#lawn boy

[rosecorcoranwrites]

"Free speech" this, "free access" that. The real reason not to ban books is it gives them a completely unearned mystique.

I'm reading Lawn Boy for the Banned Book Club at my library and it's basically a white, straight author writing about what it's like to be a gay, half-hispanic guy who's Not Like Other Guys (TM) because he's sensitive and likes reading and isn't a sexist jerk (though I have counted 3 instances so far of the narrator misogynistically describing women's bodies, and I'm not even half way through the book). Also rich people bad poor people good. Everyone is racist. Narrator describes his special needs older brother the way a eugenicist might. Also it's totes "not awful" for two ten year olds to give each other oral sex why would you think that?

(For the record, so far that is the only child-sex content, and while it's not pedophilia, it does strike me as a symptom of a larger problem in society, namely telling gay kids who had sexual encounters as kids (with adults or otherwise) that that's totally normal. Our society isn't grooming kids to become gay, but it sure seems like there are a heck of a lot of adults who are trying to groom and over-sexualize gay kids. Think about if the book has a heterosexual oral sex thing between two kids; everyone and their uncle would assume one or both of them probably did so because of previous sexual abuse by an adult. But if it's two boys, you shouldn't worry your pretty little head about because... IDK, the gays are more likely to be sexual at that age? Like, how is that not an extremely warped view of gay kids? Let them be kids, too.)

TL;DR this pretentious, tryhard book would have been rightfully resigned to the dustbin of history in a few years if it hadn't been banned. Banning a book is like giving it a badge of honor. Please stop doing it.

[doctornerdington]

Picked up a book from the banned books display at the library. Excellent marketing, I gotta say.

[poprocklyrics]

The place I sought was far beneath The surface of the sea My sight was poor, but I was sure The sirens sang their song for me

Bouncing Around the Room, Phish

[ddeck]

a piece of media that is bad: mundane. effectless

a piece of media that is bad but had the potential to be so so good: unbearable. agonizing. soul crushing even

[queerographies]

[Il giardiniere][Jonathan Evison]

Il giardiniere di Jonathan Evison è una commedia d’impatto che, con il suo tono rabbioso, dolce e ironico, parla di differenze sociali, discriminazioni culturali e dell’importanza di non farsi mai mettere i piedi in testa.

Suquamish, Stato di Washington. La vita di Mike Muñoz, ventitreenne di origine messicana, trascorre in attesa di qualcosa che non arriva. Abita in una riserva indiana con un fratello disabile e una mamma sempre al lavoro. Il papà, alcolista, è scomparso dalla loro vita diversi anni prima. Mike legge tantissimo grazie alla biblioteca pubblica e sogna di scrivere un libro. La sua grande passione è…

[in-the-stacks]

Presenting a book talk of Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. Reviewed by Victoria Tatum of The Book Traveler for In the Stacks.

http://www.inthestacks.tv/2022/11/the-book-traveler-lawn-boy-by-gary-paulsen

[listles-s]

man laios and toshiro's/shuro's dynamic is incredibly compelling to me on multiple levels

when you look at them, you can see the cultural and personal barriers that drive almost every single aspect of their relationship, both positively and negatively. laios is incredibly outspoken and driven by his passions, which he expresses freely even in the face of annoyance and/or criticism- he's allowed to be as authentically himself as he pleases, and it's this drive that allows him and the others to survive as long as they have, especially due to the fact that these passions and interests are intertwined with his skills as a dungeon diver. toshiro, in contrast, is incredibly reserved, not only due to his eastern upbringing but also his status as nobility- a combo of cultures that both demand that one save face, to avoid conflict at any cost, even at the expense of one's own feelings and individuality. this, in turn, has made toshiro the perfect samurai, as he's politely-spoken, agreeable, and an honorable, skilled man. both are also incredibly devoted to falin on different levels, having come to accomplish the same mission of her rescue despite drifting apart from the party.

on the flipside, it's these same strengths that cause them to clash- laios is outspoken but unable to truly decipher the emotions of others, leading to a lot of false assumptions and frustration from those who interact with him. toshiro is stoic but to the point of complacency, leading to a aggressively neutral disposition that's ushered by the needs and wants of others, rather than himself. neither man truly knows where they stand with the people important to them in their lives, and hold the ones that they do know how they feel with a fierce admiration expressed in ways that aren't always traditional.

in the end, they both share a growing feeling of isolation from other people that comes to a head when they meet again in the depths of the dungeon, and they both have different ways of coping with the frustrations that arise, seeing the other as only the things they have seen face to face.

it's laios' ability to express himself emotionally without consequence that sparks jealousy in toshiro, leading to a physical fight born out of miscommunication and envy. while toshiro is a driving force in the conflict, it should be noted that the actual fight is started by laios, breaking the dam of indirect communication through force. nothing is more direct than a slap to the face, and it's only after they start hitting each other that toshiro's true feelings come to light.

however, at the end of it all, toshiro is the one who stops torturing himself, listening to laios and giving him the bell, allowing laios and his party entrance into his homeland should they need it, and ultimately giving him support in his mission to defeat the dungeon mage, albeit in his own way. despite it all, they're still good friends with a conflict that boiled over, but came out the other end with a slightly better understanding of each other. the fight was painful for both of them, but it was a necessity for their dynamic to improve, and for them to be made aware of their faults and improve as individuals as well.

but also, if you think about it, their dynamic is literally just this

[usarmytrooper]

[yeahnohoneybye]

i’d fold so fast if he looked at me like that 🙈

[tomorrowsgardennc]

[garbagequeer]

reporting live from the lesbians who watch bridgerton headquarters. it is so over

[sinnabee]

The best way to make a new friend is with a smile! ... Right?

[skyward-floored]

Just realized in IAU they uh. they probably had a funeral for Sky, huh.

[greenerteacups]

he dos whatever Ron wants to do to hang out with him - bestie, so TRUE!!!

The great joke of Harry Potter is that Ron is known for being Harry's sidekick when the reality of the situation is eleven-year-old Harry Potter made one (1) friend and immediately decided to spend the rest of his life with him. And then he did.

[fixy8ed4xys]

artist: Alex Eckman_Lawn

The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #6 variant cover

[preciouslittle-bhaalbabe]

If he keeps looking at her like that he's gonna end up pregnant I don't care that it's biologically impossible Cirrus would find a way lmao