Varian is the resident Toadshifter at the Pond, and loves recommending books!
Don’t be fooled by Varian the Toadshifter. For they may appear to be a plain toad, they are actually an incredibly powerful and knowledgeable magic caster – they just love improving their sewing skills to create lovely costumes!
Varian recognises that magic is most powerful when you share it with others. That’s why whenever you see Varian, they will recommend some books to you! You can read a little more about Varian’s life and story here.
Remember Varian’s very first costume? It was a rainbow and they had recommended some diverse anthologies that inspired their costume. They also told you more about their story, explained what a Toadshifter was and what they do, and how they ended up in the Pond. See their recommendations for diverse anthologies! →
Varian’s second costume was a lot cuter and fluffier! They dressed up as a giant panda for the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge that Xiaolong is hosting and they recommended some books with tropes, all by Asian authors! See their recommendations for Asian books with tropes! →
Varian’s third costume was something completely new and different! They dressed up as a warrior for the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge, and they recommended some Asian books that had themes of power. See their recommendations for Asian books about power! →
Varian didn’t have a costume to share, but they did some cross-stitching! They stitched a rainbow infinity symbol and rainbow heart for Autistic Pride Month, and they recommended books by autistic authors about autistic characters. See their recommendations for #ownvoices books by autistic authors! →
To celebrate Asian-Pacific Heritage Month, Varian noticed that Pasifika authors don’t get a lot of attention, so they wanted to showcase books by Pasifika and Maori authors! They made a dress that was vibrant, had flowers, and was green! See their recommendations for books by Maori and Pasifika authors! →
It’s June, which means it’s Pride Month! Varian dressed up in their rainbow skirt and donned their biggest rainbow flag, and gave you recommendations of books with queer Asian characters for the Year of the Asian Reading challenge! See their recommendations for queer Asian characters! →
Varian loves reading science-fiction and fantasy books and they also love reading about girls in love! Varian made the t-shirt that Jess wears in Not Your Sidekick, and recommended some science-fiction/fantasy books with f/f romances! See their recommendations for YA SFF with f/f rep here! →
For ‘Mental Health Awareness’, Varian didn’t make a costume but they did recommend some books by Asian authors about Asian characters that have mental illnesses to promote awareness that mental illnesses are invisible. See their recommendations for Asian books with mental illness representation. →
