Happy first day of Trans Rights Readathon! 🏳️‍⚧️

Have you already started with your first book(s)? What trans books are you currently reading?

I'll start - I'm currently reading:

• A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander (transmasc Regency romance)
• Demon Engine by Marten Norr (platonic t4t nautical fantasy horror)
• Ship Happens by Mason Deaver (t4t second chance romance) (I got an eARC through NetGalley)

hello all! recently swapped over to here from pagebound via recommendation from some danmei readers I know, and I'm hoping to meet the rest of the community here. I'd love to be mutuals if you read any amount of danmei!

pleeeeeease make sure forum posts have some body to them, some context, opinion, review etc.

"omg why did he do that" or "oh no :(" do not a forum post make.

users won't know what you're talking about simply based on pages or % read, and the spoiler tags are on for a reason, so that you can go into more detail without spoiling for other users.

i feel like more and more of these bare posts are popping up on my feed. there needs to be enough detail to facilitate a discussion...or...a...forum 🥲

If you’re an e-reader, do you report the page numbers as they are? My Kobo will list a book as 400 pages but the last 30 will be acknowledgements/previews for other books/etc. and I worry that is skewing the percentage I’ve read and that I might accidentally spoil something for others… idk if I’m overthinking it or if this is something others factor in when they’re recording the total number of pages of the book in PB... thanks in advance :)

🔸Definition: A sensitivity reader is a publishing professional or consultant who reviews manuscripts for offensive content, stereotypes, bias, and inaccuracies regarding marginalized groups, culture, or trauma. Often called authenticity readers or sensitivity consultants, they help authors ensure respectful, accurate representation.

Now, i know a lot of books that can fall in the "grey" area. They arent problematic, but they are not openly awareness raisers. Those books that just let the reader draw their own conclusions.

Obviously, I know this position (the sensitivity reader) will be for good, and thanks to it, much more solid and authentic books will be created. But i am also a little bit worried about creating "too obvious narratives", or even the infantilization of the reader. Sometimes complex or harsh books can get too close to the "this is offensive or confusing", and I am a little bit scared of this ending up being a way of...creative censorship? (Of course If you're writing completely unrealistic and absurd things about the BIPOC community without even forming part of it, that's not censorship lol 🗣️). And yes, of course i know it forms part of the editorial process, it's not like they deleted 5 pages from the book and then published it out of the blue.

What i want to convey here is that sometimes all those sensitive topics can be confusing, full of contradictions. I mean, that's why we are still today having to defend them. But I like seeking this future of books with representation and diversity that coexists with these strange, layered, and slightly off books (again, no problematic ones, just not crystal clear ones that were maybe written a few decades ago).

💬 What do you know about Sensitivity readers? What do you think about this topic or reflexion? Feel free to debate on here, all perspectives are welcomed, and we will undoubtedly have a broader and more valuable picture!

This question popped up in my mind while reading a book I recently finished, 'Your Letter' by Hyeon A. Cho (Go check it out it's amazing!!). It was the first time I cried of happiness while reading something.

Feel free to drop similar recs in the comments because we all need a good cry sometimes 🙂‍↕️

when does it get interesting, for now I'm not that hooked👀

Has anyone talked about the similarities between this and The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper? Obviously the title and the protagonist’s name, Will. But also the eternal battle between Stewards/Old Ones and the Dark. Susan should be getting royalties from this 💀