books – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Hijab Butch Blues, by Lamya H

Mel's hand props up a Kindle displaying the black and white cover of Hijab Butch Blues, which depicts a slim hijabi in baggy trousers and shirt facing away over an abstract line art landscape. The Kindle rests against a delicious dish of couscous and braised beef in a wide painted ceramic dish.

(Buy this book at Bookshop, please.) Read time: 3 minutes If it weren’t for religious devotion–specifically, deep study of the Quran while growing up South Asian in an Arab country and later being a hijabi immigrant in post-9/11 New York–Lamya H might never have fully realized her own queerness. Through careful examination of the SurahContinue reading “[REVIEW] Hijab Butch Blues, by Lamya H”

[REVIEW] Successful Failure, by Kevin Fredericks

The Kindle cover of Successful Failure, depicting comedian Kevin Fredericks power posing in a tux, lays against a flowered wallet on a dining table. Behind it are a dish of salad and a glass of white wine.

(This book is available at the Equal Opportunity Bookshop) Read time: 3 minutes They don’t all have to be deep, but sometimes they unexpectedly are. If “just keep going” was a person, it would look a lot like Kevin Fredericks, aka KevOnStage. I remember seeing his Scandal recap videos years ago and debating with friendsContinue reading “[REVIEW] Successful Failure, by Kevin Fredericks”

[REVIEW] A Plagued Sea, by Bo Young Kim, translated by Sophie Bowman

The very boring Kindle ARC cover of A Plagued Sea, displaying only the plain text title and author's name, is held up in front of an incoming wave on sunny Santa Monica Beach

(Lovecraft enthusiasts can buy this book here.) Read time: 3 minutes Mu-Young plans a relaxing beach town getaway with her niece Hyun. At first it’s a welcome respite from her controlling sister and the stresses of her job as a bodyguard, but the earthquake that hits the coast as soon as they arrive changes everything.Continue reading “[REVIEW] A Plagued Sea, by Bo Young Kim, translated by Sophie Bowman”

[REVIEW] Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian In a Mountain Place, by Neema Avashia

The paperback of Anofher Appalachia rests against a potted plant. The cover depicts an Indian family sitting in front of a clapboard house.

(You can purchase this book ethically here.) 2 minutes read time In the 1970s, a handful of Indian scientists signed contracts for good jobs at West Virginian chemical plants. As people do, they settled down and had children, including Neema Avashia. Like many children of immigrants, Neema’s identity ia a bit fractal. For every all-AmericanContinue reading “[REVIEW] Another Appalachia: Growing Up Queer and Indian In a Mountain Place, by Neema Avashia”

[REVIEW] It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time To Break Up And How To Move On, by Malaika Jabali

The blue hardback cover of It's Not You, It's Capitalism is held up by a Black woman's hand in front of a loaded bookshelf. The cover depicts a series of illustrated emoticons: a broken heart, a bag of money on fire, and an upraised, clenched Black Power fist.

(Buy this book here.) Read time: About 3 minutes 25-year old me would think that 45-year old me is ballin. 45-year old me thinks that I work too hard not to be. Both of us are pissed off. Somehow, the steady rise of my income is far outmatched by the upward sprint of the costContinue reading “[REVIEW] It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time To Break Up And How To Move On, by Malaika Jabali”

[REVIEW] Crossfire, by StaceyAnn Chin

(Buy this book here.) Read time: about 3 minutes Back in the day, I used to attend poetry performances almost as often as church. (And I went to church a lot!) Unsurprisingly, I was especially drawn to the words of other Black women, and while like most people I’m made up of a million differentContinue reading “[REVIEW] Crossfire, by StaceyAnn Chin”

[REVIEW]Once Upon A Marquess, by Courtney Milan

The Kindle cover of Once Upon A Marquess depicts a young white woman in a Victorian dress sitting in a grassy field. The Kindle lies on a speckled ceramic table, nest to a saucer with a blue ceramic cup of milky coffee and a half-eaten scone on it.

(Buy this book here!) Read time: 2 minutes After her father’s death and her brother’s disgraced exile, Judith Worth is tasked with caring for her three younger siblings and keeping the family name in good, if socially lowered, standing. When a challenge to her hard won domesticity arises, there’s only one person she can turnContinue reading “[REVIEW]Once Upon A Marquess, by Courtney Milan”

[REVIEW] Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman

The Kindle cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl, depicting a burly man in boxers and a Persian cat running from a fiery explosion, lies on the ground next to a city water department manhole cover.

(Buy this book here.) Read time: 4 minutes One minute Coast Guard meathead Carl is rescuing his absentee ex-girlfriend’s prize Persian cat from a tree in the middle of the night. The next, every building on earth is smashed flat and at the behest of an alien voice, Carl and Donut(the cat) are forced toContinue reading “[REVIEW] Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman”

[Hear Me Out] A Year of Deeper Reading

Read time: 13 minutes (To skip to the booklist, click here.) I’m still here. Fellow readers, I almost quit the internet last year. And last month. And last week. And about an hour ago. Rest assured, this isn’t some “goodbye, cruel virtual world” post. You’re stuck with me for the virtual moment. But like many,Continue reading “[Hear Me Out] A Year of Deeper Reading”

[Last Year In Books] 2025 In Books: What I Read In The Midst of The Weird

Scrabble tiles spell out Happy New Year on a black background dotted with sequins

Read time: 12 minutes Man, 2025 was a weird year. The weirdest thing, perhaps, is that I’ve been saying the exact same thing for the past five years. You know how history speaks of the Renaissance, the Dark Ages, the Enlightenment? Fellow readers, I fear that future generations may refer to our era as TheContinue reading “[Last Year In Books] 2025 In Books: What I Read In The Midst of The Weird”