Today my blog is ONE WHOLE YEAR OLD!

It’s also the first day of Pride Month!

It’s no coincidence that those two dates are the same – I started Every Book a Doorway so I’d have a place to talk about queer fantasy, and although health problems meant I wasn’t as active for my first year as I wanted, I’m still really proud of how far I’ve come and what EBaD is shaping up to be.

It’s difficult to feel really celebratory, though, with the state of the world right now. Black Lives Matter should not be a controversial statement, and white people shouldn’t pass judgement on how oppressed minorities express their (completely justified) helplessness and rage. We in the queer community should understand this more than anyone – Stonewall was a riot, people. More, it was a riot started by Black and brown trans women. Whatever flavour of queer you are, you need to know and respect that part of our heritage – and understand and support other groups fighting for their rights.

So I decided that this year, my first Pride recommendations list is going to be themed: Resistance & Rebellion. You can find last year’s (non-themed) list here, and today’s list in my next post here.

I’ve also decided to set myself a reading challenge. Rainbow Readathon on Twitter are running a really cool readathon inspired by the meanings behind each stripe of the original Pride flag by Gilbert Baker;

Rainbow Readathon participants are supposed to choose books inspired by each of the original stripes. And when I heard about this, I was so excited to take part! But now, I’ve decided I want to draw my inspiration from a different flag.

This flag was created by Daniel Qasar, to include/honour queer people of colour and especially/specifically trans people. This is the flag I’m going to use to inspire my personal reading challenge.

And here’s my TBR!

Red – Life

With a bi main character, Carusio’s debut releases tomorrow, and features a magic system drawn from the life within a mage’s claimed territory.

Orange – Healing

Despite being under the rule of the same Emperor, the Twin Kingdoms are very much at odds – but a relationship between a highlands writer of music and the royal composer will bring healing and magic to both.

Yellow – Sunlight

Yes, I’ve read this before – your point??? This is the perfect time to reread the series, since KD Edwards just released his novella Sunken Mall, which is set between The Last Sun and The Hanged Man, books one and two.

I love this book, and I want something I love right now as a kind of comfort-read. And you can’t say it doesn’t satisfy the requirements for the sun stripe!

Green – Nature

One of the main characters of Euphoria Kids is a non-binary sweetheart who grew from a seed, and even their friends – a trans girl made of fire and a boy without a name – are pulled towards nature as fairies, dryads, and witches gather around them in this soft and beautiful fantasy.

Blue – Harmony

The Rhapsody of Blood series is, at its heart, about keeping the magical and not-magical worlds in harmony. Mara, an immortal born before any myth or legend you’ve ever heard of, stalks the world to prevent people from performing the ritual that can turn mortals into gods – if they’re willing to spend oceans of blood, that is. Her story runs alongside Emma’s, who becomes a kind of problem-solver and mediator for the supernatural community. When their paths intersect, well…

Purple – Spirit

In Kushiel’s Dart, sex is a spiritual act – a form of worship of the angel Namaah, one of the founders of the land Terre d’Ange. Phedre, the bisexual narrator of Kushiel’s Dart, is a courtesan belonging both to Namaah and Kushiel – another of Terre d’Ange’s founders, and one with a very unique destiny to offer Phedre.

Trans – a Book With a Trans Lead

No Man of Women Born is an anthology of stories in which the ‘no man of woman born’ line of prophecy refers to trans heroes and heroines.

PoC – a Book With an Author and/or MC of Colour

The Gilded Wolves is a fantasy-heist book, written by the inestimable Choksi and featuring a racially and sexually diverse cast working together to overturn the establishment.

What are you going to be reading this month?