papercraftalex's reviews
356 reviews

The Leaping Hare Nature Almanac has an abundance of information, mental exercises, and reflections for nature minded people. I particularly liked the meditations; they were written similarly to visualization guided meditation would be and it would work so well as an audiobook. It was also full of great information for gardening, but it seemed limited to the UK and to those who can garden. It does have a few sections about urban and community gardening, but most of the tips seemed inaccessible for people without wide resources. It was organized very well and would be good to read month-to-month; reading it all in one go made it a bit repetitive. The illustrations are gorgeous and add to the calming tone of the book. 

I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Aces Wild at its heart is about family, including found family. The characters are all so realistic and well defined. There are moments of thrill and excitement, but also moments of absolute queer joy. I feel so lucky to have the chance to read a book with mostly ace characters when that is so rare. I think fans of One Last Stop would really enjoy Aces Wild.

Karmen is a comic that explores suicide, death, and selfishness. It's also a comic that feels the need to have it's titular character have rock hard nipples and make a lot of fart jokes. The art style is stunning and it had incredible world-building, but it's overall message was shaming people who consider suicide and was written by an obviously misogynistic man. There was no need for the man character to be naked for most of the novel. The message also was so on-the-nose and cheesy at the climax. I would have loved to see the story fully fleshed out without the sexism and mental health shaming, but that's incredibly ubiquitous so I can't recommend it. 

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a self-help book, not a religious book. DeBlassie shares a lot of her story intermixed with tips about living a mindful and mundanely magical life. Her tips were decent, but not very unique, and the book was very repetitive. I liked the way it was organized; most of the sections had things you should unlearn and things you should relearn. She had good prompts for ways to make yourself feel more magical and to go against the grain. I felt like she really emphasized introversion to the point it felt like she was implying introverts are oppressed. My neurodivergent extroversion is not celebrated. I think it was overall a decent book for learning self-care and slow living, but it could have been edited down a lot.

Murder Book is part memoir, part cultural exploration. The problems in this book are problems with true crime in general; it seems to ignore the massive issues in the criminal justice system and sometimes ignores how the loved ones of the victims would feel about the way people talk about their stories. Overall though, it was hilarious and insightful. Campbell has a really unique way of telling stories and I think it worked so well in Murder Book. I'd definitely recommend! (Just maybe read some Angela Davis after).

Hijab Butch Blues is one of the best books to come out this year. There aren't enough words for me to express how endearing, inspiring, universal, and heart-wrenching this book is. Each chapter tells the story of a person/creature from the Quran and connects to stories from Lamya's life, stories of queerness, muslimness, and browness. It's so beautifully written and has a lot of very funny parts mixed with highly emotional parts. I don't think I've ever felt so connected to a story. I recommend this book to every single person; everyone has something to take away from it.

Sophia Isabella Murray wrote a fiery, short collection that reflects all aspects of womanhood. This collection is full of succinct and beautiful lines that are even more lyrical when spoken aloud. "delicious force/teeth biting the bottom lip/to feel the ‘f’ build/to awaken my tribute/and throw out the ‘uck’" It was very poignant and I can't wait to read more of her work.

This is truly Trista Mateer's best work yet. Her voice is so strong in all of her works, especially Persephone Made Me Do It. It's so raw and full of emotion and passion while also being beautifully written. The juxtaposition of art and poems is perfect; each art piece seems so thoughtfully chosen. I love the way she's connected her story to the goddesses in her other books in this series; this one hits especially hard because it's not romanticizing Persephone, it's telling her real story. It's such a nuanced take on mother and daughter relationships that's so universally true. I hope she continues this series (I'd especially love to see Nyx and Hestia), but if this is the finale, it's a very good one.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a stunning collection. It's such a unique perspective to look at queerness, womanhood, and the Asian diaspora through the lens of robotics, and it worked so well. The author has a beautiful way with words; the poems were all full of vibrant imagery and a great rhythm. I can't wait to read more of her work.

Knees in the Garden is a very personal poetry collection about feminine rage, trauma, and oppression. She plays with form and language very well. There is such beautiful imagery and vulnerability. The best poem, in my opinion, was "Prize: Fat Girl." It had great use of language and wonderful rhythm. I definitely recommend this collection and can't wait for the author's future collections!

Thank you to Querencia Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.