Review: She's My Dad by Jonathan S. Williams

Jonathan S. Williams was three months into pastoring a new, evangelical church plant when his father confessed a secret: he was transgender. His father, Paul, a prominent evangelical pastor, soon became Paula, and Jonathan's life and ministry went into a tailspin. Feeling betrayed by his mentor and confidante and scared that his church would lose funding and support if Paula's secret was exposed, Jonathan sunk into depression and alcoholism.

She's My Dad explores Jonathan's long and winding journey toward reconciliation, forgiveness, and acceptance of his father as well as his church's journey to become one of the few fully LGBTQ-inclusive, evangelical churches in America. Jonathan and Paula offer insight and encouragement for those with transgender family members, empathizing with the feelings of loss and trauma and understanding that even being LGBTQ-affirming doesn't mean the transition of a family member will be easy. Jonathan writes of his family's continuing evolution, the meaning of remaining loyal to one's father even when she is no longer a man, the ongoing theological evolution surrounding transgender rights and advocacy in the church, and the unflinching self-scrutiny of a pastor who lost his God only to find God again in his father's transition.

I ended up DNF'ing this. I just couldn't get into it no matter how hard I tried. It shouldn't be a struggle to read a book. Especially one about a topic that interests me. I have a MtF friend, so you would think that I would be rather intrigued by a book that talks about a MtF person. The story that I was reading had only a few pieces that were remotely related to the actual transgender person. 

I read a quarter of the book, and of that quarter, only about 10%  even mentioned the transition or the person by their female name. The other 90% was about Jonathan growing up, going to school, getting married. It was more a history of his life rather than of his father's. I didn't particularly care for it. 

Maybe I'll have better luck with the other books that I got from NetGalley in the future. I received this book in return for an honest review, and honestly? I didn't like it. 

October 2019 Wrap Up

I got back into reading a lot more and I am very proud of myself. In October I read 4 books. Here they are (typically in order of how I read them) 

#1: Exorsisters by Ian Boothby

Did you sign a deal with the devil? Has a loved one been dragged to Hell? Then Kate and Cate Harrow should be the first ones you call for timely soul removal at a reasonable rate. This collection is perfect for fans of case-solving procedurals like Veronica Mars , Netflix's Jessica Jones , and the CW's Supernatural , and introduces readers to the Harrows, who have to deal with the end of the world, fallen angels, demon worshiping ex-boyfriends, and their Mother.

I loved this. It was so funny just watching. It reminded me of Supernatural only if the characters were girls. It took me a few pages to properly get into the story, but once I did, I couldn't stop. It only took me a few minutes to read it all the way through to the end. I love how different yet the same the girls are. Cate reminds me very much of Twilight Sparkle in her approach to everything and Kate was more like Sunset Shimmer/Starlight Glimmer. I really enjoyed it and I am planning to find the next bind up in the series and continue on with it when I get it.

#2: The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O'Neill

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own. 

I swear this is the cutest thing in the world. We follow Greta, who is at least a quarter goblin if not more, and she is apprenticing to be a blacksmith like her mother is. She goes to the market for something (I may have glossed over what she was supposed to get) and she ends up finding a lost little creature. When she takes it back to her house, her mother informs her that it is a tea dragon and probably belongs to the curator of dragon tea. This is where our story really starts. Greta returns the dragon and is asked if she wants to apprentice with Hesekiel at his tea shop. I love that she is so invested in it despite not knowing much and how she just accepts Minette despite Minette's memory issues. Greta automatically assumes role of protective sibling and that made my heart happy. I loved how they found a little dragon for Greta to look after on her own and I am looking forward to the next volume in this series, which I believe is called The Tea Dragon Festival. It looks so good and I adore the artwork!

#3: Moonstruck #1 by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle

Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it's up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it's too late.

I needed it. It's that simple. I remember other people on BookTube talking about it and I just had to have it when I saw it at Books-a-Million. I read it almost as soon as I got back to the house. If I didn't get nauseous while reading in the car, I probably wouldn't have even made it until we were home to read it. I love it. Absolutely love it. I am not entirely sure why Julie doesn't like being a werewolf in her very magical town with her very magical werewolf girlfriend, but it is what it is. I liked the relationship between Julie and Selena. Someone ought to stage an intervention for Chet though, they have far too much attachment to their own butt. Someone needs to have a good talk with them about obsession. This graphic novel is just so wholesome and I don't know who wouldn't love it. I felt so bad for Chet and what they had to go though, but then when they pulled through in the end it was wonderful! There are a few minor plot lines I want to see continued in the next volume. They were just so cute!!

#4: Moonstruck #2 by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle

Werewolf barista Julie and her supernatural friends try to unwind at a party, but a conniving fraternity of fairy bros has other plans for our heroes. With one of their friends trapped in the frat house and the winter solstice (a notable night of magical mischief) looming ever-closer, it's up to the amorous werewolves and gregarious centaur to save the day.

I couldn't help myself. I saw it and was like "As long as I'm here buying volume one...I may as well just get volume two...." and as I predicted, this was another five star graphic novel. I need to start seriously collecting these. I don't know why I was avoiding them. This didn't go into some plot lines I would have wanted to see, but we did get introduced to a new potential romance that I want to see the progression of and we got more of Selena and Julie just developing as a couple. We got their first fight (onscreen) as a couple and it was interesting to see what happened. I really didn't like the fact that the fairies pulled all the unsuspecting others into their stupid game/prank or whatever it was. They didn't need to do that. I hope there are going to be more volumes in the future because I loved this just as much as the first volume and cannot wait to see more from Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. 

Currently Reading: 06 October to 14 November 2019

Currently Reading

- Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (42%)
- The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton (08%)
- She's My Dad by Jonathan S. Williams (11%)
- The Book Fix by Marydale Stewart (35%)
- Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco (51%)

- Where the Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens (50%)

- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (35%)

- Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James (58%)
- IT by Stephen King (40%)
- Red by Jordan Summers (25%)
- Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (27%)
- The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (58%)

* * *

I'm contemplating not actually finishing the Read Voltron Challenge. I just don't want to be forced into reading something. For the foreseeable future I may only do the OWLs/NEWTs reading challenges. Those I like, but I don't like having to read stuff. So, we will be cancelling the rest of the reading challenges for the year! No Read Voltron or Map of the Soul! I just, I don't know. 

I already know what I plan to do for next year, and if I can finish a good number of the Currently Reading books from my list, I'll start it this year. One of the goals I had in 2019 was to meet or exceed my Goodreads goal of 50 books. Currently (2019-11-14) I am at 64/50. I intend to up the goal next year. I think I will aim for 72 books next year, 6 books per month organized in the following way: 

- 2 print TBR list

- 2 digital TBR list

- 2 mood reads (can be either print or digital)

A good mix of things. For the randomized nature that is necessary to choose a TBR book from my list, I use a combination of RNG and a G-Sheets spread of the books I own. I'm going to try to not go to my library as often next year (or buy as many books) so that way I can try to work my way through the books I already own. The piles are getting ridiculous. 

I'm totally trying to avoid giving myself a heart attack later, but I just got this impressive urge to read IT by Stephen King. Like, it's October and that is a horror so it makes sense that I would want to read it...but I don't trust my mental status sometimes. Argh...why brain? Why do we do this to ourselves? You know what will happen and you are not afraid of it at all.

Started cataloging my books again, and as of 2019-10-11, I have 730 physical books, 247 digital books, and 1 audio book. Both of them were four-star reads, but for different reasons that I will get into in my wrap-up for November.

* * *

Okay, so let me tell you what has gone down in the last few weeks that stopped me from updating the blog. BOTH of my computers have reached death. Neither death is software related and easy to fix. Because that would be easy. NOPE. On my Dell, the keyboard has stopped responding (I'm using a tiny USB keyboard I got my hands on to type this) and then on the Acer the pixels in the screen shattered. So I can't type on one and can't see on the other. Of course this would happen between paychecks, so I have to suffer for a whole week with a janky GearHead USB keyboard until I have enough money to acquire a new laptop.

Anyway...in the last few weeks I have managed to finish two books. I got through Nocturnal Witchcraft by Konstantinos and Assassination Classroom #11 by Yusei Matsui.