What I Got:

• Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
• This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

What I Read:

• Lumberjanes, Vol. 4-5 by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Carolyn Nowak
• I Swear I Was There: Sex Pistols, Manchester and the Gig that Changed the World by David Nolan
• Death on the Nile (re-read) by Agatha Christie
• The Downtown Pop Underground: New York City and the Literary Punks, Renegade Artists, DIY Filmmakers, Mad Playwrights, and Rock ’n’ Roll Glitter Queens who Revolutionized Culture by Kembrew McLeod
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
• And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories & Other Revenges by Amber Sparks
• Bloom (re-read) by Kevin Panetta
• part of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
• Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
• Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness

Well, times are certainly not great right now, are they? I have waited to post this because I wanted to give some space for black voices and hold back my own. But books are a good distraction for me, as is writing, so I am going to indulge in these distractions now without forgetting that many people cannot escape from this reality.

I want to start by talking about Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith because Danez Smith is a nonbinary, black poet who writes extremely deep, thought-provoking, and poignant poetry that really resonates right now. They write about gender, sexuality, race, and the ways they intersect in their life and their community. If you take one recommendation from this list of books I’ve read, take this one. Their poems made me cry and think deeply, and they allowed me to look at the world through someone else’s eyes. Smith’s voice is one that should be raised up and really listened to right now.

Okay, now onto the less serious book talk!

Lumberjanes, Vol. 4 was super cute even though it involved a mysterious taxidermist, but Vol. 5… oh boy! It gave me a good dose of punk rock mermaids, which was everything I needed in my life. I want more punk rock mermaids!

The punk rock mermaids set the tone for a lot of my reading during the rest of the month. I got in the mood to read some nonfiction, and the nonfiction I usually go for are books about music. I picked up I Swear I Was There because it had been sitting on my TBR pile for a while, and I was delighted to find that it was a mostly oral history! I love books that are “oral” histories, a.k.a. that quote directly from interviews. Two of my favorite books about music are completely oral histories (Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman and Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil). Having the oral history aspect made sense for the telling of this story because Nolan was trying to determine who was really at the first couple Sex Pistols gigs and what really went on. It’s interesting to see how people’s stories conflict even when talking about the same things. Nolan also took a look at the band’s first TV appearance, citing it as the third event that helped launch the Sex Pistols into the mainstream consciousness. I learned a lot about how the Sex Pistols really became legends at two small Manchester shows, plus Nolan’s commentary is witty and hilarious.

Next on the punk rock reading list was The Downtown Pop Underground. This book was a difficult read, not because it wasn’t interesting, but because it bombarded me with names and places too fast. I started taking notes on names and places at the beginning, but I filled up two entire notecards without even getting all of them in. So I gave up on that and let myself be confused at times. I did like learning about the underground theater scene that preceded the punk rock scene. That scene was very sexually and gender fluid, which was awesome to read about. People didn’t care who you loved or how you presented, and they were audacious with their plays and musicals and performances. If you’re interested in any underground scenes, especially those in NYC, I recommend reading this book, but make sure you take better notes than I did!

My sister must have sensed my need for punk rock books, because she got me The First Rule of Punk as a graduation gift. This book was adorable and lovely! It tells the story of a mixed-race, Chicana, punk middle-schooler who has to move to Chicago with her mom and leave her dad (and his record store) behind. She ends up starting a punk band with a group of new friends, and when they are denied a slot in the school’s talent show, they decide to put on their own show for everyone who was not accepted for the show. Malú’s struggle between being herself and feeling like she is disappointing her parents is very relatable, and she learns that it is better to be yourself even when people disapprove. If they love you, they’ll come around! I love a good chosen family story, plus the inclusion of Malú’s zines in the story made it even more dynamic. The first rule of punk is to be yourself, and for Malú (and many people) that means reconciling two seemingly irreconcilable aspects of her identity. Such a cute and heartwarming story that middle grade readers will love, and hopefully it will inspire more people to make zines!

Death on the Nile was my sister’s and my sibling book club book of May, because it is being made into a movie. This is the only Agatha Christie book I have read, and I was surprised that I remembered a lot from when I read it in high school. About a third of the way in, I remembered who committed the murder, but a lot of the details were still fuzzy, so I enjoyed re-reading it anyway. Plus having a good ol’ book talk with my sister on the way to my aunt’s house was pretty fun! Perhaps I shall finally pick up another Agatha Christie book as I’ve been intending to for years…

I picked up And I Do Not Forgive You because it’s a short story collection, and I wanted to be able to finish something before our trip to visit my aunt. It was a quick read, and very feminism-focused. Many of the stories center around female historical and mythological figures, alongside fairy-tale-esque stories that are a bit darker and explore gender roles. Although I found most of the stories just okay, Amber Sparks has really mastered the art of the opening line. The hooks of these stories were always spot on, pulling you in by their intrigue. I do still recommend this collection, because it is unique and thought-provoking despite the lack of depth in plot. Plus, I met Amber Sparks and she was a wonderful person, so I want to recommend her as a writer, too!

Even though I also read Bloom first when I had a concussion, my memory of Bloom was much better than my memory of Fun Home. Bloom is an adorable story that involves a m/m relationship, lots of baking, and seaside town vibes. This graphic novel is a feel-good story for the ages. You get romance cuteness, delicious recipes for (mostly Greek) baked goods, and wonderful character development. I cannot wait to re-read this over and over again now that I own a copy!

I tried to start and finish The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time before the end of the month, but I couldn’t manage it before the start of the Queer Lit Readathon (technically May 31-June 6, but I usually extend it over the whole month of June). After I set aside Mark Haddon’s book for later, I finished two books on May 31 for the readathon. First was Over the Top by Jonathan Van Ness of the new Queer Eye. I’ll admit that I cheated a little on this and started the audiobook before May 31, but I’m counting it because I finished it during the readathon. JVN’s story was much heavier than I thought it would be, and I recommend looking up content warnings before reading it. (I remember these content warnings: drug use and abuse, death, cancer, sexual addiction, sexual abuse (during childhood), toxic relationships, cheating, homophobia, gender policing, HIV/AIDS mentions and status, denial based on HIV status, and probably more I don’t recall.) Though his story was often dark and dealt with his unhealthy relationships to sex and drugs, he also touched on the joys of practicing pretend figure skating or gymnastics routines as a kid; learning more about how to dye, cut, and style hair; and learning how to embrace himself and make friends. JVN has gotten through so much with such spunk and perseverance, and he still came out bubbly and positive (though he makes a point to mention that he also has his moments of anger or sadness or impishness, like anyone else). I loved learning more about him, especially as told by himself in the audiobook, and look up to him a lot for his daring presentation of gender and his unabashedly extra personality despite the obstacles in his way.

The second book I finished on May 31 (which I also started that day) was Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith, which I mentioned above but I want to mention again, because the voices that are important right now are black voices, so it fits that this post should start and end with their voice. Keep on supporting black folks and the Black Lives Matter movement in any way that you can. Stay safe. And try to find positivity if you can.