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reading

A list of books I've read or aspire to read one day. My goals for reading: chill offline time, learn cool things, stop reading things when I'm not enjoying reading them. You can help me with 'learn cool things' by reaching out if you've read any of these and want to discuss them or share what you learned!

Books labelled "home library" are available to borrow if you're a friend living near me :)

I'm trying to abandon more books before I finish reading them, to incentivize myself to stop reading things I don't enjoy reading. Current goal: 20 books started after Nov 23, 2020 (at least one chapter read) and since abandoned. Current progress: 15/20 (75.0%)


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White Fragility
Robin DiAngelo
reading as of Aug 25, 2024
Reading for a 2-person book club
tags: nonfiction, race
Glass House
Margaret Morton
read as of Aug 20, 2024
Really neat oral history of a community of squatters in the 90s.
tags: nonfiction, community, illustrated
Le Petit Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
read as of Aug 12, 2024
Read this with someone to practice French together! I've heard that this book is great, and quite profound and dark for a children's book.
tags: fiction
Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improv Manual
Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh
abandoned as of Aug 2, 2024
tags: nonfiction, creativity
Anarchic Agreements
Ruth Kinna; Alex Prichard; Thomas Swann; Seeds for Change
read as of Jul 30, 2024
Feels very helpful for brainstorming structures for community management! I read most of this a year ago and finally finished the appendix over the last week.
tags: nonfiction, politics, community, activism
tags: nonfiction, essays, activism
Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
Kai Cheng Thom
want to read as of Jul 23, 2024
tags: nonfiction, essays, poetry
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
read as of Jul 22, 2024
tags: fiction
The Unreal and the Real: Outer Space, Inner Lands
Ursula K. Le Guin
want to read as of Jul 19, 2024
tags: fiction, short stories
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Priya Parker
read as of Jul 16, 2024
Great food for thought, and also lots of really great stories of various gatherings.
tags: nonfiction, community
Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure
Lewis Hancox
want to read as of Jun 19, 2024
The 11yo I live with enjoyed this and recommended it to me!
tags: fiction, illustrated, queer
The Legacy of Yangchen
F.C. Yee
read as of May 31, 2024
This series brings me both pessimism and optimism about human nature and societal governance.
tags: fiction
Multiamory: Essential Tools for Modern Relationships
Dedeker Winston, Jase Lindgren, Emily Sotelo Matlack
want to read as of May 26, 2024
tags: nonfiction, relationships
Stone Butch Blues
Leslie Feinberg
want to read as of May 26, 2024
tags: fiction, queer
The Dawn of Yangchen
F.C. Yee
read as of May 22, 2024
tags: fiction
The Shadow of Kyoshi
F.C. Yee
read as of May 13, 2024
tags: fiction
The Rise of Kyoshi
F.C. Yee
read as of May 10, 2024
It was so delightful to get more canon stories from the avatar universe! This story has much more violence than the tv series. I appreciated the exploration of when one decides to use violence vs try to work things out peacefully.
tags: fiction
A Walker's Sketchbook of San Francisco
Eleanor Burke
want to read as of Apr 26, 2024
tags: nonfiction
The Other Significant Others
Rhaina Cohen
read as of Apr 6, 2024
tags: nonfiction, relationships
Stone Fruit
Lee Lai
read as of Mar 22, 2024
"It’s a book about family, breakups, queerness, childhood, sisters, and healing, but most of all, Stone Fruit is an act of playfulness." I really enjoyed this book and felt like the characters and relationship problems depicted were complex and human.
tags: fiction, illustrated, queer, relationships
Self-Therapy
Jay Earley
read as of Mar 19, 2024
This felt like a really solid introduction to IFS -- it felt well organized, clearly written, and decently nuanced for an introductory book. I've recommended this book to several friends and been thinking about IFS a lot. It seems likely that IFS will make a huge difference for me in my mental health journey.
tags: nonfiction, trauma, therapy, home library
A Land with a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism
Esther Farmer (Editor) Rosalind Pollack Petchesky (Editor) Sarah Sills (Editor)
read as of Mar 12, 2024
Read for book club
tags: nonfiction, politics
Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072
Eman Abdelhadi & M. E. O'Brien
want to read as of Mar 7, 2024
tags: fiction, politics
tags: nonfiction, therapy
Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators
Mariame Kaba, Shira Hassan
want to read as of Feb 15, 2024
tags: nonfiction, activism, community
Lexicon
Max Barry
read as of Feb 11, 2024
Stories where people may not be who they seem (and also where there is much death) kinda freak me out, but this book was definitely captivating. I like the idea of a magic built around the pursuasion of language. I still have many questions.
tags: fiction
No Bad Parts
Richard Schwartz
want to read as of Feb 8, 2024
tags: nonfiction, trauma, therapy
Finance for the People: Getting a Grip on Your Finances
Paco de Leon
want to read as of Feb 7, 2024
tags: nonfiction
The Little Book of Restorative Justice
Howard Zehr
want to read as of Jan 30, 2024
tags: nonfiction, activism
tags: nonfiction, politics, education, essays
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care
Kelly Hayes, Mariame Kaba
want to read as of Dec 6, 2023
tags: nonfiction, activism
We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan
Lou Sullivan
want to read as of Dec 6, 2023
tags: nonfiction, queer
How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community
Mia Birdsong
want to read as of Dec 2, 2023
tags: nonfiction, community, relationships, home library
The Manual of Psychedelic Support
over 40 authors and 6 editors
want to read as of Nov 9, 2023
tags: nonfiction
Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without a Bullhorn
Omkari L. Williams
want to read as of Oct 30, 2023
tags: nonfiction, activism
Against the Loveless World
Susan Abulhawa
want to read as of Oct 23, 2023
tags: fiction, politics
tags: nonfiction, community, politics, activism
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
read as of Oct 11, 2023
This kinda destroyed me emotionally.
tags: fiction
Let's Decide Together: Practicing Sociocracy with Children
Hope Wilder
want to read as of Oct 8, 2023
tags: nonfiction, community, politics, parenting
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish
want to read as of Oct 5, 2023
tags: nonfiction, parenting
We Do This 'Til We Free Us
Mariame Kaba
read as of Oct 3, 2023
Not totally sure if I'd recommend it, but I definitely enjoyed and learned from reading it as part of book club and having conversations around it.
tags: nonfiction, essays, activism
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Robert A. Heinlein
want to read as of Sep 6, 2023
tags: fiction
Is It Utopia Yet?
Kat Kinkade
want to read as of Sep 6, 2023
tags: nonfiction, memoir, community
What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition
Emma Dabiri
want to read as of Aug 28, 2023
tags: nonfiction, politics, race
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
read as of Jul 29, 2023
Thinking about stability and happiness...
tags: fiction, politics
Felicity
Mary Oliver
read as of Jul 22, 2023
tags: poetry
The Sun Isn’t Out Long Enough
Tatevik Sargsyan (edited by)
want to read as of Jul 10, 2023
tags: poetry, queer, essays
Deschooling Society
Ivan Illich
want to read as of Jul 10, 2023
tags: nonfiction, education, activism
A Poetry Handbook
Mary Oliver
read as of Jul 8, 2023
tags: nonfiction, poetry, writing
A Brief History of Neoliberalism
David Harvey
want to read as of Jun 25, 2023
tags: nonfiction, politics
tags: nonfiction, community
From Notes to Narrative: Writing Ethnographies That Everyone Can Read
Kristen R. Ghodsee
want to read as of Jun 25, 2023
tags: nonfiction, writing
Animal Farm
George Orwell
read as of Jun 20, 2023
well that was depressing
tags: fiction, politics
Parable of the Talents
Octavia E. Butler
read as of Jun 3, 2023
Great duology.
tags: fiction
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Matthew Desmond
want to read as of May 29, 2023
tags: nonfiction, politics
Direct Action
David Graeber
want to read as of May 27, 2023
tags: nonfiction, activism
Parable of the Sower
Octavia E. Butler
read as of May 26, 2023
I'm really glad I read this. Felt like a very real potential future. Feels like something that even exists now around us to some extent.
tags: fiction
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi
want to read as of May 20, 2023
tags: fiction, illustrated, memoir
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
Geraldine Audre Lorde
want to read as of May 13, 2023
tags: nonfiction, essays, queer, race, politics
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Rick Rubin
want to read as of May 7, 2023
tags: nonfiction, creativity
Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be
Becky Kennedy
want to read as of Apr 27, 2023
tags: nonfiction, parenting
Turning Towards Each Other: A Conflict Workbook
Jovida Ross & Weyam Ghadbian
want to read as of Apr 26, 2023
tags: nonfiction, community
Bullshit Jobs
David Graeber
abandoned as of Apr 26, 2023
I liked the start, but it got repetitive and felt longer than it needed to be.
tags: nonfiction, politics
The Future Is Disabled
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
want to read as of Apr 24, 2023
tags: nonfiction, activism
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid
read as of Apr 23, 2023
I really appreciated this read, the way it challenges the good/bad binary, and the way it explores the relationship between standing up for what you want and hurting the people you love. But most of all I loved the way it depicted what close relationships and family can look like <3
tags: fiction
Heartstopper #1
Alice Oseman
read as of Apr 13, 2023
So wholesome!! Gives me nostalgia for the fun flirty feels.
tags: illustrated, queer, fiction
Don't Go Without Me
Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
want to read as of Mar 20, 2023
tags: fiction, illustrated
Turn This World Inside Out
Nora Samaran
read as of Mar 19, 2023
Essays and interviews on anxious attachment, shame, masculinity, harm, transformative justice, and nurturance. Reading this brought up a lot of feelings for me. I especially liked this essay on gaslighting.
tags: nonfiction, relationships, essays, community
Hyperbole and a Half
Allie Brosh
read as of Mar 7, 2023
More depressing than I expected! I really appreciate her willingness to talk blatantly about her flaws.
tags: nonfiction, illustrated
The Way Out
Alan Gordon, Alon Ziv
read as of Feb 19, 2023
Recommended by my doctor to deal with the pain that I've been assuming was nerve issues. After reading this book, I'm pretty sure most of the pain I've felt more recently was coming from my fear of nerve issues, and since starting this book the pain has already substantially decreased. I'd recommend this book to anyone -- it has tips to deal with physical discomfort and pain, but also has some really great advice about managing anxiety (which is related). It was really cool to see so many parallels between the way I've changed my relationship with anxiety and the way I want to change my relationship with pain.
tags: nonfiction
How To Write An Autobiographical Novel
Alexander Chee
want to read as of Feb 17, 2023
tags: nonfiction, essays
The Magic Fish
Trung Le Nguyen
read as of Feb 17, 2023
Read for graphic novel book club. This was really beautiful! Great stories, drawn beautifully, connected cleverly. A work of art.
tags: fiction, illustrated, race
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Anne Frank
want to read as of Feb 10, 2023
tags: nonfiction
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ursula K. Le Guin
read as of Feb 8, 2023
tags: fiction
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
want to read as of Feb 7, 2023
Recommended by my ex to better understand them :p Might read as part of our relationship retrospective work.
tags: fiction
Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity
Micah Rajunov (Editor), A. Scott Duane (Editor)
abandoned as of Feb 7, 2023
Started reading this for a local bookstore's book club, but eneded up making other plans that night. It was neat to read the essays, but wasn't quite what I wanted -- it would be cool to have a 201 version of this without explaining the fundamentals of gender and transition things, and getting into advanced gender fuckery. I might try to make a collection like that some time.
tags: nonfiction, queer, essays
The Book of Delights
Ross Gay
want to read as of Jan 22, 2023
tags: nonfiction, essays
You & a Bike & a Road
Eleanor Davis
read as of Jan 20, 2023
Read this for graphic novel book club (which I just joined!) and enjoyed it. Helps me understand the appeal of going on a long bike trip. I enjoyed the graphic journalling format.
tags: nonfiction, illustrated
Why Art?
Eleanor Davis
read as of Jan 11, 2023
tags: fiction, illustrated
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Becky Chambers
read as of Jan 4, 2023
The human world is this cute utopian-ish anarchist-ish place and I really enjoyed reading this book too!
tags: fiction
Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us
Rachel Aviv
want to read as of Dec 31, 2022
tags: nonfiction
Unmasking Autism
Devon Price
read as of Dec 31, 2022
Recommended by a friend who identified with neurodivergence after reading this, and saw symptoms in me as well. This book helped me understand more about myself and many of my friends -- one of my biggest realizations while reading was that investing in my hobbies brings me a lot of joy and shared interests are a lot of how I feel connected to people. I also now more easily notice when I'm feeling sensoriliy overwhelmed or desire more structure. I'd recommend this book to most people I know!
tags: nonfiction, self help
A Psalm For The Wild-Built
Becky Chambers
read as of Dec 28, 2022
Cozy sci-fi about a nonbinary monk. Explores radical independence and also the journey of finding purpose or meaning. I really enjoyed this short read <3
tags: fiction
Creative Interventions Toolkit
Creative Interventions
want to read as of Dec 26, 2022
tags: nonfiction, relationships, community
Anarchism and Other Essays
Emma Goldman
want to read as of Dec 26, 2022
tags: nonfiction, politics, essays
Creative, Not Famous
Ayun Halliday
want to read as of Dec 26, 2022
tags: nonfiction, creativity
From Conflict to Community: Transforming Conflicts Without Authorities
Gwendolyn Olton
want to read as of Dec 26, 2022
tags: nonfiction, community
tags: nonfiction, creativity
The Montessori Toddler
Simone Davies
read as of Dec 13, 2022
I loved this! It's repetitive, but the ideas feel very aligned with the way I want to treat kids (and anyone), and it's a fairly quick read.
tags: nonfiction, parenting
Platonic
Marisa G. Franco
want to read as of Dec 6, 2022
tags: nonfiction, relationships
The Dawn Of Everything
David Graeber, David Wengrow
abandoned as of Dec 1, 2022
Pretty interesting! But also a little long-winded, and the book club I was reading it with went on break for a bit. We'll see if we pick it up again.
tags: nonfiction, politics
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande
want to read as of Nov 30, 2022
tags: nonfiction
Tell The Machine Goodnight
Katie Williams
read as of Nov 26, 2022
Quite engaging and easy to read. An interesting and somewhat depressing exploration of the pursuit of happiness. Definitely more like a collection of short stories than a novel. I liked the first half more.
tags: fiction
After The Revolution
Robert Evans
want to read as of Nov 25, 2022
tags: fiction, politics
Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication
Oren Jay Sofer
abandoned as of Nov 23, 2022
Started this for book club at my house that inevitably died. I enjoyed the parts that I read, though!
tags: nonfiction, relationships
How To Keep House While Drowning
KC Davis
want to read as of Nov 22, 2022
tags: nonfiction, self help
Mamo
Sas Milledge
read as of Nov 12, 2022
tags: fiction, illustrated, queer
The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern
want to read as of Nov 4, 2022
tags: fiction
Cannonball
Kelsey Wroten
read as of Nov 4, 2022
Recommended by a housemate with the note 'Existential dread + imposter syndrome + gayness <3 hought you'd be interested'
tags: fiction, illustrated, queer
The Wretched Of The Earth
Frantz Fanon
want to read as of Nov 3, 2022
tags: nonfiction, politics
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
Maxwell King
want to read as of Nov 1, 2022
tags: nonfiction
How Long 'Til Black Future Month?
N. K. Jemisin
abandoned as of Nov 1, 2022
tags: fiction, short stories
Anarchy Works
Peter Gelderloos
abandoned as of Oct 26, 2022
Read for politics reading group. The author raises good questions about anarchy, but their answers weren't very satisfying. Read most of it but skipped several sections towards the end.
tags: nonfiction, politics
The Communist Manifesto
Karl Marx
read as of Oct 26, 2022
So many words I have to look up and so many sentences with way too many commas for me to be able to parse. But it's historically relevant and short, so still seems worth the read. Only got through it because it was for a reading club I'm in.
tags: nonfiction, politics
Queer Werewolves Destroy Capitalism: Smutty Stories
Mj Lyons
want to read as of Oct 25, 2022
tags: fiction, short stories
Laziness Does Not Exist
Devon Price
want to read as of Oct 13, 2022
tags: nonfiction, self help
The Origin of Capitalism
Ellen Meiksins Wood
want to read as of Oct 6, 2022
tags: nonfiction, politics
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
want to read as of Sep 21, 2022
tags: nonfiction, activism, essays
Rest Is Resistance
Tricia Hersey
want to read as of Sep 20, 2022
tags: nonfiction, activism, race
Meeting At The Crossroads
Lyn Mikel Brown, Carol Gilligan
want to read as of Sep 17, 2022
tags: nonfiction
Breaking The Two-Party Doom Loop
Lee Drutman
want to read as of Sep 13, 2022
tags: nonfiction, politics
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
Helen Oyeyemi
want to read as of Sep 12, 2022
tags: fiction, short stories
The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka, translated by Susan Bernofsky
want to read as of Sep 11, 2022
tags: fiction
Little Guide to Getting Tied Up
Evie Vane
read as of Aug 25, 2022
I don't agree with every single thing in the book, but damn this is such a good resource that brings up so many aspects of bottoming. I wish I'd read this years ago and I'm glad I did now.
tags: nonfiction, kink, home library
Crooked Kingdom
Leigh Bardugo
read as of Aug 17, 2022
(This book is the sequel to Six of Crows.) This duology is so great. Characters with interesting backstories, hiest plots that are clever and keep surprising me. There’s a bit of gay stuff, there’s a lot of fun banter, there are disabled characters, there’s some stuff around forced sex work, PTSD, racism, and poverty. I’d definitely recommend them!
tags: fiction, home library
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo
read as of Aug 10, 2022
I didn't realize it was a hiest book until I started reading it, but wow what a fun and interesting story!
tags: fiction, home library
I Hope We Choose Love
Kai Cheng Thom
want to read as of Aug 8, 2022
tags: nonfiction, activism, queer, essays
Devotions
Mary Oliver
want to read as of Jul 31, 2022
tags: poetry, nonfiction
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
read as of Jul 30, 2022
Engaging, but I was not a fan of the sexism and inconsistent plot details.
tags: fiction
The Mathematician's Shiva
Stuart Rojstaczer
want to read as of Jul 20, 2022
tags: fiction
Fuck the Police Means We Don't Act Like Cops to Each Other
Clementine Morrigan
read as of Jul 16, 2022
A zine critiquing cancel culture in leftist communities. She writes about a lot of things I've been thinking about lately: trauma, identity, judgement, what it looks like to set boundaries, and how to take responsibility for harm.
tags: nonfiction, activism, trauma, community, home library
The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms
Cristina Bicchieri
want to read as of jun 23, 2022
tags: nonfiction, community
Beautiful Darkness
Fabien Vehlmann, Kerascoët, Helge Dascher (Translated by)
read as of jun 16, 2022
beautiful and disturbing
tags: fiction, illustrated
The Hard Tomorrow
Eleanor Davis
read as of jun 14, 2022
tags: illustrated, fiction, politics
Maus
Art Spiegelman
read as of Jun 10, 2022
I had these books as a child but never read them. They're very good. I feel inspired to finally listen to that recording my mom made of her parents' account of surviving the holocaust.
tags: nonfiction, illustrated
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
read as of Apr 29, 2022
Read this in a group of four and we got through all twelve chapters. I think I'm glad I did it -- the rituals felt important, and there were some helpful thoughts I had from reading and especially from book club conversations. But overall, the book did not impress me -- too much emphasis on God and a view of spirituality that I don't vibe with, written from a lens of privilege, missing a lot of context of how tech affects people's lives now (it was written in the 90s), and surprisingly fixated on ways to deal with partners and friends who tear you down creatively. Some of the tasks were great, but a lot of them didn't feel relevant or helpful. I'd love to write a version of this some day that has the 10% I enjoyed and added commentary.
tags: nonfiction, creativity, home library
Nevada
Imogen Binnie
read as of Apr 10, 2022
A very approachable read in terms of language and pacing. Emotionally it hit me like a ton of bricks. A woman has trauma from trans stuff and spending time on the leftist internet, spends all her time reading books and biking alone, and is checked out of her relationships and her life and her self. This book helped me feel more empathy for people who have trouble connecting with themselves and others, but it also felt very real and depressing.
tags: fiction, queer
Open Borders
Bryan Caplan
abandoned as of Apr 7, 2022
Read for book club. Interesting to learn more about this discourse, but this book is so frustratingly focused on capitalism and on allowing 'low-skill workers' to benefit from moving to 'the wonderful USA' (and how that would also bring the USA more money). Couldn't bring myself to finish it.
tags: nonfiction, politics, illustrated
Kushiel's Dart
Jacqueline Carey
want to read as of Apr 2, 2022
tags: fiction
Iron Widow
Xiran Jay Zhao
want to read as of Mar 21, 2022
recommended by a friend. my notes: 'fighting aliens, people die, also fighting misogyny'
tags: fiction
Golden Boys Beware
Hannah Capin
want to read as of Mar 21, 2022
recommended by a friend. my notes: 'assault and then murder'
tags: fiction
Autobiography Of Red
Anne Carson
want to read as of Mar 21, 2022
recommended by a friend. my notes: 'novel and poem, but actually an even easier read than any of the other recs'
tags: fiction
Two Cheers For Anarchism
James C. Scott
read as of Mar 18, 2022
Approachable and interesting. Really glad I read it. Unfinished notes here. I didn't enjoy the last couple chapters as much as the first few.
tags: nonfiction, politics, home library
Somatics for Rope Bottoms
Natasha NawaTaNeko
want to read as of Jan 17, 2022
tags: nonfiction, kink
One Last Stop
Casey McQuiston
read as of Jan 17, 2022
A girl moves to NYC and falls in love with a punk lesbian who got stuck on the Q line in the 70s and can't get off. The characters are all fun, the story is wholesome and queer af and sometimes very hot. This book is totally written to appeal to a queer punk city-life nerdy kinky demographic, but hey I'm not complaining.
tags: fiction, queer, home library
Gender Queer
Maia Kobabe
read as of Dec 22, 2021
Educational and touching, and I think several people I know would enjoy reading it. It's not just about queering gender but also queering sexuality, and also queering queerness?
tags: nonfiction, queer, memoir, illustrated, home library
Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy
Jessica Fern
read as of Dec 8, 2021
This book explores attachment theory in a more thoughtful and nuanced way than most other resources I've seen. It helped me better understand what I want from relationships, things that might be getting in the way (including a variety of types of trauma), and strategies to create those relationships. Definitely recommend.
tags: relationships, nonfiction, trauma, home library
Beautiful Country: A Memoir
Qian Julie Wang
want to read as of Nov 28, 2021
an immigration story from china, recommended by someone who said they got lost in it
tags: nonfiction, memoir, race
Her Body And Other Parties
Carmen Maria Machado
read as of Nov 24, 2021
A collection of deliciously unnerving short stories with themes around the experience of living in a women's body. I particularly enjoyed the first two and last two stories. I often found myself confused about what happened in the stories, since it's not often I read something where the aesthetic of the story matters more than concrete details of the plot, and I enjoyed reading analyses of the stories online.
tags: fiction, short stories, home library
Mutual Aid
Dean Spade
read as of Nov 17, 2021
A short read, an accessible introduction to anarchist ideas, and decent advice for effective collaboration. It feels a bit like a political pamphlet making bold claims without much to back them up, but the ideas feel useful to think about regardless.
tags: nonfiction, activism, home library
Stop Saving The Planet! An Environmentalist Manifesto
Jenny Price
read as of Nov 8, 2021
A sassy and informative read about how capitalism is hurting the environments we live in.
tags: nonfiction, activism
Metaphors We Live By
George Lakoff, Mark Johnson
want to read as of Oct 13, 2021
tags: nonfiction
The Housing Monster
prole.info
abandoned as of Oct 11, 2021
I thought it was interesting but kept not wanting to read it!! So I guess I'll consider it abandoned for now.
tags: politics, activism, nonfiction, illustrated, home library
Tumblr Porn
Ana Valens
want to read as of Sep 30, 2021
tags: nonfiction
Gathering Moss
Robin Wall Kimmerer
abandoned as of Sep 19, 2021
I love the concept of this book, and tried so hard to read it, and enjoyed the chapters i read, but I just can't find the attention span for this book these days.
tags: nonfiction
In The Dream House: A Memoir
Carmen Maria Machado
read as of Sep 11, 2021
A memoir detailing the story of an abusive queer relationship. Each chapter is short and captivatingly beautiful, combining into something indescribable. First book I've finished since April.
tags: queer, nonfiction, memoir, home library
The Dominance Playbook
Anton Fulmen
want to read as of Sep 07, 2021
tags: nonfiction, kink
Think Again
Adam Grant
want to read as of Aug 25, 2021
recommended by my therapist, a book about about flexible thinking (flexible thinking for yourself, persuading others stuck in rigid thinking, how to be flexible in systems we work in)
tags: nonfiction
Educated
Tara Westover
want to read as of Aug 23, 2021
tags: nonfiction, memoir
Gender Outlaw
Kate Bornstein
want to read as of Aug 22, 2021
tags: queer, nonfiction
Sabrina
Nick Drnaso
read as of Aug 10, 2021
I love the way it portrays day-to-day life alongside mysterious and horrible events - it helps the heaviness feel more real and intimate.
tags: illustrated, fiction
Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Octavia E. Butler, John Jennings (Illustrator), Damian Duffy (Adapted by)
want to read as of Aug 8, 2021
tags: fiction, illustrated
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Jenny Odell
abandoned as of Jul 14, 2021
I've noticed how good it feels to get off of my phone and just be mindful of things around me. I feel more creative, have more energy to think about things. This book talks more about this and I loved the anitcapitalist lense. I was finding it difficult to read chapters filled with historical anecdotes and abandoned in chapter 3. I was hoping the author would more quickly and clearly connect the anecdotes to the main ideas of the book.
tags: nonfiction, home library
tags: nonfiction, illustrated, queer
Debugging
Dave Agans
want to read as of Jun 12, 2021
tags: nonfiction, programming
The Empathy Diaries
Sherry Turkle
want to read as of May 10, 2021
A memoir about a humanities professor that studies technology and how it affects human communication, self-image, social dynamics. My friend couldn't put it down, and said she’s had a fascinating life and writes so honestly and vividly.
tags: nonfiction, memoir
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
Madeleine Thien
abandoned as of May 1, 2021
Recommended by a friend - historical ficiton about two musical, Chinese families. I had very slowly made my way through half of the book, but ran out of library renews after four months. I found it hard to get into - there were so many subplots it switches between and I never got that invested in any of them.
tags: fiction
When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead
read as of Apr 1, 2021
A short, fun, and easy to read novel (written for kids / young adults), which is exactly what I've been looking for recently. Sci-fi mystery, and some exploration of friendships, class, and race. I really enjoyed it.
tags: fiction
Nimona
Noelle Stevenson
read as of Mar 31, 2021
I read this in one sitting while laying in a park where dogs and children were playing, would recommend! (both the book and the park reading experience)
tags: illustrated, fiction
Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities
Diana Leafe Christian
read as of Mar 29, 2021
Read this as part of research into what it would take to set up an urban community home. This book focuses a bit too much on specific rural/ecovillage details for my interests, and I'm skeptical of some of the author's opinions, but overall there was a wide variety of useful information here. I took some notes I might post here later :)
tags: community, nonfiction, home library
Witchlight
Jessi Zabarsky
read as of Mar 29, 2021
tags: illustrated, fiction
Thinking in Systems
Donella Meadows
read as of Feb 25, 2021
A really great introduction to thinking about the world more complexly and interconnectedly. Includes several tips for making systemic changes. This is one of the few non-fiction books I've read that didn't feel like it had a lot of filler.
tags: nonfiction
Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation
Paul F. Berliner
abandoned as of Feb 22, 2021
Jazz music has intrigued me for years - I enjoy listening to jazz, but I'm especially interested in learning more about musical improvisation, especially in a collaborative setting. A friend recommended this book to help me think more about this. I read the chapter he recommended, put it down, and the library asked for it back :p I took some notes I may put up here later.
tags: music, nonfiction
Kiss Number 8
Ellen T. Crenshaw (Illustrator), Colleen AF Venable
read as of Jan 31, 2021
Fun queer coming of age graphic novel. I quite enjoyed it, and it felt surprisingly nuanced for the format? idk why I was surprised
tags: illustrated, fiction, queer
Trick Mirror
Jia Tolentino
abandoned as of Jan 23, 2021
tags: nonfiction
The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin
read as of Jan 3, 2021
tags: fiction, politics, home library
Whither Anarchism?
Kristian Williams
abandoned as of Dec 24, 2020
I really liked the first essay (of three) that talks about how the author relates to anarchism without getting into any history or technical terms. The second essay was dense with references to things I didn't know, which got too effortful for me to read.
tags: politics, nonfiction, home library, essays
Bossy Pants
Tina Fey
want to read as of Dec 15, 2020
An autobiography recommended as an easy and funny read.
tags: nonfiction, memoir
The Orenda
Joseph Boyden
want to read as of Dec 15, 2020
Historical fiction about first contact between first nations and settlers, set in great lakes area. This was recommended by a close friend as their favourite book ever.
tags: fiction
Notes of a Native Son
James Baldwin
read as of Dec 2, 2020
I appreciate the nuance with which he talks about race, tying together seemingly contradictory concepts and experiences. He has a lot of interesting ideas, but I found some of his writing hard to follow (long winding sentences, references to media and culture I'm not familiar with). I enjoyed the autobiographical chapters a lot more than the more abstract academic chapters.
tags: race, nonfiction, essays
Abolish Work
prole.info
read as of Nov 26, 2020
Picked this up at an anarchist bookstore - it's a short read with lots of pictures, which I appreciated. Learned a lot about the restaurant industry, but also class/labour politics in general. You can read the pdfs of the works in this book here.
tags: politics, activism, nonfiction, illustrated, home library
The Xenofeminist Manifesto: A Politics for Alienation
Laboria Cuboniks
abandoned as of Nov 1, 2020
This book was hard for me to read and uses a lot of jargon. It's not very long and has some pretty interesting ideas I think could be worth trying to understand, but abandoning it for now.
tags: politics, nonfiction
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
Roy Peter Clark
read as of Oct 11, 2020
A set of writing tips, each tool described in only a few pages. I found a lot of useful advice in here! There were some aspects of this book I didn't like as much: the author used some confusing metaphors, some of the tools I disagreed with or felt weren't explored in enough depth/nuance, several of the writing examples felt tedious to read, and the tools were a bit more focused on journalism and fiction-writing than I wanted. There was still lots of great food for thought though, and I found enough of the advice useful that I made a summary of the tools that you can find here.
tags: writing, nonfiction, home library
On A Sunbeam
Tillie Walden
read as of Aug 28, 2020
Every time I read a graphic novel I'm like wow I love graphic novels I want to read more of them. This particular one was EXTREMELY pretty and v cute and queer.
tags: fiction, illustrated, queer, home library
Are Prisons Obsolete?
Angela Y. Davis
read as of Aug 27, 2020
Taught me a lot about prisons (especially in the USA and California), history, politics, and race. Short and to the point - there were many references and terms I had to look up while reading, but this was also one of the few non-fiction books I've read that didn't feel like it had a lot of filler.
tags: nonfiction, activism, home library
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
Hank Green
read as of Aug 3, 2020
I liked the first book in this duology more, but still enjoyed this one!
tags: fiction, home library
Countersexual Manifesto
Paul B. Preciado. Translated by Kevin Gerry Dunn.
want to read as of Aug 1, 2020
tags: nonfiction, queer
So You Want To Talk About Race
Ijeoma Oluo
read as of Jul 19, 2020
tags: nonfiction, race
Pedagogy Of The Oppressed
Paulo Freire
want to read as of Jul 8, 2020
This has been recommended by several friends. Seems like a great resource to learn more about systems of opression and progressive pedagogical ideas.
tags: education, politics, activism, nonfiction
Come As You Are
Emily Nagoski
read as of Mar 30, 2020
This book is advertised as sex science, but has a very self-help vibe to it. The tone frequently feels babying and the author uses some confusing metaphors, but also there are a lot of really interesting and useful concepts in it that have significantly helped me think through my feelings around sex (e.g. the accelerator/brake model) and I'd still recommend this book.
tags: relationships, self help, nonfiction
A Philosophy of Software Design
John Ousterhout
abandoned as of Mar 15, 2020
Started reading this as part of a book club at work. I don't usually like reading coding books, but it talks about some things I've been thinking about in developing my eng skills - making tradeoffs to help the code you write be less complex, such that people who work with your code in the future can understand it more easily and be less likely to create bugs and create unnecessary future complexity. We stopped reading when covid hit, but maybe I'll finish it some time!
tags: programming, nonfiction
The Art of Possibility
Rosamund Stone Zander, Benjamin Zander
want to read as of Dec 12, 2019
A friend kept recommending this book to me, saying it was really helpful for them reframing their art away from the blocking feeling of needing to be 'good enough' (which is something I also struggle with). Also one of the author talks about their experience as a conductor, which is a skill I'm interested in and trained in, so seems like a cool book to check out.
tags: creativity, self help, nonfiction
The Broken Earth Trilogy
N. K. Jemisin
read as of Oct 1, 2019
After not reading much for a while, I devoured the first of this trilogy in a few days and it was awesome. I enjoyed the first > second > third book, but still really enjoyed the series overall. Loved how the story included polyamory in this super casual way that just was and wasn't even that important to the plot.
tags: fiction
Learning Good Consent: On Healthy Relationships and Survivor Support
Cindy Crabb
read as of Sep 22, 2019
I love this book! A collection of short writing from folks of different backgrounds, each talking about their thoughts and experiences with relationships, surviving abuse, and consent. One of the pieces is just a long list of questions, many of which I found useful exercises for reflection (e.g. 'how do you give yourself or someone else space to figure out what you/they want?', 'how might you act out gender binary behaviours, even within queer relationships and friendships? how might this affect expectations and consent?')
tags: relationships, nonfiction, trauma, home library
Queer: A Graphic History
Meg-John Barker, Julia Scheele
read as of Apr 6, 2019
A great introduction to queer theory, with lots of pictures. Reading this book changed the way I think about queerness, taught me some interesting queer history, and introduced me to the idea of queer as a verb ('to queer' something, challenge binaries) vs. an adjective (an identity that describes someone).
tags: queer, nonfiction, illustrated, home library
Mastery
George Leonard
read as of Jan 10, 2019
This book helped me think about how to approaching learning things and dedication to skill-building over a long period of time. I found some aspects of the book annoying, but have definitely come back to the ideas it discusses. You can check out some notes I took on it here.
tags: nonfiction, self help
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Hank Green
read as of Nov 12, 2018
Hank is one of my favourite 'humans from the internet' and I enjoyed his book for a lot of the reasons I enjoy his videos. This book was so casual in tone and easy to read, had a fun sci-fi story, and touched on a lot of interesting ideas around fame, power, and influence.
tags: fiction