Diversify Your Reading List: LGBTQ+ & POC

Right, so as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, as I identify as pansexual...though to be honest, it might be more demisexual with homoerotic tendencies...but whatever.  The only thing that tends to be straight at any given point is my hair, and as of late that's required too much effort and my straightener is broken anyway. 

Part of my goal for reading this year is to read more books that involve persons of color either as a main character or author.  I also want to read more books that focus on the LGBTQ+ community.  So, in my research, I found a couple of really good lists that I'm going to pick from as I can get the books in my hands, and see what my local library has in the way of these authors.  

Bustle: 25 Queer Authors You Absolutely Should Be Reading If You Aren't Already

This list is filled with an abundance of authors that I now want to delve into their works and learn more about them and the worlds they have created.  This list will probably be one of my go-to's for this coming year because I absolutely am enthralled by some of these books and their descriptions...and I'm a sucker for a good cover too and some of these have some awesome covers. 

Bustle: 23 LGBTQ Books With A POC Protagonist, Because It's Time To Diversify Your Reading List

Okay, for serious - I really need to read more books with a POC Protagonist, because at this point in time I cannot actually think of one book that comes to mind that I've read that has a POC protagonist in it.  Though I am rather fond of Maya Angelou's poetry, that is not quite the same thing that I'm after with reading some of the books on this list.  Must get my hands on them this year!  Definitely saving all these lists in my Pocket so I can refer to them when it is time to grab some new books.

Pride: 35 Queer Black Writers You Need To Know About

Honestly, this was one of the most eye-opening searches that I did for this particular blog post.  I also had my local library's website open and was looking for some of these authors, and the one that I found was Audre Lorde at least for the moment anyway.  I will be looking for more a bit more throughout the year.  I put in a request for a book of Audre Lorde's poetry, and I'm greatly looking forward to reading some of it because I'm absolutely in love with poetry and I do need to read some more. 

Anyway, I am also open to a lot more recommendations than are on this list.  So if you have any, please leave them in the comments below and share this blog with your friends and anyone else who loves to read and is looking to diversify their reading lists this year! 

Also, I will be hopefully adding Hanah Hart's book Buffering to my list this year, because I absolutely adore her! 

Sunday Reflections: One Pulse

Six months and six days ago forty-nine souls were taken from this world during a night of revelry, laughter, and dancing.  Six months and six days ago my world was torn apart as I learned the fate of friends who had been among those slain by someone whose heart had been filled with hatred.  

It has taken me six months and six days to get to this point, to any point that I can look at the list of victims - the names of strangers and the names of those that I know.  Six months and six days until I could bring myself to voice them without the risk of breaking down.  Six months and six days until I could bring myself to create this lasting memory of these forty-nine souls in something that is most precious to me - my Bullet Journal.  This spread was my catharsis.  This spread was an emotional roller coaster for me.  I needed to do this for my own mental stability when it comes to this tragedy.  

I had finally gotten a chance to visit Pulse when I was in Orlando this past September.  I have an abundance of pictures of the memorials that were put up.  I cried, I smiled, I loved the outpouring of love that has come from the community - the allies and the members of the LGBT community who frequented Pulse.  The outpouring was something that warmed my heart and made this tragedy just a little bit easier to bear - however, something of the magnitude that this was is not something that will simply "go away" or be "forgotten" over time.  I miss the atmosphere, the safe place that was Pulse even though I'd never gone as often as I'd liked to. 

To those families who are celebrating this holiday season without their loved ones, my heart breaks for you.  They will be missed.  They will be remembered.  These souls cannot and will not be forgotten.  

Review: The Realm of Possibility

Title: The Realm of Possibility
Author: David Levithan
Format: Hardback
Pages: 210
Date(s) Read: Jan 7-8, 2016
Rating: 3

Summary: 

This is a unique collection of twenty selections of prose.  Twenty different voices.  Twenty unique perspectives.  One school. 

Review:

Okay, I'm a sucker for poetry.  It is honestly my first love.  I write it...not very good mind, but still.  This book is written in verse, twenty verses to be exact.  Unique perspective of twenty teenagers in one school.  Possibilities are no doubt endless, and the emotion that is crafted within these twenty unique pieces of verse are fantastic.  

The poems within that can be related to.  Some that played with your emotions.  Some that left a lesson behind once you finished reading them.  The perspectives are different, emphasized, and every story has a different perspective.  I could have perhaps given this book a higher rating, however, three seems a much more fitting rating.  It is a book that I enjoyed reading, and would recommend to someone if they were looking for something unique and different.  However, it is not a book that I would ultimately scream it's praises from the rooftops. 

I have four favorite poems from this particular collection and they are in no particular order: 
1. Suburban Myths
2. Gospel
3. Writing
4. The Patron Saint of Stoners

BotW: Locked Inside

Welcome to Sunday loves!  You know what that means, it's book of the week time!!! This past week has been rough for me.  Especially due to the shooting that happened in Orlando a week ago today.  I will forever be haunted by the loss of friends and members of the LGBTQ+ community.  I weighed my options when choosing a book for this week, because there are so very many that I can feature - some that I've read, some that I've not. 

However, my decision comes with the knowledge that this woman is a fantastic writer and someone I have greatly enjoyed getting to know through a group on Facebook.  I won a copy of this book in a give away last Christmas, and only recently (in the last few months) got around to reading it and I was not disappointed.  It was also one of the first pieces of lesbian fiction I'd read, period.  I highly encourage you to track down this book and other works by this author, you won't be disappointed.  I'm also including a link to my review of this book, check it out.  

Locked Inside

Annette Mori

If you've read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, are a psychology or medical student you are somewhat familiar with locked-in syndrome.  I'd been familiar with it in vague terms from watching shows on television (as I'm a fan of Grey's Anatomy and House), so I wasn't completely unfamiliar with what Belinda was experiencing at this particular moment in her life.  

I like the characters in this book, their struggles are unique to them and yet bring them together to hopefully give them each that glimmer of hope that love might actually be a possibility between the two women despite various obstacles and fears.  

Review: Locked Inside

Title: Locked Inside
Author: Annette Mori
Format: Kindle
Pages: 199
Date(s) Read: April 3-5, 2016
Rating: 4 (up from initial 3)

Summary:

Belinda is semi-comatose, suffering from what is known as locked-in syndrome.  Carly sees something special in her, and begins spending time with her.  An unusual bond is formed.  Can Carly pull Belinda from her own emotional prison?  Will Belinda's fears keep their relationship from developing into something deeper, something more?

Review:

Thank you Annette Mori for a copy of this book.  It was a surprise and a blessing rolled into one when I was the one chosen in the giveaway.

Yet, for some reason, I was nervous about reading this book...as a member of the LGBT community, and this being my first piece of lesbian fiction...I wasn't sure what to expect.  I wasn't sure what was behind the cover.  However, the uncertainty faded as I started reading, and I was pulled into the story of Belinda and Carly.

Locked-in syndrome is not something nice, not something that we can fully understand, but we know it exists.  The fact that Carly was willing to take a chance on Belinda was something that made me hopeful.  After a six-year coma, Belinda surfaces, however her body at this point is nothing more than a shell.  Locked inside herself, she can only communicate by blinking her eyes.  It was Carly that began noticing the change, as she spent her lunch hours reading to Belinda.  

Eventually, Belinda's recovery begins and Carly is by her side every step of the way.  Yes, this story made me cry at times, but then again what story like this wouldn't move you to tears at least once.  I am very thankful to have read this book, and I will definitely be looking for more of Ms. Mori's work in the future.

Review: Don't Ask, Don't Tell by T.R. Stoddard

Title: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Author: T.R. Stoddard

Format: E-book (Kindle)

Read: July 18-20

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: YES!

Summary: Freshman journalism student Rachael Ainsley goes undercover at a Moorevile High, in the Bible Belt portion of the nation. As High School Senior Cassie Rae, she befriend the gayest boy in the school, to begin her tell-al expose, and hoping to drastically alter the Gay Rights Movement. Will Rachael meet her deadline, or will she be exposed before she has a chance to do some good?

Review: While Rachael is looking for a good story, she is also looking to make a difference with her writing. A chance to make a difference comes when a high school near her hometown begins instituting a “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy. The policy at Mooretown High is designed to discourage any of the students from pursuing, or even admitting their true sexuality.

Rachael takes the undercover identity of Cassie Rae, in hopes that she can not only get the article she wants, but can drastically change the policy that has been implemented in this school. The faculty have taken the policy to extreme measures, ensuring that those with “gay tendencies” also end up in a place called Reformation Hall. Rachael is one of those that is sent to this place, and she befriends many of them.

This is by far different than T.R. Stoddard's usually darker passages, but it is no less riveting and is most definitely going to keep your eyes glued to each and every page. Zane and Vinnie's story and struggle is heartbreaking, and you will find strength in Rachael's will to help those around her who are suffering because of the intolerance of those around them.

Thank you so much T.R. Stoddard for allowing me to read and review this fantastic book!

Guest Post: Jason E. Maurer

For my guest post, I’ve chosen to discuss self-worth and homosexuality and how the two go hand-in-hand, mainly because that is what my new novel “Trust and Love” is all about.

The main theme of my novel is the “It Gets Better” Campaign because it is the struggle of nearly all people in the LGBT community [LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender] to overcome their own fears, and stand up for themselves in a world that still thinks of us as being sinners.

The “It Gets Better” Campaign stems from the unfortunate suicidal deaths of several gay teenagers, who were bullied in school by youngsters like themselves who do not understand that we are just as human as everyone else. My heart has broken so many times over the past few years to hear of another loss of someone who gave up the fight.

I look back on my own high school turmoil, and am thankful that none of my suicide attempts succeeded.

I had few friends, although the ones in my close circle were treasured more than I could ever describe. Some of us are close to this day.

Being gay was not something anyone talked about, except to make fun of those unfortunate boys who showed any sign of being a “sissy”.  I grew up listening to the negativity spouted by others, and realized early on that I was not “normal”, that the things I felt for the guy who lived next door were wrong.

I wish more than anything that the “It Gets Better” Campaign had been around when I was a teenager. My life in school would have been much, much different. I might have had the courage to stand up for myself, instead of having everyone harass and make fun of me, saying I was worthless and nothing but trash.

This is why I stand so adamantly behind “It Gets Better”. I want that tormented young boy who is sitting there holding a bottle of pills to know he is not alone. I want that young girl who is holding a knife to her wrist that I understand what she’s going through. I want them to know that suicide is NOT the solution to their problems. I want them to understand that their lives WILL get better.

It took many years for me to realize that I wasn’t a freak, that the way I felt toward others of the same sex was okay, that I wasn’t some piece of trash to be so easily discarded.

If you are one of those teenagers who feel like your world is crumbling down around you because the bullies won’t leave you alone, then I have some advice. It may sound hopeless and almost like wishful thinking, especially if you are afraid of them, but things are never as hopeless as they seem. My advice is this:

1. Stand up for yourself.

2. Never back down.

3. Fight for what you believe.

If one of those bullies is attacking you and your beliefs, you have every right as a human being to protect yourself. Stand up tall, look your enemy in the eye, and defend, defend, defend.

Even if you lose the fight, remember that the pride of standing up for yourself and fighting for your beliefs is better than not doing anything at all.

I survived my high school years, and you will too.

And do you know why?

Because there are others in this world who love you for being who you are, and will stand by you no matter what.

My novel “Trust and Love” may seem more like a fairytale than real-life, but the message remains:

Do Not Give Up On Yourself, Because We Will Never Give Up On You.

By writing my novel, I hope to assist everyone in realizing that suicide is not the answer, that your life is more precious than you might think right now, and that we are here to support you no matter what.

Visit www.itgetsbetter.org for information on how to help us win the fight.

To buy “Trust and Love”, visit http://www.amazon.com/Trust-and-Love-ebook/dp/B00AS5AEBM/ref=la_B0080HHLPC_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356936849&sr=1-1

All my love to everyone and best wishes for a wonderful 2013!

Jason E. Maurer

http://jasonemaurer.blogspot.com