André
If you had told me a decade ago a film youtuber would be writing one of the most engaging and thought-provoking first contact novels and it would contain direct quotes from the Transformers film franchise I would have laughed in your face
If you had told me a decade ago a film youtuber would be writing one of the most engaging and thought-provoking first contact novels and it would contain direct quotes from the Transformers film franchise I would have laughed in your face
I wanna be a girlboss
It’s starting to feel like Kepnes only ever had one idea and now she’s running it into the ground
It’s starting to feel like Kepnes only ever had one idea and now she’s running it into the ground
Updated a reading goal:
Read 50 books by December 30, 2023
Progress so far: 25 / 50 50%
imaginative, witty, and powerful. What sci-fi ought to be.
imaginative, witty, and powerful. What sci-fi ought to be.
There's some interesting insights here. Not anywhere near 400 pages of them though.
There's some interesting insights here. Not anywhere near 400 pages of them though.
It's wonderful to have an oral history of Drag Race but this book has several glaring issues.
The biggest of them is that, being produced by WOW, you get a sanitized corporate history here. Various issues are glanced over or not mentioned at all, and critical voices and people who are not in WOW's good graces, such as former contestants Willam, Carmen Carrera, or Courtney Act, or former staff members such as Mathu Andersen, are mentioned but never get to tell their story. I doubt they were even asked to take part. Scandals and moments in the history of the show where it faced pushback from within the queer community are entirely absent, which feels cowardly.
It's also just not very informative beyond the opening chapter, and could have done with much more aggressive editing. Once they recount season after season of the show, it's largely fluff, and information any fan would have been aware of already - you expect more new information in such a long book. There are often stretches where multiple people are quoted saying essentially the same thing, or making fluffy statements with no real content about how amazing the show or the contestants or RuPaul are, and a better oral history would have cut down on all those repetitive, zero calorie statements and removed those that don't add anything valuable.
All that then comes at the expense of the All Stars seasons just being briefly recounted all in one chapter together, as if they weren't just as important as the regular seasons, rushed through, and the international franchises and the expanded Drag Race franchise (conventions, tours, spin-off shows...) getting barely a mention.
It's messy and not at all the definitive history it presents itself as.
It's wonderful to have an oral history of Drag Race but this book has several glaring issues.
The biggest of them is that, being produced by WOW, you get a sanitized corporate history here. Various issues are glanced over or not mentioned at all, and critical voices and people who are not in WOW's good graces, such as former contestants Willam, Carmen Carrera, or Courtney Act, or former staff members such as Mathu Andersen, are mentioned but never get to tell their story. I doubt they were even asked to take part. Scandals and moments in the history of the show where it faced pushback from within the queer community are entirely absent, which feels cowardly.
It's also just not very informative beyond the opening chapter, and could have done with much more aggressive editing. Once they recount season after season of the show, it's largely fluff, and information any fan would have been aware of already - you expect more new information in such a long book. There are often stretches where multiple people are quoted saying essentially the same thing, or making fluffy statements with no real content about how amazing the show or the contestants or RuPaul are, and a better oral history would have cut down on all those repetitive, zero calorie statements and removed those that don't add anything valuable.
All that then comes at the expense of the All Stars seasons just being briefly recounted all in one chapter together, as if they weren't just as important as the regular seasons, rushed through, and the international franchises and the expanded Drag Race franchise (conventions, tours, spin-off shows...) getting barely a mention.
It's messy and not at all the definitive history it presents itself as.
It's equal parts a global history of queerness & drag, and a personal memoir. All with their signature wit and thoughtfulness.
It's equal parts a global history of queerness & drag, and a personal memoir. All with their signature wit and thoughtfulness.
A neurodivergent woman meets an incel. Hijinks ensue?
A neurodivergent woman meets an incel. Hijinks ensue?
Clumsy, convoluted, and ultimately just plain boring.
Clumsy, convoluted, and ultimately just plain boring.
It’s basic YA fare that feels like it could have done with a more aggressive, hands-on editor and I was honestly expecting a lot more.
It’s basic YA fare that feels like it could have done with a more aggressive, hands-on editor and I was honestly expecting a lot more.
This series is running entirely on plot contrivance and unearned plot twists that don't respect the reader but are sure to make BookTok go wild at this point.
This series is running entirely on plot contrivance and unearned plot twists that don't respect the reader but are sure to make BookTok go wild at this point.