After the passing of his friend Craig Olsen discovers a box of letters from drag queens of the pre-Stonewall era and embarks on a journey to uncover an almost lost piece of history. It’s very rare to find first-hand accounts of queer lives from this period of history, one is far more likely to find our lives written about in sensationalised newspaper articles or police reports. This was an emotional read, have your tissues on hand.

This book was fantastic - the caste system and Buddhism are two topics I have very little knowledge of so I learned so much from this book. An essential read for your TBR list if you are interested in healing trauma, and collective liberation. I listened to this audiobook in tandem with the physical copy. Thenmohzi’s narration is lovely.

This was one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2024 and it did not disappoint, I devoured it in a night and now I won’t stop recommending it to everyone. The conversational interview style allowed Miss Major’s personality to shine through and I would have happily continued reading if it was 3x as long. As a trans elder Miss Major has experienced so much, it was an energising read to remind us that we must continue to resist and fight for liberation for all people. It covers Stonewall, her work on the frontlines during the AIDS crisis, her time in prison and institutions, and where she is today. A really beautiful book.

This was one of the most disappointing reads of 2024 so far. It’s been on my to read list for ages and I thought it would fill the void left by the Practical Magic series. I wasn’t blown away by the writing at first but I liked the characters and the set up enough to give it a chance. It’s clear the author did a lot of research into the historical setting. But as we got past the halfway point it just dragged. Way too many characters and plot-lines to follow, and the ending was totally unsatisfying - I’m guessing to set up for a sequel but aside from a short story it doesn’t look like a sequel has been published as yet. It could have benefited from losing 100 or so pages and focusing on just a couple of really solid plot-lines.

This book came across my desk to catalogue a little while ago, and it piqued my interest immediately. I found out later that it had been longlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards - so clearly I have great taste lol. As someone that grew up in evangelical Christian churches petrified of being left behind the rapture, who then battled with some brutal panic attacks largely centred around pollution and waste in my mid-20s, Rebecca’s personal story (although the specifics were different from my own history) resonated immediately. A fascinating and oddly comforting read.

I still don’t know how I feel about this one. It was a lot! Trigger warnings for basically everything. It was interesting but I felt like it lacked a certain level of self-reflection, but that could also be a trauma response because what Amanda has been through is, well, a lot!