bargainbinkazbrekker's reviews
850 reviews

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam

as someone who’s trans, wants to become a history teacher, and whose always been delving into researching trans and queer histories, this was a fascinating read for me. It was a unique way of thinking and looking at history and the modern labels and definitions that can prevent possible histories from being found and explored. Researching trans and queer histories, one is always met with “we can’t know for sure so we should officially label them as queer” which is a frustrating approach and this novel tore away some of that stigma. My main qualm is that the language isn’t the most accessible and can be confusing in parts. It’s unfortunate because they’re aren’t many well known books about trans history, and there are few to known that are accessible enough for broader audiences. I’m not sure if i’ll rate this just because i can’t really find a rating i’m satisfied with. I would recommend this to people who feel as though they’re able to tackle the kind of language and writing style that is found in more academic/nonfiction writing and for those who don’t need a clear cut answer.

Pageboy by Elliot Page

4.75

Elliot Page describing multiple times the soul sucking existence of someone desperately trying to repress everything queer out themself… that hurt. Hit me right in the healing wounds. The hope that filled the final chapters gave me actual shivers, I hope he continues to find new things about his identity that bring him more and more joy and hope. 
Trans is beautiful 🧡

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

4.0

i would say that this is less scary and more foreboding and ominous but not oppressively so. if you’re looking for a scary kind of spooky book, this wouldn’t be it. My brain was sufficiently scrambled with paranoia reading this so that is at least at 4 star read 

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

3.25

as someone who’s writing a novel with a gender nonconforming Doctor and their companion whose Mute and views as more than human, this was a very special read. I loved the silly little dynamic between the Plague Doctor and the Murderous Mermaid, it was such a wonderful time. But alas, the writing style was so difficult for me to read, it was too elaborate in places and too repetitive and bland in others which made reading not as fun as i wanted. I was keenly aware that i was reading and had i not been invested in the characters for personal reasons, i probably would’ve dnfed and come back another time maybe, if i’m being honest. I did appreciate the Trans/Nonbinary rep, i love when trans identities just get to exist in fantasy worlds and aren’t tried to be explained away with magic or unhuman-ness. 
A short read for people who enjoy somewhat elaborate borderline prose for a writing style. 

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

3.75

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

5.0

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book means so much to me. I can feel my younger self healing every time I read this. An Ace aro-spec main character who is full of rage, grief, and confusion? A story that explores familial and platonic relationships and how much they can mean to a person? Showcasing love being something other than romantic and/or sexual? Shit had me crying at 2 am. This is exactly the book I needed when I was 12. 
Probably my favourite a-spec book ever.

Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection by Madeline Dyer

4.0

thank you to netgalley for sending me a ebook arc in exchange for an honest review!

with all short story collections, there’s gonna be some i love and some i don’t vibe with but i was expecting that. The amazing thing about this collection though is that even if i wasn’t vibing with the story necessarily, there was a level of representation that made this such a wonderful experience. i don’t get to see myself in SSF very often so this collection was healing. It had stories from some of my favorite authors and introduced me to new ones.

a wonderful collection of stories centred on a variety of ace identities and experiences 🧡

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

3.5

this felt very much like an intro to intersectional feminism, which is great, very important for people to read about and understand, but was a bit repetitive for me. It’s written in a very informal way which technically makes accessible but also i feel like made the messages presented feel less serious than they are. Honestly, i think my experience reading this book boils down to the way the information was chosen to be portrayed and it didn’t mesh with my personal preferred way of consuming information like this. I’m glad i read it, even if it wasn’t quite written in a way i could read and register easily.

It's Not About the Burqa by Mariam Khan

as someone who is neither a woman or muslim i don’t really feel comfortable rating this collection of personal essays by these women of faith on a numerical scale. The essays themselves were a mixed bag in quality and reception which is interesting to take into account along side the actual essays themselves.