Tag Archives: LGBT+

A Handful of Pecans Against the Specter of Death

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Ryn PB

I am a pessimist. Just like being an optimist, being a pessimist has its pros (being prepared, less disappointment) and its cons (being overly stressed, less hopefulness), but the one thing I like most about being a pessimist is when … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, mental health | Tagged anxiety, birds, bluejays, death, hope, LGBT+, life lessons, mental health, nature, pessimism, squirrels | Leave a comment

27 Books for 27 Years: Ryn’s Reading History (Part 3)

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Ryn PB

Welcome back, my friends! Though I’m uploading this a little late, I’m happy to present the last installation of my 27-year reading history! Thanks for making it this far, if you have. This last leg of the race is mostly … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged after, anna todd, anxiety, birthday, book review, book reviews, books, history, jackson bird, james joyce, john green, LGBT+, life lessons, mental health, music, music lit, nick hornby, punk, punk rock, queer lit, reading, trans lit, ulysses, ve schwab | Leave a comment

27 Books for 27 Years: Ryn’s Reading History (Part 2)

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Ryn PB

Welcome back to this walk down memory lane! Part 2 of this list covers mainly my high school and early college reading career. I was not a particularly happy or whole person during high school, which is why many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, polysyllabic spree | Tagged acotar, alfred hitchcock, anxiety, books, check please, dftba, graphic novels, high school, hitchcock, john green, LGBT+, life lessons, maas, mental health, nerdfighteria, p4a, perks of being a wallflower, physics, poppy war, queer lit, reader, reading, sarah j maas, science, stephen hawking, virginia woolf, vlogbrothers, woolf | 1 Comment

A Language, Little Known

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Ryn PB

The steps led down, down, down—far away from the sun, where no flowers should be able to grow. And yet— “She said the Third-Eyebright would be here.” The angry red scratches on Trev’s face had only gotten worse since the … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged amaranth, bees, betrayal, botanist, botany, bugs, contest, eyebright, floral, florist, floristry, flowers, friends, geranium, journey, LGBT+, life lessons, nyc midnight, quest, search, secret society, write, writing, yellowjackets | Leave a comment

The Soup-Port Group

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

“Okay, everyone, welcome to the group. I’m Holden, this is my brother Harry, and we decided to put this thing together for people who’ve had similar experiences to us.” Holden’s effeminate voice pierced the air like the rainbow flag pin … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged anxiety, colin mochrie, comedy, food, group, humor, jokes, LGBT+, pun, puns, saturday night live, snl, stereotypes, support group, therapy, whose line, whose line is it anyway, writing | 1 Comment

TBR Playlist: Play It By Ear Edition

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Ryn PB

Hello, I’m back! Happy Halloween! I’m afraid this post has nothing to do with the Halloween season. Though I’ve been writing, I haven’t been writing much that I wanted to share with the Internet. I’ve mostly been writing different iterations … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, TBR Playlist | Tagged books, comedy, dropout, dropout tv, graphic novels, improv, improv comedy, jess mckenna, LGBT+, life lessons, mano agapion, mental health, music, musical, musical comedy, off book, play it by ear, queer lit, reading, writing, zach reino | Leave a comment

Hooked on Books: An Oral History

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Hello and welcome to my blog, Poor Unfortunate Stories! My name is Ursula, and I will be your captain on this voyage into reading. Today, however, I have some co-navigators—my arch-nemesis Terry and his grandkid LJ. Every week, we will … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, LGBT+ | Tagged age, ages, blog, book, book blogs, books, booktube, fish puns, generation, generation gap, generational gap, generations, grandkid, grandparents, LGBT+, librarian, library, life lessons, nemesis, nonbinary, old, oral history, podcast, puns, reading, student, the little mermaid, transcript, writing, young | Leave a comment

TBR Playlist: Pride Edition

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Ryn PB

Hello, hello! I had grand plans for my blog this month. I was going to post a fun story about library arch-nemeses and an ode to my old car that I had to sell, but alas, a Summer Cold caught … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, LGBT+, TBR Playlist | Tagged against me, baby queen, books, contemporary, dodie, ezra williams, frankie cosmos, gay, gilmore girls, girl in red, graphic novels, green day, hozier, ice cream, kehlani, kesha, king, lesbian, lesbians, leslie feinberg, LGBT, LGBT+, lgbtq, lgbtq+, lgbtqia, meet me @ the altar, miley cyrus, music, pansy division, pink panther, playlist, princess, princess diana, queer, queer artists, queer lit, reading, scene queen, sci fi, science fiction, take me to church, tbr, trans, trans lit, trans stories, transsexual, virginity, wrecking ball, YA, young adult | Leave a comment

Consequences of a Con

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Ryn PB

Cornhusker Cons: Psychics, Clairvoyants, and Mystics in the Heartland. Fran had never actually read the book in which their father’s scams had been made public. An entire chapter had been dedicated to him and his two partners. “Just put that … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged anxiety, barn, blog, book, books, bookstore, camera, cat, cats, cemetery, clairvoyant, con, crime, family, fiction, ghost, graveyard, ice cream, illegal, jail, LGBT+, life lessons, mental health, photography, psychic, seance, spirit, spirits, statue, stories, supernatural, writing | Leave a comment

My First Encounter with the Word “Queer”: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Ryn PB

I don’t have a great memory, but one that has stuck with me is the first time I consciously encountered the word “queer.” Young Ryn was under their floral covers, propped up on two pillows, and talking to their dad … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, LGBT+ | Tagged books, burnett, children's lit, classic, classic lit, classic literature, classics, etymology, found family, history, LGBT+, lgbtq, life lessons, mistress mary, oscar wilde, owlcrate, queer, queer history, queer lit, quite contrary, reading, the secret garden | Leave a comment