Cover Image: I'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat

I'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat

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Member Reviews

I really enjoyed the first short story in the book, but the others didn't live up to it.

Narration: I loved that the narrators switched for different stories. No complaints about any of them.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for my chance to review.

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This was a great listen, funny witty, and so relatable. I mean straight from the title, how many times have we said that? It was a quick, engaging listen!

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this was a very quick read. made stronger by it's brevity. 15 flash fiction pieces about being a bi or gay Puerto Rican man in the US. i enjoyed most of these.

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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Not bad, different and at times un kinda weird lol but not a waste of time

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The queer representation in this book is pretty accurate, and definitely hilarious. The way food is just tied into every circumstance from eating til you can't stand another bite and then still ordering more cause your friend needs an ear is literally every good friend relationship ever. Each story made me want more left me hanging which was a slight let down but I couldn't put it down. Overall a great read.

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I seem to be in the minority with this one and the fact that I did not like it. I don't know if I'm just not smart enough for these type of anthologies but this was not an enjoyable read for me. I am also put off by the amount of fat phobia in the book even though this was supposed to be some sort of fat positive queer book. There were a couple stories that were deeply triggering regarding fat phobia both internalized and external and I just can't get over the fact that those were included and are being praised.

If you like literary fiction anthologies, you may enjoy this one more than I did. Almost all the rest of the reviews are very positive so I do think that this is a me issue which is why I'm leaving it unrated. While I do think that the fat phobia is a major issue, there were a couple stories that I didn't hate but I honestly was just left feeling confused at the purpose of each story.

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Enjoyable short audiobook with stories about coming of age people in the LGTBQ community. A pleasant alternative to run of the mill cisgendered/heteronormative characters.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

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This is a series of stories about hunger -- hunger for connection, intimacy, belonging, and, indeed, for food. Each story explores the lives of bisexual and gay Puerto Rican men, as they navigate relationships with their family, friends, and those with whom they have just fleeting interactions often across significant chasms in experience or identity. The story about one man returning home for the bachelor party of his former high school crush, and his re-immersion in expected and unexpected ways into his high school experience, was particularly powerful. The stories are often quite funny, including one about a young couple having a party to celebrate their new washer and dryer. The narration of this audio book was also strong.

Highly recommended!

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4 stars

A delightful collection of short stories centering on young men (approximately 30) adrift in life & their disappointments & aspirations & daily lives. Very well written.

[What I liked:]

•The writing is smooth & easy to read, with realistic dialogue.

•The characters are quite relatable, sympathetic yet often with a mean or ugly streak that opens up a great depth in the story. The character development this writer achieves in such short stories is skillful.

•I really like how these stories are anchored in the mundane minutiae of everyday life, with such astute observations. And then one of the mundane minutiae triggers a revelation of pain or longing or a significant memory that launches the whole story to new heights of meaning & reflection. It’s subtly done, smooth & seamless.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•A few of the stories didn’t resonate as deeply as the others for me, such as the title story. That one’s about a guy who eats past the point of severe physical discomfort while listening to his friend describe how she takes advantage of dying people because she’s bored…I just didn’t see the point of that story.

CW: infidelity, homophobia, sexism, racism

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

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I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

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Opening a window onto a pulsing, bleeding, laughing, crying humanity, each of these 15 flash fiction stories incorporates food and/or kitchens, restaurants, bars -- places where we might feed our hungers. All of our hungers. The collection follows various bisexual Puerto Rican men coping with life in a messy world, with New York City its hub, The audiobook's three readers alternate the narration of the collection, each eliciting the right emotion at the right time in the flash stories, whose few words seem like an appetizer but leave the reader three courses worth of full. My two favorites: "Ordering Fries at Happy Hour" and the title story, "I'm Not Hungry but I could Eat," which also features my favorite quote in the collection: "For friends I make time. For best friends, I make room in my stomach."

[Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an opportunity to listen to an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.]

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This is a mix of several short stories or essays. I liked the variety of stories. The variety it readers was also nice- they all added their flare to the stories to make them uniquely their own. The title I'm NOt Hungry But I Could Eat is also unique. There is so much more meaning behind it. Its more about being lonely. Its a great correlation food/ hunger when its the pure loneliness. its a great short book packed with powerful messages.

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I'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat by Christopher Gonzalez - 3/5 stars
TW: fatphobia

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advance copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this unbiased review independently.

Reviewing a compilation of short stories holistically is always difficult. Based on the subtitle of the book, I expected most of the stories to be about being Puerto Rican, being gay or bisexual, or both issues at once. However, I was a bit disappointed on this front, as most of them just read as being about nothing at all, or being a fat individual.

A minority of the stories were standouts to be as being well above the rest in their quality. I vastly enjoyed "Packed White Spaces", "Better Than All That", and "Little Moves". Each of these does a wonderful job of navigating being a queer person of color in a world where the default is straight and white. Each has a unique take and does a wonderful job of telling subtle, nuanced stories. They're small stories. Just single scenes give us an insight into the lives of these men just living as queer Puerto Rican men.

Just as there are stand-out stories on the good side of things, there are also two, in particular, that fall flat to me. "What You Missed While I Was Watching Your Cat" and "Ordering Fries at Happy Hour" both fall flat for me. In the case of the former, it is a very confusing, jarring story about nothing in particular. In the case of the latter, it was extremely hard for me to listen to as it involves a character having a thought process about eating french fries very reminiscent of disordered eating. There was little warning that this type of content would be included in the book, at least from descriptions that I read.

At the end of the day, a large reason this book fell flat for me was that it wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about. The few stories that did fall in the realm I expected were a joy, and the other 12 were a slog. On one hand, I don't want to judge the book too harshly for my own misconception. On the other hand, my idea came from the description of the book and the subtitle, which are misleading in the subject matter and not beyond reproach.

If I was judging just the three stories I enjoyed, this book would definitely be 4 stars or higher. However the rest of the book, for me, would be down at a 2, so I've placed it right in the middle at 3 stars. While I personally wouldn't buy it or recommend it, I'm sure there are those out there that would enjoy this book, I'm just not one of them.

-Audiobook Notes-
This audiobook is read by Christian Barillas, Tony Chiroldes, and Anthony Medina. It is extremely refreshing to see Latino stories written by a Latino author being read by Latino narrators. These three individuals don't take anything away from the text, but they don't necessarily bring anything to it either. If you are an audiobook person, listen to it, but if you generally prefer to read a book physically, you won't be missing out on anything by not listening to the audiobook.

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This collection of short stories showcases a versatility of writing style across a variety of settings, while still managing to carry strong themes throughout. The stories I enjoyed most were some of the longer ones, when I felt like I got a strong sense of who the characters were and could understand them. Honestly though, I didn’t love this collection as much as I wanted to, and that’s probably because it wasn’t created for me.
I truly struggled with the narration. By midway through the book I adjusted to the slow, fairly inexpressive style, but I had to force myself to keep going. Anthony Medina was my preferred narrator of the three, and even he suffered a lack of energy or enthusiasm for the stories he was reading. I felt that the narration severely detracted from the success of the stories.
A highlight for me? Descriptions slipped in (often of food!) that were evocative and perfect. I recommend having food to eat while you’re listening, because you’re going to want it before you finish these stories.

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Ecclectic, interesting, well-written and well-rounded, this is a great collection of short stories. A fast listen and the narration was a great addition.

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me a copy, it was a pleasure to write an honest review.

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I was honestly surprised by this book I really thought it was going to be more centered around food I did not really have an opinion on the book as I could not relate to it but it had a good story flow and I’m sure it would appeal to the right audience.

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This book is a collection of short stories. It’s a quick read and has great representation of POC & Queer people. I didn’t know what to expect from this and I was pleasantly surprised.

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