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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Mixed feelings, but overall, a beautiful "memoir adjacent" book. The Toast-style interludes are hit and miss for me, depending on how I feel about the source material (Anne or Green Gables comes out as a trans man? Here for it. King Arthur and the Green Knight and... not my bag). The entire book is beautiful still, and a beautifully done look into his life pre/mid/post transition. Highly recommend the audiobook.
I received this in a Goodreads giveaway from the publisher.
I loved this book. It was funny and poignant. I did think this was going to be a more traditional memoir and was hesitant, but instead it was a series of chapters and interludes that accurately reflect Daniel Ortberg's ongoing internet presence. If you've read and enjoyed anything Daniel Ortberg has written before, you'll definitely want to read this. There are a few chapters/interludes that appeared in his newsletter, but most are new. Humor is interlaced with very serious essays about his transition. An interlude that is about how his failure to parallel park in front of a man was what triggered his transition immediately precedes a very serious chapter on him realizing that he was trans and how that played out with his childhood memories of being a girl. There's still humor within that chapter, but the gravity of what he writes adds a depth to the levity that comes before.
Something that I find particularly awe-inspiring about Ortberg is his ability to use quotes and passages from the bible and classic works of philosophy. He always manages to put a fresh spin on what he mentions and makes me want to engage in both the source material and his essay more than I did before. It's truly something to have such breadth and depth of knowledge—not many writers out there can effortlessly skewer Cosmo headlines from the 90s, write Dirtbag Sappho poems, and carefully analyze biblical passages.
Weirdly, parts of this also reminded me of Carmen Maria Machado's "Her Body and Other Stories," especially the short story that is told through Law and Order recaps. Ortberg's book is more optimistic, but both think about how living in a human body is a unique kind of horror.
In case anyone asks, I can't pick a favorite essay, but the one on Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen is up there. I also agree with Grace: Umbrellas are tools for the selfish and it would be better for everyone if we all had and used rain jackets and boots.
I loved this book. It was funny and poignant. I did think this was going to be a more traditional memoir and was hesitant, but instead it was a series of chapters and interludes that accurately reflect Daniel Ortberg's ongoing internet presence. If you've read and enjoyed anything Daniel Ortberg has written before, you'll definitely want to read this. There are a few chapters/interludes that appeared in his newsletter, but most are new. Humor is interlaced with very serious essays about his transition. An interlude that is about how his failure to parallel park in front of a man was what triggered his transition immediately precedes a very serious chapter on him realizing that he was trans and how that played out with his childhood memories of being a girl. There's still humor within that chapter, but the gravity of what he writes adds a depth to the levity that comes before.
Something that I find particularly awe-inspiring about Ortberg is his ability to use quotes and passages from the bible and classic works of philosophy. He always manages to put a fresh spin on what he mentions and makes me want to engage in both the source material and his essay more than I did before. It's truly something to have such breadth and depth of knowledge—not many writers out there can effortlessly skewer Cosmo headlines from the 90s, write Dirtbag Sappho poems, and carefully analyze biblical passages.
Weirdly, parts of this also reminded me of Carmen Maria Machado's "Her Body and Other Stories," especially the short story that is told through Law and Order recaps. Ortberg's book is more optimistic, but both think about how living in a human body is a unique kind of horror.
In case anyone asks, I can't pick a favorite essay, but the one on Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen is up there. I also agree with Grace: Umbrellas are tools for the selfish and it would be better for everyone if we all had and used rain jackets and boots.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
this collection of essays was a lot for me to take in, and got me to move my plans for starting testosterone closer by a few years, due to the fact that i felt seen by danny lavery's words, and, i mean, he spent several years agonizing over whether or not to transition, and then once he stopped actively trying not to transition/not to think about transition/etc., things seem to have moved fairly quickly for him. why should the same not happen for me?
^^ above is the text of the review i wrote immediately following my first read of this collection. i have been on testosterone since december 17, 2020 at time of this update and things are mostly pretty okay.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
(Review note: The author is credited as Daniel Mallory Ortberg, but recently changed his name to Danny M. Lavery. For the sake of clarity, I'm using his pre-marital name in this review.)
I'm not sure exactly how I felt about this. I loved Ortberg's writing at the Toast. This ranges across formats and genres, and some of it is more successful than others. I enjoy memoirs in general, and that worked well. The literary experimentation was a mixed bag but that may depend on personal taste. I don't really go for Christian theology, and while I completely understand Ortberg's choices there, it is not my thing.
It's difficult for me to grade this because it's such a mix, but ultimately, I went for how well I think he pulled it off and less about how much I enjoyed it.
I'm not sure exactly how I felt about this. I loved Ortberg's writing at the Toast. This ranges across formats and genres, and some of it is more successful than others. I enjoy memoirs in general, and that worked well. The literary experimentation was a mixed bag but that may depend on personal taste. I don't really go for Christian theology, and while I completely understand Ortberg's choices there, it is not my thing.
It's difficult for me to grade this because it's such a mix, but ultimately, I went for how well I think he pulled it off and less about how much I enjoyed it.