price：$5.10
Bloomsbury USA
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A Tale of Two Novels) 『For me, The Line of Beauty has a sharp dividing line between a novel I was bored by and a novel I enjoyed very much.
The entire novel is very well written. Hollinghurst conceives what is a very interesting concept. The main character, Nick Guest is a middlish class young man who has graduated from Oxford and is now staying with a very rich family of an univesity classmate headed by a Conservative member of parliament. Nick is openly gay and just beginning to act on his desires.
The world of the rich that Nick inhabits consists of characters that could have existed in any Jane Austen novel despite the time being the late 20th century. The Lords, Ladies, Dukes etc. don't seem to act much differently than their families have for centuries. This backdrop contrasted with Nick's journey into gay sexual promiscuity should make for an interesting combination. It doesn't really work for me though. I found the focus on the societal norms of the circle he interacts with to be frightfully boring. I found the first 250 or so pages to be really hard work. If I'd reviewed the book after 250 pages, I would have said well written, good concept but poor execution.
The last third of the novel really turns things around. The plot points are more interesting. The spectre of AIDS becomes a big part of the picture. Additionally scandal touches the family and friendships are tested. Nick's societal acquaintances really start to realize that perhaps he isn't the right quality of person to be interacting with.
The great scene that marks the turning point is when the head of the family that Nick is staying with holds a large party where Margaret Thatcher is the guest of honor. It is an very well written extended scene where 1980s Thatcher Britain is captured at a point in time. From this point on, I very much enjoyed The Line Of Beauty.
Several people have remarked that there's a lot of gay sex. I'd simply say the lead character is a young gay man who is learning to express his sexuality. What the heck would you expect? The gay sex scenes are not particularly explicit and fit quite well in the story.
Overall, I recommend the book but the boredom factor in the first part make it a reserved recommendation.』
(Lovely rendering of a young man learning to love and live in his 20s encompassing the bigger themes in 1980s London) 『The Line of Beauty... It's difficult to find words that do it justice. Nick Guest is a young man just out of Oxford, one who doesn't quite belong to that rarified world of his classmates, and who yearns for it in a way only someone who doesn't belong can. At the start of the book he has just moved in with one of his Oxford's classmate's family, the Feddens, in a gorgeous house in a posh part of London. Gerald Fedden, the patriarch, is a rich charismatic MP (though not titled) and his wife Rachel is elegant, serene, the daughter of an Earl, and a wonder to Nick. Their son, Toby, Nick's friend, is the picture of good-natured British privilege - he takes it all for granted and his simplicity is a foil to Nick's complexity. The Fedden's daughter Catherine is emotionally closest to Nick. She is self-destructive, an ex-cutter, and scorns the world her parents and brother so easily move in. Hollinghurst paints a stunning and absolutely exacting portrait of the world these characters inhabit and their interactions with each other. Nick meanwhile is also discovering his own sexuality and falls in love with a young man Leo during these formative years. The book occurs in three parts, skipping forward first 3 years and then 1 year, covering the formative years of Nick's life. This plot device is incredibly moving as it highlights the contrasts of Nick's younger self with how he changes throughout the years. As stated in the book's blurb, The Line of Beauty is a stunning examination of the issues of class, money, and sex, but it's also about beauty, the way beauty manifests itselfs and is heart-breakingly thrilling but ultimately fleeting. Beauty which is pure and shining in a brief moment of time. It is also that rare book that so perfectly captures the human condition - love, yearning, jealousy, self-loathing, fear, uncertainty, envy, lust, heartbreak, and grief.』
(On the Outside, Looking In) 『One of the biggest challenges of any novelist is to provide a perspective that's accessible to us and helpful in understanding what's being portrayed. Alan Hollinghurst has achieved remarkable results by stationing his narrator, Nick Guest, outside of all the worlds he inhabits. Guest is like a spirit rising amused over the action that can draw us a picture while recording every sound that's created or uttered.
Here are the worlds that Guest helps us explore:
-Tory MP life during the Thatcher years -Young Oxford graduates looking for a place -A young man exploring his homosexuality -Wealthy British on the make for more -Middle-aged married life -Inner life of a young manic-depressive
The book's overall theme is about everyday hypocrisy and the large price that has to be paid by those who pretend to be other than what they are and believe.
The story evolves in three time periods: 1983, 1986, and 1987. In all three years, Nick Guest resides with the family of an Oxford friend where the father is a rising conservative MP. Nick has an unofficial role as low-cost lodger to keep on eye on the friend's troubled sister. The family knows that Nick is looking for a boy friend and is open about accepting his sexuality. The three years give us a chance to learn more about the characters and to see how their relationships change. The 1987 period brings all that had been known in private into public with large consequences for all.
The book is filled with great scenes where nuances of knowledge, awareness, perception, accent, and perspective separate and unite the characters. Often, contrasting scenes occur back-to-back so that the contrasts are even more obvious. You'll gain a deeper insight into British society than you could on your own.
Ultimately, I feel that a work of fiction must be judged by how successfully it takes you into a world you have never been in before and allows you to understand that world much better. Any novel that can help me understand what it's like to be gay during the AIDS epidemic while giving me a strong sense of Thatcher's leadership has to be pretty terrific because those dimensions are outside my experience and normal reading.
As a person who enjoys art, I was most impressed by the way that the ogee was worked into the story to provide a connecting metaphor for our common humanity.
Bravo!
』
(Life among the plutocrats.) 『On one level, this exquisitely wrought novel is a social satire -- a wickedly frank view of the monetarily and politically privileged in Thatcher-era England as seen through the eyes of an insider Outsider. On a more personal level, it might be called a tragedy of manners, the first-person account of an all-too-flawed (some might say parasitic) hero whose hubris is his desire to belong. The rather too obviously named narrator, Nick Guest, seeks his place in the world among the sexually active homosexual set, the wealthy movers and shakers crowd, the aestheticist/intellectual exclusivists and the secret coterie of drug culture initiates. Nick's fall from grace stems from his careless disregard of the boundaries that separate them. AIDS, Margaret Thatcher, Henry James (Nick's thesis subject and literary godfather) and Cocaine are the spirits that reign over the proceedings, but they are not spirits who reside comfortably together.
Nick's sexual initiation with a lower-class black man takes place in the within the exclusive gated community where his hosts, the wealthy, politically ambitious Feddens, reside. Prophetically, this relationship is consummated in a chilly garden, the participants warmed by the compost heap they use for leverage. Sexual prowess and, later, drug use lead Nick to carelessness, blurring his sense of propriety. And although drugs and sex are the great equalizers that allow Nick entree into the world of his social betters, they ultimately bring about his expulsion from Society. Everything he desires, either betrays him or is betrayed by him. His college mate's family, of which he so desperately wants to be a member, actually regards him as a servant, the sister's keeper (a position at which he finally, catastrophically fails). His first lover casts him aside without explanation and his long-term partner, the stunningly handsome, wealthier-than-is good-for-him Wani, is too drug-addled and promiscuous to be capable of real love and regards their relationship as one of sexual convenience. It is this relationship that will, in the end, prove to be the undoing of Nick and those he most admires.
Hollinghurst's themes are appropriately Jamesian: the dilemma of the artist in an artless society (Wani's money-worshipping, boorish father incessantly refers to Nick as "the aesthete"), and the clash between an independent innocent and a corrupt though attractive feudal establishment. Symbolic details are handled delicately and effectively as in the case of photographic references. Nick is disappointed when a photo of his crowning moment in Society, his dance with the Prime Minister, does not appear in the tabloids. When a photo of him is, in fact, published, it is the scandalous catalyst of his expulsion from that society. And, as he leaves his long-time residence, he comes across a snapshot of his sexually unavailable schoolmate, Toby, for love of whom he came to stay in the Fedden household in the first place. The photo shows a beautiful, sexually alluring Toby as he once appeared in a school play, but whose real-life, indolent subject has subsequently gone to fat.
Nothing is what one hopes it will be and all desire is betrayal. The line of beauty is only skin deep, leaving "The Line of Beauty" a lovely portrait of unlovely, ultimately unlovable people. 』
(What a Beauty indeed.) 『In my estimation this will go down as one of the best pieces written in the English language this or any other century. I found the charaters believable and highly entertaining. I would imagine that many, many people, particularly gay men, would find Nick to be alot like themselves. I wanted to keep going back to the book, night after night as I was entranced with the story and the characters. Well written and thought provoking, what a beauty indeed.』 『
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER, WINNER OF THE 2004 MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR FICTION, AND NATIONAL BOOKCRITICS CIRCLEAWARD FINALIST
Winner of 2004’s Man Booker Prize for fiction and one of the most talked about books of the year,The Line of Beautyis a sweeping novel about class, sex, and money that brings Thatcher’s London alive.
ANew York TimesBestseller (Extended)· ALA TimesBestseller List· A Book Sense National Bestseller · A Northern California Bestseller · ASunday TimesBestseller List· ANew York TimesNotable Book of the Year
And chosen as one of the best books of 2004 by:
Entertainment Weekly ·TheWashingtonPost·TheSan FranciscoChronicle·TheSeattleTimes
Interview with Alan Hollinghurst Alan Hollinghurst's extraordinarily rich novelThe Line of Beauty. has garnered a new level of acclaim for the author after winning the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Hollinghurst speaks about his work in our interview.
price：$3.63
Harlem Moon
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A courageous eye on black male sexualiy) 『As a counselor for victimized black women, I became more and more disturbed by the high rate of HIV in my client population. One of my African-American friends educated me about the pervasive homosexuality among Afrcan-American men. The rate of homosexualiy and bisexuality among African-American men has been reliably estimated at 33%. This has created a dire situation for African-American women and African women as well. These "Down Low" activities are spreading HIV like wildfire through the female black community. The epidemic of black men having sex with each other and hiding it from their female partners is common in and outside of the United States. "On the Down Low" is a education tool and a courageous eye on an African and African-American cultural epidemic. It takes courage to admit to a problem and this problem is taking innocent female African-American lives each day. Great book! A good start in the quest for solutions to HIV! Super work!』
(Must Have Book) 『This book should be read by teenagers and adults alike. It uncovers hidden aspects of human sexuality that many of us would never think of, and it is a timely warning to beware of casual sexual encounters in this age of HIV/AIDS.』
(Great reading) 『As a former disease intervention specialist who has delivered bad news to people concerning STDs and HIV, I would say that this book is very close to what I have seen.』
(Good trendsetter, but now we have Keith Boykin, so who needs this book now) 『Great when it first came out because it was such a novel issue, but if you really want something good go to Keith Boykin. thats it. JL King fails to answer the most straightforward question his book poses: What is DL? He walks around it, then does summersaults around it, then runs circles and finally wrappes it with layers of gift wrap but FAILS to answer what Down Low is. Maybe he is being down low about the definition of Down Low.』
(All Black Woman Should Read This Book) 『I read this book in one day...I couldn't put it down. After reading this book I was discussing it with one of my guy friends and he told me that he was actually on the down low. I suspected him long ago but after reading this book...I knew and he came clean and told me. We had a lot to talk about and this book helped me understand him and what he was going through. I was truly educated.』 『A bold exposé of the controversial secret that has potentially dire consequences in many African American communities Delivering the first frank and thorough investigation of life“on the down low” (the DL), J. L. King exposes a closeted culture of sex between black men who lead “straight” lives. King explores his own past as a DL man, and the path that led him to let go of the lies and bring forth a message that can promote emotional healing and open discussions about relationships, sex, sexuality, and health in the black community. Providing a long-overdue wake-up call, J. L. King bravely puts the spotlight on a topic that has until now remained dangerously taboo. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, statistics, and the author’s firsthand knowledge of DL behavior,On the Down Lowreveals the warning signs African American women need to know. King also discusses the potential health consequences of having unprotected sex, as African American women represent an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections. Volatile yet vital, On the Down Lowis sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. “A survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that nearly a quarter of black HIV-positive men who had sex with men consider themselves heterosexual.” —Essence』 『The closer a secret is kept, the more powerful the impact once it is finally revealed. Such is the case with author and activist J.L. King's intriguing look at the lives and lifestyles of black men who sleep with other men but do not consider themselves to be gay. These men live "on the down low," the "DL" for short, and their sexual activities have gained significant notice as the rate of HIV/AIDS infection in black women has skyrocketed, with the vast majority of cases coming from heterosexual sex. King is a veteran of the DL himself and his book serves partly as a social and psychological survey of the other men he has surveyed and partly as highly candid memoir. King was well regarded in his community, popular at his church, successful in his career, and married to a woman who had no idea that his secret life existed. But when she caught him in a lie and with another man, the marriage collapsed and King's long and painful path to self-awareness began. King cites the negative image many socially conservative black men have of homosexuality as an obstacle to those men being honest with their partners and themselves about who they are. Among the more intriguing elements ofOn the Down Loware the peculiar approaches men on the DL have to the sexual act, seeking a strictly physical sexual relationship with their secret male partners while remaining in more traditional arrangements with women. Whether this discrepancy is a product of scrupulously guarded secrecy and shame or the natural preference of an understudied sexual identity is one of the numerous questions raised by this book. Though the infection statistics make the DL a huge public health issue, King is neither a sociologist nor a medical professional. And while a more clinical look at this issue would be welcome, King accomplished what he set out to do: provide light and insight into a world that so many have worked so hard to keep in the shadows.--John Moe』
price：$5.12
Kensington
Not yet published Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (worth the wait) 『To be quite honest, I am a great fan of W.J. Mann and was not disapointed with his latest book. He definitely has a way of describing Gay life, not only the party cliché so often attached to Gay guys but life as it goes, younger or older. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny but always to the point.』
("You just have to believe you can do it") 『A midlife crisis can be problematic, especially for a forty one ex-exotic dancer from West Hollywood who also harbors deep insecurities about his family, his partner and his current place in life. Photographer/illustrator Danny Fortunato is well aware that isn't wearing a thong anymore, but this doesn't stop Danny quivering with an unfocused energy as he battles forces that seem to be annihilating his quiet life, especially that of the night his sister Becky disappeared twenty-seven years before, the night when everything in his world changed and the night Danny came to understand that he would never grow up to be the man he had expected to be. Now living in Palm Springs with his older partner Frank, over the years Danny has worked hard to erase the boy he had left behind in East Hartford Connecticut and the tattered and terrible memories of his family, particularly his mother Peggy as she frantically searches for her daughter while wrapping herself in an extravagant solitude while in turn Danny is forced to tag along with his mother through motorcycle bars and strip clubs, looking for Becky. Peggy had operated on the belief that Becky's return was imminent.
From Danny's childhood in East Harvard to the present, Mann covers Danny in every manifestation, reflecting a man who comes full circle, while standing on the mother side of the divide. Dreams he realizes are not enough to distance himself from the enormity of his failures except of course when he snorted that wonderful magical powder up his nose. Mann fully embeds us into Danny's life, his journey to West Hollywood where he's determined to become a famous actor but where he ultimately finds a life dancing in sleazy g*y night clubs, dressed only in a thong, up on his box swinging his slender hips to the music, on the hunt for one sexual thrill after another as he and his colleagues snort lines of coke, "believing that someday he'd be somebody."
Danny's rock is his of love of Frank, now married for 20 years, yet the last four have been a string of silent nights. All this changes on his birthday, when Danny lays eyes on a bartender while drinking one night, the man moving with a determined concentration, his hair almost black, his cheeks covered with carefully clipped dark whispers. Hoping for a chance to speak to him and to peer into his eyes, Danny can no longer deny how hungry he really is. An artist, Kelly, seemed at first to be the personification of innocent youth and Danny is on fire for him to take his staid, stale routine and turn it around, even stand it on its head. Ostensibly meeting to look at his sketches, Kelly's face "stops Danny's breath, his eyes making his heart freeze." Danny realizes that he wants to change Kelly's life, and jumpstart his future for him.
It is Kelly who ultimately challenges Danny in a way that causes him to question his life with Frank, his personal priorities and unquestioning acceptance of the steps that have bought him to this time and place. For the first time in years, through his eyes, Danny realizes his life crisis, aching for the world of sex, for love for life, and the savoring of the necessary fiction of youth. The novel is essentially about a man who comes full circle where the dreams he realizes are not enough to distance himself from the enormity of his failures. Although Danny's present day dilemmas give Object of Desire a feel of immediacy, it is the author's depiction of Danny's past that fuel much of the emotion, that of Danny's furtive attraction to Becky's boyfriend Chipper Paguni and the realization that Peggy never liked his influence on her daughter, and also that of Danny's high school affair with the flame-haired Troy, and the inevitable collapse of his family into drunkenness and failure. Danny remains haunted by the fact that he's never told his mother what he had seen the morning of Becky's disappearance. He knew that Becky was never coming back and that for the rest of his life, he would carry the blame. Although Mann portrays an array of eccentric, believable and multi-faceted characters, that complement Danny's life in both the present and the past, I'm not sure I like Danny's world, from his kind-hearted friends to the phony Palm Springs society elite, who seem content to bleed and then lead-on the like of Danny and his ilk. The novel is often over-written, each melodramatic incident piled on top of the other and in the end Danny himself remains a rather vacuous, painfully pathetic character even as he struggles to find a voice, to reconcile his past and to ultimately remain desirable. Mike Leonard July 09.』
(Trite, tedious) 『There's little more to say. This is a book of labels, carefully noted on the clothing the characters wear, the alcohol they drink, the emotions they are reported to experience.』
(it's not fair) 『it's not fair. he writes like and angel and looks like a god. and he's done it again, created a truthful gay novel that features realistic situations and personalities, and has a happy ending. some writers just have it all and william j. mann is one of them. there aren't many writers whose new book i will automatically grab from the bookstore shelf and buy it. mann is one of them, and i have never yet been disappointed. his work is affirming, entertaining, and correct. go get this novel without delay. you won't regret it.
』
(Book of Desire) 『In the past I've been critical of author William J. Mann. While I've found his prose to be beautifully written, I've found his stories to be weak on plot and short on action. Well, he either listened (ha ha) or figured it out on his own because Object of Desire is beautifully written, has an intriguing plot and is full of action. Danny Fortunato's sister disappears on his 14th birthday and Danny's life is changed forever. Cleverly, very cleverly, told in flashbacks to three phases of Danny's life, we learn about his painful, yet surprisingly sexy high school years, to his early years in West Hollywood, to his mid-life years with a husband in Palm Springs. Despite the husband, Danny falls in love with the gorgeous Kelly (if you're reading this you already know that Kelly is a he) and it is here where Mann's book takes a wild right turn. At first, I was unwilling to accept it as simply incredulous, but then the quality of the writing took over and I was hooked once again. This is a terrific story, beautifully written and compellingly readable. There are a few minor problems. St. Francis Xavier High School in East Hartford, CT (even fictional) would be a Jesuit school and the principal would be a priest, not a brother. Who cares? You want to read this book. It will be the highlight of your summer. And, Mr. William J. Mann, bring it on!』 『-It-s always been golden for you, Danny. You-ve always been the golden boy.-
Danny Fortunato seemed to have it all. He was cute, funny, sexy, smart-the hottest go-go boy in West Hollywood. When he danced on stage, all eyes were upon him and all men desired him. But something always kept Danny from ever really believing he was the golden boy that others said he was...a secret that he'd carried with him ever since he was a teenager.
Twenty years later, living in Palm Springs, Danny is celebrating his 41st birthday-although -celebrating- might not be the right word for how he feels about his life today. To the outside world, he's still golden: he still has his looks, and he still loves Frank, his boyfriend of nearly two decades. But something is missing in his life. Passion. Romance. Adventure. The same something that's been missing ever since that day when he turned fourteen, when his sister Becky disappeared and his whole world flipped upside-down.
Now into Danny's life walks a gorgeous young bartender named Kelly, who becomes for Danny an obsession, an object of desire and fascination. But Kelly's indifference to this onetime golden boy only confirms what Danny secretly believes: that he-s -vanishing- into thin air-like his sister, so long ago.
As he reflects on his angst-ridden childhood-the shattering of his family, the sex and drugs of his youth as one of L.A.-s most coveted boy toys-Danny begins to recognize certain patterns. Somewhere along the way, he gave up on his dreams-not only of becoming an actor, but his very lust for life.
And yet-all that-s about to change, when a surprising, agonizing connection with Kelly sends Danny on a soul-searching quest to reclaim the things he has loved and lost.
Filled with unforgettable warmth, incorrigible humor, and irresistible charm, Object of Desire takes readers through three milestone eras in one man-s life-his youth in the 1970s, his days of abandon in the 1980s, and his more sober, reflective existence today-and reaffirms William J. Mann-s reputation as one of gay fiction-s major narrative powers.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Had to put it down.) 『I am a 42--year-old gay male who has been out for twenty-three years. I just got around to reading this book this past summer. I'd read a sample of it online and it caught my eye. I really wanted to like because I know what an important work it is. Unfortunately I had to put it down after about two hundred pages. I don't know why exactly--Mr. Shilts certainly could write. I don't know, I just lost interest in it. I stopped forcing myself to finish books because they were "important" or "classic" a long time ago.』
(Engaging book) 『My opinion might be a bit biased, since I am the type of person who finds epidemiology and public health facinating. That being said, this book does a wonderfull job of discribing the events and people involved in the AIDS epidemic. The book is set up chronologically, so the reader gets a sense of how disconnected the efforts were to figure out the cause of the disease.』
(history of our times) 『This was a book that had to be written. It also had to be written by Randy Shilts. It's a fantastic book and a history come alive for those who don't remember the dark days of the beginning of AIDS. I was led to this book a second time after reading The Mayor of Castro Street - the inspiration of the movie Milk. The first time I read And The Band Played On was when it was first published. I read it to get a better idea of what had happened, what were the facts of the onset of the plague and how was the community really affected. This time I was able to read it with more distance and it was a brilliant history and evoked a time long gone. It was a perfect follow on from The Mayor of Castro Street and the two are a briliant history of the times, complete with the characters that made the community what is was. For anyone under 40 the book will give a history of something they are totally unfamiliar with. For those over, it will be a rich reminder.』
(And the Band Played on by Randy shilts) 『I was a very informable book We have added it to our school library for students to read.』
(Review: And The Band Played On...) 『This product shipped rather quickly and when it arrived, it was in exactly the shape that I had thought it would be. Good purchase for the wonderful price.』 『By the time Rock Hudson's death in 1985 alerted all America to the danger of the AIDS epidemic, the disease had spread across the nation, killing thousands of people and emerging as the greatest health crisis of the 20th century. America faced a troubling question: What happened? How was this epidemic allowed to spread so far before it was taken seriously? In answering these questions, Shilts weaves weaves the disparate threads into a coherent story, pinning down every evasion and contradiction at the highest levels of the medical, political, and media establishments.
Shilts shows that the epidemic spread wildly because the federal government put budget ahead of the nation's welfare; health authorities placed political expediency before the public health; and scientists were often more concerned with international prestige than saving lives. Against this backdrop, Shilts tells the heroic stories of individuals in science and politics, public health and the gay community, who struggled to alert the nation to the enormity of the danger it faced.And the Band Played Onis both a tribute to these heroic people and a stinging indictment of the institutions that failed the nation so badly. 』 『In the first major book on AIDS, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts examines the making of an epidemic. Shilts researched and reported the book exhaustively, chronicling almost day-by-day the first five years of AIDS. His work is critical of the medical and scientific communities' initial response and particularly harsh on the Reagan Administration, who he claims cut funding, ignored calls for action and deliberately misled Congress. Shilts doesn't stop there, wondering why more people in the gay community, the mass media and the country at large didn't stand up in anger more quickly. The AIDS pandemic is one of the most striking developments of the late 20th century and this is the definitive story of its beginnings.』
price：$15.95
Kings Crossing Publishing.com
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (can' t wait for part 3) 『This book is fire i brougt this book as well as choices because of the reviews and i must say it was worth every penny spent a story not only believeable but true for alot of ppl living in the life.....』
(I LOVED IT!!!) 『WHAT A D*MN GOOD BOOK! I READ IT IN 2 DAYS! IT WAS LIKE I KNEW ALL OF WOMEN IN THIS BOOK! WAY 2 GO SKYY! I LOVE BLK LESBIAN BOOKS ALOT! MAYBE B/C IM A LESBIAN..LOL!』
(I LOVE THIS BOOK) 『I FELT LIKE I WAS FRIENDS WITH ALL THE CHARACTERS , BUT I HATED THE WAY THE BOOK ENDS.』
(this is my favorite series1) 『this book was great. i greatly enjoyed it i couldnt put it down! i cant wait till the 3rd one comes out i mean come on Skyy! we all ready for the next one! i will be lookin for the next one and i am sure it will be just as good as the first one. rock on skyy choices and consequences was great!
my fav character had to be nic or cooley...nic is someone i could relate with and cooley is like the dog in me! i love it!!』
(speechless) 『Skyy you have done it again CONSEQUENCES was one of the best reads i have had the pleasure in reading in a long time. i couldn't put it down. But i also didn't wasnt to put it to end. PLEASE PLEASE HURRY IN WRITE ANOTHER ONE.』 『School's back in session and there's a lot of unfinished business to handle. As Lena prepares for her wedding day, she can't help but think about Denise, her sexy b-ball roommate who almost stole her away. A summer isn't enough time to get over a true love. Denise just can't shake the feelings she developed for soon-to-be-married Lena. Should she go for what she wants or leave well enough alone? Cooley let Misha walk away, but she can't take no for an answer. Will her determination to win back her first love bring Misha back or push her further away? Carmen worked hard to get her life back on track...but will fears of the past wreck her future with new love Nic? This fast-paced sequel to Choices will leave you on an emotional roller coaster you won't want to get off.』
price：$4.78
Bella Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Easy Read, but wanting a little more) 『I am a Kenna fan, and have enjoyed most of her books. I liked the characters, and there are some GREAT one liners in there. There are also some old fashion words and expressions in there that are not used today. I like the fact how much research Kenna puts into her books, and keeps me reading on and wanting more. I would say this story does not go as deep as it should, as it did in some of her others. I eate it 3.8 stars』
(Backslide for White) 『Always a fan of Kenna White, I was a little disappointed in this latest release. Here she introduces characters Dana Robbins and Jamie Hughes. Dana knows something is wrong with her 4-year relationship to Shannon. She takes the summer away, renting a houseboat from a friend. Shannon doesn't understand Dana's reason in, but humors her and gives her the requested space. Making new friends at the marina, Dana meets Dr. Jamie Hughes. Jamie is a professor of marine biology and does research in the Puget Sound. Jamie also has a gentle wisdom she shares with Dana as the confused younger woman works through her personal issues.
As she settles in to the community, Dana begins to feel a real sense of relief. She takes sailing lessons with her niece and finds herself consistently crossing paths with the enigmatic professor. Jamie doesn't realize how much she appreciates these `chance' meetings until Shannon unexpectedly appears and Jamie's jealousy rears its ugly head. Shannon refuses to go down without a fight and Dana is caught in the middle.
The premise is actually pretty good, but the characters are shallow and predictable. I know this is romantic fiction, but Jamie is too good to be true. Dana, the victim of an emotionally-abusive relationship, is tragic and almost too weakly written.
Bottom Line - This latest release is disappointing. If it were my first White read, I may not be inclined to try another. 』
(A Comfortable Read) 『Kenna White returns to form with this novel of love set in the Pacific Northwest. Dana, a syndicated cartoonist, is in need of a break from her girlfriend Shannon and her relationship with her. Dana rents a houseboat and settles in to work. At a party, she meets Jamie, a marine biologist who is willing to help Dana examine and analyze her relationship with Shannon.
What Jamie and Dana didn't count on were falling in love with each other.
So why four stars? The ending was too abrupt, and Dana's actions at the end were not consistent with her character. That part of the novel was not comfortable.』
(Fresh look at "love") 『Best new book I've read in a while. Deals with interesting personal struggle combined with the charming professor (sounding a lot like Gilligan's Island as I write this). I read it in two days. Would have finished in one but trying to economize. Highly recommended!!』 『Dana Robbins needs a vacation from her girlfriend--and her life.
Used to working out her problems in her work, the successful syndicated cartoonist plans a solo summer vacation on a houseboat, hopeful that the separation will resolve her doubts about her future with Shannon. But
Shannon's frequent calls demanding some resolution only heighten her turmoil.
Marine biologist Dr. Jamie Hughes sees Puget Sound in ways few other people do. The hours she spends diving its depths and running her laboratory absorb all of her focus and time. When Jamie meets the obviously distressed Dana at a friend's, she offers her scientific detachment to help Dana sort through her problems. Worrying about Dana's present is easier than examining her own past. It seems like an ideal way to help Dana sort out her future, but as the summer heats up, the distance between Dana and Jamie is anything but comfortable.
Kenna White (Romancing the Zone, Braggin' Rights) explores unexpected passion, unexplored possibilities and unforeseen complications in this novel of summer on Puget Sound.』
price：$4.78
Bella Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (GERRI HILL Welcome BACK!!!) 『OK, The last few Gerri Hill books, I had to force myself to finish. They weren't interesting.
BUT this book WORKS!
Its funny, sexy, with a story that flows.
Ms Hill is an avid hiker and lover of nature.Take a look at her web site. The detail in this book of where this little town is and the harsh weather they face was a picture I could see in my head.
I liked the characters and the interaction with all the nutty town folks.
I don't like giving away the plot - read the book it's a winner.
I didn't give it 5 stars because it fell victim to my ****pet peeve**. note: My biggest pet peeve is spelling mistakes and grammar errors in a published book I just purchased! I hope Bella isn't following Bold strokes and chucking the books out the door without proper editing.
Enjoy !』
(good but could have been better) 『As always Gerri's writing style is smooth. The scenes in Colorado were beautiful. However I found the storyline predictable and the characters could have been better developed. One thing I really didn't like was that one of the characters, who is in her early 30s, constantly (and I mean once every page!) says the expression "good grief!" I don't know anyone under the age of 60 who says that, so it didn't ring true of the character. A solid romance but could have been a bit better.』
(Returning to her old form) 『Gerri Hill's newest book, "No Strings," is a winner. Morgan and Reese hook up just for sex...no strings. But of course we can't have that!! And we wouldn't want that. The fun is watching them get tied up in those non-existent strings, and falling in love. A quick read and a fun book with some hot sex scenes. Give it a try. You might hear the zings of your own heartstrings as you dive in to friendship, lust, sex, desire, and love.』
(no strings) 『another great book from Gerri Hill. This one is not so much about a crime but more about the relationship between these two woman. Very good book!』
(Good read.) 『I usually enjoy books of mystery but ventured a try at romance and was not disappointed in this at all. I expected to be bored due to the lack of an exciting murder related plot but found instead that someone does not always have to die to make a story interesting. I found myself simply unable to put the book down after becoming enthralled by the main characters and their story.』 『One mistake leads to a year of exile...
Used to the busy playground of Winter Park, police chief Reese Daniels is shipped off to sleepy Lake City, Colorado. She takes the job of sheriff seriously, but is clear to one and all: this year is just a blip in her life. When it's done, she's gone.
Forest Ranger M. Z. Morgan has lived in Lake City long enough to be considered a local. The pace, the quiet and the many friends make life there well worth the lack of dating material. A girlfriend would still be nice, and the new sheriff is easy on the eyes. It's entirely natural for Morgan and Reese to be friendly, but Reese's repeated reminders that she's not sticking around makes it impossible for anything more between them.
That is, until they strike a "no strings" bargain. Some guaranteed exchange of heat as the long winter sets in seems just what they need to pass the time. So what if it's the best sex they've ever had?
It's still only temporary. They won't mistake sex for more, even if it only gets better, month after month. After month.
No Strings--it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Golden Crown Literary Award winner Gerri Hill weaves a sensuous,sizzling story against the spectacular backdrop of a year in the high country.』
price：$65.00
NYU Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Identity) 『Halberstam, Judith. "In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives", NYU Press, 2005.
Identity
Amos Lassen
"In a Queer Time and Place" is a small book with a lot to say. Halberstam looks at society from its cultural aspects and connects it to the understanding of the body. Using the transperson as her focus, she looks at identity. What we have is a critique which shows the relationship between gay issues and trans issues by showing how trans people are represented in all aspects of society. The descriptions are detailed and vibrant and Halberstam's commentary is very funny making this an enjoyable book to read. Postmodernism takes on a whole new look. The book begins with a look at Brandon/Teena, the young murdered transgender man who was murdered in Nebraska and Halberstam first looks at the way this was perceived by modern society and by the media. She them moves onto trans issues as seen on film, drag king culture and lesbian sub-cultures. This is a wonderful study of the visibility of the trans body in fiction, art, video and music and is a perfect place from which to begin a study. 』
(A book for Halberstam fans) 『This was my first time reading Halberstam and I've decided we don't jell. If you're a fan, of course you'll like her earlier work on Queer theory. If not, this book is hit or miss. My main complaint: too much of her argument involves the same stereotyping and intolerance she rails against.』
(oh, jack!) 『it's impossible for me to be entirely fair because i absolutely LOVE judith halberstam... as a student of gender and queer history, i find dr. halberstam's work so compelling because not only does it utilize pathbreaking and up-to-date theoretical schema, but the lovely doctor also writes with wit and ease, making her new book a very pleasurable read. her use, as always, of visual texts to suppliment her arguements is helpful and engaging. her work on trans issues is groundbreaking and fresh, and if you're going to read anything on the subject, please read her. it's my dream to be the femme version of dr. halberstam. enough said.』 『In her first book since the critically acclaimed Female Masculinity, Judith Halberstam examines the significance of the transgender body in a provocative collection of essays on queer time and space. She presents a series of case studies focused on the meanings of masculinity in its dominant and alternative forms--especially female and trans-masculinities as they exist within subcultures, and are appropriated within mainstream culture.
In a Queer Time and Place opens with a probing analysis of the life and death of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man who was brutally murdered in small-town Nebraska. After looking at mainstream representations of the transgender body as exhibited in the media frenzy surrounding this highly visible case and the Oscar-winning film based on Brandon's story, Boys Don't Cry, Halberstam turns her attention to the cultural and artistic production of queers themselves. She examines the "transgender gaze," as rendered in small art-house films like By Hook or By Crook, as well as figurations of ambiguous embodiment in the art of Del LaGrace Volcano, Jenny Saville, Eva Hesse, Shirin Neshat, and others. She then exposes the influence of lesbian drag king cultures upon hetero-male comic films, such as Austin Powers and The Full Monty, and, finally, points to dyke subcultures as one site for the development of queer counterpublics and queer temporalities.
Considering the sudden visibility of the transgender body in the early twenty-first century against the backdrop of changing conceptions of space and time, In a Queer Time and Place is the first full-length study of transgender representations in art, fiction, film, video, and music. This pioneering book offers both a jumping off point for future analysis of transgenderism and an important new way to understand cultural constructions of time and place.』
price：$1.50
Dreamspinner Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (a story about standing up for what you believe in) 『D.W. Mitchell's Good to Know is a novel about being true to yourself and your heart regardless of any perceived consequences. I found it to be an agreeable read with memorable characters, a believable situation, and more than its fair share of emotion.
Perhaps it is the parent in me, but I'm pretty much a sucker for stories that have children in them, especially children who need love and family as much as the child does in Good to Know. The little boy, William, is simply adorable. He's a little young for a 10-year-old, but that can be attributed to the emotional neglect of his parents over the years. From the very beginning of the novel, he grabbed my heart, and my emotional investment in the story continued throughout. I'm not sure that I would classify this story as a "tear jerker," but I will definitely admit to needing a tissue or two (or three) by the conclusion. I appreciated the fact that both of the heroes in this story are over the age of forty. Those of us over a certain age know that love isn't just for the twenty- and thirty-somethings; however, most romances focus on younger characters.
In David and Jerry, Mr. Marchwell gives readers two less-than-perfect but quite sympathetic heroes. David considers himself an "emotional wreck." He has brought a lot of heartbreak down upon himself over the years by allowing others to take advantage of his fears, but this time if he wants to keep Jerry and William in his life, he'll have to stand up and fight for who he is and what he believes in. I'll admit to feeling a little impatient with him a time or two for his passivity, but he is overall a quite loveable character. Besides, he's an adorable drunk, and you've got to love a guy who becomes funny when his inhibitions are lowered.
While David has to learn to "cowboy up" and do what it takes in this story, Jerry learns what it is like to need a family. His extreme anger at David regarding what he sees as David's cowardice and his subsequent verbal cruelty to the man are a little hard to take, but they are an entirely human knee-jerk reaction to his feeling as if his trust were betrayed.
Along with the trio of main characters, Good to Know features a number of memorable secondary players: Lenore, the tough-as-nails ex nun; Sara, the wise lesbian Child and Family agent; and Bennett, the nasty homophobic bible-thumper and rabble-rouser. They add color and depth to the story, and the repartee that flies between Lenore and David is especially amusing.
The author bio at the end of Good to Know indicates that Mr. Marchwell is a teacher. That doesn't surprise me, because the character David is a very believable and realistic teacher. As an American, I won't pretend to understand the working of the Canadian school system, but David and his experiences still felt very "real" to me. Overall, I found this story to be quite readable. It made me smile, it made me a bit teary-eyed, and it definitely appealed to the romantic in me. 』
(Could have been better!) 『I like the outline of the story. Rich gay artist only looking for one night stands forced to care for the son of his distant cousin and aided by said boy's teacher the story ending with artist, teacher and boy building a life together. It is the way the writer has to handle the ups and downs to get there which either makes this a great read or just OK. I love the beginning when the writer delves into one bewildered and sad little boy's mind when William is confronted with dead parents and forced to live with a very distant gay uncle or be abandoned into foster care. The story holds me captive as Jerry the uncle is introduced and both man and child tries to make it work. Then enters David, the rich teacher, scarred by bad relationships and somehow I just lose interest in the story. Jerry and David meets and could not wait to get into each other's pants and all too quickly fall in love. Their characters are just inconsistent from what we are told in the beginning to what they are as the story progresses. I know sex is necessary but give the relationship more time to develop! And what happens to the supposedly difficult "get to know you" part between uncle and nephew, which is all too soon sidelined and suddenly things are so easily resolved between the uncle and his nephew. Fine if the story still focus on the 2 adults and William trying to build a family together, but half way the story shifted to one homophobic teacher in the school all out to get David. Then enters David's father and the writer sums up son and father making up in some wordy paragraphs. Is this necessary? Maybe I have high hope for the story because of such an interesting and well written beginning. And when it does not turn up as I expected I just lose my interest.』 『Jerry McKenzie is a reclusive and antisocial artist, quite content to ride his horses and work in his studio, keeping to himself. It's not any kind of life for a child, and when Jerry finds out he's been named his orphaned nephew's guardian, he panics. He doesn't know what to do with a child and isn't sure he can give William the affection and the love the boy so desperately needs. Then Jerry meets David Loewenberger, the new teacher William becomes immediately attached to, and he starts to see how they could make a family together: a family to replace the one William lost, a family David had given up on ever finding... a family Jerry never knew he wanted.』
price：$10.18
NYU Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A New Look at the Bible) 『Drinkwater, Gregg, David Shneer and Joshua Lesser, editors. "Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible" (uncorrected proof), NYU Press, 2009.
A New Look at the Bible
Amos Lassen
I had just gotten home from Saturday Shabbat services at my very gay-friendly temple, B'nai Israel, in Little Rock, Arkansas (yes, there are gay-friendly places in Arkansas) and when I opened my mailbox I was surprised to find my uncorrected proof of "Torah Queeries". (That was a very long sentence and as a writing teacher I should know better). I spent the rest of Saturday totally engrossed in the book that I have been waiting to see. Here are portions of the Torah with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight allied voices giving the commentaries and it is wonderful. For those of you who do not know, the Torah or the Five Books of Moses is read following a calendar cycle with a specific portion for each week. Every Jewish house of worship reads the Torah weekly aloud and in many of them the portions are then discussed. People are free to comment and to question, to interpret and to provide ideas. This is one of the beautiful aspects of the religion that has been continuously going on for centuries and when we finish the Torah, we start all over again. Every time the Torah is read there is something new to be learned and herein lies its beauty. "Torah Queeries" follows this tradition and in the book we have the commentaries of leading rabbis, scholars and writers who interpret the Torah from queer points of view. Here are fifty-four Torah portions and there are portions for the six major Jewish holidays. These are modern commentaries that give critique, social commentary and a look at community all from a GLBT point of view. And the source for all of the commentaries is the Torah. All topics are examined here including the controversial ones as in Leviticus and the creation. These writings enlighten and provoke but they also provide a way for us to be included in the tradition that is such a great and important part of the Jewish religion. With social justice being such a major part of Judaism, here is how we find ourselves as part of an ancient heritage. The Torah can be and is read again and again, over and over and yet it is never boring. It is a source of wisdom and history and it is a continuation of the Jewish people. When I sit down to read and study Torah (and I do for several hours a week aside from the times I am in temple), I get the feeling that I am right there with Moses in the desert, standing at the foot of Mount Sinai waiting for it to be handed down. I read it to learn from it, to practice my Hebrew, to play with its ideas, and to remember who I am. It is a special time for me. I cover my head. I sit down at my desk and for the next hour there is only me and Torah. If I get an idea, I jot it down and I have had many. I love to be ready with the portion of the week early so that I can muse over it. And do I look for queer interpretation?--Not really but sometimes it just jumps at me. Others are much better than I at finding those and they are here in this book. "Torah Queeries" brings in those of us who thought we might be outsiders and now we have the right to share in Torah. We have always had the right but until recently we did not take it. Thanks to the organization that is behind the book, Jewish Mosaic: the National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, we all share that right. We now read the texts that traditionally were used to exclude us and we feel at home, It is so good to be home and even better with this dynamic new book. Although it is not yet available it will be in October. You do not have to be Jewish to read the book. Almost all religions read the Old Testament, that which we refer to as The Five Books of Moses. This is a book that will help you better understand who you are and where you fit. It is a book not to be missed.』 『
In the Jewish tradition, reading of the Torah follows a calendar cycle, with a specific portion assigned each week. These weekly portions, read aloud in synagogues around the world, have been subject to interpretation and commentary for centuries. Following on this ancient tradition,Torah Queeriesbrings together some of the world’s leading rabbis, scholars, and writers to interpret the Torah through a "bent lens". With commentaries on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and six major Jewish holidays, the concise yet substantive writings collected here open up stimulating new insights and highlight previously neglected perspectives.
This incredibly rich collection unites the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and straight-allied writers, including some of the most central figures in contemporary American Judaism. All bring to the table unique methods of reading and interpreting that allow the Torah to speak to modern concerns of sexuality, identity, gender, and LGBT life.Torah Queeriesoffers cultural critique, social commentary, and a vision of community transformation, all done through biblical interpretation. Written to engage readers, draw them in, and, at times, provoke them,Torah Queeriesexamines topics as divergent as the Levitical sexual prohibitions, the experience of the Exodus, the rape of Dinah, the life of Joseph, and the ritual practices of the ancient Israelites. Most powerfully, the commentaries here chart a future of inclusion and social justice deeply rooted in the Jewish textual tradition.
A labor of intellectual rigor, social justice, and personal passions,Torah Queeriesis an exciting and important contribution to the project of democratizing Jewish communities, and an essential guide to understanding the intersection of queerness and Jewishness.
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Alan Hollinghurst's extraordinarily rich novelThe Line of Beauty. has garnered a new level of acclaim for the author after winning the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Hollinghurst speaks about his work in our interview.
