Anyone who tells you that listening to an audiobook isn’t “technically” reading is lying. When George M. Johnson’s newest nonfiction - Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known - hit the audio shelf, I made it my top priority to give it a listen, and this slim book - mixed with poetry by... Continue Reading →
I know, I know. Baseball season is “technically” over, but KT Hoffman’s debut queer sports romance The Prospects is a line drive straight to your heart. Every baseball season starts with one thing: hope. The hope that your team will go farther, run faster, and make it to the playoffs. And that’s the case for... Continue Reading →
A must-read for fans of horror films. Full stop. It made me reflect about why I love (and hate) some slasher movies, and it ignited in me a desire to watch some films I’ve never seen (Dead Ringers, Eyes Without a Face, and The Wolfman).
Kelly Barnhill's novel When Women Were Dragons explores the ways in which women were (and are still) told to fit into certain roles, certain standards, and certain ways of living. And when they don't, those women dragon. Yes, they dragon. As in "dragon" as a verb.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is the magical, cozy book that you never knew you needed. And you do. You need it. When meek and mild-mannered Linus Baker is sent on a secret assignment to the house on the sea, he plans to be his meticulous self: he'll record his observations... Continue Reading →
Reading The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is like taking a crash-course in Hanukkah, in the best possible way. Yes, there are menorahs. Yes, there are latkes. Yes, there are dreidels. But what Meltzer does effortlessly is make all of the expected aspects of the eight-day festival of lights feel magical. Rachel is the Rabbi's... Continue Reading →
I came out of a romance reading dry spell when I landed on Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle. And thank goodness; with the days getting shorter and the nights getting longer, I needed this novel to bring a little loving light into my life. Hoang doesn't disappoint: her characters deliver, and her storyline compels even... Continue Reading →
Coming out of a deep freeze with temps as low as -17F (without the wind-chill factor), the warm fuzzies I felt from reading The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomn fueled my days - even though I was remiss to leave the cozy cocoon her pages and my sheets had wrapped around me. Solomon captures... Continue Reading →
March 26 would've been Opening Day 2020 but for The Virus. And while I've found a routine that is somewhat satisfying considering the circumstances of quarantine, the incongruity of beautiful, crisp spring days without the solid *thwack* of a baseball bat is harrowing to my baseball-loving soul. Thank the heavens for The Resisters by Gish... Continue Reading →
Cactus League pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ in a mere 12 days on February 12. The spring air is slowly, slowly trying to gain momentum. And I can almost hear the crack of the bat. I can almost smell the hot dogs and peanuts. The Cactus League, a debut from... Continue Reading →
shelly. walston. writes. 