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funny
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
I like that more books about the aspec are being written so that more people can learn about it, and as an aro-ace person I can say that the representation does really matter. But this book felt a bit trite at times, and honestly it's pretty clear that the authors are both white and middle class. There are some topics I feel like they overexplained, and others that definitely weren't highlighted enough.
It was a bit too fluffy and repetitive for my liking. I've expected something as in depth as 'ace' by Angela Chen, and got the rambling of two college students instead.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I tend to not read reviews before starting books, but I think I should have in this case. As someone who is grey-ace and with aro/ace friends, I was really interested in this book. I thought it would maybe be a good resource to direct people to. And it may have been if it weren’t for the fact that this was published in 2023 and somehow was still including Harry Potter references. Positive Harry Potter references. I don’t have any patience for that, and especially not from queer media, and so I will not be finishing this.
funny
informative
inspiring
*Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*
As a demisexual person I really appreciate what this book set out to do. Asexuality is one of those strange things that most people are aware of to some extent, but very few people have any understanding about what it actually IS. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and this book does a really good job at breaking down what asexuality means (and includes various perspectives from other aspec people since asexuality is a spectrum and varies from person to person). Sarah and Kayla break down some of the relationships of asexual people, from family and friends to media and society.
There were a few points that I think should have gone a little deeper, like asexuality and media. They brought up some great examples of how even non-romance/sex centered media still tend to prominently feature romance/sex storylines. but I was hoping they would touch more on some of the portrayals of aspec people in media that tend to perpetuate stereotypes about asexual people whether directly or through context. The example that kept coming to mind was Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. He isn't specifically labeled as aspec, but his character is definitely coded as such and his incompetence/obliviousness with women is regularly used as a punchline. I also wish that the additional perspectives were longer and expanded on more aspec identities since the authors are both writing through the lens of middle class white women. They do acknowledge this multiple times, but I think it's going to hinder the book's relatability to other aspec lived experiences.
Sounds Fake But Okay is a great beginner guide to understanding the "aspec" identity, and it's definitely a great starting place for people wanting to know more. This book is very surface level though. so people who already have a general understanding of asexuality probably won't have too many takeaways, but I did appreciate that it feels so accessible. I wasn't familiar with the "Sounds Fake But Okay" podcast, but after reading this book I'm definitely excited to give that a listen!
As a demisexual person I really appreciate what this book set out to do. Asexuality is one of those strange things that most people are aware of to some extent, but very few people have any understanding about what it actually IS. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and this book does a really good job at breaking down what asexuality means (and includes various perspectives from other aspec people since asexuality is a spectrum and varies from person to person). Sarah and Kayla break down some of the relationships of asexual people, from family and friends to media and society.
There were a few points that I think should have gone a little deeper, like asexuality and media. They brought up some great examples of how even non-romance/sex centered media still tend to prominently feature romance/sex storylines. but I was hoping they would touch more on some of the portrayals of aspec people in media that tend to perpetuate stereotypes about asexual people whether directly or through context. The example that kept coming to mind was Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory. He isn't specifically labeled as aspec, but his character is definitely coded as such and his incompetence/obliviousness with women is regularly used as a punchline. I also wish that the additional perspectives were longer and expanded on more aspec identities since the authors are both writing through the lens of middle class white women. They do acknowledge this multiple times, but I think it's going to hinder the book's relatability to other aspec lived experiences.
Sounds Fake But Okay is a great beginner guide to understanding the "aspec" identity, and it's definitely a great starting place for people wanting to know more. This book is very surface level though. so people who already have a general understanding of asexuality probably won't have too many takeaways, but I did appreciate that it feels so accessible. I wasn't familiar with the "Sounds Fake But Okay" podcast, but after reading this book I'm definitely excited to give that a listen!
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
I feel like this book was a great dive into aro ace identities and livelihoods but not a deep dive, a surface dive. It was definitely informative and it was great to hear testimonies from other acespec individuals but I do feel like some things were missing and it didn’t feel complete.
However I did enjoy the voices of the authors and their description of their love story as acespec individuals.
However I did enjoy the voices of the authors and their description of their love story as acespec individuals.
informative
medium-paced