"The problem isn’t where the metaphorical goal post lies, however, but rather the journey to reach it. If the goal post is to comprehend literary fiction, the solution isn’t to water down the literature. The solution is to create pathways for people to expand their reading comprehension. This can look like book clubs that encourage the sharing of ideas and interpretations. It can also look like larger, systemic changes like access to higher education for those who seek it." R

The romance genre has long been a tool for writers and readers alike to flesh out their fantasies and come to understand their needs and desires. For women readers, this can be an invaluable way to counteract the societal messaging that shames women for their sexualities. Fiction then becomes a sandbox to play in and explore within the safety of one’s own mind — women can explore wild fantasies without having to get too caught up in logistics. Read the full article here:...

"This misaligned process of taking shape in all the wrong ways as a young trans and disabled person was not one that I saw commonly represented in literature. Authors seemed unwilling to face the reality of a disabled, queer body, or perhaps publishers were afraid of platforming those kinds of stories. I came to find comfort in the next best thing: books about bodies that are queered through horrific transformations." Read the full essay here: https://larbpublab.org/2026/07/2

"We are not at a point where trans teens making it past adolescence can be taken for granted. It is still vital to let young trans people know that they are seen. They need to see that there are others like them. But is the growing selection of books depicting transmasc teenagers showing them that they also have a future? And when they reach adulthood, what model of trans- adulthood/manhood/masculinity do they have?" The full essay can be read at: https://readbya.substack.com

In this essay, Adrian explores the role of character point of view in books and video games to make the consumer of the media feel more or less implicated in the actions of the character. They discuss the illusion of choice in video games that may contribute to a sense of implication, opposed to the distance a reader may feel towards a book character, particularly when their actions are written in the third person. The full essay can be read at: https://readbya.substack.com/p