Trans Rights Readathon Day 3!

Hello everyone! It's day 3 of the Trans Rights Readathon, and I am crying over here as I watch videos and read testimonials about the healing impact this readathon is having on trans folks all throughout publishing and beyond. The boost this readathon is giving our community is huge, because is has been a heartbreaking week for the trans community.

This week, Georgia became the "10th State To Pass A Ban On Trans Care For Youth." These bans are gaining momentum, and will cost the lives of trans kids. When I ask you to support my reading by donating to the Trans Health Legal Fund, what I'm really asking is for you to help save lives by giving people the ability to fight these laws in court, and help trans folks stay out of jail for seeking the medical care they need. To everyone who's already donated, I can't thank you enough. And if you haven't pledged yet... it's not too late! Pledge to donate a flat amount or per book-- just let me know what you're pledging so your donation can be counted in the readathon!

Today, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to Rhys, who has been using this readathon to spur on his project of creating an INCREDIBLE resource. He's compiling a list of as many trans books as he can find, and making the list public so all of us can use it to find our next read. Here's a link to the list... which has OVER 700 BOOKS so far, and is still growing! Enjoy!

Yesterday, I read another whole novel. Woohoo! Lark & Kasim Start a Revolution by Kacen Callender is... the word that comes to mind is blistering. Reading this book feels a bit like steeping in justified rage while holding close with a gentle grasp the hope that things can improve. Honestly, I'm here for it. In addition to diving head-first into examining a whole lot of Big Feels around biases in publishing, racism, Black queer and trans representation, social media use, honesty, accountability, love, and more, Kacen gives space on the page for teenagers to express the tangles in their brains. Every character is a presented as a complex individual with real reasons, faults, and justifications behind their actions. Teenagers struggling with how to be in the world are allowed to show their struggle, and work towards the selves they want to be. Kacen has struck gold again, in my opinion.

What I'm Reading Now: Fairest by Meredith Talusan

Why I'm Excited About It: Fairest is Meredith's memoir, exploring her evolving relationship with gender, cultural identity, and class as an albino Filipino immigrant studying at Harvard who, over time, realized she was trans. I very rarely read memoirs written by adults, but the blurbs of this one really struck a note with me. I'm always interested in how people evolve their relationship to gender, and as someone who grew up near Harvard (and has very mixed feelings of fondness and frustration towards it) I'm interested in hearing viewpoints of the school -- and my local community -- that I may not have been exposed to before.

Thank you for following along with me as I read books for the #TransRightsReadathon and try to raise money to fight for trans rights! So far, I've read 2 books, and we've raised $112. How far can we go?! Let's do this friends!