Read this one as part of Allstora's (Very Gay) Book Club. I was hoping for a quick, easy, and fun read given that it had been a hell-ish stretch ... s Read this one as part of Allstora's (Very Gay) Book Club. I was hoping for a quick, easy, and fun read given that it had been a hell-ish stretch ... so bad that I didn't even pick up a book for about 6 weeks, which is definitely my longest reading "break" of my adult life. Given that, it may explain that I still wasn't in a great head-space and ultimately didn't have a great reaction/experience with this one despite it being a quick, easy, and at times... fun read.
I likely wouldn't have picked up this book if it wasn't automatically sent to me. Self is a writer/performer, but I am guessing for most ... including me... not someone you have ever heard of, tho guessing I may be too old as I am guessing he has a cult following in the gay community. I've run in to this before with memoirs of folks who aren't household names in that I really don't care about reading about their sex life. Now if it was the same stories written by say Ricky Martin , that would have ... ahem!... piqued my interest much more, so to speak. Likewise, when you don't "know" the person you are reading about in order for the book to work you have to enjoy spending time with them or latch onto something personality-wise, and that just wasn't the case here. It just kind of all got old quick for me.
So yes, a pretty bitchy take ... but again, Self had a very steep hill to climb in order to break through my real-world woes. I am sure many others would enjoy Self's tales and humor. Unofficially 2.5 stars for me, but a goodwill round-up to a 欧宝娱乐 3 stars for being the first book I finished in pretty long time.
My first delivery from AllStora's "Very Gay Book Club" selected by gay historian, Dr. Eric Cervini. If this book is any indication of the quality of b My first delivery from AllStora's "Very Gay Book Club" selected by gay historian, Dr. Eric Cervini. If this book is any indication of the quality of books Cervini is picking, it's going to be a great (and very gay) reading year. I felt like I had read Haslett before, but apparently that was not the case - but this felt like one of the best written books I've read in a long time. It has a lot of layers and requires a decent amount of attention span, which I am considerably lacking these days (for those reading this hopefully in the future, it's the first weeks of the second T&ump administration), but I was still absorbed by this tale of an asylum lawyer (Peter, who is gay) and his mother (Ann, also gay) and a secret from his past.
What keeps me from giving this a top rating was that I felt there was some extraneous stuff, like Peter's many (many!) asylum cases, where only one case is a thread throughout the novel -- and it didn't quite have the closure/resolution ... or maybe, total satisfying conclusion. So it's a case where I probably enjoyed parts more than the proverbial "whole" of this one, but again those parts were very, very good and Haslett can write! Again, I think a case where my mental capacity isn't quite there these days for reading, let alone having cohesive enough thoughts to write up something here (it's taken me over a week after finishing the book, to do this!).
Again, very encouraged that I was at least able to enjoy a somewhat complex book again -- as well as looking forward to more "very gay" reads from annual/book-a-month Allstora subscription. ...more
I read this one as part of the 2025 Tournament of Books (ToB), though it had been on my radar since it's publication in early 2024. I always like that I read this one as part of the 2025 Tournament of Books (ToB), though it had been on my radar since it's publication in early 2024. I always like that ToB forces my hand a bit to get to books that I want to read but just can't or didn't get to during the year. So I was looking forward to this one, especially given its high ratings (4.12 here at the time of this writing) and my 欧宝娱乐 friends here also lauded it (for the most part), but as you see I feel like once again I missed the proverbial boat on a beloved book,
I thought the concept was very good/intriguing, an "alien" from another planet born here on Earth as a girl and, once she grew up enough, ultimately reporting back to her superiors (via a fax machine no less!) about human behavior. A fun concept and while it was an enjoyable enough read and sporadically very good and insightful, I just did 'get' the point -- though for me, the novel ended strongly, but for me it took too long to get that my full engagement had flat-lined before getting there.
So again, given the high ratings and praise from others I never want to discourage folks from reading books that end up not being a good fit for me (or a good fit for me at the current time.... and I've been struggling to connect with books for several months now), but this was a pretty solid "liked it" 3 stars. ...more
This one came to my attention making the Booker Prize longlist and also many year-end (2024) best lists, but it was its inclusion in the 2025 Tourname This one came to my attention making the Booker Prize longlist and also many year-end (2024) best lists, but it was its inclusion in the 2025 Tournament of Books that finally got me to read it. It is an interesting concept, the story of 8 teenage girl boxers (now that's a sentence you don't read/see every day) told via their matches in the ring at a national tournament in Reno, Nevada. During each match, we learn about their pasts and even futures, along with what got them in the ring. The focus of this is never really about the boxing, so if that is a potential scare-off you don't have to worry about that -- but that, said its lack of use makes it feel like a convenient device (versus say a creative one). I also found that if I didn't read each boxing match in one sitting (or at least the same day), I tended to get confused which girl was which ... and it also felt a tad repetitive after awhile. That said, it was still good/interesting enough and I "liked" it (thus 3 stars), but maybe slightly surprised over all the (more intense) love and praise. ...more
As a gay middle-aged man, reading this one was pretty much a requirement -- in fact, I feel like one of my earliest memories is watching the Sonny & C As a gay middle-aged man, reading this one was pretty much a requirement -- in fact, I feel like one of my earliest memories is watching the Sonny & Cher show (and even, The Cher Show), so Cher is someone who I feel like has been a part of my entire life. As one hopes with most memoirs, there is a lot to learn here and a decent amount of juicy tidbits. The only thing I feel like I probably need to explain here, is why "only" 4 stars instead of 5?
Well, this is a two-part memoir with the second part being published late 2025 and while I appreciate Cher splitting things up a bit and not making this a 1,000-page memoir like Streisand's, I still think it could have been done in one volume. I think there is too much time/pages spent on her childhood and it is a bit of a slog and repetitive and, at least initially, the writing didn't "sound" like Cher. I was never under any illusions that Cher wrote this herself (you only had to follow her on Twitter/X to know how she writes/things), but still I was discouraged when I found myself not enjoying the first chunk of the book. Thankfully things take off when Cher meets Sonny, the book becomes breezier and the "Cher-isms" that us fans know and love started to emerge. I still wouldn't call this a stellar-ly written memoir, but it ultimately was the guilty pleasure I was looking and hoping for. Meet me back here in about a year, to see what I think of Part 2! ...more
My last "official" read of 2024 motivated by it being included in the 2025 Tournament of Books (ToB), being selected at the 欧宝娱乐 Readers' Choice My last "official" read of 2024 motivated by it being included in the 2025 Tournament of Books (ToB), being selected at the 欧宝娱乐 Readers' Choice for Favorite Fiction, a current 4.17 average rating (on a stunning ~166k ratings!), plus getting it on a pretty good e-book sale. This was definitely an easy and, despite some serious undertones, fun read, but one that I am slightly baffled by the just presented laudatory evidence. It was good, but I don't feel like it was *that* good. It just all smacked of at time slapstick-ish romantic comedy (or more sitcom-ish as some potentially romantic comedy tropes were not fully executed on) with unrealistic situations and character behavior. It will certainly make a great and very popular movie or streaming limited series (I think it may have already be optioned?) and ride on the coattails of some good casting (say Nicole Kidman, since she's in everything... or any of the Big Little Lies female cast!).
Again, I'm feeling kind of Scroogy here as there is nothing 'bad' here and its obvious a lot of folks loved this book, but I guess I was just looking or hoping for something more. I felt like the premise and "bones" was good. I wish I bought more into Lila and Phoebe's "friendship" or that Phoebe's emotional/mental health arc didn't move quite so much at warp speed. I feel like I have read plenty of books where an author convinced me of some very unrealistic things, but here they just wore thinner and thinner as the story progressed. An unofficial 3.5 stars, but a 欧宝娱乐 round-down to a "liked it" 3 stars.
To start off this "review" of Mammoth, the last book in Eva Baltasar's Triptych trilogy (perhaps a redundant phrase?), I'll include what I had to say To start off this "review" of Mammoth, the last book in Eva Baltasar's Triptych trilogy (perhaps a redundant phrase?), I'll include what I had to say about the first book I read in the series ("Boulder"):
"This is a bold, unapologetic, simmering, seething examination of relationships, pregnancy, and motherhood -- and Baltasar doesn't pussy foot around, be prepared for some (brief) strap-on sex scenes as if you are not ready for that you will definitely not be ready for a scene late in the novella that might have physically made my jaw drop."
That quote could apply to all three of the slim but powerful novellas in this series, well not necessarily the strap-on sex, but there is always some frank sex and some very shocking actions going on with each of these lesbian lead characters. They can be read in any order (I did "Boulder" (Book #2), Permafrost (#1), and Mammoth (#3)) and are independent stories, but linked by the themes and tone of the first sentence of that previous paragraph. But each contain stories and settings that feel new and fresh to me and slightly uncomfortable, tho in a "good" way. Tho I still wonder what Baltasar is working through with these novels as I believe I read she is happily married (to a woman) and with kids, because these are not very loving takes on relationships and motherhood, but again that's what makes this series interesting.
I still think "Boulder" is my favorite out of the three, but again all good in different ways. I'll look forward to see what Baltasar does outside this series (and kudos to translator Julia Sanches who worked on all three books as well). ...more
Pretty comprehensive and entertaining look at the history of reality television, including its genesis in the earlier days of television. Ultimately t Pretty comprehensive and entertaining look at the history of reality television, including its genesis in the earlier days of television. Ultimately this was a mixed bag for me. I was quite a fan of reality television when it boomed and for probably a decade or so... so many of the stories about the first season of Survivor and Big Brother, along with MTV's The Real World were pretty interesting for me. But my other "favorites" like The Amazing Race, American Idol, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, and I'm sure many others don't get much print here... and not that that's a criticism, there is/was just SOOOO much reality there is no way for Nussbaum to cover it all -- and again, she is just concentrating on main genre groundbreakers -- so shows/genres that I had/have not interest in like Cops or The Bachelor(ette) remained sections that I tended to skim through.
I can't quite pin down when I/we stopped watching reality, but for us it just got "old"/repetitive and manipulative... tho that manipulation is something that Nussbaum addresses and a topic that I found interesting. I am not sure if her "thesis" is that the world we're living in a result of reality television, but I am sure it's not a coincidence that the book ends with a dissection of The Apprentice and the former and now future US president. If you follow my "reviews" here, you won't be surprised that I am flabbergasted by this -- and even if we didn't know anything more about that man other than the stories Nussbaum shares here seems like it would be disqualifying enough, but alas here we are. But yeah, my disgust about the manipulation and the rewarding of bad behavior (it gets screen time!) that are hallmarks of reality television (and I'll also add the rise of the anti-hero in dramatic television ala Tony Soprano and Walter White -- two of the best shows ever, but still...) helps to explain why we are where we are. This book also prompted a revelation that our recent abandonment of watching 24-hour news channels is in part due to the talking heads panels probably reminding me too much of the "Housewives" genre (yelling over each other, getting a "viral" sound byte, etc.).
So I am rambling here now -- but again, Nussbaum does a good job here in documenting this reality phenomenon, but again my interest about individual shows and genres (notably dating shows) knocked a point or two off things (again, not Nussbaum's fault -- she's just reporting, but not an engaging reader experience for me at times). And again, it was all ultimately depressing as it just feels like so many of the ills and evils of some of the reality genres is the "real" world we're living in... again, not Nussbaum's fault, but probably not the encouraging or uplifting read I needed right now (but I should have know better, ha!). Round up to 4 stars for Nussbaum completing (or at least tackling) the assignment, but probably an unofficial 3.5 stars for me for overall enjoyment and reading experience. ...more
Unpopular review alert. I had this one on my to-read list for almost a year and have many of my online peers love it, then it made the Booker Prize lo Unpopular review alert. I had this one on my to-read list for almost a year and have many of my online peers love it, then it made the Booker Prize longlist (tho not the shortlist) and with 4.31 欧宝娱乐 rating (at the time of this writing) I was excited to get to it. But alas this one was likely another victim of hype/high expectations, which is not fault of the author ... but it is what it is. The bones of this novel are fine and Matar is a gifted writer, but this one was too much of a slow burn for me. On top of that I have been in a daze since the 2024 presidential election and no book as of yet has been to break though that mental haze, dissatisfaction, disappointment, and low energy. The book started strongly enough, but my attention span and care level felt like it floated away like a helium balloon the further I got the book. So again, I feel this is largely a case of likely the "right" book at a very wrong time -- tho I am sure, I don't have the motivation to tackle it at a better time (and given those election results, who the heck knows when that "better" time will arrive).
Besides Matar's prose, other positives were that I felt I learned a little bit more about Libya politics and history and life as an expat/refugee in London. There were parts of the novel that I did connect with, but again not enough and not the ones that I think were the important parts to "get" in being able to enjoy this novel, as again it appears many folks were able to. So again, don't necessarily trust this review -- but if you struggled with it or wondered "what did I miss?" you have a comrade with me. Oh, and 5 stars for the cover ... which was the primary reason that motivated me to get the hardcover edition. ...more
I'll admit to getting "influenced" to read this one thanks to book-related social media as well as it making it onto the longlist for the National Boo I'll admit to getting "influenced" to read this one thanks to book-related social media as well as it making it onto the longlist for the National Book Award. While it started off for gangbusters for me, my feelings about it dwindled or should I saw I grew exhausted over these angsty, very "online" stories of isolation and ... spoiler alert... rejection of Gen Z-ers and Millennials. So a big part of my mixed feelings about this one is just that I felt too waaaay old for it. Again, I appreciated the insights it was giving me to these younger generations who "live" more online than in the "real world" - but it got to the point at times that it was unreadable for me, particularly the main short story (70-ish page novella?) "Main Character."
It was honestly approaching a DNF for me, but I soldiered on and then Tulathimutte threw in a twist/flip of a last very "meta" story that almost suggests ... or maybe it's the point of the collection?... that the reader was supposed to reject this very book/collection. So I was impressed with that ... again, wonder if that is truly his intention... but it still all felt a bit too show-off-y for me. Likewise, the stories (loosely linked and... autobiographical (???) at times) were very provocative, ballsy, and explicit... but again, so much that I feel like Tulathimutte was testing the reader patience and tolerance and where their line is to be crossed. I appreciate the swinging for the fences, but again too much for me -- but that said, Tulathimutte is a literary star and might just have his finger on these younger generations and maybe gives some insight on why this 2024 presidential election turned out the way it did - where a hope-filled, aspirational message for the future was ... rejected. ...more
Finally getting to this one after owning it for years, but buoyed by its recent renaissance having seen Patrick Radden Keefe at the 2024 Santa Fe LiteFinally getting to this one after owning it for years, but buoyed by its recent renaissance having seen Patrick Radden Keefe at the 2024 Santa Fe Literary Festival, having this book named one of the NY Times Top 100 books of the 21st Century (by both editors and readers), and preparing for the limited series that just dropped on FX/Hulu/Disney+. Glad to finally have a bit of a better understanding of The Troubles in Ireland (and Ireland history itself) and so wonderfully done in the hands of Raddent Keefe's always impressive and immersive narrative non-fiction.
While learning about the IRA and The Troubles was interesting, I almost was more interested in the aftermath and legacy and lives of some of the main players and particularly how he threaded the story of "disappearance" of Jean McConville throughout the book. I'm knocking off a star (probably less if fractional stars were allowed here), as I still found keeping the characters straight other than again the main players of the Price sisters and Gerry Adams and maybe still didn't totally understand all the history and politics involved (which granted was not Radden Keefe's purpose/intent here). But still a very good b0ok that was both an education and a captivating read.
p.s. One other humorous thing I learned here was, after having seen the cover of this book for years, that it's a picture of a young woman not a young man! ...more
This is my 7th Strout having read most of the books in the "Stroutiverse" about these characters (have an e-book of "The Burgess Boys" that need to ge This is my 7th Strout having read most of the books in the "Stroutiverse" about these characters (have an e-book of "The Burgess Boys" that need to get to!) and pretty much she can do no wrong in my book. These books are so comforting and just hit the spot for me on aging and the struggles of life, which granted doesn't sound comforting -- but Strout just hits on some truths that are always, perhaps increasingly, relatable to me with my own aging as well as that with the parents that are still around.
While it smacks a bit of fan fiction where we finally have Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton and Bob Burgess interacting with each other in the fictional Maine town of Crosby, it was still very satisfying. Tho I really have a hard time getting Frances McDormand out of my head having played Olive in the HBO limited series and Laura Linney who was in a stage production of the first Lucy Barton book ... not sure why these haven't made the move to the small screen, but a boy (or middle-aged gay man) can wish!
I also feared it was going to dip into "cozy mystery" status with the case that Bob takes on, tho it managed to dodge that ... plus the "mystery" being a bit too dark and disturbing to be considered "cozy." But fortunately, it managed to dodge that as well. And one consistent Strout oddity is just randomly throwing in an odd LGBTQ tidbit that feels very awkwardly handled. In this one, it is the cross-dressing son of one of the characters, which granted does not necessarily make it an LGBTQ thing. I feel like Strout is trying to be inclusive, but again I find these little details are a rare miss-hit for her.
Overall, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I am landing on 4 stars here, tho if I could, I would probably bump it up fractionally a bit more as again these books just feel like spending time with old friends (even if they're annoying sometimes) and what's better than that!...more
This one is a bit of Goldilocks syndrome for me -- a bit too much on some stuff, not enough on some other things and also not quite the book I was exp This one is a bit of Goldilocks syndrome for me -- a bit too much on some stuff, not enough on some other things and also not quite the book I was expecting (which is my fault vs. Senna's). So I was expecting a bit more of a satire on race (or being bi-racial) as well as re: the TV industry, it's there but "not enough" for me (tho satire is a tough tightrope to walk and everyone has their own tolerance level for it). And I'll just be intentionally vague here as it's pretty problematic for a middle-aged white guy (tho gay!) to criticize how a bi-racial author addresses race in her novel, but it's an aspect that didn't quite work for me ... again, a bit of Goldilocks that I would have preferred it to be either more direct/confrontational or more on the sly, but again it was in this fuzzy middle area for me.
This was also a test of unlikeable characters as this novel has no shortage of with. I know folks like to say they don't mind unlikeable characters in theory, but then when faced with them find it's hard to like the novel. I didn't "enjoy" the main character, but alas there is a relatable aspect to her -- tho again, much of the tension of the novel is created by her (unnecessary?) lies. It's all kind of cringe-y/train wreck-y, but admittedly page turning too.
Finally, while there was buzz about this novel on its own, I have to admit what played a not insignificant part of this one getting into my hands and flying up my TBR list was that Senna is married to one of my favorite authors, Percival Everett. I have been floored by his works for years now, so rightly (and probably more wrongly!) that raised my expectations for this one -- that again, may have not quite been met. I wish I came into this one with a bit more a blank/clean slate -- but it was still quite good and entertaining. Unofficial 3.5 stars with a 欧宝娱乐 round-up to 4 stars (so see, still pretty darn good and very discussion-worthy)! ...more
I think my love affair with Isabel Dalhousie may be over. Think it's a case where I may have been charmed by her quirks in the past, but in this 9th iI think my love affair with Isabel Dalhousie may be over. Think it's a case where I may have been charmed by her quirks in the past, but in this 9th installment they just all ended up being annoying. Tho always well-intentioned, increasingly it seems she is just not very nice to anyone in her life these days. Also, in the past it seemed at least there was some self-awareness of her own quirks but again that has seemed to slip away in been judge-y and/or passive aggressive.
I have used these books as a literary palate cleanser in the past -- something light, fun, quick. While those elements certainly were still there, I still struggled through this one more than ever.
I read these last two installments as bookends to a vacation/trip to Isabel's hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was nice to finally have the visuals. But again, I think this may be it for me and the series (tho never say never). Tho I will worry about Jamie, Grace, Eddie, and heck even Cat and how they're dealing with Isabel!...more
I pre-ordered this one back over the summer when I thought/hoped it might provide a bit of a salve for the 2024 Biden-T&ump rematch election, which wa I pre-ordered this one back over the summer when I thought/hoped it might provide a bit of a salve for the 2024 Biden-T&ump rematch election, which was looking pretty bleak at the time. And not that that bleakness has necessarily changed, but what a difference a few months makes. Clinton, near the end of the essay collection, states that she hopes to live to see the first female President ... and I'm guessing not many of us, myself included, thought we may be on the cusp of that happening this year with Kamala Harris. But I digress...
As expected, this book is excellent and informative. Rodham Clinton is a public servant, nerd, and wonk at heart... and still right about so many things going on in this country and world and truly living the mantra as her Methodist upbringing instilled in her to: 鈥淒o all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can.鈥� She certainly has her faults and Achilles heel(s), but I am always impressed by her intelligence and drive to get things done.
I won't say I didn't have hesitation going into this one as again, much like the author herself, I still have a lot of PTSD of the 2016 election and aftermath, which continues to this day. But "funny" enough, the emergence of Harris as the Democratic nominee of President was triggering/deja vu enough to ratchet up the anxiety over another nail-biting election and getting my hopes up that an, intelligent, experienced, compassionate, (I can go on for days, but I won't!) can defeat a man who somehow manages to be a worse and even more unqualified candidate for the top office in the land.
Thankfully, much of the book isn't about 2016 or even T&ump ... tho it's certainly addressed directly in a few chapters and sprinkled in throughout (i.e. wearing purple in honor of suffragettes for her concession speech) -- tho there was one chapter where Rodham Clinton pretty much does a fan fiction of what a second T&ump term would look like, and while I intellectually understand and (sadly) agree with what Rodham Clinton presents, I'll admit I skimmed over most of it.
I wish more folks across the political spectrum would read this book to see what type of person Rodham Clinton is, but we all know that ain't happening... so this is just for her fans, and while parts of this book will be moot post-election there is still a lot of "new" stuff too (i.e. trying to get women out of Afghanistan, her work with the Clinton Global Initiative, etc.) that still makes this a worthy read. ...more
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