LGBT

Review of You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson

ShannonLeave a comment
You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Janina Matthewson and Jeffrey Cranor book cover and RRPL catalog link

Miriam grows up during the Great Reckoning, an apocalyptic war that destroys nations, displaces thousands of people, and kills millions more. Later, when civilization slowly begins to function again, the nascent New Society government concludes that tribal loyalties, including familial bonds, are to blame for the Great Reckoning. As an adult, Miriam perfects a technique that helps children to forget traumatic memories, and the New Society uses it in ways she never intended to create the Age Ten Protocols. The government takes babies from their families and raises them in child care centers, then erases those memories when they turn ten years old, destroying those dangerous family ties. Now an elderly woman, Miriam writes a memoir of her extraordinary life in the new novel You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Janina Matthewson and Jeffrey Cranor.

This book is a companion novel to Within the Wires, an audio drama podcast written by one of the writers of Welcome to Night Vale, Jeffrey Cranor, and writer and voice actor Janina Matthewson. Longtime listeners of Within the Wires will certainly find breadcrumbs of new information to chew over, as this novel provides much backstory to the world of the podcast. As a standalone novel, it is a stark dystopia that may confuse readers not aware of its extensive audio drama roots. I have listened to Within the Wires since its first episode, and as I read, I found myself preferring the podcast and the intimacy with which we get to know the characters. In this novel, the narrator is carefully writing her own memoirs in a New Society that will not publish anything too radical, so there is a substantial distance between Miriam and the reader that means we never really get to know her as a person.

However, the authors explore intriguing philosophical questions throughout the course of the novel: in a post-apocalyptic society, what lengths are too far to go in trying to prevent another worldwide war? Are family ties and tribalism truly the root of all war and conflict? Is it ethical – and if not ethical, then necessary – to erase memories and destroy families in the pursuit of peace? With Miriam as our unreliable narrator versus the New Society’s narrative, who is telling the truth? Fans of Within the Wires and new readers who are intrigued by this unique concept for a dystopian novel should check this one out. If you like the book, make sure to listen to the podcast in your favorite podcast app!

Release date: December 7, 2021

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy!

Review of The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

ShannonLeave a comment
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley book cover and RRPL catalog link

An excellent speculative fiction alternate history set during the Napoleonic Wars featuring a time travelling LGBTQ+ love story. In The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley, Joe Tournier wakes up on a train station platform with no memory of who he is. He’s in London, but everyone is speaking French. When he receives a postcard with his name on it, mailed a hundred years ago, Joe journeys to the lighthouse pictured on the card and is kidnapped through a portal into the past by a mysterious man.

Pulley’s novel is at once both a romantic love story across time and space and a well-researched alternate history that examines how the use of future technology would change events in the past, and how far nations would be willing to go for information from the future. This book is for anyone who has ever wondered what would have happened if the French won at Trafalgar, if the telegraph was invented fifty years earlier, or even what would happen if a sailing ship battled against a steam-powered battleship. The twisty, turny plot may be confusing or hard to follow at first, but the payoff in the end is well-earned. Pulley does not pull her punches, either in the story or the action, but her take on naval ship battles is visceral without being over the top with gore. For anyone who loved Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell or Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series.

Look for the Kingdoms on May 25!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC (advance reader copy)!

Virtual Book Club – Difficult Topics – LGBTQ+

ShannonLeave a comment

June is Pride Month, so for this week’s ‘Difficult Topics’ virtual book club, we’re talking about another marginalized group: the LGBTQ+ community. 

All of the books below can be checked out from our emedia service Hoopla with your card number and PIN – every item is available now, with no holds lists and no waiting! We’ve included titles to educate on a broad swath of the LGBTQ+ experience, from trans to nonbinary to gay and lesbian. You can also find links to local Northeast Ohio LGBTQ+ organizations to support, as well as a link to homework for those wanting to be a better ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

Books to start the discussion: 

Local organizations to support: 

LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

Equality Ohio

GLSEN Northeast Ohio Chapter

PLEXUS LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce

PFLAG Cleveland

Straight Privilege Checklist: 

1. I am not identified or labeled — politically, socially, economically, or otherwise — by my sexual orientation.  

2. No one questions the “normality” of my sexuality or believes my sexuality was “caused” by psychological trauma, sin, or abuse.  

3. I do not have to fear that my family, friends, or co-workers will find out about my sexual orientation, and that their knowing will have negative consequences for me.  

4. I get paid leave from work and condolences from colleagues if my partner dies.  

5. My sexual orientation (if known to others) is not used to exclude me from any profession or organization (teaching, coaching, the military, Boy Scouts).  

6. In the event of my partner’s death, I can inherit automatically* under probate laws.  

7. I am not accused of being deviant, warped, perverted, or psychologically confused, or dysfunctional because of my sexual orientation.  

The list continues here, in the University of California Merced’s excellent Queer Ally Homework document, where you can find more ideas to consider for being a friend of the LGBTQ+ community.

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here some of the new exciting releases for you to take a look at this week. Whether you are looking for a romantic page-turner, an autobiography, or a medical thriller, we have something for you!

Night Sleep Death The Stars by Joyce Carol Oates – The book is a gripping examination of contemporary America through the prism of a family tragedy. An intimate exploration of race, class warfare and healing by the award-winning author of We Were the Mulvaneys follows the unexpected reactions of a wife and her adult children to a powerful patriarch’s death.

Broken People by Sam Lansky – Groundbreaking and beautifully written, this novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves follows recovering alcoholic Sam as he, with his sponsor’s blessing, partakes in healing ceremony involving an ancient herbal medicine administered by a shaman over the course of three days.

Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle – A newly married woman questions her husband’s involvement with a woman murdered in the lake behind their home and how it connects the unsolved case that shook the town decades before. By the best-selling author of The Marriage Lie.

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon – A witty rom-com that explores the ” unique joys of strong female friendships and the particular struggles of Black women in the workplace, all within a great love story.” A smart, funny digital-age romance about real women living in the real world.

Perfectly Wounded by Mike Day & Robert Vera –  The incredible true story of former Navy SEAL Mike Day, who survived being shot twenty-seven times while deployed in Iraq. Perfectly Wounded is the remarkable story of an American hero whose incredible survival defies explanation, and whose blessed life of service continues in the face of unimaginable odds.

Perfect Happiness by Kristyn Kusek Lewis – From the beloved author of Half of What You Hear, a perceptive and poignant novel about a woman discovering that her expertise can only get her so far in matters of the heart. In this bittersweet family love story, the author explores how easy it is to lose connection with the people closest to us, and what happens when we try to find our way back.

Safe by S. K. Barnett – Miraculously returning home after escaping the kidnappers who stole her in early childhood 12 years earlier, Jenny navigates difficult questions by her parents and older brother while struggling to avoid ongoing threats to her safety.

Daddy’s Girls by Danielle Steel – Inheriting a California ranch upon their single father’s sudden death, three sisters evaluate their very different childhoods while uncovering paradigm-shifting secrets about their father’s identity that strengthen their bond with each other. By the best-selling author of The Wedding Dress.

The Sight of You by Holly Miller – Unable to help falling in love with a woman who offers him a second chance, a man who secretly experiences dreams about the future makes a difficult choice in the face of a daunting premonition about their future together.

~Semanur

Celebrating Pride Month with Local Resources- Plexus: the Chamber of Commerce for the LGBT community

GregLeave a comment

In celebration of LGBT Pride Month we will be highlighting some local resources available here in Northeast Ohio. This time we are featuring Plexus: the Chamber of Commerce for the LGBT community. A financial organization for small business, Plexus “was founded to promote networking and business development within Northeast Ohio’s LGBT business community and its allies.”

They offer many staples of any Chamber of Commerce Including:

Celebrating Pride Month with Local Resources-Health and Medical Resources

GregLeave a comment

This month we continue our celebration of Pride Month with highlighting local LGBTQA resources in the Northeast Ohio region. This time we are showcasing Health and Medical Resources.

Finding a healthcare provider that you are comfortable is always a challenge. Two of the largest healthcare providers in the area offer centers that have locations with staff and services for the LGBT community.

logo-ccf

Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Care offers healthcare services at the Lakewood Family Health Center.

Examples of Care Provided:

Services

To help address these disparities, Cleveland Clinic offers the following services to gay men and MSM:

Gay and Bisexual Men Health

  • Primary Care. General preventive health, screening for disease including cancer and infectious disease, immunizations, and counseling related to healthy behaviors. While all health care providers have a basic knowledge to care for many types of patients, the Cleveland Clinic has identified a group of providers who have a specialty interest in the care of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) patients.
  • Behavioral Health. Behavioral health services offer providers with special interest in LGBT psychological health needs.
  • Specialty Care. Cleveland Clinic has worked to identify providers within the majority of sub-specialty disciplines who have an interest in the care of LGBT patients.

Lesbian and Bisexual Women Health

  • Primary Care. Routine health care maintenance, surveillance of chronic medical conditions, access to providers for acute medical visits, smoking cessation, management of and referral for psychiatric conditions such as mood disorders and substance abuse problems.
  • Gynecologic Care. Routine gynecologic care including cancer screening, pelvic examinations, management of chronic or acute gynecologic conditions, contraceptive counseling and management, fertility consultation and treatment, evaluation and treatment of sexual pain.
  • Endocrinology and Metabolism Care. Specialty help for metabolic disease and obesity through consultation with nutritionists, endocrinologists, and bariatric surgery.
  • Specialty Care. Cleveland Clinic has worked to identify providers within the majority of subspecialty disciplines who have an interest in the care of LGBT patients.
  • Behavioral Health. Cleveland Clinic’s behavioral health services offer providers with special interest in LGBT psychological health needs.

Transgender Health

  • Primary Care. Routine health care maintenance, surveillance of chronic medical conditions, access to providers for acute medical visits, smoking cessation.
  • Gynecologic Care. Routine gynecologic care including cancer screening, pelvic examinations, management of chronic or acute gynecologic conditions, contraceptive counseling and management, fertility consultation and treatment, evaluation and treatment of sexual pain.
  • Hormone Therapy & Surveillance.Initiation, maintenance, and surveillance of cross-sex hormones.
  • Behavioral Health. Diagnosis of gender dysphoria, treatment and management of other comorbid conditions (depression, anxiety, PTSD), management of substance abuse problems.
  • Obesity Services.Multidisciplinary approaches to weight loss and maintenance, referral to bariatric surgery.
  • Surgical Services.Referral within Cleveland Clinic to providers who perform gender confirmation procedures.

and

LGBT – Pride Clinic at MetroHealth

Examples of Care Provided:

  • Adult, adolescent and pediatric care
  • OB-GYN care
  • Family planning
  • Smoking cessation
  • Controlling your cholesterol numbers
  • Lowering your high blood pressure
  • Immunizations
  • Physical exams
  • HIV prevention (PrEP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis)
  • HIV testing
  • Care for HIV-positive patients
  • STI screening and treatment
  • Medical and behavioral health services for LGBT and questioning youth

Celebrating Pride Month with Local Resources- PFLAG

GregLeave a comment

This month we continue our celebration of Pride Month with highlighting local LGBTQA resources in the Northeast Ohio region. This time we are showcasing PFLAG Cleveland. PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbian and Gays) is a national support organization founded in 1981. The Cleveland chapter goes back almost just as far being started a few years later in 1985. They offer many different services including a monthly support group, a newsletter, and scholarship opportunities. A great resource for parents who are looking for ways to support their children.

Image result for pflag cleveland

Celebrating Pride Month with Local Resources

GregLeave a comment

In celebration of LGBT Pride Month we will be highlighting some local resources available here in Northeast Ohio. First up with have the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

Founded in 1975, the LGBT Community Center is a non-profit that offers a wide range of services including:

Construction has been started on their new facility and updates are posted on their website.