Rated Duende 10/10
Tracy K. Smith is always great. I'm always glad to read her books.
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Rated Doctor Who: The Wrath of the Iceni 8/10
I don't know the history enough to know how well this script's position about what happened rates, but this is a good story.
Rated Doctor Who: Neverland 8/10
Good stuff. Includes Lalla Ward as Romana, ends on a cliffhanger as a lead in to the next story, Zagreus. Definitely liked this one.
Rated Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites 10/10
(A review will be forthcoming, but can I say that I am fully confident in giving this 5 stars, even though I had to give it back to the library with the last 40 pages unread? Not to worry, I will rectify that absence as soon as I get the chance.)
Rated What Is Queer Food?: How We Served a Revolution 7/10
<div>This book is both a history of the queer people behind notable moments in food culture, and also an examination of what exactly it means to make food "queer." (Yes, Gay Brunch and quiche are touched upon.) For Birdsall, it is primarily about gathering the important people in one's life, people who exist in the margins, and experiencing an act of togetherness. That act can be nourishing, decadent, indulgent, or just making do with what you've got, but it all counts.<br><br>If you're looking for a book that talks more about the food itself over the people cooking it, it may not be for you. But as something that contributes to the archive of queer history, I liked it. I also spend a fair amount of time thinking about food and cooking, which began as a way to be able to eat what I wanted, but in a form I could either digest or afford. I am not a precise cook — my kitchen scale gets the most use for measuring the pasta I buy in bulk— but I've been told I'm an excellent one. I have brought dishes to many a queer potluck, organized many a queer artsy party involving food, and have helped teach my kids how to cook, so they know how to feed themselves and others as they move out into the world. Queer food is often about intent. If I were attempting to decide if a particular meal were queer in some way, I might ask myself, "What community is this meal for?"<br><br>There are moments where I may not entirely agree with Birdsall's analysis, and but I appreciate how well-sourced the book is. He is clear on where he gets his information, and also why he occasionally veers into moments of speculation. We do not necessarily want to force modern terminology upon historical figures, but we can also allow them to have fully dignified and more complete remembrances. There is a full, diverse cast of people here. And you'll learn the origin of Chiffon Cake.</div>
Rated One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This 10/10
<div>"It is a hallmark of failing societies, I’ve learned, this requirement that one always be in possession of a valid reason to exist," Omar El Akkad writes. Later in the book, he adds, "Much like the insidious foreign plot, the notion that people simply aren’t prepared for democracy is a fundamental rhetorical tool of failing regimes."<br><br>If you want to understand how the world largely works, look at how we talk about the horrors of Palestine, the occupation and destruction, and look at the parallels between that treatment and what we're expected to stomach in our own country. When you wonder why tf Greta Thurnberg has shifted her focus, it's because she understands it's all connected.<br><br>"Many people’s governments are cruel, many people’s governments are indifferent. It’s this relentless parachuting of virtue. It’s these speeches and statements of eloquently stated concern for human rights and freedom and the demand that those who abuse human rights or withhold freedom be held to account. And it’s the way every ideal turns vaporous the moment it threatens to move beyond the confines of the speeches and statements, the moment it threatens even the most frivolous parcel of self-interest."<br><br>Much has been written about this book, and much will continue to be by people much smarter than me, but let me be another person who says, if you haven't already read One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, please do. <br><br>"When the time comes to assign blame, most of those to blame will be long gone. There will always be feigned shock at how bad things really were, how we couldn’t have possibly known. There will be those who say it was all the work of a few bad actors, people who misled the rest of us well-meaning folks. Anything to avoid contending with the possibility that all this killing wasn’t the result of a system abused, but a system functioning exactly as intended."<br><br>So what are you going to do right now? How will you withhold your participation in this system? How will you lessen the damage? Your lawn signs will never be enough.<br><br></div>
Rated Blind Terror: The Gods of Frost 8/10
<div>A good, spooky gothic horror. If you liked Crimson Peak, you'll probably like this.</div>
Wants to read The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness
Rated The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms 7/10
<div>I don't know that this was wholly for me, but NK Jemisin is a great enough writer (and I've enjoyed many of her other books) that I may still read the next book in the series at some point.</div>
Rated Beyond the Gender Binary 10/10
<div>A perfect book for :</div><ul><li>anyone wanting to read more nonbinary voices</li><li>people who would like introductory information about those who are gender nonconforming</li><li>teens who would like to have conversations with the people in their life (and maybe the inner doubting voice in their head). </li></ul><div><br>This is a quick read, clearly written, and it does a great job dismantling misconceptions.</div><div><br>I know this book has been challenged in at least one school system (though thankfully the challenge was rejected), and it's beyond frustrating that we're still fighting for people to freely exist and access the information they need.</div>
Rated The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin 8/10
<div>I had a free month of audiobooks.com, and instead of using my credit on one book, I used it to stream as much as I wanted from their sci-fi audiobook club, which included this collection of Ursula K. Le Guin novellas. I didn't love every story, but the writing is excellent throughout, so I'm glad to have listened. She was such an innovator. We also get to hear what happens when women are finally inching into the world of Earthsea wizardry, which is cool. (I've only read the first Earthsea book, so I'm sure I didn't glean all the references to previous books.)</div><div><br></div>
Rated The Antidote 10/10
<div>Karen Russell is such a great writer. I love how she writes semi-feral girl characters, especially. Asphodel/"Dell" is definitely one of those characters, clinging to her basketball team's possible success as one consistency in her life. Still, I loved all the perspectives in this novel, all these people trying to survive the Great Depression and the aftermath of Black Sunday, a gigantic dust storm that obliterated farms in the American West. This is a story about secrets, the environment, colonization, and so much more. I can see why the library has a berzillion people in the holds queue waiting for their turn to read.<br><br>CW: for animal cruelty at the beginning though. This does have plot relevance, but be forewarned.</div>
Rated Midnight Picnic 8/10
How our living selves affect the afterlife has been, and will continue to be, a matter of debate. In literature alone, countless stories have explored the stages of death, of grieving, and that of otherworldly retribution. In <i>Midnight Picnic</i>, Nick Antosca leaves religion out of the discussion and instead explores feelings of abandonment, anger and regret.<br><br>This is no great story of redemption, nor is it one of God and ghosts. If anything, it’s about making peace with the living self before everything is gone. With Autumn and Halloween approaching, it might just be the essential book to usher in the season. It’s certainly worth a look.<br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/09/midnight-picnic-by-nick-antosca.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Wants to read Whiteout Volume 2: Melt – The Definitive Edition
Wants to read Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair
Rated Doctor Who: The Girl Who Never Was 8/10
This was a pretty good send off for Charlie, but it also sort of felt like this story could have been written without cybermen. Everything could have revolved around some other, less used outside force.
Rated Doctor Who: Omega 6/10
Of the special baddies trilogy (the others being "Master" and "Davros"), I was probably least into this one, but it was still an enjoyable enough listen with a good twist partway through.
Rated The Transit of Venus 8/10
<div>4 stars is honestly more than my level of enjoyment while reading, but the actual writing was so good, I do not want to rank it any lower. Sometimes you're just not in the mood for a certain type of book, and that's fine. No shade to Shirley Hazzard — her ability to craft an image or sharply define a complicated feeling is great. Another time, I would have very much loved a sumptuous immersion in the lives of these two sisters, but instead I finished with mere respect. ymmv!</div>