Oh! Oh! Oh! I just saw a post from one of my connections on LinkedIn about the books they read and finished last year, and I thought of doing something similar.
So last year, I finished 28 books. Yes, I’m surprised and amazed, too! Most of these books are novels. Three are short reads. The titles are in this video, which shows 27 books because, I am so sorry, Graham Greene! I swear, I prepared the screen (it was an eBook) of The End of the Affair, but I forgot to film it because our food came and I was getting hungry. My mind was really like, Thea, food is here! Food, food, food!, on that day.
Out of the 28 books, 19 of them were my personal choices (You did it, Thea!). Seven were from our Bibliolater Book Club, which was formed in March 2022 with colleagues from TaskUs. (Well, I hope we are friends?! Like I can say my friends from TaskUs?!) And oh, wow. We’re going two years in two months. Tempus fugit, for real!
The other two were from another book club I joined late last year, which is specifically for sapphics. I was actually quite hesitant to join when I got invited because of my introversion and social anxiety. But I thought about it, and perhaps it’s nice to try something new and know new people with whom I can find a sense of community when it comes to other facets of my life. Because honestly, I want to talk about my sapphic books! LOL. (But sometimes, or most of the time, my introverted energy just won’t let me.)
These book clubs, especially Bibiliolater, definitely gave me an extra push to read the books accumulating dust on my shelves, and, of course, buy more books that will accumulate dust. Yes? Yes. (Go buy that book. This is your sign!)
If you’re familiar with the titles, most of them are sapphic books. My “library” is filled with them because I intentionally built it that way. It has always been a dream of mine to find a bookstore in the Philippines that has a label that says, LGBTQIA+ or, more specifically, Sapphic, on their shelves, so it will be so much easier for me to know where to go once I enter the store. More so, I want (and desire; need like water, hehe) to see more sapphic books written by Filipino authors in Filipino. Mainstream or not, let’s face it, there are more media representations (books and motion pictures) about male-loving male relationships. And based on my observation, they really get more attention and fame. It seems sapphic stories are very niched — so niched that I even saw a post online that a lesbian supported an artist to draw gay art instead of sapphic art, given the choice. There is also a discourse that straight women watch or support motion pictures with gay storylines but wouldn’t watch sapphic ones. These behaviors perplex me in a way that I am curious, borderline, amazed. Like, Whoa! Should I make a dissertation out of this? Also, name those series that have sapphic characters or storylines that got canceled versus those that have male-to-male relationships (they are thriving!). Your sapphic friends can relate to my question. They have a list, I know. (We just want to see these stories! OK, wait. I am digressing, and this is getting long already.)
Every time I enter a book store, I am always hoping some sapphic energy will call me to find a book. It’s so much easier when the cover showcases girls on it. But for those that don’t have, I just go with the vibes first of the title, like it’s a gaydar for books or something. Hmmm. This feels sapphic. Let’s see. Then I proceed to read the synopsis then search for the book over the Internet to confirm. And most of the time, it works! Last book store visit, I felt my book gaydar leveled up because the two titles I saw, which of course I bought, were really sapphic stories.
Anyway, if you’re a reader, or you’re planning to start reading this year, I hope your pile will be filled and you get to enjoy the ride through each page. And yes, take your time and read the books you want (of course, this might not be possible when you have book club picks and deadlines to follow).
Comments
What do you think, Awesome?