The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness

Title: The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness

Author: Babylon Bee

Publisher: Salem Books

Synopsis:

To show the world you’re a good person—and also to avoid getting canceled and having your life ruined by a Twitter mob—you need to get WOKE. In The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness, the writers of satirical sensation The Babylon Bee tell you how to choose your pronouns, blame everyone else for your problems, and show the world how virtuous you are with virtue-signaling profile pictures and stunning and brave hashtags. A tongue-in-cheek guide to the far Left’s obsession with intersectional insanity, The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness will help you laugh at the state of our culture so you don’t cry.

Review: I received an advanced reader copy from The Babylon Bee in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliant. Utter perfection. Finally, someone called out the nonsense that is plaguing our country, and the authors presented it in a way that left my side cramping from fits of giggles. Seriously folks, I struggled to breathe from laughing so hard. The graphics are EVERYTHING; the comedic delivery is flawless; the disturbing accuracy of ‘wokeism’ is on point.

This book is exactly what the world needs right now. Why? One word: satire. It appears the human population has forgotten how to laugh at one another without worrying about hurting someone’s feelings. Well, never fear. The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness fills that void beautifully.

This is not a book for the oversensitive cry babies who cancel strangers for using the wrong pronouns, for those who believe the US was founded on racism, for the self-proclaimed scientists who form their hypothesis based on the nightly news, for those who end every argument with “do better you transphobic bigot”, or for the parents who love sending their children to indoctrination hubs disguised as educational institutions. Actually, maybe it is. If this paragraph offended you, then YES, this is the book for you. Trust me, you’ll love it! It’s everything you preach on your Instagram stories bounded nicely with a gender neutral bow.

Warnings/Triggers

Truth bombs. Prepare thyself with boxes of tissues to dry your tears from fits of laughter or perhaps grab a cloth hanky crafted from the hemp grown in your neighbor's backyard since liberal tears are only dried with recycled materials.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Completed Read: October 2021

Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters

Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters

Author: Abigail Shrier

Publisher: Regnery Publishing

Synopsis:

Until just a few years ago, gender dysphoria—severe discomfort in one’s biological sex—was vanishingly rare. It was typically found in less than .01 percent of the population, emerged in early childhood, and afflicted males almost exclusively. But today whole groups of female friends in colleges, high schools, and even middle schools across the country are coming out as “transgender.” These are girls who had never experienced any discomfort in their biological sex until they heard a coming-out story from a speaker at a school assembly or discovered the internet community of trans “influencers.” Unsuspecting parents are awakening to find their daughters in thrall to hip trans YouTube stars and “gender-affirming” educators and therapists who push life-changing interventions on young girls—including medically unnecessary double mastectomies and puberty blockers that can cause permanent infertility.

Review:

Read what you want to read is something I constantly remind fellow readers. The verbal hate I’ll receive for posting a review for this mind-blowing book will surface in the comments below. So why subject myself to more hate from the mob? The answer is simple. Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Fox, NBC, and Facebook are not my news sources, nor are they reliable. I want to read actual accounts from those who have transitioned and are loving life, to those who have regrets and are now shunned by the transgender community for de-transitioning. I long to see what scientists and doctors say about the rapid surge of people leaving their old genders behind. I need to know why so many young women express discomfort in their female bodies. Those are the reasons I read this book.

So why do members of the trans community despise this book? Easy. It discredits the current trans narrative. It questions the idea that pre-pubescent children have the wisdom to make life-changing decisions that can permanently alter their physical and mental well-being. Does this make me a bigot and/or a transphobic for saying this? No, and neither does it make author Shrier. Never once did she speak poorly of the trans community in Irreversible Damage.

The interviews author Shrier held with doctors, parents, and members of the transgender community opened my eyes. Patterns and trends are undeniable. The negative effects of social media and its influencers are unavoidable for young adults who spend their days filling emotional voids with false validation.

This is a book for parents questioning the public education system in California and other states who enforce “gender identity” lessons that encourage children, as young as five, to pretend they’re another gender and/or prescribe puberty blockers without the parents’ consent. This is a book for those who don’t understand the rage that spats out of a person’s mouth after a misused pronoun. This is a book for members of the transgender community who are considering de-transitioning, and a book for those who are questioning their gender. This is a book for EVERYONE.

Warnings/Triggers

Descriptions of graphic medical procedures, adult language, personal accounts of

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Completed Read: September 2021

Empire of Gold

Empire of Gold

Author: SA Chakraborty

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Synopsis: Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.

But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt.

Review: Empire of Gold, the last installment in the Daevabad trilogy, started out slow, then went full throttle at the halfway mark. No, it wasn’t my favorite book in the series. I preferred the excitement and romance that filled the pages in Kingdom of Copper. Cue Dara. I no longer binge read series, so I struggled to remember the extensive world building presented in the first two books. The glossary is super helpful to those who enjoy breaks mid trilogy. Unfortunately, I found the glossary at the back of the book, after I finished reading.

Empire of Gold’s plot is dense. Read slow or you’ll miss crucial information that is needed to understand the big twist at the end. Our beloved characters, Nahri, Ali, Dara, and a long list of others, go through hell in this installment. Chakraborty isn’t afraid to drag them through the Marid mud, though my eyes didn’t water like they did in book two. Why? My connection to the characters in Empire of Gold had lessened because I failed to remember the world building, tribes, and cast of characters that I learned about in books one and two.

I will say this, the ending is heartbreaking yet satisfying. The author wraps up the trilogy beautifully, but leaves us wondering if we’ll see more books surrounding a specific character.

Chakraborty is a magnificent author who weaves a stunning canvas that tickles the readers’ senses. Her vivid descriptions of Middle Eastern culture pull you into the story with ease, and her dialogue flows effortlessly. Her sentence structure and impactful writing always stand out. As an author, I take notes while reading.

The way she presents LGBTQ characters is flawless. Unlike a lot of authors who throw LGBTQ characters into their stories to appease the LGBTQ community, Chakraborty does it naturally. Nothing feels forced. As a heterosexual female, I don’t gravitate toward LGBTQ books that focus solely on LGBTQ characters. Judge me all you want. It’s not my cup of tea, but I do enjoy reading books with a diverse cast of characters, including members of the LGBTQ community.

Warnings/Triggers

Adult language, graphic violence

Plot: 4/5

Pacing: 4/5

Escapism Factor: 4/5

Emotional Connection: 4/5

Character Development: 4/5

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Completed read: September 2021