Roxane Gay

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. Where has this year gone?! As we’ve only got a few weeks left, here’s the ten books I’ve loved the most this year. In June I talked about my favourite books I’d read so far this year so if you want to know about some other awesome books and to see which ones made both lists shimmy over here.

For once I’ve put these in order, going from ten to my number one book of the year.

FullSizeRender (91)10. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
I love me some thrillers with unreliable narrators and The Girl on the Train certainly has that! I loved how Rachel wasn’t reliable or even likable a lot of the time and it was one of those mysteries that left me guessing till the gripping finale.

 
FullSizeRender (82)9. Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid by Sid Lowe
Barcelona and Real Madrid’s rivalry is legendary and Fear and Loathing in La Liga delves deep into both clubs history and looks at Spain’s history too. This was a fascinating read, it was sometimes a bit dense and a little dull when it was talking about players I didn’t know about but on the whole it was great read.

 
FullSizeRender (99)8. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
I thought A Monster Calls was just a children’s book and I was so wrong! Yes it has illustrations and is about a young boy but it deals with grief and death and abandonment so well. It really makes you think and the beautiful passages go so well with the often scary drawings.

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TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Books I’ve Read This Year So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature run by BrokeAndBookish each week – I’m thinking I might not take part every week but just see if a week takes my fancy. As we are now half way through the year (how has that happened?!) today’s Top Ten Tuesday is the ten best books you’ve read so far this year. If I’ve reviewed the book mentioned, its title will go to my review where you can see me gush even more about it.

The Martian by Andy WeirFullSizeRender (75)
I loved the humour in this book. Mark Watney has such a realistic voice, I can image him being on Mars and being like “Well now what? Guess I’ll grow some potatoes.” All the characters were interesting and flawed and the story was gripping and funny. I cannot wait for the film adaptation – it’s probably one of the films I’m most looking forward to this year.

FullSizeRender (90)Doubletake by Rob Thurman
It was great to return to the Cal Leandros series after so long. Robin Goodfellow was still his usual self – though a little on edge due to family stuff and it was nice to learn more about Nico’s side of the family. I’ve still got more books in this series to catch up on which I’m looking forward to doing.

Secret Avengers by Ales Kot and Michael WalshFullSizeRender (57)
Secret Avengers is a lot of fun. The characters are great, the story’s exciting and fun, and the art is wonderful. If you’re not sure where to start with Marvel comics – give Secret Avengers a go. (more…)

REVIEW: Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

FullSizeRender (68)Bad Feminist is a collection of essays that not only cover intersectional feminism but race, gender, politics, sexuality and representation of women and people of colour in the media.

I loved this book, like, a ridiculous amount. I loved that it covered a range of topics related to women and feminism. I liked that there were sections where Roxane Gay talked about her life and how that has shaped her ideas on feminism and influenced her. I really liked the section on Race and Entertainment as representation of women and people of colour in the media is something I’m really passionate about – even if it’s something that can often make me angry.

My favourite essays were the ones that hit me like a punch in the gut, that could have been because it was so relatable or so frustrating or just so well thought out that Gay had put my scattered thoughts into a cohesive essay that explained how I feel about the world and women’s place in it.

Here’s some of essays that I really loved are:
– How to Be Friends with Another Woman
– The Careless Language of Sexual Violence
– Blurred Lines, Indeed
– The Last Day of a Young Black Man
– When Twitter Does What Journalism Cannot
– The Racism We All Carry

There were some essays that I didn’t like as much or couldn’t really relate to for whatever reason but they were still very interesting to see someone else’s point of view regarding feminism.

I can’t recommend Bad Feminist enough – whether you consider yourself a feminist or not, it’s a fascinating read and can open your eyes to the way the world works. 5/5.