http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/121021 en-US Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:30:47 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 29616167 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:30:47 -0700
author: Elizabeth Wurtzel
name: erika
average rating: 3.08
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/08/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 26646311 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:22:43 -0700
author: Colson Whitehead
name: erika
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/08/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 26646012 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:21:29 -0700
author: Sandra Newman
name: erika
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 06/08
date added: 07/08/08
shelves: family-sagas
review:
this book tries WAY TOO HARD to be stylish and unique. i don`t even know if it`s worth 3 stars, but it was entertaining and fluffy.
]]> 25767739 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:00:14 -0700
dunnion's endless descriptions of what the characters were wearing and listening to sometimes got to be too much. and cherry's livejournal updates were a little bit too precious. and i found it sort of bizarre that there was only one character of colour in the whole novel (toronto isn't that white, is it??).

but it was also a totally engaging, if very easy, read. there were some interesting things brought up about gender and sex work that i have NEVER seen in YA novels before, and while the book's ending was redemptive, it wasn't preachy.

3.5/5.]]>
author: Kristyn Dunnion
name: erika
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/28/08
shelves: comingofage, guilty-pleasures, queer-and-trans, young-adult
review:
first of all, i have to say this: i love, love, LOVE angsty lesbian/queer teenager stories. and this book definitely delivered it in spades. kind of cheesy, yes, kind of over the top, but i *know* i would've eaten this up at 15 or 16.

dunnion's endless descriptions of what the characters were wearing and listening to sometimes got to be too much. and cherry's livejournal updates were a little bit too precious. and i found it sort of bizarre that there was only one character of colour in the whole novel (toronto isn't that white, is it??).

but it was also a totally engaging, if very easy, read. there were some interesting things brought up about gender and sex work that i have NEVER seen in YA novels before, and while the book's ending was redemptive, it wasn't preachy.

3.5/5.
]]> 25612200 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:18:02 -0700
author: Anne Hebert
name: erika
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/26/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 24533287 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:19:27 -0700
700+ pages and it still left me wanting more.]]>
author: Jaime Hernandez
name: erika
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/25/08
shelves: amazing, graphic-novels, queer-and-trans
review:
epic and beautiful. i'm sort of in love with maggie.

700+ pages and it still left me wanting more.
]]> 24533381 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:02:14 -0700
best read one at a time, not digested in one sitting.]]>
author: Zadie Smith
name: erika
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/19/08
shelves: short-stories
review:
so frustrating! the ones that were good were spectacular, the ones that weren't fell absolutely flat. points to zz packer, dave eggers, and colm toibin, in particular.

best read one at a time, not digested in one sitting.
]]> 24533224 Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:00:09 -0700
author: Daniel Clowes
name: erika
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/15/08
shelves: comingofage, graphic-novels
review:

]]> 1795231 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:58:22 -0700
author: Haruki Murakami
name: erika
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 01/06
date added: 06/14/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 22553342 Mon, 19 May 2008 09:55:12 -0700
author: Rachel Kramer Bussel
name: erika
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/19/08
shelves: queer-and-trans, short-stories
review:

]]> 22552838 Mon, 19 May 2008 09:54:29 -0700
author: Mariko Tamaki
name: erika
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/19/08
shelves: graphic-novels, queer-and-trans
review:
if this book were a girl, i would've had such a crush on her in high school.
]]> 22552913 Mon, 19 May 2008 09:53:57 -0700
author: Trish Kelly
name: erika
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/19/08
shelves: guilty-pleasures, queer-and-trans, short-stories
review:
solidly sexy.
]]> 22553082 Mon, 19 May 2008 09:51:19 -0700
author: Ivan E. Coyote
name: erika
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/19/08
shelves: queer-and-trans, short-stories
review:

]]> 21183397 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:19:14 -0700
author: Sandra Alland
name: erika
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/28/08
shelves: poetry, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 21042915 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:34:51 -0700
author: Lawrence Schimel
name: erika
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/26/08
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 20811313 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:20:46 -0700
author: Hanne Blank
name: erika
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/23/08
shelves: feminist
review:
completely engaging and i definitely learned a lot, but what i wouldn't have given for a works cited list...!
]]> 20553008 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:08:36 -0700
author: Ibi Kaslik
name: erika
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/19/08
shelves: glamourizing-sleaze
review:
so i sorta have a soft spot for books about broken people doing tons of drugs. plus, much of this book took place in montreal, which seriously endeared it to me. but if you have less of a love-on for montreal or disillusioned 20-somethings, perhaps you'd want to give this book a pass.
]]> 19508887 Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:43:03 -0700
author: Heather O'Neill
name: erika
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 04/08
date added: 04/05/08
shelves:
review:
sweet and sad and awkward, though baby's childish writing style sometimes got to be a little too precious.
]]> 18871393 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:24:31 -0700
author: Judith Butler
name: erika
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 03/28/08
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:
So I confess, I haven't read this book cover to cover and I probably never will. Butler's style ranges from obnoxiously dense to unpenetrably wanky. I wouldn't say I love it, but I WOULD say that it's vital and important for anyone interested in academic writing on gender.
]]> 18433488 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 07:30:35 -0700
author: Vincent Lam
name: erika
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/23/08
shelves: short-stories
review:

]]> 18424496 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:05:31 -0700
author: Bram Stoker
name: erika
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1897
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/22/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 17253890 Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:18:54 -0800
author: Jennifer Finney Boylan
name: erika
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/07/08
shelves: memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 17253825 Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:18:06 -0800
author: Charlotte Brontë
name: erika
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/07/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16802447 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:47:56 -0800
author: Jean Rhys
name: erika
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1966
rating: 3
read at: 03/08
date added: 03/01/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16315009 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:11:17 -0800
author: Julie Anne Peters
name: erika
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/25/08
shelves: queer-and-trans, young-adult
review:
Cute, but utterly stereotypical, and obviously geared to those whose knowledge of trans issues hovers around 0.
]]> 16222721 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:04:21 -0800
author: Loren Cameron
name: erika
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/23/08
shelves: photography, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 16222694 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:03:38 -0800
author: Alison Bechdel
name: erika
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/23/08
shelves: comingofage, family-sagas, memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 15335215 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:52:11 -0800
author: Will Self
name: erika
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/13/08
shelves: glamourizing-sleaze, queer-and-trans
review:
clever, but a little too full of its own self-importance, too self-satisfied and smug, exhausting to read, and over-the-top. the epilogue sort of redeemed it, though.
]]> 15108052 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:03:31 -0800
author: Oscar Wilde
name: erika
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1890
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/10/08
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 14787903 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:45:37 -0800
author: J.M. Coetzee
name: erika
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/06/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 14787743 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:44:52 -0800
author: John Reid
name: erika
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1993
rating: 2
read at: 02/08
date added: 02/06/08
shelves: comingofage, queer-and-trans
review:
Outdated, and not in a sweetly retro way. So sick of reading about self hating homos.
]]> 3328503 Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:14:53 -0800
author: Joey Comeau
name: erika
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 12/24/07
shelves: short-stories
review:

]]> 10973405 Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:14:24 -0800
author: Ann-Marie MacDonald
name: erika
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/24/07
shelves: family-sagas
review:

]]> 10697594 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:13:03 -0800
Compelling, but only because of the shock value.

2.5/5.]]>
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: erika
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/19/07
shelves:
review:
Yeah, it's satire; yeah, all the gore is "necessary" for the story, but this book was overwritten and overwrought and maybe would've worked better as a short story or a novella. Too much detail and too much BEATING YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH THE POINT.

Compelling, but only because of the shock value.

2.5/5.
]]> 10697515 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:06:50 -0800
author: Minnie Bruce Pratt
name: erika
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/19/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 10361277 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:03:43 -0800
author: F. Valentine Hooven
name: erika
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/13/07
shelves: memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:
Entertaining and informative, but not too deep. The illustrations were excellent, of course, and Hooven has a sense of humour about his subject, but the book was also short on sources and a little too heavy on speculation.
]]> 10343481 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:13:53 -0800
author: Alice Hoffman
name: erika
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/12/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 10343332 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:13:24 -0800
author: Alexis De Veaux
name: erika
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 12/07
date added: 12/12/07
shelves: memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:
completely engrossing. de veaux does a great job separating lorde's own myths about her life from the truth, and it was fascinating to learn about the context in which lorde lived, worked, and loved.
]]> 9201525 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:47:37 -0800
author: Larissa Lai
name: erika
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/16/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 8886782 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:48:52 -0800
author: Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
name: erika
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/09/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 8538203 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:13:56 -0700
author: Cherríe L. Moraga
name: erika
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 11/07
date added: 11/01/07
shelves: memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 7949348 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:13:22 -0700
author: Julia Tausch
name: erika
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/19/07
shelves: sparkly-pretty-girl-stories
review:
god i love angsty coming of age books about teenagers/20-something girls moving to montreal from toronto/the suburbs and falling passionately in and out of love. this book wasn't spectacular but fuck, it was entertaining.
]]> 7476238 Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:49:08 -0700
author: Larissa Lai
name: erika
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/09/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 7339695 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:33:36 -0700
author: Dorothy Allison
name: erika
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/06/07
shelves: memoir-biography, queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 7274788 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:19:46 -0700
author: Amber L. Hollibaugh
name: erika
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/04/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 7178572 Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:49:28 -0700
author: Lisa C. Moore
name: erika
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 10/07
date added: 10/02/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:
Mostly average, but a few of these were fucking glorious. But why nothing on trans issues and just one brief mention of bisexuality?
]]> 7027912 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:29:34 -0700
author: Ntozake Shange
name: erika
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/30/07
shelves: amazing, poetry
review:

]]> 6722448 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:22:05 -0700
author: Ntozake Shange
name: erika
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/24/07
shelves: photography, poetry
review:

]]> 6268272 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:02:01 -0700
author: Diana Cage
name: erika
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/15/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:
Some of this was kind of obnoxious, but most was informative and/or hot.
]]> 6069125 Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:18:35 -0700
author: Dionne Brand
name: erika
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 09/07
date added: 09/11/07
shelves: feminist
review:

]]> 5030575 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:00:14 -0700
author: A.S. Byatt
name: erika
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/23/07
shelves: short-stories
review:
The Stone Woman was beautiful and Raw Materials fascinating, but the rest I could take or leave. Body Art in particular struck me as trite.
]]> 4717687 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:07:43 -0700
author: James Baldwin
name: erika
average rating: 4.34
book published: 1963
rating: 4
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/17/07
shelves: inspiring
review:

]]> 4716082 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:16:04 -0700
author: Ha Jin
name: erika
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/17/07
shelves: short-stories
review:

]]> 4716103 Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:15:12 -0700
author: David Sedaris
name: erika
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/17/07
shelves: memoir-biography
review:
Amusing, but ultimately pretty forgettable.
]]> 4405802 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 14:44:17 -0700
author: Miriam Toews
name: erika
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4392295 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 06:34:47 -0700
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: erika
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/11/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 4183736 Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:34:30 -0700
author: Sherman Alexie
name: erika
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 08/07
date added: 08/06/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3564520 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:52:02 -0700
author: Dorothy Allison
name: erika
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 07/26/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 3331411 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:06:06 -0700
author: Julia Serano
name: erika
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 07/07
date added: 07/22/07
shelves: queer-and-trans
review:

]]> 3332106 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:17:57 -0700
author: Kate Bornstein
name: erika
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 02/07
date added: 07/20/07
shelves: inspiring, mental-health
review:

]]> 3331434 Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:58:56 -0700