sara_m_martins's Reviews (334)

typical for an anthology: i really enjoyed some of the pieces, but others not so much. especially toward the later third of the book, i didn't enjoy many of those essays. 
I went into this book looking forward to read about the experiences of being queer and fat, falling somewhat into that category, and to gain insight into these experiences and if anything could resonate with me - both pertaining to weight and to sexuality and gender identity. 

The authors have a very diverse range of experiences and lives, and while most pieces are memoir-like, some of them get fantastical. 
The essays that I enjoyed most were the non-fiction ones, particularly if that mused about fatness and queerness from a societal perspective. I also really enjoyed reading the essays from non-binary authors and what they had to say. eg.  The Gender Nonconformity of my Fatness; A Fat Lot of Good that Did; Soft Butch.
I didn't notice any particular sort of organization of the pieces, which my brain would've appreciated.
The theme of the book is really important, and i recommend it as a way to learn from the perspectives of different people that fall under this umbrella. 

Punch Me Up to the Gods is a raw, powerful memoir that explores the ideals of Black masculinity, and that intersection with the queer identity, and what it is to be a queer Black man in the USA. It is brutal, powerful and superbly honest.
The memoir comes as a collection of essays about moments throughout Brian Broome's life, glavanized (and organized for us) through a shared bus trip between narrator and a small Black boy named Tuan. I found this really interesting, and this starting point made me reflect and approach the essays in such a different way.
This book talks of racism, homophobia, physical/emotional/sexual abuse, toxic masculinity, misogyny, family, addiction/alcoholism. With humour and a great writing style (felt almost poetic at points), one feels saddened but still wants to keep reading. 
I really appreciate the realness and unsanitized depictions. This is seen in other themes too, but Brian talks about being queer while not being a "good queer" - ashamed, denial, hidding, wishing it away; cowardice sometimes feels forbidden to queer stories.

A must-read, particularly for queer women and non-binary people!
This book talks for itself - advice columns about love, life and queer existence. The inclusion of "guest speakers" is a great addition for inclusivity and allowed for the best advice-giving possible!
If it won't help you personally (although, it probably will), it will at least give you a better insight to some problems other people may have, and think about how you could better interact with them.

This book talks about a lot of serious topics that i enjoyed seeing represented, including body image/  fatphobia/ miscarriage/ IVF. There is queer rep, with the main character being attracted to multiple genders (no label given), and supporting characters also on the rainbow - however, sexuality isn't a topic.
This is a story about a steamy fling turned romantic relationship, with loads of conversations about what self-love is and how to practice it - if that's your thing, read this book! There's plenty of deep moments (see topics above), accompanied by a bunch of loveable characters and a handful of antagonists. Throughout the book, Noni figures out what her life could be and what life she really wants to live
I really thought this was going to be a 5 star read, but the story was completely different from what I imagined, so while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. 

I was really excited about a travel-around-the-world, figuring-yourself-out, having-fun book. Alas, this was a world tour, the same way most US performers do a "world tour": they do a couple cities in the UK and, if you're lucky, Amsterdam, and that's it. As Europe-exploration was the big pull-in for me, the lack of travel really impacted my enjoyment of it. This is no fault of the book, it just made the book not for me. 

Great book for cat lovers and people who love biographies!
It's a short, easy read, and I found it refreshing to see queer lives represented in a more airy, lighthearted perspective than usual! I think it is a great opportunity to introduce queer people, and then readers can search more in depth to anyone they get interested with.
This book has a 1 page biography of a queer person (a mix of some historic people and contemporary people), talking about their life and how they link to the queer community, and OF COURSE talking about the cats (mostly the tiny cats, but there are others!) in their life! Alongside this biography there is one photograph of said icon and accompanying feline.