The next Reader’s Advisory Roundtable will be on Wednesday,
August 10 at 9am at the Gardendale Library (located at 995 Mt. Olive Road
35071) and the topic up for discussion will be debut novels, past and present. Even Stephen King had to have a first book! The August meeting will also usher in our
annual housekeeping tasks. It’s time to
select next year’s topics, so be thinking about what you’d like to discuss in
2017! Keep a note for the August
meeting, but feel free to email or call me as well!
hwesley[at]the usual or 205-445-1117.
We briefly talked about James Patterson’s new BOOKSHOTS
line. The tagline: Under 150 pages.
Under $5. Impossible to put down. All
thriller, no filler. The general
consensus was to give them a try and let circulation stats drive further
purchases. For more information, visit
the BOOKSHOTS website at https://www.bookshots.com/about/bookshots.
Finally, the first big book of manners for the more than 15 million lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the United States and Canada and the people who love them, work with them, and live with them. Written by Steven Petrow, the go-to authority on the subject—he’s the same-sex wedding expert at The New York Times and a columnist for The Huffington Post, Yahoo’s Shine, GayWeddings.com, and the “Q” Syndicate (with distribution to more than 100 LGBT newspapers and websites)—this is the definitive book of LGBT etiquette.
Encyclopedic in its approach, filled with practical wisdom, lively wit, and much insight, Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners covers everything: from coming out to being out in the workplace; from dealing with the joy and complexity of same-sex weddings and commitment ceremonies (including how to propose and write meaningful vows) to handling the legal paperwork every couple needs. There’s a chapter on sex etiquette, and another on the challenges and opportunities of raising a family, plus sections on travel, bullying, entertaining, meeting new friends, introducing your partner to your family, a primer on gay pride, and so much more.
Throughout there are hundreds of questions—some posed by LGBT folk, and others by straight people: What do the mothers of two brides wear to a lesbian wedding? What do you say to an anti-gay joke? How do you answer “Who’s the father?” when there are two mothers?
Manners, yes, but with a twist.
Encyclopedic in its approach, filled with practical wisdom, lively wit, and much insight, Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners covers everything: from coming out to being out in the workplace; from dealing with the joy and complexity of same-sex weddings and commitment ceremonies (including how to propose and write meaningful vows) to handling the legal paperwork every couple needs. There’s a chapter on sex etiquette, and another on the challenges and opportunities of raising a family, plus sections on travel, bullying, entertaining, meeting new friends, introducing your partner to your family, a primer on gay pride, and so much more.
Throughout there are hundreds of questions—some posed by LGBT folk, and others by straight people: What do the mothers of two brides wear to a lesbian wedding? What do you say to an anti-gay joke? How do you answer “Who’s the father?” when there are two mothers?
Manners, yes, but with a twist.
Mondretta, Leeds
In this artful and thought-provoking film, highly regarded experimental filmmaker Abigail Child follows four young African American men in urban Cleveland, Ohio, who all live life on the downlow (the DL).
Uncomfortable with being termed gay, as it doesn t correspond with their concept of Black masculinity, the men in this film straddle two seemingly incompatible worlds. Billy claims that the best sex of his life was with the mother of his two children, but he lives with a man. A self-described thug, Ray prefers drag queens. Kerwin desires not only a beautiful woman on his arm, but a man as well. And Antonio, an ex-con who picked up the DL lifestyle while incarcerated, is dating George, whose teenage girlfriend doesn t know that George, too, is on the DL. Together, these men s stories offer a rare window into both the allure and struggle of the DL lifestyle.
Interweaving their narratives through candid interviews and intimate cinematography by Arthur Jafa (Crooklyn, Daughters of the Dust), ON THE DOWNLOW offers a penetrating glimpse into a split existence: one life lies on the surface, and another is hidden below.
Uncomfortable with being termed gay, as it doesn t correspond with their concept of Black masculinity, the men in this film straddle two seemingly incompatible worlds. Billy claims that the best sex of his life was with the mother of his two children, but he lives with a man. A self-described thug, Ray prefers drag queens. Kerwin desires not only a beautiful woman on his arm, but a man as well. And Antonio, an ex-con who picked up the DL lifestyle while incarcerated, is dating George, whose teenage girlfriend doesn t know that George, too, is on the DL. Together, these men s stories offer a rare window into both the allure and struggle of the DL lifestyle.
Interweaving their narratives through candid interviews and intimate cinematography by Arthur Jafa (Crooklyn, Daughters of the Dust), ON THE DOWNLOW offers a penetrating glimpse into a split existence: one life lies on the surface, and another is hidden below.
Mondretta, Leeds
First time author Jeff Garvin has done a remarkable thing. He has taken one genderfluid teenager's experience and removed gender from it. Riley Cavanagh's life, the good and the bad, is taken out of "girl" and "boy" paradigms and becomes a more profound exploration of the modern human experience. What happens to Riley shouldn't happen to anyone, gender aside, and, by removing gender from the equation completely (you NEVER find out whether Riley is male or female), the human experience is elevated in this great, debut young adult novel. A must read for everyone!
Holley, Mountain Brook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMESNOTABLE BOOK • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PEOPLE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY MEN’S JOURNAL • A STONEWALL HONOR BOOK IN NONFICTION • FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR TRANSGENDER NONFICTION
The inspiring true story of a transgender girl, her identical twin brother, and an ordinary American family’s extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning science reporter for The Washington Post
When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But it wasn’t long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt. Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were “supposed” to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dress-up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept and embrace Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo an emotionally wrenching transformation of their own that would change all their lives forever.
Becoming Nicole chronicles a journey that could have destroyed a family but instead brought it closer together. It’s the story of a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and acceptance, not ostracism and disapproval; of a Republican, Air Force veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to become a vocal advocate for trans rights; of a loving brother who bravely stuck up for his twin sister; and of a town forced to confront its prejudices, a school compelled to rewrite its rules, and a courageous community of transgender activists determined to make their voices heard. Ultimately,Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.
Granted wide-ranging access to personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, medical records, and the Maineses themselves, Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this immersive account of an American family confronting an issue that is at the center of today’s cultural debate. Becoming Nicole will resonate with anyone who’s ever raised a child, felt at odds with society’s conventions and norms, or had to embrace life when it plays out unexpectedly. It’s a story of standing up for your beliefs and yourself—and it will inspire all of us to do the same
The inspiring true story of a transgender girl, her identical twin brother, and an ordinary American family’s extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning science reporter for The Washington Post
When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But it wasn’t long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt. Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were “supposed” to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dress-up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept and embrace Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo an emotionally wrenching transformation of their own that would change all their lives forever.
Becoming Nicole chronicles a journey that could have destroyed a family but instead brought it closer together. It’s the story of a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and acceptance, not ostracism and disapproval; of a Republican, Air Force veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to become a vocal advocate for trans rights; of a loving brother who bravely stuck up for his twin sister; and of a town forced to confront its prejudices, a school compelled to rewrite its rules, and a courageous community of transgender activists determined to make their voices heard. Ultimately,Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.
Granted wide-ranging access to personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, medical records, and the Maineses themselves, Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this immersive account of an American family confronting an issue that is at the center of today’s cultural debate. Becoming Nicole will resonate with anyone who’s ever raised a child, felt at odds with society’s conventions and norms, or had to embrace life when it plays out unexpectedly. It’s a story of standing up for your beliefs and yourself—and it will inspire all of us to do the same
Samuel, Springville Road
One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, STRANGER BY THE LAKE has been described as a modern-day Hitchcockian masterpiece. A picturesque cruising spot in the countryside of France sets the scene between desire and murder. Franck, a regular at the lake, meets the handsome Michel and soon falls in love with the mysterious stranger. When a body is discovered in the lake, Franck and Michel soon become primary suspects of the investigation. STRANGER BY THE LAKE is a unique, erotic thriller of seduction and sexual obsession that builds to an unforgettable and terrifying climax.
Samuel, Springville Road
Sordid Lives: The Series (createdby Del Shores) is the story of a small town Texas family presided over by matriarch Peggy Ingram (Rue McClanahan) who takes in the town bar singer Bitsy Mae Harling (Olivia Newton-John) who has just been released from prison.
Peggy's wild child daughter LaVonda (Ann Walker) lives with Peggy's chain-smoking sister Sissy (Beth Grant), while Peggy's good girl Latrelle (Bonnie Bedelia) maintains an image of seeming perfection. Peggy's third child "Brother Boy" Ingram (Leslie Jordan) is locked in a mental institution where he performs as Tammy Wynette. He plots to escape while he attends therapy sessions with the crazy Dr. Eve (Rosemary Alexander) who believes she can dehomosexualize him.
LaVonda's white trash best friend Noleta (Caroline Rhea) lives in a trailer in Sissy's backyard with her husband G.W. (David Steen), a Vietnam vet with two wooden legs. G.W. escapes regularly to the local bar in town amidst a small crowd of regulars including brothers Wardell (Newell Alexander) and Odell (David Cowgill), Bitsy and this bar's crazy old fly Juanita (Sarah Hunley).
Latrelle's son Ty (Jason Dottley) is an actor living in Los Angeles and struggling with several therapists (Margaret Cho, Carson Kressley, Candis Cayne) to come to terms with his homosexuality. Along the way he deals with his first boyfriend (Ted Detwiler), his stalker ex-girlfriend (Sharron Alexis), a vengeful trick (Emerson Collins) and the difficulty of coming out to his straight best friend (Robert Lewis Stephenson) and his family back in Texas.
Sordid Lives is the universally relatable story of a town of family and friends and the trials and tribulations they go through as they learn to see each other for who they are instead of who they wish each other to be.
There is a feature film remake of this, but it is not currently available in the PLJC system.
Samuel, Springville Road
Dance With Me by Heidi Cullinan (not available in the PLJC system)
Ed Maurer has bounced back, more or less, from the neck injury that permanently benched his semipro football career. He hates his soul-killing office job, but he loves volunteering at a local community center. The only fly in his ointment is the dance instructor, Laurie Parker, who can’t seem to stay out of his way.
Laurie was once one of the most celebrated ballet dancers in the world, but now he volunteers at Halcyon Center to avoid his society mother’s machinations. It would be a perfect escape, except for the oaf of a football player cutting him glares from across the room.
When Laurie has a ballroom dancing emergency and Ed stands in as his partner, their perceptions of each other turn upside down. Dancing leads to friendship, being friends leads to becoming lovers, but most important of all, their partnership shows them how to heal the pain of their pasts. Because with every turn across the floor, Ed and Laurie realize the only escape from their personal demons is to keep dancing—together.
Laurie was once one of the most celebrated ballet dancers in the world, but now he volunteers at Halcyon Center to avoid his society mother’s machinations. It would be a perfect escape, except for the oaf of a football player cutting him glares from across the room.
When Laurie has a ballroom dancing emergency and Ed stands in as his partner, their perceptions of each other turn upside down. Dancing leads to friendship, being friends leads to becoming lovers, but most important of all, their partnership shows them how to heal the pain of their pasts. Because with every turn across the floor, Ed and Laurie realize the only escape from their personal demons is to keep dancing—together.
Samuel, Springville Road
Texas Pride by Kindle Alexander (not available in the PLJC system)
When mega movie star and two time Academy Award winner, Austin Grainger voluntarily gave up his dazzling film career, his adoring fan base thought he’d lost his mind. For Austin, the seclusion of fifteen hundred acres in the middle of Texas sounds like paradise. No more cameras, paparazzi, or overzealous media to hound him every day and night. Little did the sexiest man alive know when one door closes, another usually opens. And Austin’s opened by way of a sexy, hot ranch owner right next door.
Kitt Kelly wasn’t your average rancher. He’s young, well educated and has hidden his sexuality for most of his life. When his long time wet dream materializes as his a new neighbor it threatens everything he holds dear. No way the ranching community would ever accept him if he came out. With every part of his life riding on the edge, can Kitt risk it all for a chance at love or will responsibility to his family heritage cost him his one chance at happiness?
Kitt Kelly wasn’t your average rancher. He’s young, well educated and has hidden his sexuality for most of his life. When his long time wet dream materializes as his a new neighbor it threatens everything he holds dear. No way the ranching community would ever accept him if he came out. With every part of his life riding on the edge, can Kitt risk it all for a chance at love or will responsibility to his family heritage cost him his one chance at happiness?
Samuel, Springville Road
Curious by R. G. Alexander (not available in the PLJC system)
Are you Curious? Jeremy Porter is. Though the bisexual comic book artist has known Owen Finn for most of his life—long enough to know that he is terminally straight—he can’t help but imagine what things would be like if he weren’t.
Owen is far from vanilla—as a dominant in the local fetish community, he sees as much action as Jeremy does. Lately even more.
Since Jeremy isn’t into collars and Owen isn’t into men, it seems like his fantasies will remain just that forever…until one night when Owen gets curious.
Samuel, Springville Road
Hot Head by Damon Suede (not available in the PLJC system)
Where there's smoke, there's fire... Since 9/11, Brooklyn firefighter Griff Muir has wrestled with impossible feelings for his best friend and partner at Ladder 181, Dante Anastagio. Unfortunately, Dante is strictly a ladies' man, and the FDNY isn't exactly gay-friendly. For ten years, Griff has hidden his heart in a half-life of public heroics and private anguish. Griff's caution and Dante's cockiness make them an unbeatable team. To protect his buddy, there's nothing Griff wouldn't do... until a nearly bankrupt Dante proposes the worst possible solution: HotHead.com, a gay porn website where uniformed hunks get down and dirty. And Dante wants them to appear there-together. Griff may have to guard his heart and live out his darkest fantasies on camera. Can he rescue the man he loves without wrecking their careers, their families, or their friendship?
Samuel, Springville Road
Try by Ella Frank (not available in the PLJC system)
Try – verb: to make an attempt or effort to do something or in this case…someone. Sex. Logan Mitchell loves it, and ever since he realized his raw sexual appeal at a young age, he has had no problem using it to his advantage. Men and women alike fall into his bed—after all, Logan is not one to discriminate. He lives by one motto—if something interests you, why not just take a chance and try? And he wants to try Tate Morrison. Just coming out of a four-year marriage with an ex-wife from hell, a relationship is the last thing on Tate’s mind. He’s starting fresh and trying to get back on his feet with a new job at an upscale bar in downtown Chicago. The only problem is, Tate has caught the unwavering and unwelcome attention of Mr. Logan Mitchell – a regular at the bar and a man who always gets what he wants. Night after night Tate fends off the persistent advances of the undeniably charismatic man, but after an explosive moment in the bar, all bets are off as he finds his body stirring with a different desire than his mind. As arrogance, stubbornness and sexual tension sizzles between the two, it threatens to change the very course of their lives. Logan doesn’t do relationships. Tate doesn’t do men. But what would happen if they both just gave in and…tried?
Samuel, Springville Road
Frontline: Growing Up Trans (dvd)
Go on an intimate and eye-opening journey inside a new frontier. Told from the perspective of parents, doctors, and, most revealing of all, eight transgender kids themselves, ranging in ages from 9 to 19, FRONTLINE takes a powerful look at this new generation, exploring the medical possibilities, struggles, and choices transgender kids and their families face today.
The Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives: Conversations with 26 Gay Men and Women (dvd)
A moving montage scrapbook of the lives of twenty-six gay men and lesbian women, representing a wide range of lifestyles, personalities, races, and ages. From the directors of 'Absolutely Positive.'
Red Without Blue (dvd)
"Although the Farleys' trials have the makings of a soap opera envisioned by David Cronenberg, there's a quiet emotional hush to "Red Without Blue" that keeps tabloid prurience at bay and finds mystery and painful beauty in the unshakeable bonds of family."--Robert Abele, LA Times RED WITHOUT BLUE is an artistic and groundbreaking portrayal of gender, identity, and the unswerving bond of twinship despite transformation. An honest portrayal of a family in turmoil, RWB follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female. Captured over a period of three years, the film documents the twins and their parents, examining the Farley's struggle to redefine their family. The twins' early lives were quintessentially all-American: picture-perfect holidays, supportive parents who cheered them on every step of the way. By the time they were 14, their parents had divorced, they had come out as gay, and a joint suicide attempt precipitated a forced separation of Mark and Alex for two and half years. Through candid and extensive interviews with the twins and their family, RED WITHOUT BLUE recounts these troubled times, interweaving the twins' difficult past with their efforts to find themselves in the present. The film follows the painful steps of Clair's transition, including electrolysis and the difficult decision to proceed with bottom surgery. Through its portrayal of these articulate and independent twins, each haunted by the painful experiences of their adolescence, the film questions normative standards of gender and identity as Mark and Clair reassert their indescribable bond as identical twins. Through the power of the Farleys' voices, we hear the story of a family's redemption from a dark past, and ultimately, its revival to the present.
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto
In 1967, after a twin baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment that would alter his gender. The case would become one of the most famous in modern medicine and a total failure. As Nature Made Him tells the extraordinary story of David Reimer, who, when finally informed of his medical history, made the decision to live as a male. A macabre tale of medical arrogance, it is first and foremost a human drama of one man's and one family's amazing survival in the face of terrible odds.
Mislaid by Nell Zink
Crooked Letter i: Coming Out in the South ed. by Connie Griffin
Crooked Letter i offers a collection of first-person nonfiction narratives that reflect the distinct coming out experiences of a complex cross-section of gay, lesbian, and transgendered Southerners from all walks of life and at different stages in their lives.
There is the Appalachian widower who, following the death of his wife, decides it's time to tell his church community. There is the young man who left his hometown as a girl, returning hesitant but hopeful for his grandmother s love. There is the adolescent girl who refuses to surrender her soul to Jesus because she is not yet certain of her own beliefs. There is the well-mannered Southern gentleman who hopes his blueberries and biscuits will help ease the awkwardness of coming out to his elderly neighbor. There are the ones who survived the frequent bar raids, arrests, and beatings. But, there is also the first kiss, and the first love.
The experiences represented here pivot around a central theme finally finding language to understand one s identity, and then discovering we were never the only ones. Revealing a vibrant cross-section of Southerners, the writers of these narratives have in common the experience of being Southern and different, but determined against all odds.
Carrington (dvd)
Written and directed by Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and starring two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) and Jonathan Pryce (Evita), Carrington is an "emotionally complex, moving" (Los Angeles Times) tale of lifelong love with unorthodox compromises, that is utterly enthralling entertainment! Amid the trendy, bohemian scene of London's famed Bloomsbury group, Dora Carrington (Thompson), a talented young artist, first meets bon vivant and writer Lytton Strachey (Pryce). The two creative souls are instantly attracted, although Strachey's desires clearly lie elsewhere. The unlikely pair joyously spends colorful days pursuing their arts and discovering that love works in mysterious ways. But their blissful existence hangs in the balance when Carrington brings home a lover and they suddenly find themselves caught within a bizarre love triangle. As conflicting passions heat to a boiling point, will true love triumph or will Carrington lose her one and only soul mate forever?
Harold & Maude by Colin Higgins
Nineteen-year-old Harold Chasen is obsessed with death. He fakes suicides to shock his self-obsessed mother, drives a hearse, and attends funerals of complete strangers. Seventy-nine-year-old Maude Chardin, on the other hand, adores life. She liberates trees from city sidewalks and transplants them to the forest, paints smiles on the faces of church statues, and "borrows" cars to remind their owners that life is fleeting-here today, gone tomorrow! A chance meeting between the two turns into a madcap, whirlwind romance, and Harold learns that life is worth living, and how to play the banjo. Harold and Maude started as Colin Higgins's master's thesis at UCLA Film School. He was working as a pool boy when Paramount purchased the script. The 1971 film, directed by Hal Ashby, bombed. But then this quirky, dark comedy began being shown on college campuses and at midnight-movie theaters, and it gained a loyal cult following. In 1997 it was selected for inclusion on the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Colin Higgins was a screenwriter, director, and producer of films that included Harold and Maude, Silver Streak, 9 to 5, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He died in 1988.
Jon, Avondale
Breach of Promise by Anne Perry
In a sensational breach-of-promise suit, two wealthy social climbers are suing on behalf of their beautiful daughter, Zillah. The defendant is Zillah’s alleged fiancé, brilliant young architect Killian Melville, who adamantly declares that he will not, cannot,marry her. Utterly baffled by his client’s refusal, Melville’s counsel, Sir Oliver Rathbone, turns to his old comrades in crime—William Monk and nurse Hester Latterly. But even as they scout London for clues, the case suddenly and tragically ends, in an outcome that no one—except a ruthless murderer—could have foreseen.
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the richest, most prolific, and famous authors of his day, penning a staggering number of novels, plays, short stories, travelogues, and articles over the course of his life, many of which gained multiple film adaptations. While his professional life was a success, his personal life was much more tumultuous. He preferred the company of men, but was drawn to beautiful women too, eventually marrying and fathering a child. He did not stay with his family however, and spent the majority of his time traveling with his male lovers throughout exotic locations like Malaya, Borneo, and Singapore. He rarely stayed in England much, not wishing for the same fate as imprisoned Oscar Wilde, but his time spying for the British during both world wars kept him equally busy and away from an unhappy marriage. Hastings' fascinating biography pulls together many previously unseen sources newly available (at the time) on this great author, spy, and critic.
The Rat Queens
Jon, Avondale
FOR FURTHER READING
Samuel, Springville Road
The Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives: Conversations with 26 Gay Men and Women (dvd)
A moving montage scrapbook of the lives of twenty-six gay men and lesbian women, representing a wide range of lifestyles, personalities, races, and ages. From the directors of 'Absolutely Positive.'
Samuel, Springville Road
Red Without Blue (dvd)
"Although the Farleys' trials have the makings of a soap opera envisioned by David Cronenberg, there's a quiet emotional hush to "Red Without Blue" that keeps tabloid prurience at bay and finds mystery and painful beauty in the unshakeable bonds of family."--Robert Abele, LA Times RED WITHOUT BLUE is an artistic and groundbreaking portrayal of gender, identity, and the unswerving bond of twinship despite transformation. An honest portrayal of a family in turmoil, RWB follows a pair of identical twins as one transitions from male to female. Captured over a period of three years, the film documents the twins and their parents, examining the Farley's struggle to redefine their family. The twins' early lives were quintessentially all-American: picture-perfect holidays, supportive parents who cheered them on every step of the way. By the time they were 14, their parents had divorced, they had come out as gay, and a joint suicide attempt precipitated a forced separation of Mark and Alex for two and half years. Through candid and extensive interviews with the twins and their family, RED WITHOUT BLUE recounts these troubled times, interweaving the twins' difficult past with their efforts to find themselves in the present. The film follows the painful steps of Clair's transition, including electrolysis and the difficult decision to proceed with bottom surgery. Through its portrayal of these articulate and independent twins, each haunted by the painful experiences of their adolescence, the film questions normative standards of gender and identity as Mark and Clair reassert their indescribable bond as identical twins. Through the power of the Farleys' voices, we hear the story of a family's redemption from a dark past, and ultimately, its revival to the present.
Samuel, Springville Road
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl by John Colapinto
In 1967, after a twin baby boy suffered a botched circumcision, his family agreed to a radical treatment that would alter his gender. The case would become one of the most famous in modern medicine and a total failure. As Nature Made Him tells the extraordinary story of David Reimer, who, when finally informed of his medical history, made the decision to live as a male. A macabre tale of medical arrogance, it is first and foremost a human drama of one man's and one family's amazing survival in the face of terrible odds.
Holley, Mountain Brook
Mislaid by Nell Zink
A sharply observed, mordantly funny, and startlingly original novel from an exciting, unconventional new voice—the author of the acclaimed The Wallcreeper—about the making and unmaking of the American family that lays bare all of our assumptions about race and racism, sexuality and desire.
Stillwater College in Virginia, 1966. Freshman Peggy, an ingénue with literary pretensions, falls under the spell of Lee, a blue-blooded poet and professor, and they begin an ill-advised affair that results in an unplanned pregnancy and marriage. The two are mismatched from the start—she’s a lesbian, he’s gay—but it takes a decade of emotional erosion before Peggy runs off with their three-year-old daughter, leaving their nine-year-old son behind.
Worried that Lee will have her committed for her erratic behavior, Peggy goes underground, adopting an African American persona for her and her daughter. They squat in a house in an African-American settlement, eventually moving to a housing project where no one questions their true racial identities. As Peggy and Lee’s children grow up, they must contend with diverse emotional issues: Byrdie deals with his father’s compulsive honesty; while Karen struggles with her mother’s lies—she knows neither her real age, nor that she is “white,” nor that she has any other family.
Years later, a minority scholarship lands Karen at the University of Virginia, where Byrdie is in his senior year. Eventually the long lost siblings will meet, setting off a series of misunderstandings and culminating in a comedic finale worthy of Shakespeare.
Maura, Trussville
Crooked Letter i: Coming Out in the South ed. by Connie Griffin
Crooked Letter i offers a collection of first-person nonfiction narratives that reflect the distinct coming out experiences of a complex cross-section of gay, lesbian, and transgendered Southerners from all walks of life and at different stages in their lives.
There is the Appalachian widower who, following the death of his wife, decides it's time to tell his church community. There is the young man who left his hometown as a girl, returning hesitant but hopeful for his grandmother s love. There is the adolescent girl who refuses to surrender her soul to Jesus because she is not yet certain of her own beliefs. There is the well-mannered Southern gentleman who hopes his blueberries and biscuits will help ease the awkwardness of coming out to his elderly neighbor. There are the ones who survived the frequent bar raids, arrests, and beatings. But, there is also the first kiss, and the first love.
The experiences represented here pivot around a central theme finally finding language to understand one s identity, and then discovering we were never the only ones. Revealing a vibrant cross-section of Southerners, the writers of these narratives have in common the experience of being Southern and different, but determined against all odds.
Maura, Trussville
Carrington (dvd)
Written and directed by Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and starring two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) and Jonathan Pryce (Evita), Carrington is an "emotionally complex, moving" (Los Angeles Times) tale of lifelong love with unorthodox compromises, that is utterly enthralling entertainment! Amid the trendy, bohemian scene of London's famed Bloomsbury group, Dora Carrington (Thompson), a talented young artist, first meets bon vivant and writer Lytton Strachey (Pryce). The two creative souls are instantly attracted, although Strachey's desires clearly lie elsewhere. The unlikely pair joyously spends colorful days pursuing their arts and discovering that love works in mysterious ways. But their blissful existence hangs in the balance when Carrington brings home a lover and they suddenly find themselves caught within a bizarre love triangle. As conflicting passions heat to a boiling point, will true love triumph or will Carrington lose her one and only soul mate forever?
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
Harold & Maude by Colin Higgins
Nineteen-year-old Harold Chasen is obsessed with death. He fakes suicides to shock his self-obsessed mother, drives a hearse, and attends funerals of complete strangers. Seventy-nine-year-old Maude Chardin, on the other hand, adores life. She liberates trees from city sidewalks and transplants them to the forest, paints smiles on the faces of church statues, and "borrows" cars to remind their owners that life is fleeting-here today, gone tomorrow! A chance meeting between the two turns into a madcap, whirlwind romance, and Harold learns that life is worth living, and how to play the banjo. Harold and Maude started as Colin Higgins's master's thesis at UCLA Film School. He was working as a pool boy when Paramount purchased the script. The 1971 film, directed by Hal Ashby, bombed. But then this quirky, dark comedy began being shown on college campuses and at midnight-movie theaters, and it gained a loyal cult following. In 1997 it was selected for inclusion on the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Colin Higgins was a screenwriter, director, and producer of films that included Harold and Maude, Silver Streak, 9 to 5, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He died in 1988.
Jon, Avondale
Breach of Promise by Anne Perry
In a sensational breach-of-promise suit, two wealthy social climbers are suing on behalf of their beautiful daughter, Zillah. The defendant is Zillah’s alleged fiancé, brilliant young architect Killian Melville, who adamantly declares that he will not, cannot,marry her. Utterly baffled by his client’s refusal, Melville’s counsel, Sir Oliver Rathbone, turns to his old comrades in crime—William Monk and nurse Hester Latterly. But even as they scout London for clues, the case suddenly and tragically ends, in an outcome that no one—except a ruthless murderer—could have foreseen.
Mary Anne, BPL Southern History
The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the richest, most prolific, and famous authors of his day, penning a staggering number of novels, plays, short stories, travelogues, and articles over the course of his life, many of which gained multiple film adaptations. While his professional life was a success, his personal life was much more tumultuous. He preferred the company of men, but was drawn to beautiful women too, eventually marrying and fathering a child. He did not stay with his family however, and spent the majority of his time traveling with his male lovers throughout exotic locations like Malaya, Borneo, and Singapore. He rarely stayed in England much, not wishing for the same fate as imprisoned Oscar Wilde, but his time spying for the British during both world wars kept him equally busy and away from an unhappy marriage. Hastings' fascinating biography pulls together many previously unseen sources newly available (at the time) on this great author, spy, and critic.
Holley, Mountain Brook
The Rat Queens
Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling,
death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing
all god's creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery
series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven
Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This
modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is
like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!
The ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table
(est. 1970)
The Stonewall Book Awards
Rainbow Book List: GLBTQ Books for Children & Teens
Over the Rainbow: LGBT Reading List for Adult Readers
The Lamda Literary Awards
The Advocate: 30 Best Books You Missed in 2015
