My Favourite Books of 2021

[Note: This post was written all the way back in February 2022 and has been languishing in my drafts ever since. I am going to post it without edits to bring it up to date, but I mention this because otherwise certain allusions to other posts, etc. may not make sense unless you know this one was written some months ago. Also, my opinion on these books may have changed since time of writing, but I am also refraining from updating these as I want to keep this post accurate to how I felt in February, when these books were perhaps fresher in my mind than now.]

As I promised in my apology post last month, this will be my 2021 reading round-up post, in which I list the top ten books I enjoyed the most this past year. I would insert something here about 2021, how it was a long and arduous year but we made it in the end, etc. - but I really don't feel like it. Anyway, the most important thing to know for the purposes of this post is that I managed to get a roughly average amount of reading done this year: somewhere between 40 and 50 books. That should give you some idea of how highly I rate these following books, although I would also like to say that I genuinely think all of these are brilliant and would recommend any of them. I am also not ranking them in order based on quality or opinion, because they are all quite different and none of them significantly rose above the rest in my memory. Instead, I have tried to order them roughly from the books I read least to most recently (as far as I am able to recall when I read them).

One last thing to bear in mind is that some of these books I have written about before on this blog, in which case I will still write a little bit about them here but will also direct you to my previous posts for further detail.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This is one of three books in this post that I already talked about a bit in my post 4 Short Book Reviews, so I won't talk about this too much here. I imagine that many of you are already familiar with the plot of Emily Bronte's Gothic classic Wuthering Heights, but if not: it focuses primarily on the violently tragic love story of Heathcliff and Cathy, who grow up together but are repeatedly kept apart by other people and their own bad choices. I always feel I have to add a disclaimer when writing about this book though: Heathcliff and Cathy are not good people, and I don't think we're meant to believe they are! I enjoyed the book in spite (because?) of this, but it's best to know about this going in, lest you expect noble and pure heroes and heroines and end up horrified by the reality of these terrible people.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Once again, this is a book I already covered in the aforementioned post (clearly that was a good month for quality books!). I already described it in that post, so here I will just say that this was an amazing book, one of the best family saga-type novels I've read. It has reappeared in my head many times since I finished it, and I can imagine reading it again many times in the future. 

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

Ah, one of the saddest books I read last year. Tokyo Ueno Station is set at its titular location, focusing on the ghost of a man named Kazu, who was a migrant labourer in life and who now haunts the station where he ended his life as a homeless man. Incorporating a number of events in Japanese history, from the preparation for the 1964 Olympics which Kazu worked during to the 2011 tsunami, Yu draws particular attention to the way these national events impacted the lives of Japan's poorest and most vulnerable citizens. This is done in no small part through the parallels between Kazu's life and that of Emperor Akihito, who was born the same year as him. In spite of this and numerous other coincidences in their lives, Kazu and the Emperor's lives are obviously and painfully disparate. This is not an easy book to read, but it is an emotionally powerful and important one nonetheless.

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

Okay, I promise this is the last book which will involve me redirecting you to my 4 Short Book Reviews post - I can't help it if my favourite books of the year all came around the same time! Anyway, this is a charming contemporary romance about a hotshot showrunner and her assistant, which somehow manages to escape the dodgy power-imbalance issues you would expect from such a setup while still taking advantage of the romantic tension it provides. I nurse a little gay hope that this book will eventually be made into a big gay movie, and my life will be complete. 

There There by Tommy Orange

I was ecstatic to find this book at a local library in Bahrain, having had it on my to-read list for some time. Written by Tommy Orange, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, There There follows the intersecting stories of twelve Native American characters in the lead-up to a pow wow in Oakland, California. Although the characters experience diverse issues in their personal lives - from mental illness, to abusive relationships, to foetal alcohol syndrome - a recurring theme across their stories is the idea of what it means to be a Native American in today's world, especially as an 'Urban Indian' living in a city. 

This was a beautiful and heart-breaking book, with a unique structure. I might have been doubtful of an author's ability to switch back and forth between characters and perspectives as Orange does in There There, but he pulls it off brilliantly. 

You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

I bought this book (like so many in 2021) on a whim because the ebook was on sale, only for it to become one of my favourite books I've read in a while. This is an unsettling, Gothic tale of a girl whose life has been haunted from a young age by the mysterious Pepper-Man. He is seemingly a sort of fairy or fae, but not in the sense of the little winged pixies - Pepper-Man is more akin to the dangerous, vampiric and human-like fae of old folklore. The book is full of questions: is Pepper-Man real, or just a psychological manifestation of young Cassandra's childhood trauma? Is the adult Cassandra, a celebrated romantic novelist, responsible for the deaths of several family members, as many suppose her to be? How much of what Cassandra narrates throughout the story is real, how much is fake, and how much does she genuinely believe in?

This book gripped me from start to finish, and left me with a severe book hangover - a sure sign of a good book. I can't wait to read Camilla Bruce's next work, the equally fascinating-sounding Triflers Need Not Apply. If it's anything close to as good as You Let Me In, I will be a very happy reader.

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

To give you some idea of how I found this book, know that one of the tags I applied to it on LibraryThing is "ruined me emotionally". I stand by this. Even thinking about some parts of it now, I feel the urge to cry or possibly scream - obviously this means I highly recommend the novel.

Here Comes the Sun is about three women (a mother and her two daughters) living and trying to survive in modern Jamaica. While the cover of the book might convince you that this is a light summer beach read, the plot is far from it. Some of the issues the book addresses include gentrification, sexual exploitation, homophobia, colourism, and generational trauma, among others. All of the characters are by turns infuriating and sympathetic, with their own struggles and reasons for the way they behave. They all felt incredibly real, which made certain parts of the book all the more heart-breaking. There is one particular part near the end of the book which I can't describe without spoiling it, but it gave me perhaps the most visceral feeling of devastation I've experienced from a book this year.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

Speaking of viscera... the premise of Tender is the Flesh is essentially: what if factory farming, but with humans? If that sounds absolutely repulsive to you, then you would be right. This book is disturbing and would definitely be classed as dystopian, if not outright horror fiction. Both of these genres are most effective when their outlandish plots reflect real-life concerns, and Tender is the Flesh does this very well. Reading the book, you start to believe that certain scenarios could genuinely lead to a situation like this, with institutionalised cannibalism becoming just another form of exploitation in society. You can also of course read the book as a reflection of the horrors of factory farms as they exist now, which naturally as a vegan did occur to me, but I won't delve into that too deeply. Suffice to say that if you can stomach it, this is powerful and gripping read. 

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

I will keep this section quite short, since if you want to read more of my thoughts on Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 you can simply read the previous post I wrote about it. For this post, suffice to say that this is a short but impactful novel about what it means to be a woman today, in Korea and beyond. If I had to recommend one book to a man to help him understand what it's like to live as a woman in the world of the 21st century, I think this might be the book I would suggest.

Margarita's Husband, A Fable of the Levant by Andriana Ierodiaconou

I read this book in the summer of 2021, as I wanted to read a book specifically set in Cyprus to continue my tradition of reading one book for every country I visit. I hadn't heard of this novel before and it didn't seem to have many reviews online, but I would happily agree with those few testimonials calling it 'a hidden gem'. Set on an island in the Levant which appears to be but is not named as Cyprus, this short book focuses on Homer Kyroleon, a 'wealthy Christian landowner, inveterate womanizer and local political figure', and the family members and local residents who surround him: his docile and sensitive wife Margarita, his rebellious son Adonis, his now-deceased daughter Polyxene, and Gethsemane, the young refugee who takes both Kyroleon and his son as lovers. This familial drama takes place against a backdrop of political and social unrest on the island, as anti-colonial, religious, and class tensions rise. 

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With that, my list of the best books I read in 2021 is complete! It was quite a good year for reading, and I hope that 2022 can provide me with at least as many excellent books again. If you're reading this, feel free to let me know: Was this a good reading year for you? Did you have a favourite book or books you read in 2021?

10 LGBT+ YouTubers to Watch this Pride Month

Happy Pride! As most of you are probably aware, June is celebrated as LGBT+ Pride Month all around the world, giving those of us in the LGBT+ community an opportunity to celebrate our identity (and giving companies an opportunity to slap a rainbow on their logo and earn some of that sweet, sweet pink money). Like many of us who are living in countries dramatically impacted by the COVID pandemic (i.e. pretty much everywhere), I am spending Pride 2021 cooped up in my home and consuming queer media in an attempt to make up for the lack of real-life events happening near me. This just so happens to be how I have spent almost every single pride since I came out, but I would rather blame it on COVID this year.

But if I can't experience queer community in real life right now, I can still do so through the internet. I have mentioned in a few past posts that I love watching YouTube, with many of my favourite creators being LGBT+. I thought that this month would be the perfect time to draw attention to some of these creators through one of my favourite mediums: a list.

This is by no means an exhaustive list (obviously there are more than 10 LGBT+ people on YouTube...), but these are ten of my absolute favourites - the kind I actually turn notifications on for because I'm genuinely excited when they put out a new video. That's right, I actually clicked the bell button for these people. 

I have done my best to research these YouTubers and make sure I've got their labels and pronouns right, but please do let me know in the comments if I have made a mistake and I will fix it ASAP. In some cases I have just not mentioned their specific identities, because while I know that all of the people on this list identify with the LGBT+ community, I am not sure which letter in specific they fall under. With all that out of the way, let's move on to the YouTubers!

Kat Blaque 

Kat Blaque is one of my all-time favourite YouTubers and probably the YouTuber I have followed most consistently for the longest period of time. While the content and style of her channel has evolved over the years, her honesty and charisma mean that she can make just about any topic interesting. Right now she runs a weekly True Tea podcast where she gives her opinions on a variety of subjects, from pop culture to social issues. She also speaks from her own experience as a Black trans woman, as well as someone who is involved in the BDSM, polyamorous, and goth communities of Los Angeles. Her perspective is always interesting and her sincerity is refreshing.

Tara Mooknee

Like Kat Blaque, I mentioned Tara Mooknee in one of my previous YouTube-related posts: 5 Video Essays I Love. That post mentioned Mooknee's video "The Rise of the Pick Me Girl Meme", which has over one million well-deserved views and which I would still highly recommend. That video is far from the only worthwhile video on the channel, though. Mooknee, a bisexual woman, primarily makes videos responding to things - "things" such as email chain messages, anti-lockdown propaganda, and cows in pop culture. Whatever the subject, Mooknee always manages to make her videos entertaining and absurdly funny while also breaking down the more serious aspects of her topics in an intelligent and insightful way. She also has an amazing fashion sense and an adorable dog named Siggy, so there's no reason not to watch her really.

Khadija Mbowe

Another YouTuber I've only recently started watch but love so far, Khadija Mbowe makes video essays about social issues and media. Their videos are consistently well-structured, researched, and presented, making them a pleasure to watch even when they go in-depth with serious topics. It's sort of hard to believe that they're actually a professional opera singer and not a full-time video essayist, but I suppose some people are just that multitalented! 

CopsHateMoe

CopsHateMoe is a non-binary YouTuber that I can't quite believe is only 19 years old, given how thoughtful and mature their video content is. They are somewhat involved in leftist spaces on social media, and they have previously been critical of those in leftist and LGBT+ spaces who perpetuate harmful behaviours, such as Xanderhal's ableism and Blaire White's take on pretty much everything. They recently became quite well known for their takes on the Kalvin Garrah situation, which has been a big topic among LGBT+ YouTubers of late. Their videos might have less appeal if you don't follow many creators in these spaces and thus have no idea what I'm on about, but if you do understand and haven't yet watched Moe's channel, I highly recommend that you do.

Jessie Gender

Like many of the other creators on this list, Jessie Gender makes commentary and video essays (my tastes are quite particular, as you can probably tell). Her videos tend to focus on geek culture seen through a socially critical lens. Many of these focus on Star Trek (Jessie Gender being a huge Trekkie), but she has covered others forms of media as well, from Marvel to Harry Potter. She often analyses these from her own position as a queer, trans, autistic woman, providing a much-needed perspective in geek fandom. 

MacDoesIt

If you're keen to watch more LGBT+ content but are more interested in watching funny videos than deep-diving video essays, MacDoesIt might be the channel for you. He describes himself as 'a satirical comedic vlogger who creates content that is a cross between “Intelligently funny” an “an organized hot mess.”' You might be familiar with his reaction videos, like his hilarious "Reacting to Anti-Gay Commercials Series". His style is energetic and sometimes chaotic, but in my opinion it's always funny (and judging by the 16 million views on his first anti-gay reaction video, I'm not the only one who thinks so).

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard

Another YouTuber who doesn't focus primarily on video essays, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard is a Deaf, lesbian YouTuber and vintage fashion icon. Her videos are fun and cheerful, including family vlogs (made with her wife, dogs, and newborn baby), vintage style tutorials, LGBT+ history lessons, discussions about disabled and queer identity, and more. Her style is impeccable and her attitude is contagiously upbeat. Fun fact: I actually learnt how to use foam hair rollers from her tutorial videos.

Philosophy Tube

Full disclosure: I didn't actually start watching Philosophy Tube until Abigail Thorn's relatively recent video where she came out as transgender: 'Identity: A Trans Coming Out Story'. That video was so mindblowingly good that I felt compelled to consume more of her work. So far, I have only become more impressed. Focusing primarily on issues of philosophy, as her channel name would imply, Philosophy Tube's videos tend to be highly-produced, aesthetically theatrical videos that are as thought-provoking as they are visually stimulating. I was particularly amazed by her recent video 'Ignorance & Censorship', which more or less made me reconsider my whole life.

Finnjamin Fox

Although his is one of the smaller channels on this list, Finnjamin Fox is definitely worth checking out. He makes sensitive, thoughtful videos about trans issues and his own experience as a trans, bisexual man. Like Tara Mooknee, he also has a very cute dog. The sense of calm and nuance that he brings to his videos makes them especially nice to watch. He always seems to approach his topics with compassion, which I find very admirable.

Samantha Lux

For the final YouTuber on this list, I would like to recommend Samantha Lux. She is a trans woman who creates videos where she reacts to current events and media from a trans perspective, as well as sharing her own experience transitioning. Her videos are well-researched and structured, even though they feel quite informal and fun too. I admire how well she balances humour and positivity with justified criticism of the often-transphobic behaviour she reacts to, and it makes her videos a joy to watch,

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That's all for now! I could have gone on much longer with this list, but I decided that ten was a good number to stop at. I would be very happy to do a part two if that's something people would be interested in, though. My lists are obviously going to focus primarily on channels which appeal to my own specific tastes, so I would love to hear recommendations from other YouTube-viewers on the LGBT+ channels they enjoy. Please feel free to comment if you have any other suggestions of LGBT+ creators to watch this Pride!

My Favourite Bookish YouTubers

Good morning/afternoon/evening, gentle readers! I hope that this post finds you all well. 

While some of you might be expecting, based on my last post, for this blog instalment to focus on the From and About Asia reading project, you might have guessed from the title that this is not actually the case. If so, you would be correct. Today's post is on a different topic, since I haven't actually finished any of my books for the reading project yet. Instead, we're going to be looking at a different side of internet-related bookishness: booktube. 

For those who haven't heard the term before, "booktube" refers to the side of YouTube where people talk about books. I am interpreting this word quite broadly here and not limiting it just to those who describe themselves as "booktubers". Rather, I am including YouTubers who frequently talk about books, even if that is not necessarily the primary or sole focus of their channel. 

Booktube is something I only got into in the last few years or so. Considering that popular booktubers such as Rosianna Halse Rojas and booksandquills's Sanne have been uploading book-related content for over a decade, I am a relative newcomer to the scene. I think for some years I was put off because booktube seemed dominated by videos about YA books, a genre which I don't read much of. However, this is not really the case, as booktubers make videos about a wide variety of books, from fiction to non-fiction, from YA to literary novels. After becoming aware of this, I was introduced to dozens of booktubers who were not only fun and informative to watch, but who also focused on books which were actually of interest to me.

In this post, I'd like to share some of my favourite booktubers (or, more broadly, bookish YouTubers). They range from lesbian fiction reviewers to rapper-historians who also recommend books, but what they all have in common is that I have watched and enjoyed all of them - and found out about some good books along the way.

(Also a quick note on pronouns and gender: for all of the people mentioned on this list, I have attempted to find out their pronouns. I will obviously use the correct pronouns for those who have specified them in any of the sources I can find, but for the others I will be using they/them. If anyone notices that I have been using the incorrect pronouns, please do let me know and I will change them ASAP!)

The Bookish Land

The first YouTuber I wanted to talk about is one I have mentioned before, as both my favourite booktuber and the creator of the From and About Asia Project: The Bookish Land. I believe that this is the name of their channel and the creator actually goes by Meonicorn online, although I am happy to be corrected on this if anyone knows for sure! Anyway, their channel is a full "booktube" one, as it focuses almost entirely on books. They review books, recommend books, make videos about their TBRs, and even do vlogs where they visit bookshops all around the world. There are two things that I especially like about their videos: they always have international, diverse reading choices, and they always give well thought-out, insightful opinions. They seem to approach their reading and reviewing with a sensitivity and compassion that I greatly admire.

 

Jess Owens

The second YouTuber I'm excited to mention is someone who I only discovered recently, in comparison to the others on this list, but I have been enjoying their videos so much that I had to include them: Jess Owens. While Jess Owens does make a variety of bookish videos, including reviews and reading wrap-ups, what I would most like to draw attention to is their Book CommuniTEA series, where they break down all the latest drama in the bookish community. I think this series is brilliant because it perfectly fills a niche and I haven't seen anyone else of YouTube make videos about book drama quite as well as Jess Owens does. They do a great job of digging through complex social media drama (where most of these things take place, naturally) and presenting it in a digestible way. Their Book CommuniTEA series is clearly well-researched and provides a mostly-neutral perspective on recent events, although I also appreciate when Jess Owens offers their own opinions as well. Jess Owens's videos are smart, thought-provoking, and present controversial topics in a way that is balanced and compassionate. On top of all this, they also have an absolutely adorable dog named Nigel, who features in their videos! 

Akala

While Akala is perhaps not a booktuber in the strictest sense of the term - being a writer and hip hop artist primarily - he is still someone whose thoughts on books I value very highly. His series Akala's Great Reads shows him going into detail about the books he considers to be important or influential, ranging from non-fiction works like A Dying Colonialism to sci-fi novels like Dune. Each video is short, only a couple of minutes long, and focuses on a single book. For every book, he introduces it, gives a short explanation of its topic, and then explains why he believes it's worth reading. While I don't necessarily agree with Akala on every book he recommends (the same being true for every booktuber, I suppose), his reasoning behind each suggestion is always profound and grounded in how the books affected him personally. Even for books I absolutely do not enjoy, like Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, hearing Akala praise them has made me reconsider the books and whether they might have value which I didn't initially see. It probably helps that, in my opinion, Akala is one of the greatest public intellectuals around at the moment, and he is a talented author in his own right (I highly recommend his non-fiction book Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, and his new novel The Dark Lady is coming out soon). He also posts spoken excerpts of Natives on his YouTube channel, alongside his music, behind the scenes conversations, and short lectures expressing his thoughts on a variety of topics. 

Danika Leigh Ellis

Danika Leigh Ellis, Book Riot contributor and creator of the wonderful Lesbrary website, has been posting about queer women's literature online for longer than I have been out. She is, in my mind, one of the biggest icons of WLW book reviews on the internet. While the Lesbrary focuses exclusively on LGBT+ books (primarily of the bisexual and lesbian variety), Danika Leigh Ellis's YouTube channel is somewhat broader. Her videos are often on queer books, but sometimes they are on non-LGBT books too. I have so much respect for Danika Leigh Ellis for bringing queer women's books to wider recognition and for carving out a section of the internet by and for people like us. Back when I was a baby gay and first beginning to look for queer books, I remember coming across the Lesbrary and Danika Leigh Ellis and feeling like I'd found the holy grail of queer women's literature. They continue to review and promote bi and lesbian books now on both their own YouTube channel and Book Riot's, and I really appreciate how they show the true breadth of gay women's literature - it's not all tragic, Well of Loneliness-type novels! If you are interested in books by and about queer women, you need to check out Danika Leigh Ellis's work. 

A Sunny Book Nook

Speaking of people who talk a lot about sapphic books, I think it's time to introduce you to the fifth booktuber of the post: A Sunny Book Nook. First of all, how cute is that channel name? It's so catchy and makes me happy just saying it. The brains behind this channel is in fact a creator called Sunny, who makes book videos including (but not limited to) those about queer women and non-binary people! I love that she recommends a diverse range of books, from graphic novels to political polemics. Politics-wise, Sunny is quite openly a leftist and often analyses books through a socialist and anti-capitalist lens. On top of all this, they are also amazing at makeup and sometimes create looks based on book covers. Just look at her makeup in this Instagram post! If you want a YouTube channel that is intellectually, aesthetically, and bookishly stimulating, look no further than A Sunny Book Nook.

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With that, dear readers, we have reached the end of this list. I hope that you enjoyed reading about my favourite booktubers (or bookish YouTubers) and perhaps found a new channel to explore - or perhaps you already knew of these amazing creators, in which case I must say you have excellent taste. 

Please feel free to let me know if there are any particular bookish YouTube people that you would recommend, as I'd love to watch some more. Also, please tell me if you enjoyed this post and/or would like to hear about more YouTube creators I like, because I definitely have more that I haven't mentioned here! I'd be happy to do a part two to this post if that's something people would be interested in. 

In the meantime, happy reading and happy watching!

5 Books I Abandoned

Generally speaking, I don't like to abandon books. I normally try to finish them even when I'm not enjoying myself, if only out of spite. I need to be able to write a scathing review of them after all, and I can't exactly do that if I haven't read the whole thing. I'm half joking, but on the other hand the book may actually improve halfway through and make me thankful I decided to finish it. Whatever the reasoning for that particular book, the point is that I don't usually like to leave a book half-read.

But there are always exceptions. In this post, I'm going to list five books that I have abandoned halfway through, for a variety of reasons. Some of these I would like to attempt to finish sometime in the future; others I would happily never read a word of ever again. 

It by Stephen King

I really tried with this one. I first attempted to read It one Halloween many years ago, getting approximately 50% of the way into the story before abandoning it. I didn't exactly mean to drop the book, instead gradually losing enthusiasm until eventually I realised it had been three months and I hadn't picked it up once. Since then, I've tried a few times to make it to the end of the book (I always pick it up again from where I left off, because I feel I remember it well enough and I can't bring myself to slog through all those pages again), but never to any success.

I think the main thing that put me off was the "teenage werewolf" scene, in which the titular antagonist It transforms into - you guessed it - a teenage werewolf. The scene felt comical rather than scary, and it jolted me out of the otherwise very creepy story. I enjoyed other parts of the book though, plus it's about time I read a Stephen King novel from cover to cover. Perhaps 2021 will be the year I finally manage it?

The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson

I can't for the life of me remember why I initially bought this book, but it may well have had something to do with the vaguely-amusing title. If the title is funny though, the book's content certainly is not. It begins by detailing the US military's attempts to literally weaponise New Age ideas, in a narrative which quickly veers from humorously bizarre to incredibly dark. Reading about the US military's torture methods was too much for me, and I quit around the point when the book started talking about the atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib. I don't think I'll ever read this one again.

If You Follow Me by Malena Watrous

Perhaps more than the other books on this list, I expected to enjoy If You Follow Me. It's about an American woman who moves to Japan with her girlfriend to start work as an English language teacher. That ticks at least three interest boxes for me from the summary alone. Sadly, the book didn't live up to my admittedly high expectations. I found the main character unsympathetic, her infatuation with her male supervisor uninspiring, and her and her girlfriend's "culture shock" to paint them more as frustratingly inconsiderate rather than pitiable.

The final straw came when there was a horrible scene involving the death of a pet cat, something which is personally very upsetting to me and which I don't like to see in fiction. The book wasn't worth continuing with after that.

Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban

I hadn't heard of this novel until it was assigned to me as part of a course on dystopian literature at university. In theory, it's a fascinating concept for a book. Set in a post-apocalyptic, post-nuclear-bomb future that is almost unrecognisable to the reader, it's written in an incredibly unique style as well. The idea seems to be that the book is written more or less as the narrator would write it, complete with idiosyncratic speech and irregular grammar and spelling. Words that we are familiar with have been distorted with the passage of time and the breakdown of society, meaning that terms like "Prime Minister" are now "Pry Mincer". To give you an example, here's an unedited excerpt from the book:

“I stil aint qwite said how it wer. Not like a diffrent country. It wer mor like I wer behynt the back clof in a show. Thats how it wer. Thru the clof I cud see the other figgers moving I cud see the peopl watching only no 1 cud see me. If I wer a figger in a show what hand wer moving me then? I cudnt be bothert to think on that right then. Theres all ways some thingwl be moving you if it aint 1 thing its a nother you cant help that.”

As you can tell, reading this requires some effort on the part of the reader, although the amount of struggle it requires varies. I had a friend on the course who could read the book easily, whereas I had to trudge through it by reading each sentence aloud and attempting to decipher it. 

I do think that the concept of the book is fascinating and its style is very effectively immersive, so I would like to make it through the whole thing someday. I'm just not quite sure when that will be.

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

Finally, we have this relatively new Southern Gothic book that was recently adapted into a film on Netflix. I absolutely do want to finish this one before watching the film, so please, no spoilers for either! 

The main reason I stopped reading this one is because I had to return it to the library, but there are two other reasons why I couldn't finish it in time before returning it. The first is that two plotlines in the story (there are several) seemed to have somewhat homophobic undertones, which diminished my enthusiasm a little. The second reason is that I was having trouble sleeping around the time that I got this book, and I decided that reading it before bed wasn't likely to help with my lack of sleep and nightmares, seeing as the novel can get quite dark and violent at times. The combination of the two meant that I didn't manage to devote the time needed to finish it before the library needed it back, so I ended up returning it only partially-read.

I think this is the book on the list I'm most likely to finish, and hopefully I will do so soon, as I recently bought an ebook copy to allow me to finally get to the end of the story. Fingers crossed the end is worth it!

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Have you read any of the books I mentioned on this list? If not, do you have any books you abandoned partway through, and if so, do you intend to finish them someday?

I'd also really like to know what people think of the Riddley Walker excerpt I included here. I really struggle to read it, so I'd be curious if others find it easier or harder than I did.

5 Video Essays I Love

Hello and welcome back to another weekly Wednesday post, which I completely forgot I was meant to post until literally a few hours ago (for reference, it's almost 6pm on the day this post is meant to go up). After spending those first few hours panicking about what on earth I could possibly write a post about at such short notice, I finally hit upon a topic: video essays.

I watch quite a bit of YouTube (probably more than is entirely healthy), with my absolute favourite type of video to watch being video essays. These are usually long, persuasive videos that combine facts and analysis. If that definition seems a little vague, that's because video essays are a medium that has only gained popularity relatively recently, so there doesn't seem to be one single definition everyone can agree on. All that is to say that my definition is the one I'm working with here and if you think I'm wrong about my categorisation of any of the videos below, feel free to argue with me in the comments.

Now, let's move on to the videos. Here are five video essays which I have found especially excellent and memorable, in no particular order:

The Bell Curve - Shaun

I have a special place in my heart that is reserved for hating IQ tests. I hated them before watching this video, and I hated them even more afterwards. Besides IQ tests generally being eugenicist, elitist nonsense, this video specifically addresses an infamous book called The Bell Curve, which has been accused of advocating for judging people's intelligence based on race (an entirely racist and unfounded concept, just for the record), with IQ tests as their supposed evidence for the idea's validity.

The Rebranding of White Nationalism - Kat Blaque (currently unavailable)

Kat Blaque is my all-time favourite YouTuber, who I have followed for about 6 or 7 years now. During that time she has produced a range of content, varying from unscripted True Tea videos to video essays like The Rebranding of White Nationalism. I hesitated to include this video on the list, since it has seemingly been privated for the time being. However, it was such an informative and important video that I wanted to mention it anyway. If Kat Blaque reuploads the video on YouTube or elsewhere, I will edit this post to include a new link. In the meantime, I would also recommend watching the second part of her video essay series: The History of Monetization, Demonetization and How it Changed Youtube.

The Rise of the Pick Me Girl Meme - Tara Mooknee

Tara Mooknee (pronounced moo-nee) is a YouTube I've only discovered recently, but she's quickly becoming one of my favourites. Her videos are a great combination of informative, persuasive, and funny, and her Pick Me video is a great example of this. Whether you've already had the misfortune of encountering pick-me's or if you have no idea what I'm talking about, her video is worth watching. It explains what pick me girls are, the forms they take, and how we should deal with them. It's also just a very witty video.

Shame - Contrapoints

Ah, the queen of video essays herself. While Natalie Wynn, who runs the Contrapoints channel, has done so many amazing video essays that you could probably just pick one at random and it would be worth the watch, my favourite so far has been Shame. Wynn made this video partially to come out as a lesbian, but there's also a lot more to it than that. She goes into her own story of discovering her sexuality, compulsory heterosexuality, and the shame that internalised homophobia can bring to even those of us who are usually so proud of our identity. Some parts were so relatable that I had to pause the video for a second just to take in the impact of what she was saying. If you're also queer (especially a queer woman), then I think there is also a lot in this video that you might relate to. 

The Political Implications of Talking Dog Movies - Jack Saint

I know, I know. The title of this video probably makes it seem like some satire of over-analytical film studies essays, but I can assure you it's actually 100% serious. Okay, maybe not 100% because there is definitely humour in the video. Still, the topic is a genuine one! I'm always fascinated by the messages of children's movies, even more so by those that are seemingly unintentional. Jack Saint does a great job of breaking down these deliberate and accidental implications in films with talking animals, some of which take a surprisingly dark turn. 

That's all I have for you this week! If you enjoyed this post, let me know and I can see about doing something similar again in the future. I'd also love to know if you have any video essays to recommend, because I'm always looking for more - the longer and more analytical, the better. Please feel to let me know either through the comments or through contacting me directly, as always. 

End of Year Recap // Ranking My Best Posts of 2020

2020 was a hell of a year. I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that, more than any year in recent history, "2020" stands out as what Mrs Windsor would describe as an "annus horribilis" (yes, worse than when Diana died). Some people say that our definition of the year's start and end are arbitrary and have no meaning outside our collective social understanding. 2020 seemed determined to prove that idea wrong, fitting so many catastrophic events into one Gregorian year that you could be forgiven for thinking the natural world followed a calendar too. 

I'd like to say that all that is behind us now, but of course that's not true. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, not to mention the fact that climate change, racial inequality, and the rise of fascism continue to be urgent problems. 

All of the above is true. However, celebrating the end of one year and the start of another is not without purpose. Viewing the whole scope of human existence as one long, uninterrupted march from prehistory to the present might be useful for cause-and-effect analysis, but it can be a little overwhelming for the individual human. Breaking up our lives into years helps us make sense of it, enabling us to reflect and look forward in a way that seems somewhat structured. 

I am currently in the process of just such reflection and anticipation, specifically with regard to this blog. Every year I plan to do more writing, looking back miserably on the lack of writing I produced in the previous year. In this year, I'm actually surprisingly happy with the amount of writing I've done. I have written a total of 44 posts on this blog in 2020, almost a post a week, which is something I'm very proud of. 

But! Not all posts are created equal. There are definitely some posts I am prouder of than others, so I thought it would be fun to look back on these and rank my best posts of the year. So, in no particular order, here are my top five Extra Libris pieces of 2020:

A Book That Changed My Opinion About Something // 30-Day Book Challenge - Day 26

The bulk of my 2020 posts (30 out of 44, to be exact) owe their existence to the 30-day book challenge I dragged out attempted over the course of the year. It's hard to choose just one of these posts as my favourite, because I truly am happy with most of them, but the one which sticks out the most to me is this one about Dreams of Joy. Writing it required being vulnerable about my past ignorance, which is always hard but still important to do. It also spoke to what I think is one of the great purposes of literature: to change people's minds. I'm pleased that I could share an experience like that, even if it meant owning up to some mistakes. 

Book Review: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

If there's one thing I particularly enjoy doing with my writing, it's being a bitch. I recently read an interview with Vigdis Hjorth in which she said that "anger is good for writing" - I'd be inclined to agree with her. Anger equals passion, and passion can help create compelling writing. 

My review of American Psycho is, I believe, an example of some such writing. Angry writing, that is. Whether it's compelling or not is for the reader to decide. Nevertheless, it was fun and cathartic to write, and it stands out as one of my favourite posts of 2020. 

Why J. K. Rowling is Not Our Ally

While this post didn't perhaps do as well as some of my others in terms of views, and there are several things I would do differently were I to go back and write it again, it remains one that I am still very proud of. I put a lot of effort into properly researching and structuring my post, making sure that everything I mentioned was correctly cited and that I referenced the opinions of trans people specifically. It felt important for me to write it, and in hindsight I'm still glad I did. 

5 LGBT+ Webcomics to Read Online Today

Unlike other posts which stood out in my memory for how they were fuelled almost entirely by anger and rage, I remember writing this post as a much calmer, more cheerful experience. Being the bitter bitch that I am, even my previous lists of LGBT+ media hadn't come without a dig at another creator (her name rhymes with Saylor Twift). This one, though, was driven purely by love for queer webcomics and a desire to share them with others. I hope that this comes across in the post. 

Film Review: Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018)

After the American Psycho review of January 2020, Bitchy Mary struck again in October of the same year, kicking off Extra Libris's Spooky Season series of posts with a some-holds-barred rant about the god-awful Slaughterhouse Rulez. Like American Psycho, this movie annoyed me so much that it seemed like its terribleness seeped into my blood, and writing a blog post was the creative equivalent of covering myself with leeches to suck the poison out (sorry Michael Sheen, but it really was a bad film). I felt much better after though, so I guess leeches creative outlets work for anger management after all.

***

That's it! Those are my favourite posts of 2020. It was hard to choose just five, because I'm a narcissist and quite proud of my own work, but I think these ones are good representatives of the writing I did on this blog last year. If you're reading this, do you have a favourite post from Extra Libris? If so, why do you like it? Do you disagree with my choices, and if so, why? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Here's to many more posts in 2021!

Cheers!

The 5 Worst Things I Spent Time on During Lockdown

A few days ago, I posted "The 5 Best Things I Spent Time on During Lockdown". As I mentioned in that post, I anticipated following it up with another post detailing the less enjoyable ways I occupied my time during confinement. This, esteemed readers, is that promised post.

If you read my previous post, you already have the gist of this one. Like most people, I tried to find new ways to spend my time during lockdown/confinement/quarantine/whatever you call it: some good, some bad, some painfully misguided. The pieces of media listed below all belong in the second and third categories, and they all share the privilege of being things I spent far too long consuming while imprisoned within the four walls of my apartment. As before, these terrible time-wasters will be rated with bread.

5. It by Stephen King

I can't really give this that low of a rating, as I didn't actually finish it. This is approximately my second or third time trying to finish King's great tome of a horror novel. It doesn't seem bad, exactly, but it was evidently too much of a slog for my quarantine-brained self to manage. Back to the library it went, only half completed.

Rating: a peanut butter and jam sandwich that you forgot about and now it's all hard and stale

4. The Pisces by Melissa Broder

I was excited to read this book. I really was, although in hindsight I can't remember why. It had been on my to-read list for literal years before I got the chance to borrow it in ebook form from my local library during the pandemic. I had expected a "bracing satire of love in the age of consumer capitalism" that was "bold, virtuosic, addictive, erotic". Instead, I got uncomfortably bizarre relationships, vaguely offensive allusions to lesbian sexuality, and a bathroom scene which haunts me to this day. I finished it, but only out of spite.

Rating: a fresh baguette that you accidentally dropped on the floor of the Metro

3. All Bad Cards

This is a Cards Against Humanity knock-off I played online with some friends during a lockdown games night. It has the dubious honour of being worse than the actual Cards Against Humanity game, which is saying something. However, it maintains CAH's ability to coax your closest friends into making jokes about r*pe and child abuse, among other upsetting topics. Somehow both boring and repulsive.

Rating: an "Elvis" sandwich of peanut butter, banana, and bacon (maybe other people like it but I think it's disgusting).

2. Sims 4

The higher they climb, the harder they fall - thus Sims 4 has gained a higher ranking than it truly deserves, simply for the sin of disappointing me. The Sims has always been an amazing time-consumer for me, ever since I was little, so I was excited to download The Sims 4 and wile away some quarantine hours in Simland. Unfortunately, it turns out Sims 4 is just Sims 3 plus good graphics and minus all the charm of previous instalments. Not a good trade-off.

Rating: veggie wrap but it's made with lettuce instead of bread and is filled only with more lettuce

1. Space Force

Finishing Middleditch and Schwartz, my number one best time-user during lockdown, left me desperate for more Ben Schwartz content. I was over the moon (so to speak) to find out he was soon to star in a new Netflix TV series alongside Steve Carrell and John Malkovich, Space Force. The series made me laugh until I cried, but only because I was forcing myself to laugh until it became physically painful for me to continue. Sadly, no amount of fake laughing could save this one. I'm sorry, Ben Schwartz.

Rating: a "toast sandwich" (two slices of bread with a plain slice of toast in-between)

The 5 Best Things I Spent Time on During Lockdown

Recently, as those of you who read this blog regularly will be aware, I have been on something of a numbered list kick. So far we've had numbered lists of French films, LGBT+ webcomics, and gay songs. Today, I'm going to combine this trend with a little reflection, by listing the 5 best pieces of media I spent my time consuming during lockdown. This will most likely be shortly followed by a list of their five worst counterparts, but I'm trying to start on a positive note.

The ways in which most of us spent our COVID-19 lockdown (or confinement, as it was known here in France) varied from person to person. Some of us were supremely productive, some us took a well earned rest, and some of us spent that time consuming massive amounts of media. I was a member of the latter category. So, in this post I'm going to go over the five best pieces of media I spent time on during lockdown and tell you why they were worthy of that time. Ratings of time well-spent will be established through bread, for obvious reasons.

5. Jackbox 3

This is a pack of five one-screen video games designed to be played with friends, four of which it turns out can be played very well through Zoom or Skype. I spent several evenings having a great time playing these with friends during long-distance, video call game nights. Quiplash 2, which is basically a better and funnier version of Cards Against Humanity, is my stand-out favourite, but the other games were fun too.

Rating: three bread loaves

4. Contagion (2011)

Someone told me to watch this movie because it was meant to be eerily predictive of the COVID-19 pandemic. It turns out they were right, to the extent that I spent every five minutes of the film going "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" and praying that things didn't get as bad in real life as they did in the movie. Despite causing slight panic, overall it was an enjoyable film and actually made me feel oddly calm about our impending doom.

Rating: a delicious grilled cheese sandwich

3. Don't Starve Together

The multiplayer spin-off of survival game Don't Starve, this game entertained me and my friends for almost 70 hours during lockdown, which I am simultaneously proud and ashamed of. It kept me occupied and helped me stay in touch with my friends, so in that sense it was probably good for me. I will also never forget the high of finally managing to capture a beefalo.

Rating: two croissants with butter and jam

2. Severance by Ling Ma

I mentioned this book in a previous post, so I won't talk about it much here... okay, that's all I have to say. Go read the other post if you want to know more.

Rating: a veggie wrap, delivered by courier

1. Middleditch and Schwartz

This was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of lockdown for me. I wouldn't normally consider myself a fan of improv comedy, largely because I find a lot of it quite cringey, but these three improvised specials made me laugh more than I had in weeks. Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz are so naturally funny and their chemistry is so brilliant, it's a joy to watch them perform.

Rating: a fresh, crispy baguette

12 Songs About Gay Yearning (That Aren't by Taylor Swift)

Roughly a year ago, I got annoyed about Taylor Swift's release of a song called "You Need to Calm Down", which was being presented as something of a gay anthem at the time despite Swift being straight. I channelled this irritation into making a blog post listing five gay anthems performed by LGBT+ artists to listen to instead. Back then, I thought that was the probably last post I'd ever make about Taylor Swift - it turns out I was wrong.

Recently, my social media feeds have been filled with people discussing Swift's new song "Betty", which apparently can be generously interpreted as a queer love song. I'm holding myself back from going into a full-blown rant about why I think this is not the case (although I would happily do so in a later post if people are interested), because the song itself is not what I want to focus on here.

I've mentioned before that LGBT+ representation created by and for LGBT+ people is very important to me, and the release of "Betty" struck me as the perfect time to recommend some songs which might hold similar appeal to queer listeners (specifically in that they focus on gay yearning, a feeling many of us queers know all too well). The only difference is, these songs are actually by queer artists.

With all of that in mind, I compiled a playlist of twelve songs about gay yearning, all (with the exception of one, which I will explain later) performed by openly queer artists. By all means, continue to listen to Taylor Swift and "Betty", but consider also giving these songs a chance. You might just find your next great anthem for queer longing among them.

I've listed the songs below with embedded links to their YouTube recordings, or you can scroll to the bottom of this post for the Spotify playlist I've made. Happy listening!


"Jenny" - Studio Killers*

My research for this post has led me to conclude that, for many a queer, yearning = being tragically in love with your best friend. Despite its catchy techno beats, lyrically "Jenny" is about just such a situation.  Besides the original Studio Killers version, I would also highly recommend the heartbreaking Lily Sevin cover, which turns the song into a ballad.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wanna ruin our friendship / We should be lovers instead"


"i wanna be your girlfriend" - Girl in Red

Of course the artist who is so gay that "do you listen to Girl in Red?" has become code for "are you gay?" would have done a song about the being-in-love-with-your-best-friend experience. "i wanna be your girlfriend" is about the singer's longing for their friend named Hanna, and it includes an iconic line which I can't include here in order to keep this post safe for work - you'll just have to listen to the song to find out what it is.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips"


Sleepover - Hayley Kiyoko

Another song about being in love with your friend - it's amusingly sad how common an experience this is for all of us. I'm starting to think that Hayley Kiyoko has made it her mission to write a song for every quintessential queer experience, from coming out ("Girls Like Girls") to not being sure if a girl is interested in you romantically or just physically ("Curious"). Either way, "Sleepover" is her take on the unrequited-best-friend-love trope.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Sleeping here right next to me / But will you ever mess with me? No / But at least I got you in my head"


Cherry - Rina Sawayama 

Unlike the previous songs, this one isn't about unrequited feelings for a friend (at least not explicitly). Rather, it's about finally facing up to your feelings for a girl and wondering if you can make the leap into that becoming a relationship. While I've included the original version on the playlist, Sawayama's piano version is definitely worth a listen as well.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Holding on to feelings / I'm not used to feeling / 'Cause, oh, they make me feel alive"


Boys Aside - Sofya Wang

Not only is this a great song about wanting to steal a girl away from the boys who want her attention, it also has a music video which is pure aesthetic goals. It's pastel, pink, and has an adorably tiny kitten in it. I'm not sure what else you could want.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wanted you to be my baby girl tonight / And all the other boys could just say goodbye"


Flowers for Anna - Ames

This song has a smooth, dreamy sound that I really enjoy. The lyrics in "Flowers for Anna" are a bit harder to decipher than some of the other songs on this list, at least to me, but that just makes it more fascinating. It's also something of a hidden gem, with under 20,000 views on YouTube.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I've always been the weirdo / With flowers in my hands for Anna / Her little brother who liked me / I'd pretend he was her"


Girl - The Internet (ft. KAYTRANADA)

I wouldn't normally use words like "sultry" to describe a song, but this one fits the description perfectly. There is still a hint of uncertainty in the lyrics, though, when the singer tries to persuade the girl she likes that they should be together.

Lyric of peak yearning: "If I told you that you rock my world, I want you around me / Would you let me call you my girl, my girlfriend, my girlfriend?"


She - Dodie

This song goes back to the first step in many a gay journey, when you struggle to recognise your feelings for a girl and/or if it's even okay to have them. It's a little sad, but it's also tender and relatable.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I'd never tell / No, I'd never say a word / And oh, it aches / But it feels oddly good to hurt"


Pretty Girl - Clairo

Not all songs about yearning focus on a positive relationship, or even aspiring to one. "Pretty Girl" is about wanting someone so badly that you'd change yourself to be with them. It may be the negative side of the emotion, but it's yearning nonetheless.

Lyric of peak yearning: "It's getting harder to understand, to understand / How you felt in my hands, in my hands"


She's so Lovely - The Butchies

No, this isn't the Scouting for Girls song. This "She's so Lovely" is by The Butchies, a queercore band from America. Lyrically, it's about the ecstatic, urgent longing for a person you have a crush on.

Lyric of peak yearning: "She's a rocker dressed like a killer / She's got lips like wine not sugar / I'm running running into timing / Got a watch it's stuck in shining"


Bestie - Sizzy Rocket

You thought we'd reach the end of the list without another song about liking your best friend? I'm afraid not, my dear reader. This song focuses on the more physical side of things, and I should say that it's definitely not safe for work in terms of lyrics.

Lyric of peak yearning: "I wonder what, what, what does she want / What, what, what does she want"


What's It Gonna Be? - Shura

It may or may not be about a best friend, but either way this song is about having feelings for a person and not being sure whether to tell them. The music video is also a cute story of romance and friendships that takes on the archetypes of "The Jock, The Nerd, The Dork, The Popular Kid" - but with a queer twist, of course.

Lyric of peak yearning: "Do I tell you I love you or not? / Cause I can't really guess what you want / If you let me down, let me down slow"



*In terms of queerness, Studio Killers is a grey area because they're actually a virtual band, and I can find little-to-no information on the real-life artists behind the characters. However, it seems that the band's lead singer avatar, Cherry, is pansexual, so we'll just say this counts.

5 LGBT+ Webcomics to Read Online Today

Most of you reading this post should be aware by now that I am a big fan of LGBT+ representation in media. I especially love media with LGBT+ people as the main characters, and what I adore with all my heart is when you have such media that not only stars LGBT+ but is created by LGBT+ people too!

Finding stories which fit this description can be a challenge, since queer and trans narratives are hard to find in mainstream media, let alone narratives written by people from our community rather than seen through a cishet lens. Thankfully, one area in which I've found a number of queer creators creating equally queer content has been webcomics.

For the uninitiated, webcomics are comics that are primarily, if not exclusively, published online. I like webcomics, and as you know I love LGBT+ content, so I thought I'd share with you five of my favourites. All of these prominently feature LGBT+ characters and are made by members of the community.

Just one note: some of these comics are not fully available online as they've now been turned into published, physical comics (hurray for queer success!). As frustrating as it is to have to stop a story partway through, I hope if you enjoy any of these you might feel inclined to buy the full book and help to support real-life queer creators who are giving us the representation we need. Anyway, on with the list!

The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

When I first heard about The Tea Dragon Society, I thought perhaps I had stepped into an alternate reality where all my dream stories actually existed. The plot of this webcomic surrounds two girls who are introduced to the world of tea dragons - tiny dragons which produce tea! There's also friendship, queerness, and adorable little creatures (not just the dragons), all illustrated beautifully in light and natural tones. To top it all off, it's completely family friendly, so even young LGBT+ readers can enjoy it. If you like tea, cute things, or the idea of running off to live in a cottage with your girlfriend and your pack of animals, I highly recommend you read The Tea Dragon Society.

Status: complete, fully available online

Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

Full of action and intergalactic adventure, Cosmoknights is about a band of misfits who roam space, rescuing princesses and being gay. The artwork is breathtakingly gorgeous and really gives a sense of the awe and excitement that the main character, Pan, no doubt feels when she takes off on her first outerspace adventure. This story has gladiators, strong women, futuristic space worlds, and a plot to take down the patriarchy. It also has one of my biggest fictional crushes at the moment, Cass (｡♥‿♥｡). Plus, I once tweeted about Cosmoknights and Hannah Templer literally replied to my tweet to say thank you, so how could you not want to support comics by a person as lovely as that?

Status: complete, partially available online

High Class Homos by momozerii

This is a newer comic for me, which I discovered through the webcomic platform Webtoons. I'd been sceptical about Webtoons ever since the Zuckerbot's hellsite started bombarding me with adverts for it, but once I started reading High Class Homos, all of my concerns about targeted advertising flew out the window and were replaced with love for this group of chaotic gays. High Class Homos, which arguably has the best title of all of these webcomics, follows a lesbian princess and a gay prince who decide to enter a lavender marriage with each other so they can keep being gay in secret. But even if those two give the series the "high class" part of its name, they are hardly the only homos. The story also includes their network of friends and love interests, most of whom are LGBT+ in some shape or form. While the setting is medieval and homophobia drives a good part of the plot, this webcomic is also incredibly funny. If you wish you could have a Disney princess story that also includes queer friendship and plenty of comedy, I would like to point you in the direction of High Class Homos.

Status: currently updating

(Note: I couldn't find a good photo of a "cover" for High Class Homos, so here is a poorly-embedded picture of Princess Sapphia that was posted on momozerii's Instagram)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Princess Peach (@momozerii) on Nov 18, 2018 at 12:35pm PST

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

You might know Noelle Stevenson as the creator of the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power TV series or possibly her Lumberjanes comics (both of which are very popular among the LGBT+ crowd, for good reason), but before either of those, I knew of her as the creator of Nimona. The eponymous main character of Nimona is a young shapeshifter and generally chaotic miscreant. One day she turns up at the door of supervillain Lord Ballister Blackheart and demands to be his sidekick, to which Ballister reluctantly agrees. As the story goes on, we get to see Nimona and Ballister's relationship develop, as well as learning more about Ballister's history with his nemesis Ambrosius Goldenloin. It's a funny, action-filled, and emotional story about acceptance and found family in a magical steampunk world. Looking back on Nimona now, it's especially cool to see how Stevenson's art style develops over the course of the series, and it's inspiring to know she has gone on to such success while still telling queer stories.

Status: complete, partially available online

Pandora's Tale by Xanthippe Hutcheon

Most of the stories I've mentioned so far have involved one of my favourite tropes (and one which I think is especially meaningful to LGBT+ folk), the ragtag bunch of misfits. Pandora's Tale is no exception, but in this webcomic's case, the main bunch of misfits has an added layer of coolness: they are also a branch of a resistance movement operating underground in a dystopian society. The titular character of the story, and the newest member of this band, is Pandora. She is a "helper", which is basically a mentally-programmed slave created to serve the upper classes of the society she is born into. After the people who train the helpers find out she is a trans girl, she escapes and ends up being adopted by the aforementioned resistance sect, including her new best friend, resistance member Isabelle. This is a story about dystopia and defiance that is also about identity and friendship, and it's also incredibly cute. I'd venture to say Pandora's Tale is less well known than the other webcomics on this list, but it is just as queer and endearing.

Status: currently updating

There you have it! Those are my top 5 LGBT+ webcomics. These are hardly the only ones out there, and I will admit that my choices are heavily influenced by my own preferences, both artistic and romantic. While most of these do include representation for other LGBT+ groups, most of these do clearly focus on relationships between women. If anyone else has any recommendations for LGBT+ comics that represent any other letters of the acronym, I would love to hear them.

I think that while mainstream representation is important, as a community we should also make a greater effort to support media that is created by and for LGBT+ people. We don't need to beg for scraps from the likes of Disney, Star Wars, and other media giants when fellow queer and trans folk are making the gay princess, trans space gladiator, queer tea dragon stories of our dreams. Let's try and support each other, in stories and beyond.