What We're Reading – February 2020

Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide by Kate CharlesworthMy favourite place to be is partway through a book that I have just realised is becoming an all-time favourite. This month, it happened with Kate Charlesworth’s graphic memoir, Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide, a political history of gay rights in the UK and a personal history of her place in the struggle.Born in 1950, Charlesworth left for university as a not-yet-out lesbian in the year that homosexuality was decriminalised. She renders her childhood home, cramped yet somehow empty, with stark precision, then offers sweeping full-page drawings of her first gay bars – or rather, spaces coded as gay because of their dingy corners, daring clientele, and raucous singalongs of Gilbert and Sullivan. Gay rights marches, Section 28, the AIDS crisis, second-wave feminism and the journey towards civil marriage all appear, threading in and out of Charlesworth’s life in traditional comic book panels, or captured in colourful spreads like a dreamed scrapbook.Beyond the fight for rights and recognition, Sensible Footwear also celebrates the joyful community spirit of queer culture, where a single kiss on television, or a shared passion for a poet, can have a deep emotional resonance for LGBTQ+ people to connect over. From the overlapping dialogue balloons as Kate and her friend Jacky both dance around coming out to one another – each trying to admit their sexuality in subtle, abstract ways – to the page on Drew Griffiths of the... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2020-02-14 09:49:28 UTC ]
News tagged with: #late 80s #graphic novel #comic book

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Book Riot’s YA Book Deals of the Day for February 24, 2024

There's something for every type of reader in today's roundup of great YA book deals all under $4. Continue reading at Book Riot

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This Week’s Bestsellers: February 26, 2024

Investing books by Tony Robbins and Charlie T. Munger stake their claims on our list. Plus T. Kingfisher invites readers to the table, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips scores. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Freedom to Read Advocates Blast Alabama Library's Ban on LGBTQ Book Purchases

The criticism comes after the Autauga-Prattville Public Library’s newly appointed board enacted a new policy suspending the purchase of children’s or young adult books that include "sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance," a move the National Coalition Against Censorship... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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12 Brilliant Short Stories by Black Writers to Read Year-Round

From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: February 22, 2024

What’s Aisha Sabatini Sloan reading? Diana Arterian on the author’s nightstand. | Lit Hub Criticism “The intimacy I feel with what my home once was cannot be reconciled with what downtown has become.” Emma Dries reflects on her childhood home and how 9/11 changed downtown Manhattan forever. |... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-22 11:30:18 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s Children’s Deals of the Day for February 21, 2024

A rollicking rhyming readaloud, a Black history picture book, a mouse at summer camp, and more of today's best children's book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-02-21 15:42:48 UTC ]
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A Muslim Teen Finds Her Voice in Post-9/11 America: Read an Excerpt from HOPE ABLAZE by Sarah Mughal Rana

Read an excerpt of Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana, a YA novel about a Muslim girl who writes a protest poem that goes viral, changing her whole life. Continue reading at Book Riot

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The Best New Book Releases Out February 20, 2024

In today's new releases, there's an epic story of a conjuror-made safe haven in 1830s St. Louis, a feminist retelling of Zorro, a Cambodian food-based memoir of survival, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

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Religion Book Deals: February 21, 2024

Dr. Terence Lester's book on equitable access to advanced education to IVP; the prolific Robin Jones Gunn's latest to Harvest House; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Lit Hub Daily: February 19, 2024

Kate Sidley on writing in the aftermath of a home robbery: “When bad things happen, they happen off-page, out of sight, and with a certain delicacy.” | Lit Hub Memoir Lockdown may be over, but what did it to to our collective sense of balance? How the pandemic ruined our understanding of “free”... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-19 11:30:44 UTC ]
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Bring Back the Big, Comfortable Bookstore Reading Chair

This was a regular feature of my childhood, though it feels so long ago and far away, conceptually as well as literally, that I nearly forgot it ever happened: I’d go into town to the mall with my mom, and she’d drop me at the doors of the Borders or Barnes and Noble while she […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-19 09:55:59 UTC ]
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Book Riot’s YA Book Deals of the Day for February 17, 2024

EMMA but make it gay, Malcolm X's youth, life after death, and more of the best YA book deals of the day. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-02-17 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Book Deals: Week of February 12, 2024

Viking signs The Midnight Library author Matt Haig's latest novel; Scribner signs two by National Book Award finalist Sarah Smarsh, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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The Week in Libraries: February 16, 2024

Maryland lawmakers seek to protect libraries, Florida governor Ron DeSantis appears to acknowledge that book banning efforts have gone too far, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Book Riot’s Children’s Deals of the Day for February 14, 2024

A dirty cat, complicated middle school friendships, a cut-throat school election, and more of today's best children's book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot

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The Small Bookstore Dedicated To Romance Tells Us Their Favorite Romantic Reads

The Ripped Bodice knows the romance genre inside and out — and they revealed the swoon-worthy books to read right now. Continue reading at HuffPost

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The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Deals for February 12, 2024

Terrifying monsters, loved ones return from the beyond, fairy tale women, and more of today's best science fiction and fantasy book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot

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Stories That Astonish and Take Risks: Ten New Children’s Books Out in February

Whenever I get a chance to talk to young readers about books, I come away marveling: Kids are interested in so many things, and they’re interested in those things all at once! Do they want to read an illustrated book about bugs? Yes! Do they want to read a novel about monsters from Greek... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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Book Riot’s YA Book Deals of the Day for February 10, 2024

14 excellent YA contemporary, romantic, fantastical, and nonfiction reads by Black authors all under $4 this weekend. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-02-10 11:30:00 UTC ]
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The Week in Libraries: February 9, 2024

Among the week's headlines: The American Library Association announces five new "Core Values" for librarianship; a candidate for Missouri secretary of state campaigns by burning library books with a flamethrower; and OCLC is suing a shadow archive site. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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