Books by White Men – Equal Opportunity Reader

[Review]A Quick And Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns, by Tristan Jimerson and Archie Bongiovanni

A Quick and Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns lies on a wooden kitchen table in front of a white bowl heaped with delicious egg noodles and veg.

(Buy this book here) This book is exactly what the title says it is. Archie and their cis friend Tristan put together a quick and simple graphic novel explaining what they/them pronouns are, how they’re used, and why we should use them. They take a really empathetic, gracious approach to this, with sections aimed atContinue reading “[Review]A Quick And Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns, by Tristan Jimerson and Archie Bongiovanni”

[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex

The Kindle cover of Prince Harry's Spare, depicting his face in closeup, lies on a wooden table in between a glass of white wine and a burger.

(Buy this book from my shop.) I’m not much of a royal watcher, despite having lived in Britain for some years in my late twenties and early thirties. The only members of the family I’ve ever paid any attention to are the late Princess Diana and her youngest son, and I really only started payingContinue reading “[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex”

[REVIEW] Black Vans, by Alex Smith and James Dillenbeck

There are two comic books laying on a multicolored confetti rug--Black Vans issue 1&2. The covers depict Bo, a chubby Black superhero''s helper in techie combat gear, in various action poses.

(Buy this directly from the artist’s NSFW website here.) I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what I should tell you first about this cool, colorful indie comic. Maybe it’s that these are INDIE-indie books. I literally bought them out of a backpack in a nightclub. It was the writer’s backpack, but still…Continue reading “[REVIEW] Black Vans, by Alex Smith and James Dillenbeck”

[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell

A tablet displaying the cover of First Blood is held up in front of a leafless fall tree at twilight. The cover depicts a lone man standing in shadow, looking towards a light.

(Buy it here.) I remember thinking, the first time I watched the Sylvester Stallone film Rambo: First Blood, that it wasn’t what I expected at all. I expected a dumb, violent, muscley action flick. It is all of that, but wrapped around a surprisingly empathetic portrayal of a scared young Vietnam vet with PTSD usingContinue reading “[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell”

[REVIEW]The Dark Side of Seoul: Weird Tales From Korean Lore, by Shawn Morrissey, illustrated by Tim Bauer

(To buy this book, go to the publisher’s website here) I never had the chance to go on a Dark Side of Seoul tour when I lived in Korea, but they had a wide reputation as a scary fun time for English-speaking horror lovers. (In fact, I’m pretty sure one of the readers of thisContinue reading “[REVIEW]The Dark Side of Seoul: Weird Tales From Korean Lore, by Shawn Morrissey, illustrated by Tim Bauer”

[REVIEW] Deaf Republic, by Ilya Kaminsky

(Click here to buy this book) So you know that adage, the one that says something like if a book doesn’t grab you in the first few pages then don’t read it, it doesn’t have anything to say or it isn’t well-written? I never pay attention to it. And I’m glad I don’t, because ifContinue reading “[REVIEW] Deaf Republic, by Ilya Kaminsky”

[HEAR ME OUT] Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Is a Holiday Miracle

A tablet displaying the cover of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is held up by a Black woman's hand--my hand-- in front of a glittery Christmas tree in closeup.

Merry Christmas!!! So this is not the Christmas post I had originally intended. I had this whole thoughtful post/review about Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol planned out for today. I was going to tell you about how I re-read it every year at Christmastime, and how I have large chunks of it basically memorized asContinue reading “[HEAR ME OUT] Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Is a Holiday Miracle”

[REVIEW] Decolonization: A Very Short Introduction, by Dane Kennedy

A Kindle ebook displaying the text-only cover of Decolonization:A Very Short Introduction is on a white faux-marble table, propped up on the edge of a small gray platter of Thanksgiving food.

(Click to buy it on Bookshop.) How’s this for seasonal reading? I’ve done a little bit of work around the subject of decolonization. I’ve contributed to papers, taught class units, and read a lot of writing from Africa, Asia and Indigenous Oceania on the subject. Yet it never really dawned on me that the academicContinue reading “[REVIEW] Decolonization: A Very Short Introduction, by Dane Kennedy”

[REVIEW] Cheaper By The Dozen, by Frank B Gilbreth Jr. & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

A Black woman's hand(my hand) holds a Kindle displaying the cover of Cheaper By The Dozen in front of a sleepy residential street lined with autumn trees

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I rarely review “classic” books on here because a)I don’t read them all that often and b) I find it kind of tiresome that whenever I say I focus on diversity in my reading, people expect me to spend all my time making angry posts about old books written byContinue reading “[REVIEW] Cheaper By The Dozen, by Frank B Gilbreth Jr. & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey”

[REVIEW] Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, original text by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

A Black woman's hand holds a tablet displaying the orange cover of Parable of the Sower in front of a speeding train window, passing by a grassy field. The book cover depicts a Black teenaged girl with long dreadlocks, half her face hidden, standing in front of stylized flames and mountains.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I just moved back to America, and man, it is weird. Watching the news from America in preparation for my return sometimes felt like watching a large angry monster run towards a cliff with someone you love strapped to their back, screaming. I haven’t lived in my country for 15Continue reading “[REVIEW] Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, original text by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings”