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woolfinbooks's reviews
474 reviews
Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
This was incredibly difficult to get through as the font and lettering were unreadable. I genuinely can't comprehend how anyone was able to read it. The distortion of the text hurt my eyes to the point I felt nauseous and made it extremely difficult to follow what line I was on. I hope one day there's an edition that's more accessible as this is probably the least dyslexic friendly thing I've ever read in my entire life. With how inclusive it seems to be, I don't understand how neurodiversity wasn't factored into the font and lettering.
I don't feel comfortable giving it a rating as I wasn't able to 100% finish it and don't think my personal issues with reading it should really factor into it. From what I did read it was the exact type of graphic novel I would've loved.
I don't feel comfortable giving it a rating as I wasn't able to 100% finish it and don't think my personal issues with reading it should really factor into it. From what I did read it was the exact type of graphic novel I would've loved.
Frog and Toad Audio Collection by Arnold Lobel
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this for Jesse On YouTube's TBR cards challenge. Prompt: SPEAK - featuring a talking animal.
This was such a nostalgic trip back to some of the first book characters I ever loved. Their stories aree timeless, and Toad has become more relatable with age.
This was such a nostalgic trip back to some of the first book characters I ever loved. Their stories aree timeless, and Toad has become more relatable with age.
Northern Albanian Folk Tales, Myths and Legends by Arti Malaj
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
I read this for my Read Around the World challenge in which I plan to read a book from every country in the next 3-5 years. This book was chosen for Albania, mostly because it was the only own-voices book I could find through my library. The author tells over 20 short folktales, myths, and legends from Albania.
Honestly, it felt like each story was rushed or missing something. Like the translation hit the main points but not every detail needed. It felt like “first this happened and then they all learned their lesson” The monotonous narration also led to the vocal mystery to lack in some stories, but I do still love that these were read by the author.
Honestly, it felt like each story was rushed or missing something. Like the translation hit the main points but not every detail needed. It felt like “first this happened and then they all learned their lesson” The monotonous narration also led to the vocal mystery to lack in some stories, but I do still love that these were read by the author.
Ladies On Top Vol. 1 by NEJIGANAMETA
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ladies On Top Vol. 1 follows 24 year old Mizuki and 28 year old Shinomiya as they try to figure out their relationship’s sexual dynamics. Mizuki and Shinomiya have been dating for around a month. They’ve attempted to have sex before, but neither can make it happen. Neither know how to communicate their feelings, which leaves them in several awkward situations.
Tropes: miscommunication, top/bottom
Content/Trigger Warnings:
anxiety
mild internalized misogyny (Mizuki feels shame over wanting to be in control sexually)
mild misogyny (the idea men should be in control during sex)
nudity
sex (not very graphic)
sexual mockery (in the past someone told Shinomiya he sucked at sex)
social pressure
Shinomiya felt a lot of anxiety about having to perform well due to external pressures from a coworker and an ex-girlfriend who told him he sucked in bed. After they nearly had sex when Mizuki took control, Shinomiya showed her an article about pegging. That was a pretty big deal for him as his ex had shamed him for finding similar things on his phone. Mizuki wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but wasn’t dismissive of it either. Even though she has a desire to be the top/dominate one, she doesn’t actually know how to do that yet.
The newness of them discovering kinks and roles was very real. It was refreshing to see newbies who don’t know everything right from the start. It’s slowly paced because it needs to be. Their relationship is very new. They both have confidence and trust issues due to past relationships. They needed every single page of this manga to build up trust and communication skills with each other. The fact that they didn’t 100% get it right every time made it even more relatable.
I loved how we get to see sexual anxiety from a man’s perspective. That’s not something I’ve personally read before, but I feel like it was done well. It breaks down the thought process of why he feels so much anxiety. Yeah, Shinomiya has a moment where he tries to be all ‘macho man’ to cover up his anxiety, but we get to see the beginning of him moving away from those thoughts and lean into his desires.
I also loved how we get to see Mizuki sexual acceptance. She knows she wants to be in a more dominate role in the bedroom, but doesn’t really know much about the mechanics of that. All she knows is that being submissive makes her extremely uncomfortable, to the point she's pushed everyone else away. Getting to see a dom build up their confidence and eventually take over a situation was **chef’s kiss**
With four volumes out so far, I’m looking forward to reading more of this series. The author knows how to write a realistically paced flawed romance, and respects the journey many people in the dom/sub/kink communities go through before we figure out who we are. My one hope is that the next volumes keep this same pacing and don’t jump to them magically knowing everything now that Mizuki has taken control.
Tropes: miscommunication, top/bottom
Content/Trigger Warnings:
anxiety
mild internalized misogyny (Mizuki feels shame over wanting to be in control sexually)
mild misogyny (the idea men should be in control during sex)
nudity
sex (not very graphic)
sexual mockery (in the past someone told Shinomiya he sucked at sex)
social pressure
Shinomiya felt a lot of anxiety about having to perform well due to external pressures from a coworker and an ex-girlfriend who told him he sucked in bed. After they nearly had sex when Mizuki took control, Shinomiya showed her an article about pegging. That was a pretty big deal for him as his ex had shamed him for finding similar things on his phone. Mizuki wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but wasn’t dismissive of it either. Even though she has a desire to be the top/dominate one, she doesn’t actually know how to do that yet.
The newness of them discovering kinks and roles was very real. It was refreshing to see newbies who don’t know everything right from the start. It’s slowly paced because it needs to be. Their relationship is very new. They both have confidence and trust issues due to past relationships. They needed every single page of this manga to build up trust and communication skills with each other. The fact that they didn’t 100% get it right every time made it even more relatable.
I loved how we get to see sexual anxiety from a man’s perspective. That’s not something I’ve personally read before, but I feel like it was done well. It breaks down the thought process of why he feels so much anxiety. Yeah, Shinomiya has a moment where he tries to be all ‘macho man’ to cover up his anxiety, but we get to see the beginning of him moving away from those thoughts and lean into his desires.
I also loved how we get to see Mizuki sexual acceptance. She knows she wants to be in a more dominate role in the bedroom, but doesn’t really know much about the mechanics of that. All she knows is that being submissive makes her extremely uncomfortable, to the point she's pushed everyone else away. Getting to see a dom build up their confidence and eventually take over a situation was **chef’s kiss**
With four volumes out so far, I’m looking forward to reading more of this series. The author knows how to write a realistically paced flawed romance, and respects the journey many people in the dom/sub/kink communities go through before we figure out who we are. My one hope is that the next volumes keep this same pacing and don’t jump to them magically knowing everything now that Mizuki has taken control.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
anxiety
mild internalized misogyny (Mizuki feels shame over wanting to be in control sexually)
mild misogyny (the idea men should be in control during sex)
nudity
sex (not very graphic)
sexual mockery (in the past someone told Shinomiya he sucked at sex)
social pressure
The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman
Pari, a child in Kabul, Afghanistan, is nervously excited about being her mom's library helper. Instead of going to a tradition library, a library bus travels from the city to their town. While inside, she learns about her mom’s past and the importance of education and reading for girls.
The artwork is a delightful match for an educational and empowering book. While I would have loved for there to be more information about the heroic girls who fought for their rights to read, I think this is a perfect introduction into the misogyny felt towards what Afghan girls, as well as girls around the world who are denied an education, while also remaining accessible and understandable to the young girls this book is aimed toward.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
When you go to school next year, I want you to study hard. Never stop learning. Then you will be free.
Pari, a child in Kabul, Afghanistan, is nervously excited about being her mom's library helper. Instead of going to a tradition library, a library bus travels from the city to their town. While inside, she learns about her mom’s past and the importance of education and reading for girls.
The artwork is a delightful match for an educational and empowering book. While I would have loved for there to be more information about the heroic girls who fought for their rights to read, I think this is a perfect introduction into the misogyny felt towards what Afghan girls, as well as girls around the world who are denied an education, while also remaining accessible and understandable to the young girls this book is aimed toward.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
The minor mentions of misogyny and sexism are due to the main focus being on the banning of girls' education in Afghanistan.
Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood by Joshua Keating
challenging
informative
4.5
Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood by Joshua Keating is a look into countries that aren’t legally recognized by the majority of the world. It is part memoir and history, narrative and descriptive, and first and third person. The blending of those elements works well as Joshua talks about his trip to Abkhazia and the history of several other invisible countries.
I picked this book as part of my ‘read around the world’ challenge in which I read at least one book from every country - including invisible countries. My goal is to spend the next 3-5 years reading books from authors born and raised in each country. Finding a book written by an author from Abkhazia was impossible due to the lack of translated literature as well as inaccessibility to the few that have been translated. While not fitting into the specifications I had set for myself during this challenge, it did feel like a great starting point for understanding the issues other invisible countries face, and learning the history of Abkhazia’s fight for independence.
The book itself is under 300 pages or under 8 hours in audio. Normally this would have taken me a day at most to read, but I took a few extra days to really absorb all of the information present as most was completely new to me. For example, I didn’t know that Abkhazia is supported by Russia and has a heavy Russian presence, nor did I know that Georgia doesn’t allow you to acknowledge that Abkhazia is its own country. Abkhazia’s place in the world cup tournament wasn’t something I knew anything about as I don’t care for sports, but was still interesting to hear about.
Learning how the world map was split into different countries and how the straight vs ‘natural’ boarders impact conflict and war was fascinating. A squiggly, or seemingly random, boarder tends to be more respectful of the indigenous, cultural, religious, and ethnic people from those countries while a straight boarder is often disrespectful of those identities and is the cause for much conflict. I’ve seen old maps in history books, but never noticed how much the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of United Nations played a direct roll in shaping the world as we know it. I also learned how many countries didn’t create their own boarders. The US, UK, and UN did without discussing how cultural, religious, ethnic, and pre-existing boarders were ignored.
Every election cycle, presidential candidates from both sides talk about independence for Kurdistan. They talk about freedom, liberation, self-determination and varying degrees of support for their country hood. What’s not talked about is how, for decades, every US president has let down Kurds. They’ve made promises for support yet never show up when they’re needed. They haven’t taken the necessary steps to show their support for Kurdistan in the UN.
When taught about colonization from an American social justice lens, I’ve only ever heard about the US and UK involvement. It was interesting to learn how colonization works around the world and how other countries have been involved in more issues than we realize.
Another social justice issue discussed is how climate change is impacting the right to countryhood and independence. New Moor was discovered, fought over, and taken away from the world in under 50 years. That left me with a lot of questions about how this will play out in future generations. How do you fit into a world in which your country and homeland no longer exist? What will future immigration and humanitarian crisis’s look like? The undeniable presence of climate change is already visible in island countries. They’ve been the unconsented home of nuclear testing sites by the US for almost a century. A forced western diet in those countries is impacting native plants, the local ecosystem, as well as the people who live there. Two-thirds of the countries who are currently suffering from the worst natural disasters are island countries. Due to climate change they’re losing 1-9% of their GPD every year. With their homes slowly disappearing, where are they going to go when they can no longer live there? How will their culture survive? Will the rest of the world welcome them in knowing they’re facing a climate crisis too?
The Knights of Malta are a non-territorial nation that I’ve heard about through several pesky conspiracy theories. Learning about it through a common sense lens was very much appreciated. The idea of non-territorial nations in very interesting and something I’d like to learn more about in the future. The least surprising part was hearing how Henry Kissinger yet again had his boot on the necks of the rest of the world. The more I learn about Kissinger the more I hate him. The absolute hell he’s put the rest of the world through needs to be discussed, especially since his passing and the historical revisionists who are already attempting to claim him as infallible.
As stated earlier, this was a great way to kick off my ‘read around the world’ challenge. I learned a hell of a lot and am going to use this information going forward. There isn’t anything negative I have to say about this book. The information was factual, well-researched, unbiased, and presented with care and respect for invisible countries and their people.
I picked this book as part of my ‘read around the world’ challenge in which I read at least one book from every country - including invisible countries. My goal is to spend the next 3-5 years reading books from authors born and raised in each country. Finding a book written by an author from Abkhazia was impossible due to the lack of translated literature as well as inaccessibility to the few that have been translated. While not fitting into the specifications I had set for myself during this challenge, it did feel like a great starting point for understanding the issues other invisible countries face, and learning the history of Abkhazia’s fight for independence.
The book itself is under 300 pages or under 8 hours in audio. Normally this would have taken me a day at most to read, but I took a few extra days to really absorb all of the information present as most was completely new to me. For example, I didn’t know that Abkhazia is supported by Russia and has a heavy Russian presence, nor did I know that Georgia doesn’t allow you to acknowledge that Abkhazia is its own country. Abkhazia’s place in the world cup tournament wasn’t something I knew anything about as I don’t care for sports, but was still interesting to hear about.
Learning how the world map was split into different countries and how the straight vs ‘natural’ boarders impact conflict and war was fascinating. A squiggly, or seemingly random, boarder tends to be more respectful of the indigenous, cultural, religious, and ethnic people from those countries while a straight boarder is often disrespectful of those identities and is the cause for much conflict. I’ve seen old maps in history books, but never noticed how much the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of United Nations played a direct roll in shaping the world as we know it. I also learned how many countries didn’t create their own boarders. The US, UK, and UN did without discussing how cultural, religious, ethnic, and pre-existing boarders were ignored.
Every election cycle, presidential candidates from both sides talk about independence for Kurdistan. They talk about freedom, liberation, self-determination and varying degrees of support for their country hood. What’s not talked about is how, for decades, every US president has let down Kurds. They’ve made promises for support yet never show up when they’re needed. They haven’t taken the necessary steps to show their support for Kurdistan in the UN.
When taught about colonization from an American social justice lens, I’ve only ever heard about the US and UK involvement. It was interesting to learn how colonization works around the world and how other countries have been involved in more issues than we realize.
Another social justice issue discussed is how climate change is impacting the right to countryhood and independence. New Moor was discovered, fought over, and taken away from the world in under 50 years. That left me with a lot of questions about how this will play out in future generations. How do you fit into a world in which your country and homeland no longer exist? What will future immigration and humanitarian crisis’s look like? The undeniable presence of climate change is already visible in island countries. They’ve been the unconsented home of nuclear testing sites by the US for almost a century. A forced western diet in those countries is impacting native plants, the local ecosystem, as well as the people who live there. Two-thirds of the countries who are currently suffering from the worst natural disasters are island countries. Due to climate change they’re losing 1-9% of their GPD every year. With their homes slowly disappearing, where are they going to go when they can no longer live there? How will their culture survive? Will the rest of the world welcome them in knowing they’re facing a climate crisis too?
The Knights of Malta are a non-territorial nation that I’ve heard about through several pesky conspiracy theories. Learning about it through a common sense lens was very much appreciated. The idea of non-territorial nations in very interesting and something I’d like to learn more about in the future. The least surprising part was hearing how Henry Kissinger yet again had his boot on the necks of the rest of the world. The more I learn about Kissinger the more I hate him. The absolute hell he’s put the rest of the world through needs to be discussed, especially since his passing and the historical revisionists who are already attempting to claim him as infallible.
As stated earlier, this was a great way to kick off my ‘read around the world’ challenge. I learned a hell of a lot and am going to use this information going forward. There isn’t anything negative I have to say about this book. The information was factual, well-researched, unbiased, and presented with care and respect for invisible countries and their people.
Content Warnings
Minor: Deportation, Death, Slavery, War, Antisemitism, Sexism, Police brutality, Genocide, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Racism, and Xenophobia
I tagged all of the content warnings as minor because nothing is discussed in detail. The tone is factual statements instead of exploitation.
The Goatibex Constellation by Fazil Iskander
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
I really didn't understand what was going on, and already felt completely lost by the satire. Like... I could tell it was trying to be funny or poke fun at something, but I'm not educated enough in the area's history to understand what the punchline was. So it's nothing about the author that's the issue, it's my own ignorances.