Recent Books Articles
The Atwood Anomaly
The acclaimed author comes to Lisner
For the novice, mention of Canadian author Margaret Atwood likely conjures thoughts of The Handmaid's Tale, her 1985 novel of an America at war with itself, with right-wing Christians governing the Republic of Gilead with a sort of repression Pat Robertson could only dream of. You might have to know her work a bit better to have read her response to police raids on gay bathhouses in Toronto decades ago: ''What do the police have against cleanliness?'' Somewhere between those ...[more]
Bundle of Grief
Andrea Askowitz's 'Miserable, Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy'
For the first few months of her pregnancy, Andrea Askowitz didn't know what was wrong. ''I just felt really anxious and angry and just not myself at all,'' says the 40-year-old Miami resident and author of My Miserable, Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy. Andrea Askowitz ''Like my best friend wanted to come over... and I was like, 'God, I cant be around you, I have to fart,''' she says with a laugh. ''I just hated everybody and everything.'' Turns out, Askowitz was ...[more]
Jordan Airs
Actor and author Leslie Jordan joins Gay Men's Chorus of Washington's 2008 Spring Affair
In the early 1990s, long before taking on the role of Karen's sassy rival, Beverley Leslie, on Will & Grace, or Brother Boy in Sordid Lives, Emmy Award-winning actor Leslie Jordan was reaching under his bed for inspiration among the hundreds of journals he's written since his youth in Chattanooga, Tenn. He was crafting his first one-man show. Leslie Jordan ''I keep them under my bed, because I always thought when I was a kid that that's where the monsters ...[more]
Twisted Sister
Christopher Rice's new novel packs in so many twists and turns, it ventures into the realm of unbelievability
There are a lot of surprises in store for readers of Christopher Rice's new novel, Blind Fall, not the least of which is that it's quite engaging -- even if one aspect of that engagement is seeing if the next twist is going to completely break the binds of believability. As a gay author, the most obvious synopsis of Rice's book would be to say that it's about gays in the military, since a gay Marine is central to the ...[more]
Teen Tales
Alex Sanchez's sixth book, 'The God Box'
Alex Sanchez, the former metro Washingtonian who has made a name for himself writing a number of novels dealing with gay teens coming of age, recently published his sixth book, The God Box. While the gay coming-of-age is still there, The God Box explores faith to a greater deal than Sanchez has in the past. That exploration may have come to a head during his recent U.S. book tour, which included an invitation to speak at a Catholic high school ...[more]
Plot Tease
There are enough inventive plot points and unique choices in Chris Beakey's debut novel, ' Double Abduction,' to make it well worth your time
There are certain books I only buy when rushing to catch a plane. They're usually mystery/suspense thrillers featuring a persecuted main character, a sympathetic authority figure who befriends the protagonist when no one else will, a bad guy, and some ''I didn't see that coming'' twist. I'm not the only one who calls these ''airport books'' -- apparently ''plane read'' has joined ''beach read'' in the literary genre. They're fun, they're a great way to pass the time, and they're ...[more]
Heroic Exploits
Delving into the life of a young, gay superhero, Perry Moore's 'Hero' is a wonderful combo of reality and fantasy
Maybe it was the tights, but something about superheroes fascinated me when I was a little boy. I certainly wasn't alone in this interest. My friends and I used to play with our Superman, Spiderman and He-Man dolls -- er, action figures -- all the time. But at what point did I realize that while my friends dreamed of being superheroes, I longed to be with one? Having left the comic-book world behind as I grew older, it wasn't until ...[more]
Fairy Tale
Robert Rodi weaves a satiric tale of body-switching that highlights -- and bridges -- the gulf between generations in 'When You Were Me'
Oh, to be young again! That's the sentiment driving Robert Rodi's new comic novel, When You Were Me (). Jack Ackerly is 53. He spent his youth beavering away at establishing his own public-relations firm, hitting the jackpot when he sold it to a multinational company for a ridiculous amount of money. But, Jack discovers, a 13-room condo in Chicago can't bring you happiness when your lover of 21 years has stepped out of the relationship. The dating game is ...[more]
A Friend Indeed
After 18 years, Armistead Maupin brings back one of his most beloved 'Tales' characters for a moving epilogue
Hello, old friend. If you're a fan of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series, it's impossible to pick up his new book, Michael Tolliver Lives, and not be torn between tearing through the pages to see what happens next and dreading what is actually contained inside. It's been 18 years since we last left the oddball family of Barbary Lane. That's a long time. Will we still remember them? Will they even still be alive? More importantly, will Maupin's ...[more]
Sissy Fuss
A memoir of growing up different in the South, 'Mississippi Sissy' is full of moments that don't quite create a whole
A freak and a sissy. Not to mention an orphan and, most challenging, a Southerner. Such was the childhood of Kevin Sessums, best known for his celebrity profiles that have graced the pages of Vanity Fair for years. Having moved on to more Allure-ing pastures, Sessums turns the spotlight into the mirror and examines his own past in Mississippi Sissy. For a man who has interviewed personalities ranging from Barbra Streisand to Angelina Jolie, his memoir contains no celebrity dish. ...[more]
