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libbysbookshelf's Reviews (745)
NEVADA by IMOGEN BINNIE
It’s hard to write this review because this book is so much more than the sum of its parts. But to help me get started, I’ll detail those parts:
- a trans woman struggling to form meaningful relationships and find joy in life
- drug abuse
- a young man struggling to form meaningful relationships and find joy in life
- drug abuse
- gender theory
- queer theory
That’s what I have. In terms of plot and storytelling and characterisation, the second half was much more compelling, however I would be remiss to judge this book on that alone.
It can function as a handbook for trans or trans-questioning people because it is full of theories and ideas from an experienced trans person. But it can also function as a kind of coming of age/coming of gender story set in New York and Nevada.
Torrey Peters of the Detransition, Baby fame suggests that this book started the trans writing scene, and it’s clear to see that Peters was inspired by this.
If you are trans, or think you might be trans, then I think this book will be eye opening. If you want to be an ally, and/or enjoy reading about different experiences, then you’ll also enjoy this. Or, like, whatever (as Binnie would say).
#imogenbinnie #nevadabook #translit #trans #book #pagesofpride #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
It’s hard to write this review because this book is so much more than the sum of its parts. But to help me get started, I’ll detail those parts:
- a trans woman struggling to form meaningful relationships and find joy in life
- drug abuse
- a young man struggling to form meaningful relationships and find joy in life
- drug abuse
- gender theory
- queer theory
That’s what I have. In terms of plot and storytelling and characterisation, the second half was much more compelling, however I would be remiss to judge this book on that alone.
It can function as a handbook for trans or trans-questioning people because it is full of theories and ideas from an experienced trans person. But it can also function as a kind of coming of age/coming of gender story set in New York and Nevada.
Torrey Peters of the Detransition, Baby fame suggests that this book started the trans writing scene, and it’s clear to see that Peters was inspired by this.
If you are trans, or think you might be trans, then I think this book will be eye opening. If you want to be an ally, and/or enjoy reading about different experiences, then you’ll also enjoy this. Or, like, whatever (as Binnie would say).
#imogenbinnie #nevadabook #translit #trans #book #pagesofpride #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
THE RENTAL HEART by KIRSTY LOGAN
A short story collection with a dark fairy tale twist. This was really good. And a great read for pride.
Logan writes beautifully and is able to reimagine voices and stories effortlessly.
#pride #lesbianliterature #pagesofpride #bookstagramitalia #bookstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #book #bookreview #shortstory #kirstylogan #therentalheart #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookreading #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
A short story collection with a dark fairy tale twist. This was really good. And a great read for pride.
Logan writes beautifully and is able to reimagine voices and stories effortlessly.
#pride #lesbianliterature #pagesofpride #bookstagramitalia #bookstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #book #bookreview #shortstory #kirstylogan #therentalheart #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookreading #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Not sure if you’ve heard of this little-known writer from the midlands, but he’s quite good with his words. He even throws in the odd bit of iambic pentameter every now and then.
Seriously, though, this was my first experience reading Shakespeare on my own, without a class, and without the film playing in the background. It was actually really fun. I haven’t read around this play properly yet, but I feel like it’s got lots of layers, and I can’t wait to peel them back.
10 Things I Hate About You is based on this play, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which character was which, and which plot point was which. There’s even a bit in the play where Petrucchio sings and I knew instantly the bit it linked to in the movie! Do you know the bit I mean?
Anyway, great play, great writer. You should check him out some time.
#book #play #thetamingoftheshrew #williamshakespeare #shakespeare #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewersofinstagram
Not sure if you’ve heard of this little-known writer from the midlands, but he’s quite good with his words. He even throws in the odd bit of iambic pentameter every now and then.
Seriously, though, this was my first experience reading Shakespeare on my own, without a class, and without the film playing in the background. It was actually really fun. I haven’t read around this play properly yet, but I feel like it’s got lots of layers, and I can’t wait to peel them back.
10 Things I Hate About You is based on this play, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which character was which, and which plot point was which. There’s even a bit in the play where Petrucchio sings and I knew instantly the bit it linked to in the movie! Do you know the bit I mean?
Anyway, great play, great writer. You should check him out some time.
#book #play #thetamingoftheshrew #williamshakespeare #shakespeare #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecs #bookreviewersofinstagram
THE BOOK OF GOOSE by YIYUN LI
AD PR
The quickest and best way to describe this would be: the French version of My Brilliant Friend and Catch the Rabbit.
A French woman, now living in America, looks back on her life in a small French farming village with her wild and unruly best friend. One day the friend, Fabienne, decides to write a book (age 13) but her handwriting isn’t as good as our narrator’s, so she gets her to write it down. But they’re both only 13, so they enlist the help of the recently widowed postman to get the book published. Adventure, cruelty, boundary-pushing, love, decisions, growth and development ensue.
I really loved this book. I can’t wait for others to read it and discuss.
Thanks to @4thestatebooks and @mattclacher for another beautiful proof. I adore the cover of this, and the full cover on the book that’s coming out in September is even more beautiful.
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramitalia #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #bookreaders #thebookofgoose #yiyunli
AD PR
The quickest and best way to describe this would be: the French version of My Brilliant Friend and Catch the Rabbit.
A French woman, now living in America, looks back on her life in a small French farming village with her wild and unruly best friend. One day the friend, Fabienne, decides to write a book (age 13) but her handwriting isn’t as good as our narrator’s, so she gets her to write it down. But they’re both only 13, so they enlist the help of the recently widowed postman to get the book published. Adventure, cruelty, boundary-pushing, love, decisions, growth and development ensue.
I really loved this book. I can’t wait for others to read it and discuss.
Thanks to @4thestatebooks and @mattclacher for another beautiful proof. I adore the cover of this, and the full cover on the book that’s coming out in September is even more beautiful.
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramitalia #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #bookreaders #thebookofgoose #yiyunli
AFFINITY by SARAH WATERS
Largely set in a women’s prison in Victorian London, this novel follows a ‘spinster’ (what we’d call thirty, flirty and thriving in this day and age [thriving might be a push, actually]). Anyway, she’s unmarried and a hardly-closeted lesbian = escandolo! But she’s trying to sort out her mental health so she starts volunteering at a women’s prison. Here is where she meets a prisoner who communes with spirits and brings back their messages and trinkets to share with the living.
Story-telling is Waters’s game and she’s killing it as per. I don’t often read books that are so plot heavy, so I was a bit like, ‘woah, this is plotty.’ But she’s one of the best in the biz, so I was in safe hands.
Wish there had been more lesbian content a la Tipping the Velvet, but, other than that, it was a solid read.
#book #bookstagram #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreaders #bookreviewersofinstagram #sarahwaters #sarahwatersaffinity #pagesforpride #pagesofpride #lesbianbook #lesbianpride #lesbianliterature #queerliterature
Largely set in a women’s prison in Victorian London, this novel follows a ‘spinster’ (what we’d call thirty, flirty and thriving in this day and age [thriving might be a push, actually]). Anyway, she’s unmarried and a hardly-closeted lesbian = escandolo! But she’s trying to sort out her mental health so she starts volunteering at a women’s prison. Here is where she meets a prisoner who communes with spirits and brings back their messages and trinkets to share with the living.
Story-telling is Waters’s game and she’s killing it as per. I don’t often read books that are so plot heavy, so I was a bit like, ‘woah, this is plotty.’ But she’s one of the best in the biz, so I was in safe hands.
Wish there had been more lesbian content a la Tipping the Velvet, but, other than that, it was a solid read.
#book #bookstagram #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookrecommendations #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreviewers #bookreaders #bookreviewersofinstagram #sarahwaters #sarahwatersaffinity #pagesforpride #pagesofpride #lesbianbook #lesbianpride #lesbianliterature #queerliterature
WATCHING WOMEN AND GIRLS by DANIELLE PENDER
Thank you for this @4thestatebooks ad pr.
Believe the hype around this short story collection. Everything they’re saying is true. This collection is a feminist dream!
PENDER has taken issues that affect women and young girls, and mixed them up with some dry wit, humour, and irony to create an outstanding array of stories. This book can act as a handbook to women on how to survive patriarchal society, or it can act as a catharsis for women who’ve experienced misogynistic bull shit too many times to count.
I think it’s brilliant and I’ll be shouting about it far and wide!
It’s also a good feminist education alternative to nonfiction for people who prefer to read fiction, but still want to be educated in real-life feminist issues.
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecommendation #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #daniellepender #4thestate #watchingwomenandgirls #shortstory
Thank you for this @4thestatebooks ad pr.
Believe the hype around this short story collection. Everything they’re saying is true. This collection is a feminist dream!
PENDER has taken issues that affect women and young girls, and mixed them up with some dry wit, humour, and irony to create an outstanding array of stories. This book can act as a handbook to women on how to survive patriarchal society, or it can act as a catharsis for women who’ve experienced misogynistic bull shit too many times to count.
I think it’s brilliant and I’ll be shouting about it far and wide!
It’s also a good feminist education alternative to nonfiction for people who prefer to read fiction, but still want to be educated in real-life feminist issues.
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecommendation #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers #daniellepender #4thestate #watchingwomenandgirls #shortstory
ANIMALS AT NIGHT by NAOMI BOOTH
AD PR @deadinkbooks @jordtaylorjones
Read this book when residing in a house in the middle of nowhere, with no car, and no sign of human life in the vicinity. With the sounds of wild dogs and the constant fear that a snake is just waiting to rear its head every time you step outside. Go on. I dare you…
Needless to say, these short stories were not read at night. The only sound of animals I was interested in was the incessant trill of the birds. Even that started to grate when reading short stories about gruesome animals, heavily laden with metaphor. I mean that in the best way!
This collection was brilliant. I am so grateful that I received a proof and I urge all you weird short story loving types to go out and find a copy of this. You’ll love the twitching roadkill and scratching rats and spooked cows. Go on. I dare you to read it!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecommendation #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #animalsatnight #naomibooth #deadinkbooks #shorystory #shortstories
AD PR @deadinkbooks @jordtaylorjones
Read this book when residing in a house in the middle of nowhere, with no car, and no sign of human life in the vicinity. With the sounds of wild dogs and the constant fear that a snake is just waiting to rear its head every time you step outside. Go on. I dare you…
Needless to say, these short stories were not read at night. The only sound of animals I was interested in was the incessant trill of the birds. Even that started to grate when reading short stories about gruesome animals, heavily laden with metaphor. I mean that in the best way!
This collection was brilliant. I am so grateful that I received a proof and I urge all you weird short story loving types to go out and find a copy of this. You’ll love the twitching roadkill and scratching rats and spooked cows. Go on. I dare you to read it!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecommendation #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreaders #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #animalsatnight #naomibooth #deadinkbooks #shorystory #shortstories
TRANSLATIONS by BRIAN FRIEL
I read a play about Ireland and The Troubles. It was good.
I loved the stuff about communication and translation and language. The characters who spoke Greek and Latin were brilliant. And I love that love transcends language in this play.
Lots of beautiful stuff in a very ugly time #fuckthecolonizers
#book #play #translationsbrianfriel #brianfriel #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers
I read a play about Ireland and The Troubles. It was good.
I loved the stuff about communication and translation and language. The characters who spoke Greek and Latin were brilliant. And I love that love transcends language in this play.
Lots of beautiful stuff in a very ugly time #fuckthecolonizers
#book #play #translationsbrianfriel #brianfriel #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookrecommendation #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookreviewers
BRIEFLY, A DELICIOUS LIFE by NELL STEVENS
Thank you so so so so much to @pridebooktours for choosing me for this @picadorbooks book tour! I’ve discovered a new favourite because of you ❤️ AD PR
The novel is set in the nineteenth century (and the fourteenth century) and follows a ghost who haunts a monastery and some of its perverted inhabitants who prey on young girls. Sounds excellent so far, right?
But then one day, George Sand and Frederic Chopin move in with Sand’s two young children. Yes, Chopin as in the famous composer. And yes, Sand as in the famous French female writer who dressed and behaved as a man (escandalo!).
Well obviously, the ghost falls head over heels in love with George Sand, and so begins our sapphic ghost story.
I could write a ten page love letter to this book, but instead I’ll leave you with that tantalising plot summary and implore you to read it for yourself. It’s fun and its big heart is in exactly the right place.
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #nellstevens #brieflyadeliciouslife #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
Thank you so so so so much to @pridebooktours for choosing me for this @picadorbooks book tour! I’ve discovered a new favourite because of you ❤️ AD PR
The novel is set in the nineteenth century (and the fourteenth century) and follows a ghost who haunts a monastery and some of its perverted inhabitants who prey on young girls. Sounds excellent so far, right?
But then one day, George Sand and Frederic Chopin move in with Sand’s two young children. Yes, Chopin as in the famous composer. And yes, Sand as in the famous French female writer who dressed and behaved as a man (escandalo!).
Well obviously, the ghost falls head over heels in love with George Sand, and so begins our sapphic ghost story.
I could write a ten page love letter to this book, but instead I’ll leave you with that tantalising plot summary and implore you to read it for yourself. It’s fun and its big heart is in exactly the right place.
#book #bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookstagrammers #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #nellstevens #brieflyadeliciouslife #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram
NEW ANIMAL by ELLA BAXTER
Packed full of Australian charm, dark humour and kink, this novel novel is about a young woman dealing with grief after a tragic loss.
Initially, she enjoys casual sex with strangers from the internet, but as her grief increases, so does her desire for new sexual experiences, and she ends up stumbling upon the BDSM scene.
You may not laugh out loud while reading this, but you will mutter ‘wtf’ under your breath multiple times. You may wonder if you’re enjoying what you’re reading, before deciding that it is the perfect blend of randomness, kink, sadness and love.
I would die for this cover alone! Add in the quirkiness that lurks within its pages, and you’ve got yourself a winner!
I know at least one of you who needs to read this asap (you know who you are!), but I’m sure many others will be intrigued!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #newanimal #ellabaxter
Packed full of Australian charm, dark humour and kink, this novel novel is about a young woman dealing with grief after a tragic loss.
Initially, she enjoys casual sex with strangers from the internet, but as her grief increases, so does her desire for new sexual experiences, and she ends up stumbling upon the BDSM scene.
You may not laugh out loud while reading this, but you will mutter ‘wtf’ under your breath multiple times. You may wonder if you’re enjoying what you’re reading, before deciding that it is the perfect blend of randomness, kink, sadness and love.
I would die for this cover alone! Add in the quirkiness that lurks within its pages, and you’ve got yourself a winner!
I know at least one of you who needs to read this asap (you know who you are!), but I’m sure many others will be intrigued!
#book #bookstagram #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammer #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookrec #bookreviewers #bookreviewersofinstagram #newanimal #ellabaxter