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jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway.
The Fixed Stars is the latest non-fiction by Molly Wizenberg. I haven't read her 2 previous books but they've been on my to-read radar for awhile. Her prior writing tells of her experiences opening and running a restaurant with her husband. In The Fixed Stars, Molly tells of developing a crush on a female defense attorney while she is on a jury. Molly questions this attraction but keeps going back to it. She speaks to her husband and friends about it and eventually, Molly & her husband decide to open their marriage so Molly can see if there is anything to her crush.
This was an open and honest account of a woman trying to figure out where she exists on the fluid spectrum of sexual orientation. In a way it reminded me of some of what I've read by [a:Glennon Doyle|17099759|Glennon Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1571235130p2/17099759.jpg]. I found the writing engaging and almost conversational. The author is also clearly well-read because she references many books that relate to her own personal experiences during this journey.
Two thumbs up! And I am definitely going to get to her other books sooner rather than later.
What to listen to while reading...
Falling Like the Stars by James Arthur
Sorry by Halsey
Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens
Something by Cyn
Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae
Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
Fallingforyou by The 1975
The Fixed Stars is the latest non-fiction by Molly Wizenberg. I haven't read her 2 previous books but they've been on my to-read radar for awhile. Her prior writing tells of her experiences opening and running a restaurant with her husband. In The Fixed Stars, Molly tells of developing a crush on a female defense attorney while she is on a jury. Molly questions this attraction but keeps going back to it. She speaks to her husband and friends about it and eventually, Molly & her husband decide to open their marriage so Molly can see if there is anything to her crush.
This was an open and honest account of a woman trying to figure out where she exists on the fluid spectrum of sexual orientation. In a way it reminded me of some of what I've read by [a:Glennon Doyle|17099759|Glennon Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1571235130p2/17099759.jpg]. I found the writing engaging and almost conversational. The author is also clearly well-read because she references many books that relate to her own personal experiences during this journey.
Two thumbs up! And I am definitely going to get to her other books sooner rather than later.
What to listen to while reading...
Falling Like the Stars by James Arthur
Sorry by Halsey
Mystery of Love by Sufjan Stevens
Something by Cyn
Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae
Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
Fallingforyou by The 1975
they_planet's review against another edition
4.0
As a non-memoir reader, I really enjoyed this memoir. Some parts felt a little jumpy, like I couldn't quite understand the train of thought, but this is the first book that I've ever felt the urge to annotate. Some lovely quotes sprinkled all throughout.
purplepierogi's review against another edition
2.0
I think Jessica sums everything up so well in her review so if you're interested I'd def read that
my tldr: like other reviewers, I can't shake the weird defensive posture this book has -- it's a step by step explanation of her discovering a new facet of her sexuality, dating a woman, getting a divorce, and being really conciliatory about this 'great betrayal' to straightness and motherhood. her monologuing on fluidity, many footnotes out to Judith Butler and Adrienne Rich, a list her outlining of every gay person she's ever met and how she felt about them, the gender essentialism (so many repetitions of the phrase "women who look like men," weird language around her nb partner), lack of structure just made this a mess, even though I love hearing people's experiences of discovering queer joy
my tldr: like other reviewers, I can't shake the weird defensive posture this book has -- it's a step by step explanation of her discovering a new facet of her sexuality, dating a woman, getting a divorce, and being really conciliatory about this 'great betrayal' to straightness and motherhood. her monologuing on fluidity, many footnotes out to Judith Butler and Adrienne Rich, a list her outlining of every gay person she's ever met and how she felt about them, the gender essentialism (so many repetitions of the phrase "women who look like men," weird language around her nb partner), lack of structure just made this a mess, even though I love hearing people's experiences of discovering queer joy
mosleyjen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
mcresnick3's review against another edition
3.0
i liked this book and found wizenberg’s story and voice to be engaging. i got tired of the repetition by the end, and it started to veer into teaching lessons/educating at such a basic level that i found it to be unnecessary. some of her takes on her own queerness and attraction to androgyny were a little odd and half-baked. overall an enjoyable listen, but i probably won’t recommend that anyone else read/listen to it.
aliena_jackson's review against another edition
1.0
I have never felt so ashamed of my attraction to butch women. The author is essentially "mansplaing" queer spaces, and the majority of people who are reading this are queer. She seems in denial of her queerness, almost refusing to name it and justifying her attraction by saying she's attracted to "hard women" I'm embarassed and ashamed of my attraction to women thanks to this book. I will never pick this up again. I'm going to go read a happy queer novel and try to forget this horrible memoir. (Also, her treatment of Ash and her continued refusal to stop referring to them as a women within her own thoughts and during the majority of the book- even after acknowledging their pronouns- is actually kind of gross.)
illtakethenightshiftx's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
review to come
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Biphobia