LGBTQ+

Film Review – Strange World (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Do you remember how Disney finally released an animated film with an openly gay character? You might not because there was basically no marketing campaign for it. Did Strange World purposefully get buried? Did they do it so they could prove that nobody wants “wokeness” in their family films? Probably. The film was quickly labelled a box office bomb and had one of the lowest Disney openings in recent years. I didn’t really know anything about the film when I came to watch it this week because I barely knew it existed. I honestly don’t remember seeing anything about this film and I don’t understand why. I mean, it boasts a cast including the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid and Lucy Lui. You’d think they’d want to make more noise about it. So, were they really hiding it because of the LGBTQ+ representation or is the film just not that good?

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Book Review – This is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

books, reviews

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This is one of those books that I really wanted to read. I always meant to suggest it for our virtual book club before it disbanded. Every month, we would pick one book under 300 pages and we had a lot of ups and downs. Most of the other members just wanted books about people getting killed. From my experience, crime fiction under 300 pages doesn’t tend to be that great. Unless it’s Agatha Christie but they’d already torn And Then There Were None apart before my eyes. I thought this sci-fi romance book might have something to keep everyone entertained. Especially as I’d pretty much only heard great things about it.

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Book Review – The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

books, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

I hadn’t read anything by Erin Morgenstern when I bought a copy of The Starless Sea. I had owned a copy of The Night Circus and figured it would be something I enjoyed. It was just that constant struggle to actually read it. So buying a copy of The Starless Sea could have been slightly foolhardy. However, once again, I was drawn in by a gorgeous edition. Waterstones released special editions of both books and I had to have them. Guys, they had sprayed or stencilled edges. How could I not? As I’d treated myself to them, I was a bit worried about how much I would like them. I decided it was better to just never find out, so they remained unread. Until this year when I found the audiobook on my library app. I decided it was finally time to cross it off my TBR.

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Book Review – The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I picked this up on a whim when I was browsing the January sales. I hadn’t heard of it before and was probably only interested in the cover. Thankfully, it also sounded like exactly the kind of book that I enjoy reading. Although, I’ve never been a massive fan of short story collections. I always find that they’re too, for lack of a better term, short. I’m a greedy reader and want the chance to get to know a character first. Short stories give us too brief a glimpse into their worlds and they end just as I’m getting excited. Still, I was willing to give this a chance and I figured it would be a good read during a pretty busy time. It was good to be able to dip into a short story of two a night without worrying about keeping track of a longer narrative thread.

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Book Review – Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer

books, reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I absolutely fell in love with Andrew Sean Greer’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel Less. I constantly recommend it to friends and suggest it every month in my book club. I just believed that everyone should and would enjoy reading it. Okay, not everyone but a lot of people. It’s also my main piece of evidence to throw into the ring every time somebody says “Literary Fiction is just depressing and dark”. Less was anything but dark. It is the opposite of dark and I’ve been obsessed with ever since. So I was genuinely delighted that there was a sequel coming. I wanted to spend more time with Arthur Less and couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get around to it in 2022 when it was released. Instead, I figured I would start the year off on a positive note and make it my first book of 2023. Would it be as good as the first book? Or would it be a tricky second album?

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Book Review – Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar by Jessamyn Violet

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Some books just sound like they’re going to be your kind of thing. I was offered a copy of this book and it just seemed like it would be right up my street. A YA novel with LGBTQ+ representation set in the glitzy music world and written by a musician. It had the potential to be something really interesting. I admit that YA isn’t my usual kind of thing but I’m always willing to give it a chance when it sounds good enough. As I’ve mentioned, it’s been taking me longer to finish books recently but I got a fair chunk of it finished on a train ride this weekend. Not in time for my usual Monday review but close enough.

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Book Review – Nightmares & Daydreams by Dominic J. Anton

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to read a copy of this book before it was published. Not only was I really honoured to get the chance to do it but I was excited to read it. The premise just sounded so good. I’d also read Dominic J. Anton’s poetry collection Intuition before, so I was excited to read his prose. The book was released in October and I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of the finished work. I couldn’t wait to get back in and read the final edition. So, I started reading it as soon as possible.

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Book Review – Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

books, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

This book was picked as our book club’s choice for Pride. Thanks to several scheduling problems, we ended up having to move the meeting back, so I didn’t actually start reading it until July. In fact, I didn’t start reading it until a few days before the meeting. I barely finished it in time. Although, I was better off than a few other members who had read it for June and couldn’t remember it. It made for a slightly awkward meeting. Next month will be better.

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Book Review – Heartstopper Volume 3 and 4 by Alice Oseman

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

After reading the first two volumes of this series back in June, I knew that I had to finish it as soon as possible. So, at the end of August, I got copies of volumes 3 and 4 to finish before the end of the month. I’ve read Solitaire, so already knew that things were going to get a lot less fun for Charlie and Nick. I just hoped that it wouldn’t get too bad. All I could do was find out for myself.

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Book Review – Heartstopper Volume 1 and 2 by Alice Oseman

books, reviews

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Every year I set aside a bunch of LGBTQ+ books and authors to put on my Pride TBR. Inevitably, I never actually read them and I end up feeling guilty about it. So I decided that 2022 was going to be the year I did Pride right and finish my unread books. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve already finished 2 Pride books. Although, neither of them was on my TBR. Instead, I bought the first 2 volumes in this series. It’s everywhere right now that I had to do it.

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