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We've Always Been Queer

The podcast is Books That Burn because the original idea was "books that burn you", discussing fictional depictions of trauma. It's also an intentional reminder of the pile of burning books, you know the photo I mean, the one from WWII. It's a pile of books about queerness, gender, and sexuality. Just in case you don't know, the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexual Science) was headed by Magnus Hirschfeld.  It was a resource for gay, intersex, and transgender people, both of knowledge and medical help. It also helped the community with addiction treatment and contraception. It wasn't perfect and some of the ideas they had seem out of date now, the ones we know about anyway. But they were trying to make queer people's lives better, and they were a community resource at a time when people really needed it. Which is all the time, we always need these accesses. And the Nazis burned the whole library. It took days, they had to drag the books ou
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Mid November Reviews (2023)

Greetings

Welcome to the Books That Burn Fortnightly Roundup! Releasing every two weeks (one week early for Patrons). Remember to head to Transcripts That Burn for all available transcripts of the podcast. The newest transcript for our episode discussing Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is now available.

News and Events

I track upcoming book releases by authors we've previously covered on a shareable google calendar.

Notable November Releases:

  • A Power Unbound by Freya Marske (November 7th)

  • Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (November 7th)

  • Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon (November 28th)

Signal Boost

If there's no ceasefire in Gaza by the time you read this, please use resources like Ceasefire Now to contact your representatives and ask them to support a ceasefire in the crisis in Gaza. The link includes information on planned protests and demonstrations, and has information for people internationally on what they can do to get involved.

Recent Reviews

A STUDY IN DROWNING by Ava Reid is Fantasy, with queer character(s), marketed as Young Adult. Effy is the only woman in the architecture college, denied her dream of the literature college due to her gender. Told in Third Person with Single POV.

UNDER THE SMOKESTREWN SKY by A. Deborah Baker, book 4 of The Up-and-Under is Fantasy marketed as Young Adult. Avery and Zib head to the Land of Ash and Embers to look for the Queen of Swords. Told in Third Person with an Omniscient Narrator.

SOUL JAR by Annie Carl is Fantasy/Sci-Fi, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. This anthology contains thirty-one stories by disabled authors. Told in an Anthology with multiple POV styles.

DRACULA (Dracula Daily edition) by Bram Stoker is Horror marketed as Adult. Jonathan Harker travels to a distant Count and gets more than he anticipated. Told in First/Third Person with Ensemble POVs.

THE SECRET LIVES OF COUNTRY GENTLEMEN by K.J. Charles, book 1 of The Doomsday Books is Historical/Romance, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Sir Gareth Ingsley inherits his estranged father's property and title, and discovers his week-long fling in the city is a smuggler in the Marsh. Told in Third Person with Dual POVs.

Reviews forthcoming for OUT THERE SCREAMING (edited by Jordan Peele) and IF I HAVE TO BE HAUNTED by Miranda Sun.

DNFs

No DNFs this fortnight, I lucked out and liked everything I tried (or at least liked everything enough to finish it).

No Review (Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, etc.)

As part of the Cool Zone Media Book Club, I listened to a reading of "The Lost Roads" by Sim Kern.

Current Reads

I'm still working my way through THE DIABLO'S CURSE by Gabe Cole Novoa, I'm enjoying it but I have a while before the review is due so I haven't prioritized it. I made progress in IMMORTAL LONGINGS by Chloe Gong.

THE REANIMATOR'S HEART by Kara Jorgensen is delightful, I'm getting through it quickly and having a great time.

I'm reading an ARC of A QUANTUM LOVE STORY by Mike Chen. I love time loop stories and this is great so far.

In Case You Missed It

This time last year I read HELL FOLLOWED WITH US by Andrew Joseph White, a story about a trans boy turning into a biblically accurate angel during the apocalypse. I love it and I can't quite believe it's been a year since I reviewed it.

Pluggables and Podcast News

If you're looking for a place to buy any of the books I've reviewed, please consider our Bookshop page (if you use our links to purchase any books we get a small commission). Let us know if there's a category you'd like to see curated and we'll see if we can get some titles together.

Speaking of Bookshop, I've put together top picks lists for 2021 onwards. Books are included based on the year they were published, so occasionally older lists might get new titles. To be in the Top Picks list a book needs to get a five-star rating from me, and be published in the year of the list. You can find the 2023 list here, and I've begun the 2024 list with ARCs I'm reviewing.

As for the podcast, hopefully you're enjoying our most recent episode. If you'd like to receive episodes early, as well as bonus content, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Patrons receive this newsletter one week early, as well as a list of upcoming podcast episodes.

Patrons pledging $20 or more each month receive a bonus episode. Patrons pledging $50 or more can vote once per month on what we'll cover in the podcast. You can find all of those polls here. Patrons at any level receive the booklist with our planned episodes for up to three months at a time.

Thanks for reading, the next roundup will be in two weeks!

-Robin

Co-host of Books That Burn

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A small black and tan tortoiseshell cat is lying on a colorful purple, orange, and green quilt. The cat has her head tilted all the way back to look at the camera upside-down, her golden eyes are happy.


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