The first half of this book is a simmering but inevitable romance between Lucas Thompson, a high powered London businessman, and Jack McQueen- a male escort he meets by chance in a cab. When circumstances conspire to place them together for ten days in a beach resort, all of the tension melts away into descriptions of a luxurious and prefect vacation. I would have preferred that the will-they-or-won't-they plot continue deeper into the novel, but if you are looking for a sweet and sexy story of two men simply enjoying either other's company in a tropical paradise, then this is the book for you.

A beautiful collection of sketches and pages from Shaun Tan's notebooks and preliminary drawings.

A solid introduction to Persian myths, from the pre-Islamic era. It follows the rein of many kings through generations of struggles with the neighboring empires of Turan and Rome. Highlighted are tales of Rustem, the renown hero who fought demons, dragons and many ferocious battles.

This was my fifth or sixth reading of this book, and it was better than I remembered. Tolkien's rich, almost indulgent descriptions of land never fail to draw me in. I see each hillside, tree, leaning stone, small stream or towering mountain as if I had know it since childhood. I was reading this out loud to my family while we drove from California to Idaho to watch the eclipse. It felt very right to be reading it while on a road trip and traveling ourselves through vast and overwhelming views.

That being said, this book isn't perfect. The complete lack of speaking parts for women in this series is well documented, but this time what I was struck by was the constant equating of light/white/silver/gold/paleness with goodness and black/dark/brown/swarthyness with evil. The Ring Wraiths are referred to as the Black Riders, though under their clocks they are dead white men. Tolkien was also very fond of the word "queer" in its older usage meaning "strange or mysterious". Its use to describe twisted old forests struck me as an artifact of a different time.

I know for sure this won't be the last time I read this book. The poems in it are like old friends. The characters are the heroes of my youth. Visiting them again makes me want to be brave, and take the difficult path to make the world a better place for growing and living.

This webcomic was a winner of the Prism Queer Comics Press Grant in 2012, and has completed two successful kickstarters. The main character is Alastair Sterling, an inventor who helped lay the foundations of the AI revolution through his brilliant work in robotics. Unfortunately, Alastair died before he could see his work completed. Sixteen years after his death Alastair wakes up in a robotic body that exactly matches his former human form. He seeks out Brendan Pinsky (his former research partner and boyfriend) looking for answers, but Brendan is at a loss- indeed, Alastair's reappearance nearly gives him a heart attack. The question of who granted Alastair this second life is one of the central mysteries of the unfolding story, as Alastair begins to re-learn how to navigate in a world that his work created. Gorgeously illustrated in near-monochromatic colors, this comic has high concepts, deep insight and a sweet humor. It is truly a human story.

Added in Feb 2021: re-read it for a second time now that I own the complete series, and can I just say the character of Brendan's trans robot daughter delights me even more now than it did when I read it the first time. I'm excited to revisit this story!