For this month’s theme, I’ve got all graphic novels! I know that the school year has already started for a lot of people. Maybe it seems too daunting to tackle that 500-page novel you’ve been eyeing, but graphic novels are the perfect size book to squeeze in between all of the syllabus introductions.
“The Bodyguard Unit” by Clément Xavier, Lisa Lugrin, Albertine Ralenti and translated by Edward Gauvin
First up is a graphic nonfiction about British suffragettes who were trained in jujitsu! You knew we have a graphic nonfiction section, right? It’s right next to the YA graphic novels, and the books cover a wide variety of topics. This one 100% sent me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, in the best way possible. Edith Garrud was England’s first female jujitsu teacher, and she was passionate about teaching women self-defense. She and her husband were giving women tools to protect themselves both in the streets and in their homes, at the same time as the British suffrage movement was reaching a crescendo. Women fighting for the vote often faced violent arrests and beatings, and Edith was invited to teach them martial arts. Dubbed “jujutsuffragettes” by the media, and calling themselves the Bodyguard Unit, these women defended each other and their leaders. Never fear that this nonfiction book will be boring, there are plenty of action scenes! Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: August 2023”
Watching movies is one of my favorite pastimes, but it’s even better when you can do it with friends! Better still is when you get so immersed in the movie that it feels like you are actually there. Hosting an interactive watch party is the best way to feel like you are IN the movie! Below we’ve included actions, printables and snack ideas so you can assemble your crew and watch along. Don’t have a printer at home? Don’t worry! Come to any of our buildings and we can help you print everything you need.
Continue reading “Host Your Own “The Avengers” Interactive Movie Party”
When Shakespeare wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” it was King Henry IV moaning that people with great responsibility don’t sleep very well. While riches and power don’t seem like much of a problem to me, fictional royalty often has a lot of kingdom-saving and evil battling to do.
So if you’d like to forget your troubles and read about queens and princes and knights with some worthy struggles, take a look at some of these titled titles. Continue reading “Uneasy Lies the Head”
While we can’t guarantee that these crafts will make you happy, who can be blue when you’re crafting with rainbows? Below are some fun, queer crafts you can try at home! Some of these activities are more difficult than others so we have ranked them with rainbows, so the more rainbows the more challenging the craft. Enjoy and happy crafting! Continue reading “Be Happy. Do Crafts.”
Warning: This blog contains spoilers for the series “Stranger Things,” plus a lot of fanning/fawning over New Wave/Synth Pop ROYALTY Kate Bush. Proceed with caution and/or get ready to dance your heart out.
It’s been a little over a year since the fourth season of Stranger Things debuted in two installments on Netflix in the early summer of 2022, and tbh I am still processing my feelings. I’ve been an avid watcher of Stranger Things ever since the first episode when Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers pulled her son Will (played by Noah Schnapp) close in his makeshift fort in the woods and endearingly screeched “What about my wiiiiiitch?” The series is famous for its 1980s pop culture nostalgia and homage to the films, television and music of that decade, but more generally I find that the show has just the right amount of heart, horror, humor and hair-raising adventure to keep me binging each season all in one go whenever it’s released. Plus, as someone who has basically wanted to be part of a Scooby gang and/or a Goonie all their life, I really admire how the show both explores and advocates for cross-generational friendships and community building, even in the face of (perhaps especially in the face of) truly gruesome ghouls from alternate dimensions.
But I’ll be honest, season four was rough. Continue reading “If You Like(d) Stranger Things . . .”
“There is a crack, a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in”
-Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”
This quote from a song by one of Lana Del Rey’s favorite singer/songwriters forms a kind of loose manifesto for her new album, “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” – the more cracks and flaws we have, and the more hardships we endure, the more compassionate, wise and humane we are capable of becoming. On her ninth studio album, the artist formerly known as Lizzy Grant is so cracked-open and vulnerable that it’s almost painful to listen to at times. What distinguishes “Ocean Blvd” from the rest of Lana’s catalog is the diaristic immediacy of the songs. Unlike her earlier work, Del Rey said in a recent interview with Billboard Magazine, “there’s no world-building…This music is about thought processing…Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking.” And what she’s thinking about on this album, beyond the perennial subject of romantic love, is family, faith, mortality, her troubled past and her uncertain future. Continue reading “Album Review: Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana Del Rey”
Happy Pride! If you’re looking for a new, queer read, I’ve got a list in every hue of the rainbow!
Fools in Love – A diverse, inclusive young adult anthology featuring short stories that re-imagine or subvert popular romance and rom-com tropes by some of the biggest authors in YA and has a little something for everyone.
Continue reading “Read With Pride”
Happy Pride Month! We are celebrating, honoring and affirming our transgender folks with a beginners trans booklist. Below are a few books to help you on your journey whether you are questioning yourself or you’re a curious ally. We hope you find this booklist helpful. Our booklist is geared toward teen readers and their caregivers and contains books across multiple age groups. We made this list with love and care! Enjoy! Continue reading “Beginners Guide to Trans Identities”
Dungeons and Dragons is having a bit of a moment right now, with many people becoming aware of and interested in it due to shows like Stranger Things, Critical Role, or the newly released Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film. There’s never been a better time to dip your toes into the world of tabletop role-playing games, but that particular leap can feel like a daunting one. Not only do these games come with rulebooks that make most novels look like light reading in comparison, the density of text in the rulebooks can turn an otherwise approachable game into an impenetrable wall. Well worry not, prospective TTRPG players, as we’ve collected a few resources to highlight to make your first outing into TTRPGs into one of many!
Continue reading “Interested in D&D? Start Here!”
…I had to love myself.
(Beabadoobee is on tour with Taylor Swift, and in 1000 words or less, I will try to explain why this is an epic and historic pairing to me specifically, and possibly, to other East and Southeast Asian girls who grew up searching hopelessly for themselves in the landscapes of pop and rock and singer-songwriting.)
Who is Beabadoobee? Continue reading “Before I Could Love Beabadoobee…”
