alicedroni's reviews
64 reviews

I feel like this book didn't resonate with me because I'm probably not its target audience.

There are some very cool concepts in this book, and some very experimental ways of writing and I did really enjoy that part of it. 

The thing that really didn't work for me is what feels like an overarching obsession with pregnancy. Basically every story has some section about someone longing to be pregnant or getting someone pregnant, or reflecting on a pregnancy. It works in the plot of some of the shorts but there are many more shorts where it really feels like it comes out of nowhere and adds nothing to the plot. In the end this theme really makes all the characters blend together into one, unlikeable, sad, baby obsessed, middle class white suburban woman. And these characters are also all in the stereotypical troupe of paranoid woman who thinks the world is constantly out to get her. I get that this is supposed to play into the psychological panic of the characters in these situations but the way that its written also makes it sound irrational and overreactionary which makes me feel much less sympathetic and almost annoyed by the characters.

Great writing, great explanations, great voice acting on the audio book. It's a really good primer for getting into anti-racist rhetoric. It may feel like "i already know this" but I think these topics can never be over-explained, and it's the perfect book to read and then lend out to your family members who just don't "get what the issue is"

Only con: very Ameri-centric, though obviously that's the lived experience of the author. I would really like to find a similar book from a European or non-western experience.

I think this is a really interesting perspective on trans/non-binary experience. Kate has a very fun way of reflecting on their experiences and the way they write about their perplexity over the gender binary is quite fun and I found it pretty relatable at many points even though I consider myself cis.

Their full experience isn't going to be relatable to most though. That's part of what makes this book so interesting but can definitely be considered a downside. This is very clearly one person's experience and won't translate to most other trans or non-binary folks, especially now. The updates address the terminology changes over time but the experiences they describe are very much rooted in the culture of the time. Kate transitioned in an interesting time for activism and has a great perspective on the failings of lesbian and feminist movements of that era, but the issues we face now are very different forms of intersectionality, class and racial analysis are very much missing from this book (and that's okay considering Kate doesn't have those personal experiences). 

Also I thought the "shaman/ancestors" part was weird. 

I listened to this on audio book because I kind of expected how I would feel about it. 

Quick note about the audiobook version, the voice actor has a very clear voice but wow it really does feel like Alexa is hosting an HR talk and that does make it difficult to stay focused the whole book. 

I don't think this is a useless book, but it is absolutely the bare minimum. Yes there are a ton of white people who need to read it but this it absolutely should not be the last thing you read. It's quite redundant, and I really wish she would have used more examples from the perspective of bipoc folks but it at least gets the important basics out of the way in a clear and unarguable way.

When it comes to communist theory books I found this a lot more accessible than the other classics I've tried to power though. There's still a lot of terminology and a bit of a disconnect in era but it's written far clearer than most theory. There were a lot of points I found really relatable and inspiring and it was nice to finally have a feeling of "this might actually be doable" after reading a book like this than the usual feeling of "wow our society is just beyond fucked"

I'm forcing everyone I know to read this next. 

Had a really good mix of things I never considered, things that felt second nature but finally put into words, and things that I already knew well but needed help explaining to others. Even if polyamory isn't for you I think it's a really great lens to re-evaluate how you treat all your platonic and romantic relationships. 

Paul Blart is the perfect legacy for mankind

Lots of really great metaphors about xenophobia. The stories all really pulled you in immediately, my only real complaint is that I felt like right when I fully got immersed in the concepts and plot the short was over. I wish it dug a little bit deeper and darker on a few of the concepts but I really enjoyed every page of this book.

Really quirky art style, really dark personal stories. Feels like the same vibe as Bojack Horseman