in which i read some books... a few months ago
HelloHello! As I'm struggling to brain at work, I might as well schedule a newsletter. And this weekend, I bring you another unfinished post from around July/August:
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
I haven't read every single Becky Albertalli, but I've read a few, and of the ones I've read this is easily my favourite. The main reason for that is all the discourse. I loved the depiction of a questioning teen, and the acknowledgement that even among the informed/"woke" sometimes compulsory heterosexuality and stereotypes/cliches perpetuated by society just gets in the way of getting to know oneself. And of course the discussion on gatekeeping queerness, and toxic "allies" who invalidate your identity/feelings over and over again.
A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy
Honestly, just a quick read in between other books. This had been in my TBR for awhile, and I figured why not now. The main character started out a little annoying in that "privileged cis white person" way, which made the dual perspectives slightly jarring for me, but I did root for him to get together with his love interest, and I enjoyed the country music theme park setting. Oh, and there was one resolution/plot point that absolutely bumped this from 3 stars to 4 for me. Listen to Dolly Parton when you read this! (Wanda Jean gave me Dolly Parton vibes.)
Transmogrify! edited by g. haron davis - still reading because I take aaages to finish anthologies, and sometimes I never do, leaving one or two stories unread
This is an anthology of fantasy short stories featuring and written by trans & enby people, and I'm only one story in so I can't say much yet, but the concept and reason behind creating this book was just too good.
Book Boyfriend by Kris Ripper
This reads like romance fanfic, which was fine with me. Towards the middle I got really fed up with the protagonist and I just know that if it really was a fanfic, the comments on the middle chapters would be filled with readers fuming over him just not getting it together and figuring things out, but as frustrating as it was it was also part of the fun. Also, the protagonist totally reads to me as someone on the spectrum and seeing him through that lens, I actually understand a lot of the stupid shit he did/didn't do.
Take A Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden - DNF-ed
It's strange that I ended up DNF-ing this book, because the premise sounds right up my alley. There's stage musicals (and Hamilton/Wicked/Dear Evan Hansen references!), and gaming (the game the characters play is D&D-esque but it's an MMORPG?), and mistaken identities. But this last part tripped me up, because while I find it a cute trope when characters really don't know who they're talking to, or remain exactly who they are even if they do know, the MC in this book blatantly lies about things IRL just so that his love interest wouldn't clock on to the fact that they also know each other in-game. I did try to "read" (it was an audiobook) as much as I could, but in the end the stress I felt as he kept on piling on the lies just became too much. Especially since he knew that his love interest was very big on honesty and practicing online safety.
Poison Ivy Vol. 1 & 2, G. Willow Wilson & Various Tim Drake: Robin Vol. 1, Meghan Fitzmartin & Riley Rossmo
I read all these comics as single issues. I guess as Marvel's stuff get more boring, DC is serving readers with comics made of awesome? Tim Drake is all literary sleuthing fun, and the way it was written feels kind of fresh for a superhero comic, and I LIKE that a Batfam comic is actually focusing on detective work, but yeah the dudebro fans hate this particular run. Poison Ivy is a G. Willow Wilson, so of course it's good. I was okay and on board with Ivy's "kill all the humans" method of saving the wild in the earlier issues, but I'm also very pleased with her pivoting from the unthinking consumers of destructive capitalism to the source - whether it's companies engaging in fracking, or "wellness" gurus selling dubiously sourced mind-body-soul healing products.
Tegan and Sara: Junior High by Tegan Quinn, Sara Quin & Tillie Walden
I love Tegan and Sara of course, but I wasn't prepared for how precious this middle grade comic will be to me. This is mostly a fictionalised version of their younger days, rather than a direct memoir, but either way I'm always going to love a good coming-of-age, coming-out book... especially when they revolve around sisters. Can't wait for the next one!
Both Can Be True by Jules Machias
I both loved and did not love this book. I think I loved it because it's a middle grade book with a gender nonconforming protagonist and that is so rare. If I were to label the main character I would say they're genderfluid, but they were adamant about not using labels. And this is the part that I struggle with - not so much the lack of labels, because I think that's a valid choice for a person to make, but because they sometimes shit on other people's decision to use labels without acknowledging that for others, labels can be extremely helpful. There's a side plot about a dog and honestly it's too sad for me, but also kind of sweet? I'm very on the fence on this one.
How (Not) To Ask A Boy To Prom by S.J. Goslee
Another book that's been in my TBR forever. I saw the audiobook on Scribd, so I decided to listen to it. And... it was a lot of fun? Again, it read like fanfic, but it was pretty much what I was in the mood for when I was reading it. In this case, I loved almost all the characters, even (especially) the side characters, and would very much want this to be a teen movie I can watch a million times on some streaming service.
Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
And, another one from the TBR! Kevin gave me his copy when he left for Singapore - so, thanks Kevin! I enjoyed this, but it feels a bit weird to say that because this book is more like the queer YA novels from the 00s, where characters deal with an insane level of toxic masculinity and homophobia. Because this is relatable, and there absolutely are queer teens dealing with this stuff in the whole now still, I appreciate that it exists.
Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
A reread. For the third time. This is one of the few books that I never bought, thinking it was going to be a quick fun read I'll never bother with again after finishing, and then it proved me wrong by living in my head rent free for years and years until I have to get it on kindle or something to reread it (this is maybe my third time?) because it's so fun and comforting and has some kind of other factor I can't quite define? It never got published in paperback, though, and the hardback is now too expensive for me to get.
Tournament of Losers by Megan Derr
Another fanfic read, which took me by surprise because I started it thinking I'm reading a spicy fantasy romance, and it turns out that I was reading a fairytale-like fantasy romance? No spice. Not that I'm complaining or anything - just saying that it wasn't what I was led to think it was. Of course if you've read way too many fairy tales about the hero taking on tasks to marry the prince/princess, this book is pretty predictable, but this is also why it's a good comfort read.
Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
This is another book that would make a great for-streaming romcom, My Big Fat Greek Wedding style. I took this with me when my family went to Kundasang, and ended up so absorbed in it I stayed in a lot just to finish reading it.
I think the comment on Sorry, Bro wasn't completed, and I had a few more books I was planning to write about, but I ended up never finishing this post.
Now that I'm done with that, some current updates: I'm still burned out and am hating capitalism more than ever now, and sick of the war, of stupid takes re: the war, of the rise of general collective stupidity here (and bonus! even more queerphobia being apparent being "alim" means being a hateful scumbag!), oh and did I say capitalism yet.
Every day I'm grateful for D&D.
I'm also grateful for you, for still being around and reading this! Drink lots of water ya.