Tough at times to read during our own pandemic, but absolutely brilliant. This book made me want to gobble up all 700 and whatever pages in a single sitting. I loved each character and loved hating some of them too.

Absolutely fascinating. Both the man (Joseph Lister) and the writing are brilliant and clever. Dr. Fitzharris writes like she were there, with all the gore and gross detail to really undermine just how f@cked surgery was drying the 1800‘s.
Lister saved us all.

“I think you‘ll be fine no matter what,” he said. “You don‘t let your pain go to waste.”
It‘s the strangest compliment I‘ve ever been given.

When Jenny Lawson writes the secret thoughts you‘ve always had but never said, you fucking listen.

So good that I read this in one sitting. The author‘s phrasing is lyrical and vicious. The characters are empathetic and despicable. And I mean all of that in the most complimentary way.

Delightful. I cried and I laughed and I felt seen while also feeling like I was in that picture and didn‘t like it. I feel pretty certain that Talia Hibbert and I will be friends someday.

When your best friend knows you‘re going to borrow this book when they‘re done with it, and they write you notes in the margins so it‘s like you‘re reading it together, even quarantined apart 🥰

Allie Brosh. If she didn‘t spook so easily I‘d try to make her be my best friend. This book, like her first, made me feel less alone, less weird, and less sad. But at the same time, it made me feel ok about being alone, weird, and sad sometimes.

I‘m annoyed at my best friend for lending me this to read because it was so lovely and beautiful and I related SO HARD to Dani and ended up crying unexpectedly over a “romance” novel at midnight. Just read this. The romantic bits are sweet. The sexy bits are fantastically sexy. The characters are full of life.

Finally starting this and it is everything I could have hoped for in just the first chapter

I. Am. So. Excited! I adore Allie Brosh. Preordered my copy!

“To quote Helen Lewis the journalist, ‘the comments on any article about feminism justify feminism‘.”

Yes to all this

I enjoyed this very much. The illustrations were awesome and a great addition to the story. I appreciated seeing characters in a new story. Even having watched the series before reading the book, the novel felt interesting and engaging.

Starting this today, sitting outside in the sun with some lovely iced tea. Can‘t beat it.

100% pick. I started to get turned off by some of the god/religion stuff part way through, but honestly, the chapter called “racists” is so damn brilliant. It should be required reading, particularly for white women.

Mercy and empathy are great threats to an unjust society.

Started this tonight. The style is interesting. Tiny chapters feel sort of bite-sized which I like so far.
Just got to a chapter where she talks about god a lot, which I am not loving. A little “woo woo” compared to what I normally read, but reading it with my cousins means I‘ll stick with it

“...unlikable characters, the ones who are the most human, are also the ones who are the most alive.”

The essay in this collection, titled, Not Here to Make Friends, is making my brain grow. I love it. If you only read one essay, make it this one.

In many ways, likability is a very elaborate lie, a performance, a code of conduct dictating the proper way to be. Characters who don‘t follow this code become unlikable.

“But two wrongs do not make a right. Feminism‘s failings do not mean we should eschew feminism entirely. People do terrible things all the time, but we don‘t regularly disown our humanity. We disavow the terrible things. We should disavow the failures of feminism without disavowing its many successes and how far we have come.”

This book is brills. It somehow feels so painful and yet so soothing to read. Irby‘s writing is sharp and witty, but also honest in a way I have always hoped to be. I pledge now to read everything she has ever written.

Excited to start this long time TBR!

Meh. It was fine. 🤷🏻

I have the blahs. Maybe finishing this will help?

Fun and funny (as this author always is). I actually learned some things. I do think the footnotes were my favorite parts on the whole though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It felt honest and thoughtful. I loved that it was a book about all types and configurations of relationships and that they were all written about with respect. I also appreciated that it was written using an intersectional feminist lens.

Honesty, friendship, and waffles.
I feel like I should make that into a tattoo

Yessss

I‘ve decided to bail on all the books I‘ve been reading for over a year. Like this one. Clean slate. New year, new currently reading!

I couldn‘t do it. I got about halfway through and even the details of the crime couldn‘t keep me interested anymore. The author would take detours into describing the political history of different populations in Japan, which normally would be fine and interesting, but they felt like distractions from the real narrative.

Loved this! I‘m very excited to read the 3rd. I love how the author has combined notorious characters together into the narrative

I am so excited to read this one

Yessssssss! I loved this!

I have this (only slightly) problematic habit of starting too many books at once, but I couldn‘t resist

Yessss!
One in a large stack of sex psychology books I‘m excited to read!

Surprisingly lovely. Warm, compassionate, and uplifting. I loved seething characters from marginalized groups find their chosen family.

The first 300 pages were atmospherically creepy enough to make me sleep with a light on.

Adorable. I love Carriger‘s writing every time I read her stuff and this was no exception. Warm and funny while still being exciting, I loved every minute.

This book is making me want to re-read all of Carriger‘s books. How many times is too many to read them??? Maybe chronological this time instead of publishing order?

I can tell this book is going to be eye-opening from just the first 20 pages. And at the same time, oof, I picked a heavy one.
It‘s also interesting to read this 6-7 years after it was published, particularly since we have had a presidential election in that time...

This is like a slightly (but only slightly) more adult version of the Hunger Games. In both the good and bad ways. It‘s exciting and interesting, with strong female characters who have more bravery and ingenuity than they originally thought they had. It also feels a little young in terms of the tone and language used. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I‘m not sprinting out to buy the next one.

“Death always lurks around _every_ corner,” Lady Garnah said, steel in her voice. “You can die for arbitrary, stupid reasons just as easily as you can die in a grand gesture. The key is how you live before that moment.”

Back in print!

Loved this. The stories were a perfect mixture of funny, heartbreaking, honest, and hopeful.

#vaginajokes

Un-f@cking-believable. Michelle was an incredible, thoughtful writer that made this book feel like a magical mixture of journalism, memoir, and crime drama. I loved this book. LOVED.

Fascinating and clearly well-researched. I enjoyed the way this book challenges notions of modern relationships and monogamy with humor supported by real observations and data.

A good, interesting read, though a little out of date. This book was written before the term “slut-shame” came in to common parlance. As a result, the author uses the term “slut-bashing.” I appreciated that the book included ideas for what to do if you or someone you know is being sexually harassed/slut-shamed, but most of the focus was on girls and women in school. Clearly well-researched with poignant personal stories to support her views.

I suspect my problem here is that I was raised an atheist. I couldn‘t relate to the feelings or experiences of most of the people in this book. I do respect the author a great deal for tackling this topic within a community that has historically turned a blind eye to anything involving “non-traditional” sexuality. 🤷🏻‍♀️