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bashsbooks's reviews
207 reviews
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Thom approaches the issues within modern leftism with an understandable frustration and an unparalleled wit; this collection of essays and poems provide much-needed nuance and insight into thorny topics such as suicide (and the related responsibility of the community and agency of the dead) and sexual assault (including breaking down the perp/victim binary that doesn't allow for any grey areas). She also covers transmisogyny, racism, and class in similar depth. Despite these serious topics, Thom ends every essay with her glimmers of hope for the future. My favorite pieces in this collection were Genie, You're Free, if you should start to think forbidden thoughts, Chronical of a Rape Foretold, Complications of Consent, How Neoliberalism is Stealing Trans Liberation, siblings, Rediscovering My Identity at My Grandfather's Funeral, and Dear, Dear Life.
I highly recommend the entire book, and all of Thom's work (but please remember, she is only one imperfect woman, not a vessel for Leftist Truth!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Stalking
Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, and Colonisation
Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Alexander is so emotionally vulnerable in Why Fathers Cry At Night. He takes us through all the loves of his life, who are mostly black women - from his grandmothers, to his mother, to his wife, to his mentor, and most importantly, his daughters, we get to see how much respect and love and joy he has for them all. And we also get to see where he feels he has failed them, where he has made completely human errors, and where he has made commitments to try and be better. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and Alexander is also an incredible reader. Will definitely be reading more work by him in the future.
One part that stood out to me is when he tells his mom that he doesn't write poems about people who were good to him, hence why he writes a lot about his dad and not her. I relate to that a lot.
One part that stood out to me is when he tells his mom that he doesn't write poems about people who were good to him, hence why he writes a lot about his dad and not her. I relate to that a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Alcohol, and Classism
Door of Bruises by Sierra Simone
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Every single book in this series is such a winner. I will definitely be rereading them in the future.
For this final installment, I LOVED how the central issue of the door/the sacrifice was resolved. It wasn't what I expected, but it was still really satisfying! The twist with Becket made me feel so sad for him. I also liked how the issue of Saint's paternity was handled, even if there's part of me that wishes we found out definitively - it does work better for the narrative without being firm. And of course, as always, the sexy times were all very fun and steamy.
For this final installment, I LOVED how the central issue of the door/the sacrifice was resolved. It wasn't what I expected, but it was still really satisfying! The twist with Becket made me feel so sad for him. I also liked how the issue of Saint's paternity was handled, even if there's part of me that wishes we found out definitively - it does work better for the narrative without being firm. And of course, as always, the sexy times were all very fun and steamy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Incest, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
RE: Suicide and suicide attempt: the characters don't want to die, but a sacrifice needs to be made & two of them make attempts, while one is successful. The successful suicide is kind of reversed by magic, though.
These Olive Trees by Aya Ghanameh
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
These Olive Trees is such a lovely and important book. It depicts the plight of the Palestinians against Israeli oppression in concrete ways that children can easily digest - from the tents of the camps to the need and love for olive trees. The art is beautiful as well, and I think the decision to depict the war as ghostly hands picking over the land is an apt metaphor.
Content Warnings
It's a childrens book, so I wouldn't say it has any glaring warning. But it is about the oppression and colonisation of Palestinians by Israel.
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Enjoyed this book well enough. It was a nice exploration of the difference between love and obsession, the dysfunction between mother and daughter strewn across cultures, and those cultures that the daughter feels stretched between.
I found the characters to be complex and well-fleshed, suited for the concepts they were exploring. I thought that who got names and who didn't was compelling and thought-provoking detail.
That said, I think that it was somewhat lacking in balance in the scenes in which it spent lots of time with versus the times and places it skipped through. And I felt like the thread of the Ledge and the mental health aspect fell out of the plot a bit awkwardly.
I found the characters to be complex and well-fleshed, suited for the concepts they were exploring. I thought that who got names and who didn't was compelling and thought-provoking detail.
That said, I think that it was somewhat lacking in balance in the scenes in which it spent lots of time with versus the times and places it skipped through. And I felt like the thread of the Ledge and the mental health aspect fell out of the plot a bit awkwardly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
Pretty Boys Are Poisonous : Poems by Megan Fox
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
I like Megan Fox, and I really wanted to enjoy her poetry book. It is, unfortunately, not enjoyable. I think a common problem with non-writer celebs writing poetry is that they don't really know how to cultivate and mature a poetic voice - often, they don't even realize it's a necessary step and one that is ideally done before you get to publishing. What I'm getting at is: I think Fox's poems show potential. But they are underdeveloped and overwrought, raw outpourings of emotion without any refinement, structure, or strength. They are filled to the brim with a shallow immaturity that I tend to associate with my own teenage poetry. And this is a deep shame because Fox clearly has a lot of important topics that she wants to explore. I hope she finds a poetic cohort to give her some feedback before the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child abuse
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
This book is incredible - I am going to need my own copy to review and annotate. There were so many different important points that Davis made that I would like to note down, so many quotes that I would like to let mull in my brain, so many connections that are extremely relevant in our current moment - even though most of this text was written around a decade ago. Some key points that resonated with me quite a bit (and that kept coming up) were: the distinction between civil rights and freedom, the idea of what a terrorist is (and the political slant inherent in that word), the way that collectives of black women have long been a force of change in this country, and how to build an international struggle and get people relating to problems that seem abstract and far away.
If I were only reviewing the text, this would easily be 5 stars. But since I listened to it as an audiobook, I feel like I should point out that the interview section is a bit confusing because it is ALL read by Davis, and sometimes it's difficult to tell when she is reading the interviewer's questions versus her own answers.
If I were only reviewing the text, this would easily be 5 stars. But since I listened to it as an audiobook, I feel like I should point out that the interview section is a bit confusing because it is ALL read by Davis, and sometimes it's difficult to tell when she is reading the interviewer's questions versus her own answers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Colonisation, War, and Deportation
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia
The Appendix: Transmasculine Joy in a Transphobic Culture by Liam Konemann
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
The Appendix is a short series of interconnected personal essays that meditate on transphobia and how trans people (with a specific focus on transmasculine individuals) can find joy despite the hatred against us in the media and in society at large. I will admit, I was hoping for more time spent on the joy aspect than the transphobia aspect, which is not what The Appendix provides. But it does provide important context - the awful state of transphobia in the UK today - and it creates pearls of self-loving out of an experience that is historically seen as self-loathing. All in all, a deeply relevant and necessary book, even if it wasn't exactly what I had hoped for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Hate crime, Rape, Medical trauma, and Murder
-Transphobic & homophobic slurs
-Misgendering
-In my opinion, police apathy & police threat are forms of police brutality
-Rape, murder, and hate crime are all referencing Brandon Teena's rape and murder. While Konemann does not give graphic detail or talk much about this event after the first essay, it is a throughline in that essay.
-Konemann provides content warnings with page numbers in the front of the book.
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Like many readers of The In-Between, I first encountered Hadley Vlahos on social media (Instagram, since I don't use TikTok). Her compassion and insight about end-of-life care really endeared her to me and made me want to read her book. And it is such a book worth reading! Vlahos does a fantastic job at stringing together narratives within and between the essays in this collection. I appreciate that she starts from the beginning and introduces the readers to some of the more surprising aspects of death and dying with the same lack of knowledge she had at first. Also, I respect her willingness to go against official rules for the sake of humanity.
An unfortunate side-effect of Vlahos' abilities as a pretty good writer, though, is that certain things that were undoubtedly shocking to her at the time are well-foreshadowed in her hindsighted recollections. In particular, there is one point in the book where I was like "Oh man... that's going to happen..." and then it did, and then I kind of struggled through everyone's shock and guilt because I was anticipating it. She knows how to structure a narrative... perhaps she is even too good at it.
An unfortunate side-effect of Vlahos' abilities as a pretty good writer, though, is that certain things that were undoubtedly shocking to her at the time are well-foreshadowed in her hindsighted recollections. In particular, there is one point in the book where I was like "Oh man... that's going to happen..." and then it did, and then I kind of struggled through everyone's shock and guilt because I was anticipating it. She knows how to structure a narrative... perhaps she is even too good at it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
-Graphic depictions of deterioration due to Alzheimer's & dementia.
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear is evocative from the title, and it absolutely does not stop throughout the book. Abu Toha takes his readers into the intimate and heart-wrenching moments of a culture, a land, a people under generations of siege. He shows the humanity of the Palestinians of Gaza, a humanity that is often ignored, erased, or disputed in much of mainstream media today. These are not empty numbers or mindless villains dying in the streets of Gaza - they are children, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, lovers, each their own complex bundle of human spirit. Abu Toha keeps that fact at the forefront of his poems.
I also enjoyed the photographic interlude and the interview with Abu Toha at the end of the book; both provided insight and context to some of the specific details enumerated in his poems. The photos additionally emphasized how real the lives of Palestinians are.
As I always try to do when I review poetry books, here is a list of my favorite poems from this collection: "Palestine A-Z", "My Grandfather Was A Terrorist", "Death Before Birth (DBB)", "Displaced", "To My Visa Interviewer", the titular "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear", and "A Rose Shoulders Up".
I also enjoyed the photographic interlude and the interview with Abu Toha at the end of the book; both provided insight and context to some of the specific details enumerated in his poems. The photos additionally emphasized how real the lives of Palestinians are.
As I always try to do when I review poetry books, here is a list of my favorite poems from this collection: "Palestine A-Z", "My Grandfather Was A Terrorist", "Death Before Birth (DBB)", "Displaced", "To My Visa Interviewer", the titular "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear", and "A Rose Shoulders Up".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma