Ace

I will hack Goodreads so I can give this book six stars. And yet, I don't even know how to summarize it well.

As a library worker who's put together more than one Pride display, pickings are slim for the ace/aro spectrum, to say the least. This is complicated further by the fact that while some nonfiction topics are relatively static, gender and sexuality evolve rapidly. I was delighted to see this and [b:How to Be Ace|54403237|How to Be Ace A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual|Rebecca Burgess|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602700467l/54403237.SX50.jpg|84893786] come out in recent years, but am just getting around to reading one myself.

I went in thinking this would have a “Ace 101” feel with a lot of basics, terminology, and education. And it did have some of that, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. I am so impressed by the scope and nuance of this text.

For a book about a niche minority, its appeal and relevance are universal. Meaning, this is not only for people who already know they are—or wonder if they or someone close to them might be—ace or aro. It can be about that, and I don't want to diminish that at all. But what I learned most of all is that taking the time and making the effort to understand asexuality can help everyone progress towards open communication about desire and intimacy.

Suffice it to say, this was a really eye-opening and compelling listen (and I quite liked the audiobook narrator, too!), which is probably obvious by this long and varied list of books it reminded me of at different points: [b:The New Jim Crow|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle Alexander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328751532l/6792458.SX50.jpg|6996712], [b:How to Be an Antiracist|40265832|How to Be an Antiracist|Ibram X. Kendi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560163756l/40265832.SY75.jpg|62549152], [b:Hood Feminism|36687229|Hood Feminism Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot|Mikki Kendall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577489813l/36687229.SY75.jpg|58481445], [b:Killing the Black Body|229445|Killing the Black Body Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty|Dorothy Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388801372l/229445.SY75.jpg|222199], [b:Reproductive Rights and Wrongs|29633769|Reproductive Rights and Wrongs The Global Politics of Population Control|Betsy Hartmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470694935l/29633769.SX50.jpg|1273040], [b:Not All Dead White Men|38240525|Not All Dead White Men Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age|Donna Zuckerberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524483798l/38240525.SY75.jpg|59922909], and [b:The State of Affairs|34017010|The State of Affairs Rethinking Infidelity|Esther Perel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495687620l/34017010.SY75.jpg|55014433].