Wow, wow, wow, I’ve had a lot going on recently, last quarter I was fretting about not having enough reading to make a post, now I have… almost too much. That is because I’ve picked up a number of epistolary substack stories being done like Dracula Daily and I took an online course on Tolkien… Continue reading Behind the Scenes – Summer 2022
The first thing I learned reading this was that I’m very out of practice when it comes to reading academic theory. The second was that I need to broaden the academic theory I read. Thankfully, “Black on Both Sides” has a deliciously robust bibliography which I have marked up for future reading. Now I will… Continue reading Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton
If you’re interested in the gay history of the 19th century, but have absolutely no idea where to begin, “Strangers” is a really solid place to start. It not only covers the whole of the 19th century (and swings into the 20th century), but unlike many books in the field, it goes out of it’s… Continue reading Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century by Graham Robb
I’ve struggled with body image all my life, a combination of weight anxiety and dysphoria. The dysphoria is mostly managed these days, the weight anxiety, not so much, particularly as I’ve been gaining weight in a more sedentary life style now that I have an office job and don’t walk everywhere anymore. Resources for men… Continue reading Rainbow Reflections: Body Image Comics for Queer Men edited by Phillip Joy, Stephanie Gauvin and Matthew Lee
Continuing with the theme of trans and intersex narratives, I have made up a short master post of early memoirs and biographies of trans and intersex figures that I am familiar with, including the ones I discussed in this month’s review. I am here defining early as having been born in the 1800s, even if… Continue reading Early Trans and Intersex Narratives
If you’re interested in the genre of early trans memoir, then I cannot recommend this book enough. While much of the content does reflect the conventions of early trans memoirs, it is important to remember that N. O. Body/Karl Baer, was also intersex. This fact cannot and should not be overlooked in the reading of… Continue reading Memoir of a Man’s Maiden Years by N.O. Body/Karl Baer
A Rainbow Thread by Noam Sienna I’ve always had a complicated relationship with religions. One that has been inherently distrustful even before I realized I was a queer trans man. Yet something about a higher power and the magic of religion has always fascinated me. I wasn’t raised religious, except in the vague Christian-normative way… Continue reading Approaching Judaism as a Queer Trans Man
[Edit: Originally published July 8, 2017] Queer, There, and Everyone is a really wonderful book. It’s well researched, informative, and best of all it’s accessible. As I’ve discovered seeking out books for my thesis, when it comes to queer texts they aren’t always the easiest to get your hands on or even read when it comes… Continue reading Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People who Changed the World by Sarah Prager
[Edit: Originally published April 1, 2017] Some Assembly Required is a Trans Narrative. It encompasses all the aspects someone might expect if they are familiar with other trans books or if they have a passing awareness of trans people. These books have value, and I am hesitant to be critical of any trans books in the… Continue reading Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews
[Edit: Originally published April 28, 2016] Christopher and his Kind, a memoir detailing Christopher Isherwood’s time in traveling abroad from England, is delightfully frank and honest. Christopher Isherwood has no qualms in saying which parts are unreliable because he doesn’t remember them or how the opinion of his younger self might be biased. He treats young… Continue reading Christopher and his Kind: 1929-1939 by Christopher Isherwood
Snap Book Reviews 