lives too.

Read More »

I have a number of poems that have been sitting on my harddrive gathering dust, so I’m trying to post them here and on IG. It’s made it so I’m posting more than twice a month; and I’m trying not to overthink that.

Oh, forgot to mention I was published in the Backbone zine; it’s free/pay what you can online!

---

Books

Melissa Caruso’s The Quicksilver Court (Rooks and Ruin #2)

The Obsidian Tower was one of my favorite books last year, so I was very excited for the sequel to come out. While not identical, Ryx and Severin give me similar vibes as Jude and Cardan from Holly Black’s Folk of the Air. Patreon.

Olivia Dade’s All the Feels (Spoiler Alert #2)

If you read fanfic, you gotta check out this series. Plus, a hero who loves fanfic tropes!

Erica Ridley’s Lord of Pleasure (Rogues to Riches #2)

A fun and magical novella with a hint of fairy tale vibes.

---

Misc.

Article: Fonda Lee’s Twitter is the Worst Reader

“Never have I witnessed a clarification or apology on Twitter lead to reciprocal outreach or reconcilation. The Twitter mob does not say, “Oh, thanks for clarifying. I’m also sorry about the misunderstanding and for jumping to conclusions. Shake hands and move on, shall we?””

“But diffuse offenses unknowingly caused by one-off tweets don’t justify online dog-piling when nothing about the underlying structures of power or representation are actually changed and the only real result is exhausted creators withdrawing.”

Film: Eternals dir. Chloé Zhao

So I know it’s getting mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I forgot I was in a movie theater full of people who were too close to me. Love the family dynamics. Also Makkari/Druig that is all.

Podcast: All That and Mo’

I’ve long been a fan of Mollena’s, and I will follow her wherever. She also has the gift of storytelling; I could listen to her talk about anything. Patreon.

Podcast: Where Should We Begin?

Esther Perel’s podcast is back! Spotify airs the episodes before it gets to other podcast apps.

October was a great reading month for me! New releases from three of my favorite authors: T. Kingfisher, forthright, and Nalini Singh. Also I learned a lot about myself in Tia Williams’ Seven Days in June, Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Storm, and Hayao Miyzaki’s Spirited Away.

---

Books

Zoraida Córdova’s The Inheritance of Orquídia Divina

The book I’ve been waiting for since Labyrinth Lost. Magical, filled with love.

forthright’s Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate (Amaranthine Saga #5)

I’ve said it before, but the worldbuilding in this universe has made this a go-to comfort read for me. I love the intimacy (especially physical touch) everyone gets: family, friends, lovers. There’s also a B-plot queerplatonic romance between two men in this one! A five book long slow burn no less!! My spirit left my body.

Read More »

A quick note: a premise I suggested made it onto the podcast Monstrous Agonies podcast! Listen to episode 37 on your podcast app of choice, or read the transcript. Podcast Patreon.

---

Books

C.M Nascosta’s Morning Glory Milking Farm (Cambric Creek #1)

…listen friends, IDK what to tell you, this somehow manages to be “a high heat slow burn with a lot of heart” romance despite the big monsterfucking vibes. It was a ton of fun, and I will be checking out her future works. Nascosta’s Patreon.

Read More »

I wound up moving in August, which drained a lot of my brain/willpower. So most of my books this month are re-reads.

Books

Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels books #1-5

I love Ilona Andrews, so it’s unsurprising I reached for these as comfort reads.

---

Music

Joyce Wright’s Must Be Nice (ft. Masego)

Selina Moon’s Hummingbird

Freakquencee’s Running

---

Read More »