The Rachel Incident (by Caroline O'Donoghue)

When the Tournament of Books longlist comes out, I used to try and guess which books would definitely make the shortlist and read those first, but it's a bit of an exercise in futility. Now I go through and see which books I'm most interested in, grab them from the library, and hope reading them will get me a start on the shortlist when it comes out in a couple of weeks.

This gets me winners like The Rachel Incident, which I otherwise wouldn't have read and deeply enjoyed.  It's like a distilled down version of Sally Rooney, in the sense that it's by an Irish writer and about complex interpersonal relationship - and distilled in that it gets to the point quicker and is a punchier read. It also has as interesting conceit, in that the narrator is writing about it in hindsight and offering commentary on her own choices as a twentysomething.

A great way to kick off the 2024 Tournament of Books! The only other book I've read that made the longlist is Big Swiss, and I'll add the tag to that one. Excited to dive into more.

A Pair of YAs

Finished a couple of YAs so figured I may as well "feed two birds with one scone" as I read today in a listicle about moving away from violent metaphors.

The Borrow a Boyfriend Club (by Page Powars) 

This is about a trans teen named Noah who wants to join the "Borrow a Boyfriend Club" at his school to prove he's a boy. It's very joyful and accepting, and the romance is very cute. The only issue for me is that Asher (the love interest) is kind of too much of an asshole and wasn't very likeable. He's supposed to be like the jerk with the heart of gold but it was very difficult to see why people would even put up with him or why he was popular. Ah well.

Her Good Side (by Rebekah Weatherspoon) 

Definitely recommend this one; it's about a plus-sized Black girl and a shy, tall Asian guy who fake date because of Reasons and of course this leads to real feelings can you believe it? The ending is a bit abrupt but the book overall is adorable and the leads are absolutely delightful. I loved the authenticity with which Bethany is written and her two high-powered WNBA moms and her passion for cooking and her realistic self-confidence... all wonderful. Extremely cute YA.

Pleasure Activism (by adrienne maree brown)

Read for the category of "a book about activism" - note that activism is in the title, and the subtitle is "The Politics of Feeling Good, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing World."  But this is really a book about pleasure, particularly sexual pleasure, as seen through a queer, POC lens. It's a compilation of essay, poetry, interviews, and dialogue and really doesn't focus much on activism, at all. More about "activism" in the sense of activating pleasure. (Apparently the secret is being poly.)

So in terms of my expectations: I was hoping to learn more in here about how to infuse political activism with pleasure to sustain the fight, and help encourage others to take action by making activism pleasurable. When I realized this is really more about POC folks reclaiming their own pleasure, I was let down. But maybe this book was just Not For Me, and that's okay; it seems to have resonated with its audience.

That said, there is some great, profound stuff in here and I got a lot of out if. Some disappointing stuff (judgment about food, despite being explicitly body positive; a disability interview with an abled person) but some amazing essays by collaborators and brilliant thinkers (of whom brown is clearly one.)  It's the most "woke" book I've ever read, parsing its own language with multiple disclaimers and definitions and I can imagine some readers might find it overkill, but maybe it's necessary. 

There is an audience for this book but I think perhaps white feminists are not that audience. My final category in the challenge is "a nonfiction book about intersectional feminism" and I'm going to read Against White Feminism.  Maybe I'm already pretty good at pleasure, and am looking for more challenge.