Pansexual Visibility Day 2022

24 May is Pansexual Day of Visibility! 💖💛💙 Here are some books I own that has a pansexual main character (I haven’t read them all yet, though). 📚

📖 Crownchasers, by Rebecca Coffindaffer
📖 Dead Space, by Kali Wallace
📖 Once & Future, by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
📖 The Library of the Unwritten, by A. J. Hackwith
📖 The Witch’s Heart, by Genevieve Gornichec
📖 In the Ravebous Dark, by A. M. Stricland

A row of books on top of grey knitwear. You can see the pansexual pride flag under them. To the right a green peace lily plant.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

London, April 2022: Tuesday the 12th

Tuesday greeted me with sunshine! From experience, sunny April spring days with +19⁰C isn’t exactly common in London. And I must say, it was really pleasant.


Brick buildings bathed in sun.
Sunny hotel room view
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

A woman with purple hair sitting in the window. In the background you can see brick buildings.
Me at the hotel
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

My first stop was one of my favourite coffee shops in London, Origins. They serve high quality coffee, of a light roast. I had a pour over, i.e. made with a V60. Sitting inside, looking out the window and reading was really nice.


A book on a bench that is a table, the book to the left. To the right a carafle of coffee and a cup of coffee.
Coffee at Origins
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

After having had some coffee, I picked up a light breakfast at a grocery shop, that I had outside on a bench at Bloomsbury. It was nice and relaxing, and a nice way to get ready for some book shopping. The bookshops I was planning on visiting were all close by.


A street with flowering trees
Spring in London
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

The first bookshop to visit was Skoob Books, where I spent quite a bit of time. I love second hand books, and if you’re lucky you might find some really nice books. Not only did I end up buying two books that look pretty much brand new, but I also found some cheap postcards I’m planning on using for postcrossing. Score!


A sign with "Skoob" standing out from the wall.
Skoob Books
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

Next bookshop on my list was Gays the Word, an LGBTQ+ bookshop. It was quite small, and the selection was quite good, but they didn’t have the books I was looking for. I did end up buying some other books, though, as well as a couple of postcards.


A bookshop front, you can see books in the window. The sign above it has pink triangles pointing down, one at each side of the text.
Gays the World
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

I had just one more bookshop to browse before I wanted to head back to the hotel: Judd Books. This bookshop unfortunately came across as a bit chaotic to me. Also it was hard to navigate around, as there wasn’t much room for movement. I didn’t end up buying anything there, nor did I spend much time. When I left the shop, I headed back to the hotel for a rest.


A book shop front, with boxes of books outside. A couple of people can be seen browsing the boxes.
Judd Books
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

In the afternoon/evening I met up with @lovedreadingthis and @always_need_more_books, bookstagrammers I’ve been following for a long time on Instagram. It was really nice to meet them, and having a wonderful conversation of books and more. We had a meal at Art Yard Bar & Kitchen, which turned out to be more of a hotel restaurant than any of us expected, I think, but that’s OK. The vegan burger I had, though, wasn’t great. A bit bland and dense. The chips were lovely, though, so I kind of wish I just had chips.


A plate with a burger on a bun half, the other bun half beside it. Also a bowl of chips on it. Behind it are glasses of water.
Vegan burger at Art Yard Bar & Kitchen
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2022

After dinner I went back to the hotel. I was shattered tired, and just wanted to relax and get some blogging done. I stopped at Tesco on my way, though, and got some sweets and a strawberry beer that actually tasted OK. It was nice to have a quiet night, and very much needed. I think I pretty much passed out when my head hit the pillow.

Oslo Pride 2018

I must admit that I absolutely LOVE Oslo Pride! Though Pride started 14 June this year, and ended 1 July, I celebrated it only Friday and Saturday.

On Friday I went to look at Pride Park for the first time, and then headed to Pride Art. The art exhibition was really good this year! On Friday there also was a cultural item, with readings by a few authors, the big one being Gudmund Vindland. I’ve previously read a couple of his novels (he’s published four so far), and really liked them. He read from his current work in progress, and I must say I’m really looking forward to reading his new book when it comes out.

Gudmund Vindland. Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018
Gudmund Vindland.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018

Another author who read a work in progress that I really enjoyed was Martine Johansen. I’ve never read any of her works before, but I certainly will, and I am excited about her new book as well.

Martine Johansen. Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018
Martine Johansen.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018

It was also fun to listen to my friend Kiné perform a few of her songs. She had one I hadn’t heard before, but she also performed one that I really love, where she climbs up on a roof…

Saturday was, of course, the day of the Pride Parade. I have walked in the Pride Parade before, both in Norway and other places, in this year I walked with the choir I sing in. It was so much fun, and it was fun to see so many people watching us too!

My frienfd and I in the parade. Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018
My friend and I in the parade.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2018

I had a short, but awesome Pride celebration, and am already looking forward to next year.