Hi everyone! Welcome to Nox Reads, I’m Nox, and today’s post is an update on the third and fourth days of #TransRightsReadathon.
#TransRightsReadathon was started by Sim Kern and is running from March 20th to March 27th. It’s a decentralized fundraising readathon created as a reaction to the increasing amount of anti-trans legislature in the United States, and multiple content creators are reading to fundraise for trans organizations and individuals.
I’m participating this week to raise money for my friends Tess and Lilya, who are a trans couple living in an abusive home situation in the Deep South, where it is becoming increasingly dangerous for trans individuals. Lilya is also Indigenous and disabled, and Tess’ family is racist and has destroyed Lilya’s medical equipment. Their goal is to fundraise at least $15,000 so they can move, and my first goal for the readathon is to get them to $1000. Currently, they’re at $396, which is about $280 more than before the readathon and announcements started! You can donate to their GoFundMe here, and comment below if you’d like to pledge an amount for each book I read.
Since the readathon started on the 20th, I’ve read five books, and I wanted to give a brief review of each of them! You can look at my wrap up of the first two books here, and here’s the other three!
THE ORDER OF THE PURE MOON REFLECTED IN WATER (affiliate link!) is about a group of thieves who are joined by a votary of the Order of the Pure Moon. It’s a short story about the group and how the votary affects their dynamics, especially during wartime when they’re all just trying to survive. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it, but Cho does a great job at worldbuilding. I could go for an entire series based in this universe on different members of the group and their journeys.
THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE (affiliate link!) is the first in a collection of stories told to the cleric Chih. I love the way that the stories are told, with half of it in the present day being told in third person focusing on Chih’s thoughts, and the other half being told in the first person from the point of view of the storyteller (in this story, Rabbit). The story that Rabbit told about Empress In-yo was really interesting, and I loved seeing how the Empress’ trust in her grew.
CHEER UP! LOVE AND POMPOMS (affiliate link!) was not what I expected at all. I expected something a lot more lighthearted and fluffy, and while it definitely had those moments, it also dealt with transphobia, sexual harassment, unwanted attention, and being a part of a community. I really enjoyed Annie and Bebe’s story, and this is another book where I wouldn’t mind following these characters more.
Thanks for reading my update! I’m excited to keep reading, and I’ll have an update for Days 5 and 6 on Day 7! Please donate to Tess and Lilya’s fundraiser here, and I’ll see you all soon!
Sincerely,
Nox
Nox Reads 