subtitle that didn't fit in the subject line: On Being Both, Beyond, and In-Between

I'm going to say this prominently because I think it has caused some confusion among reviewers: This is a book by two nonbinary authors and the title is Life Isn't Binary, and it is NOT (primarily) about nonbinary gender identity! If you want a book that is primarily about nonbinary gender identity, this book may not give you what you're looking for!

Instead, it is about problems with binary thinking in all areas of life. There is a tendency for people to view many things in terms of two categories in opposition. Male/female and cis/trans, yes, but also Black/white, straight/gay, privileged/marginalized, body/mind, emotion/logic, friend/lover, us/them. The book examines and deconstructs these binaries and more, and encourages thinking about who currently benefits from their resultant flattening of nuance, and what we could gain from framing concepts in a less polarized way.

The book is short but extremely densely packed with ideas. I read it as a two-person book club with dragonque, and every chapter elicited fruitful discussion about its points and how they related to our own lives and experiences. I have known dragonque for a long time and I feel like I got to know them much better through talking about this book!

I do think at times it can feel too dense and too short for the vast scope of its thesis. The authors can state in one sentence an absolutely massive idea that could itself be an entire book, and that's the only thing they say about it because they're already on to the next point. (The authors have in fact collaborated on several other books which sound like they may elaborate on some of the things where I was like, "so, that's all you're going to say about that one? okay!")

But I found the book very worthwhile and thought-provoking, and after returning it to the library I bought my own copy because I expect I will be re-reading it, referring to it, or wanting to lend it to people.

New words this week : 14,012 words which is frankly kind of unbelievable.

WIPs worked on this week : 1, with no new WIPs (yay!)

Where last we left off, there was some sort of horrible stomach bug circulating and I was praying I would not catch it. Alas, I did. It was horrible. I haven't fully recovered from it. The nice part though was I spent a lot of the time I wasn't sleeping, writing instead. So. Yay?

The Old Guard

☆ food truck au : 14,012 words which brings the total to 100,271 words and I can't believe it's over 100k. When I posted my monthly goals I was pretty confident it wouldn't be much longer than 110k and considering I've got five chapters left that are partially-written, I think that's not going to happen. I have accepted that I actually have no fucking clue how long this fic will be. I am just along for the ride at this point. Anyhow. As you'll recall, Chapter 8 ran long so I split it in two, figuring that the first half would be the long one. Surprise, Chapter 9 is like 16k. So I think it needs to be split as well, except there's not really a good place to break it up, and if I do it in the least-bad place, the split is going to be like 9.5k / 5.5k which I don't like it feeling so unbalanced. idk, hopefully beta will have some feedback (she is so much wiser than I am)

Friendly reminder that posting for the WIP Big Bang International Fanworks Day Mini Bang 2026 ends in five days (and about 2 1/2 hours). Non-targeted advertising for the 2026 rounds of WIP Big Bang and WIP Reverse Bangs will then start on the 17th, and the updated FAQ and schedule for that will be posted here on Dreamwidth as well as on Tumblr and the Discord channel.

This is part three of my book club notes on The Black Fantastic. [Part 1, part 2.]

All of this batch of stories are available online!


"The Venus Effect" by Violet Allen (2016)

( The authorial voice repeatedly tries to write stories in different genres, only to be stopped each time by the Black protagonist falling victim to police violence. )


"The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by Phenderson Djèlí Clark (2018)

( What it says on the tin, in an alternate universe where magic is part of daily life. )


"The Hospital Where" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (2018)

( An aspiring writer makes a Faustian bargain. )


"The Ones Who Stay and Fight" by N.K. Jemisin (2018)

( A response to Le Guin, in which a utopia has a dark side. Maybe. )

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