Reading Wednesday
Nov. 7th, 2018 07:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoFinished reading:
Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985 by Valerie J Korinek. I'm very glad that this book exists. It's a little dry/dense at times, but I'm so glad that I read it.
Reading LGBTQ history is often an alienating experience for me - a lot of the time, the events discussed might as well have happened on Mars. But this was different, because it was actually talking about places that are relevant to my existence. San Francisco, or even Toronto - that might as well be a whole different planet. But Edmonton and Saskatoon are places that are part of my reality, if you know what I mean.
One unexpected surprise was the coverage (when possible) of attempts at LGB community-building and activism in small rural areas; places like Red Deer and Moose Jaw. It was hard, but people were trying, even back in the '70s.
It kind of hurt to read, though. Especially the bits about Alberta. A lot of the concerns that people had then are still concerns today. Things have improved, but it's still... well... It is what it is.
I guess it was just important for me to read about people who could have left for bigger places, but didn't; people who said, "fuck no, I'm not leaving. This is my home, and I'm going to make a place for myself here". A lot of people did leave; from small towns to the big prairie cities, or from the prairie capitals to Toronto or Vancouver. But people did stay and try to build things up to make things better, and are continuing to do so.
Final thought - it drives me nuts when people say to "remember your history" when talking about LGBTQ events in the USA. American history is not my history, even when it is LGBTQ history. Canadian LGBTQ history is my history. So I'm glad that people in my country are giving our history more attention, and that books like this one are becoming more frequently published and more readily available.
I'm glad that I asked the library to pick this one up. Now I need to come up with some other books for them to order that cover LGBTQ history in Canada, because we don't have nearly enough. ;) I'll have to see what's out there.
Currently reading:
The Troop* by Nick Cutter. Canadian horror, yay! I picked this up from a recommendation, though I can't recall where. A scout troop out on a camping trip have an unexpected encounter with an intruder carrying a disease, and things go downhill from there. So far, the verdict is: I like the setting (rural Prince Edward Island!), the premise, the format (regular narrative + "ephemeral text" (interviews, news articles) but I hate most of the characters. So, uh, we'll see how it goes. Luckily, it seems to be a breezy read, so even if I end up with mixed feelings about it, it won't be hard to finish. And it certainly makes me want to read more Canadian horror - I find it isn't a genre that gets as much attention up here as some others.
Reading next:
I have no idea. I'm going to Victoria next week, so I'll probably pick up something at Munro's or Russell Books, against my better judgment. :D
Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985 by Valerie J Korinek. I'm very glad that this book exists. It's a little dry/dense at times, but I'm so glad that I read it.
Reading LGBTQ history is often an alienating experience for me - a lot of the time, the events discussed might as well have happened on Mars. But this was different, because it was actually talking about places that are relevant to my existence. San Francisco, or even Toronto - that might as well be a whole different planet. But Edmonton and Saskatoon are places that are part of my reality, if you know what I mean.
One unexpected surprise was the coverage (when possible) of attempts at LGB community-building and activism in small rural areas; places like Red Deer and Moose Jaw. It was hard, but people were trying, even back in the '70s.
It kind of hurt to read, though. Especially the bits about Alberta. A lot of the concerns that people had then are still concerns today. Things have improved, but it's still... well... It is what it is.
I guess it was just important for me to read about people who could have left for bigger places, but didn't; people who said, "fuck no, I'm not leaving. This is my home, and I'm going to make a place for myself here". A lot of people did leave; from small towns to the big prairie cities, or from the prairie capitals to Toronto or Vancouver. But people did stay and try to build things up to make things better, and are continuing to do so.
Final thought - it drives me nuts when people say to "remember your history" when talking about LGBTQ events in the USA. American history is not my history, even when it is LGBTQ history. Canadian LGBTQ history is my history. So I'm glad that people in my country are giving our history more attention, and that books like this one are becoming more frequently published and more readily available.
I'm glad that I asked the library to pick this one up. Now I need to come up with some other books for them to order that cover LGBTQ history in Canada, because we don't have nearly enough. ;) I'll have to see what's out there.
Currently reading:
The Troop* by Nick Cutter. Canadian horror, yay! I picked this up from a recommendation, though I can't recall where. A scout troop out on a camping trip have an unexpected encounter with an intruder carrying a disease, and things go downhill from there. So far, the verdict is: I like the setting (rural Prince Edward Island!), the premise, the format (regular narrative + "ephemeral text" (interviews, news articles) but I hate most of the characters. So, uh, we'll see how it goes. Luckily, it seems to be a breezy read, so even if I end up with mixed feelings about it, it won't be hard to finish. And it certainly makes me want to read more Canadian horror - I find it isn't a genre that gets as much attention up here as some others.
Reading next:
I have no idea. I'm going to Victoria next week, so I'll probably pick up something at Munro's or Russell Books, against my better judgment. :D
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
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Date: 2018-11-08 09:10 pm (UTC)YES THANK YOU
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