I don’t know how to describe this book. It’sa Gen-X West Virginian transsexual magical realism sex work novel. It’s good, enthralling, and not a little problematic. The author has an interesting, gender-y history. I wish I knew more about her. It’s foreword is by Billy Corgan. That’s a red flag. But the story was fresh.
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Reading as healing
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Emily Gorcenski finished reading Sarah: A Novel by J. T. Leroy
Emily Gorcenski started reading Sarah: A Novel by J. T. Leroy
Emily Gorcenski commented on The Rationalist’s Guide to the Galaxy by Tom Chivers
Emily Gorcenski finished reading Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism by Murray Bookchin
In this book, Bookchin separates anarchists into two schools: the good anarchists (social anarchists) who do things like read theory and advocate for collectivism, and bad anarchists (lifestyle anarchists) who do pointless things like create zines and light garbage cans on fire. It’s got incredible vibes of “old man yells at cloud” where the cloud is any anarchist under the age of 35. Nothing has convinced me more of lifestyle anarchism than Bookchin’s grumbling.
Yet the final essay, from four years earlier than the main body, has some incisive commentary, particularly on the still-trendy insistence that imperialism can only be practiced by western capitalist nations.
Emily Gorcenski started reading Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism by Murray Bookchin
Emily Gorcenski started reading The Rationalist’s Guide to the Galaxy by Tom Chivers
Emily Gorcenski commented on The Rationalist’s Guide to the Galaxy by Tom Chivers
Emily Gorcenski finished reading Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne
This book was more interesting than I initially expected it to be. It’s not a bad introduction to the current wave of (distinctly white, American) feminist argumentation, and while Manne does make sure to acknowledge Black, trans, and indigenous feminism(s), the book eventually swings towards an inevitable slant of contemporary progressive white feminism, particularly in the last chapters. This weakens the book somewhat, but it nevertheless provides for a good overview of feminist thought.
Emily Gorcenski started reading Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne
Emily Gorcenski finished reading White Nationalists by The New York Times Editorial Staff
Emily Gorcenski started reading Invisible Man (Penguin Modern Classics) by Ralph Ellison
On to #19 of the Modern Library list. Very excited to dive into this book, which is, as I understand it, one of the classics of Black American 20th Century literature.
Emily Gorcenski started reading White Nationalists by The New York Times Editorial Staff
Emily Gorcenski finished reading Sticker by Henry Hoke
My god, my god what a book. Moving and poetic, this book is a memoir of what it means to be from Charlottesville, through lenses you probably can’t understand if you’re not from here, but you should try anyways. Beautifully written.






