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bashsbooks's reviews
241 reviews
We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival by Natalie West, Tina Horn
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
A must-read by anyone who supports the #MeToo movement, We Too collects the stories of a group often cast aside or maligned by mainstream feminism - sex workers of all types, across race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. In these essays, they tackle the issues that feed into the assaults of sex workers - social stigmas, the tensions between sex workers and the US government, the complicated happenings within their workplaces, their relationships with families both found and birth, and their fights for survival and healing. Several of these essays were absolutely revolutionary to me - from discussions of sex work during the pandemic to the uneasy concept many of us have of what constitutes sexual assault. My favorites were: "Your Mother Is a Whore: On Sex Work and Motherhood" by Jessie Sage, "How to Not Be an Asshole When Your Sex Worker Partner Is Assaulted at Work" by Maggie McMuffin, "Undercover Agents" by Norma Jean Almodovar, "The New Orleans Police Raid That Launched a Dancer Resistance" by Melissa Gira Grant, "What Media Coverage of James Deen's Assaults Means for Sex Workers," by Cyd Nova, "Are You Safe?" by Reese Piper, "When She Says Woman, She Does Not Mean Me," by Lorelei Lee, "Going from Homeless Trans Youth to Holistic Caregiver" by Ceyenne Doroshow with Zackary Drucker, and "We All Deserve to Heal" by Yin Q.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Stalking, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
-Whorephobia
Corpse Party: Blood Covered, Vol. 2 by Makoto Kedouin
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Admitting my biases right away - I've loved Corpse Party since I watched PewDiePie play the PSP version when I was a young teen. I've played the game myself multiple times since then. And I'm slowly but surely reading through all the manga.
So, yeah, I loved this. There are things about Corpse Party that always make me cringe, but that's not manga exclusive (and honestly, the manga improves on some of the issues - thank god for less teen panty shots).
Yoshiki and Ayumi are my favorite characters, so I was pleased to see more of them in this chapter. Love the expansion on Yoshiki's unrequited feelings for Ayumi. (Although I don't love Ayumi's character design... I feel like she's too cutified.)
The deviations from the video game's story beats has made sense so far (and they've been fairly minor).
So, yeah, I loved this. There are things about Corpse Party that always make me cringe, but that's not manga exclusive (and honestly, the manga improves on some of the issues - thank god for less teen panty shots).
Yoshiki and Ayumi are my favorite characters, so I was pleased to see more of them in this chapter. Love the expansion on Yoshiki's unrequited feelings for Ayumi. (Although I don't love Ayumi's character design... I feel like she's too cutified.)
The deviations from the video game's story beats has made sense so far (and they've been fairly minor).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Excrement, and Grief
Minor: Torture
60 Songs That Explain the '90s by Rob Harvilla
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
60 Songs That Explain the 90s is a funny and engaging tour through the top (and I mean this in the "best" sense but also the "notorious" sense) songs of the 90s. Harvilla paints the decade in lyricism and melodies, breaking down the backstories, questioning whether those matter, questioning our collective impressions of various songs and artists, and constantly reminding us that it's probably not that deep. My favorite part of this book has to be Harvilla's expertise in describing music - his metaphors are a rare and entertaining gift.
I want to say I knew about half the songs mentioned, and whether I was familiar with them or not, I was never bored. (The reason it took me so long to read this is because I frequently stopped to listen to various songs he was talking about.)
Also, he has a great voice for audiobook reading.
I want to say I knew about half the songs mentioned, and whether I was familiar with them or not, I was never bored. (The reason it took me so long to read this is because I frequently stopped to listen to various songs he was talking about.)
Also, he has a great voice for audiobook reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
I like Alive At The End Of The World... but it underwhelmed me. Jones is a talented poet, to be sure, and there were many poems in this collection that sparkled and shined ("If You Had An Off Buttom, I'd Name You Off", "Saeed, How Dare You Make Your Mother Into A Prelude", "Black Ice", "Sorry as in Pathetic", "Against Progeny", and "A Difficult Love Song for Luther Vandross", to name my favorites), but I feel like Jones doesn't trust his audience enough. He overexplains, overshares, and keeps a tight grip on your hand through the whole collection. It's understandable given the subject matter, and especially the possibility of misunderstanding something as intimate as these poems (and frankly, I feel like the Saeed, or the Other One series in this book hits on this). But it does hold the work back, unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Hate crime and Homophobia
Minor: Mass/school shootings
The King's Men by Nora Sakavic
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Reading The King's Men feels like tripping on the top step and falling all the way down. Like, when you stand up at the bottom, you're bruised everywhere and you feel kind of embarassed but secretly you're also proud of yourself for not dying?
My spouse said that it sounds like a sports anime, and I couldn't agree more. It's over-the-top and unrealistic with some things, but the important shit? The trauma, the processing, the coping, the healing... those parts are so real. Raw and jagged and, as I said before, nauseating. I felt like all of the character growth was hard-fought and well-earned, and by reflection of that, of course they had to win against the Ravens. I feel like Sakavic's style of writing about serious shit is so viseral, she crawls inside whatever festering wounds she creates and rips them from the inside out, and her descriptions are a direct result of that. I mean, the dashboard lighter bits? I could smell skin burning in the air around me.
I highly recommend this series, but Jesus Christ, watch yourself.
My spouse said that it sounds like a sports anime, and I couldn't agree more. It's over-the-top and unrealistic with some things, but the important shit? The trauma, the processing, the coping, the healing... those parts are so real. Raw and jagged and, as I said before, nauseating. I felt like all of the character growth was hard-fought and well-earned, and by reflection of that, of course they had to win against the Ravens. I feel like Sakavic's style of writing about serious shit is so viseral, she crawls inside whatever festering wounds she creates and rips them from the inside out, and her descriptions are a direct result of that. I mean, the dashboard lighter bits? I could smell skin burning in the air around me.
I highly recommend this series, but Jesus Christ, watch yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Murder
The Raven King by Nora Sakavic
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Raven King made me want to vomit (complimentary).
I cannot emphasize enough how fucked up this book is, nor how much that is a point in its favor. The characters are incredible; they're fuck-ups, they're unlikeable, they're out here doing some genuinely unpleasant things... and yet you're still rooting for them because their actions are understandable and believeable. Andrew in particular is such A Guy to me... it's been a long time since I've encountered such a mess of a character, a true, honest-to-God, not sanitized *mess*. Call me Neil because I would do anything for him.
The plot is predictable, but not in a bad way. The set-up and pay-off are satisfying.
The premise is insane, too, but it clicks really well, somehow. I remember my friends pitching it - they're a sports team for a fake sport. The mafia is involved. It's 2008. They're gay. Like how is this all going to come together? But it does. It really does.
Speaking of them being gay, Sakavic is really, really good at the slow burn, enemies-to-lovers. I enjoyed how she folded that in to this one. Pairs well with the slow burn found family.
I'm terrified of the next book. Can't wait to read it, though.
I cannot emphasize enough how fucked up this book is, nor how much that is a point in its favor. The characters are incredible; they're fuck-ups, they're unlikeable, they're out here doing some genuinely unpleasant things... and yet you're still rooting for them because their actions are understandable and believeable. Andrew in particular is such A Guy to me... it's been a long time since I've encountered such a mess of a character, a true, honest-to-God, not sanitized *mess*. Call me Neil because I would do anything for him.
The plot is predictable, but not in a bad way. The set-up and pay-off are satisfying.
The premise is insane, too, but it clicks really well, somehow. I remember my friends pitching it - they're a sports team for a fake sport. The mafia is involved. It's 2008. They're gay. Like how is this all going to come together? But it does. It really does.
Speaking of them being gay, Sakavic is really, really good at the slow burn, enemies-to-lovers. I enjoyed how she folded that in to this one. Pairs well with the slow burn found family.
I'm terrified of the next book. Can't wait to read it, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-century French Hermaphrodite by Herculine Barbin
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
2.5
This was a difficult read. I've been mulling over how to review it.
So, the story behind this text is that Michel Foucault rediscovered Herculine (also called Adélaïde, Alexina, Camille, and Abel) Barbin's memoirs in the late 70s, complied them alongside all the other documents of hers that he could find, and presented them in this book with a fictional short story that was strongly inspired by Barbin's case. Barbin was an intersex individual born in France in the 1830s, who was assigned female at birth, but then reassigned male at 22 after doctors decided that his genitals were more "male" than "female". Barbin struggled with this change (and the accompanying scandal which included the desolution of a relationship with a woman she loved) so much that he died by suicide when she was only thirty.
I include this much summary because I feel it's super relevant to the review. I don't particularly like the presentation of Barbin's memoirs next to all the medical and literary fascination with her. Foucault seems to have some sympathy, but not enough to present the memoirs alone - maybe he felt some sort of scientific obligation to include the (frankly gross, in my opinion) delight that doctors took in exploring and documenting the details of Barbin's genitalia, as if he were not a person but a tool for discovery. I don't think it was necessary to do that - the information Barbin feels comfortable sharing in the memoirs is more than enough. (And related, I don't think we need Foucault to dox all the people and places that Barbin intentionally made anonymous.) The inclusion of the fictional scandal story at the end adds insult to injury - one of the characters is literally named Alexina, and she has a very similar love affair and body configuration to the real Barbin. So. I didn't like all that.
But I do feel that the actual text of Barbin's memoirs is important. I felt deeply for him (and related to him a lot - apparently being your partner's awkward girl boyriend at a family gather is not a new experience). I'm sad that we only have the parts of it that some doctor felt like keeping; I'd have loved to read all that she wanted to share with us.
So like 0/5 for the surrounding treatment but 5/5 for Barbin's writing. I hope that in the future there is a rerelease of Barbin's writing where they treat him with more humanity.
So, the story behind this text is that Michel Foucault rediscovered Herculine (also called Adélaïde, Alexina, Camille, and Abel) Barbin's memoirs in the late 70s, complied them alongside all the other documents of hers that he could find, and presented them in this book with a fictional short story that was strongly inspired by Barbin's case. Barbin was an intersex individual born in France in the 1830s, who was assigned female at birth, but then reassigned male at 22 after doctors decided that his genitals were more "male" than "female". Barbin struggled with this change (and the accompanying scandal which included the desolution of a relationship with a woman she loved) so much that he died by suicide when she was only thirty.
I include this much summary because I feel it's super relevant to the review. I don't particularly like the presentation of Barbin's memoirs next to all the medical and literary fascination with her. Foucault seems to have some sympathy, but not enough to present the memoirs alone - maybe he felt some sort of scientific obligation to include the (frankly gross, in my opinion) delight that doctors took in exploring and documenting the details of Barbin's genitalia, as if he were not a person but a tool for discovery. I don't think it was necessary to do that - the information Barbin feels comfortable sharing in the memoirs is more than enough. (And related, I don't think we need Foucault to dox all the people and places that Barbin intentionally made anonymous.) The inclusion of the fictional scandal story at the end adds insult to injury - one of the characters is literally named Alexina, and she has a very similar love affair and body configuration to the real Barbin. So. I didn't like all that.
But I do feel that the actual text of Barbin's memoirs is important. I felt deeply for him (and related to him a lot - apparently being your partner's awkward girl boyriend at a family gather is not a new experience). I'm sad that we only have the parts of it that some doctor felt like keeping; I'd have loved to read all that she wanted to share with us.
So like 0/5 for the surrounding treatment but 5/5 for Barbin's writing. I hope that in the future there is a rerelease of Barbin's writing where they treat him with more humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Outing
Minor: Sexual content
-INTERSEXISM
Backwoods Witchcraft: Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia by Jake Richards
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I've very picky about witchcraft books. It feels like a subject that can be rife with grift and stolen without credit from the actual people who created and cared for it.
But Richards doesn't strike me as a grifter or a thief - he's extremely upfront about the rocky history of Appalachia, about how many of our own ancestors (particularly for us white folks) undoubtedly participated in the awful history of the region and the nation at large. I especially appreciated his thoughts on how to reconcile this with ancestor veneration. He seems very willing to mark what practices came from which cultures, if he knows the answer. I think sometimes he definitely gets that wrong (I know a lot about Ireland and Scotland, and sometimes he combines traditions and languages - for example, uisce beatha is Irish, not Gaelic (which generally refers to Scottish Gaelic - it's uisge beatha, with a g, in that language) and it means whiskey, not moonshine), and while I don't know as much about the Cherokee, I suspect he sometimes uses them as a catch-all for all the local indigenous people. But he's also upfront about how he's sharing what he knows from his roots, and he never claims to be an expert on anything but his own experience, which I find refreshing.
All in all, I found this to be a thoughtful and nuanced description of the folkcraft traditions of the region my ancestors are from (Richards is from eastern Tennessee, like my great-grandfather; my father's family now resides in the mountains of southwestern Virginia), and I would like to get my own copy eventually, for reference and further research.
(Also, it's based how many charms there are for keeping the law away.)
But Richards doesn't strike me as a grifter or a thief - he's extremely upfront about the rocky history of Appalachia, about how many of our own ancestors (particularly for us white folks) undoubtedly participated in the awful history of the region and the nation at large. I especially appreciated his thoughts on how to reconcile this with ancestor veneration. He seems very willing to mark what practices came from which cultures, if he knows the answer. I think sometimes he definitely gets that wrong (I know a lot about Ireland and Scotland, and sometimes he combines traditions and languages - for example, uisce beatha is Irish, not Gaelic (which generally refers to Scottish Gaelic - it's uisge beatha, with a g, in that language) and it means whiskey, not moonshine), and while I don't know as much about the Cherokee, I suspect he sometimes uses them as a catch-all for all the local indigenous people. But he's also upfront about how he's sharing what he knows from his roots, and he never claims to be an expert on anything but his own experience, which I find refreshing.
All in all, I found this to be a thoughtful and nuanced description of the folkcraft traditions of the region my ancestors are from (Richards is from eastern Tennessee, like my great-grandfather; my father's family now resides in the mountains of southwestern Virginia), and I would like to get my own copy eventually, for reference and further research.
(Also, it's based how many charms there are for keeping the law away.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Eat the World by Marina Diamandis
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
2.25
This is another entry in my longstanding project of assessing the poetry of songwriters to see if I can figure out the distinctions (if there even are any - I believe there are, but I respect how subjective that take is) between poems and songs. (This is an offshoot of a larger project that centers around what non-poet career produces the best poets.)
Eat The World suggests to me once again that the "supports" of song lift up language differently than the "supports" of poetry - Diamandis is very good at supplimenting her lyrics with her ear-catching croon and a host of well-chosen instrumentals. She is not quite as good at using the space and shapes of poetry to this advantage, however. Like many other songwriters-turned-poets, I find her a little too direct and a little too overwrought. It's like, take away the music and they pour out too much to fit in what they perceive as empty space (which is also why I don't think she's that great at *playing* with poetic space - she seems to see it solely silence).
I will say, though, that Eat The World illuminated a possible confounding variable in my aforementioned projects. I think, regardless of medium, Diamandis was a better writer ten years ago. So I have to wonder, would her poetry have read better to me if she'd released a book like this back then? Perhaps. But of course that's as impossible as a question as if I wondered about liking her music if I first heard it now.
Eat The World suggests to me once again that the "supports" of song lift up language differently than the "supports" of poetry - Diamandis is very good at supplimenting her lyrics with her ear-catching croon and a host of well-chosen instrumentals. She is not quite as good at using the space and shapes of poetry to this advantage, however. Like many other songwriters-turned-poets, I find her a little too direct and a little too overwrought. It's like, take away the music and they pour out too much to fit in what they perceive as empty space (which is also why I don't think she's that great at *playing* with poetic space - she seems to see it solely silence).
I will say, though, that Eat The World illuminated a possible confounding variable in my aforementioned projects. I think, regardless of medium, Diamandis was a better writer ten years ago. So I have to wonder, would her poetry have read better to me if she'd released a book like this back then? Perhaps. But of course that's as impossible as a question as if I wondered about liking her music if I first heard it now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is difficult for me to rate. This is because if I take off my nostalgia-coated glasses, it's trash. Interesting and fun trash (uh, mostly, some of it is offensive and tasteless and kind of always has been), but still. And also, sometimes it's annoying (I do not like the alliteration thing).
However, I LOOOVED the Dexter TV show as a teenager, and that really boosts the book's quality - especially given that I most enjoyed comparing the book to what I remember from the show (the plot is similar but the characterizations are different so that's neat).
So, I settled on 3 stars because I had fun, but I wouldn't say it's actually that good if you didn't hyperfixate on the show at 16. And yes, I will probably read the other ones.
However, I LOOOVED the Dexter TV show as a teenager, and that really boosts the book's quality - especially given that I most enjoyed comparing the book to what I remember from the show (the plot is similar but the characterizations are different so that's neat).
So, I settled on 3 stars because I had fun, but I wouldn't say it's actually that good if you didn't hyperfixate on the show at 16. And yes, I will probably read the other ones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Racism, Vomit, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Classism
-Whorephobia