bashsbooks's reviews
207 reviews

The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America by Cori Bush

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I am not the biggest fan of most politicians, I must admit. But despite my disagreements with her methods and policies (which, compared to most politicians, I have very few), I have incredible respect for Cori Bush. The struggles that she has overcome are unfathomable to me, and the bravery that it must have taken for her to share her story after coming into the public light as a member of the House of Representatives. Very frank. Very educational and important read for activists, nurses, community members, child-carers.
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Voice & Vein by Makari Clove, Pur Durance

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Voice & Vein is a strong start to Clove & Durance's Broadsides series. There are nice twists on the typical urban fantasy tropes - particularly in the authors' magical system. The dynamic between the two main characters (Kian & Rosemary) is compelling, and the writing is punchy and funny. My only gripe would be that the writing style is a little mismatched to the audience, a little juvenile. But even so, I'm excited to read the other three in this series. 
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Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure: A Graphic Novel by Lewis Hancox

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

Welcome to St. Hell is a fine graphic novel. I think that it's important to have more trans narratives, especially easily accessible ones. And this is a pretty quick, simple, and informative read. Hancox is bares a lot of his personal struggles, and I applaud him for the levity he's willing to inject in his reflections. But... it was not that interesting to me personally. It was a fine book. Just a little boring for me.
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From Female to Male: The Life of Jack Bee Garland by Louis Graydon Sullivan

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informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

Absolutely incredible book in terms of information - I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that it makes me emotional to read about trans people from history, especially ones that seem to be queer in other ways (for example, Jack Bee reads to me like he might be on the ace spectrum, if he were alive today and labeling himself in our terms, although I know the pitfalls of applying such terms to historical figures). I also greatly enjoyed the direct quotes from Jack Bee Garland, in all his newspaper reporting throughout his life. I do wish that Lou Sullivan (the author of this piece, who also makes me emotional whenever I read about him/his work) had provided more context for what life was like in Jack Bee's time - it was a bit atypical of a biography in that sense and in the sense of the formatting. Still, highly recommended, and an extremely important book.
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Clementine, Book Two by Tillie Walden

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

4.25

Book Two is just as good as Book One - introducing new characters and a new plotline, while pulling through the threads from the first book. Once again, it's best for fans of the Walking Dead video game; without that context, it might be harder to get into the story. But a very good read, and I'm excited for the end of the trilogy next year. 
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Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites: Flirting with Fangs Edition by Joy Demorra

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Hunger Pangs is marketed as a steamy and fun satire of paranormal romance, and I feel like it delivered well on that promise. The chemistry between Nathan and Vlad is a joy to read - and the chemistry with Ursula, too, though I wish there had been more wit her. Some of the political critiques were eye-rollingly heavy-handed, but they weren't wrong. Nathan's disabilities were handled really well, and I'd love to see more heartthrob werewolf doms with arm braces and hearing aids. The sexy scenes were also a lot of fun and very engaging. 
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Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

A revolutionary and informative book that I'm recommending to all my friends. Reclaiming Two-Spirits tracks the history of gender and sexuality across indigenous groups - mostly in North America, though there are references to Australian Aboriginals. It shows what we still know of the vibrant pre-colonial takes on gender and sexuality, which were as varied as the number of peoples that existed in North America - and how systemically colonizers tried to erase and destroy that diversity. And then, at the end, hope swells as the book tracks the creation of the word two-spirit and panindigenous efforts to reclaim their identities. I learned so much from this book, and I think that most people would, too - it's a good text for questioning sexual mores and what 'history' really means.
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The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I can see why this book is such a classic - and why it's so frequently banned. I was pleasantly surprised at how open Celie's letters were about her love and lust for Shug Avery, and how upfront all the black characters were about all the various ways racism manifested in their lives & white people made things that much harder for them. It felt like a manifesto for black queer women, in fiction form. I loved that the ending, after so much hardship was ultimately hopeful. I'm not usually a huge fan of epistolary novels in general, but the format worked well for this story.
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The Essential Dykes to Watch Out for by Alison Bechdel

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I've long heard chatter about Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For - how you can you be in queer spaces & not eventually hear of her groundbreaking comics? - but I didn't have much of an idea about what the strip was about, aside from dykes. Well, it's about their lives, loves, jobs, educations, families, and politics, and every messy bit that pops up in those areas. The strip has an extremely diverse cast of characters, parrying the conservative complaint that characters who are marginalized on multiple axes is modern woke bullshit. It's also refreshingly inclusive - though some of the characters struggle with the concept of transgender, the comic itself is affirming and depicts trans people as real human beings. This should not be a big deal, but it feels revolutionary to me. And, on a related note, Lois is my favorite of the dykes. (Seriously, the comic that discusses bisexual lesbians AND trans men in the same strip changed my life. Those are not modern made-up things or tumblr identities! Here they are, being discussed in our community long before the popularization of the Internet. So validating.) 
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God Themselves by Jae Nichelle

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emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

Nichelle is a crazy-talented poet. Her poems scratch the itches in my brain just like the ones I was reading constantly in undergrad to learn the craft. I especially enjoy her meditations on religion - and how she grapples with the idea of god in the face of racial, queer, and class injustices. My favorite poems were "Jesus Saves," the soup poems, and "When the Last Time You Went To Church?", but all of them are sooo good. I love the way Nichelle plays with space, too - the footnote poems were also all really clever. I cannot wait to read The Porch (As Sanctuary).
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