Tag Archives: short stories

Book Review: The Nerves by Lee Suksi

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Book Review: The Nerves by Lee Suksi

Pub date: 9/24/20

Publisher: Metatron Press (thank you for my gifted copy!)

Goodreads synopsis:

“The Nerves is set in an imaginary world where our sense memories tell us who we are. The Nerves subverts the literary approach to sexuality by treating the erotic not as a site of anxiety but of reverie. Psychedelic, attentive, cinematic and hot, this book writes toward sensitivity and ecstasy. Exploring touch as healing abandon, The Nerves is charged with desire, devotion, and creative fantasy. Through a series of joyful encounters, Lena Suksi reminds us that pleasure can be abundant, nuanced and that it can heal. Engaging in a queer erotics of language, Suksi’s debut is a bundle of wet atmospheres, speaking to faith in touch.”

My thoughts:

This book may be small, but its impact on me as a reader is mighty. One of my very favorite things about THE NERVES is its center around transnormativity. They/them pronouns are the default for each character regardless of their names or bodies. Getting to immerse myself within a world where gender-neutrality is the norm was an absolute joy and eye-opener. I actually think THE NERVES would be great reading for a women & gender studies course, so the class could discuss how using non-gendered pronouns for every character within a book subverts society, relationships, social expectations, and even capitalism (to take it a step further). This collection certainly challenged me to dig deep, while also being an enjoyable and engaging read.

I also love the erotic components of THE NERVES. It’s sensual in a way that queers sex and intimacy. Each chapter (or very short story) centers around individuals who are intimate with one another, but not quite in a romantic sense. The sex is striking and queer with no sugar-coating. Overall, reading THE NERVES and watching relationships between the characters unfold was an absolute privilege. Thank you so much to Metatron Press for my gifted copy!

Book Review: Just Pervs by Jess Taylor

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JUST PERVS by Jess Taylor

Publisher: Book*hug Press

Pub date: 1/1/2019

Goodreads synopsis:

“Two sex addicts meet and fall in love. A woman catches her husband cheating on her with their dog and escapes to her sister’s horse farm. Four friends—fellow pervs—grow up and drift apart, pining for each other in silence until one of them is murdered.

In Jess Taylor’s sophomore story collection, contemporary views of female sexuality are subverted, and women are given agency over their desires and bodies. Through these characters, sex is revealed to be many things at gross, shameful, exhilarating, hidden or open—and always complicated. Reminiscent of the works of Maggie Nelson, Mary Gaitskill and Chris Kraus, the stories in Just Pervs explore the strange oppression and illumination created by desire, the bewilderment of adolescence, and the barriers to intimacy both discovered within and imposed upon ourselves.”

My thoughts:

If you’re a fan of Weird Girl Books, JUST PERVS is the perfect read for you. Furthermore, if you’re a fan of carrying books with stare-worthy titles shown on the covers in public, JUST PERVS is the perfect read for you, too. Though, writing this review and spending too long on the head-turning cover art and title would be doing this book a major injustice, as the stories inside are equally subversive and thought-provoking. Music reviewers sometimes refer to an album as having “no skips” when every song is a jam; I believe JUST PERVS has “no skips” for a similar reason.

Each, individual story in JUST PERVS immediately grabbed my attention within their first page and kept that attention the entire way through. One of my favorite parts about this collection is the lengths each piece goes to queer sexuality (“queer” being a verb here), a description that I know may sound redundant. Truly, though, JUST PERVS takes subverting themes of sex & intimacy and pushes them all the way outside of the box. In fact, I’d say there’s actually no box when it comes to Jess Taylor’s mind. Yes, the results of this are shocking and sometimes disturbing, but I like sitting in that discomfort for a bit.  

I realize I’m not going into specifics about the pieces in JUST PERVS, but I think spoiling their storylines would take away from their fun. I loved starting a new story within the collection and having no idea (but desperately awaiting to learn) what strange, freaky, queer events would be described in the following pages. I gasped, I laughed, and I definitely had looks of concern on my face while reading JUST PERVS in a coffee shop. I loved jUST PERVS and I greatly look forward to reading more of Jess Taylor’s work in the future!

Review: WOMEN! IN! PERIL! by Jessie Ren Marshall

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WOMEN! IN! PERIL! standing upright on a black bookshelf. A variety of book spines are in the background. A faux plant is next to the featured book.

Women! In! Peril! By Jessie Ren Marshall

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication Date: 4/2/24

Rating: 5/5 stars!

Goodreads synopsis:

“In this brash and unputdownable collection, award-winning playwright Jessie Ren Marshall invites us into the lives of twelve women who push against social norms and family expectations to reclaim their power, understand their mistakes, and find a better future. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and defiantly optimistic, the stories in Women! In! Peril! balance wry humor and gravitas to explore the complexities of queerness, toxic relationships, parenting and divorce, Asian and Asian American identity, and more.”

My thoughts:

Before the start of 2024, I thought short story collections weren’t for me, as I was under the (incorrect) assumption that there was no way fully-fledged plots and characters could develop over such few pages. It turns out I had just been reading the wrong collections, many of which were assigned in school and not very contemporary. Jessie Ren Marshall absolutely proved my assumption to be erroneous, as each story in WOMEN! IN! PERIL! is multi-dimensional, compelling, and fully-formed.

It is such a joy to find literature that is equally fun and reflective about serious topics. WOMEN! IN! PERIL! made me laugh out loud multiple times, but it also led to inquisitive conversations with my friends and family (and the short story format allowed for me to easily explain the premises). Each story is multi-faceted and complex while subverting themes of mortality, space, sex, trauma….and the list goes on.

I also must comment on the diversity of characters featured in WOMEN! IN! PERIL! The gaggle of queer characters living within the book are an absolute treat to meet and observe. All of them have their own flaws and biases, just like real people do. Overall, I am extremely impressed with Jessie Ren Marshall’s ability to fit so many wholly developed stories in less than 300 pages. I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Review: Bugsy & Other Stories by Rafael Frumkin

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Bugsy & Other Stories shown face up with a lilac/clear, floral bookmark on a wooden background

Bugsy & Other Stories by Rafael Frumkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: 2/13/24

Rating: 5/5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

“A wildly imaginative story collection about sex, desire, queer identity, and the celebration of social taboos, by the author of Confidence.

Bugsy & Other Stories is a deliciously entertaining collection of six genre-defying stories. In the title story, “Bugsy,” a queer young adult battling depression finds community and transcendence through sex work.

In “Futago” a psychiatrist loses his mind after a voice—eerily similar to that of Alex Trebek—appears in his head.

In other stories, you will meet an e-girl and her fans, an elderly woman flashing through the pivotal scenes of her life, and a young boy on the spectrum trying to navigate life in a neurotypical world.

Together, these six stories explore tenderness and what it means to care for each other and for ourselves, especially in a time when technology threatens to tear us apart.”

My thoughts:

BUGSY & OTHER STORIES completely blew my mind in all the best ways. The title story, Bugsy, is an absolute stand-out in this literary gem. After she drops out of college due to mental health struggles, Bugsy’s life takes a turn when she befriends a group of sex workers and begins exploring her sexuality and interest in women. In my college days, I took a class about queering sex work; it still is one of my all-time favorite courses. If it was possible, I would go back in time, take Rafael Frumkin (along with BUGSY & OTHER STORIES) with me, and demand the collection be added as mandatory reading for the class. Seriously, though, this book is exemplary and I’m going to be recommending it to anyone who will listen.

In the final story, The Last Show, an old woman named Flora is in a state of half-consciousness as her health is declining. While she is existing in this limbo at the hospital, people from all corners of her past come to visit. Flora gets long-needed closure with friends and family members and gets to see her now-grown children as adolescents again. Reading The Last Show gave me goosebumps and brought me back to visiting my father in hospice care in 2021. As someone who still feels like she is freshly grieving a parent, I am so thankful this story exists. All this to say: Rafael Frumkin is a genius with words.

Anyone with an interest in queering or subverting topics such as sanity, gaming, streaming, and death will certainly find this mesmerizing collection of interest. There truly is something here for everyone. BUGSY & OTHER STORIES is one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given.

April 2017 Wrap-Up

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April 2017 Wrap-Up

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Hello everyone! If you didn’t notice, I totally forgot to do a March Wrap-Up. I’ve decided to skip it because I didn’t read that much in March. I’d rather just jump ahead to April because….. I got through 11 books this month! I’m so happy with my reading progress over the past 30 days. I read a lot of books that had been on my to-be-read since the fall. Before I do a breakdown, I want to give a quick update on my blog:

  1. I’m trying to post reviews more frequently now, since I’m reading a lot more than February/March. I’m aiming to publish one every 3 days or so.
  2. I want to focus my reviews on books that involve topics that I think should be normalized in literature. These topics include people of color, mental illnesses, LGBTQ people, chronic illnesses, and strong female protagonists. Of course, I’m going to read books that don’t focus on these themes, so if that’s not your thing, don’t worry.
  3. I currently receive one bimonthly book subscription box, Paper Street Books, and will be posting full unboxing reviews every time I get a box from them. So far, I’ve gotten 4 of their boxes and I haven’t been disappointed yet. I just got a box about a week ago so I’ll be posting a review of that shortly!

Now, on to the breakdown!

 

– Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (science fiction,) 5/5 stars

This book absolutely blew me away. The main character is a queer woman of color with chronic pain. I’ve never read a book about someone who struggles with an invisible physical illness before Ascension, so this book really makes the top of my ‘favorites of 2017’ list. I actually ended up contacting Jacqueline Koyanagi and telling her how much her book touched me. She was extremely nice and I hope she publishes more work soon. If you want to see my full review, click here: x.

  

–Strange Medicine by Mike Russell (fantasy/short stories), 4.5/5 stars

I am so honored that I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, because I really enjoyed it. I’ve never been a fan of short stories, but I got into this collection very easily and couldn’t put it down. I just received another one of Mike Russell’s books and I can’t wait to start it in the next few days! If you want to see my full review, click here: x.

  

–Burned by Ellen Hopkins (fiction), 3/5 stars 

This is the second Ellen Hopkins book I’ve read, and I was really disappointed with it. After Crank, I had such high expectations for Ellen Hopkins. Her verse style of storytelling is so unique and makes for a fast-paced page turner. Burned was not like this. The story is very interesting– a girl raised in a religious family with an abusive father, who is sent away for the summer– but is told in a very boring way. I definitely will be giving Ellen Hopkins another chance sometime soon.

  

–Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (young adult fiction), 4.5/5 stars

I read an ARC of this book, so I’m not sure how much it differs from the final publication. That being said, this was a great first YA read for me in April! It is unconventional, as the two main characters are different genders but they do not have any romance between them. Alice Oseman wrote their relationship perfectly and it made for a very feel-good novel. I also like how she included a lot about internet culture. I can tell she really did her research into ‘fandom’ communities and networks. This book reminded me about why I love YA lit!

  

–Go Ask Alice by Anonymous (fiction), 4.5/5 stars

Reading Crank last month inspired me to pick up this book in April. I was looking into more books that educate people about addiction, especially in young people, and this was at the top of many lists. I’m not going to say much in this blurb because I don’t think I can type anything without it turning into a rant about how addiction is a disease and needs to be treated as one. If you want my full review, please click here: x.

  

–The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz (young adult fiction), 4/5 stars

Yay! I spent all of last year waiting for Benjamin Alire Saenz to release a new book after Aristotle and Dante. I think he is a master at developing wholesome relationships between friends, but especially between parents and their children. This book doesn’t have much of a plot, but it is still so worth it. If you liked Benjamin Alire Saenz’s writing style from his previous publications, then you’ll absolutely love this book. If you want to see my full review, click here: x.

  

–Such Small Hands by Barba Andres (fiction), 2/5 stars

This was the only book I read in April that I truly didn’t like. I found this book on the New Release Index on Book Riot Insiders, which often has books that I wouldn’t hear of otherwise, and it seemed really interesting. It ended up being a creepy novella about girls taking turns dressing up as a doll every night and performing rituals on said doll. Maybe, if the book had been longer, I would have liked it more.

  

–Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook (poetry), 3.4/5 stars

This is another book that I found thanks to Book Riot Insiders! I picked up this book because I read that it was written for anyone who has struggled with addiction or loved someone who struggles with addiction, which is something I’ve recently been striving to read more about. I thought, maybe, it would include poems from the perspective of the addict, but they were mostly written for people who have a loved one who is an addict. To me, this made it a lot less interesting. I was hoping it would give more education about the disease, but the poems were too vague to teach the readers much. I did find a few that I liked a lot, though.

 

–One Year Left by J.C. Robinson (romance), 3/5 stars

I’m so grateful that I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This was my first romance of the year and it was a great start! The characters were both extremely likable, although predictable, and were a match made in heaven. I do wish there had been more depth to their character development, but, overall, they were very fun to read about. If you want to see my full review, click here: x.

 

–Colorblind by Siera Maley (LGBTA, young adult), 5/5 stars

This was the only young adult book I read in April with a lesbian protagonist. Of course, with me being me, I LOVED it. It was so cute that I needed to put the book down a few times to just take it all in. Reading F/F young adult books is so refreshing because it reminds you that there are authors out there who want to normalize lesbian characters (especially teens!) and relationships. If you’re looking for an queer YA book, this is it. I’m excited to write a full review for this soon, so keep an eye out!

  

–A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (science fiction), 5/5 stars

If you’ve been following my blog since I read The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet (review: x), then you know how much I adore Becky Chambers. I was so pumped for this book, that I ordered the UK edition, because I’d have it sooner than my fellow US readers. Rationally, I NEEDED the hardcover in order to survive, so I did what I had to. I’m mad at myself for putting this book off for so long because it was the perfect sci-fi book to finish the month off. This is a companion novel to Becky Chamber’s previously mentioned book, so you don’t necessarily need to read the first one before A Closed and Common Orbit. There are some references to the Wayfarer crew, so I think at least reading up on the first book is important. Becky Chambers will remain one of my favorite science fiction writers for a very, very long time. I plan on writing a full review for this book soon!

  

And there you have it! I’m looking forward to reaching my reading goal of 40 books this year (I’m already at 36) and I’m excited to be sharing some of my favorites with all of you. I’m working on making big changes to my blog this summer, as I stated at the beginning of this post, so bear with me. Thank you for your continuous support, I really appreciate the people who read my blog.

 

Review- Strange Medicine

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Strange Medicine by Mike Russell

strangemedicine-coverforwebsite4.5/5 stars

“Sometimes the suffering of one individual is so great that it renders unjustifiable any purpose that the universe could possibly have.”

A little boy who talks to a rock, a headless fish who grows from living skin, a bridge that randomly generates, and a man who cradles a large box nearly every minute of every day. These are some of the interesting things that happen within the 8 short stories of Strange Medicine. Some of the stories make you laugh, some make you think, some have good morals, and others just don’t make any sense. If you want to teleport into a few weird, fantastical stories, try Strange Medicine and see where it takes you.

Strange Books was extremely generous and sent me a copy of Strange Medicine in return for an honest book review. I’m very honored that they chose to contact me and I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to read this book because I ended up liking so much!

This is a short book—141 pages. But, these are 141 pages of fun, horror, humor, and thoughtfulness. I had no idea where this book would take me (and I’m still not quite sure where it took me) but I’m so happy with the journey I found myself on. Every story was witty, in its own unique way, and kept me racing through the pages to find the catch at the end of each chapter.

Mike Russell has an extensive imagination. I’ve never read a short story collection with such a wide variety of characters who, truly, were each their own concoction of weirdness. Most stories have one or two unique characters who are a little bit out there, but Strange Medicine was full of them. I applaud Mike Russell for having the dedication to fill all 8 stories with unforgettable characters who will remain in my forethoughts for a long time.

I also want to add that Mike Russell’s writing style is something that is not seen very often in short stories. I sometimes have a hard time with short stories because I can’t keep up with the rapid plot and character developments and get a bit confused halfway through a story. Strange Medicine was not like that for me, at all. The writing style was extremely easy to follow and understand, even with the short length of chapters. If you are convinced that short stories are not for you, I urge you to try this book; it’s very different from anything else I’ve read.

If you can’t tell, Strange Medicine blew me away. I wasn’t even really a short story person, that is, until I read this book. I loved so many things about this collection as a whole and as individual stories, but I don’t want to spoil any of the plot. Again, a huge thank you to Strange Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I hope to read more of their stuff in the future because I loved Strange Medicine!

Review- Trigger Warning

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Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

225228084/5 stars

This is a collection of Gaiman’s recent short stories, which he calls “short fictions and disturbances”. This epithet matches well with the content of some of these stories. Trigger Warning contains over 20 short pieces of writing, ranging from poems to short fairy tales.

There are simply too many pieces to write a synopsis of each one. In addition, the stories are not related in any way (character wise or even genre wise). Each of these stories is it’s own world, a unique way of putting together a collection of fictions. Before this, I had never read a book of short stories that didn’t have anything in common. That being said, most of the stories were a bit disturbing. I would even categorize a few of them as “horror”; but most of them fall into the category of “fantasy” or “science fiction”.  For Doctor Who fans– Gaiman even includes a short story about the Doctor with a bow tie and Amy Pond.

Neil Gaiman certainly has a way of imagining other worlds and dimensions filled with made-up creatures and complex characters. Admittedly, I did get bored with a few of his stories, but most of them kept my attention and were easy to follow. I’m very proud to be the owner of a signed first edition of this book. I went to my local bookstore on it’s release date last month and was one of the first to get a copy!