hermionesviolin: an image of Alyson Hannigan (who plays Willow Rosenberg) with animated text "you think you know / what you are / what's to come / you haven't even / BEGUN" (Default)
August

books

  • 5 picturebooks
  • Pole Dancing To Gospel Hymns by Andrea Gibson [(spoken word) poetry]
  • [Newton SFF book club] Babel-17/Empire Star by Samuel R. Delany
live theatre
  • [Youthquake] The Tempest -- outdoors, only a little over an hour long but I didn't feel like anything was missing
movies
  • [fannish movie night] F9 -- "F9 (Fast and Furious 9)! Cars... in space?" <-- That's how D. billed it to the movie night crew, and it's kind of a misnomer, since it takes like 3/4 of the movie until we get to space and it's not even the most interesting thing that happens?  But it does maybe stand in for just how Extra the movie is.  Secret Family Members! Faked Their Own Death! Magnets!  I'm not kidding -- this movie leans in hard with the magnets, and the ridiculousness is really delightful.
    There's some lampshading, but there's also technobabble and plot-physics.The movie starts out slow, but there's an extended section that is super-delightful.  And Charlize Theron is gr9 (her haircut is unfortunate, but she still manages to look amazing).  Also, Helen Mirren is back -- and learning that she's in this franchise is maybe what got my partner to wanna watch it? đŸ˜‚





September

books

  • [work book club] Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

    The author recommends this review.  Excerpt:
    In this way, Sharks blooms into a tale about colonialism’s rippling effects and the pains of diaspora. When Washburn’s characters return to the beaches and valleys they left behind, they encounter reminders of a time when Native Hawaiians lived cooperatively and self-sufficiently on their land—before white settlers stole everything, before the plantations closed, before there were any plantations at all. In a vision, Nainoa sees “Waipi’o Valley, its rivers, then lo’i paddies of kalo stalks growing plump and green, swarming the valley bottom, and there my family is among it all, with many families
” Washburn contrasts this history of collectivism with the Western mandate of individualism that infects Americans today, many islanders included. As the kids’ mother, Malia, describes, that mandate was a catastrophic development. “[Ships] from far ports carried a new god in their bellies,” she reflects, “a god who blew a breath of weeping blisters and fevers that torched whole generations, a god whose fingers were shaped like rifles and voice sounded like treaties waiting to be broken.”

    Nimbly rotating between Nainoa’s, Kaui’s, Dean’s, and Malia’s stories, Washburn intertwines their perspectives like the strands of an intricate lei. In this way, he wraps us up in their personal struggles to figure out if they have what it takes to set themselves apart—from their family, from their underprivileged home, from their widely misunderstood ancestry. But right when you find yourself rooting for them the hardest, Washburn unravels what they’ve built, reminding us that setting oneself apart is inherently a selfish pursuit. At the end of Sharks, Washburn leaves readers to wonder if the Western values we bring to the reading experience—for example, an investment in personal growth and achievement, which the bildungsroman has taught us to expect—lead us to misunderstand who the protagonist has been the whole time. Through a subtle bait and switch and a fantastical portrayal of Native Hawaiian culture’s communal spirit, Washburn gracefully pushes us to rethink our understanding of what makes a character meaningful to a story. In doing so, he rethinks storytelling altogether. Ultimately, you may also ask yourself if you’ve misunderstood your own narrative all along—and if you’ve had the audacity to think you’re the savior when really you’re one small part of a much larger and longer story.

  • [Bi+ book club] Outlawed by Anna North -- though our protagonist is a cis het woman (she spends much of the book in a community of folks of various genders and sexualities)
  • [novella] Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor (apparently in the same universe as all her other SFF)
  • 4 picturebooks about kids with incarcerated parents
  • 3 additional picturebooks (and one more that was read to me on a virtual reading/Q&A)
  • The Joy of Being Selfish: Why You Need Boundaries and How to Set Them by Michelle Elman -- recommended by my friend Holly
  • Trans-Forming Proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence by Liam M. Hooper -- Thom likened this book's writing style to Untie the Strong Woman: Blessed Mother's Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul by Clarissa Pinkola EstĂ©s (author of the 1996 classic Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype), which makes me not want to read anything by that author
live music
movies
  • [fannish movie night] The LEGO Batman Movie
tv
  • Ted Lasso S2E9 "Beard After Hours"
  Thom live-blogged her experience of first watching this:
ExpandRead more... )

Okay, going to brush my teeth and head to bed. It feels wrong to say this is my favorite episode of Ted Lasso because it’s not even an episode of Ted Lasso. It’s like a random romp through weird shit in London feature a handful of bit characters from the series. And the feel of the episode is completely different. And I kind of loved it.

I’m mildly tempted to show it to you, because it is an almost stand-alone piece of artistry. Like, I could give you all the background you need to understand it in like 2 minutes. And it’s just very wow.

Hence, us watching it on a date night.

hermionesviolin: photo shoot image of Summer Glau (who played River Tam) with text "we are all made of stars" (no one can stop us now)
books
  • 3 picturebooks
  • A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett [trans girl short story collection]
  • Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi -- which makes more sense having read Freshwater first, and also adds a lot to one's understanding of Freshwater
  • [work book club] The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
  • [for two different book clubs] The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

    Someone suggested this book for my feminist sci-fi bookclub, but what sold me was seeing that the author Tweeted
    I don’t always retweet reviews of my book, but this one tackles trauma and healing so thoughtfully it warrants it. It’s also the first review of my work (that I’m aware of) to put abolitionist policies in conversation with my particular brand of optimism.
    RTing Virginia Eubanks:
    What an abolitionist restoration drama about trauma brings to the party that Kurt Vonnegut's anti-war satire doesn't: care, healing, hope. #PTSDBookclub considers @micaiah_johnson's extraordinary debut novel: The Space Between Worlds. https://virginia-eubanks.com/?p=1838

theatre
  • [New Rep] Listen to Sipu -- about the history of the colonization of what is now Watertown

movies
  • [fannish movie night] Gunpowder Milkshake
hermionesviolin: animated icon of a book open on a desk, with text magically appearing on it, with text "tell me a story" framing it (tell me a story [lizzieb])
COUSINS!

I don't actually have a lot to say about the book, but I just finished it and am happy to chat in comments.
hermionesviolin: image of Glory from Buffy with text "at least I admit this world makes me crazy" (crazy [lavellebelle])
So, (I'm pretty sure) I don't know anyone with Borderline Personality Disorder, but I found Stop Walking on Eggshells: taking your life back when someone you care about has borderline personality disorder (Paul T. Mason, MS & Randi Kreger; Second Edition) helpful anyway.  A lot of the stuff about the fact that you can't "fix" the other person (and also about boundary-setting, and trigger vs. cause) is broadly applicable.

***

I will caveat, however, that I'm not stoked about some of their language choices.

(1) They often alternate using "he" and "she" for generic examples, rather than going for a singular they or "he or she" (and whenever they do say "he or she," I think, "way to reinforce the gender binary").  (They do get points for having an f/f couple as one of their anecdotes, though.)

(2)
Non-Borderline (non-BP)
The term "non-borderline" (non-BP) does not mean "person who doesn't have BPD."  Rather, it is shorthand for "relative, partner, friend, or other individual who is affected by the behavior of someone with BPD."
-p.18

"Borderline" Versus "Person with BPD"
      Some professionals prefer the term "person with BPD." They believe that calling someone a "borderline" implies that the diagnosis defines the person.  These clinicians assert that the longer phrase "person with BPD" should always be used.
    While we agree that the term "person with BPD" is less stigmatizing than the noun "borderline," our goal is to produce a book that is readable and succinct, as well as respectful to people with mental disorders.  To examine the complex interactions between BPs and non-BPs, we must often differentiate between them--sometimes several times in the same sentence.  Using the longer phrase would have made this book too hard to read, so we have chosen to use "borderline" or "BP" instead.  More importantly, "BP" is inclusive of people who have not been formally diagnosed, but show the traits.
-p.19
ExpandThat said, excerpts I found useful... )
hermionesviolin: (Daughter of Eve)
I'm not a big fan of this book (the author purposely uses masculine language for God and generally feels more theologically conservative than I am; and it didn't teach me much I didn't already know about dealing with mental illness) but I do really appreciate the bits about stigma (because my mentally ill best friend and I have had conversations recently about how we live in a culture of shame).

That's the GoodReads review I wrote last night after I finished reading the book.

Longer addendum written today: Expandwarnings for problematic theology, discussions of suicide, self-injury, mental illness, and stigma there-around )
hermionesviolin: an image of Alyson Hannigan (who plays Willow Rosenberg) with animated text "you think you know / what you are / what's to come / you haven't even / BEGUN" (you think you know...)
[GoodReads]

I added this to my GoodReads after reading Lee Wind's review. Then [livejournal.com profile] mjules read it, and had comments which reminded me of Ari's complaints about Luna. So I was pleasantly surprised by the protagonist's reactions overall. (Also, I really liked that he almost always referred to Sage as "she," even when he was first feeling all, "Ugh, Sage is really a guy." He has only ever known Sage as "she," so that response makes perfect sense -- see also my comments on Luna.)

Jules makes a good point about the fact that this might be difficult to read as a trans person, though -- it didn't occur to me in reading it (hi, I am cisgendered) but which on reflection, yeah. However, I was really pleased that the reactions to Sage's revelation were varied and plausible. ExpandRead more... )
hermionesviolin: image of Glory from Buffy with text "at least I admit this world makes me crazy" (crazy [lavellebelle])
[GoodReads]

On my GoodReads because mosca got it at ComicCon 2008. I'd completely forgotten about it until I was trawling my GoodReads in my trans YA lit binge. (Though having read it, I took off the "trans" tag, because the protagonist is not actually trans. It does deal with queer sexuality some, but not because of cycling nature of the narrator.)

Reading this right after rereading Luna was maybe not the best idea ever. I felt really angry and frustrated at the beginning -- though it gets better. I was also like, "Ugh! (teen) het romances! do not want care!"

Having recently read Parrotfish, I felt a little like, "What's up with the quirky (best friend) characters in YA lit?" but I kind of love them, so I can't really complain. The mom seemed a little OTT (over the top), but the world of the novel is bizarre enough that I mostly just rolled with it.

The jacket flap says the author "is currently at work on the sequel to Cycler." I am hopeful that the sequel [which I hadn't realized was already out] will have more mature exploration of gender (and identity) issues and also [speculation redacted].
hermionesviolin: (andro)
[GoodReads]

I reread this after having finally read Parrotfish. My mom got an ARC of this through work (and gave it to me, obv.), and I have barely any memories of that first reading experience.

Ari read this book last year (July, 2009) and commented, "it was really pissing me off (because the protagonist is the younger sister of a trans girl, and she, the protagonist, is trying really hard? But she gets pronouns wrong, and doesn't really understand, and I am auto-fixing pronouns in my head and it's really, really frustrating)." So when I read it this year, I had Ari's comments very much in mind. As I was reading, I kept forgetting about Ari's criticism because it felt so natural that Regan (the trans character's little sister) was referring to her sibling with male or female pronouns depending on how the sibling was presenting -- though yes of course it's problematic, since Regan's sibling is female, regardless of presentation.

Other notes:

I really didn't care about Regan's het romance plotline -- and I winced a lot.

After I finished the book, I found myself wondering who the target audience for this book is.
hermionesviolin: image of Katie Heigl with text "gay patron saint" (gay patron saint)
[GoodReads]

♄ Yes, this book is About Being Trans, and it is Educating you the reader, but it's so good. (Caveat: The exoticization of one of the secondary characters made me uncomfortable.) Yes, things go much more easily happily than is likely realistic, but people deserve to see lives like theirs reflected in positive ways. The dead/evil cliche has been around long enough. Especially since I think this is the ONLY ya book with a trans protagonist. (Lee Wind's Transgender Teen Characters/Themes list has a couple YA books -- The Suicide Year and The Sweet In-Between: A Novel -- which I haven't read yet but which seem more like the protagonist cross-dresses because of a particular situation, so it may deal with gender issues but it doesn't actually have a trans protagonist per se.)
hermionesviolin: (paper symbols)
When Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus responded: "The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul -- and the second is like it: to love your neighbor as yourself; on this hang all the law and the prophets" (paraphrased from memory).

The novel The Shack never cites this passage specifically, but it's arguably at the heart of the book: that relationship is at the heart of how we are called to be, that we must be in loving relationship God (God who is Trinitarian because God's essence is Love and love cannot exist outside of relationship) and that all our other relationships must be rooted in that model of relationship.

This isn't new(s) to me, so I wasn't blown away by the book like some people have been. Plus there were a variety of little things that just didn't quite work for me.
hermionesviolin: image of Claire Bennet from the tv show Heroes looking up at the sky (face up (and sing))
Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day by Anne Katherine

This wasn't particularly an epiphany book, but it did find it useful for articulating and reminding me of things I already kind of knew -- though by about halfway through I was less into it.

(I also feel like most/many situations aren't as clear-cut as the examples the author gives, but I recognize that they're intended to provide models.)

I really liked the idea about boundaries as being like cell membranes -- keeping some things out and letting some things in, in a healthy and balanced fashion.

I also really liked the idea that we should structure our lives based on what WE value, not on what other people think we should value.

I found the chapter on Making Amends helpful with its reminder to be really attentive to the harm you have done to the other person and making amends in kind.

One interesting thing: the author talks about nicknaming someone against their express wishes as a boundary violation.

ExpandRead more... )
hermionesviolin: (i walk a lonely road)
I got on the library waitlist for this book because Amy kept saying it was amazing. The first fifty pages or so I really wasn't into it -- didn't like the main character, didn't really like the setup -- but I kept going because Amy had insisted.

And I started to get into it, and the story became about so much more than the initial setup indicated, and the characters grew, and connections were made (narratively and relationally), and parts made me cry (in an "emotionally moving" way).

I feel like a lot of the intensity [am being vague for spoiler-free-ness] would seem melodramatic to a lot of readers, but it really works for me (which surprises me a smidgen -- though it probably shouldn't).

Edit: I read a comment on GoodReads (Message 5 by Navah here) that said, "I realized that it was actually about love and discovery and history and the way you define yourself by the people you choose to love," which is arguably the best description I've seen -- though I would argue that you don't "choose" to love people necessarily (either IRL or in this book), you just *do* and *that* changes/defines you.
hermionesviolin: black background with red animated typing the "blood and rhetoric" bit from R&G Are Dead -- ending "Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see." (blood)
The title story didn't do much for me, but the collection does improve.

The inside jacket flap quotes "What shall we do, all of us?  All of us passionate girls who fear crushing the boys we love with our mouths like caverns of teeth, our mushrooming brains, our watermelon hearts?"  This is from the story "Giant" (the second story in the collection), and that line really resonated with me -- made the eponymous transformation in that tale really connect with actual life.

The inside jacket flap proclaims, "What's real is what's imagined in nine tales of transformation by Francesca Lia Block," and I think the different tales have varying degrees of success in pulling off that idea.  I think "Body Art" is the best of the nine, both as a story on its own and as an example of that statement.
hermionesviolin: (pensive)
(It's a little bit weird reading a book set in [FLB's] Los Angeles knowing I'm going to be in Los Angeles in a few weeks.)

I found myself thinking of Necklace of Kisses, and how this book feels like a move further into the "real" world. Unlike the magic world of Dangerous Angels which seems almost apart from our world, this world is definitely ours, with the 2004 tsunami and all. It has premonitory dreams and spirits and such, but in a way which feels more like, "Yes, this could happen in our world."

I found Katrina's development interesting and engaging, but I would have liked the book to end when Katrina finishes telling her story. A lot of the "In Her Own Words" and following sections felt like retelling of Katrina's story but not quite, which was frustrating as a reader, and I also generally found them less satisfying than Katrina's story.
hermionesviolin: a close-up crop of a Laurel Long illustration of a lion, facing serenely to one side (Aslan)
At church group [CAUMC young adults] a couple weeks ago, Prince Caspian came up.  (Trelawney said she was really skeptical given the LWW movie, where she felt like they made the one battle scene the biggest part of the movie.)  Despite having reread the Narnia Chronicles only about 3 years ago, I still really only remember The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and secondarily The Last Battle and The Magician's Nephew.  So clearly I had to reread the book again. Expandthoughts )
hermionesviolin: a build-a-bear, facing the viewer, with a white t-shirt and a rainbow stitched tattoo bicep tattoo (pride)
[GoodReads -- feel free to tell me I fail at writeups]

[livejournal.com profile] mjules loved this book, and I was intrigued, so I ILL-ed it.

ExpandRead more... )
hermionesviolin: (andro)
My favorite parts of this were the thought on pr0ning from the Introductions rather than any of the stories themselves.  How's that for a ringing endorsement?  (I also wasn't big on the repeated use of "slit" and "hole," though I liked the creative ways of talking about unshaven crotches -- "bearded" and "fur.")

Since people asked last time, I'll comment on each story.

ExpandForeword - Tristan Taormino )

ExpandIntroduction: List, Conquer, See - Emma Donoghue )

Okay, so the stories.  This more of a "reaction" than a "review" post.

Expandspoilers for stories in this collection abound, obviously -- as do digressions into what I personally find hot and further digressions into identity issues... this is all still expected, right? )

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