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Spellbound
Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir | Bishakh Som
13 posts | 7 read | 8 to read
The meticulous artwork of transgender artist Bishakh Som gives us the rare opportunity to see the world through another lens. This exquisite graphic novel memoir by a transgender artist, explores the concept of identity by inviting the reader to view the author moving through life as she would have us see her, that is, as she sees herself. Framed with a candid autobiographical narrative, this book gives us the opportunity to enter into the author's daily life and explore her thoughts on themes of gender and sexuality, memory and urbanism, love and loss.
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psalva
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Pickpick

After writing Apsara Engine, Som started writing this graphic memoir in the form of a comics journal, using the character of Anjali, a cis woman, as a stand-in for herself, a trans woman. On the podcast T4T, Som described this process as a form of therapy which led her to deepened understanding of her own identity. ⬇️
#lammynominee #transcomics #translit #catsoflitsy

psalva When Som came out as trans, Anjali was “free to go off and do her own thing,” which is when her character diverged and developed into more than just a mirror for Som‘s experience. It‘s a story of process and self-discovery, full of music references and food (there‘s a recipe for kichuri at the end). 5 ⭐️ for me! 11mo
dabbe Spellbound by da cutest kitty! 💚🐾💚 11mo
Bookwomble The look that says, "I am not a prop, human!" ??? 11mo
18 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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IndoorDame
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Bailedbailed

I‘ve never recommended a book I‘m bailing on before, but this story is great, and the story behind/within the story is great!!! When Bishakh started writing this she created a female avatar for herself to tell the story, and slowly, over the course of the book‘s creation, writing as that avatar helped her to realize she is a trans woman.👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

IndoorDame I‘m bailing because this GN is written in an incredibly difficult font, and my almost daily migraines lately are making it completely inaccessible. I‘ll try to keep it in mind as something to come back to when I‘m feeling stronger… But if you‘re up for the visual challenge I definitely recommend checking this out. 11mo
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Kenyazero
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Pickpick

This comic is somewhere between a journal comic (which I love) and a graphic memoir. It felt unfocused because of that, but it was also interesting seeing what she wanted to deep-dive into. It was interesting seeing her struggle with her decision to suddenly re-track her life to draw comics. The pretty font style gave me a really hard time because I'm dyslexic, so it took me a while to make things out. #LGBTQ #Comic #GraphicMemoir #JournalComic

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Kenyazero
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My judgy cat frequently sounds like she's saying "wow" after something we say or do, so this made me laugh ? #Comic #Cats

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Kenyazero
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I'm really struggling with this font style. I'm not sure if it's because of dyslexia, or something else, but it's taking a lot of effort to puzzle through! #Comic #LGBTQIA #Memoir #Dyslexia

Eyelit I‘m struggling with just the screenshot so you‘re not alone 1y
IndoorDame @Eyelit @Kenyazero same! Whatever the reason, that one image is enough to put me off trying to read an entire book in the font 1y
Kenyazero @Eyelit @IndoorDame The good news is that so far, it seems worth working through the tough font! 1y
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Lindy I really enjoyed this book. It took a little while to get used to the handlettering style, but once I did, it wasn‘t an impediment to me. Maybe give it a little more time? 1y
Kenyazero @Lindy it took a while to get into the book, but I'm over halfway and am enjoying it. The text is still really hard for me to interpret/un-dyslexia-ify quickly. 1y
22 likes6 comments
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MysticFaerie
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Pickpick

3.5⭐/5⭐

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xicanti
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I headed back into comics last night with Bishakh Som‘s slice-of-life memoir about the time she spent creating her previous book, APSARA ENGINE. There‘s a lot of cooking, a lot of introspection, and an excellent cat named Ampersand. It left me glad I‘ve got her collection in my stack. #gaymay

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Lindy
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Pickpick

Bengali American trans femme cartoonist Bishakh Som does an unusual thing in her graphic memoir: she uses a cis woman as a stand-in for herself. It works perfectly. I really enjoyed following her life‘s trajectory, quitting her job as an architect in order to focus on her own art. She‘s mostly alone with her cat, ranting about other people‘s boorish behaviour when she ventures out, but continues looking for a woman to love. #LGBTQ #comics

Lindy This memoir pairs well with the book Bishakh shows herself working on and then trying to find a publisher for: 2y
42 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Lindy
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I talk about the tagged book and several others—plus book clubs and cooking—in my latest Friday Reads video: https://youtu.be/CG3keZU499U
Oh, and my cat Frida makes a guest appearance. 😊

Lcsmcat Frida is gorgeous! 2y
Lindy @Lcsmcat Aww, thanks. She‘s such a cuddly cat. 2y
35 likes2 comments
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Lindy
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-Are you even listening to me?
-Just Instagramming my bibimbap… keep talkin, babe.

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Lindy
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Wouldn‘t it be great to be one of those alien species on Star Trek that are pure energy or light? They don‘t drive Escalades or start wars or eat other light-energy energies. I would be happy as a dolphin too. Or a cat.

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WanderingBookaneer
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Then again, I have all these #LGBTQ #GraphicNovels and #GraphicMemoirs . #LMPBC #Round13

bibliobard Maybe narrow down a bit more then pose possibilities to group? I am so jealous of all these LGBTQ books you own! 2y
WanderingBookaneer That‘s the plan @bibliobard . I grab everything interesting off my TBR shelves and then narrow it down to 4 - 6 choices. 2y
bibliobard @WanderingBookaneer I need to start digging for ideas — but I am glad you are so pumped 😁 2y
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WanderingBookaneer @bibliobard : I want LGBTQ creators to keep creating and I buy as many LGBTQ books as I can. 🤪🏳️‍🌈 2y
bibliobard @WanderingBookaneer LOVE IT! That‘s why I keep making one of the #LMPBC categories LGBTQ focused. I get to see so many titles that I didn‘t know about previously 2y
WanderingBookaneer @bibliobard : Let me know if any title from either post piques your interest. 2y
IndoorDame Boy in the red dress and stone fruit are both on my TBR, but these are great choices, so I‘m up for whatever you and the group settle on. 2y
52 likes7 comments
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ReadingEnvy
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Books Read August: 35
5-star reads:13

Audiobook:3
eBook:17
Print:15

Library: 7
Personal: 11 (subscription: 1)
Review:17

Comics: 2
Memoir: 4
Non-fiction: 5
Poetry: 4
Sci-fi/fantasy: 3
Translated:11

Around the World: 18
Booker or International Booker: 3
Middle East 2020: 5
Read the World:1
Sword and Laser: 1
Tournament of Books: 1
Upstate International Book Club: 1
Women in Translation Month: 1 at very end of July, 8.5 in August

Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick You had an excellent reading month! 4y
39 likes2 comments