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Gay Tales for the New Millennium #3
Open Books, Closed Sets
As Ryan Robertson begins college at UCLA, all he wants is to do well in his classes, make some friends, and enjoy his college experience.
But he soon learns that working in the adult entertainment industry to support himself and pay for college makes normalcy impossible. The scheduling demands of his profession rule out most extracurricular activities and require constant balancing with his classes. Worse, the reactions he encounters when people discover his livelihood make it difficult for him to build friendships or relationships. The elephant is simply too big for the room.
Ryan lives in a house near campus owned by Hal, a gay attorney. His housemates are Ted, a hunky Marine veteran with post-war baggage; Darnell, a fabulous Black drag queen with an amazing voice; and Ricky, a hard-partying porn star. This colorful crew, Ryan’s family of choice, provides love and support as he navigates college life and adulthood. Their adventures add important dimensions to the story.
Ryan’s heartwarming coming-of-age journey is filled with hilarity, drama, challenges, and growth. He discovers that sometimes, life’s most important lessons are learned outside the classroom.
Open Books, Closed Sets continues the engaging stories introduced in Maybe Next Year and Instant Adult.
Content This book contains adult language and references to pornography, same-sex sexual activities, and recreational drug abuse. It does not contain graphic sex scenes. If it were a movie, it would be rated R. This book may not be suitable for readers under 18.
But he soon learns that working in the adult entertainment industry to support himself and pay for college makes normalcy impossible. The scheduling demands of his profession rule out most extracurricular activities and require constant balancing with his classes. Worse, the reactions he encounters when people discover his livelihood make it difficult for him to build friendships or relationships. The elephant is simply too big for the room.
Ryan lives in a house near campus owned by Hal, a gay attorney. His housemates are Ted, a hunky Marine veteran with post-war baggage; Darnell, a fabulous Black drag queen with an amazing voice; and Ricky, a hard-partying porn star. This colorful crew, Ryan’s family of choice, provides love and support as he navigates college life and adulthood. Their adventures add important dimensions to the story.
Ryan’s heartwarming coming-of-age journey is filled with hilarity, drama, challenges, and growth. He discovers that sometimes, life’s most important lessons are learned outside the classroom.
Open Books, Closed Sets continues the engaging stories introduced in Maybe Next Year and Instant Adult.
Content This book contains adult language and references to pornography, same-sex sexual activities, and recreational drug abuse. It does not contain graphic sex scenes. If it were a movie, it would be rated R. This book may not be suitable for readers under 18.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2023
4 people want to read
About the author
Dave Hughes
10 books3 followersDave Hughes has written six gay-themed novels,
Maybe Next Year
;
Instant Adult
;
Open Books, Closed Sets
; If I Seem Quiet...; Karma Train from Kansas; and Maybe Now. These books form a series called "Gay Tales for the New Millennium." His short story,
Cruise Virgins
, is available free to subscribers of his newsletter.
In addition to fiction, Dave has written three retirement lifestyle planning books, Design Your Dream Retirement , Smooth Sailing Into Retirement, and The Quest for Retirement Utopia. Dave created the website RetireFabulously.com , which enables readers to envision, plan for, and enjoy the best retirement possible. In addition to writing hundreds of articles for RetireFabulously.com, Dave's writing has appeared on US News & World Report, lgbtSr.com, Medium, Yahoo! Finance, CNN/Money, Next Avenue, Tiny Buddha, and others.
Aside from his writing, Dave is also a jazz musician. He plays trombone, steel pan, and electric bass in various bands in the Phoenix area, where he lives with his husband Jeff.
In addition to fiction, Dave has written three retirement lifestyle planning books, Design Your Dream Retirement , Smooth Sailing Into Retirement, and The Quest for Retirement Utopia. Dave created the website RetireFabulously.com , which enables readers to envision, plan for, and enjoy the best retirement possible. In addition to writing hundreds of articles for RetireFabulously.com, Dave's writing has appeared on US News & World Report, lgbtSr.com, Medium, Yahoo! Finance, CNN/Money, Next Avenue, Tiny Buddha, and others.
Aside from his writing, Dave is also a jazz musician. He plays trombone, steel pan, and electric bass in various bands in the Phoenix area, where he lives with his husband Jeff.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2023
Dave Hughes writes a coming of age LGBTQ tale with Open Books, Closed Sets
In Open Books, Closed Sets, the reader is introduced to Ryan Robertson, who used to be Bryan, now he's in college. It's a sequel to Instant adult, and a continuation of Ryan's journey, navigating adulthood as a gay young man, who just wants friends, and to do his best in college. But things change for Ryan. Some of the characters, like Hal from the first story are in this one as well. Ryan was doing what he had to do, working in the adult entertainment business, but it affected his relationships, and his ability to be in college and work. He needs the money to go to school, but things are just too much for him. Once people find out what he did for a living, things changed in their attitude for him. He shares a home with other gay young men, each with their own baggage. It's a very intriguing journey for this young man, and how he navigates his life, while figuring out where he fits in, not with others, but even within himself. Dave Hughes not only tells the story but shows it with words as well. As with life, this is a very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! This book has a lot of strong characters, and how they interact within the story, bring it to life. Life isn't perfect, and neither are people. Masterfully written! Open Books, Closed Sets is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
In Open Books, Closed Sets, the reader is introduced to Ryan Robertson, who used to be Bryan, now he's in college. It's a sequel to Instant adult, and a continuation of Ryan's journey, navigating adulthood as a gay young man, who just wants friends, and to do his best in college. But things change for Ryan. Some of the characters, like Hal from the first story are in this one as well. Ryan was doing what he had to do, working in the adult entertainment business, but it affected his relationships, and his ability to be in college and work. He needs the money to go to school, but things are just too much for him. Once people find out what he did for a living, things changed in their attitude for him. He shares a home with other gay young men, each with their own baggage. It's a very intriguing journey for this young man, and how he navigates his life, while figuring out where he fits in, not with others, but even within himself. Dave Hughes not only tells the story but shows it with words as well. As with life, this is a very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! This book has a lot of strong characters, and how they interact within the story, bring it to life. Life isn't perfect, and neither are people. Masterfully written! Open Books, Closed Sets is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
October 24, 2023
Open Book, Closed Sets was book three in Dave Hughes series that follows the books protagonist, Ryan Robertson as he goes from a closeted gay kid in high school, through his college years and starting his new career.
Dave Hughes is a talented author who transitioned from his first three books on retirement to a new genre, M4M fiction.
As a gay man, I have read my share of M4M romance novels, but in most cases those authors didn’t take time to develop the storylines, lacked character development or were more focused on sexual encounters that while they may have been titillating at the time, were easily forgotten once I had reached the final page. That’s not the case with Dave Hughes’ books. In fact, with his books I keep wanting to know what will happen next. Fortunately, the way this one ends, I’m quite sure there will be more books to come.
Until that next in the series comes out, I may just check out Dave a Hughes retirement books as retirement is in my immediate future!
Dave Hughes is a talented author who transitioned from his first three books on retirement to a new genre, M4M fiction.
As a gay man, I have read my share of M4M romance novels, but in most cases those authors didn’t take time to develop the storylines, lacked character development or were more focused on sexual encounters that while they may have been titillating at the time, were easily forgotten once I had reached the final page. That’s not the case with Dave Hughes’ books. In fact, with his books I keep wanting to know what will happen next. Fortunately, the way this one ends, I’m quite sure there will be more books to come.
Until that next in the series comes out, I may just check out Dave a Hughes retirement books as retirement is in my immediate future!
July 4, 2024
The third in the Gay Tales for the New Millennium series, sees Ryan Robertson begin college at UCLA. With the issues of the first two books well covered, this book tackles some other hefty subjects and introduces new characters to the 'family'. It shares many thought provoking discussions and activities between the characters.
There is still not much emotional depth to the writing, but the storyline and characters will keep you gripped. There are quite some dramatic turns in the plot, some you may see coming, others you definitely won't. A solid continuation to the series.
There is still not much emotional depth to the writing, but the storyline and characters will keep you gripped. There are quite some dramatic turns in the plot, some you may see coming, others you definitely won't. A solid continuation to the series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews