A quick note: I’m Mel, the author of 99% of the reviews on this site. I’m a straight cis woman who firmly believes in equality and equity for LGBTQIA+ people. While I’ve been doing targeted reading for Pride Month, I haven’t really read a lot of queer books in any genre and I’m aware myContinue reading “Guest Review: All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M Johnson”
Tag Archives: Books by men
[REVIEW] Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts
Buy it HERE. 🚔⠀I am a father driving/his Black sons to school & the death/of a Black boy rides shotgun &this/could be a funeral procession⠀~from “When I Think of Tamir Rice While Driving”⠀✊🏿⠀When it’s difficult for me to focus, I tend to read poetry. This short collection surprisingly filled an empathetic void in me IContinue reading “[REVIEW] Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts”
[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀ This book is easily my second favorite read of the year so far after Girl, Woman, Other. It’s funny, touching, warm-hearted, and surprisingly deep. It’s also ferociously well-written. (One chapter made me close the book, say WOW, & sit for a while with the words.) I can’t believe I’ve never heardContinue reading “[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal”
[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
(Buy it HERE.) “Who will be lost in the story we tell ourselves? Who will be lost in ourselves?” This is a messy book. There’s a lot going on between its covers–PTSD, emerging sexuality, poverty, war, immigration, mental illness, class, race, abuse, art, gender performance. There’s a lot going on, but it all seems toContinue reading “[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong”
The Invisible Man, by HG Wells
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀👤⠀Few canon classics really stand up to the test of time. It’s nice when I come across something that does and H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man was a nice surprise. ⠀👓⠀If you live in an English-speaking part of Earth, you already know what to expect here. There is a man. He isContinue reading “The Invisible Man, by HG Wells”
[REVIEW] Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture, Hisham D. Aidi
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is *really* hard to try and write a concise review of Rebel Music simply because there’s so much to talk about. In contrast to the polemics of a lot of popular writing about Islam, Aidi instead takes us on a cultural tour of music in and of the Muslim world.Continue reading “[REVIEW] Rebel Music: Race, Empire and the New Muslim Youth Culture, Hisham D. Aidi”
[REVIEW] The Ocean At The End Of The Lane,Neil Gaiman
(Buy it HERE.) This book is like a collaboration between Stephen King and Roald Dahl after a brief consultation with C.S. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft. It’s weird and whimsical and dark and otherworldly and veddy, veddy British. It should be awesome but it’s mostly just…okay. It took me a long time to get into thisContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Ocean At The End Of The Lane,Neil Gaiman”
Becoming Him by Landa Mabenge
(Buy it HERE.) “I have spent most of my life adrift in hollow silos, a bee whirling around in an empty can.” Landa Mabenge is a very interesting person. He grew up in an abusive home and struggled through alcoholism, poor mental health, and bad relationships as a young adult in addition to struggling toContinue reading “Becoming Him by Landa Mabenge”
Equal Opportunity Reader 