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< My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely > < Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us > < Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality > < Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws > < Stone Butch Blues: A Novel > < GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary > Kate Bornstein

price：~~$6.59~~
Routledge
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customer 's review
(Excellent introduction to nonstandard gender)

(Overly simplistic)

(Well-Meaning, and Sometimes Well-Done, But Often Flawed)

(She doth protest too much....)

(Good book but could be better)

Kate Bornstein's writing is a pleasure to read! My Gender Workbook is a great way to start looking at nonstandard genders if you're used to thinking in strictly binary terms. While there's room in her viewpoint for girly girls and manly men, there's definitely a bit of bias towards transsexual and genderqueer folks. The quotes from different sources in the sidebar create a variety of perspectives on gender, in case you don't identify too strongly with Kate Bornstein's personal story (which, let's face it, isn't common to most of us).

If you're already breaking the gender binary- that is, if you're the sort of person who'd be interested in this book- then likely it wouldn't provide much more than some much-needed encouragement. However, if you're new to transgressing gender, then this is probably the book for you.
I used this book in a college class, and from an academic standpoint, I found it simplistic and many of the exercises seemed pointless. Even worse, Bornstein advocates a "gender-free or gender-bent" presentation of oneself, not realizing that because society creates gender rules, becoming gender-free is still buying into those rules through one's rejection of them. I think everyone should work through their gender issues on their own and not feel bad if they do happen to be a very feminine woman or masculine man (this book assumes every reader doesn't fit into any stereotype, or if they do act stereotypically male or female, it's not because they want to.) From the standpoint of someone reading this book casually, it's very affirming of our differences, but don't forget to read other gender-theory books as well.
There is stuff here that is good, and all of it is well-meaning. That said, this book is very much a mixed bag.

It suffers from having little sense of who it's audience is. I'd certainly wager that a large majority of people who are reading this book are feminists, queers, or transpeople - or, like myself, *all* of these - and a lot of it is very basic, even frustratingly so, for these people, and this simplicity often shifts back and forth with more advanced stuff. This means that the beginners who do read this may well get lost, and that the people who get the basics will get bored. A lot of it also feels simply cheesy, and even if I wasn't already familiar with the theories and practices presented, I think I would feel condescended to.

It also seems somewhat more MtF oriented than FtM; I can't really give a specific example, but it seemed to have more of a by-and-for trannygirls vibe. I suppose this is part of the problem with having the whole book on genderqueerness written by one white, MtF, middle-class person. Ze certainly tries to give voice to people of different backgrounds, and often succeeds, but having side comments and self-descriptions is different than having real input. This isn't so much an issue of specific instances; rather it's the assumption that one person's experience - any one persons experience, no matter how gender-transgressive they are - is sufficient to write what tries to be a guide to transgressing gender and identity; I think this book would have been much better as a collaboration.

That said, a lot of it is very good. It certainly will help some people understand some more things about themselves, their own (lack of) gender(s), and gender as a whole. The very least it will do is reassure trans/genderqueer/gender-variant people in it that they are not alone, no matter how much it seems so - a worthy goal.
...wow, I have to read this book for college, what is higher education coming to? So far I'm a fourth of the way through and have no idea what hir theory is. Ze says one thing and then completely contradicts hirself. Hir Gender Identity/Power Pyramid is so biased. Ze spells pyramid wrong, unless "pryamid" is some play on hir words. One of hir points is that to be at the top of the Gender/Power pryamid you must possess a well-formed, above-average-legnth penis. According to studies on Penis legnth world wide, the Irish are the most well endowed, followed by african americans. So according to Kate's pryamid the Irish should be the #1 super power in the world, followed by Africa at #2. Therefore any high ranking man in the USA must be of Irish descent.

Her pyramid has a foundation of strippers, Mr. Potato Head, aliens and cone headed midgets just to name a few. Then at the top is a white man, who has no eyes, holding a son who has no eyes. Basically Kate is evilizing the white heterosexual male who has children. It almost seems that she is creating this them vs. hir mentality in hir pyramid. In hir quizzes ze also gives gender points for being "white" and having blue eyes. Implying hair and eye color has anything to do with gender seems to be a Nazi like theory to me. Ze hirself has blonde hair and blue eyes. Sounds a bit hypocritical. Kate may be confused, that could be why there are contridictions throughout the readings. The evilizing of white, blonde haired blue eyed males seems to stem from self hatred of her former identity. She also seems to be fixated on genetalia and reproducing children, perhaps steming from the loss of her own penis, whatever size it may have been.

I beleive the point of this book so far has been to confuse you so much that you too will be at a loss for what your gender is and buy more of Kate's confusing books to try to figure it all out.
The layout of this book -- as a workbook with exercises you can do as you move through it -- makes this a very interesting way to examine gender issues in your own life. However I found two problems with the book. First, not all of the sections flow smoothly and the stream of consciousness moments can be distracting and patronizing on a few occassions. Secondly, I think the definition used of "gender" is far to broad to really give the book a solid foundation to build on. You'll find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with much of the book -- isn't that the appropriate thing for a book of self-growth?
InMy Gender Workbook,Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical guide to living with or without a gender. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, Bornstein gently but firmly guides you to discover your own unique gender identity. She also takes aim at recent efforts to naturalize gender differences, putting books likeMen are from Mars, Women are from Venussquarely where they belong: on Uranus. If you don't think you are transgendered when you sit down to read this book, you will be by the time you finish it!
Kate Bornstein's 1994 book of autobiographical theory,Gender Outlaw, drew a line in the sand about the whole boy/girl thing. "Who needs it?" America's most active transgender activist questioned. Now, inMy Gender Workbook, Bornstein has assembled a collage of simple exercises, quizzes, puzzles, and essay questions that systematically break down our ingrained ideas about how women and men--and whoever is in between--should act. Bornstein's breezy, "hey, let's all discover who we might really be" style works to make this potentially threatening material accessible and even intriguing to almost all readers. Just glance down, check out who--or what--you thought you were, and get ready to answer a few questions.
Rerations
< My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely > < Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us > < Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality > < Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws > < Stone Butch Blues: A Novel > freaks

< Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes > < Hero > < My Fair Captain > < The Assignment > < The Tin Star > < Shelter > Eric Summers

price：~~$5.74~~
Star Books Press
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customer 's review
(Treads the line between camp, sexy, and laugh out loud funny.)

(The Way Sex Should Be)

(Fun and sexy!)

(Who Knew Superheroes Could Be So Much Fun)

Maybe it's just me, but I've always found something inherently homoerotic about superheroes: the muscle worship, the spandex, the sidekicks! Unmasked looks at all of these in a creative, sexy, and often hilarious way.

In Tights, the oft-pondered but unasked question of how Superheroes manage to chew the scenery without tearing their skintight costumes gets resolved. While Heroes in Waiting explores the life of second string superheroes turned sexual role-models.

Jackel vs. Thresher shows the dynamic between a superhero and his foe, while Captain Chicken Hawk, The Bat and The Raven, and Hummingbird all highlight the lowly sidekick and his admiration for his partner.

There's more super-sex than you can probably handle in one sitting, full of lengthy descriptions of musculature and oversized members, but there's an overall tone of self-mockery in the stories. They retain the casually ridiculous and tongue-in-cheek funniness of an actual comic book. Kosher Man and the Shegatz, for example, is the story of a Jewish he-man, whose only weakness is that no food that is not Kosher can pass through his lips. Or A Dirty Job, which follows formerly popular heroes and their plot to put the new star on the scene out of business so they can return to their former glory.

As with most anthologies, not all of the stories stand out, but the winners definitely outnumber the ho-hum tales, so I can't recommend this highly enough.
I had such a fun time reading these stories. I think there is great talent in those who can combine erotica and humor: most of these authors succeed with style. C'mon, you never had fantasies about men in spandex? Or wondered if the stories of Robin needing to wear two jocks were true? Give in to the fantasy - and you will be swooping over a much friendlier Metropolis!
I really enjoyed this collection! There are so many talented writers of gay erotica and many of them have stories in this book. Of course, the erotic depictions are sexy and well, erotic. But what I wasn't expecting were all the incredibly creative and funny visions of superheroes that make up the stories in here. Two stories that jump immediately to mind are "Tights" by DesertMac and "Kosher Man and the Shegatz" by Milton Stern. They had me laughing out loud! A fun bedtime read that doesn't take sex too seriously, but seriously enough to be really good!
I thoroughly enjoyed Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes, another anthology from Eric Summers. Not only is this book hot and sexy, but also filled with humor. The fact that the various contributors used humor and funny situations made this book all the more titilating, tantalizing and erotic. Great job, Mr. Summers. Eric Summers seems to be able to corral the best erotic authors in the business for his anthologies.
Next time you are rescued from a burning building by a tall, hung, muscle-bound man in tights, will you offer your services in appreciation? Why not? Superheroes have needs just like everyone else. All you have to do is promise to protect his secret identity and try not to damage the spandex! Some things just won't wash out. With any luck, you might become a sidekick. Every superhero has a super ability, and this latest Eric Summers collection of erotic short stories highlights those incredible talents that seem to come out when the sun goes down and the bedroom door closes. But, every superhero also has a weakness. Be careful because one such superhero in Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes loses his powers if he has an orgasm. What is a boy to do?
Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes tells the stories of those hot men who are powerful in a dangerous situation and equally powerful under the covers. Try not to fall in love because the life of a superhero can be a lonely one, and the life of a heart-sick admirer can be even lonelier. Just lie back and enjoy the moment as a man with a cape and a mask takes you to new levels of ecstasy.

Featured authors: DesertMac, Jay Starre, Troy Storm, Christopher Pierce, Stephen Osborne, Kiernan Kelly, Mark Wildyr, Ryan Field, Armand, Sedonia Guillone, and Jeremiah Bodkin. Plus a special bonus: Unmasked includes a comic strip by erotic artist Henry Kujawa.

Rerations
< Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes > < Hero > < My Fair Captain > < The Assignment > < The Tin Star > freaks

< The World Unseen > < All That Matters > < Arbor Vitae > < The Help > < Twisted Reality and Deep Breathing > < Seeking Sara Summers > Shamim Sarif

price：~~$15.95~~
Enlightenment Productions
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customer 's review
(Story telling that lends itself to film adaptation)

(The World Unseen)

(Lyrical Prose)

(Love)

(Great Story)

... that isn't to say that Sarif's writing isn't detailed or internally rich. She is one of the few authors that I've read who is able to tastefully balance inner thoughts/emotions with action/setting description. She is so successful at capturing the subtelties of daily life in her characters' setting that I find myself wanting to travel to places/times that had never crossed my mind. I felt the same reading I Can't Think Straight by Sarif. This novel is simply written but emotionally complex. Stunning! Can't wait to read more by her (and hopefully meet her at SF Frontline screening of the I Can't Think Straight motion picture!)
This was one of the best books I ever read. I was fully engaged with the characters and story and found a little bit of myself in the two main characters.
Shamim Sarif appears to possess the gift of writing verse as prose and the world unseen is a fine example of this lyricism. This is not great literature but it certainly is an easy read (I read it in a single sitting), drawing you in to empathize with the characters, rooting for them to succeed. It is a captivating book and I would highly recommend reading it.

At its core is the restrained love story between Amina and Miriam, both astonished by the intensity of their feelings and the common need to break out of their oppressive worlds. It is a story of opposites - of repression and expression, questioning tradition and blind acceptance, of courage and fear, of integrity and deceit, of finding a voice and finally of choices. What really evolves from this story are these broader themes, more universal in their appeal, underscored by each of its remarkable characters as small actions either in defiance of apartheid or convention, an arcane custom or simply humor in the face of adversity. This is possibly the book's greatest strength.

Sarif is smart enough to leave an open ending relative to the era. However, there's a strong argument for a more definitive ending - one that gives the reader some greater assurance of the relationship between these women surviving.

Perhaps the movie offers some better form of closure.

This book was simply Amazing. It was so well written that after reading the first chapter I could not put it down. I read the book in three sittings. They was Sarif describes the characters and the surroundings made me visualize the things actually happening. It was a must read, and a must stay in my collection. If you haven't read this book, you are missing out on pure art.
I loved this book. I was glad to read it on my Kindle. Nice to read stories of GBL Women of color. Well done. The story was slow in the beginning, but it picked up, and I didn't want it to end. Maybe there'll be a sequel ;)
In 1950's South Africa, free-spirited Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid-led government, by running a café with Jacob her “coloured” business partner. When she meets Miriam, a young wife and mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her. When Amina helps Miriam’s sister-in-law to hide from the police, a chain of events is set in motion that changes bothwomen forever. The World Unseen transports us to a vibrant, colourful world, a world that divides white from black and women from men, but one that might just allow an unexpected love to survive.
Rerations
< The World Unseen > < All That Matters > < Arbor Vitae > < The Help > < Twisted Reality and Deep Breathing > freaks

< Mississippi Sissy > < Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy > < Call Me by Your Name: A Novel > < A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father > Kevin Sessums

price：~~$2.80~~
Picador(2008-03-04)
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customer 's review
(Moving)

(Foolish choices)

(Colorful and Candid)

(THIS Mississippi Sissy was not impressed)

(Good...not great)

This is the most moving book I have read in a very very long time. It took me through the full range of emotions--laughter to tears. It had such a hold on me I finished it in one day. It made me feel like being 11 years old again reading "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" for the first time.
Being in therapy is an excellent idea. Sharing therapy is a foolish idea. Dull-usions of writing like Faulkner make for especially bad editorial choices. I hope little Kevin feels better real soon because . . . well, poor thing.
Mississippi Sissy is the story of the openly-gay Kevin Sessum's childhood spent in Mississippi. The writing is never dull and features a cast of colorful southern personalities (most notably Eudora Welty).

Mississippi Sissy didn't reduce me to tears. It didn't connect with me on a basic level, like I think Mr. Sessums was going for. I very much enjoyed reading his story, but did not find myself identifying with it on a personal level.

The tale of growing up gay in Mississippi is undoubtedly one that could fill many volumes. Sessums condenses it into just one, and he does it very well. It is not a particularly moving story (though all the pages inhabitants are engaging), but it is a story worth reading nonetheless. I have nothing but admiration for Mr. Sessums after reading this story; he chooses again and again to be strong rather than choosing to be a victim.
I finished the book and said to myself..."eh". I was underwhelmed as I ended up feeling that I was an outsider when I was expecting to be able to relate as one who is gay and Mississippi born. The story seemed more about impressing those who wrote the glowing forwards for the book with never ending references to authors, plays, and insider thespian references that the vast majority of the reading audience could/would not relate to. I could not relate to Mr. Sessum's plight as he shows nothing of himself as an adult gay man nor does he reflect effectively on what he experienced and what he learned from it. The plot is heavy on childhood and then jumps to a few teenage snippets.

I think the author was more bent on impressing people of his accomplishments and association with Eudora Weltey then with bringing himself in line with his readers. It all came off as a bragging right rather then a true insight on growing up gay in the deep south during the 60s and 70s. I big disappointment for all the fanfare.

I would recommend Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley any day or A Boy Named Phyllis over this one anyday.
I read this book at the urging of a friend, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. However, I would not say that it imparted to me any new insights, or startling revelations about gay life, life in the South, child molestation, death, racism, and evangelical religion. Since these things seem to be the main topics of the text, I can't say that it was a truly unique attempt.
Two elements of the text that I as a reader could not reconcile was the ever changing timeline and jumping from point to point. This ever shifting timeline does not normally bother me, if I see how it serves the writing. I did not see that here. Nor did I ever buy the extraordinarily precise memories of a 2 year old. I found some of the details that Sessums gave about that time in his life to be a little self indulgent, and perhaps too flattering.
I know a bit about some of the topics in this memoir, and this text imparted no new light or insight. It was a good book, but not a classic. Sessums skills as a writer are undeniable, but I guess considering the richness of the topics included, I was hoping for a classic.

Mississippi Sissyis destined to become an American classic

In a book that echoes the time-honored fiction of Harper Lee and Flannery O'Connor and memoirs by Mary Karr and Augusten Burroughs, Kevin Sessums brings the American South and the experiences of a strange little Mississippi boy to life.

Rerations
< Mississippi Sissy > < Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy > < Call Me by Your Name: A Novel > freaks

< I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir (P.S.) > < Candy Everybody Wants (P.S.) > < Possible Side Effects > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father > < Running with Scissors: A Memoir > Josh Kilmer-purcell

price：~~$3.01~~
Harper Perennial(2006-02-07)
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customer 's review
(fascinating and fun read)

(What's it like being a gay Drag Queen in NYC?)

(a world that is very far from my own, but very entertaining!)

(warts and all is an understatement...)

(Easily the Best Book I've Ever Encountered)

great peak into a new york life most of us will not experience ourselves, but have seen from the outside. Very entertaining, and enjoyable
This book is both a small trip of New York and an intimate and skewed look of a man looking for himself and his place in the world. His somewhat shocking job, his transformation, his partying and his relationships. It is an interesting read, and you will often feel as if you were peeking trough a window and looking at something that you probably weren't meant to see.

Overall a good read.
This book is a fast read, it is harsh, fun, sad, crazy and amazing. the writer's ability to take you into a world of drag queens, gay male escorts, crack addiction, S&M -- all with a sense of humor and honesty. The characters go through a lot in a short time, not even a year in NY and Josh had experienced tons of things.. good and not so good! I read the book in less than a week, it is a fast read, partly because you dont want to put it down, you just want to know what happens to these very flawed people. this is a great book, and one i'm very glad i was able to read.
I guess it always amazes me when people write books about their lives and just lay it all out there for the world and their mothers to see. Mr. Kilmer-Purcell pulls a chunk of his life from when he first landed in New York and covers the good--meeting a rich guy with a nice apartment, the bad--drug and alcohol addiction, and the ugly--the crash and burn when it all crashes down, a drunk drag queen the morning after, etc. As a comparison you could say it's sort of like Augusten Burroughs book Magical Drinking as they are both advertising copy guys who drink and drug a whole lot. It's funny how that particular career seems to have generated a number of writers and also amazing how they continue to drink and drug yet never manage to be fired or lose their jobs. I did enjoy the book, he has a light breezy writing style that makes the funny and sad material compulsively readable. Being a 7 foot, in heels, drag queen named Aqua definitely portends itself to riotous happenings and there are quite a few related to good effect here. But it's his addictive compulsive relationship with his hustler crack addict boyfriend that drives the story along to it's ultimate ending. The fact that he has recovered himself enough now to be a writer and columnist for Out Magazine seems like it could be a story in itself. Somehow you want to know how he managed to clean himself up after the extreme highs and lows he went through all in years time, hopefully in the next non-fiction book he does he will cover it. I do recommend this book, not only as an enjoyable read but a handbook of what NOT to do when you first move to New York.
There is really not much to say about Kilmer-Purcell's 'I Am Not Myself These Days'. Simply put, it is my favorite book, a beautiful book, a book that I have read to pieces, scribbled thoughts in, and highlighted to smithereens. This book changed my life (how cliche) and I have since passed it on to no less than 10 of my friends, all of whom have written in the margins and underlined passages that scream out to them.

Read this book.

I Am Not Myself These Daysfollows a glittering journey through Manhattan's dark underbelly -- a shocking and surreal world where alter egos reign and subsist (barely) on dark wit and chemicals...a tragic romantic comedy where one begins by rooting for the survival of the relationship and ends by hoping someone simply survives. Kilmer-Purcell is a terrifically gifted new literary voice who straddles the divide between absurdity and normalcy, and stitches them together with surprising humor and lonely poignancy. As Booklist raved "as tart and funny as a Noel Coward play, for Kilmer-Purcell is especially good at dialogue, and, as in Coward's best plays, under the comedy lies the sad truth that even at our best, we are all weak, fallible fools. Again and again in this rich, adventure-filled book, Kilmer-Purcell illustrates the truth of Blake's proverb, 'The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.'"

I Am Not Myself These Daysis Josh Kilmer-Purcell's outrageously intimate memoir of a young man living a double life in the heady days and nights of mid-'90s New York City. As we follow Kilmer-Purcell through alcohol-fueled nights and a love affair with Jack, a crack-addicted male escort, he offers up an alternative universe where normal is "a Normal Rockwell painting that, if you leaned in close, would discover is made up entirely of misfits."

By day, Josh drudges off to a Soho-based advertising firm where he creates ad campaigns for corporate clients. At night, he dons live goldfish to complete the look of Aqua, a 7-foot-tall award-winning drag queen who trolls gay clubs in search of her next drink/one night stand. In between, he spends his time trying to build a stable, loving relationship with someone whose beeping pager is a constant reminder of the pair's almost inevitable fate. Yet even as Josh's escapades get increasingly absurd, Kilmer-Purcell is always there to remind us that the story we're reading is real, and that fundamental human emotions and desires are essentially universal. In the end, everyone just wants to be loved and to fit in somewhere. And while the lesson may seem hokey at times, Kilmer-Purcell's sharp wit rescues the memoir from becoming an exaggerated sob story:

The night before any major holiday is always a blockbuster night at gay clubs. Thousands... across the city fortifying themselves for long trips home where they'll be met with awkward silences, stilted conversations and cousins with whom they'd experimented with decades ago.

From start to finish,I Am Not Myself These Daysis an extraordinary journey into an amazing life. To be a fly on the wall is an adventure that should not be missed.--Gisele Toueg
Rerations
< I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir (P.S.) > < Candy Everybody Wants (P.S.) > < Possible Side Effects > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father > freaks

< Sanctuary > < Stranded > < Warming Trend > < Blue Skies > < Justice for All > < No Strings > I. Beacham

price：~~$5.42~~
Bold Strokes Books
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customer 's review
(Angst-filled suspenseful romance, ejoyable)

(Amazingly Fresh and Enjoyable)

(The Fear of Fashion)

(Wow! what a read!)

Set in the world of fast moving and competitive fashion design, the characters are lively and richly and deeply described. Very enjoyable read. The love is full of angst. Set in the traditional mold of love-hate-love scenario and time-frame, a bit predictable, but all-in-all, enjoyable.

However, for the life of me, I don't know how the title "Sanctuary", fit into the story. I must have missed the page that explained the plot into the title.

If you must immerse yourself in an alternate universe for three hours, read this.
I really had no idea what to expect with this first book from I. Beacham, but I'm always excited to read something from a new author in this genre. Beacham has delivered an amazingly fresh story that kept this avid reader hooked from the first sentence. I couldn't put it down (haven't said that in a while) and was actually sad to get to the last page. Without a doubt, I'll be reading this one again soon.

There is nothing I didn't like about this book (pardon the double-negative). The main premise is set in the fashion industry. I have no real interest in fashion (give me my jeans any day), but this was really more of a backdrop for the story than the main focus. The primary plot was about a woman (Cate Canton) who unfairly lost everything at a young age and was determined to get it back in adulthood. On the other side of the equation is Dita Newton, a woman who had love as a child but little else. Dita is now living the life Cate thinks is rightfully hers.

From the second the two meet, attraction reigns. Cate, knowing who Dita is, plans to undermine the other woman but regrets her actions almost immediately. Dita, oblivious to Cate's plight, is emotionally wounded by the other woman's actions. The book goes back and forth between present and past, which can be a little confusing at first but is manageable if you're paying attention. The best part is this really adds depth and dimensionality to the plot and improves the quality of the story immensely.

Both protagonists are well developed too. Both have solid personal and family histories, business and personal networks, and unique personalities. It's not often an author is able to make her characters seem so alive.

Bottom line - Wow. Absolutely amazing!

I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book; fashion does not intrigue me. But, having read stories by the author on the net, I knew it had to be at least well written.

Do not let the fear of fashion keep you from reading this. I don't really know about fashion, but the author lays out a believable course and it provides the backdrop to the main attraction: the characters.

Cate and Dita are revealed through their experiences, fears, and desires. The supporting characters are interesting in their own right, but Cate and Dita remain the sole couple of focus-- a nice change of pace from some of the current popular les fiction.

It's a slow unveiling of the characters, their connection and ultimate fate. In spite of that, I found I couldn't put it down-- A Page Turner-- forgive the cliche. Just the kind of Fire and Ice I enjoy. Cate is auburn haired, slight of build, but fiercely determined and focused. Dita is self protectively cool, guarded and awkward in her relationships, but beauty and brilliance propel her forward.

It feels a bit rushed at the end, and only then does any hint of cliche enter the writing.
A solid first novel and I do hope to see more from Beacham.
Time well spent.
Cate Canton is a thirty-four year old American living in Italy for the last 16 years, she has seen more than her share of tragedy. Her mother dies when Cate is just in her teens, her only sibling dies in a car crash when she is sixteen and her father becomes so remote that they become virtual strangers. Cate runs away to Italy where she studies fashion design like her mother before her. Her one goal is to destroy or take her mother's Boston fashion design house that is still owned by her father, who she has not spoken to in almost two decades. She has a fashion house of her own and success is already hers.

Thirty-something Dita Newton having survived a loveless childhood finds happiness in running and being chief fashion designer of Seraphim for the last six years, the fashion house that Cate believes was wrongfully denied her. Dita is described as generous graceful and genuine, someone who could capture even a heart of stone.

So many interesting twists and turns in this novel make this a real page turner. Lots of angst, intrigue, secrets, sorrow, drama, passion, danger and most of all love.

A totally fun read with not a few surprises.

Cate Canton has only one goal: to crush her professional rival, Dita Newton, and reclaim the future unjustly stolen from her. The only obstacle is her attraction to the woman she has vowed to destroy.

Young Cate Canton dreams of becoming a designer and running Seraphim, the Boston fashion house her late mother started. Born into a loving family, and with everything to live for, she loses all when she is wrongly accused of a crime. In the aftermath of tragedy and betrayal, Cate vows to reclaim her destiny. Fueled by revenge, she becomes a ruthless business woman who builds her own successful fashion empire, plotting to one day take over her mother's business by any means necessary.

But one person stands in her way--Dita Newton, the beautiful, gifted designer who now runs Seraphim. Cate will need to crush her lifelong adversary to succeed, but Dita strikes back in the most unexpected way--by stirring Cate's fragile, hidden heart. A contemporary high-stakes drama between two driven, passionate women.
Rerations
< Sanctuary > < Stranded > < Warming Trend > < Blue Skies > < Justice for All > freaks

< The Color of Dust > < Stranded > < Warming Trend > < Waltzing at Midnight > < Suspect Passions > < Sanctuary > Claire Rooney

price：~~$4.78~~
Bella Books
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customer 's review
(Another winner for Rooney)

I'd really enjoyed this author's debut novel, "As Far As Far Enough," and so had anticipated that I'd enjoy this one as well. I was not disappointed - in fact, I was a little surprised to discover I liked it even more than her first. The cover art of the book that I purchased (which is not the cover that's currently being shown on Amazon) led me to believe I was in for more of a "ghost story," but while there are definitely supernatural elements to the plot, it is every inch the romance. In fact, the story-within-a-story method Rooney uses to tell the tale of romances past and present made for a double treat, and even though she brought the story to a satisfying, if bittersweet, conclusion, I found myself wanting more - and I mean that as a compliment. I suppose my expectations for a ghost story were not misplaced, because I definitely found myself haunted by some of the characters long after I put the book down. I'm already looking forward to whatever Ms. Rooney has in store for us next!
Finally, fortune--and a woman--smiled on her...

More than ready to make a change in her life, Carrie Bowden has discovered a family, received a valuable inheritance and been handed a chance to start over in a new town, in her own mansion. That the interior of her new home is covered with a half-century's worth of dust doesn't daunt her rising sense of adventure.

Gillian Dumfries, the local antique dealer, is among the crew of eager helpers who want the old mansion restored to its glory days. Constantly begrimed and disheveled, Carrie is still aware that the furniture isn't the only thing being inventoried by Gillian's eyes.

Uncovering art pieces, classic furnishings and old books leads to discoveries--not always welcome--about the mother Carrie doesn't remember and the grandmother who refused to go into those dust-choked rooms for fifty years. Memories of the past stir as the haunting truths of an elegant, but repressive era leave Carrie agitated and anxious.

Gillian--confusing, attractive, unexpected--doesn't understand Carrie's increasing fears. But it's the warmth of Gillian's hands that Carrie knows she much reach for when the cold-hearted evils of the past threaten to claim her sanity as their latest victim.

Claire Rooney reveals the complexities of history, the price of forbidden passion and the joy of new love in this unique story of present and past.
Rerations
< The Color of Dust > < Stranded > < Warming Trend > < Waltzing at Midnight > < Suspect Passions > freaks

< What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality > < Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church > < For The Bible Tells Me So > < The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships > < Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America > < The Bible, Christianity,&Homosexuality > Daniel A. Helminiak

price：~~$3.02~~
Alamo Square Distributors
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customer 's review
(Good for Understanding, Bad Conclusions)

(It will really open your eyes!)

(An Absolute Must-Read)

(Excellent points)

(Sad, heretical, completely unsound theology.....)
Helminiak provides conclusive arguments for the Revisionist camp. Unfortunately for him, Thomas E. Schmidt in his "Straight&Narrow?" shows that Helminiak's arguments are weak at best. He tries to draw cultural lines that aren't there and obscure facts with "semantic truth." The fact is, someone who has very little experience in the original languages tried to jump into a major textual study with only beginners Greek and Hebrew. Schmidt's book refutes Helminiak and Countryman's conclusions while still showing, "Yes, Christian can be compassionate, loving, and still reject homosexuality as a practice and a sin." I have a close friend who is homosexual and we have been friends for years now. I believe and have shared with him that the Bible condemns homosexuality. We debate and clash with beliefs all the time, but we walk away with a hug and a "hope to see you again soon." It is amazing what compassionate people can accomplish together. My only regret is that the church has for so long been callous and un-compassionate that I fear all argumentation might be lost to the wayside due to "tolerance and acceptance" stemming from broken people. God forgive us, we have sinned; help us to truly live for You and You alone. Help us to be compassionate. Help us to stand for truth.
This book was a wonderful read! Forget everything you've heard about what the Bible says about homosexuality because this book will really open your eyes and make you think. You won't be disappointed and you'll want to share it with your friends and family! If everyone read this book, I think the world be a much more friendly and hospitable place...
Since its initial publication in 1994, this slim volume has become THE must-read book for anyone seeking to reconcile being gay and being a Christian.

Helminiak makes his case incredibly well...he goes through the Scriptures step by step to reveal and discuss the historical context and the meaning behind them.

I cannot say enough good things about this book, but if you are gay and Christian, RUN to your nearest bookstore or order a copy online immediately. It is a very easy book to read; Helminiak is not writing to scholars here but to ordinary citizens. And his conclusion that the Bible says NOTHING about homosexuality is breathtaking, and he backs it up with Scripture all the way.
This book points out what I have believed for decades; the Bible has been transalated and retranslated so many times over the millenia a lot of it is open to spin and interpretation. Whether the Bible condemns or condones homosexuality is largely irrevelent to me as the whole book is simply a bogus replica of a host of pre Judeo-Christian myths, cultures, and beliefs and in the 21st century serves as a means by which Christian bigots can base their hatreds.
From the synopsis: While cautioning against viewing biblical teaching as "the last word on sexual ethics," he stresses the need for accurate understanding of what the biblical "facts" are and concludes that "the Bible supplies no real basis for the condemnation of homosexuality."

A fundamental platform of what Christians believe is that the Bible IS the inerrant LAST word on ALL morality and ethics.

The description of the book attempts to claim that homosexuality "as we know it" was a concept lost on the ancient world. COME ON!!! Are you KIDDING me??? Where do you think we got it?? That same sex relationships just sprung up out of nowhere in the last 1000 years??

I'm sure this book makes a lot of people feel good about their struggle with reconciling what the Bible says with homosexuality. The only problem is you have to completely ignore what the Bible ACTUALLY says to swallow it.

Sad. Misleading. If you want to know what the Bible really says about homosexuality, just read it. It means what is says. It says what it means. Period.
Rerations
< What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality > < Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Revised and Expanded Edition: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church > < For The Bible Tells Me So > < The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships > < Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America > freaks

< The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant > < The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family > < Skipping Towards Gomorrah > < Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me > Dan Savage

price：~~$4.80~~
Plume(2000-06-05)
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customer 's review
(Sadly, the people who most need this won't ever read it.)

(Much more than I ever expected)

(Great insight for all couples)

(I want more!!)

(A Serious Comedy)
I ended up reading Savage's books in reverse order (I'm sure Savage would complain that to me, marriage should always come before a child), but it really doesn't matter. Savage's account of the adoption of his son is never a question of whether or not it will succeed; it's about the journal, about Savage's acerbic and insightful wit, and about the challenges and fears that come along with the process. Savage's writing is a joy to read; he's funny, smart, and self-deprecating enough to see through his grandiose front. But it's the emotion underneath, be it fear, anxiety, humor, or love, that makes the book so endearing and so memorable; the last page, as much as Dan would hate to hear me say it, is beautiful writing that brought a tear, quite literally, to my eye. It's a shame that the people who most need to read this book, and most need to understand why gay adoption is not only not a bad thing, but even a wonderful thing, will probably never pick this up.
Having read Dan Savage's columns a few times, I was prepared for this book to be witty, sarcastic and funny. However, it is so much more. It is honest, touching, and endearing. There were more than a few times where I had tears in my eyes from reading. I was completely engrossed in this book, reading over the course of a few days at every opportunity I had. I highly recommend this one.
I borrowed this book from a friend and couldn't put it down. It was informative and well written and wonderful. I laughed and cried and felt so happy to know everything worked out in the end. I would recommend this book for anyone, especially people going through infertility and adoption. Please do yourself a favor and read it
I just can't get enough of Dan Savage. He draws us into his life and paints a picture that is intensely interesting and surprisingly relatable. You can't put this book down. He's just such a skilled writer! His writing is perfectly conversational, yet, thoughtfully and intelligently written. He does a very nice job at mixing memoir with personal life philosophy.

It's completely satisfying to read as the beautiful relationship of he and his boyfriend grow as they adopt this child. Dan is admittedly not "mushy-gushy." However, you can tell how much he's completely in-love with boyfriend through the affectionate manner in which he describes their arguments and fights in that way that only people who can't live without each other fight and argue.

You finish this book feeling you personally know Dan. However, you don't, and now you're dying to be in his life!

I couldn't recommend this book more. "The Committment" is equally as good (and it's this book's sequel -- about 5 years in this book's future).
Dan Savage wrote an amazing account of the good and bad times of becoming a two-same-sex parent family. As a single gay man who is researching his potential of becoming a single gay dad, I definitely learned something from Dan&his partner's story. Dan's accounts drew a picture of possibility for me in a very funny way. Thanks Dan. If I wasn't sure about having kids before reading your book, I certainly am sure now!
Dan Savage's nationally syndicated sex advice column, "Savage Love," enrages and excites more than four million people each week. InThe Kid, Savage tells a no-holds-barred, high-energy story of an ordinary American couple who wants to have a baby. Except that in this case the couple happens to be Dan and his boyfriend. That fact, in the face of a society enormously uneasy with gay adoption, makes for an edgy, entertaining, and illuminating read. When Dan and his boyfriend are finally presented with an infant badly in need of parenting, they find themselves caught up in a drama that extends well beyond the confines of their immediate world. A story about confronting homophobia, falling in love, getting older, and getting a little bit smarter,The Kidis a book about the very human desire to have a family.

"A disarmingly frank, wickedly funny account of an ultimately successful quest to adopt a baby." --People

"Very funny . . . Compelling and moving." --Newsday
Best known for his syndicated sexual advice column, "Savage Love," Dan Savage shares his own story inThe Kid, a hilarious account of his efforts--along with his partner--to adopt a child. (Whoops, make that his boyfriend; Savage can't stand the "genderless" P-word: "Straight people and press organs that want to acknowledge gay relationships while at the same time pushing the two-penises stuff as far out of their minds as possible love 'partner.' I hated it.") Savage doesn't give an inch on the sexuality issue; it's hard to imagine that a homophobic reader would even pick upThe Kid, but if it happened, Savage's unapologetic presentation of his life would quickly scare that reader off. Which isn't to say that he paints a rosy picture of homosexual cohabitation: the very first scene finds Dan's boyfriend, Terry, locking himself in the bathroom after a fight over the music on the car stereo. The misadventures continue through each step of the open-adoption process, in which Dan and Terry get to know their baby's birth mother, and the first few weeks of parenthood.The Kidis a wonderful, charming account of real "family values" that proves love knows no limits.
Rerations
< The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant > < The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family > < Skipping Towards Gomorrah > < Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > freaks

< Orlando: A Biography > < To The Lighthouse > < A Room of One's Own > < Mrs. Dalloway (Penguin Popular Classics) > < Mrs. Dalloway (Wordsworth Collection) > < Moments of Being > Virginia Woolf

price：~~$3.02~~
Harvest Books
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customer 's review
(The freedom to write what she liked)

(A fun read)

(A Dalliance Written on Light and Air)

(4.5 out of 5: Sexuality through the ages)

(Milord! Milady!)
This book proves that Virginia Woolf could write what she damned well pleased - she had a family publishing house that published all her work (is that the same as self-published these days?) and a literary salon that the who's-who of literature at the time frequented. An enviable position to be in and not have to risk the inevitable rejection letter from a publisher who wanted more of the same that sold. At one point she even celebrates the unpublished or self-published writer by saying "while fame impedes and constricts, obscurity lets the mind take its way unimpeded."

That said, Orlando is, in my mind, Woolf herself, taking a bold romp through history, spanning the centuries from Elizabethan to Edwardian times, free of the limitations of thinking in a particular sex, yet being bound by the conventions of his/her times depending on when Orlando was either a man or a woman - all the while letting us experience life in those particular times through the lenses of Orlando's thougths and through his/her biographer's descriptions and ruminations. Woolf's descriptioons of changing landscapes (London going from a clump of derelict buildings and muddy streets in Elizabethan England to a modern metropolis during the Restoration), political systems, customs (wearing a ring and being married became prominent during Victorian times), food ( crumpets and muffins were invented in the 19th century), women's sizes ("slim was in" in Edwardian London),speech (evasive conversation was espoused in Victorian England) are told in rich flowing prose that does not stint in its use of dashes and semicolons.

Time transitions take place during sleep, while thinking or while on a long voyage at sea, where our hero(ine)remains unaged (albeit, at times sex changed) as the world changes around her.

The pompous biographer that Woolf chooses as her device for rendering the story is also a free spirit, free to comment, jump from place to place, ruminate and sidebar - all needed in order to deliver a story of this vast time sweep.

I wouldn't read this novel for entertainment, but rather as a study of what experimental fiction must have been in Woolf's day.

My one regret is that with all this going for her ( no rejection slips, write whatever she wanted) our dear Virginia had to load herself up with stones and drown herself in a river. Oh, if she would only know the travails of the writer, let alone the experimental one, of today! Should we strap boulders to our necks and jump off cliffs, or like Orlando, should we just flit back ( or forward) in time to when writers were treated with more respect and given such freedom to experiment?

[...]
Orlando is adventure, comedy, gender study and literary commentary all rolled into one. The titular character lived through four centuries. During that time he served the Queen, fell in love with a Russian princess and lost her, entertained annoying guests, spent a century roaming in his estate, sailed out to exotic places where he became a she, and came back to find that her old love had grown fat.

A host of memorable characters populated the story, gifting it with eccentric moments: the pizza was toasted in the fireplace and the rug nearby was burned, the countess sneaked in the garden and "cackled and gaffled", and the sea captain was lured to chivalry by Orlando the lady's legs. The narrative is not as experimental as Woolf's earlier novels, but the prose is still intelligent and evocative. Woolf's laid-back style also makes the novel an easy, comforting read when you simply want some light entertainment.

By far Virginia Woolf's most lighthearted and appealing book. But it is also by far her most profound meditation on reading and writing, identity and art, history and time.

Strictly speaking "Orlando" is a pseudo literary biography that mocks literary biography (and representation in general). In place of a person Woolf creates a fantastic hybrid and the metamorphoses that occurs simply underlines the unreality, the utterly fabricated nature, of her creation and of all writerly creations. But its also much more than that for Orlando allows Woolf the opportunity to comment on one of her own creations as she is creating it. The writer transforms the world with her words but she is also transformed by the words that she uses. In this way one can view reading and writing as ongoing metamorphoses.

No other book in existence so proudly announces what it is not: real. No other book calls attention to the fact that it is merely literature--a figment of a writers fancy-- in such a graceful way. And yet few books have the imaginative power to so transform the readers who encounter it as this one.
The story begins with Orlando as a passionate young nobleman in Queen Elizabeth's court. By the end, Orlando is a 36-year-old woman three centuries later. Orlando witnesses the making of history from its edge. A close examination of the nature of sexuality and the changing climate of the passing centuries. Very novel and engaging if a bit loose-ended at times.
This `romanà clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change.
However, it is written in an emotional, sentimental, superlative style: `society in the reign of Queen Anne was of unparalleled brilliance. The graces were supreme.'
Except for the first period, there are no conflicts, only rather superficial descriptions of the mood and spirits of the times. For V. Woolf, `to give a truthful account of society ... only those who have little need of the truth, and no respect for it - the poets and novelists - can be trusted to do it, for this is one of the causes where the truth does not exist.'
`Orlando' is a perfect flight from reality: `But let other pens treat of sex and sexuality; we quit such odious subjects as soon as we can.' `Whigs and Tories, Liberal party and Labour party ... should be left to the historian.'

This book is a clean, introvert, aristocratic, long ode to pure Beauty.
Only for Virginia Woolf fans.

In her most exuberant, most fanciful novel, Woolf has created a character liberated from the restraints of time and sex. Born in the Elizabethan Age to wealth and position, Orlando is a young nobleman at the beginning of the story-and a modern woman three centuries later.“A poetic masterpiece of the first rank” (Rebecca West). The source of a critically acclaimed 1993 feature film directed by Sally Potter. Index; illustrations.

In 1928, way before everyone else was talking about gender-bending and way, way before the terrific movie with Tilda Swinton, Virginia Woolf wrote her comic masterpiece, a fantastic, fanciful love letter disguised as a biography, to Vita Sackville-West. Orlando enters the book as an Elizabethan nobleman and leaves the book three centuries and one change of gender later as a liberated woman of the 1920s. Along the way this most rambunctious of Woolf's characters engages in sword fights, trades barbs with 18th century wits, has a baby, and drives a car. This is a deliriously written, breathless-making book and a classic both of lesbian literature and the Western canon.
Rerations
< Orlando: A Biography > < To The Lighthouse > < A Room of One's Own > < Mrs. Dalloway (Penguin Popular Classics) > < Mrs. Dalloway (Wordsworth Collection) > freaks

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