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Wanderslut 1996: A Gay Road Trip Across America
Wanderslut 1996 is a mostly true, gay nineties road trip diary. After losing his job, Joe Tobin takes his severance money and heads across the country on a solo trip – seeing the sights, getting laid, eating bad food, and perhaps, finding some enlightenment along the way. A snapshot of one American man’s gay life in the mid ‘90s.
119 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2020
1 person is currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Jim Arnold
5 books39 followersJim is the author of the award-winning novels Benediction (2009). The Forest Dark (2013), Kept (2016) and Benefits (2019).
Jim also directed the critically-acclaimed documentary short Our Brothers, Our Sons, about generational differences around HIV/AIDS in gay men, (nominated for Best Documentary at the 2002 Turin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival).
Jim has worked extensively as a free-lance journalist and has published in Frontiers, Variety, Prime Health & Fitness, Age Appropriate and other periodicals, online and in fiction anthologies. He began his career in musical theatre and holds a BA in journalism and film from Marquette University, and has studied film production/writing in the MFA program for Cinema/TV at the University of Southern California, the Writers Program at UCLA, and at Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco.
He blogs at www.jimarnoldblog.com/blog
Jim is a veteran entertainment and non-profits PR executive, having held communications management positions at Paramount Pictures, Dolby Laboratories and the American Lung Association in California.
Other Useful Information:
Jim’s a 4th Generation California Native whose ancestors came for the Gold Rush and stayed despite not finding any! He’s also a cancer survivor who has run a marathon and can literally do cartwheels. An unusual talent is that he can rollerblade backwards so don’t be shy about asking for a demo. A former teenage church organist, Jim now tries not to irritate his neighbors when playing standards from the American songbook on the piano.
Jim also directed the critically-acclaimed documentary short Our Brothers, Our Sons, about generational differences around HIV/AIDS in gay men, (nominated for Best Documentary at the 2002 Turin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival).
Jim has worked extensively as a free-lance journalist and has published in Frontiers, Variety, Prime Health & Fitness, Age Appropriate and other periodicals, online and in fiction anthologies. He began his career in musical theatre and holds a BA in journalism and film from Marquette University, and has studied film production/writing in the MFA program for Cinema/TV at the University of Southern California, the Writers Program at UCLA, and at Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco.
He blogs at www.jimarnoldblog.com/blog
Jim is a veteran entertainment and non-profits PR executive, having held communications management positions at Paramount Pictures, Dolby Laboratories and the American Lung Association in California.
Other Useful Information:
Jim’s a 4th Generation California Native whose ancestors came for the Gold Rush and stayed despite not finding any! He’s also a cancer survivor who has run a marathon and can literally do cartwheels. An unusual talent is that he can rollerblade backwards so don’t be shy about asking for a demo. A former teenage church organist, Jim now tries not to irritate his neighbors when playing standards from the American songbook on the piano.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 10, 2021
I love a road trip so was drawn to this book about a man taking a solo road trip across the US and back in 1996. When he was laid off from his job at a Hollywood Studio, the author decides to take off in his Saturn for a road trip. This was a time before the prevalence of cell phones and GPS. He had a few preplanned stops with men he knew and met other men via local AOL M4M chat boards. Starting across the Southwest towards Florida, then up the East Coast to Boston then heading back west, he visits many cities and meets many men, having sex with some and just hanging out with others.
In the into, the author says that this IS a memoir but that it is cobbled together from a couple of different road trips and that some of the other men have been condensed down into one person. This was an interesting and unique read and brought back some memories of the 1990s (getting around pre-GPS, for example). It also opened my eyes to a side of gay culture that I hadn't had much exposure to before.
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway.
In the into, the author says that this IS a memoir but that it is cobbled together from a couple of different road trips and that some of the other men have been condensed down into one person. This was an interesting and unique read and brought back some memories of the 1990s (getting around pre-GPS, for example). It also opened my eyes to a side of gay culture that I hadn't had much exposure to before.
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway.
December 19, 2020
Unique read
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews