Blogging the shelf

The other day on the train I downloaded We Should All Be Feminists by  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. You know, the little essay that was given to every 16 year old student in Sweden (that country is #goals), but to be honest I was more fascinated by Sweden’s decision to distribute the essay so widely than I was with the writing itself. 

The essay gives a clear and persuasive yet ultimately basic overview of feminism and its importance, which will seem very “duh!” to any experienced feminist. However, I can see how putting this book in the hands of someone who may not know very much about feminism or really see its benefits would be very helpful. I think every country should consider adding it as required reading in their school systems. If I had to add a minor critique to this review it would be that the essay came off as a little cissexist. When discussing the nature of men and women the experience of trans individuals was left out. I doubt this was purposeful, but it is still slightly disappointing. 

I finished reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan a few days ago, and my initial thoughts were “YES! This fun read had LGBT+  representation, made me laugh out loud, and the ending made me smile ear to ear. Also, 1 book written by 2 authors is a fascinating concept that was beautifully executed. READ. THIS. BOOK” Then I realized I was super high on pain meds from a recent chest injury and should take a few days to actually think about this book. Now my thoughts look a bit more like this:

I liked it a lot, but it felt like watching Glee (the early seasons when it was still kind of good.) The whole thing just felt a little flat/overly angsty and characters even broke into song at some points. Also, I’m not sure exactly what message I was suppose to get out of it (you can’t choose you’re friends, so appreciate the ones you have...maybe?), but as light reading while I was bed ridden, trying to really look within myself (aka waiting for Xray results), and in need of something that could hold my attention it worked very well.  If you enjoy John Green’s books you will like his half of the novel. It was funny, full of metaphors, and chock full of nerd jokes. With that in mind it falls prey to what I like to refer to as “John Green Syndrome,” for most of the book readers find themselves totally in love with the witty writing wrapped in complex intellectual concepts, but the end of the book can never do justice to the book as a whole, and you end with an overly dramatic aftertaste. 

The other half of the book, written by David Levithan, does a great job of depicting what its like to be young, living with mental illness, and navigating ones sexual identity. I personally found this Will Grayson to be more developed, but maybe that is because I related to him more. I loved this Will’s snark and sarcasm and wish I could be friends with him in real life.

All this being said, in both halves I would have liked to see more representation of LGBT+ identities. There is a scene that takes place in a high school GSA, but even then identities other than “gay male” are barely mentioned. That’s like writing a book about a bakery, but only talking about the bagels. Maybe someone out there could benefit from seeing or a least hearing about a muffin! (not meant to be a lesbian joke, but you can take it as one if you want)