17 Comments

I love this so much and am so happy I found you on Substack!

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Yay! Thanks so much for reading!

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I love this so much, Laura! I’m in awe of the number of books you read in a month. The photo of you and your mom is so lovely. 💕

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Aw, thank you so much, Ashley! I'm so glad you enjoyed. I do read an absurd amount.

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I know. We need historical fiction, romance, mysteries, sci-fi, speculative, fantasy, non-fiction, memoir, and of course poetry. Also YA and children's books. More queer rural, please.

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YES! I've read a decent amount, but I feel like I'm still fighting against the "all queers live in cities" stereotype no matter what.

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I adore the Wayfarers series, and ended up reading every book and novella Becky Chambers has written. My issue now is finding other similar books to read. I find myself scouring lists for gentle sci-fi, hopepunk, lighter space operas, pretty much any sci-fi that isn't fluff, but won't leave my nervous system dysregulated. I really hope that more books in this vein are written soon. I'm in a space in my life where I treasure novels have substance, but are gentle and have a thread of hope in them.

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I know what you mean! I feel there are other books with a similar feel out there but they aren't always easy to find! (And I read so little sci-fi these days that I don't know of any.) Gentle novels with substance are definitely a thing of beauty, I agree 100%.

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One of my favorite gentle novels with substance that isn't sci-fi is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt!

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Get Outta Here!!! I am so, so honored. Your words are a constant inspiration to me so this means the most. Thank you for teaching me how to look out for beauty and delight. Your impact goes deeper than your bed. Oh and thank you for encouraging me that a newsletter than a newsletter can be about more than one thing - books and dogs and everything else!! All love to you.

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Ah, this is the sweetest thing! I love your newsletter and YOU also remind me to look out for beauty and delight, especially when things are hard and sad. All the love to you and the Queen and her perfect sidekick!

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LOVE this, love that photo of you and your mom, love your words and thoughts, love you. So best, Laura.

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Thank you, Sarah! Right back at you. I don't know how to do emojis on my computer (lol) but sending you ALL the hearts.

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That is unbelievably adorable 😂

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Hahahaha. Will I figure it out? TO BE CONTINUED.

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More of us should write about growning up queer in rural America. Meaning, I should also. I wrote a 600 page memoir (unpublished of course) about my life from birth to teens without once mentioning the fact that I was queer. Hm.

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Yes, all the queer rural books! There just are not enough of them at all.

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