Literary Lowdown: A Beginning
Talking about reading and some rad book recommendations.

I like to read. A lot. It’s always been a constant in my life. Reading is so many things to me – a way to explore other worlds, other viewpoints, discover new things, to name a few – and I love to share what I’m reading. This way, other people can know the cool things I’m reading and also chime in with what they are reading.
Thus, I present to you the Literary Lowdown: a semi-regular column about reading, books and other related things.

Since it’s early in the new year, I’ll share some links to cool stuff to read or places to go where you can be inspired to pick up something new.
- A list of the best graphic novels of 2014. I haven’t read any of the ones that have been listed, but have heard of a couple of them and I’m intrigued. Graphic novels and comics are enjoying more popularity and there are many writers and artists taking this medium in exciting directions.
- Queer and Trans women graphic novels. I’m so glad this list exists.
- Science fiction novels written by women of color. Also, really glad this list exists
- Want more diverse young adult (YA) fiction? Check out Diversity in YA (they also have a Tumblr!). They’re also a great resource on statistics on diversity in YA (such as how many books were published featuring a LGBTQIA+ main character).
- There is also Gay YA, a site dedicated to everything LGBTQIA+ in YA. They have reading lists, resources, interviews with authors and lots of other cool things.
- One of my favorite book recommending blogs is The Book Smugglers, two smart women who review speculative fiction and non-fiction, and are concerned with things like representation and diversity and feminism. They also published a great e-book of subversive fairy tales.
- Lastly, I recently discovered the Lady Business blog. Run by three women who get excited about books, feminism and fandom and express their love via screen caps and caps-locks. They do book recommendations as well as recommendations for fan-created works. Their logo has ponies and their tag line is “This is Feminism X It is not scary pet the pretty feminist pony XX.” What’s not to love?!
Happy reading! [end]