Graphic Novel Review: Paper Planes, by Jennie Wood (writer), Dozerdraws (artist), and Micah Myers (lettering)

I was given this digital copy of «Paper Planes», by Jennie Wood (writer), Dozerdraws (artist), and Micah Myers (lettering), from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

A tablet with the cover picture of Paper Plans is laying flat on a table with a white table cloth. Over it is a grey shawl, and over at the right corner is a paper plane. To the left is a white candle on a silver candle stand.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2023

Leighton and Dylan are best friends, and spend all their time together. After an incident, they have to spend the summer at a camp for troubled youth, and they both need to get a positive evaluation at the end not to be sent to an «alternative high school». They both try to figure out who they really are, and they need to explore their friendship.

This was such a lovely story to read. I loved the illustrations, and how Dozerdraws has used different colouring to display different aspects of time. I also enjoyed the diversity of characters, and I can mention that Dylan is non-binary, and Leighton is ace.

This was my second read for the Trans Rights Readathon. The graphic novel is due to be published 16 May 2023.

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.