I was wondering how I’d wrap-up August because I’m not a big fan of wrap-ups, but I saw this on Books And Dachshunds and thought It’d be perfect!
What I Read in August
How I Paid For College,Marc Acito: 7/12
Edward’s dad refuses to pay for Julliard so Ed goes on a rampage involving theatre, bisexual chaos, and vandalism of a buddha statue. Note, it is good bi representation, but he does have some dated racism, meaning he doesn’t hate black people, but he does have that predominantly white worldview that sees POC as other.
Bloom Kevin Panetta, Savanna Ganucheau 6/12
Ari hires Hector to work in the family bakery so he won’t have to. *gasp* They fall in love. I thought it was ok, but I don’t really get why a lot of people love it.
Sappho 11/12
If you read two books of poetry in your life, let the first one be Emily Dickinson and the second one Sappho. Sappho is the iconic lesbian we get the words sapphic and lesbian.(from her island Lesbos) But it’s not just F/F love songs, it also portrays Greece as it was in ancient times.
Like A Love Story, Abdi Nazemian 8/12
Three teenagers survive teen drama at the height of the AIDS epidemic in late ’80s New York. I found Judy to be really annoying, I get that you’re a teenager in a bad situation, that you’ve been lied to by your best friend and boyfriend, but they had their reasons! Honestly, I think I would’ve been more sympathetic towards her if she didn’t have a POV, because Art and Reza love her.
A Fierce Heart Spring Washam, 8/12
A more spiritually aware friend loaned me this book, and it was so refreshing! It was basically a long essay on meditation, self-healing and Spring’s experiences as a spiritual leader. It didn’t heal all of my internal suffering, because that would be a miracle, but it was like a relaxing tea.
Juliet Takes A Breath Gabby Rivera, 8/12
This is a lesbian feminist call for POC inclusive feminism. There’s bits of information like how tampons and pads will kill you, the Banana Republic system of exploiting Honduras and Octavia Butler.
Check, Please! Ngozi Ukazu 9/12
The vast majority of hockey stuff went over my head, but it’s really cute and made me crave pie!
Kings, Queens, And In-Betweens Tanya Boteju 7/12
Nima could be really clueless, and this trope needs to die. GAYS KNOW GAY STUFF WE DO NOT SHUT UP ABOUT GAY STUFF. It’s basically about drag.
All right, time for questions!
Which book can you not stop thinking about?
Juliet Takes A Breath keeps me thinking about what it means to be a feminist as an AFAB non-binary person. Due to society, I don’t think I’ll ever be free of the oppression of women like the gender pay gap or the constant catcalling. I don’t want to be treated like a man, or have any sort of gendered treatment, but I hate that people see me as a woman.
That being said, I’m still a feminist. I want to dismantle the patriarchy and create equality for all genders and non genders. I want women to recognize the power they have.
I could talk about this all post so…
Which book would you rather have not read?
I didn’t really get anything from Kings, Queens, & In-Betweens. It disappointed me by not being as gender inclusive as I thought it would be. It played with gender boundaries (drag) and two of the characters were hinted as being fluid, but it was never stated.
What genre did you read the most?
Contemporary and manga/graphic novels!
Which book surprised you the most?
A Fierce Heart! I didn’t think I’d ever pick up a spiritual book, but my friend was begging me to read it and I found it to be healing.
Which book disappointed you the most?
Probably Kings, Queens & In-Betweens, but to say something different, i’ll add Loki.There wasn’t enough gender fluidity in it, and he could’ve been a cis pansexual if it weren’t for one or two lines.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz9TdaKgYIt/
What was your favorite cover?
There’s so many good covers lately, how can I choose? I chose the simple yet descriptive Out Of The Blue because I feel like I don’t talk about it enough and it has an angel on the cover.
What was your favorite summer release?
Like A Love Story might’ve been the only summer release I read, but it deserves love anyway! I love the snippets of queer cards that Stephen made for Art to teach him about gay culture and hope there’s a little companion queer card collection in the future!
Which books did you plan on reading, but you never got around to?
Ooh. I haven’t gotten round to As I Descended, I just started Spinning, and I might’ve DNF’d Wicked Fox.
Which books do you plan on reading in the fall/autumn?
I recently started a series where I look through my Goodreads TBR and decide how soon I should read them. Other than that, As I Descended, Resilience: A Trans Anthology, and Lizard Radio are top priorities. I’m also reading The Black Tides Of Heaven as it’s the Beyond The Binary’s book of September. I’ll post a bigger TBR on my bookstagram later this week, so make sure you’re following me there if you want to put a book higher on my TBR.
I tag you! You are tagged to answer these questions on you summer wrap up, or in a seperate post if you’ve done so already. Tell me your bookish highlights of the summer!
tanyxscreams 