Mel The Bookworm

[Hear Me Out] Wicked Is Kinda Bad, Actually

Glinda and Elphaba from Wicked, also known as the good witch and the wicked witch from Oz, face off with each other in a Munchkinland village.

So I finally saw Wicked: For Good, the second installment of the film adaptation of the stage adaptation of the novel by Gregory Maguire, which is itself a gritty reboot of both Frank L. Baum’s Wizard of Oz novels and the 1939 MGM film. I have a complicated relationship with all things Oz. I hatedContinue reading “[Hear Me Out] Wicked Is Kinda Bad, Actually”

[REVIEW] On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder

On Tyranny, a small tan academic paperback folio, lies face up on a shelf clogged with other books. Someone has written "Gird Your Loins" on the cover with a sharpie.

(Buy this book here.) This book has been everywhere since last year’s election in the US–indie shops, TikTok diatribes, little free libraries and coffee shop share shelves with snarky messages inked on the cover. Something about the idea of a little book of twenty short lessons on how to stem the tide of tyranny, basedContinue reading “[REVIEW] On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder”

[Last While In Books] Short Fiction, Actually

Black and white photograph of a tiny light skinned boy with short dark hair standing between the open pages of a thick book.

Read time: 3 minutes Fellow readers! I had a short story published this week over at Strange Horizons. It’s called Palimpsest, and it’s a look at the silences that cause strain in close relationships and the hidden injustice of women not being deeply known by their own families. There’s also some climate change, (poorly understood)Continue reading “[Last While In Books] Short Fiction, Actually”

[REVIEW]Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke

The black and white Kindle cover of Several People are Typing leans against a laptop screen displaying an empty Slack chat. The cover depicts a series of Slack chat bubbles with odd emojis of wolves, weather, and death symbols interspersed throughout.

(Buy this book here.) Read time: 2 minutes Gerald is trapped in his work Slack chat. Literally. While his body sits dormant in his New York apartment, his consciousness has been fully uploaded to the worst thing about every remote job in America. If he doesn’t find a way out, he’ll be in danger ofContinue reading “[REVIEW]Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke”

[Last While In Books] Rest Well, Miss Major

Two books lie inside of freshly opened cardboard box; the memoir of dearly departed trans activist Miss Major, Miss Major Speaks, and the womanist essay collection All the Black Girls Are Activists.

Apparently it’s literary awards season in the bookish world, fellow readers. That certainly snuck up on me, as did autumn and the fact that 2026 is only three months away. This literary news round up will focus mostly on that, but first there’s some sad news to share. And now on to awards season. OneContinue reading “[Last While In Books] Rest Well, Miss Major”

[REVIEW] 107 Days, by Kamala Harris

The Kindle cover of Kamala Harris' memoir, displaying only the words "107 Days" in plain text, sits next to a wide bowl of Caesar salad and a glass of beer.

[Buy this book here] Read time: 5 minutes On July 21, 2024, Kamala Harris was informed that President Joe Biden was dropping out of the race, choosing not to seek re-election. With only 107 days until the vote, Harris accepted the support of the Democratic party and ran a frantic, flawed, and hopeful campaign oppositeContinue reading “[REVIEW] 107 Days, by Kamala Harris”

[HEAR ME OUT] The Film Adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk Travels Well Until the Last Two Minutes

[Buy the book this film is based on here] Read time: 7 minutes Last night, I saw the screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk. While I read the book years ago, it’s one of those novels that I remember the plot and themes of, but not many of the deeper details. I knewContinue reading “[HEAR ME OUT] The Film Adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk Travels Well Until the Last Two Minutes”

[REVIEW] Miss Major Speaks, by Miss Major Griffin Gracy and Toshio Meronek

My Black lady hand holds up a paperback copy of Miss Major Speaks. The cover depicts Miss Major at her most glamorous, sometime in the 1960s. The book is held up in front of a row of laundromat washing machines. Gotta get those pages in whenever you can, right?

(Buy this book here.) It’s always weird when someone tries to use demographic as an emblem, rather than a descriptor of experience. It’s reductive and robs us of genuine relationships and the understanding our own history(because like it or not, marginalized history is everyone’s history.) It makes small, unremarkable people too big in our minds,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Miss Major Speaks, by Miss Major Griffin Gracy and Toshio Meronek”

[Last While In Books] I’m Still Here And So Are You

The writer, a Black woman in a tall yellow headwrap, a yellow spaghetti strap dress and a t-shirt with the dictionary definition of "eclectic" printed on it, gazes playfully down at the camera.

Fellow readers! I’m still here, but a lot is changing in Mel The Bookworm land. As a result time, contrary to the way I usually fill my personal schedule, is at a fleeting premium. Reviews and posts have been thin on the ground but one of the changes that’s happened lately means I have aContinue reading “[Last While In Books] I’m Still Here And So Are You”

[REVIEW] Gaysians, by Mike Curato

(Buy this book here.) AJ arrives in Seattle, fresh out of the closet and dreaming of art school and self-discovery. On his first venture into a gay bar, he spills a drink on drag queen K, who introduces him to John and Steven. The four of them (and a few others) become a found familyContinue reading “[REVIEW] Gaysians, by Mike Curato”