Queer Girl Book Club: The Memory Librarian

July 9, 2022 Kelli & Emily

Kelli: Hello and welcome to an extremely belated edition of Queer Girl Book Club! This month (or last month? Or maybe the month before that, who is to say?) we read The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae. The collection is an expansion of the Afrofuturistic universe Monae initially explored in their 2018 studio album, Dirty Computer, and features five stories written alongside five different collaborators: Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, Eve L. Ewing, Yohanca Delgado, and Sheree Renée Thomas.

So, the obvious place to start is with Janelle Monae, right? How familiar are you with their work, and were you a fan of Dirty Computer? Bonus Q: have you watched any of the “emotion picture” released alongside the album?

(Note: Janelle Monae uses they/them and she/her pronouns. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be using they/them)

Othersode #68: Everyone's Gay! / The Time Traveler's Wife

July 4, 2022 The Squad

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

Our Crooked Hearts: A dark mother-daughter tale about modern-day magic

June 29, 2022 Claire Helakoski

If you like witchy stories about rituals, mother-daughter relationships, and missing time, be sure not to miss Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert. This parallel story follows a mother’s descent into magic with some serious teeth, and a daughter uncovering the mystery of a woman who appears suddenly in the woods followed by the appearances of some dead rabbits – and it’s a gripping page-turner.

Read It or Skip It?: How to Win the Bachelor

June 29, 2022 Susan

One of the great things about Audible is the ability to return a book if you’re not loving it. But sometimes this backfires. If you’ve made too many recent returns, you might get stuck with a book you’d rather DNF. Well, reader, I lived it. And I powered through just so I could write this blog post and something could come out of the time I spent listening to this painfully detailed breakdown of our beloved show, The Bachelor. That’s right. I listened to How to Win the Bachelor by Chad Kultgen and Lizzy Pace, so you don’t have to. Spoilers to follow.

BSG #68: Who is Raven? / Book of Night

June 13, 2022 The Squad

Click through for summary, table of contents, and show notes!

It's Time to Revisit Red Clocks

June 6, 2022 Janet Dale

*Red Clocks* by Leni Zumas (Little Brown) By the way, this is the best abstract illustration of a vulva on a book? Right? The cover was designed and illustrated by Lauren Harms and I’m obsessed.

Since the Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked at the beginning of May, showing the court is posed to overrule Roe v. Wade any day now, I can’t stop thinking about a book I originally read when it was published in 2018.