It's our annual check-in with Becks Quirk, while Kris is recovering from Women's Week in P-town! Becks and Tara talk about what's changed in the last year, where they're at, what keeps them motivated, as well as Becks's reflections after Banned Books Week. Official Recommendations From Becks: Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun In keeping with the annual nature of her visits, Becks's official recommendation this week is another Alison Cochrun audiobook, Every Step She Takes. A bout of turbulence provokes Sadie into coming out and sharing her deepest secrets with her seat companion, Mal, only to learn they're both joining the same tour of Camino de Santiago in Portugal. Becks is a sucker for physical journeys that exhaust the body and mind, leading to revelations and change. From Tara: Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti Tara's official recommendation this week is Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti. Lady Georgiana Cleeve is the author of many popular novels, which helps her support herself and her mother. When Lady Darling's books are equally popular and have details that are eerily similar to Georgiana's own books, Georgiana knows she has to unmask Lady Darling. She's in for the shock of her life when Lady Darling ends up being none other than Georgiana's teenage crush. Tara loved the emotional journeys in this one and how it plays with conventions from gothic novels. Works/People Discussed Banned Books Week Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (recommended in QR 064) Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (recommended in QR 057) Flamer by Mike Curato They Came from Below by L Dreamer After All: A Sapphic Romance (Latitude & Longing Book 3) by Bryce Oakley Olive Oil and White Bread by Georgia Beers The Shape of You by Georgia Beers RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three, BBC One) Hades 2 (Supergiant Games) Iceberg by Gun Brooke Course of Action by Gun Brooke Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit Meditations in an Emergency - Essays by Rebecca Solnit The Fortune Hunter's Guide to Love by Emma-Claire Sunday Heather Rose Jones Support & follow the show Buy us a Ko-fi Facebook Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Get all our links on Linktr.ee
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1:31:49
Sweater weather (QR 118)
Tara talks school strikes while Kris explains the clean versions of the Taylor Swift phenomena. Bring it on, people. It's sweater weather! Official Recommendations From Kris: Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco and Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (2025) Kris's official recommendation this week is… wait. Kris has TWO official recommendations this week? (checks notes) Well, okay! Kris's FIRST official recommendation is the children's picture book Our Mothers' House, written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco. It's a beautiful book about two women raising children together and their encounter with the one prejudiced family on their block. It's also a banned book, which makes it even more important to shout out. For Kris's SECOND official recommendation, we have the 2025 documentary, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, which tracks the late 90s women's music festival. Kris has a lot of personal connections to this festival, and the documentary was both informative in aspects of the music industry that she couldn't have understood at the time and nostalgic for all those formative memories. From Tara: A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love by Ann Rose Tara's official recommendation this week is the recently released sapphic Halloween romance, A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love by Ann Rose. Every year, for 70 days, the Halloween shop Pepper runs, The Dead of Night, appears in town and she gets to meet and engage with everyone who comes in. After that time? She disappears, and so does everyone's memory of her. But everything changes after Pepper comes across a woman she can't stand the thought of forgetting her. Tara thoroughly enjoyed this one and the big twist at the story's centre. Works/People Discussed Jeopardy! (NBC) Survivor (CBS) Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC) RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three, BBC One) Hades 2 (Supergiant Games) Patricia Polacco appears at the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (recommended in QR 064) Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (recommended in QR 057) Support & follow the show Buy us a Ko-fi Facebook Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Get all our links on Linktr.ee
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58:45
It's only Tuesday (QR 117)
It's been a month since Kris and Tara have seen each other's faces and they have a lot to catch up on! Kris is in hell, physically and otherwise, dreaming of her recent relaxing, internet-free trip to the lake. Tara's kids are back in the September school rush, so everything's a blur between that and work. They talk Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, as well as Harlequin's recent sapphic releases, which are a nice change from yesteryear. Official Recommendations From Kris: Can We Skip to the Good Part by Melissa Brayden Kris's official recommendation this week is Can We Skip to the Good Part by Melissa Brayden, her first independently published book. It's a story of new beginnings, as a woman is let go from her job and starts fresh in a new town with her best friend and a new book club. This story offers love, insane chemistry, and some tricky maneuvering. If you haven't read anything by Brayden before, Kris thinks it's a great place to start. From Tara: One Weekend in Tahoe by Jaime Clevenger Tara's official recommendation this week is the one-night-to-forever One Weekend in Tahoe by Jaime Clevenger. It's a trope-filled erotic romance set in the worlds of philanthropy and sex parties (not at the same time) that balances enough sweetness with a little bit of the real world. Works/People Discussed How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future by Maria Ressa Women's Week - Provincetown The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC) The Lazarus Project (Sky Max) They Came From Below by Luc Dreamer Wylde Flowers (Studio Drydock Pty Ltd) The Secret Crush Book Club by Karmen Lee The Fortune Hunter's Guide to Love by Emma-Claire Sunday (Tara previously recommended The Duke's Sister and I by Sunday in QR 093) Her Fake Wedding Date in Sicily by Jenny Lane Sapphic World Book Club One Weekend in Aspen by Jaime Clevenger Make or Break by E. J. Noyes (recommended in QR 115) Support & follow the show Buy us a Ko-fi Facebook Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Get all our links on Linktr.ee
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Queer crime fiction with Salem West & John Copenhaver (QR 116)
This week, Kris and Tara sit down with Salem West and John Copenhaver, editors of the queer crime fiction anthology, Crime Ink: Iconic. The hook for this collection is pretty damn cool, since the stories draw inspiration from queer icons throughout history. The last time Salem and John were on the podcast, they discussed the urgent threat of LGBTQ book bans. Now, they're here to sound the alarm about the need for more visibility of queer crime writers and their stories. We should all be listening. Note: In the opening, Tara says this is a bonus episode, but life got in the way of our recording schedule, so we're running this as a regular episode. Support & follow the show Buy us a Ko-fi Facebook Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Get all our links on Linktr.ee .
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I have a shoe (QR 115)
It's back-to-school season and illness is in the air! Kris returns from her deathbed with tales of the flu (definitely NOT a recommendation) and Tara encounters her first COVID romance (which is a recommendation). Kris lays out tips for eBay seller success and Tara discusses her reaction to James Dobson's death as an ex-Evangelical (TL;DR: fuck that guy). Official Recommendations From Kris: Giant Little Ones (2018) Kris's official recommendation this week is Giant Little Ones (2018). It's a film about two high school boys who are teenage royalty and adored by the girls, whose lives are changed during an epic 17th birthday party. According to Kris, this story is full of drama, reminding her of how awful those teenage years are. There is some violence against gay people in this movie, but Kris still thinks the quality and the story are worth the discomfort if you're able. From Tara: Make or Break by E. J. Noyes Tara's official recommendation this week is Make or Break by E. J. Noyes. It's a sapphic romance novel that takes place on the set of a police drama between one of the leading actors and the key makeup artist. They've each had a crush on the other for years, but never knew if their crushes were returned. Tara says this one is a gentle romance with excellent character arcs. Works/People Discussed K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) Alone (History Channel) Alone Australia (SBS) Hightown (STARZ) Hostage (Netflix) Great Canadian Baking Show (CBC) Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix) Forever Theirs by Anna Stone (Mistress, book 3) Guarded Desires by Anna Stone (Mistress, book 4) Sweet, Spicy, Delicate by Allison Ashton Who We Could Be by Chelsea M. Cameron Support & follow the show Buy us a Ko-fi Facebook Instagram Threads Bluesky TikTok YouTube Get all our links on Linktr.ee
Book reviewer, Tara Scott, and award-winning author, Kris Bryant, discuss queer books, movies, TV shows, graphic novels and narrow down selections for listeners. Grab a glass of wine, dram of whisky, or cup of coffee and join them as they suggest to you, the listener, and to each other, something wonderfully queer and inspiring to check out.
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