Happy Pride! For June it was my goal to focus on LGBTQ+ books. It was a beautiful but too short month for my reading.
PRIDE READING
I had so (SO) many books that I wanted to read this month. But between a trip and life in general I did not get to all of the books I wanted to devour this month.
I wanted to focus on LGBTQ+ outside of the standard fair but that is a lot harder to find that I was hoping. This is partly my fault because I didn't plan far enough ahead to request things from the library. In the end, at least I managed to read some books that focused on the marginalized populations within the Queer community.
One of the first, and best, books I read this month was Decolonize Drag by Kareem Khubchandani. As a white person, it is pretty easy to ignore a lack of diversity everywhere. And, I am certainly guilty of not really noticing diversity in drag. This book really brought to my attention and taught me so much. Bonus, the author writes about a lot of Chicago locations. I see you Big Chicks!!
Outlaw Marriages was another interesting read. This book by Rodger Stewtmatter was a historical look at same sex famous couples. To be honest, there were so many people that I did not realize were in same sex relationships. Are we really surprised though? Even during these relationships, the couples themselves couldn't talk openly about their relationships. One thing they all had in common was the privacy and protection that can be bought by money. The book is very formulaic but if you are interested, here are the relationships highlighted in the book:
Walt Whitman & Peter Doyle
Martha Carey Thomas & Mamie Swinn
Ned Warren & John Marshall
Mary Rozet Smith & Jane Addams
Bessie Marbury & Esie de Wolfe
J.C. Leyendecker & Charles Beach
Alice B. Toklas & Gertrude Stein
Janet Flanner & Solita Solano
Greta Garbo & Mercedes de Acosta
Aaron Copland & Victor Kraft
Frank Merlo & Tennessee Williams
James Baldwin & Lucien Happersberg
Robert Rauschenberg & Jasper Johns
Ismail Merchant & James Ivory
Frances Clayton & Audre Lorde
I wanted to like Asexual Fairy Tales so much but it was odd. The author takes a few stories and "adds" elements which felt wrong - especially for traditional fairy tales of other cultures. The author also puts notes of how each story was important or impacted her which felt like this book was actually a collection of how Elizabeth Hopkinson felt about her asexuality. I struggled to find the connection between the story and asexuality beyond one character declaring that they are never going to marry and this makes them pure. I assumed that this was because I am not ace but when I went to the reviews, I was not alone.
Queer Villians of Myth and Legend and A Very Gay Book were collections of stories. Both books were enjoyable but nothing outstanding. However, there were some hilarious parts of A Very Gay Book.
I picked up multiple audiobooks - there were so some sneaky emotional choices. I did not have a lot of capacity to read a sad book this month so three landed in DNF. I landed on Emmett by L.C. Rosen, a retelling of Emma. It was so adorable. Charming. It follows the original nicely with updating when needed. This Queer YA story also brought some issue to the forefront for me - especially how different the Queer community is within itself. There was representation without much pandering and I loved the nuanced discussions about sex.
BOOKS NOT ON THEME
I took my first ever trip to Washington DC with one of my favorite people in the whole world. I knew that some of The Diamond Eye was set within DC so I took advantage of the trip to read this book. As always, Kate Quinn delivered. I mean, just look at this synopsis.
In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.
Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.
Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever. from Goodreads.
It was five stars! I could not put it down. Thankfully, my travel companion is also a book lover so we happily read for huge chunks of the day.
I finished it before the trip ended. So, we swapped books and I started reading Project Hail Mary. Y'all, this was just as good as The Martian! I didn't pick it up sooner because people were disappointed by it but I honestly have no idea why. The story flips back and forth between science heavy and friends on an adventure and, like Diamond Eye, I could not put it down. I just love consumptive vacation reading.
Next month's theme is: Reading Green!
Tell me, please! What did you read this month?
No comments:
Post a Comment