Welcome to Litsy!

Here‘s a link to my Friday Reads, which includes a tour of my front garden. I am delighted that it is nominated for Front Yards in Bloom.

Friday Reads July 29: Authors from Burma, Malaysia, Tibet, Iran and Canada.
https://youtu.be/LDARReM_P1I

Wow! A beautiful, moving, heartfelt, and unique book. It was a fairly quick read. Don't let the size fool you. It may be a tiny book but it packs quiet the punch.

"I'd be tempted to nominate 'oh' as the most expressive word in the English language. It's versatile enough to convey anguish, confusion, surprise, and ecstasy. It means everything and nothing. 'Oh' goes to a place most words can't reach. It's the sound of breathing, the sound of being alive, the sound you make with a lover who knows how to fuck you."

A queer trans woman memorializes the life of her best friend by writing a short, lightly-illustrated encyclopedia of her favorite (fictional) tv show, sharing facts about her & their relationship as she goes.

She describes the show as “a [delightfully] wonky layer cake of ideas.” And that‘s this book. Sad and specific but also joyfully off-kilter & relatable.

Now I really want a cat named Dimple. 😻 And to watch this show that doesn‘t exist!

“They‘re paper dolls that Zelda Fitzgerald made in the thirties or forties. It‘s the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood…One doll showed the Big Bad Wolf in red lingerie. Another doll had the wolf in a white dress, holding a small bouquet of daisies. On the third doll, the Wolf (this time without a face) wore a black cowl, black boots, & had an array of rifles & daggers.”

“OLIVER: How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
DEREK: It depends on how thirsty I am.
OLIVER: I‘m worried about you…You need to be careful or you‘ll have a heart attack by the time you‘re forty.
DEREK: Don‘t worry. It‘s good for what ails me.
OLIVER: What ails you so much that you need to make yourself shake like a tectonic plate?
DEREK: I‘m fine. Sometimes I get wobbly. That‘s life.”

“I‘m the sort of person who will get cozy in the bathtub and never want to get out. Even making friends has always seemed like magic when it‘s happened to me. But it‘s never felt like magic that I have any control over.”

“Jason Bloch has described Little Blue as beginning with the “fuzzy notion” that it would be set on a tiny island. Part of his rationale was that he wanted to explore the idea that “things evolve strangely in isolation. Look at the Galapagos. When you are cut off from the rest of the world, you develop differently.”

None of you feel like *you* developed strangely during this past year. Right? 😅😂🙈

“Viv always appreciated anything that tilted towards delight.”

Me too, Viv. Me too.

Sad and strange and beautiful. The narrator‘s voice is so natural and personal.

One of the best books I've ever read! A unique character study, letter to grief, celebration of trans women, and innovative format. Our narrator is a queer trans woman who has lost her BFF Vivian, a straight trans woman who was the love of her life. She writes an encyclopedia about Vivian's fav TV show, a cult classic called "Little Blue." The book is about art: its power to soothe the unbearable. This book made me sob. BUT it is also very funny!

On the last page of this book, I didn't let dainty womanly tears fall down my face. I sobbed. It was so beautiful and so sad, but not hopeless. 😭😭 #QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQ #TransBooks

"I'd be tempted to nominate 'oh' as the most expressive word in the English language. It's versatile enough to convey anguish, confusion, surprise, and ecstasy. It means everything and nothing. 'Oh' goes to a place most words can't reach. It's the sound of breathing, the sound of being alive, the sound you make with a lover who knows how to fuck you."
#QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQ #TransBooks

"I wish I could say that writing about Viv and watching her favourite series served as a sort of emotional spackle that helped to partially fill the gap in my life that appeared when she died, but it wasn't like that. Watching 'Little Blue' with her imagined ghost wasn't like being with her. Writing about her wasn't like being with her. There was a strange, bittersweet beauty to thinking deeply about Viv every day." #TransBooks #QueerBooks #CanLit

You know those books that immediately suck you in with the voice? This is one of those.
#QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQ #TransBooks

#lgbtq #queer #trans

#lgbtq #queer #trans

The Lambda Literary Award winners were announced today! The TBR pile is growing like crazy 😅

#lgbt #queer #pride

I finished this yesterday and I‘m still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I mean, I wish it had been a straightforward story of the narrator and Vivian, and I liked the beginning best, before we get into the encyclopedia (of a fictional, insane experimental tv show). But I also appreciated the study of grief and finding oneself. It‘s short, so if you‘re looking for a #transbook #queerbook, it‘s not a huge time investment. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Thanks to @Bibliogeekery for bringing this delightfully weird and surprisingly funny short novel to my attention. I‘ve loved going through it and can only wish the above mentioned book existed. But if you‘re looking for an #ownvoices #trans experimental story full of heart and strangeness, this is the book for you. I‘m only up to letter D and can‘t wait to see what the rest of the alphabet brings. Also, shoutout to my library for having this!

This was a gorgeous read! A queer trans woman is grieving the death of her best friend and unrequited love. She compiles an encyclopedia of the characters of her friend's favourite TV show to process her grief. Each entry weaves reflections on her friend into descriptions of the characters. Hazel Jane Plante created a complex fictional television show just to write this book! So smart, so tender, so nerdy. #transbooks #queerbooks

Currently reading this weird and wonderful little gem. #transbooks #queerbooks