It is nothing new that trans voices have often been pushed aside, forgotten, and oppressed in societies across the globe. The fact that they confuse societal norms about gender binaries and gender-stasis make them terrifying to those who do not understand or prescribe to gender fluidity. This, paired with the flip side of people using … Continue reading
Tag Archives: relationships
Learning How to Accept Gifts: a review of Lisa Dempster’s travel memoir “Neon Pilgrim”
Gifts are complicated things. The simple premise of giving someone something they need, love, or want is what actually complicates the definition of a gift. Gifts, before anything else, function like a contract that requires the exchange of goods and/or services until someone dies, or decides to break off the relationship with the gift giver. … Continue reading
Geography and Conversations About Race: a review of Reni Eddo-Lodge’s “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race”
Talking about race is exhausting. It is emotionally draining, stressful, awkward, painful, scary, and sometimes really dangerous. To have a conversation about race, or any hard topics like gender, sexuality, and class, requires a level of vulnerability that demands patience and practice. People from different sides of the spectrum often come to the table with … Continue reading
A Review of “Idaho”: forgetting and remembering
I am not going to lie, the decision I made to read this book was heavily based on the cover. What is that old saying again? Anyway, I found myself drawn to the strong yellows and greens and I had also seen this book everywhere. It was popping up in book stores, in my library, … Continue reading
Asian Invisibility In Western Literature: a review of Ann Y. K. Choi’s “Kay’s Lucky Coin Variety”
I am going to cut to the chase on this review. Like the title suggests, there is a problem with the way that Asian literature is represented, or to be more precise its lack of representation, in the Western world. Many scholars and teachers have suggested to me over the years that Asian literature cannot … Continue reading
“Without You, There Is No Us”: a review
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. Suki Kim’s book Without You, There Is No Us: My Secret Life Teaching the Sons of North Korea’s Elite was written in 2014. I really enjoyed this book. It was a powerful … Continue reading
My Top 5 Books About Death, Dying, Medicine, and Grief
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Clicking through for additional information or to make a purchase may result in a small commission. It is coming up to Christmas, the end of the year, and the 21st of December. Whilst many people around the world are making Christmas lists, dusting off menorahs, tentatively imagining New … Continue reading
The Sheldon Effect: ‘funny’ books about mental illness
In the past few weeks I have read two books: Brian Conaghan’s When Mr Dog Bites is about a teenage boy, Dylan Mint, and his struggles with going to Drumhill special school and battling tourette’s syndrome (amongst other mental health issues). On top of all of that, he thinks that he is going to die. … Continue reading
Kim Kardashian and Elena Ferrante: the problem with public privacy
In the past few days the question of privacy and how much we should and should not share about ourselves on- and offline has been brought to the forefront. For two very different reasons Kim Kardashian and Elena Ferrante have been in the news. One for sharing too much and therefore causing a violent robbery … Continue reading
What is your reading relationship style?
How we read, what we read, how often we read, how many books we read at once… Do you know your reading type? The Monogamist As a book reader you strictly stick to one book at a time. You like to make sure that every book feels special and the only one worthy of your … Continue reading
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