Book Report

 Queer Intentions: A Personal Journey Through LGBTQ+ Culture by Amelia Abraham – The book is exactly what it says. The author travels around Europe and North America to try to get a sense of LGBTQ+ culture, and she does a good job pulling in folks who are trans and NB and POC. It’s never boring and in fact, I think it’s really useful; I often feel I have a very hard time grasping LGBTQ+ culture or even what it means to be queer. It’s like, we’re all so different, what even binds us? So the book is more than an interesting travelogue; it’s also something to get conversations started and brains churning. Grade: 8

 

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters – A novel centering around three women: one is trans, another is her ex and is also trans but has detransitioned and is living as a man even though she knows she’s a woman, and the third is cis and is pregnant (with sperm from the second). They decide to make a family. I agree with the reviewer who said: “Plenty of books are good; this book is alive.” I would also add, though, that by the time I was about 60% through the book, it was really losing steam. Like the newness of the setup and the writer’s crisp descriptions weren’t enough to keep this train running. Grade: 5

 

Nujeen: One Girl’s Incredible Journey from War-Torn Syria in a Wheelchair by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lake – Just as the subtitle says, Nujeen and her sister left war-torn Syria, and they made a daunting trek through multiple countries. They went on a dangerous boat, they went over land, they used taxis and busses, they often went days without eating and with barely any water, sleeping on beaches or in shelters that had the bare minimum of amenities. One advantage they did have: two older brothers who’d left Syria long before them were able to use apps to send money to help finance this. In any case, it is heartbreaking to think of how many people on this planet are refugees fleeing war and climate catastrophe. They did nothing wrong, and they are hated in so many places they go to. At least Nujeen’s story has a happy ending as she and her family have settled in Germany. However, her parents and one brother are still stuck in Syria; the parents were not up for the trek, understandably. Grade: 7

 

Practical Optimism by Sue Varma – I’ve been reading a lot of books like this lately. It’s full of no-nonsense ways you can make your life better. Change your outlook, change your habits, set realistic goals. It uses research and composite case studies. It’s good. I think almost anyone could benefit from reading or even skimming it. Grade: 7

 

Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg – We were given copies of this book at work to read before a meeting. And like the above book, it’s good. We can all use more tips on how to communicate better. Like, the first section makes the point that good communication is really about connecting, so you need to learn how to do that. It also guides you to figure out what sort of conversation is going on (practical? emotional?) so you can adjust accordingly. I like when he talks about how some of us might prepare for communicating with loved one by thinking about what point we want to get across – but we don’t usually think about what we want to ask them or learn from them. I’d definitely re-read segments of this before a difficult commiunication. One negative about the book. Apropos of nothing and for no reason, Duhigg makes a comment bashing vegans. Wtf. I even emailed him about it. Grade: 6 (You know why the grade is not higher) J