Six Autumn Reads

Finally bothered to clean my room yesterday, and while I was removing all the books off my bed and floor, it reminded me that I ought to share what I’ve been reading these days.

What—half of your bed isn’t constantly filled with books?

Lumberjanes vol. 1 & 2 by Shannon Waters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson & Brooke Allen

Multiple friends have been telling me to read Lumberjanes for years, and Gena finally shoved the first two volumes into my hands at our D&D session a few weeks ago. They’re just as delightful as everyone says they are—think goofball feminist girl scouts in a supernatural forest camp? My favorite part is when they curse using the names of famous female icons. If you need some light, cheerful reading, these comics are a great choice. Friendship to the max!

Incoming: Sex, Drugs, and Copenhagen, edited by Justin Hudnall, Jennifer D. Corley, Tenley Lozano, & Francisco Martínezcuello

I don’t want to say too much about the book here, since I might review it for SLM, assuming I get my shit together. It’s an anthology of essays by U.S. veterans about escapism, both on the battlefield and off. Definitely not the war stories one normally hears—I was impressed by the range of work in this collection. It had me laughing and hurting in equal measure—often in the same piece.

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera

Early next month I’m participating in Tin House’s first YA Fiction Workshop, and Lilliam Rivera is my workshop leader—so I figured I ought to read her new book! Aside from having one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen, the story is also unlike anything I’ve read before. Have I encountered future dystopia novels? Sure. But not one with roving girl gangs vying for favor from Mega City’s supposedly benevolent leader. It’s both heartbreaking and inspiring to follow Nalah as her perception of the world falls apart before her eyes, and she has to decide who to trust, which relationships to save and which to sever.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

You must read this book. A novel about Chicago during the late 80s/early 90s AIDS crisis could easily become tragedy porn, but that’s not what The Great Believers does. Makkai treats her characters honestly and fairly, even if the virus doesn’t. I suspect this one was particularly poignant for me because I live in Chicago—I know many of the places in the book. And on top of that, my community is queer AF—had I been born 20 years earlier, I could have been Fiona, attending all my friends’ funerals. Needless to say, I cried a lot. But I loved the novel. Exquisite writing. Can’t recommend it enough.

The Future is Here and Everything Must Be Destroyed by Colette Arrand

My most recent bedtime poetry reading has been Colette Arrand’s Split Lip Press chapbook The Future is Here and Everything Must Be Destroyed. As the title indicates, Arrand doesn’t shy away from anger and violence. Any why should she? Women are always discouraged from being angry, and queer women even more so—people act like queer women should just be happy to have their existence acknowledged. But Arrand refuses to be merely acknowledged. Her poems spit and spark across the page. They’re big, and they’re heartbreaking. Funny, too. Never thought I’d find a poem about juggalos so poignant.