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A review by rattletheshelves
Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else by Kayla Kaszyca, Sarah Costello
informative
2.0
TW: transphobia
Oof. So. Lately we've seen an increase in aspec non-fiction and I've been making my way through them and I almost thought I finally had a favourite.
And then a HP reference happened. In an aspec nonfiction. In 2023. But okay, I went on, more careful. And then, towards the end, the low rating of this book finally made sense - there's an entire paragraph about JKR "despite her views on gender" write books that are still a source of comfort to many people. What a way to describe a person who's almost single-handedly funding anti-trans laws in the UK and who inspired the skyrocketing transphobia.
I honestly don't want to go on with this review after that. It is easy to read (editing is choppy but hopefully it will be fixed in the final copy) and it covers basic topics in the aspec community in an approchable manner. It's pretty shallow at times and, despite quotes from different respondents, offers largely a white, middle-class, young, cis, US perspective on the topic. It could definitely could use more research on queer theory as a lot of the ideas aren't new at all but it would be a nice introductory aspec book. I agree that it reads more like a script to a podcast rather than a book, but that once again makes it more approachable to people who aren't in the topic.
The chapter on gender was my least favourite - and I can see clear connection with my biggest problem with this book. It read very outdated, things that might have been okay in the early 2000s but now are just weird. I wrote it off as a cultural difference until the JKR rant.
I'm afraid that it's a deal breaker and I won't be recommending this one.
***Thanks NetGalley for the eARC***
Oof. So. Lately we've seen an increase in aspec non-fiction and I've been making my way through them and I almost thought I finally had a favourite.
And then a HP reference happened. In an aspec nonfiction. In 2023. But okay, I went on, more careful. And then, towards the end, the low rating of this book finally made sense - there's an entire paragraph about JKR "despite her views on gender" write books that are still a source of comfort to many people. What a way to describe a person who's almost single-handedly funding anti-trans laws in the UK and who inspired the skyrocketing transphobia.
I honestly don't want to go on with this review after that. It is easy to read (editing is choppy but hopefully it will be fixed in the final copy) and it covers basic topics in the aspec community in an approchable manner. It's pretty shallow at times and, despite quotes from different respondents, offers largely a white, middle-class, young, cis, US perspective on the topic. It could definitely could use more research on queer theory as a lot of the ideas aren't new at all but it would be a nice introductory aspec book. I agree that it reads more like a script to a podcast rather than a book, but that once again makes it more approachable to people who aren't in the topic.
The chapter on gender was my least favourite - and I can see clear connection with my biggest problem with this book. It read very outdated, things that might have been okay in the early 2000s but now are just weird. I wrote it off as a cultural difference until the JKR rant.
I'm afraid that it's a deal breaker and I won't be recommending this one.
***Thanks NetGalley for the eARC***
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia