Scan barcode
worm_food's reviews
174 reviews
Love in Exile by Shon Faye
4.25
Not every books a magnum opus! Not every book attempts to do the unattempted! Not all nonfiction should be needlessly dense and unenjoyable!
I liked this one I really did! Very interesting to read, I really enjoyed the structure of the different institutions of love, it made it a bit looser in its structure but more cohesive overall I think. Non fiction writing about love as Shon says has existed since the beginning of time, so this book doesn't try to reinvent the wheel - it tries to be (and is, successfully) what it actually is, personal anecdotes blended with an honestly very pleasant theoretical analysis that doesn't necessitate 5 references per sentence.
Especially fun to read considering how my experiences with sexual attraction towards men and, and my relationship with femininity (which is to say I don't have one w either. I pay alimony to one and I am paid alimony by the other. Which is which you gotta guess) diverge from hers - that and also age (being Gen Z, derogatory). Not because of the similarities I found beyond our differences, but rather because thru her writing I could understand her despite them. Good! Fun! Very easy to follow and read! Non fiction that's fun! Yippee!
I liked this one I really did! Very interesting to read, I really enjoyed the structure of the different institutions of love, it made it a bit looser in its structure but more cohesive overall I think. Non fiction writing about love as Shon says has existed since the beginning of time, so this book doesn't try to reinvent the wheel - it tries to be (and is, successfully) what it actually is, personal anecdotes blended with an honestly very pleasant theoretical analysis that doesn't necessitate 5 references per sentence.
Especially fun to read considering how my experiences with sexual attraction towards men and, and my relationship with femininity (which is to say I don't have one w either. I pay alimony to one and I am paid alimony by the other. Which is which you gotta guess) diverge from hers - that and also age (being Gen Z, derogatory). Not because of the similarities I found beyond our differences, but rather because thru her writing I could understand her despite them. Good! Fun! Very easy to follow and read! Non fiction that's fun! Yippee!
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
3.0
Some takes were better than I was expecting, others more boring than they should've been. My main gripe w it is that it attempts to be centrist about things that would actually benefit from having their author admit he's biased one way or another. Don't get me wrong, I'm not insane, I do know that things about our history as a species are objectively true, and not just about our biology, but about money, religion, imperialism, conflict. There's that ancient greek text also that says that the duty of the historian is to be as objective as possible, something that is akin to sacred duty - and it's clear that this is what this book tries to do. I do think that we ought to know more than our ancestors by this point though and just admit that, when a feat like this compilation of history is attempted, bias will creep in. For me, it is much more valuable to be mindful of that bias and address it, but write thru it anyway, than to pretend it doesn't exist. I don't know! This might've made the book worse I guess, and I will say that it was interesting after the biology of evolution was covered (I found these chapters too simple and thus a bit boring, my own bias here). Anyway, not too mad about it, and for a book of its length it manages to not repeat itself much.
Granta 158: In the Family by Sigrid Rausing
4.0
Being densely packed w family matters very expectdly made this one a bit dizzying to read but not in a bad way. Only a few misses overall. Faves were: Claire Schwartz, Moses McKenzie (!!!), and Debbie Urbanski (!!!)
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
5.0
Ohhhhh Tashaaaaa you did this one you truly did. The pacing of this one is a toughie it happens so gradually and then all at once. Damn. Incredible back half of a book. So stressful and yet so beautifully just.... Woven? It's hard to explain but its density sneaks up on you. It has a lot less of the grandiose plot twists and emotional stand offs that a lot of fantasy has and yet the build up caught me unaware by the end of it. I keep thinking about everyone and everything. A work that's just. Meticulous. Meticulous!!!! I'm so fucking excited to read the last book this one was such a beautiful sequel to the Jasmine throne but elevated in so so so many ways. Suris writing man DAMN the WORLDBUILDINGGGGGG THE MAGIC SYSTEM SO FUCKING GOOD KILL ME IMMEDIATELY. Big up. Huge. Thank you Tasha Suri for the representation of lesbians really passionate for each other but that unfortunately have work get in the way all the time. Malini would thrive in a corporate setting. Banking perhaps
Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima
2.0
If I had a nickel for every book I read in 2025 that mentions inversion and Hirschfield I'd have two nickels! Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, right?
I wrote a whole review and then storygraph crashed and I don't feel like rewriting the whole thing. Very interesting read knowing how his life panned out and ended, especially after having read the sailor first - seeing the flowery prose be a lot more prominent. Looking at inversion as a fact of this book, it's also interesting to me that the conclusion of it being a natural thing was reached by the end instead of being the logic from the get go. It's the one thing that differentiates it from the well of loneliness, a book very much still indulgent in its self loathing but one offering a much more forgiving narrative nonetheless.
Overall, it was a bit insufferable to read for reasons similar to why the sailor was insufferable to read, but in a different way, which is intriguing in its own right I guess. What the whole book is, is simply mental acrobatics, what it would take for someone to reason their way out of naming their desires, framing them in a way that makes them excusable, but also treating them as vile and inexcusable anyway. Which is a way to talk both of and about comphet, sure, with none of the hindsight or self awareness. Anyway. Rest in peace I fucking guess Yukio Mishima. It's a real shame post WWII Japanese ethnicist alt right mentality got you, but not really surprising. I think bringing him back to life to explain who aroace and bi romantic homosexual people are just to have him try n kill me is the main desire this book elicited and I think that's fair.
I wrote a whole review and then storygraph crashed and I don't feel like rewriting the whole thing. Very interesting read knowing how his life panned out and ended, especially after having read the sailor first - seeing the flowery prose be a lot more prominent. Looking at inversion as a fact of this book, it's also interesting to me that the conclusion of it being a natural thing was reached by the end instead of being the logic from the get go. It's the one thing that differentiates it from the well of loneliness, a book very much still indulgent in its self loathing but one offering a much more forgiving narrative nonetheless.
Overall, it was a bit insufferable to read for reasons similar to why the sailor was insufferable to read, but in a different way, which is intriguing in its own right I guess. What the whole book is, is simply mental acrobatics, what it would take for someone to reason their way out of naming their desires, framing them in a way that makes them excusable, but also treating them as vile and inexcusable anyway. Which is a way to talk both of and about comphet, sure, with none of the hindsight or self awareness. Anyway. Rest in peace I fucking guess Yukio Mishima. It's a real shame post WWII Japanese ethnicist alt right mentality got you, but not really surprising. I think bringing him back to life to explain who aroace and bi romantic homosexual people are just to have him try n kill me is the main desire this book elicited and I think that's fair.
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
3.5
I found this well written easy to follow, most of this high ranking is attributed to how much it made me think and wanna talk about its contents in so many different ways. People say that classic novels where all you have to say is "I think it's important" are dogshit - I see the point but I do disagree with the dogshit part for this book. Stephen's relationship with her parents and the conversations and dynamics w Angela especially are endlessly intriguing to me and as the introduction of this edition states the book itself is outdated by its own existence - progress made BECAUSE of it that makes its contents feel old, and of course, that is important. I enjoyed it overall but its ending and final thesis pissed me off so much my vision went completely black for a sec and I lost my hearing for 3 days.
This book is less devastating if you see Stephen's "self sacrifice" and aversion to community as the internalised homophobia that it is, and I AM cutting her some slack but you have Brockett you have Valerie you can't show me people who revel in the company of others' queerness, who tried for YEARS to get Stephen to do the same and her rejecting any and all olive branches. Stop pursuing straight women and go to a butch centered event find a hot dyke n fuck them is advice that has been and is still relevant for the past, present, and I am sure will also be for the future eternal.
It's interesting to me how this book also sees Puddle as the voice of reason, an understanding voice that never condemns Stephen's nature, but the book also sees her as something holding Stephen back - it was only after her departure that Stephen could allow herself to be happy. Self policing WITHIN "inversion" is seen as a noble act (being one of the good gays etc) for the biggest chunk of this book, it's interesting how Stephen is so resentful of her mother for hating her for doing femininity wrong, but she herself is very much a cop about it still in the way Brockett is always described as effeminate n slimy, how he does feminity wrong. Femininity is only noble when it's 'right' and when it fits: Anna, Mary, Angela. With Brockett and Valerie she fucking hates so much oughhh how dare you not suffer! Radclyffe put the Catholicism DOWN I beg.
Speaking of, I believe the real sin here isn't lesbianism but completely removing any and all personal agency from Mary and have the narrative JUSTIFY that as a noble act. Who was introduced mid-war as a confident and self assured young woman who we are then forced to accept that should not have any say on her fate because she's too young and naive I am SICK OF IT. God.
Anyway. Go to a gay club and understand even the most obnoxious of queers are your real ride or dies, not French countryside hags who think are arbiters of what is and isn't socially acceptable. Fuck
This book is less devastating if you see Stephen's "self sacrifice" and aversion to community as the internalised homophobia that it is, and I AM cutting her some slack but you have Brockett you have Valerie you can't show me people who revel in the company of others' queerness, who tried for YEARS to get Stephen to do the same and her rejecting any and all olive branches. Stop pursuing straight women and go to a butch centered event find a hot dyke n fuck them is advice that has been and is still relevant for the past, present, and I am sure will also be for the future eternal.
It's interesting to me how this book also sees Puddle as the voice of reason, an understanding voice that never condemns Stephen's nature, but the book also sees her as something holding Stephen back - it was only after her departure that Stephen could allow herself to be happy. Self policing WITHIN "inversion" is seen as a noble act (being one of the good gays etc) for the biggest chunk of this book, it's interesting how Stephen is so resentful of her mother for hating her for doing femininity wrong, but she herself is very much a cop about it still in the way Brockett is always described as effeminate n slimy, how he does feminity wrong. Femininity is only noble when it's 'right' and when it fits: Anna, Mary, Angela. With Brockett and Valerie she fucking hates so much oughhh how dare you not suffer! Radclyffe put the Catholicism DOWN I beg.
Speaking of, I believe the real sin here isn't lesbianism but completely removing any and all personal agency from Mary and have the narrative JUSTIFY that as a noble act. Who was introduced mid-war as a confident and self assured young woman who we are then forced to accept that should not have any say on her fate because she's too young and naive I am SICK OF IT. God.
Anyway. Go to a gay club and understand even the most obnoxious of queers are your real ride or dies, not French countryside hags who think are arbiters of what is and isn't socially acceptable. Fuck
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
4.5
Very good!!!! The worldbuilding was absolutely stunning and the writing so easy to follow and enjoyable, it finds a very good balance between the flowering poetic and the practical, the descriptions of everything made the book feel so alive. The magic system was also made so intuitively easy to understand and each character stood out beautifully with each their own internal narrative.
I really liked so many of the choices made for all the characters too - making someone so complex but also not all powerful can have the risk of the audience not fully following their logic or interests within the plot but it is just so much more realistic to have people's alliances shift without a whole paragraph dedicated to how groundbreaking of an event that is. It made the characters feel a lot more realistic in how they reacted to sit ations but within that bargain some character intensity (that can make for more memorable personalities n moments) is lost - in the beginning I wasn't sure about it but now I am really fond of it as a choice.
I think I set the bar quite high for this one because of the lesbian fantasy trifecta memes, and unfo tunately so far Shannon's and to me especially Shelley Parker Chan's works are a lot better at building themes from the get go - but ADOFN and HWDTW were much much better than their predecessors so I have a LOT of hope for this one's sequels!! It didn't make me go absolutely batshit insane but I can see that happening w this series very soon.
I really liked so many of the choices made for all the characters too - making someone so complex but also not all powerful can have the risk of the audience not fully following their logic or interests within the plot but it is just so much more realistic to have people's alliances shift without a whole paragraph dedicated to how groundbreaking of an event that is. It made the characters feel a lot more realistic in how they reacted to sit ations but within that bargain some character intensity (that can make for more memorable personalities n moments) is lost - in the beginning I wasn't sure about it but now I am really fond of it as a choice.
I think I set the bar quite high for this one because of the lesbian fantasy trifecta memes, and unfo tunately so far Shannon's and to me especially Shelley Parker Chan's works are a lot better at building themes from the get go - but ADOFN and HWDTW were much much better than their predecessors so I have a LOT of hope for this one's sequels!! It didn't make me go absolutely batshit insane but I can see that happening w this series very soon.
She's Always Hungry by Eliza Clark
4.5
Eliza please return my many calls the children are asking where you are, please baby just go for the science fiction novel for your next one. You got this one in the bag in such a serious way I know contemporary fiction is the name of the game but the name of the game can change. I think this is a very cohesive collection as far as theme goes and her writing style is very undeniable, w a very few "misses" here and there - mostly the ones that you could tell were written before boy parts and penance, having read her other work and having watched her style evolve they become hard to ignore but definitely still enjoyable. Genre writing is dead, long live the genre? Actually quite insane thematically, Hollow Bones and Extinction Event were a delightful departure from not just her genre of choice but also writing style in a very satisfying way.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
4.75
Didn't expect to enjoy the back half of this book as much as I did - people do it a disservice when they compress its plot to the point of short story. I remember reading parts as a teenager but I think as an adult I understand Charlie's anger more. The story builds and builds and I kept thinking about that Ursula K Le Guin quote about SF being a circumstance mutated, what ifs taken to extremes but the point being not the result but rather the process. Sickening!
The History of King Lear: The Oxford Shakespeare the History of King Lear by William Shakespeare
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Having read and listened to the play earlier this year makes finishing this one unrealistic at least for 2024 and that's fine!!! I really really enjoyed the introduction and the information it contained though so it's definitely one to revisit