Feminism Interrupted is a thought-provoking and insightful exploration into a variety of issues such as racism, transphobia, Islamaphobia, sex work, consent, reproductive justice and more. These issues could all be standalone topics for a single book, but Lola Olufemi deftly weaved these topics together in a short, concise and incredibly accessible read to open up the discussion on all of these issues at once. What I also really liked about Lola Olufemi's work is it's grounding in the British experiences of women (particularly Black women) and facts relating to Britain.

Feminism Interrupted seeks to highlight to the reader that feminism is not about our individual selves as women and what we think should be done about certain issues. It is often about putting our personal views aside to consider those most vulnerable in our society and how first and foremost they need to be protected and supported. For example it's not about considering whether sex work should be legal, but how we can ensure the safety and security of women who are sex workers. It's not about focusing on women's reproductive rights as this can be an alienating for trans women or queer women. It's about how we can ensure all people have the rights and access to having children. It's also not just about reproduction rights but how having children is often seen as solely "women's work" and the value of this unpaid labour.

This book covers a lot of topics and handles them all succinctly and with great thought. Not only that, it has a great collection of further reading recommendations based on the topics discussed to help readers continue their journey of learning about these topics. This book is both short and powerful and a fantastic read on feminism today.

3.5 stars

This book came out a couple of weeks ago but I never quite got around to reading it in time given everything that's been going off in my life.
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The book is inspired by true events and is an unsettling thriller that quite surprised me in how clever and well crafted it was. The book is split into a series of chapters that all follow different individuals who have been affected by the murder of a young college student, Sara Morgan. Sara was murdered by her boyfriend Blake, who confessed to the crime and pleaded temporary insanity. The book is interesting as the individual perspectives shadowed in the book are not all necessarily those you would expect to be touched by the murder. Each individual chapter focuses on how the murder impacted and unsettled the lives of the different people in ways they didn't necessarily expect.
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For me this book set itself slightly apart from other books in the genre that focus on the murders of young women, with its wider focus on gendered violence. This was done subtlety throughout the book as it examined how violence is often gendered, how situations that are easily perceived to one party as acceptable suddenly can change to being violent and abusive. It also focused on the more explicit areas of gendered violence and the impact this has on those and those around them.
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This was a compelling and quick read as I found myself deeply absorbed in the individual narratives. This is a genre that I would never say satisfies me with the ending, but this book offered a more interesting approach to the genre which I liked and appreciated. Thank you to @bloomsburypublishing and @__momentsofmine for the #gifted review copy.

Good Morning Destroyer of Men's Souls: A Memoir by Nina Renata Aron - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I believe the way we tell stories about addiction matters deeply--it informs the way we act, from the level of public health discourse to the kitchen table. It informs the degree of empathy we can bring to those suffering with this disease, the extent to which we can protect ourselves from its destruction and embrace living in spite of it. And it shapes the way we understand love and care--what can be justly expected of us, and when it has gone too far."

This book was both deeply compulsive to read and intimately unsettling as Nina Renata Aron opens up, quite graphically and intimately in places, about her life. The book centres on her relationships and how the idea of co-dependency influenced by her relationships with her sister and her ex-boyfriend/lover K who were both drug abusers. This book is not just a memoir, however, as Aron examines ideas surrounding co-dependency; its origin, its gendered stereotypes, the arguments and theories surrounding it and what it means.

I would not recommend this book lightly to anyone given the subject matter of drug abuse and codependency. However, I think this book sheds light on those in society who both have a very real issue and those individuals in their life who have to deal with it. Drug abuse is frequently seen as a taboo subject and often drug abusers are written off as "wastes of space" and more. When actually much of that abuse and dependency on drugs is driven by deeper issues.

Nina Renata Aron does not shy away from discussing her own recklessness, obsessions and desires. However, she also humanises and is incredibly introspective as she examines the various moments of her life. This book is dark, gritty and quite frankly pretty visceral at times, but it's also incredibly honest and open. Thank you to @serpentstail for the #gifted copy of this book.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape is not an easy read by any means and for anybody that has suffered sexual abuse of any kind there are sections that I believe will be particularly triggering to individuals. However this book is an important conversation on the subject of rape. Sohaila Abdulali discusses how rape should not be a subject we ignore. It's an endemic problem that can affect anybody and disproportionately effects black and indigenous women and transgender individuals.

I think the most poignant aspect of this book for me was Sohaila Abdulali's questions about the impact our conversations or lack of conversations about rape will have on our future generations. What do we teach our children in sex education, how do we discuss consent with our children, how is sexual pleasure for women Vs men discussed? What language and words do children have to articulate and understand rape or sexual violence? How will this impact the relationship the children of this world have with each other?

This book raises a lot of questions and whilst I don't think it is perfect as Sohaila Abdulali refers to rape victims as her more frequently than not. Although in some cases she caveats this by saying she uses her but the term "she" but the situations applies to all, I think it would have been better to just go straight for a non-binary term of they/them to ensure that all people could identify with the points she makes. Although I imagine that the audience of the book is predominantly women. However, she does make reference on numerous occasions to the fact that men, transgender people and nonbinary people can all be raped. I just think clarity of gendered language throughout could have been a bit more nuanced.

Despite this, I feel this book has a lot of value and is an important starting point for difficult conversations. It made me think, it made me sad, it made me angry and more. I also enjoyed reading several, of the many, articles that Abdulali referenced to throughout as additional materials that provided more food for thought. Overall I'm glad I finally read it as it's such a relevant and topical book.

"He knew why he had wanted her to come with him, not to 'see', but so that Africa would move her, startle her, touch her in some irreversible way."

These short stories are a beautifully written collection that are rich and diverse. They take you through the streets of Khartoum, Cairo, Aberdeen and more. They question what is home and where do you belong as well as examining ideas of culture and differences in identity. Many of these stories focused on love and relationships, both familial love and love between couples.

Summer Maze was one of my favourite stories from the book. It follows a young girl, Nadia who was raised in London and returns with her mother to Cairo. She examines how in Cairo she feels both a stranger and an unnoticed foreigner. Her journey this time opens up her relationship with Cairo and makes her consider her understanding of the country, Arabic and herself. It was a beautiful examination of the impact of heritage, identity and cultural conflict as we see the impact the western world had on her upbringing compared to her family's culture.

Another favourite was Pages of Fruit as a woman who is predominantly a housewife talks about her love for a specific author and how she saw herself in the books. This story was especially poignant as she came face to face with the concept that those you identify with do not always live up to your expectations. It was also a story about personal growth and identity.

The final story in my top three was Souvenirs which followed the story of Yassir who was visiting his family and sister Manaal back in Khartoum. He talked about the misunderstanding his wife had of his home and his longing to bring her there and show her the real Sudan.

Overall this was a really strong and beautifully written collection of short stories that looked at love, home and belonging.

5 Stars

"I know rallying autistic people is like herding cats, we're all so unique, but that's what makes us amazing, we have an entire spectrum to draw from and each of us had a different voice."

This memoir was beautiful. Charlotte Amelia Poe managed to make me laugh, cry, and taught me so much more about what it means to be an autistic person. They have clearly had great difficulties in their life because they were never diagnosed at a young age or understood; the trauma and pain of school that they described made me angry and made my heart ache. Having said that Poe was clear to state that there have been moments of joy and hope which balanced out the heavy parts of this memoir.

I really liked the structure of this book as the chapters were split into short chapters that covered specific time periods and events in Poe's life. I always enjoy short chapters as it feels easier to dip in and out of a book. These chapters were intersected with short poems and short stories that further expressed Poe's feelings on various subjects which I really liked.

Not only does Poe talk about being autistic, but they also talk about their own gender and sexuality. They talk about the misconceptions that surround autistic people and sexuality, and how they are often infantalized through shows such as the Undateables. They talk about the difficulties of mental health, the failings of the support systems and healthcare for those with mental health needs.

This is a multifaceted memoir that gave me a lot to think about and made me question my own preconceptions about autism and my own biases as a neurotypical woman. I really enjoyed reading this memoir and would recommend it to everyone.

A Woman Like Her is about Qandeel Baloch, who was a social media star in Pakistan. This journalistic piece comes in the wake of her murder in 2016. Qandeel Baloch was murdered in an honour killing by her brother for bringing shame to the family.
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She had become famous or as some people would certainly describe her as notorious for her social media content. She posted various selfies and videos of herself singing, dancing and talking online. She offered to strip tease if Pakistan beat India in the cricket which quickly blew up the internet in Pakistan. She faced a lot of outrage as she was denounced as a "slut", "dishonouring her family", and not behaving as a good Muslim woman should.
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Although this book is about Qandeel it draws out much broader questions as Sanam Maher interviews the various people that were involved in Qandeel's life. She encourages the reader to question who was really involved in the murder, how has the state handled the murder, and how does the state of Pakistan continue to deal with honour killings. Do we really have all answers to who murdered Qandeel Baloch?
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She examines the power and influence of the media and the impact it had on Qandeel's life. This feels particularly relevant globally as we continue to see women crucified in the media: Meghan Markle and Caroline Flack to name just two. This book raises questions about how women are treated in the media, how women engage with the digital age and the expectations of women online. Especially when this is layered with the religious and cultural traditions of Pakistan.
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Sanam Maher builds an interesting and thoroughly immersive journalistic piece that centres on the death of Qandeel Baloch but questions so much more. She encourages the reader to question their first impressions and dig deeper into what isn't being said; it makes for a very clever but important piece of journalism.