Welcome to Litsy!

The allegory isn‘t subtle, but I think that‘s kind of the point. Upright Women Wanted is a rallying cry for communities living in persecution in Trump‘s America. Using the iconography of the Western genre, Gailey galvanises readers with a Handmaid‘s Tale-esque story of secret rebellion and guerilla warfare. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/upright-women-wanted-sarah-gailey-review/

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Set in a future United States where things have devolved to more closely resemble the Wild West, it was an interesting choice for Gailey to make this a novella. At only 173 pages, it‘s a quick read, and there were some things I was really impressed with and others that I wish had been given a full book‘s worth of space.
If queer gunslinging Librarians catch your interest, I‘d say this one is worth the the quick read.

While I liked this book, there really wasn‘t enough world building. I wanted to know why this alternative USA was constantly at war and with whom. How did gender roles get so restricted that people who didn‘t fit them could be executed? We went to the beach, so The Kind Worth Killing was our road trip book, and I continued with Moonflower Murders on my walk. #audiowalk

This novella length story reminded me a lot of Outlawed. A young queer girl runs away from home and joins The Librarians. It‘s only along the way that she starts to understand what she‘s gotten herself into, but once she does she wants to be a part of it more than ever.

A Western LGBT novella. Esther escapes from an arranged marriage after her lover Beatriz is executed. She joins the Librarians, a group of women who distribute government propaganda to rural settlements, and finds that they are more than they seem.

A nice short book to read between all the long books I‘ve been reading.

#UprightWomenWanted #SarahGailey #western #LGBT

Feeling out of step with the world Esther runs away hoping to join the Librarians so that they can teach her to be a more upright citizen. Instead she learns that that there is more to the world and herself than she previously thought and that she is not so alone in being who she is. A dystopian western set in the near future, this bite sized tale was just the palate cleanser I needed. Reading this in our current political climate packs a punch.

Complete enamoured with Sarah Gailey's writing style.

I‘m over half through but I‘m split on whether to finish. I like the characters‘ stories, personalities and interactions.

But: the reader uses accents—a pet peeve. Ugh! 🙄
And westerns aren‘t my jam.

The characters in this story, their world, relationships, and their roles—librarians not to be messed with—sucked me right in.

However—this is also a hard read. I‘d be reading this very differently a couple of months ago. In the book‘s dystopian future, everyone‘s pushed back in the closet.

Striking down Roe hasn‘t specifically affected LGTBQ+ rights. But their rights have to be next, right? Because they‘re hated. My god. So much hate.

This book was the perfect length for the story it told but left enough room for more. I would read more!

Interesting novella. In the dystopian future life has reverted back to old western ways since modern supplies are hoarded by the State to fight the War. Esther runs away from home to join the Librarians, women who travel the country distributing Approved Materials. But she doesn't realize that the version of herself she's running from might actually have hope of a future.
Gailey blends world-building action & heart into a wonderful queer adventure

If you've got any reading challenges that need a short book this one comes in at 175 pages and was fantastic. It was feminist, smart, and queer as hell. Part of me wants a whole series about these librarians, the other part thinks this was perfection on its own.

Thoroughly enjoying this novella so far. Outlaw librarians and old (new?) west antics.

#12booksof2021

Favorite from #February. As a librarian myself, it was fun to read about some futuristic, badass librarians in this short Western romp

@Andrew65

Are you a coward or are you a librarian? 🤣🤣🤣 Best tagline ever!!! New free download from Tor!!

This fun western queer novella with traveling librarians is free to download from Tor.com right now! I loved it!

Hey all, free book time. You have 3 days. https://ebookclub.tor.com/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=orgpost&utm_term=to...

Happy Holidays Littens! Tor‘s eBook Club December book is the marvelous Upright Women Wanted! Available for download in mobi and ePub formats before 11:59 PM ET, December 17th, 2021.

https://ebookclub.tor.com #TorBookClub

Available in the US and Canada.

Loved the idea, but parts just don't make sense to me. (Chiefly: how do the Librarians get away with what they're doing? And a character conflict that is never resolved.) My reading may also have been affected by consuming it on audiobook, which I'm not very good at.

I had more moments that I was rewinding because something would happen that I just needed to pause my work but what a good story. Gailey created characters that I cared about and by the first chapter I was hooked. This was such an interesting take on a western.
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My only complaint is how quick this really was and that it ended too soon but it was a great listen.
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#popsugarreadingchallenge #ReadingWomenChallenge

Excited for August! #BookSpinBingo

A dystopian reminder of what could happen if we aren't vigilant about our human rights.

I agree with the other posters who thought this should have been a full novel instead of a novella. The characterizations are developed well for the brief length, I just wanted a little more material between the main plot points. Interesting worldbuilding in thinking through subversive social networks!

I thought this was ok. It was well written but I wasn't a big fan of the plot, I thought it could have been more developed. This is the first western I've read!

I enjoyed this near-future, dystopian, queer Western. I love that librarians are queer antifascist secret agents, and the main character Esther‘s internal journey to acceptance of herself as a queer woman and an activist was a meaningful one. I think I have to agree with a lot of readers that this doesn‘t work so well as a novella and could have used more space to build the world and develop the characters more. Still, a quick and enjoyable ride!

This was alright... I liked the premise, but wanted more. I think I would have liked it better as a full length novel.

Well, this could've been longer. I hope Sarah Gailey decides to come back to this world and these characters for a longer stay. I liked the idea of the dangerous Librarians in this western setting, also the characters are very well written. For a story this short, Gailey really did the best that's possible.

This Hugo Best Novella nominee by Sarah Gailey is a very fun read! It features a group of subversive queer librarians in an Old West setting. #hugoawards #hugo2021

I'm currently at 5 hours and 40 minutes for the #20in4 readathon. I hope to read a bit more tonight, but my family is being very noisy, watching the Toronto-Montreal NHL playoff game ! 😄

@Andrew65

This was fun. I loved the concept I just felt that it would have been better with a little more. Some emotional jumps and other things seemed a bit forced and rushed but I guess that is to be expected in a novella. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Why wasn't this longer?! The Western style wasn't really my cup of tea but I would have loved more backstory on Esther. I do find it quite perplexing the Librarians continue to exist as State employees? But this was light fun and a great afternoon read.

I found this book very blah. Maybe I‘m not a fan of some novellas or maybe I just don‘t like Sarah Gailey. I found this book a bit boring. It was super short on audio but I still turned it up to 2.0x speed.

I won an ARC of this on #LibraryThing last year and am finally just listening to it. I‘m glad to finally have it off my list.

The second Gailey book I haven‘t really enjoyed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this queer western! I don't think I've ever read a western before but if there were more like this I would start. I loved the characters, they were badass and compelling. Thanks for the recommendation @sebrittainclark

#NewYearWhoDis @monalyisha

I wanted to love this but it felt a little slight to me. Insufficient world building to understand the dystopia and the role of the librarians and rebels. I liked the characters but was left with a lot of questions. Short and quick read but left me wishing there‘s been more development to the world and the women in it.

Unpopular opinion. As a fan of both westerns and dystopian fiction this one just isn't doing it for me. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Bailing at 68%

I'm so excited to have my #NewYearWhoDis list from @sebrittainclark

My library has several of these so I should be all set for January. I'm thinking I'll start with Upright Women Wanted, it sounds like my kinda book!

Thank you @monalyisha

Travelling women and nonbinary librarians in a super patriarchal society taking in a runaway on their travels. It's short and I love Gailey and it holds the cowboy Western tone that I love from American Hippo.

This book made me realise I would love to see them write something in the vein of BioShock.

This was cool and unique and yet it somehow felt trope-y at the same time? I think it was all the romance. It was well done and I'd recommend, but it wasn't for me 🤷🏻‍♀️

Such a great story. Read in one sitting!

This was a delight. Queer librarians resisting fascism in a dystopian Western. It's a quick but unexpectedly emotional read. I recommend it if you could use an injection of hope in your life - and who couldn't, these days?

I saw this on a list of must reads for the year, and a book about gay librarians fighting fascists sounds just like the book I need right now.

I loved this book!!! Such a fun, amazing queer story that had danger, intrigue, and a bleak future.. I need a series out of this book, the librarians who smuggle supplies, people and hand out approved books. I need it all. It's an excellent story.

4.5/5

This was the post-apocalyptic western I didn't know I needed, where librarians travel through the rough and lawless land between towns. It's a super quick read and so great!

#bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

I got to read uninterrupted for a few hours today, which was all I needed to start, devour, and finish this. And it was AWESOME! I really like how Gailey, with very few pages, can suck you into a different world, from what we know, and make it believable, action-packed and interesting. 👌

#BookSpinBingo #FreeSpace

5⭐️s for this incredible novella set in a dystopian future that felt slightly akin to the Handmaid‘s Tale. A western, but with queer librarians instead of cowboys. My only complaint is that there isn‘t a whole librarian series set in this world yet!

Challenge 2 of 50: A book by a trans or non-binary author

I have been meaning to get around to Sarah Gailey's work, and I am so glad that Upright Women Wanted was my introduction. As a librarian, the concept that they are playing with was amazing and I would love to see this world expanded.

#popsugar #readingchallenge #2020

July #Bookreport
Only a few days late

Got a few short books on kindle, then whatever my book club picks, and then hopefully The Vanishing Half!