But know that, until we meet, I cover you with a thousand kisses, as you shall cover me with them when I come to you. — Marie Dorval to George Sand
or, January-February, in brief.
You’re getting two months for the price of one with this newsletter as we may have… completely forgot about January’s then kept forgetting until it made more sense to put both months in one? Admitting nothing though!
Before we start, we’ve talked much before about the genocide being currently committed on Gaza’s Palestinians, and there are many of them with gofundme campaigns to escape. If you have the means, please find one (or more!) to donate to amongst these, and pass the link on!
Let’s start with a quick look at what we’ve posted in the past couple of months!
YA releases of January to June.
Sapphic releases of January to June.
We’ve been reading…
The Tainted Cup is quite possibly Robert Jackson Bennett’s best book yet. Think Pacific Rim but as a fantasy, and there’s also a murder mystery, featuring a brilliant odd couple: genius detective who gets on everyone’s nerves and her long-suffering aide. So much fun and, in classic RJB fashion, with intriguing hints of mindblowing revelations to come.
Up next, one of my favourite sports romances perhaps ever: The Prospects. Never have I wanted a team to win a championship as much as I did the Beavertown Beavers. Honestly, you won’t want to miss out on this one at all! Plus, big win for all the sports lovers out there (is there much better than a sports romance where the romance is as much with the sport itself on the author’s part as between the main characters? No!).
Skipping from romance into sci fi mindfuckery now, with Seth Dickinson’s Exordia. I’m not sure I can describe this one in a way that’ll do it justice. It is, truly, one to be experienced. But truly, I can’t decide what’s gayer: Anna/Ssrin alienfucker soulmates or whatever the hell Clayton & Eric have going on. Neither? Both? Probably.
Maggie Horne is, I think, one of the best writers of lesbian middle grade at the minute and Noah Frye Gets Crushed only serves to prove my point. If you want your young lesbians a complete mess (love you Noah, but what are you doing?), who make mistakes and are permitted the space and time to learn, then you won’t want to miss this one.
Last but not least, Tove Jansson’s Fair Play is the perfect book for a quiet evening, perhaps when it’s raining outside. More like vignettes of a couple than actual short stories, it centres on a relationship between two artists and the intimacy and gentle love between them. A quick read, but one that’ll reach deep into you.
We’ve been watching…
The one gay movie I watched so far this year (and actually my first movie of the year in general), was Good Grief - the debut by Dan Levy. And first of all, it does very much feel like a story by him. There’s that warm community quality, there’s that dream-like feeling when portraying love. It’s a bittersweet story, though, and it takes a rather unexpected turn. It’s more than just simply a story about grief. It can seem a bit unnatural/preachy at times, but overall I do recommend.
We’ve been listening to…
Stop business as usual by Kimmortal / Spell on You by Cameron Hawthorn / Now I Don’t Need Your Love by Lucky Love & The Gospel / Intifada on the Dance Floor by Bashar Murad / The Radio by ZEE MACHINE
IDK How to Talk to Girls by Beth McCarthy / IDC AT ALL by Lauren Sanderson / so cool, so mean by Cate Tomlinson / Brinca by Cazzu & Young Miko / TUTA GOLD by Mahmood
Bamboo Bones by Against Me! / Dancing in Babylon by MGMT & Christine and the Queens / PARADISO by Mahmood, chiello & Tedua / Maybe All the Rumours Are True by CATTY / HYPOTHETICALLY by Adam Evans
Thoughts and things that caught our eyes
Once again, work was busy and our feeds were filled with news from Gaza, so very little else!