I feel like books of essays are a cute sister or cousin to my favorite genre, memoirs – specifically, chaotic memoirs. While these books may or may not go as far as chaotic, I enjoyed them all the same:

So Sad Today by Melissa Broder
I’m such a huge fan of Melissa Broder, but this was my first time reading her non-fiction. I was obsessed with her three novels and reading her personal essays gave me such unique insight into the backstories and characters of her novels. This definitely reads as trying to be provocative just for the sake of being provocative, but they’re written well and are quick and easy reads. Long live Melissa Broder!

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
I was excited to have found this book at my local bookstore, and it didn’t disappoint. Roxane gives a fair but provocative view of sexuality, gender, race, and just overall life. I really appreciated her point of view, even if she tore apart one of my favorite shows, Orange Is The New Black. My only critique of her essays are that I often felt like I was reading a collection of reviews of movies, TV shows, and books, which was sometimes cool and other times I would have rather heard more of Roxane’s voice on her own.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloan Crosley
Honestly, I only loved one of the essays in the book, and it was the first one. So it was kind of as if it set the book up to be super charismatic and funny, and then I was a little disappointed by what followed. The other essays that I started to like a little bit didn’t really have a concrete ending, so I’m not even sure if I liked them or if I just wasn’t as bored reading them as I was some of the others. There were several essays that I truly felt were just about nothing. I can tell that the author is a great writer, and had I only read the first essay, I’d be obsessed with her.

Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz (non-fiction)
What a wonderful book for queer people – truly. This was so beautifully sapphic and fun and relatable. There were a couple chapters that felt a little filler, but I really enjoyed this overall. The chapter going through most lesbian celebrity pictures of all time was so fulfilling in the most fun way that I even had to make my girlfriend read through it. Simple and cute, and I wish I had come across this when I first came out.

Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson
Don’t sleep on Phoebe Robinson! You might know her from her podcast turned HBO series, Two Dope Queens, for her other book, You Can’t Touch My Hair, or from touring with Michelle Obama on her Becoming book tour. Weirdly, I was introduced to her on Rupaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race. No matter where you find her, you’ll love her. She’s super fun, relatable, and charismatic. Her book has a lot of great content in it, but I will admit that some of it is a little lengthy. That being said, I still got a lot out of reading her thoughts. Her words are important, and I look forward to more of her in the future. This is a great read for anyone who doesn’t mind a casual book that’s a little on the long side.

Bonus: Exposed: The Ashley Madison Hack by Sophie Elmhirst
This is an Audible book, so I listened to this one while I drove across the country. It was a good listen, but I’ve watched some of the Ashley Madison documentaries before, so I didn’t learn tons and tons of new information. But there are a few new details here and there that popped up, so I’d still say it was worth the listen.

As always, more to come!

Thanks for reading. (Last Updated: Nov 2023)