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hflh's reviews
49 reviews
Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose
challenging
slow-paced
2.5
Part poetry, part interviews in the form of a giant zine.
I wanted to like this much more than I did. The art and features are lovely, but two things made it hard for me to enjoy. The large chunks of handwritten font made it difficult, almost painful to read. More frustrating, most of the interviews read like a small portion in the middle of a conversation, so it was hard to follow or really get invested in some of the pieces.
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Cool world with good character potential diminished by a slow plot (and I usually like slow) and the most mustache-twirly villain speech I’ve seen in adult fiction.
That being said, the world is very compelling and I like the characters. I’m hoping this is a good set up for a stronger second book.
That being said, the world is very compelling and I like the characters. I’m hoping this is a good set up for a stronger second book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, War, and Child abuse
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This one’s for the tarot gays.
Jordan and Astrid were cute. I liked the slow-burn enemies to friends to lovers. My biggest struggle is that what I
most liked about Delilah’s story was the unpacking of her past and family. This one is more romance focused (which is fair; it is a romance), and the ‘baggage’ Astrid and Jordan each have to work through was leas interesting to me. I was also disappointed that Astrid was the only one that had to take accountability.
Jordan and Astrid were cute. I liked the slow-burn enemies to friends to lovers. My biggest struggle is that what I
most liked about Delilah’s story was the unpacking of her past and family. This one is more romance focused (which is fair; it is a romance), and the ‘baggage’ Astrid and Jordan each have to work through was leas interesting to me. I was also disappointed that Astrid was the only one that had to take accountability.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book was fine. I liked most of the twist as a concept, but the characters felt a bit one-note and the book revolves around a trope that I have no interest in.
Big spoilers:This is the messy platonic love story of two old friends after one gets diagnosed with cancer
Big spoilers:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Vomit
Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn
doxxing, forced pregnancy, overdose
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Ok. I really enjoyed this book, BUT I think it will disappoint a lot of readers.
It’s simple and on-the-nose (buzzwords included), has flat characters with a tidy plot, and you have to suspend some disbelief. If you’re looking for a nuanced, in-depth critique on climate, gender, capitalism, and white feminism — you’ll be disappointed.
BUT sometimes you need just want to turn off your brain and jump in and this did that for me. There are some really interesting and fucked up elements in this dystopian world that kept me engaged and the cartoonishly evil billionaire was a good laugh.
I’d encourage readers to go in blind, but the villain reads like a bossbabe trying to build a paradise created by J.K. Rowling and a beige mom .
NOTE: while there’s lots of queer rep, one of the blurbs on the book says it’s found family but I don’t think this will scratch your found family itch.
NOTE: while there’s lots of queer rep, one of the blurbs on the book says it’s found family but I don’t think this will scratch your found family itch.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug use, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Vomit, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol, Ableism, Mental illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
Some frustrating inconsistencies for me, but a solid book. Straightforward, exciting, and sometimes gruesome. Would read again.
Some readers will be turned off by scientific rambling on topics from ecology to computer science; printed graphs of computer screens and lines of code; and several cautionary, moralizing monologues about scientific progress.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Alcohol, Sexism, and Vomit
Sustainable Web Design by Tom Greenwood
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Excellent resource. Concise, comprehensive, hopeful, practical, and accessible.
I found lots of tips and tools that I can easily and immediately implement on my own website.
Some of the more techy stuff went over my head, but the writing style was accessible and I followed most of the content despite having no experience in web design or other tech fields.
I found lots of tips and tools that I can easily and immediately implement on my own website.
Some of the more techy stuff went over my head, but the writing style was accessible and I followed most of the content despite having no experience in web design or other tech fields.
Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service by Tajja Isen
2.75
A collection of consistent, well-written essays critiquing cultures of lip service, focusing on the industries of voice acting, publishing, and law.
Isen’s critiques are solid but her arguments can be tangential and writing style monotonous so it can be easy to get lost in the argument, especially if you don’t have background knowledge of the industries discussed.
I have seen some reviews wishing the book offered more solutions and I disagree. There is a place for pieces that critique without providing solutions—also, it’s not Isen’s job to solve these problems.
I could not stand the last essay, which focused on exploring Canadian culture and national identity and Canada's obsession with the U.S. I had no problem with the content. It would have been a good essay on it’s own (with some editing), but it was was jarringly off-theme and rambly.
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen
informative
4.25
This book is well-researched, empathetic, and intersectional. Chen teaches readers about the ace community and provides both ace and allo folks tools to understand their relationships with sex and reflect on sex-related societal pressures.
Chen brings in interviews throughout the book, but there is definitely less emphasis on asexual experiences and more emphasis on unpacking societal expectations around sex and romance, how sex is overvalued and how non-sexual and non-romantic relationships are devalued, and calls to action to change the ways we operate.
You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
informative
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
There is some interesting stuff here - about 7-12% for me. The rest was musings that felt redundant and drawn out. There is a lot of "the internet is ruining everything" and "we're so politically divided nowadays and should listen to other opinions more", which are fine points to make, but Murphy makes them repeatedly and with little nuance.
Murphy makes a lot of broad, bold claims without backing them up and uses research to support her arguments when the data isn't really there (see final comment for an example). I loved the use of interviews and other's experiences as evidence, but I question the credibility of someone that presents examples from a scripted radio show as if they are real, experiential evidence. I guess this is to be expected from a pop-psych book but, after hearing Murphy talk about how good a listener she is from her years of journalism, I was expecting better reporting on facts.
The introductory chapters present some ableist ideas on communication (that are also just ignorant of different communication styles across culture), but the remainder of the book had much less of this.
For example, Murphy cites research that found deaf schoolchildren struggled to identify emotions more than their hearing peers, implying that the children developed empathy slower because they couldn't hear and not because—maybe—they had less opportunities for social development or were not as attuned to hearing-culture norms because they were isolated from their hearing peers??
Murphy makes a lot of broad, bold claims without backing them up and uses research to support her arguments when the data isn't really there (see final comment for an example). I loved the use of interviews and other's experiences as evidence, but I question the credibility of someone that presents examples from a scripted radio show as if they are real, experiential evidence. I guess this is to be expected from a pop-psych book but, after hearing Murphy talk about how good a listener she is from her years of journalism, I was expecting better reporting on facts.
The introductory chapters present some ableist ideas on communication (that are also just ignorant of different communication styles across culture), but the remainder of the book had much less of this.
For example, Murphy cites research that found deaf schoolchildren struggled to identify emotions more than their hearing peers, implying that the children developed empathy slower because they couldn't hear and not because—maybe—they had less opportunities for social development or were not as attuned to hearing-culture norms because they were isolated from their hearing peers??
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism