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Continuing my goal to read more nonfiction this year, I picked up The Other F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce. #YALit twitter sang this book's praises when it came out, mentioning how unique and needed this anthology is. After reading it myself, I concur.
The Other F Word is a collection of poetry and essays by fat activists, fat models, fat influencers, fat writers, and other fat artists. Angie Manfredi did a stellar job in finding and showcasing a diversity of voices, with tons of racial, gender, and ability differences among them. I loved how focused the essays and art were on building up fat teens and addressing the problems they face. Not unexpected, I suppose, but YA books can lose focus on their teen audience in favor of the adult YA readers (who do have a lot more spending money). I was clearly a visitor to a teen space, and I enjoyed my stay and learned a lot.
In fact, I think The Other F Word was at its weakest when it didn't focus in on teens who are beginning their journey in love and acceptance. Many essays and art remind readers to love their bodies and assure them that seemingly infallible adults, like parents, teachers, and doctors, can be fatphobic. Under the guise of worrying about health, adults may insist teens lose weight, even when their body is fine as is. This left me at loose ends. If we can't trust doctors to inform us when we're at an unhealthy weight, who can we? Where should we go? Are there no unhealthy weights? I kept expecting an essay from a doctor explaining how diets don't work, body type is genetic, or the BMI is bullsh*t. These are basic body positivity arguments that beginners need to hear. There were oblique references, but no one came out and explained them.
This lack weakened the book's message. In an era with anti-vaxxers and fake news, we must be vigilant against false information. Without a doctoral ethos to back it up, potential readers might be inclined to reject the book, which is a shame because they might need it the most. As others have said, The Other F Word already has the power to set people on a journey of self-love. It needs to get into the hands of everyone on the planet. Just add a little more science oomph to make it perfect.
The Other F Word is a collection of poetry and essays by fat activists, fat models, fat influencers, fat writers, and other fat artists. Angie Manfredi did a stellar job in finding and showcasing a diversity of voices, with tons of racial, gender, and ability differences among them. I loved how focused the essays and art were on building up fat teens and addressing the problems they face. Not unexpected, I suppose, but YA books can lose focus on their teen audience in favor of the adult YA readers (who do have a lot more spending money). I was clearly a visitor to a teen space, and I enjoyed my stay and learned a lot.
In fact, I think The Other F Word was at its weakest when it didn't focus in on teens who are beginning their journey in love and acceptance. Many essays and art remind readers to love their bodies and assure them that seemingly infallible adults, like parents, teachers, and doctors, can be fatphobic. Under the guise of worrying about health, adults may insist teens lose weight, even when their body is fine as is. This left me at loose ends. If we can't trust doctors to inform us when we're at an unhealthy weight, who can we? Where should we go? Are there no unhealthy weights? I kept expecting an essay from a doctor explaining how diets don't work, body type is genetic, or the BMI is bullsh*t. These are basic body positivity arguments that beginners need to hear. There were oblique references, but no one came out and explained them.
This lack weakened the book's message. In an era with anti-vaxxers and fake news, we must be vigilant against false information. Without a doctoral ethos to back it up, potential readers might be inclined to reject the book, which is a shame because they might need it the most. As others have said, The Other F Word already has the power to set people on a journey of self-love. It needs to get into the hands of everyone on the planet. Just add a little more science oomph to make it perfect.
The first thing I felt about this book was fury, and the fury had nothing to do with the text itself.
While I read the 1891 Preface version of The Picture of Dorian Gray as a high school student and knew an original, uncensored version existed, I had assumed the original was as equally out of copyright as the other editions were. It was written in 1890 and a LGBTQ literary treasure trove: why shouldn't it be available for everyone to read, like all of Shakespeare, The Faerie Queen, Memoirs of Fanny Hill, or Sherlock Holmes canon is. It was only this year, after a person I recommended Dorian Gray to told me they were having trouble finding an uncensored copy, that I learned that Harvard University not only kept the public away from Wilde's original manuscript for years, but also has the utter gall to claim it under copyright now and distribute it as a book for sale. While I'm not British, the sheer audacity to set up a paywall between British LGBTQ folk and their 100+ year old literary tradition made me see red.
Theoretically, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray is available through libraries (that's where I snagged my copy), but that availability depends too greatly on the goodwill and thoroughness of individual library systems, which are as subject to inattentiveness, ignorance, and homophobia as as any other human-filled institution. Plus, that's a different sort of availability: going to a library website, praying they have this edition, putting the book on hold, & making time in a busy schedule to pop down to fetch it, and Googling "dorian gray 1890 uncensored edition free online" take very different amounts of time and energy.
Okay, okay, rant over. Now to reviewing the actual book. In addition to Wilde's text, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray has three separate front matter introductions by scholars. While the "Preface" is short and goes for the throat, the "General Introduction" and "Textual Introduction" repeat each other quite a bit and are oddly organized, almost meandering. If you are patient, you may untangle the vines to find lovely roses of context surrounding the three separate editions of Dorian Gray and a feeling biography of Wilde's life. Besides expounding on the Victorian era homophobia/criminalization that forced Wilde to tone down the homoeroticism, the introductions also point out changes to Wilde's punctuation to enhance drama and the choice to excise selections that made rampant marital infidelity explicit.
The plot of Dorian Gray remains largely unchanged. After his début in London society, Dorian Gray makes the acquaintance of Basil Howard, a young artist, and the two become inseparable. In this uncensored text, it is all the more clear that Basil falls in unrequited love with Dorian, and Dorian is oblivious. Basil bemoans the fact that he has fallen for a seeming Straight Boy, worships Dorian as his muse, and asks Dorian to sit for a portrait. During the sitting, Lord Henry Wotton, Basil's friend with a rather dangerous, whimsical nature, tells Dorian the precepts of "New Hedonism," which values the exploration of the senses and Beauty above all. Dorian is enraptured, makes a mad prayer that the portrait would age & change instead of himself, and whallah, you have one of the greatest, gayest permutations of the Devil's Contract fairy tale in British literature.
While it has been awhile since I read the 1891 censored version, the novel did seem clearer somehow and less muddied in its intent. The words breathed more easily. While advertisements for this edition said it contained "graphic" gay content, they don't mean in the modern sense, with nudity and sex. Emotions are more plain, and events are less hidden. I didn't need my learned skills in reading queer subtext to know Basil is in love and closeted, Dorian is comfortably bisexual (or pansexual) by the end, and Lord Henry has at least experimented. It's simply there.
Stepping back from the men who love men elements, Wilde's writing shines as it did before, with deeply gorgeous prose, absolute adoration of art, and sardonic wit. The period typical misogyny, antisemitism, and racism made me grit my teeth at several points. The reading experience as an adult, when I am less impressionable and more firm in my moral make up, was markedly different than my teen one. I am very much with Basil's opinion of Dorian's actions, which I'm sure makes me very boring, but then again my proverbial picture upstairs doesn't have any blood on it.
Overall, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray is invaluable if you're interested in LGBTQ British literary tradition, and I highly recommend doing what you can to find a copy. The writing is beautiful, and Dorian attends a drag ball in a fine dress of pearls. Like all classics, it does suffer from being a product of its time, so it's not the most friendly read to other intersections of identity. Dorian's story is firmly emblematic of the upper class white man's experience of queerness. Wilde's part in queer history brings the novel its importance, the way the it's part of our LGBTQ cultural identity and past. To go forward, one must know what came before.
While I read the 1891 Preface version of The Picture of Dorian Gray as a high school student and knew an original, uncensored version existed, I had assumed the original was as equally out of copyright as the other editions were. It was written in 1890 and a LGBTQ literary treasure trove: why shouldn't it be available for everyone to read, like all of Shakespeare, The Faerie Queen, Memoirs of Fanny Hill, or Sherlock Holmes canon is. It was only this year, after a person I recommended Dorian Gray to told me they were having trouble finding an uncensored copy, that I learned that Harvard University not only kept the public away from Wilde's original manuscript for years, but also has the utter gall to claim it under copyright now and distribute it as a book for sale. While I'm not British, the sheer audacity to set up a paywall between British LGBTQ folk and their 100+ year old literary tradition made me see red.
Theoretically, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray is available through libraries (that's where I snagged my copy), but that availability depends too greatly on the goodwill and thoroughness of individual library systems, which are as subject to inattentiveness, ignorance, and homophobia as as any other human-filled institution. Plus, that's a different sort of availability: going to a library website, praying they have this edition, putting the book on hold, & making time in a busy schedule to pop down to fetch it, and Googling "dorian gray 1890 uncensored edition free online" take very different amounts of time and energy.
Okay, okay, rant over. Now to reviewing the actual book. In addition to Wilde's text, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray has three separate front matter introductions by scholars. While the "Preface" is short and goes for the throat, the "General Introduction" and "Textual Introduction" repeat each other quite a bit and are oddly organized, almost meandering. If you are patient, you may untangle the vines to find lovely roses of context surrounding the three separate editions of Dorian Gray and a feeling biography of Wilde's life. Besides expounding on the Victorian era homophobia/criminalization that forced Wilde to tone down the homoeroticism, the introductions also point out changes to Wilde's punctuation to enhance drama and the choice to excise selections that made rampant marital infidelity explicit.
The plot of Dorian Gray remains largely unchanged. After his début in London society, Dorian Gray makes the acquaintance of Basil Howard, a young artist, and the two become inseparable. In this uncensored text, it is all the more clear that Basil falls in unrequited love with Dorian, and Dorian is oblivious. Basil bemoans the fact that he has fallen for a seeming Straight Boy, worships Dorian as his muse, and asks Dorian to sit for a portrait. During the sitting, Lord Henry Wotton, Basil's friend with a rather dangerous, whimsical nature, tells Dorian the precepts of "New Hedonism," which values the exploration of the senses and Beauty above all. Dorian is enraptured, makes a mad prayer that the portrait would age & change instead of himself, and whallah, you have one of the greatest, gayest permutations of the Devil's Contract fairy tale in British literature.
While it has been awhile since I read the 1891 censored version, the novel did seem clearer somehow and less muddied in its intent. The words breathed more easily. While advertisements for this edition said it contained "graphic" gay content, they don't mean in the modern sense, with nudity and sex. Emotions are more plain, and events are less hidden. I didn't need my learned skills in reading queer subtext to know Basil is in love and closeted, Dorian is comfortably bisexual (or pansexual) by the end, and Lord Henry has at least experimented. It's simply there.
Stepping back from the men who love men elements, Wilde's writing shines as it did before, with deeply gorgeous prose, absolute adoration of art, and sardonic wit. The period typical misogyny, antisemitism, and racism made me grit my teeth at several points. The reading experience as an adult, when I am less impressionable and more firm in my moral make up, was markedly different than my teen one. I am very much with Basil's opinion of Dorian's actions, which I'm sure makes me very boring, but then again my proverbial picture upstairs doesn't have any blood on it.
Overall, The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray is invaluable if you're interested in LGBTQ British literary tradition, and I highly recommend doing what you can to find a copy. The writing is beautiful, and Dorian attends a drag ball in a fine dress of pearls. Like all classics, it does suffer from being a product of its time, so it's not the most friendly read to other intersections of identity. Dorian's story is firmly emblematic of the upper class white man's experience of queerness. Wilde's part in queer history brings the novel its importance, the way the it's part of our LGBTQ cultural identity and past. To go forward, one must know what came before.
I follow Xan West on Twitter, and when they announced their next project was a kinky wlw Chanukah book, my face was one big eyes emoji. My interest only grew the more they tweeted about the writing and editing process. When they posted the final list of representation in the book, I slammed that "Buy with One Click" button. I knew I wanted Eight Kinky Nights.
Leah and Jordan have been best friends for thirty years, but it's only after Jordan's divorce that they're living together. Both polyam, autistic, fat, Jewish, and disabled, Leah is a femme submissive and sex educator, and stone butch Jordan is interested in learning to be a dominant. It only makes sense that Leah teach Jordan, and, with Chanukah coming up, eight lessons are the perfect present. That is, until both ladies get more than they bargained for, with old wounds and new feelings flaring to life.
As I said, I knew I wanted Eight Kinky Nights, but it wasn't until I started reading that I knew I needed it. Part of the reason it took me so long to finish was I never wanted it to end. The writing is careful and deliberate. The characters are gentle and good with each other. The on-page healing is marvelous. While wlw books like Mia Sugiura's It's Not Like It's a Secret shine in showing how characters can screw up, Xan West revels in what if characters did everything right, with the resources they have at their disposal now. I didn't know a ton about the polyam kink community, so I also learned a lot about that scene and culture. Reading Eight Kinky Nights made me feel safe, warm, and affirmed. I hadn't even reached the last page before I was rec'ing it to queer friends.
Treat yourself to Eight Kinky Nights. You deserve this goodness in your life.
Leah and Jordan have been best friends for thirty years, but it's only after Jordan's divorce that they're living together. Both polyam, autistic, fat, Jewish, and disabled, Leah is a femme submissive and sex educator, and stone butch Jordan is interested in learning to be a dominant. It only makes sense that Leah teach Jordan, and, with Chanukah coming up, eight lessons are the perfect present. That is, until both ladies get more than they bargained for, with old wounds and new feelings flaring to life.
As I said, I knew I wanted Eight Kinky Nights, but it wasn't until I started reading that I knew I needed it. Part of the reason it took me so long to finish was I never wanted it to end. The writing is careful and deliberate. The characters are gentle and good with each other. The on-page healing is marvelous. While wlw books like Mia Sugiura's It's Not Like It's a Secret shine in showing how characters can screw up, Xan West revels in what if characters did everything right, with the resources they have at their disposal now. I didn't know a ton about the polyam kink community, so I also learned a lot about that scene and culture. Reading Eight Kinky Nights made me feel safe, warm, and affirmed. I hadn't even reached the last page before I was rec'ing it to queer friends.
Treat yourself to Eight Kinky Nights. You deserve this goodness in your life.
This year has been a year of illness for me, so I've been diving again and again into what I suspect will be comfortable reads, or at least reads that require very little brain power. After reading Naoko Kodama's I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up, I knew Kodama had chops as a storyteller, and, going in, I knew she used those powers for a longer, more twisted story in NTR. Basically titled "Cheater Trap," NTR is not a happy, fluffy tale.
When kind and popular basketball star Takeda asks his fellow basketball star Yuma out, she's so startled she says yes, without examining her own feelings. Immediately afterwards, she runs to her best friend, Hotaru, for dating advice. Yuma is especially worried about how to become physically intimate with a significant other. With her beautiful enigmatic smile, Hotaru tells Yuma not to worry: Yuma can "practice" intimacy with her. This of course gets way out of hand, with Hotaru and herbeard boyfriend Fujiwara accompanying Takeda and Yuma everywhere, and Yuma and Hotaru constantly excusing themselves to go make out in secret.
This whole manga is a series of melodramatic sexcapades that any 2000s' American TV show would happily air. Similar to Citrus, there's an enormous dollop of internalized homophobia, misogyny, sexual assault, underage sex work, and abuse/neglect. No one knows how to Google anything, not even "how do I know if I'm a lesbian." Eventually, after a long slog of volumes, Yuma comes to her senses and figures things out, like how lesbian is a valid identity, woman-on-woman intimacy is indeed intimacy, and Hotaru needs healing. One way this series could improve is if Kodama focused on the Hotaru and Yuma's healing journey more, after all these chapters of nonsense.
The trashy romance feels odder because I know Kodama can do better. She's written the characters to be ignorant, homophobic, and abusive on purpose. She wrote all these harmful cliches on purpose. The art is cute, but full of fan service and weird boob physics. This is not a yuri series for beginners, or anyone looking to expand their understanding of what lesbian relationships and culture are like. My sick, addled head was hooked on these dumb teenage antics, and that's all they are. Dumb teenage antics in comic form.
When kind and popular basketball star Takeda asks his fellow basketball star Yuma out, she's so startled she says yes, without examining her own feelings. Immediately afterwards, she runs to her best friend, Hotaru, for dating advice. Yuma is especially worried about how to become physically intimate with a significant other. With her beautiful enigmatic smile, Hotaru tells Yuma not to worry: Yuma can "practice" intimacy with her. This of course gets way out of hand, with Hotaru and her
This whole manga is a series of melodramatic sexcapades that any 2000s' American TV show would happily air. Similar to Citrus, there's an enormous dollop of internalized homophobia, misogyny, sexual assault, underage sex work, and abuse/neglect. No one knows how to Google anything, not even "how do I know if I'm a lesbian." Eventually, after a long slog of volumes, Yuma comes to her senses and figures things out, like how lesbian is a valid identity, woman-on-woman intimacy is indeed intimacy, and Hotaru needs healing. One way this series could improve is if Kodama focused on the Hotaru and Yuma's healing journey more, after all these chapters of nonsense.
The trashy romance feels odder because I know Kodama can do better. She's written the characters to be ignorant, homophobic, and abusive on purpose. She wrote all these harmful cliches on purpose. The art is cute, but full of fan service and weird boob physics. This is not a yuri series for beginners, or anyone looking to expand their understanding of what lesbian relationships and culture are like. My sick, addled head was hooked on these dumb teenage antics, and that's all they are. Dumb teenage antics in comic form.
A mini-review for this joyful romp! Bertie is tired of being telephoned for the sole purpose of people asking Jeeves for help. He can solve complex social problems too! Right?
No, Jeeves is a god in man's clothing and Bertie is an adorable goof and I laughed my butt off listening to this audiobook.
No, Jeeves is a god in man's clothing and Bertie is an adorable goof and I laughed my butt off listening to this audiobook.
Mini-review to say this is the best! Jeeves attempts to go on holiday and within minutes Bertie is engaged and whisked off on a scheme of that scoundrel red-haired Bobbi. His aunt's house is a tangled web of should and should not, a dog falls in love with Bertie's shoe, and that damn cow creamer gets stolen again. What a fun romp.