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frednamode's reviews
43 reviews
Coming Out to Parents: A Two-Way Survival Guide for Lesbians and Gay Men and Their Parents by Mary V. Borhek
informative
1.5
Jfc this book has aged badly :/
There are much better books on coming out available. Don’t waste your time on this.
Borhek tells you that you shouldn’t feel guilty for being gay and then follows that with 300 pages about how you can grieve with your parents over your decision to come out.
The tone is completely wrong. Sure, religious parents unfortunately need more time to come to terms with a gay child, but it is not that child’s responsibility to deal with the parents.
The parents’ reactions are understandable but that doesn’t mean they are in the right. Borhek should not make me feel like I need to please my parents and hide my gayness until they come to terms with it (if they ever do). She should be saying that ultimately if my parents are not okay, it’s not the end of the world and I have other options. She should not be trying to convince me to baby some emotionally toxic people when it will clearly do me harm.
Let me make this clear: It’s okay to walk away from family if being around them hurts you. That doesn’t make you selfish. That makes you strong, and that makes you brave.
There are much better books on coming out available. Don’t waste your time on this.
Borhek tells you that you shouldn’t feel guilty for being gay and then follows that with 300 pages about how you can grieve with your parents over your decision to come out.
The tone is completely wrong. Sure, religious parents unfortunately need more time to come to terms with a gay child, but it is not that child’s responsibility to deal with the parents.
The parents’ reactions are understandable but that doesn’t mean they are in the right. Borhek should not make me feel like I need to please my parents and hide my gayness until they come to terms with it (if they ever do). She should be saying that ultimately if my parents are not okay, it’s not the end of the world and I have other options. She should not be trying to convince me to baby some emotionally toxic people when it will clearly do me harm.
Let me make this clear: It’s okay to walk away from family if being around them hurts you. That doesn’t make you selfish. That makes you strong, and that makes you brave.
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.75
Cirque du freak is a classic, not just for kids but all ages! Love it
Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
BE WARNED: PREPARE FOR HOMOPHOBIC CHARACTERS
I really squirmed at the way some of the men talked about lesbianism. Their views were so uncomfortably realistic. We’ve all met those men in our lives, and Ali Smith captured their attitudes so perfectly it hurt to read.
I love a queer romance with a happy ending!!
Ovid originally wrote it with the underlying idea that a woman wasn’t enough to please another woman. Ali Smith doesn’t tiptoe around saying that is absolutely not true!
Two characters stood out to me: Burning Lily, and Robin.
Strong non-male characters with strong feminist motives and no care for the law. I was jumping up and down with excitement at the anarchy they caused. I want to be just like them.
I really squirmed at the way some of the men talked about lesbianism. Their views were so uncomfortably realistic. We’ve all met those men in our lives, and Ali Smith captured their attitudes so perfectly it hurt to read.
I love a queer romance with a happy ending!!
Ovid originally wrote it with the underlying idea that a woman wasn’t enough to please another woman. Ali Smith doesn’t tiptoe around saying that is absolutely not true!
Two characters stood out to me: Burning Lily, and Robin.
Strong non-male characters with strong feminist motives and no care for the law. I was jumping up and down with excitement at the anarchy they caused. I want to be just like them.
The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
the monologues themselves:
It sure tried to shock me on every page with a new taboo topic surrounding women's bodies. Some of the monologues made me smile, others left me horrified. I imagine a lot the awe is lost when it's written down, so for the full effect I recommend seeing the show.
If everyone thought like Eve, we wouldn't need a book like this, but sadly with the appalling number of women being sexually assaulted everyday, unable to speak out, we NEED this movement!
the rest of the book:
The second half of the book really brought it down. Message after message about how people had been inspired. It started out great, but by the tenth one I was bored. There's only so many times i can read 'this changed my life' or 'the audience was stunned' before I really don't care how many sold out shows some university held.
tldr; if you're the sort of person to pick fights with conservative over abortion rights then this will be fuel to your raging feminist fire!! goddess speed you!!
It sure tried to shock me on every page with a new taboo topic surrounding women's bodies. Some of the monologues made me smile, others left me horrified. I imagine a lot the awe is lost when it's written down, so for the full effect I recommend seeing the show.
If everyone thought like Eve, we wouldn't need a book like this, but sadly with the appalling number of women being sexually assaulted everyday, unable to speak out, we NEED this movement!
the rest of the book:
The second half of the book really brought it down. Message after message about how people had been inspired. It started out great, but by the tenth one I was bored. There's only so many times i can read 'this changed my life' or 'the audience was stunned' before I really don't care how many sold out shows some university held.
tldr; if you're the sort of person to pick fights with conservative over abortion rights then this will be fuel to your raging feminist fire!! goddess speed you!!
My Point... And I Do Have One by Ellen DeGeneres
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.0
I have so much respect for Ellen and everything she has done for the lgbt+ community but I can’t give this more than 2 stars because I didn’t find it funny. She was trying far too hard to make people laugh and it felt embarrassing.
Add to that, the references she makes are completely lost on me. (This I can forgive because it was written shortly before I was born)
This wouldn’t hold up to a modern audience’s standard for comedy so unless you’re a white American housewife who can’t help but scream ‘I love you ellen’ when part of the live studio audience, type I wouldn’t recommend this book.
Add to that, the references she makes are completely lost on me. (This I can forgive because it was written shortly before I was born)
This wouldn’t hold up to a modern audience’s standard for comedy so unless you’re a white American housewife who can’t help but scream ‘I love you ellen’ when part of the live studio audience, type I wouldn’t recommend this book.
Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick by Harmony Nice
informative
medium-paced
2.25
Watered down and doesn't contain anything you can't find from a quick google, but for an absolute beginner or a fan of the author's Youtube channel, it's a place to get a gentle feel for how she practises Wicca.
Some passages are unnecessarily long lists rather than prose, and some chapters feel completely besides the point of the message. Lists of deities, herbs, moons, signs, would be fine if this were a reference book or encyclopedia, but as this is meant to be read from front to back, I found those lists breaking up the already weak flow of the chapters.
It can't do any harm, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend. Try Buckland or Cunningham for some real information or any number of other books out there that will contain all of this information and more in a more condensed form.
Some passages are unnecessarily long lists rather than prose, and some chapters feel completely besides the point of the message. Lists of deities, herbs, moons, signs, would be fine if this were a reference book or encyclopedia, but as this is meant to be read from front to back, I found those lists breaking up the already weak flow of the chapters.
It can't do any harm, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend. Try Buckland or Cunningham for some real information or any number of other books out there that will contain all of this information and more in a more condensed form.