Welcome to Litsy!

1. I made a French cuff! (Two of them, actually. There‘s another one on the end of the other sleeve.)

2. This book spoke to my soul. I‘m so glad I finally read it. #audiosewing #gaymay

Yesterday I made a dog crown. My mum is heavily invested in the coronation and wants Casey to look his best for her party. We‘ll see how long the crown actually stays on his head.

I listened to a good chunk of the tagged memoir while I worked, and it‘s got me nodding a LOT. Not at everything (one big example: Tobia is part of the younger generation that‘s out to reclaim “faggot,” which is my HELL NO word), but at a fair bit. #gaymay #audiosewing

I listed to this one on audio. Tobia highlights what it was like growing up in NC (Raleigh area, which I went to college & lived in the area for several years). Tobia came out as a teen and then when he went to college (at Duke) he realized he was a gender nonconformity non-binary person. He discusses issues like tokenism, power structures (ie universities like Duke) which hold up systems that make it difficult for individuals like them as well as

Every week, I highlight #LGBTQAuthors as part of #TheRainbowShelf 🏳️‍🌈 LGBT rights activist Jacob Tobia is a person of many talents. They are a producer, TV host, and actor, and published their memoir in 2019. They have earned multiple awards and honors, including the Campus Pride National Voice and Action Award, and being a Point Foundation Scholar. #LGBTQVoices #QueerAuthors #QueerBooks #LGBTQ #OwnVoices

A big thank you to the lovely @DinoMom who sent me this book for the #Bestof2020Swap. Unfortunately, I didn‘t like it.

As respectfully as possible, I am rating this memoir 2 ⭐️. I think Jacob Tobia‘s story is an important one, but unfortunately, they just came across as too self-absorbed and braggy. I really wish they had addressed their own privileges (i.e. their race and class privilege) and accepted responsibility for some of their failures⬇️

Okay #lmpbc #groupv #memoirs! These are my choices - I love being able to do these and pull from my #ownedTBR. (I may have a problem.lol) @ImperfectCJ @Roary47 @Bookwormjillk

Thank you so much @DinoMom ! Everything you sent me for the #Bestof2020Swap is fantastic 😍 I can‘t wait to dig into all the treats, especially the tea, the Matcha Buddha (he made it in one piece!) and the fudge! Rudolph has seen better days, but will still be delicious! 😋 The Red Market sounds like something I‘ll really enjoy and Sissy has been on my radar for a while! 📚 I also love the crystals - they‘ll find a home on my bookshelves! ⬇️

Very quotable, good for anyone trying to understand gender.
Jacob Tobia is a bit bratty and I spent a lot of time wondering what they would think if some of the passages in 10 or so years (wow do I sound old).

Fight for it.

Jacob's observation here about work place “professionalism“ is spot on. Something I wish we would talk about more and move to correct.

This had me chuckling. Picturing the refined looks coming out of these stores ☠

Some choices for #nonfictionNovember that came in the mail today! Very excited for both 😊

Sissy is Tobia's memoir about growing up in North Carolina, and their years coming into their gender identity and expression as a scholarship student at Duke University. Tobia has a loud love-me-or-leave-me style that you will either jive with, or not; their tone is a whiplash combination of earnestness and irreverence, dropping insights about toxic masculinity in the same breath as a dick joke.
Full review: https://wp.me/p2P6GA-5gh

I recommend the tagged book- I‘m halfway through it on audio and I highly recommend George by Alex Gino. #integrateyourshelf

1. My porch, all summer long 2. Quesadilla 3. Just Mercy 4. 2 too many 🤣🤣 Burt & Lenore #friyayintro

Getting my pride on.... 🌈🌈🌈 #pridemonth

Memoirs are hit and miss for me, as fiction is my main love. While I see the importance of this book, I am likely not in the target audience, with the disconnect being more due to the age gap than the gender gap. With that being said, I can say that I came away knowledgeable about gender fluidity and the challenges they face in a predominantly binary world.

Book 41/100

#yarnandbooks

I wound up with a surprise day off today, so I guess it‘s fall cleaning day. #AudioCleaning

It doesn‘t feel like fall here yet- 82 F when I walked the dog at 8:30, looks like highs will still be in the mid to high 90‘s all week. I‘ll just pretend it‘s crisp out, since it‘s October. Lol. (Not that I mind, I enjoy the heat.)

#7days7covers #covercrush Day 3

Posting covers I love for 7 days, no explanation needed. Tagging someone new to play each day.

@Julsmarshall would you like to play?

My library got these in for me. I‘m very excited to read them, and happy that other readers in the region will be able to read them too!

#librarylove

Love Jacob. Love this book. #transrights #transequality 💪🏻💙💕

Away from the internet, I don't talk much about my own gender - except for my partner, I don't think many people in my family know that I prefer neutral pronouns. But Jacob's story makes me feel less alone in the world. And the letters that they wrote to their parents at the end of the book had me CRYING.

I'm about halfway through this book currently, and as someone who's gone back and forth with their own gender over the years, I feel really grateful that Jacob Tobia decided to tell their story. It's nice to not feel alone.

WEEKEND ESSENTIALS FOR #24in48: (1) many books from many genres (2) caffeine of choice (3) merchhhhhhhh (4) bookmark options (5) SNACKS. Have you signed up to join us in just over two weeks?! If not, fix that at 24in48.com! 🗣 If you‘ve joined us before, share your tips for readathon success in the comments below or use #24in48!📚
📷: image shows a collection of books, spines up, a mug of coffee, T-shirt, stack of bookmarks, and a pile of snacks)

More 2019 reading.

As a gay man I thought that I knew and understood about trans/gender non conforming issues. I didn't.

Read this. It's so much more than choosing to be 'a man' or 'a woman', or matching your outside with your inside.

Realized this book is due back at the library tomorrow, nonrenewable as others are waiting for it, and I hadn‘t started it yet 😬 So I read the first couple chapters to make sure it was worth getting back on the holds list for, and it totally is. I just want to keep reading.

Still stamping up a storm! It feels good to be crafting again after a long hiatus. Too many moves made it clear how much crafty crap I was hoarding...

Loved this look at a genderqueer young person. They have (has?) done an amazing job of taking #TheBestofBothWorld of having male and female traits. Their earring and brooch collection is amazing!

TBoBW is one of the most iconic TNG episodes in which Picard is turned into a Borg. The whole team on the Enterprise really comes together to get Picard back. I can tell you it was the longest summer cliffhanger for me! No internet! #StarTrekSummerMay

So I liked most of this book. Jacob is a great writer and open and honest about their life up to college graduation. (I'm not sure why the book stops there or why grad school wasn't ever an option but it's their book). The one disappointment I have with it is that for a book about gender nonconforming and gender as a construct it maintains the feminine/masculine binary which just galls me.

This is a fantastic book about a #youngandbeautiful genderqueer person. I wanted to learn more about individuals of this orientation. As with any human, each is different, but I feel a special kinship that he went to Duke as well, & I got a lot of the references. #yesterday (12 years before him) when I was there, it was somewhat difficult to come out as gay, much less genderqueer. He helped forge a path for others, & that makes me very happy! 4⭐️

I‘m loving this. As a cis-gendered person, I was having trouble understanding people who are non-binary gender. I think, as he wrote in the introduction, his story provides an interesting counterpoint to a binary trans story.

Kinda wishing I had bought a physical copy because it has glitter!!

Reading Sissy while hanging out at Spring-O-WEEN today.

If you‘re around Richmond, Va, come check it out! Halloween fun in the springtime.

💜Read this book! 💜 I finished Jacob‘s memoir a few days ago and have been struggling to find the “right” words.

They tell their story without hesitation. Jacob doesn‘t pretend to sugarcoat their experience or who they are; they tell their story, share their experiences with frankness & honesty: the bad, the ugly, the better. And they do so with humor and intellect.

1. Jacob Tobia‘s Sissy
2. To NY on Saturday for a family Easter celebration; “relaxing” at the house on Sunday
3. Yes! Something I‘ve come to appreciate as a grownup
4. Alicia or Ronnie (Veronica) or Frankie
5. 🙌🏼👍🏼🤗
@howjessreads #friyayintro
Happy #Easter and #Passover to those celebrating this weekend!

Fantastic memoir. Tobia is a brilliant writer along with just being brilliant in general. This memoir takes Jacob through his youth and college years and everything that they faced. Glad I got to read this very important memoir.

Next up!

Another exciting trip to the fancy library!

#memoir #graphicnovel

Best footnote ever?! #RIPToysRUs

Looking forward to reading Tobia‘s memoir. Their voice is smart, funny, and honest. This is sure to leave a mark.

Next up....

Friday waiting for a haircut reading. We were going to go to the supermarket, but got sidetracked by a long lunch, discussions about my disability back pay, and a trip to Costco.

Can‘t wait to dive into this one! #treatyoshelf #bookmail #queerbooks

Loving Sissy: A Coming-of-Age Gender Story by Jacob Tobia, great reading/signing with Left Bank Books and MTUG last night!