Patricia Elzie-Tuttle is a writer, podcaster, librarian, and information fanatic who appreciates potatoes in every single one of their beautiful iterations. Patricia earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and Musical Theatre from the University of Southern California and an MLIS from San Jose State University. Her weekly newsletter, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice offers self-improvement and mental health advice, essays, and resources that pull from her experience as a queer, Black, & Filipina person existing in the world. She is also doing the same on the Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice Podcast. More of her written work can also be found in Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen, and, if you’re feeling spicy, in Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 4 edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Patricia has been a Book Riot contributor since 2016 and is currently co-host of the All the Books! podcast and one of the weekly writers of the Read This Book newsletter. She lives in Oakland, CA on unceded Ohlone land with her wife and a positively alarming amount of books. Find her on her Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkTree.
Today’s book recommendation is a newer release which is a short story collection featuring 22 insightful, expansive, and imaginative stories about queer and trans futures. This collection was curated and edited by Lee Mandelo, who is a Lambda, Nebula, and Hugo award finalist. The stories feature a wide range of queerness represented among the characters. Queerness and gender itself are limitless, regardless of what any politicians want to say, and these stories contain a slice, a mere sliver, of the infinite possibilities of expression, being, and connecting.
Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity edited by Lee Mandelo
One of the things I loved about this book is how vastly different each story was from the next. Yes, they are all tied together by the theme of queer and trans futures, but that theme is so vast and broad. The ways this theme can be explored are endless, and I love the variety of the selections. The stories in this collection are very queer and very trans and don’t cater to folks who are not but, perhaps, inspire said readers to learn more. For those of us in the community, it offers a breath of fresh air to read a book by us and for us that doesn’t have a glossary or footnotes or italicized language. At the same time, there are stories in this book that made me think, “Wow, this is a rad story and I am not the audience, but I’m so glad I read it.”
There are stories that are sexy and sensual, and there are stories with violence that made me anxious. Some stories feel like they could take place now, some in the far future, and at least one story takes place multiple times at once.
I won’t write about every single story in this book, but “MoonWife” stood out: I actually went back and read it a second time! I have a lot of books to get through, so I rarely take the time to reread, but this story by Sarah Gailey is so incredibly good. I want a whole book of this character, who is a queer techno medium—as in, she can commune with spirits beyond but through technology and the traces of ourselves that we leave behind. I was also energized by the story written by Margaret Killjoy, and it made me crave more stories with that vibe. There are so many great authors included, like Ariel Chu, Maya Deane, Meg Elison, Neon Yang, and more.
Content warning for something violent that happens to a dog in one story.
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The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that asks: Are reading parties the next big thing? People—especially readers—are clearly looking for community. Are reading parties the answer? Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
Reading communities are everywhere online. From Storygraph to Fable to BookTube to BookTok, the growth of online reading buddies feels exponential. The problem with social media as it exists online, however, is that it’s a stand-in for the true connections we all seek over the things we love. As much as reading roundups and reading tracking can be fun, meeting up with in-person book lovers is a great book lover community event. With that in mind, reading parties could be the next big thing.
A reading party is distinct from a book club because everyone shows up to read instead of having read something to discuss. At a reading party, you can make time to discuss what you are reading, but it doesn’t all need to be the same book. It’s more of a reading vibe check than a book discussion.
Sign up to become an All Access member for only $6/month and then click here to read the full, unlocked article. Level up your reading life with All Access membership and explore a full library of exclusive bonus content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations.
English (US) · 