As A Librarian, And Especially As A Cataloger, I Have Feelings About The Arrangement Of Books. However,

Canada geese are weird.  On the one hand, they’ll stand up to huge, scary animals.  On the other hand, I’ve seen a whole flock take off when a single small dog runs at them.

This is the Goose of Outrageous Self Assuredness.  Take from her example, her ludicrous and excellent poise in the face of bullying, and be confident in your place, your course, your equal validity.

If your library doesn't have the diverse books you want and you're comfortable talking with (usually very friendly and helpful) people, you can also talk with someone on staff. In addition to the purchase recommendation form, they may have an agreement with other libraries to borrow the books from them for you. This helps two libraries! Your local library learns that more people want diverse books, so they are more likely to buy them in the future. The other library gets check-outs, so they know people are reading their diverse books.

If you don't have time to read, look for diverse audiobooks, CDs, and DVDs! If it's hard for you to get to the library, look at their website or call/email them. They may have pickup lockers in different areas of town or even a delivery service. They probably have eBooks, eAudiobooks, and/or streaming music and movies that you can check out from home.

Friendly reminder that if you talk about how representation is important and how there's not enough diverse media, I implore you to seek out the media that already exists. And if you live in an area with a public library, go to see if they're available at your public library. And then go check them out.

As a librarian, it is demoralizing to see how low the circulation statistics are on lgbt+ books and books by BIPOC authors. I include them in displays and readers advisory, but people still don't check them out as much. Libraries only have a finite amount of resources, including space. We don't get a book then keep it forever. If not enough people check it out, we have to get rid of it to make room for more books. And when James Patterson Book #69 gets checked out 30 times in one year and cool, subversive Sci fi novel with a Black trans woman main character has never been checked out once, the librarian (me) has to make a hard decision.

If you're looking for something tangible and easy to do this pride month, look for lgbt+ books (there are millions of lists online that you can find. It's easier than it's ever been to find diverse books) and check them out from your library.

No time to read? Look for a short story or poetry anthology and just read as much as you have time for. Or just check out a book cus it looks interesting and read as much as you can. We have movies too.

As cool as it would be for me to just keep the books I want and get rid of the ones I don't, I have to listen to the community on matters of collection development. And the community tells me what books they want by checking them out and leaving the ones they don't want on the shelf.

If you think this doesn't apply to you because you live in a progressive area and obviously the books are being checked out, you're wrong. I once worked in a community with a large lgbt population. Those books were not getting checked out. If you want to tell me you live in a conservative area and your library doesn't have any diverse books, you are legally obligated to check the catalog before replying to this post. I currently work in a conservative community and we have lgbt+ and bipoc books. And if you still cannot find any, you are legally obligated to see if your library has a collection request form that patrons can fill out before replying to this post.

Another librarian who would love to see more people doing this! We have displays of shiny new books and movies, as well as some on various topics to tempt you. However, you can also go into the stacks and search for forgotten treasures! You could find books about salt or pockets or seahorses or doorways to other worlds or forbidden romance.

You can also try that book or movie or music CD that everyone is recommending but you don't think you'll enjoy! If you don't like it, bring it back and check out something else guilt-free -- it didn't cost anything, and it won't keep taking up space on your shelves.

unsung benefit i think a lot of ppl are sleeping on with using the public library is that i think its a great replacement for the dopamine hit some ppl get from online shopping. it kind of fills that niche of reserving something that you then get to anticipate the arrival of and enjoy when it arrives, but without like, the waste and the money.

I know so many people for whom this is appropriate, but the first one I thought of is @ladypoetess.  Hugs to all of my spoonie friends!  (Is this how you really play “Knifey Spoonie”?)

Please remember that you CANNOT rely on rulings like this.  A conservative administration could force the FDA to change its ruling, with little or no warning.  The only way to protect access to abortion in the US is by voting out anti-abortion politicians at all levels.

Don’t get me wrong -- I think this is a great move by the FDA!  Despite the headline, though, there is no guarantee that everyone in the US will always be able to get abortion pills by mail.

Finally, some good news.

👉🏿 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/abortion-pills-fda.html

Well, crap.  Raven is a great comic with lots of action, drama, and humor.  I would be very sad to see it end.  If you can’t or don’t want to buy it yourself, check it out from your local library!  If they don’t already have it, please recommend it.

Raven the Pirate Princess is Sinking

I despise doing posts where I ask for help, but here we are.

About two years ago I started a new creator owned project.  It began as a spin-off of Princeless, but the reality is this - Raven The Pirate Princess is its own thing altogether.  I knew this from the first issue and if you’ve been reading, so have you.

Sure, the first few issues of Raven: Pirate Princess had that heroic lady feminist banter for which Princeless has become known both among its fans and detractors.  I mean, Raven had this scene:

and issue 1 had this scene:

But perhaps much more importantly, the first issue of Raven had this:

but that wasn’t where that ended.  This is a book about a community of diverse queer women actively claiming their place in the world and taking what’s theirs.  It’s about Raven, who is desperately in love with her childhood best friend Ximena

It’s about Ximena, a girl who was held captive for years by a pirate king who pretended to be her liberator.  Who fell in love with the pirate’s daughter, only to be left behind by that father when she outlived her value.

About Sunshine, the thief that chose the wrong target and ended up falling in love with a woman already hopelessly in love with somebody else.

It’s about Katie, the bisexual second in command who’s motivated by honor…and occasionally beating the snot out of a dude or two

Oh and in case I forgot to mention, Katie is also incredibly muscular:

And Jayla, the asexual science genius who’s tired of being treated like a little sister

and Cid, the deaf engineer who quietly keeps the ship running

and of course, these two:

The socially awkward poet and the angry sword fighter who couldn’t stand her who have somehow become these two:

But here’s the thing: this comic is failing.  It has a very dedicated and exuberant but at this point SMALL fanbase.  Today I had a hard conversation with Action Lab about the reality of the numbers on this book versus what it costs to produce this book and, suffice it to say, Action Lab isn’t ready to cancel the book, but they aren’t ready to greenlight year 3 either.  After Year 2 #13, Raven is set to go on the shelf until numbers can support continuing it.

This is where I need your help

If you care about this book full of queer pirate ladies and you want it to continue, we need to find a way to spread the word about it.  We don’t need to sell single issues (it would be nice) but ultimately we need the trades sales that back up the continuation of this big YA Pirate/Revenge/Adventure/Romance thing.

Digital copies can be bought instantly right on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Princeless-Raven-The-Pirate-Princess/comics-series/46971

You can buy the physical volumes on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B01BF7U91Q

In fact, if you’ve already purchased volumes 1-4, volume 5 is available for preorder there right now! 

Maybe you’ve bought all the issues already.  Thank you!  If you still want to support Raven, you can review the books on Amazon or other retailers, you can share, reblog or retweet this post.  You can tell a friend about the book! 

If you have a comics review site or, say, a blog where you talk about LGBT media, contact me for review links or interviews.  Please, help us save our ship.

I was well over 20 when I *started* reading fan fiction.  One of my best friends finally convinced me to try it, and I’ve been addicted ever since.  I’ve been active in science-fiction/fantasy/gaming/furry and various other fandoms for decades.  I have seen everyone from infants to senior citizens having fun at conventions.  The idea that fandom could have a use-by date or age range is laughable.

Reblog if you’re over 20 and still read/write fan fiction.

I’m curious!

Also, Vote Your Whole Ballot in every election! The president has a huge impact on the country, but so does Congress. Your senators and representatives can support or block a president and influence the long-term effects of the president's actions. And as @neolithicsheep shows, your governor and state legislature can make a big difference on your life.

Your city's mayor, council, and other administrators have a narrower impact, but it can literally hit you where you live. Even school and library boards affect what children in your community are taught and whether books are banned. They are either elected or appointed by the mayor and/or city council.

Learn the dog whistles that hide people's agendas. Look at who is sharing advertising space. Check out the groups that support different candidates. And vote like your life depends on it, because it does for many of us.

"Don't vote to teach the Democrats a lesson!" Great thanks my Jewish disabled queer ass will just die then

ACA open enrollment starts soon!

Woo-hoo!

A Pride Month comic about quietly being proud to be queer