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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 It wasn't perfect and some of the ideas they had seem out of date now, the ones we know about anyway.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 March Reviews (2024)

Greetings

Welcome to the Books That Burn Fortnightly Roundup! Releasing every two weeks (one week early for Patrons).

My goal of reading more indie books is going very well, and the corresponding reviews are starting to come out. I highly recommend Indie Story Geek if you're trying to read more indie books and don't know where to start.

News and Events

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

Notable March Releases:

  • Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire

  • Saint, Sorrow, Sinner by Freydís Moon

  • The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

  • These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

  • Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson

  • The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

  • Icarus by K. Ancrum

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 CASE OF MADNESS by Yvonne Knop is Mystery/Romance, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Andrew is a Sherlock Holmes scholar who begins hallucinating Holmes after losing his job. Told in First Person with Single POV.

AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE by Seanan McGuire, book 13 of Incryptid is Fantasy, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Mary Dunlavy has been a babysiting ghost since she died as a teenager. With the crossroads removed and Alice returning with Thomas, things are about to change. Told in First Person with Single POV.

THESE FRAGILE GRACES, THIS FUGITIVE HEART by Izzy Wasserstein is Dystopian/Sci-Fi/Thriller, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Dora returns to her former commune when her ex-girlfriend is murdered, but things get complicated when a pre-transition clone shows up. Told in First Person with Single POV.

KNIGHT OF FLAMES by A.K. Faulkner, book 2 of Inheritance is Fantasy/Romance, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. Quentin and Laurence go up against a psychic who can control people with his voice. Told in Third Person with Dual POVs.

THE BEAST OF LOUGHBY ISLAND by Matt Doyle is Horror, with queer character(s), marketed as Adult. A werewolf-like creature stalks the residents of a small island as they try to figure out what's killing them in the night. Told in Third Person with Ensemble POVs.

ANCILLARY MERCY by Ann Leckie, book 3 of Imperial Radch is Sci-Fi marketed as Adult. Breq returns to the Station to try and fix things. Told in First Person with Single POV.

Reviews forthcoming for THOSE BEYOND THE WALL by Micaiah Johnson and SOULTAMING THE SERPENT by Tar Atore.

DNFs

I tried several things outside of my comfort zone and some of them didn't work for me.

  • WILD FLOWERS, ELECTRIC BEASTS by Alina Leonova

  • SALT KISS by Sierra Simone

  • THE WAY OF UNITY by Sarah K. Balstrup

  • THE BRIAR CROWN by Helen Rygh-Pedersen

  • VEIL US IN GOLD by Shepard DiStasio

Rereads and Older Reviews

Despite only originally reading them earlier this year and not yet having all the reviews published, the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner is so good that I'm now just one book shy of a complete re-read.

Current Reads

I'm in the middle of re-reading RUNES OF FALL by A.K. Faulkner. I'm also partway through a few new books, A CROWN SO CURSED by L.L. McKinney, THE WINGS OF ASHTAROTH by Steve Hugh Westenra, and MOONSTORM by Yoon Ha Lee.

In Case You Missed It

This time last year I read DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by Sue Lynn Tan, the start of the very excellent Celestial Kingdom Duology.

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 2024 list here.

As for the podcast, hopefully you're enjoying our most recent episode. For Patrons, that's an essay discussing the anatomy of sequels, for everyone else, that's an essay on why Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong isn't like The Hunger Games. 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 and even more planned reviews.

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 black and orange tortoiseshell cat stands in front of an open doorway, staring forward. In front of her is an orange toy snake which is as long as she is.


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