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qntm: There Is No Antimemetics Division (Paperback, 2021, Independently Published)

An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties ; an idea which, by its intrinsic …

Oh it's so good. Just as mind bending as it ever was. Some of the rougher edges have been sanded off, and the earlier chapters are simplified a bit to ease readers unfamiliar with SCP into the world a bit. The second half of the book has seen the most work, and in a direction that I believe improves considerably on its earlier work.

Fans of SCP may still enjoy reading the original, but I'm delighted to have something that won't be incomprehensible to other audiences, and I don't think it lost any of its genius in the process.

STRONGLY recommend to anyone who enjoys weird sci-fi and mind-bending concepts and wants fiction that realigns how you look at the world for the rest of your life.

qntm: There Is No Antimemetics Division (Paperback, 2021, Independently Published)

An antimeme is an idea with self-censoring properties ; an idea which, by its intrinsic …

Read this in its online SCP Tale form, and pre-ordered the print edition! The online version ranked as my favorite book for a long time, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it's been adapted!

Casey Plett: A Safe Girl to Love (2014, Topside Press)

Eleven unique short stories that stretch from a rural Canadian Mennonite town to a hipster …

Plett's writing style doesn't really jive with me, and unfortunately I struggle to engage with short stories. Overall, I had some difficulty getting through this book, and I didn't enjoy it very much. Several stories just felt a little flat, and I often struggled to connect with the characters.

That said, I enjoyed both "Twenty Hot Tips to Shopping Success", a small fake-tutorial about the experience of buying clothes when newly experimenting with gender, and "Portland, Oregon", a short story about a girl trying to care for a cat as a metaphor for taking care of yourself when the outside world is often uncompromising.

Ashley Herring Blake: Iris Kelly Doesn't Date (2023, Little, Brown Book Group Limited) No rating

Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love.

And she's happy for all of them, …

Okay so apparently this book is the third in a series, and I only figured that out when I literally turned to the Acknowledgements page after finishing the entire book. A couple of the side characters which appear in this novel are coupled up in previous entries in the series, and I suppose that would make the whole thing a bit more impactful. BUT I still enjoyed it.

The cozy-queer small-business-owner-core vibes can be a little overwhelming, and the main character's anxiety feels a little cliche. The fake dating trope falls a little flat — to the point that I think it could be removed entirely and the core of the novel would be unchanged.

But all that said, it's still very cute, and I enjoyed it, despite not really being a regular romance reader. I probably won't be recommending it to people, but that doesn't mean I …

Hazel Jane Plante: Any Other City (2023, Arsenal Pulp Press) No rating

Any Other City is a two-sided fictional memoir by Tracy St. Cyr, who helms the …

Content warning Trivial spoilers. Back-of-the book level stuff.

reviewed The Hades Calculus by Maria Ying

Maria Ying: The Hades Calculus (Paperback)

Decadent cyberpunk cities. Greek mythology and giant mechs. Hades and Persephone as you've never seen …

Lilah Sturges, Meaghan Carter: Girl Haven (2021, Oni Press, Incorporated)

Full of wonder, humor, and heart, Girl Haven is the newest original story from the …

A light and enjoyable read

Pretty good! I'm not writing home about it or anything, but it's a lovely fantasy and competently explores the feelings of trespass, uncertainty, and finally understanding that we work through in the process of realizing we're trans.

It's not a long read, so if you're on the fence about it and you can get it for free from your library or Anna's Archive, I'd say give it a shot! I had a good time and you may well too!

Jeanne Thornton: Summer Fun (Hardcover, 2021, Soho Press)

From acclaimed author Jeanne Thornton, an epic, singular look at fandom, creativity, longing, and trans …

Sometimes a book understands you and uses that to hurt you and i like it

Recommended to all the trans lesbians who feel stuck and lost. This book gave me dysphoria so bad it hurt. It made me cry and hide in my room. It was beautiful and my life is richer for having read it

Akwaeke Emezi: Pet (2019, Make Me A World)

The highly-anticipated, genre-defying new novel by award-winning author Akwaeke Emezi that explores themes of identity …

Rich utopian fiction that sincerly explores the ideas of justice and harm

Recommended for everyone sick of Omalases and everyone yearning to imagine a world worth fighting for.