rainbopagn's reviews
126 reviews

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein

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emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

3.75

Overall I enjoyed the audiobook. The author reading it makes it feel like you are having a conversation with someone. I appreciated that she recognized that her terms might be outdated, but at the same time she used what felt right for herself. The humor hit well and this provides a valuable look at transgender lives that is still so needed in 2024. 
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Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

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hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

This selection of essays is important representation of disability and the many forms it can take. Each perspective brings something a little different to the conversation and I find that Wong did well in editing and choosing the order of them. That said, this is a hard read for anyone who is disabled or has a disabled loved one. Some of the essays are a brutal look at eugenics, ableism and more. 
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You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue

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3.0

I had to switch to the audiobook to be able to finish this. I am not sure if there is something lost in the translation, but each character is identified by two or three different things; sometimes first or last name, some times title, and that makes it incredibly hard to follow. 

The biggest problem I had with the book itself and why I had to switch to audio is the fact that there is no separation between the text and when someone is speaking. It is hard to tell when something is being thought versus being spoken and by whom. 

SPOILERS
The ending being semi open doesn't accomplish what I think the author intended. If he intended for this to be the "what if" of Cortez's mission failing and the Maya Empire surviving him, then it is too ambiguous. 
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Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kröger, Melanie R. Anderson

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informative slow-paced

2.75

While informative, the book feels rushed. The introductions to the subgenres are the most lengthy sections of the book and the women themselves often only get what amounts to 3-4 pages (in the Kindle edition). It is a surface level look at the history of women in speculative fiction and I wish the author took a deeper look at the topics chosen and then cultural views that drove them. 
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced

3.0

Gay's rambling style tends well to an essay format. I did find that some of the essays should have been combined as there were times I felt she went over the same territory. You can tell that she is an older Black woman as some of the language reflects terms that are outdated. It is a brutally honest look at life and feminism, though and her perspective is still very much valid and needed today.
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a beautiful memoir that is a testament to both queer joy and what it means to have a supportive family. It brings to the conversation the intersection of Blackness and gender identity and how those two are often not looked at in the same conversations. There is no sugar coating here and the author is very honest in what life for a Black queer person looks like. His refusal to put himself in a specific gender box also provides representation to queer kids and teens that gender is indeed a spectrum and labels aren't always necessary. 
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He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar

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hopeful informative medium-paced

4.75

This is a very informative beginning book for anyone who wants to be an ally or who wants to better understand gender identity and transgender topics. It is part memoir, part handbook and very approachable. It is well informed and uses both research and personal experience. 
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The Deep by Rivers Solomon

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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? Yes

4.0

This is a heavy hitter, with the MC being an allegory for generational trauma. The author intentionally makes you uncomfortable as you are not sure if you want the MC to return home or not. I think this is a must read for anyone who as the privilege of NOT knowing intergenerational or racial trauma.  
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A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

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emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I am not one for fairy tale retellings, but this was long enough to deliver. Looking at incurable or terminal illness as a curse allows so many people to feel seen. I did knock this down a star for SPOILERS BELOW. I do love the way it was written, very much like a fairy tale. 



This was knocked down from 4 to 3 stars because of the quasi cure the main character gets at the end. Miracle cures are still firmly in the world of fiction, especially for genetic mutations like hers. I cannot get behind that notion.  
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Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager

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funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

This is a quick and simple look at the history of queerness, written perfectly for the YA audience in which it is aimed.