waynethelibrarian's reviews
274 reviews

Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.

While I enjoyed parts of this book, and thought there was truly beautiful prose at times… I cannot get past the sheer amount of homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and general disliking of anyone that isn’t a “fit white man” in this novel.
Anytime a character is introduced that we are meant to dislike it is immediately paired with “they are a queen(trans), black, fat, effeminate, etc.”. I do not know if this was truly the intention of the author, or if this is just what my modern taste have picked up. I just feel as though I have read other gay classics that have felt more human.
If I was able to rate this DNF, I’d give it a 1.5/5. While there were moments that I truly enjoyed the writing style of, it was blurred out by the sheer antiquated hatefulness of the writing.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

I’ve taken my time going through this short story collection, and overall I am really impressed with the depth of character Deesha Philyaw was able to give in each short story. Each short story has such complex characters and I have not seen an author able to create such relatable, yet dislikable characters.

My only dislike of this collection is a short story that arrives later in the collection that by my opinion destroys the character development we witness in an earlier story (Others may view this as further character development, in a negative sense, but I am mainly focusing on positive growth in this complaint). Outside of this the collection is one of my favorite short story collections I have read in recent years.

If any of you cool, bookish people check this title out I would love to chat about it!

Spoilers Ahead!

My favorites of this collection are Peach Cobbler* and Snowfall.

Peach Cobbler is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Olivia who has a troubled relationship with her mother as well as sexuality. Olivia’s complex story focuses on the negligence of her mother and the effect of her mother’s affair with the town’s pastor on Olivia’s sexuality and perception of herself. This story culminates with a large fight between Olivia and her mother where Olivia swears she will never be like her mother. (I will leave how this plays out to you to figure out if you chose to read this collection, which I HIGHLY recommend).

Snowfall focuses on LeeLee (Arletha) and Rhonda a gay couple that have transplanted to the north following a job opportunity for Leelee. This story is heartfelt and shows how difficult life can become when dealing with homophobia. Rhonda has a difficult, or rather, nonexistent relationship with her family due to their refusal to understand Rhonda being gay. Leelee too has a difficult relationship with her family, even if there is a possibility for that to be repaired over time. This difficult dynamic is what produces the conflict of this story. The combination of issues related to their family lives, and where “Home” is. This short story by far has the most uplifting endings and out of many truly sad short stories, leaves the reader feeling warm despite the cold in a Northern Winter.

Birds of Shangri-La Vol. 1 by Ranmaru Zariya

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth

By Zoe Thorogood

5/5 ⭐️

Well this is definitely going to be in my favorites of the year!

In It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth, we follow Zoe through a year of her life. Spoiler warnings ahead and trigger warnings for suicidal thoughts!

Overlapping with the quarantines faced in 2020/2021, we follow Zoe as her life crumbles around her. She draws her physical manifestation of depression in such a creepy manner, and I really feel like this book is relatable for those with mental illness. The irony here is the commentary on people finding her art “relatable”.

In this meta autobiographic graphic novel, there is an insane amount of variation and fluidity in the art and storytelling structure. Every panel has a unique feel and helps to really let you into the mind of Zoe.

I cannot wait to read this book again!

Cat's Cafe by Gwen Tarpley

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funny lighthearted fast-paced