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moonyreadsbystarlight's reviews
576 reviews
Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
The Batchelor meets slasher film with Big Foot and her lesbian following. Completely wild and I want more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
Minor: Cancer and Abortion
Broken Places Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected by Nnedi Okorafor
emotional
reflective
4.0
Overall, this was a neat memoir about her experience becoming paralyzed and how it impacted her writing. It was beautifully written. However, some parts were a bit rushed. In particular, I would have loved to see more of the last part expanded, when she was talking about African futurism and how going to Nigeria impacted her writing. But I'm glad I picked it up and hearing about her background makes me more excited to read more of her books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction by Joshua Whitehead
emotional
reflective
5.0
So many great stories in here! I'm used to anthologies having a mix of hits and misses, but this one was really great all the way through. Even the intro alone had me wanting to go buy the editor's nonfiction! I'm looking forward to finding work from a lot of the authors featured in here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Racism
Moderate: Medical content and War
Minor: Vomit
I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino
emotional
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Detailed depictions of food insecurity
Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau
informative
3.0
This was a basic introduction to disability that included topics like language, breif history, media representation, and allyship. This author did do a lot with this in terms of including a lot of disabilities into this discussion without getting to lost in details that may have been beyond the scope of what she intended, but instead keeping to accessibility more broadly giving a variety of examples. She also does explain and incorporate intersectionality to a point, which was good to see in parts of this conversation. I think this could be helpful for people who are just starting to learn for teenagers and adults.
However, the issue that I run into with a lot of the more ally-focus texts is that they are so nice and accomodating to the oppressing class in question that so much ends up being watered down and the hand-holding becomes distracting. The history component was really neat but she cushioned it with comments about history being dry and boring and that she wouldn't take too long, which was offputting. Politically, it was also very watered down for my taste but that is what it is with most ally-centered texts like this. There was lots about how to change language and representation, not as much focus on economic inequality and violence outside of mentioning laws and history. She does explain intersectionality and applies it to disability but it only goes so far when talking about the power structures and issues that impact different groups (a glaring example being the limited disussion arohnd prisons and police).
That being said, I did pick this up expecting similar issues to come up. But as I said at the beginning, this could be good for people just starting to learn. I learned some from the history component, and I think that the resources that she includes are quite helpful.
However, the issue that I run into with a lot of the more ally-focus texts is that they are so nice and accomodating to the oppressing class in question that so much ends up being watered down and the hand-holding becomes distracting. The history component was really neat but she cushioned it with comments about history being dry and boring and that she wouldn't take too long, which was offputting. Politically, it was also very watered down for my taste but that is what it is with most ally-centered texts like this. There was lots about how to change language and representation, not as much focus on economic inequality and violence outside of mentioning laws and history. She does explain intersectionality and applies it to disability but it only goes so far when talking about the power structures and issues that impact different groups (a glaring example being the limited disussion arohnd prisons and police).
That being said, I did pick this up expecting similar issues to come up. But as I said at the beginning, this could be good for people just starting to learn. I learned some from the history component, and I think that the resources that she includes are quite helpful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Minor: Sexual assault and Violence
Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Lynn Paulson
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Hey Hun takes you through the author's story as she rose through the ranks of an MLM while discussing research on such groups. You get an insider look at the organization from Paulson and quotes from others who have left similar groups, while also seeing data about what these orgs actually look like monetarily and politically. There is also a lot of discussion about how some of these groups fit into frameworks made to identify cults, as well as the insidious role of white supremacy in the very structure of these groups.
A big part that I wasn't expecting but was interesting to hear about the author's experience with alcoholism and recovery (and makes just so much sense considering, not just the MLM culture but "wine mom" culture more broadly). This was a really entertaining and informative book! I listened to it on audiobook, narrated by the author.
A big part that I wasn't expecting but was interesting to hear about the author's experience with alcoholism and recovery (and makes just so much sense considering, not just the MLM culture but "wine mom" culture more broadly). This was a really entertaining and informative book! I listened to it on audiobook, narrated by the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cancer and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Time and reality melt at different points in this, just as familiar conventions blend into the bizarre. Oyamada uses the weird and uncanny to reveal very real elements of modern corporate culture and capitalism. It was very strange and captivating. I'm definitely interested to read more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Animal death and Body shaming
Minor: Sexual assault
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution: An Oral History by Walter Crasshole, Yony Leyser, Liam Warfield
informative
reflective
3.0
I was really prepared to love this book, but I came out of it having mixed emotions. There were parts of this that I really enjoyed but other parts that I didn't care for.
I had some issues with the way it was framed. I went in with some knowledge of certain groups and a lot of queer history, but still found myself lost in sections. While I appreciate how it was set up by topic, I think that not including a little bit of background before some of them was a mistake, especially since we weren't seeing people tell their parts of the story to fully understand their perspective in these moments.
Over all, I did get a lot out of this book, but I think it could have been stronger.
I had some issues with the way it was framed. I went in with some knowledge of certain groups and a lot of queer history, but still found myself lost in sections. While I appreciate how it was set up by topic, I think that not including a little bit of background before some of them was a mistake, especially since we weren't seeing people tell their parts of the story to fully understand their perspective in these moments.
Over all, I did get a lot out of this book, but I think it could have been stronger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Rape
The Man With Night Sweats by Thom Gunn
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The Man With The Night Sweats paints a vivid picture of community and isolation in 1980s San Fransisco. Overwhelming melancholy may brush against hope at times, but you can feel the shadow over everything. Most of the poems overtly about AIDS are in the last chapter, but the specter is present in each chapter. There were individual poems that were good, some that I felt less strongly about - but more than that, the collection as a whole is so intentionally curated. That flow and structure, the build up to that last chapter, makes this collection that much more powerful.
I have more thought and feelings about it, but over all, this was an incredible book.
I have more thought and feelings about it, but over all, this was an incredible book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence and Medical content