Ave Barrera wrote a disturbing, freaky, men ain't shit masterpiece. I was here for it. It hit.
There was violence and silence and drama, and pain. IntAve Barrera wrote a disturbing, freaky, men ain't shit masterpiece. I was here for it. It hit.
There was violence and silence and drama, and pain. Intimacy is a hell of a drug. It's hard to witness someone giving themselves over to someone else emotionally, physically, and mentally and leaving themselves outside the door. Watching it happen generationally? Absolutely nuts. But haven't we all seen it before in some way.
There was so much tension in Restoration it felt like breaking, snapping, and disappearing. I asked myself yo what is being restored here? Alongside the care and the giving, there was so much manipulation, and greed. Watching 1 person be greedy with the very being of another person, so much so they think that they can give it away at their will, is a mind meld. It was a strange read. Unsettling. I'd do it again tho. ...more
I found this book through Jack Edwards talking about it with Cillian Murphy on YT.
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect and went into it blind and II found this book through Jack Edwards talking about it with Cillian Murphy on YT.
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect and went into it blind and I'm glad that I did because in all honesty, I might not have read it.
It's not that I don't care about the crisis of boys, and the crisis of young men, as so grippingly displayed with the culture in the Netflix mini-series, Adolescence. It's not that I don't care, it's just that it's a lot to contend with when you see all what's going on.
Shy was a brilliant read, it was a really dope novella. It felt so present, I loved the role that music, namely D&B, played in the story. It was an anchor, a friend, a reprieve. My heart broke a lot of the time, because I feel like I kept hearing this FKA Twigs line in my head
"I fear the man who finds himself lost In tales of war, delusions of more Beautiful boys, I wish you knew how precious you are Your mother's, sister's, lover's heart is where there's healing..."
This song is the song that I played most this year because it spoke to something inside of me. I feel like it adequately represented a lot of what was happening in the mind of young Shy. To a degree I understand that it's the culture that is tearing these kids up, but in my heart, I can't see why they can't realize that the people who care about them and who want to help them would give anything to save them, but can't save them from themselves, and that there's so much going wrong, but no one is really talking about what the fuck is going on, they're focused on villainizing, or wanting the other demographic to regress so they can shine, or whatever. It's all very layered. This book will stick with me for a LONG time. Way too much to unpack....more
Covid-19 has illuminated so many realities about humanity, delusion, and what we know to be true about the world that we'll be pondering over for yearCovid-19 has illuminated so many realities about humanity, delusion, and what we know to be true about the world that we'll be pondering over for years to come. Mark Kingwell provides a lot to chew on regarding the risks we take daily, the philosophical issues of life, death, human interaction and living dangerously. I found the parts on the game of risk, and the segments on people taking risks with their own lives regarding not masking, fascinating.
This short book was thoughtfully put together and even though I look at all white male philosophy professors askance nowadays, yes because of that guy, I think Mark Kingwell gave us some work that was easy to follow and insightful. I think he's a particularly astute observer of our times....more
I'll tell you what, only this French woman could have written this book, that's my opinion and I'm sticking by it.I'll tell you what, only this French woman could have written this book, that's my opinion and I'm sticking by it....more
This was a perfect read. It scratched an itch in my mind that I didn't even know that I had.
Toni at Random is for the folks who love learning about pThis was a perfect read. It scratched an itch in my mind that I didn't even know that I had.
Toni at Random is for the folks who love learning about process, and what it takes to create progress and change. It's also a book for the gworls, the Toni Morrison lovers, the ones who are fascinated by Black women building connection and community, and learning how the greats, the folks Shonda Rhymes refers to as the FOD's (first, only, different) survived and thrived at their complex and nuanced jobs. It's for those who want to see how changemakers like Ms. Morrison created and nurtured bonds, and cut ties with people who gave them way too much grief for the work that they were producing. It's a book that captures the working life of a very serious and prolific woman in her element.
I loved the segments on the friendships built and sustained; the challenges that she went through and the folks she had to clap back at when they were getting too crazy. I respect Toni Morrison's commitment to excellence and expansiveness in types of books published: fiction, non-fiction, retrospectives, a cookbook, etc. I also respect how some of the misunderstandings between her and peers/the writers that she editing were dealt with. Dealing with folks with big personalities seemed to be a given for Ms. Morrison, but the parts where misogyny/misogynoir rang loud, were still always deeply unsettling. Folks were big mad at some of the professional moves she had to make, but Ms. Toni Morrison loved her community, and you didn't have to squint to see that, she was deeply committed to her work. She focused on bringing out the best in her communities, friends, and foes alike.
Dana A. Williams did some serious work on this book and it is well appreciated. I love Acknowledgements sections because you get to see how deep the well runs for the people who lifted up the writer when they were hard at work. The acknowledgements were inspiring, and another layer to the story of how this text came to be. You can see how impactful Ms. Morrison was on Dana A. Williams, in addition to the guidance that she provided to her. I love when people open the door or lift up the curtain and let you see the effort that went into a life, into creation, into the birth of various texts. Naturally, my read list has exploded....more
Fascinating, and really important. It’s so interesting how much it takes of a person to tell the truth after you’ve spent so long living a life you’veFascinating, and really important. It’s so interesting how much it takes of a person to tell the truth after you’ve spent so long living a life you’ve tried to convince yourself was a particular way that it wasn’t. This memoir is incredibly unique at grappling with it’s subject matter.
It’s not lost on me that sometimes women, along with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse of all stripes, survivors of grooming, etc sometimes have to wait until the dissenting voices are dead to get enough clarity to hear themselves think. That’s fucking wild to me, and will never not be crazy to me, because of how accurate it is. Today, I watched a grown man cry about how he thought he was being sacrificed when he was 18 years old and was in love with a girl who was 26 years old, while he was trying to make it in the art world. I watched that today: May 26, 2025. His girlfriend, was testifying in the Diddy trial today, and in my head I was thinking: that grown man, will never be the same because of how that woman groomed him into a relationship as a teen, and then introduced him to a lifestyle that he was not used to and tried to pretend like he was okay with, but now he’ll have to carry forever, and can now only talk about with any safety now (in his perspective) now that one of his two abusers is sitting in jail and can’t dissent, or make him “disappear” as he thought they were trying to do. It’s not just women who experience these nightmare situations, where you try to contort your thoughts, and convince yourself that something is okay that is absolutely-not-fucking-okay, and that to a degree even in your young age knew wasn’t okay back then. Taylor Swift has written song after song about the perils of age gap relationships, Demi, Beyoncé, all your pop-girl faves. It’s wild thinking that that 30+ years you spent with a man who absolutely stole parts of your life was built on a situation that you’ve spent the entire time making palatable for yourself and any audience outside yourself.
That’s actually the thought that went through my head repeatedly while reading this book. The fact that things appeared one way in her mind, in her viewpoint, that she rearranged the truth to appear a certain way… until there was space, until space was cleared for you to really see things for what they were. How that living potential for dissent probably would have never made this book come to life.
Quietly, I’m glad that I have never read her previous memoirs, now that I’ve read this one. Sometimes the place at where you find something is the exact place at which you’re meant to find it and I’m glad that I didn’t know much about Jill Ciment before experiencing this book. Not that I would have ever been impressed with a 47 year old anyone dating a 17 year old anyone. It doesn’t compute, not to me, and it never will, tho we have all seen how it could happen on public and private levels. However, I’m glad that I didn’t ever experience the text-based reality of her trying to sell the shapes she shifted in the earlier work. I feel like I’m grateful for not getting got wherever the higher powers seek to make that a reality for me. The book was highly illuminating though....more
Yo, I always think that I’ll like these kind of books. I’m always wrong.
I can’t deal with the stories about the never-satisfied-although-they-made-a-Yo, I always think that I’ll like these kind of books. I’m always wrong.
I can’t deal with the stories about the never-satisfied-although-they-made-a-good-life-for-themselves millennials. It’s hard to stomach. Maybe it’s too close to home, culturally? No, actually. I wouldn’t even really say that. I think it is that this type of book feels very specific to a very specific demographic of people that are trying to make their group interesting again because no one is paying attention to them with how much shit is going on in the world. It’s a demographic of well-to-do, listless, privileged kids-adults, and it just doesn’t do it for me. It just ain’t hitting. It just ain’t it.
It’s the Lauren Oyler-Fake Accounts type shit all over again. It’s a booktube hype beast book. Nope, hard pass. Actually, I liked this better than that book, but it is still a no for me, dawg....more
This story really caught me off guard. Yuri Herrera kinda writes a prophetic way: it felt like a dream, and it was specific, and it felt like a documeThis story really caught me off guard. Yuri Herrera kinda writes a prophetic way: it felt like a dream, and it was specific, and it felt like a documentation, but it was daring, and sharp as a knife. I was scared throughout the story, but impressed with the type of bravery and conviction it takes to make the kind of moves Makina was making. Our families are everything tho. The underworld is a real place, and sometimes it feels like the only thing keeping you safe is a prayer and balls and really you really never know how your story is going to go. What gets me is how you can get to a place after going through hell and feel like: yo, is that-this what I really came for? The writing is on point!...more
A tale! A cautionary one at that. Another recommendation from the digital assistant, and another one that was right on the nose. I really appreciated A tale! A cautionary one at that. Another recommendation from the digital assistant, and another one that was right on the nose. I really appreciated the story telling by Tolstoy. It was clear, extremely reflective. There’s something to be said about getting what you want and never being happy and then dying miserable. There’s something to be said about living like a fat cat and then wittling away under the watchful eye of the poor who give their time and energy to lift you and bathe you and care for you, when everyone else is just waiting, and scornfully watching, and whispering as you approach your meeting with your maker. It was a great story. Powerful. ...more
I’m embarking on a reading experiment with ChatGPT. It’s giving me short impactful books to read each week and I’m looking to see what it comes up witI’m embarking on a reading experiment with ChatGPT. It’s giving me short impactful books to read each week and I’m looking to see what it comes up with.
This is my first recommendation, and it was right on the money. Yo, Kino!!! KINOOOOO. Men are really crazy. I mean that’s such a glib comment, but like real talks tho. His poor ride-or-die wife! What an insane experience. Losing everything and gaining nothing but pain chasing money. Thinking about the future and what it could be vs what is and the pain of what is caused by the greed of those around you and a myopic view of what can be achieved with what’s not yours. Why can’t we want better for our children tho? We should all be able to obtain better for our children, and never at these steep costs. The book was incredible. Thanks ChatGPT. ...more
Absolutely incredible. Genius abounds. Like, this was the most intense thing I’ve ever read. I’ve also EXPLODED my TBR list reading this. Phenomenal. Absolutely incredible. Genius abounds. Like, this was the most intense thing I’ve ever read. I’ve also EXPLODED my TBR list reading this. Phenomenal. Now to watch the conversation again on YT. ...more
Yo it’s hard out here in these streets, gotta stay on your toes! This book isn’t for the weak. It’s not for those who give grace or make excuses for oYo it’s hard out here in these streets, gotta stay on your toes! This book isn’t for the weak. It’s not for those who give grace or make excuses for others. Glad that Chidera Eggerue is taking her publishing and more back into her own hands like, Shea Serrano and others. Keep going, sis! We will support you.
Some of the advice here is wild, it’s out there. However, it’s completely factual. Ain’t a lie in sight. I bought my copy of Patriarchy’s Worst Nightmare, Vol. 2 and I will be climbing into that book and getting very very snug really shortly. ...more
Yo Rob Sheffield loves Taylor Swift. I think he's what you'd call a Simp? LMAO. Okay, okay! I'm just kidding, don't kill me.
Honestly, I never used toYo Rob Sheffield loves Taylor Swift. I think he's what you'd call a Simp? LMAO. Okay, okay! I'm just kidding, don't kill me.
Honestly, I never used to be a Taylor fan, I'm not a Swiftie or anything, but she did win me over with that 10 minute version of All Too Well. There's something about the women coming back after being a young girl involved in a relationship with a shit older man, and telling the younger girls, sisters: it's not all that it's cracked up to be.. that will always speak to me. Beyonce did it with Me, Myself, and I, and I loved it then. Demi Lovato did it with 29, and that song gutted me, and Taylor did it with All Too Well and honestly, she made a fan out of me with that song. Will I pay $1000 to see in concert? No, she's not Bey. But, will I always give her her songwriting credits and applause, where her applause is due!? You better fucking believe it!
Listennnn, a GR friend told me to get into the audiobook and I’m really glad I did because I love Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. They’re so funny! HoweListennnn, a GR friend told me to get into the audiobook and I’m really glad I did because I love Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar. They’re so funny! However, most of these stories were infuriating AF tho. Especially that dentist story, mainly because something 30% similar happened to me: being worked on and then being provided no pain management medication after a vicious procedure and having to get my other medical professional family members to intervene in an extremely insane form of medical racism that all could have been avoided. I’ve never wanted to punch a dentist in the face so bad, so I had a visceral reaction to that story in this book.
I’ll read whatever Amber & Lacey writes. I love the inclusion of their family, especially their parents’ stories in this book. I love the babies in wigs segment, my favourite! The pics were so cute!
This book is important because I also believe that it’s crucial that folks tell their stories. I’m appreciative of the inclusion of the other stories describing racism towards their sister who’s a Minister, it proves that not even God can save us from these fuckwits. It’s wild tho because you definitely think that Jesus would intervene on the hearts of these white folks; but no. Also, thank God we don’t give a fuck about the hearts of these folks because they’re really out of pocket. Soul, where?
Anyway, it’s great work here, frustrating and good....more
There’s something to be said about the realities of the place in which you come from. Edwidge Danticat, whom I was lucky enough to be in the presence There’s something to be said about the realities of the place in which you come from. Edwidge Danticat, whom I was lucky enough to be in the presence of at an event once this year, shares really insightful essays featuring reflections on what her country of Haiti is, what it isn’t, what it could be, and its reputation in the broader world. She writes about her homeland, and what home has looked like, in all the places she’s been and lived with her family. She writes about what they feel like—the communities that exist and have existed in these spaces, these homes, Haiti and elsewhere. She captures a lot. The writing is on point and is infinitely readable.
Some additional highlights to me include: (1) her reflections on Zora Neale Hurston. Danticat was at the NYC Zora Summit earlier this year. She holds Zora, the woman, the writer and the anthropologist with passion, pain, and reverence. I appreciate that. She has some critical reflections, and when reckoned with, they definitely add perspectives to our shared knowledge of Zora. (2) Danticat’s reverence for Toni Morrison is so beautiful and relatable. She casually highlights how Toni Morrison expressed appreciation for King Kenny-Kendrick Lamar. I know that if I was Kendrick and I read that— I’d die! I was geeked!
When she talks about her mother, her uncle, her children, their connections, death and dying— she made me think about what it means to write people in your life into an immutable pen to paper existence. How hard and important it is to capture all of these things, the good, the bad, the complicated. She says:
“My mother never wanted me to write about her. It made her feel unshielded, exposed. I now understand that protective impulse, something akin to fearing the loss of your soul to the lens of a camera. The older I get and the fewer places there are to disappear in this all-seeing and all-knowing world, the more I want to hide, though Lorde has warned that what is most important “must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” At times, fiction remains my only veil. When I write, I told those young writers in Fond-des-Blancs, I sometimes break promises both to myself and to others, to the living and the dead.” -90% in We’re Alone: Essays by Edwidge Danticat
Some of my favourite essays in this collection were the latter ones: Wozo, Not Mawozo, Chronicles of a Death Foretold, and Writing the Self and Others. I don’t want to say she saved the best for last, but they were incredibly striking. This is very much a recommended read!...more
Dr. Daniel Black is a legend. This book really got to me. The use of We in the narrative voice, was definitely was a connector, and it was very powerfDr. Daniel Black is a legend. This book really got to me. The use of We in the narrative voice, was definitely was a connector, and it was very powerful. I felt every word in my bones. It was a hard read. It was graphic, violent, and it made me enraged. Enraged at the levels of evil in this world, the fact that that evil is still here, generations later, that there's an attempt to mask it, to excuse it, to generalize it, to rationalize it. It pisses me off.
The resilience, the fact that WE are still here, the fact that we have survived. This book was exactly what I needed to read these past couple weeks. It was hard, devastating, and illuminating....more
Norma Dunning is a talented writer who brings you exactly where she wants you to be and points you at exactly what shPowerful, poignant and luminous.
Norma Dunning is a talented writer who brings you exactly where she wants you to be and points you at exactly what she wants you to see, no matter how challenging it is to discuss and bear witness.
These short stories were heavy. Chronicling many historical issues faced by Indigenous folks, Dunning spares no one in her examination of the circumstances created around their community and the Indigenous experience in Canada specifically.
I randomly picked up this book from the Toronto Public Library’s available audio section on Libby, and it was a harrowing, touchingly clear-eyed listen.
The title story, Tianna, was the one that was the hardest. A contemplation on motherhood, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the way their disappearances are treated by the authorities, and the impact on the community at large — Tianna, is a reflection on the humanity and spirit people trade to survive in situations that were bleak from before they came to be.
The stories Amak and Kunak were strong and These Old Bones was another striking story.
The fight between reality and fiction was palpable in this book, and the narration was well done!...more
I will forever love Roxane Gay. She just can't do any wrong in my eyes. I'll look past her love of the Fast and the Furious franchise. I can look pastI will forever love Roxane Gay. She just can't do any wrong in my eyes. I'll look past her love of the Fast and the Furious franchise. I can look past that! >.<
Of course her commentary is right on the money, I'm not even going to get into that because it's perfect-instead I'll talk about my other favourite pieces of this book: the Profiles aka Minding Other Folks' Business. I love experiencing RGay give people their flowers and their credit where credit is due. I love her talking to Nicki Minaj, Janelle Monae, Madonna, Sarah Paulson, Tessa Thompson and of course Pamela Anderson. Her chats with Charlie Hunnam, I blushed, and I'm reading it years after it happened. RGay has the ability to pull you into the room with them tho, so I loved that!
I love the look inside her mind, in the introduction she writes
"Sometimes I write something and choose not to publish it simply because I don't want to deal with the bullshit. I hate when that happens, when I hold back my intellectual work because I am unwilling to pay the price I know will be exacted."
That quote tripped me out because I love her work so much that I'm mad that people could hate on her for any reason. I truly believe that RGay is one of our most important writers. I love what she's doing on Substack for up and coming writers, I miss her podcast with Tressie McMillan Cottom, that was the only time I paid for Luminary. This book, Opinions, it was everything....more
Loading...
