How Albert Einstein Used His Fame to Denounce American Racism. “As a target of anti-Semitism…the Jewish scientist was well aware of the harm that discrimination inflicts, and sought to use his platform to speak out against the mistreatment of others.”
Queer Reads by Australian Authors for Wear it Purple Day!
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Wear It Purple Day, which is today – August 29th 2025 – is an annual event drawing attention to LGBTQIA+ youth in Australia, with an emphasis on acceptance and education. We thought it’d make a great opportunity to draw attention to some Australian authors and their queer books! The contributors to the list are: Shadaras, Nina Waters, Shea Sullivan, Dei Walker, and an anonymous contributor.
When Saffron Coulter stumbles through a hole in reality, she finds herself trapped in Kena, a magical realm on the brink of civil war.
There, her fate becomes intertwined with that of three very different women: Zech, the fast-thinking acolyte of a cunning, powerful exile; Viya, the spoiled, runaway consort of the empire-building ruler, Vex Leoden; and Gwen, an Earth-born worldwalker whose greatest regret is putting Leoden on the throne. But Leoden has allies, too, chief among them the Vex’Mara Kadeja, a dangerous ex-priestess who shares his dreams of conquest.
Pursued by Leoden and aided by the Shavaktiin, a secretive order of storytellers and mystics, the rebels flee to Veksh, a neighboring matriarchy ruled by the fearsome Council of Queens. Saffron is out of her world and out of her depth, but the further she travels, the more she finds herself bound to her friends with ties of blood and magic.
Can one girl – an accidental worldwalker – really be the key to saving Kena? Or will she just die trying?
Maisie has always dreamed of meeting her hero, Kara Bufano, an amputee actor who plays a kick-arse amputee character in her favourite show. Fancon is big and exciting and exhausting. Then she meets Ollie, a cute volunteer who she has a lot in common with. Could this be the start of something, or will her mum, who doesn’t seem to know what boundaries are, embarrass her before she and Ollie have a chance?
“Stolen me? As soon to say a caged bird can be stolen by the sky.”
Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.
Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.
With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love―as both will learn―is quite another.
Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry. Foz Meadows’ A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.
After health problems wiped out their first few weeks of school, Perley and Amandine are both starting their Junior year behind their classmates, and both have major changes in their lives that they’re struggling to get used to. Perley was diagnosed with diabetes over the summer, and worries that all these new medical expenses will be a hardship on his family. And Amandine, part of a venerated family of vampires, has been turned much younger than she expected to be after a car accident nearly killed her. The two of them form a fast friendship – both feel a little out of step with their old lives, and as a bonus, it turns out that Amandine’s new vampire abilities can help Perley save money on blood glucose tests. But as the year goes on, they’re forced to admit that maybe their coping strategies – and their blood-sipping-turned-romance – aren’t working out so well after all. Will they be able to get their lives back to normal? Or will both have to figure out new ways for their “normal” to look?
To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything
“I refuse to be nothing…”
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.
Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.
Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.
Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.
In the near-future, people use technology to give the illusion of all kinds of body modifications-but some people have “Egan’s Syndrome,” a highly sensitive immune system that rejects these “mods” and are unable to use them. Those who are affected maintain a “natural” appearance, reliant on cosmetics and hair dye at most to help them play with their looks.
Sunati is attracted to Austen the first time she sees her and is drawn to what she assumes is Austen’s bravery and confidence to live life unmodded. When Sunati learns the truth, she’s still attracted to Austen and asks her on a date. Gradually, their relationship unfolds as they deal with friends, family, and the emotional conflicts that come with every romance. Together, they will learn and grow in a story that reminds us no matter how technology evolves, we will remain … always human.
In the not-too-distant future, most of humanity resides on its last-ditch effort at Meridian, a remote alien planet where you’re more likely to be born superhuman than left-handed.
None of that is important to Oberon Afolayan. Since his mildly public breakdown, his whole life seems to be spiraling out of control—from dropping out of university to breaking up with his boyfriend, it seems like only a karmic inevitability when he wakes up one day with the ability to conjure his dreams in the real world.
Oberon’s newfound powers come with a facsimile of his high school crush, Kon, who mysteriously dropped off the face of the planet almost three years ago and who is a little more infuriating (if not also infuriatingly hot) than Oberon remembers.
Kon makes it his mission to turn Oberon’s life around, and while they struggle to get a handle on his powers and his disastrous personal life (not to mention the appearance of strange nightmare creatures), it turns out this dream version of Kon has secrets of his own—dangerous ones.
Oberon might have more on his plate than he originally thought, but is giving up his dreams—even the one he might have accidentally fallen in love with—the only way to find happiness in reality?
seriously though why isn’t the Vorkosigan Saga more popular/well known in the sci fi canon?? it’s shockingly ahead of its time, has brilliant world-building, some of the most compelling characters I’ve ever encountered in literature, and excellent top tier prose and plotting. it brilliantly tackles themes of gender, disability, politics, and family dynamics and has romance, action, mystery, intrigue, and did I mention incredible world-building??
it’s like Game of Thrones meets Star Trek meets The Expanse meets Regency romance. it’s incredible.
if you haven’t heard of this AMAZING series by Lois McMaster Bujold, run don’t walk and go read it immediately!!!!
also, fun fact, Lois Bujold got her start writing fanfic for Star Trek fanzines, which REALLY makes sense when you look at the content of her writing lol
the series wasn’t written chronologically but it’s definitely best to read it chronologically with one exception (which is to read Falling Free before Diplomatic Immunity).
here’s my personal preferred reading order (with some notes):
Shards of Honor - 1986 start here! this book is about 33-year-old Cordelia, an astrocartographer from Beta Colony (Star Trek commie soyboy planet), and how she meets and falls in love with 44-year-old Aral Vorkosigan, a general from Barrayar (military aristocracy feudalism planet)
Barrayar - 1991 continues the story of Cordelia and Aral’s romance, with many complications
The Warrior’s Apprentice - 1986 from this book onwards, the protagonist of the series shifts to Miles, Cordelia and Aral’s disabled son. I was bracing myself for this switch because I was so attached to Cordelia, but 17-year-old Miles immediately jumps off the page here and quickly became one of my all time favorite literary characters. he’s a disabled nepo baby from an extremely prejudiced and ableist society who may or may not have inspired Tyrion Lannister. he’s incredible, character of all time, no notes
The Mountains of Mourning (novella) - 1989 this one is a novella that is part of The Borders of Infinity, which is a framing device for 3 novellas. the framing part of the book is set after Brothers in Arms, but I recommend reading each individual novella as it falls chronologically and then going back and reading the framing sections later
The Vor Game - 1990 Miles is 20 now
Cetaganda - 1995 a fun murder mystery starring 22-year-old Miles
Ethan of Athos - 1986 this book is somewhat of a detour because Miles isn’t in it, but it heavily features a character who later becomes his girlfriend. it’s set concurrently to Cetaganda
Labyrinth (novella) - 1989 another novella from Borders of Infinity which introduces Taura, a character who becomes very important to Miles
The Borders of Infinity (novella) - 1987 the final novella from the Borders of Infinity. it goes here chronologically. the framing device is technically set after Brothers in Arms, but it’s fine to read here too if you want
Brothers in Arms - 1989 Miles goes to Earth in this one! kudos to Lois for pulling off one of my least favorite plot devices here (a secret clone) and making it an incredible and heart-breaking exploration of identity and character
Mirror Dance - 1994 this book is probably one of the best in the whole series. Lois was really cooking with this one! split POV between Miles and his clone brother, Mark
Memory - 1996 this book is a little quieter than the previous ones, but in a really good way
Komarr - 1998 introduces Miles primary love interest, Ekaterin, and splits POV between her and Miles. they’re both 30 here
A Civil Campaign - 1999 this one is like, a classic Shakespearean comedy in terms of structure. apparently it was inspired by Regency romance. it’s absolutely incredible and one of my favorites in the series
Winterfair Gifts (short story) - 2004 Miles and Ekaterin’s wedding, told from the POV of one of their armsmen. sort of a Christmas special but in a good way!
Falling Free - 1988 another detour. this book is actually set 200 years before the events of the series, but it tells the origin story of the Quaddies and is relevant to Diplomatic Immunity, hence why I suggest reading it here
Diplomatic Immunity - 2002 32-year-old Miles and his wife untangle a diplomatic crisis with the Quaddies
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance - 2012 told from the POV of Miles’ cousin Ivan
The Flowers of Vashnoi (novella) - 2018 a novella about Ekaterin, Miles’ wife
Cryoburn - 2010 get ready to WEEP
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen - 2016 we’re back in Cordelia’s POV for this one. lots of spicy revelations about her and Aral’s marriage (including a space throuple)!!!! we love to see it!!!
I read this series so insanely fast, like I was quite literally blasting through one book a day (each book is around 300 pages so it’s not as crazy as it sounds), but that’s honestly how good they are.
every single book has at least one moment that made me stop short and really think about my life. I would say the whole series is kind of a meditation on the concept of honor. and also gender issues and disability politics. some of the gender terminology is dated, but the sentiments are extremely forward-thinking, especially considering when these books were largely written. as I mentioned, the main character is disabled, and there are MANY queer and gender non-conforming characters throughout the series!
if you like Ursula LeGuin, you’ll probably enjoy these! honestly surprised Bujold isn’t as well-known/highly regarded as LeGuin, because imo they’re very similar and very comparable!!!
again, run don’t walk!!! these books need to be more popular so they get reprinted and I can buy a box set!!!! there should be an HBO show!!!!
…
I think this is probably a generational thing.
I grew up in the 90s, and … Bujold was one of the top-selling and most well-known writers of the era. She is also one of the most highly-decorated SF/F authors of any era so far. She has four Hugo awards for Best Novel. The only other person who got four Hugos for Best Novel was Heinlein, who was writing when the competition was a lot looser because there was less SF/F being published. There has only been a Hugo for Best Series since 2017. Bujold is the only author to have won it twice so far–her Vorkosigan series won in 2017, and her World of the Five Gods (i.e. “Chalionverse”) series won in 2018. IOW, she has two major series, and her most popular series won the award the first year it was available, and her second most popular award won it the second year it was available. She was awarded the title Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2020. She’s semi-retired now, which seems to mean she only writes things she finds interesting and self-publishes them as ebooks instead of working with agents and publishers and things. (And also means she writes mostly novellas, because she finds that length much easier to write than novels.)
You don’t tend to find Bujold books in used book stores very often because people like to reread them, but I don’t know that I’ve ever walked into a bookstore that sold new books and had a decent SF/F section that didn’t have Bujold’s books on the shelf; Bujold is an outlier in publishing reliability. Unlike most authors (whose backlists don’t tend to sell well), Bujold’s older books sell well enough that they’ve never been out of print (except for The Spirit Ring, a stand-alone fantasy.)
I don’t know if I’ve ever met a SF/F fan my age or older who doesn’t know who Bujold is. Whether they like her stuff or not, they know who she is and have read at least one of her books.
So it doesn’t occur to me to do promo posts or anything because. Of course everyone knows Bujold, right?
And, no, she hasn’t done much traditional publishing since she went into semi-retirement, and she hasn’t done any marketing, so a lot of Gen Z and younger people don’t know who she is. When the Plot Trysts podcast did a series talking about the Vorkosigan books, they had a new guest author every episode (Katherine Addison, Jo Walton, Yoon Ha Lee, etc), and they’d ask them how they got into reading Bujold. And most episodes I’d sit there shocked to hear this person who grew up reading SF/F only recently heard about Bujold.
I love the Vorkosiverse, Bujold is one of my absolute favorite authors, so I heartily second the recs. Don’t miss out on Bujold’s main fantasy series, the World of the Five Gods. The place to start with that series is The Curse of Chalion.
Brooklyn-based designer Scott Henderson has a knack for creating products that become household staples. The Moby Spout Cover he designed for Skip Hop in 2008 is one of the best-selling baby items of all time, and his early work on OXO Kitchen Tools helped establish that brand's ergonomic DNA. (ed. note: he also led the jury for the 2024 Core77 Design Awards Lifestyle Accessories category) Now he's back in the baby space with Choo Choo the Seahorse, a teething toy that tackles several design problems at once.
Anyone who's spent time around teething babies knows the frustrations: dropped toys that need constant washing, products that don't actually soothe effectively, and the ongoing search for something that keeps both baby and parent sane.
Henderson's solution addresses these pain points systematically. The seahorse features an integrated handle that's part of the overall form rather than an add-on appendage—reducing inevitable drops. The pacifier-shaped face encourages chewing away from the wide, stable base, while the "mane" functions as a built-in gum massager with sculpted silicone prongs.
What's particularly clever is the prehensile tail that wraps around objects or hangs for drying after washing. The toy includes hard and soft chew zones, tactile textures throughout, and a gentle squeaker that won't drive parents to distraction. The whole thing is made from food-grade silicone that's hypoallergenic, odor-free, and fade resistant.
Henderson's choice of a seahorse isn't arbitrary. "The ocean has an ancient, inherent calming effect—it's something we feel before we understand," he says. The character features a closed, peaceful eye meant to signal emotional safety, a thoughtful detail you don't usually see in mass market products.
This will be the first offering from Henderson's new brand Jay Street Baby. The teether will launch with an original storybook, written and illustrated by Henderson, called "Choo Choo the Seahorse's Big Adventure," creating a broader narrative world around the character. Henderson is positioning Choo Choo, and future products, as part of a character-driven IP franchise, with plans for additional books, animated shorts, and more products in the pipeline.
It's an interesting approach that borrows from entertainment industry playbooks. Rather than just designing isolated products, Henderson is building a world around his characters that could extend across multiple media formats. Whether parents will embrace this kind of brand universe around baby products remains to be seen.
Choo Choo the Seahorse is available for preorder at choochootheseahorse.com, with shipping expected this fall.
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