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Freshly finished! The Times I Knew I Was Gay by @e

Freshly finished! The Times I Knew I Was Gay by @ellistrate is a lovely graphic memoir that's candid, honest and deeply heartwarming as she looks back at her realisation and acceptance and growth as a gay woman.

Loved the artwork and had a couple of giggles at awkward teenage MSN-ing too.

5 stars!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookishcontent #queerbooks #queer #lgbtq #lesbian #gay #queerrepresentation #memoir #graphic #5stars #paperback #quickread #raireadschallenge2021

A new arrival! This anthology looks at creators, s

A new arrival! This anthology looks at creators, scientists and geniuses who are beyond the cis-male standard we find so often in these roles in Sci-fi.

This was a bit of a pain to get hold of and now it's here I'm looking forward to reading these stories!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookcontent #ownvoices #queerrepresentation #bipocrepresentation #scifi #shortstories #anthology #motherofinvention #feministlit #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #diversespines #genderdiversity

Yesterday was a great #bookmail day as I received

Yesterday was a great #bookmail day as I received my gift from the @redditgifts Books exchange & my preorder of Becky Chamber's new book arrived too!

Books Santa got me a lovely Everyman's Library copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and Mogworld by Yahtzee Croshaw.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is the latest in the Wayfarers series of books and the preorder copy came with that lovely inlay art - how could I resist?!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookcontent #bookpost #bookhaul #bookish #bookishcontent #redditgifts #books #bravenewworld #aldoushuxley #mogworld #yahtzeecroshaw #thegalaxyandthegroundwithin #beckychambers #preorder #gifts #hardback #paperback #newbooks #everymanslibrary #scifi #fantasy

Started this last night! This has all 3 book in o

Started this last night!

This has all 3 book in one Kindle file, which is annoying when trying to figure out how far in the individual books I am!

#farseer #robinhobb #royalassassin

A little #bookmail payday treat: 3 graphic-based s

A little #bookmail payday treat: 3 graphic-based stories. Featuring @theofficialsadghostclub latest publication, @ellistrate's The Times I Knew I Was Gay, and my first foray into manga, Our Dreams at Dusk.

Have you heard of/read any of these?

Do you enjoy comics, graphic novels and manga?

I'm looking forward to getting to these in between some big chunky boi novels this year.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksta #readingchallenge #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #comics #graphicnovels #manga #bookpost #newbooks #bookishcontent

January #Wrapup - 6 books towards my target of 30.

January #Wrapup - 6 books towards my target of 30.

A tightly packed range between 3.5 - 4.5 stars across these six.

A great start to the year I think and got some fun plans to look forward to coming up!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #january2021 #januarywrapup #bookwrapup #MountTBR2021 #raireadschallenge2021 #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #loveofbooks

Books 5 & 6 of 2021. Both 3.5 stars from me. #boo

Books 5 & 6 of 2021.
Both 3.5 stars from me.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksta #raireadschallenge2021 #MountTBR2021

This week #bookhauling: 🌫 Mistborn era 1 boxse

This week #bookhauling:

🌫 Mistborn era 1 boxset
👽Alien and Philosophy (yes, the film franchise)
🐕 Dogs of War
🧓Old Man's War

The two Kindle books were 99p each. I'm hoping the Alien book will give me some good ideas for an essay I need to write this semester. And, Mistborn, well, what can I say? I caught the bug!

#mistborn #sanderson #brandonsanderson #bookishcontent #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #johnscalzi #adriantchaikovsky #dogsofwar #oldmanswar #alienfranchise #ripleyisanicon #paperback #kindle #boxset #bookmail #bookpost #bookhaul

It is done. I have read a @brandsanderson book. Am

It is done. I have read a @brandsanderson book. Am I allowed in the Fantasy readers club now? 😅

Book 4 of 2021: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Yup, my first Sanderson. Picked up for £1 in a charity shop some years ago and sat on my shelf patiently waiting. I am very sceptical of books and authors that receive huge amounts of hype as I usually find myself disappointed, which is why it took me so long to get to this. That and I didn't like how some people use Sanderson as a gatekeeping tool ("If you haven't read Sanderson you're not a *real* fantasy fan" etc) so I resisted their BS.

I'll give the man his dues though, if this is one of his least popular books I'm interested to see what the rest are like!

Yes, I enjoyed this. Yes, I'll probably go read Mistborn next. I think this is a 4.5* for me: it occasionally felt a bit slow & nebulous, which is where that half star is lost.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #warbreaker #brandonsanderson #secondhandbooks #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #raireadschallenge2021 #MountTBR2021 #cosmere #bandwagon #gatekeeping #fantasybooks #fantasy #paperback #prelovedbooks #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #bookclub #pageflick

Required Reading (& watching) for my upcoming univ

Required Reading (& watching) for my upcoming university module on Sexuality, Gender & Representation.

These are just for three of the classes! Exciting stuff!

Ponciá Vicêncio (I'll be reading it in English not the original Portuguese)
Giovanni's Room
Girlhood (2013)
Waterlilies (2007)

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #mres #pgr #academicreading #unireading #uni #masters #frenchfilms #sciamma #baldwin #requiredreading #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #raireadschallenge2021 #representation

#CurrentlyReading Book 4 of 2021. My first Sanders

#CurrentlyReading Book 4 of 2021. My first Sanderson: Warbreaker.

Nearly at the 100 page mark and it's good prose but I need a bit more plot to start coming in soon rather than me just guessing.

Love to all & everyone in these tumultuous times 💜 (except, y'know, if you're part of the cause)

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #warbreaker #sanderson #brandonsanderson #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #raireadschallenge2021 #MountTBR2021 #usedbooks #paperback #fantasy

First physical book of 2021 plus the first two rea

First physical book of 2021 plus the first two read that were ebooks.

Starting off strong!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #trailoflightning #prospersdemon #adeaddjinnincairo #sff #fantasy #fantasybooks #goodreads #readingcommunity #readingchallenge #raireadschallenge2021 #MountTBR2021

New year, new challenge. 2020's original goal was

New year, new challenge.

2020's original goal was 24 and I ended up reading 82. I'm starting 2021 with a goal of 30 and if I hit that early I'll likely bump it to 52.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #readingchallenge #readingchallenge2021 #raireadschallenge2021 #goodreads

#birthday book! It was my birthday today (33) and

#birthday book!
It was my birthday today (33) and I got another book I'm really excited to read! I really loved The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin and can't wait to read more of her work. Thanks specifically to @helenthehufflepuff for the book.

Also received a bookshop themed jigsaw, jo malone body wash, and adopted Gawa the red panda at Dudley Zoo!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookcontent #reading2020 #readingchallenge #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #nkjemisin #jomalone #jigsaws #birthdaygifts

What did you get for #bookmas this year? First pi

What did you get for #bookmas this year?

First pic is all from @alexxa_in_wonderland via @might_read_until_i_feel_better's Christmas exchange.

Second pic, I organised two book trains this year for which I got The Lady's Handbook and Trail of Lightning. Then I got The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms as a gift too!

I also had 4 books that I've already posted about that I got via the r/bookclub exchange.

Not to mention it's my birthday in 2 days' time and there's a Waterstones box downstairs waiting for me 😲🥳

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksta #bookmas #christmasbooks #gifts #presents #bookishcontent #bookhaul #bookish #bookgifts #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks

So here's a thing. Wowzers. I set my 2020 goal ori

So here's a thing. Wowzers.
I set my 2020 goal originally to 24, then 36, then 50... then 60... then, in my head, to 80 and I've only gone and hit it with weeks to spare!

In some ways I want to stick to my pattern of increasing the target by 6 per year for 2021 and do 30... in some ways I want to go straight in at 52 and see what happens.

No matter what I'm super chuffed that I've built up from 5 books in a year in 2016 to somehow hit 80 now! Even if I never manage 80 books in a year ever again, it's been wild.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #goodreads #readingchallenge #reading2020

#giftexchange organised over on r/bookclub has yie

#giftexchange organised over on r/bookclub has yielded me some treats today!!

My "santa" had these four lovelies sent direct to me, including the book that's been on my Amazon wishlist the longest (The Martian) 😅

I am super hyped for all of these and can't wait to dig into them next year (or over the holidays, who knows)

Wonderful!

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #reddit #bookclub #bookswap #secretsanta #gifts #bookmail #bookpost #bookhaul

Book Review The Bear and the Nightingale by Kather

Book Review
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This is floating somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 for me so I'm hedging my bets with a 3.

I really enjoyed the folkloric elements of this story especially Vasya's interactions with the various spirits she encountered as well as her affinity with the horses as another part of the natural world. The conflict between Christianity and the old ways is a fraught one and I found myself getting frustrated with the characters championing 'good Christians', which is testament to Arden's writing that I'm supposed to hate those characters and did! The same can be said of getting frustrated by the very patriarchal and sexist society (historically accurate, I'm sure) and many people constantly reminding Vasya's that it's "just a woman's lot" to get married and have babies or get hidden away in a convent. This really helps to push your sympathies towards Vasya as a character who doesn't seem to fit in.

The book overall felt a little more like an origin story you might read as an extra to an existing trilogy or series and I would've liked it to feel a little more like the start of a trilogy than it did. I can see where threads will be picked up in book 2 but this one feels like a completed story on its own; the threads that continue (based on reading book 2's blurb) are really quite negligible in this book that they're almost forgotten entirely. I was expecting Vasya and Morozko to meet properly a lot sooner than the 75% mark and while I can see why the set-up before this was useful it did make the final section of the book seem a bit quick or rushed.

I'm curious to see where Vasya goes next, yes, but I have a lot of other books I'll be prioritising above continuing this series.

This was book 78 of 2020.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookcontent #booksta #readingchallenge #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #bookclub #bookreview #3stars #ebook #kindle #winternight #arden #goodreads

Deadname by @lennonsweets ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An exce

Deadname by @lennonsweets
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An excellent short comic from a trans artist reflecting on their experiences with coming to find and feel comfortable in their gender identity. The art style is wonderful and the story it tells is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming.

This is a great comic to read for anyone who has questioned their gender identity, although it specifically speaks of a transmasc experience it will have resonance for any trans, nonbinary or gnc folk. It is wonderfully honest and quietly hopeful and a joy to read.

Book 77 of 2020.

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #comic #bookishcontent #readingchallenge #reading2020 #5stars #trans #transition #queer #diverseauthors #deadname #autobiographical #lgtbq #representation #awareness

November Wrap-up. I finished 4 things this month

November Wrap-up.

I finished 4 things this month and while there was an improvement in enjoyment levels over October I was kinda disappointed by Gideon...

Gideon the Ninth; 3 stars
Saint's Blood; 4 stars
Open House; 4 stars
Magical Boy; 5 stars

If you're curious to hear more of my thoughts on Gideon, I've got a review up on my blog: https://aspectsof.me

#bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bookcontent #reading2020 #readingchallenge #bookcommunity #readingcommunity #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #bookcollector #loveofbooks #bookishcontent #wrapup #hardback #paperback #comic #webseries #lgbtq #trans #thriller #fantasy #scifi

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