May Book Reviews | June Book Reviews
Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti – A classic tale of a narcissistic older Hollywood bro & the much younger, much poorer woman who believes him, only to find out why the caged bird gets divorced. It’s a good book that explores themes of class, race, gender, and power against the backdrop of fame. It’s just a song —that, after looking this way since I was 13 and living in LA for five years — I’ve heard a million times. Still slaps, tho.
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat – A gorgeous debut memoir by a queer woman living in the Palestinian diaspora. Arafat is heartbreakingly self-aware, raw, and willing to show us the most tender places. A memoir with the soul of a poem. The lack of a resolution left me wanting, but I’d been filling up on rom-com-type novels, so it’s hard to parse out that feeling from the context. As I often do with memoirs I related to *too much* I suspect that the author has multiple forms of undiagnosed neurodivergence.
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery – This is another memoir where I am distracted by wondering if the author might have undiagnosed autism or ADHD or both (AuDHD). Classic lesser child dynamics, but also the specific feeling of unbelonging that comes with being a light skinned Jamaican immigrant in the 90’s. The tragic places he finds himself after getting a degree in humanities are so deftly crafted it makes it okay that it’s so predictable.
Stash: My Life in Hiding by Laura Cathcart Robbins– One of the Hollywood wives of which Advika speaks, but true, as much as anything can be. Another memoir to add to the pile of “I have definitely heard that lady speak in a meeting.” This book answers the question – can you ruin your life with just Ambien? I appreciated her honesty and it was interesting to see her go through rehab as it used to be in the old Synanon/TC days vs now, but we would never be friends. I mean, I’m sorry but Ambien in LA? Have you even tried CBN, bro?
Sugar, Baby by Celine Saintclare – This was fun – she’s a teenager in London who falls in with a crowd of models/sugar babies, makes a bunch of money, and bails. There were moments where I was like, well, that’s unrealistic, but I also have a pile of real memories I would have thought the same thing about before they actually happened. There’s a strong fundamentalist mom conflict throughout, and the shame-based Christian fascism definitely leaks through in the author’s own processing of her time in the industry. However, it’s a step in the right direction.
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay – I never read murder mystery (thriller? untrue crime?) books, but True Crime and Instagram have brought me to this place. There is a Blockbuster Video involved, which is a fun bit of nostalgia, and the plot is very satisfying, with all the unpredictable-yet-makes-perfect-sense that one would want in a thriller/mystery/horror/untrue crime tale.
Thriving in Sex Work: Heartfelt Advice for Staying Sane in the Sex Industry by Lola Davina – I found this book extremely helpful! Part memoir, part guide, it was so cool to learn about the famed Lusty Lady in SF and that generative, community-driven moment amongst workers. I am just in the past year starting to connect with other workers, so in part this memoir felt just so much like a friend, like representation, a reminder that I am not alone.
In other news, nobody has whisked me to Nobu in a convertible under the moonlight yet this year, so, get on that, summer!
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I’ll be posting one of these every month, with all the books I read the previous month.
Your One Wild & Prec
