Welcome to Litsy!

Haven't felt the best today but did at least manage to do some reading which always makes me feel a bit better about unproductive days

A lovely little novella following a group of queer women in WWII San Francisco featuring: a long lost piece of artwork, a canny old lawyer, drag kings, Chinatown, and a touch of magic. As with all the best stories, I was left longing for more, but feeling thoroughly satisfied with the story I had.

TW: racism (particlar toward people of Chinese and Japanese descent), sexism, homophobia, mentions of past abuse, domestic violence

Read this when jet lag had me up at 5am. Six women meet in 1940 San Francisco, a place where those who don‘t quite fit into the conventional world can be themselves, at a time when science and magic, mystery and danger and adventure abound. I enjoyed the story, the setting in particular was interesting, and will definitely read more by this author. This fun, engaging story was perfect for an early morning read.

I really loved this 1940s San Francisco setting. The characters were so compelling and that ending 👌👌 I've never read anything by Ellen Klages before, but I'm compelled to seek more out.

This was just magical lesbian goodness.

I want to call PASSING STRANGE lovely, but I‘m not sure that‘s exactly what I mean. It‘s got its darker facets: homophobia; off-page sexual assault; the weight of being illegal simply for being yourself. But it‘s also about women who come at the world from all sorts of angles, be they artistic, scientific, vaguely magical, or all of the above. It‘s about connections. It‘s a slice of queer San Francisco in 1940. I‘d like another helping.

Pain day reading with the pup. Charlie‘s here, too, since her dad‘s getting his wisdom teeth out. Alas, she and Casey never nap close enough together to make a cute picture.

I planned to start something else this morning but threw all my plans out the window when my daily short story left me in the mood for fantasy about queer women. So far, this novella was an excellent choice.

Tor‘s ebook for the month is actually a bundle of four LGBTQ novellas! Pick them up before 11:59 tonight in honor of PRIDE month! 🏳️‍🌈📚🏳️‍🌈 #torbookclub

I‘ve read two of them, and they‘re amazing!

https://ebookclub.tor.com

Six women find their lives as tangled with each other‘s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where mystery, science, and art intersect.

I loved this free download from Tor, set in 1940s San Francisco. I'll count it as one of my "somethingblue" selections for the #readingenvysummerreading challenge. Also counting it for the Instagram #TakePrideinReading challenge for June!

#PassingStrange #EllenKlages #LGBTQ #TorPublishing #TorNovella #ScienceIsMagic

When it comes to romance, I'm an unabashed cynic. So I was pleasantly surprised when Passing Strange had me from page 1! And when I closed the book, smiling, my heart full, I wanted more - to know what became of the rest of The Circle in between 1940 and present day. To further explore this world's intersections of magic and science and art. And I wanted to re-read the story again immediately.

#TheLesbiansDontDie #LGBTQ #TorPublishing #TorNovella

A film noir of a tale, set mostly in the lesbian underworld of 1940s San Francisco, with small elements of magic. This has the pulse of a short story—something about its compression and attitude—yet it appears to be in Tor‘s line of novellas and, at 215 pages, has the length of of one of those old pulp novels. Whatever its category, I enjoyed it. #LGBTQ #historical #fantasy #romance

“The chalk. I like its texture, and it‘s essentially a powder, so the particles reflect light in a way that oil paint can‘t. Gives the colour wonderful depth.”
———-
That the artist uses chalk pastel medium is a core element of this story, a fact that gives me great satisfaction because it‘s my favourite art material. I‘m a novice artist, but I love playing with pastels.

I had a pretty solid reading month considering one of my books was a giant chunkster.

Favorites:
The Priory of the Orange Tree
Daisy Jones and the Six
On The Come Up
Passing Strange

Book number 15 of 2019. This looks set to be a hidden gem.

#queerreads #lgbt #lesbianliterature #litsy #littens #lgbtlittens #ellenklages #coffeeandbooks

This is a story about six female friends (in some cases also lovers) in 1940s San Francisco who wish to love freely. Set against the back drop of gin joints, speakeasies, and a world where you have to wear three pieces of women‘s clothing to not be arrested for being gay - it‘s a gorgeous and heart wrenching novella woven with magical realism. I can‘t recommend this more. It left me with all the feels.

When your @bookriot TBR reviews are due, but you haven‘t read the books yet.

🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Do read this! A sweet, light love story in 1939 San Francisco, novella length...you won‘t be sorry! #tornovellas #sanfrancisco

This is one of the great Tor.com novellas (I love these!!) A queer love story unfolding in 1939 San Francisco, with a tiny bit of magic thrown in. SF is most definitely a character in itself, and though I grew up in the Bay Area, I have learned a ton. #tornovellas #sanfrancisco #lgbtqa

Historical Fiction (with a hint of magic) centering around the lesbian scene in 1940s San Francisco. While I thoroughly enjoyed the story and its characters, I can‘t decide if I liked the magical element. At times it felt like too much and at others, not enough. Overall, a great read and a beautiful love story.

I thought I'd share my new project for this year. I have a huge TBR, but I also find myself incredibly indecisive about what to read next. So, once I've finished a book, I'm going to grab a slip out of the to read jar.

If I like it, it goes in the to buy jar. And before I go shopping, I'll grab a couple slips to look for. Hopefully, this will help cut down on the time I spent waffling between new books to read. 😂

#toberead #tbr #tbrjar

1. Passing Strange by Ellen Klages. 2. Finished four so far. 3. I like being impulsive and just choosing what floats my boat at the moment and diving right in. (That‘s in the same metaphor family, right?!) 😂. 4. So few that I‘m sure they are piling up for the second half! 5. I‘m finally getting the hang of engaging on IG, here and Twitter plus actually reading. So I‘m less panicked about completing a lot of books.

Moving right along to book 5 of the #readathon! This is another novella that I have been meaning to read. I love SF noir and this sounded like such an interesting twist to the normal genre.

Content, sleepy cat and a gorgeous little book--what could be better?

I haven't posted #readingstats in a while, so here's a summer summary!

I had a BUNCH of assigned stuff to read this summer, mostly by white ladies, plus I got on a Louise Penny kick for a while. I am very proud of myself for slightly exceeding a book-a-day average in June!

When book you purchased because of a stunning cover is a stunning read. 😍 #judgedbyitscover #loveislove #mymotherwouldnotapprove #p #LitsyAtoZ @BookishMarginalia

It's been days since I played #junetunz so I'm making up for lost time today. One last #ikissedagirl from my #tbr #beautifulcover
#taghappytoday #timetogettowork

I really enjoyed this. While it's true that there was a bit of romance, it was an LGBTQ romance which is a bit more tolerable to me. The story of friendship and life long loyalty, and the picture of life in that particular setting made it worthwhile. Throw in a hint of magic and loveable characters and it's a winner! Also, I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover. I read this on my Kindle but bought a print version for my shelves because it's lovely.

A beautiful novella set in 1940s San Francisco. It's a queer love story of Emily and Haskel and their friends and coworkers. All with a touch of magic. Absolutely wonderful.

Having a terrific #bookfest at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!
Will mostly be in Booth #368 today.

I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, and all I can say now is that there's no way to accurately explain it on a book flap. The best I can do is to say that it's a fairy tale, and if I could I would read another 500 pages of it. The love story was enchanting, the magic was fascinating and atmospheric, and I loved every single character.

#litsyreadingchallenge is coming along! Checked off three boxes yesterday alone, which seems like a very productive first day of break ☺️

It's been a while since I've been so absorbed by a book that I didn't want to put it down. Yesterday sleep overcame me, but today, as soon as I could, I finished the remaining 60 pages or so. There is the barest sprinkle of magic which is why it is published by TOR. However, for the most part it reads like historical fiction about lesbian life in San Francisco during the 1930s. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Engrossed in this novella with a kitty on my lap.

Read this slogan on the book and went down the internet rabbit hole reading all about Mona's.

🏳️‍🌈

A former student informed me of a car wash fundraiser for her entrepreneurs' club. I started reading this, purchased last night at @TheBookmarkPR , while they take care of it.

Set in 1940 San Francisco, this queer fantasy novella shows a group of women living and loving life, even in a time when it wasn't wholly acceptable. There's with a whiff of magic realism tossed in. I might have enjoyed following some of the other girls' adventures. The story sucks you in to the very end.

Enjoying a day off with my reading buddy and a lovely, queer bit of #fantasy. Loving this snapshot of San Francisco and the people who find acceptance there. Trying to make my reading this year some combination of less white, straight, and/or male.

Enjoyed this a lot, especially the sense of community. Only quibble was that sometimes the perspective jumped oddly. Review copy.

This a a small, sweet novella. Very much a beautiful little period piece set in 1940 San Francisco. You get a little feel for the time, good and bad. There's a little magic to add to the fantasy. I would have liked a longer story, the end is fast and a bit forced. All the characters deserved to have more of their stories told. But, the novella is pretty much perfect as-is. So happy I got to read this.

This was so subtle and lovely! For a Tor.com novella the magic was so light but changed the story so much. It tells the story of a group of women, all on the queer spectrum, in the 1940s. It hits everything cross dressing laws to several art history icons, all in 130 pages. Be aware the cover may make you cry once you've read it. #Diverseathon

Everything else has been put aside momentarily for this one. I have wanted this book since Tor showed this beautiful cover image last year. San Francisco in 1940 on the eve of the war; a story of six women, inspired by the pulp magazine, film noir, and Hollywood comedy; and a bit of magic. This is everything today.

tfw Amazon notifies you that you are about to receive a pre-order and you can't remember anything about it. 🤔