What the L

by Kate Clinton

What the L? is a new collection of published and unpublished writings that showcases Kate Clinton's gifts as one of the all-time favorite lesbian comics. Like Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell, Clinton is a nationally acclaimed quick-witted, laugh-out-loud funny comic whose hilarious takes on everything from gay marriage ("mad vow disease") and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, to gay Republicans and the War on Terrorism have earned her a devoted following. She has appeared on many television programs, including Good Morning America, Nightline, Entertainment Tonight, and writes monthly columns for Progressive and the Advocate.

Genres: Humor, LGBT, Nonfiction, Queer

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. With a career spanning over 25 years, Kate Clinton has worked through economic booms and busts, Disneyfication and Walmartization, gay movements and gay markets, lesbian chic and queer eyes, and ten presidential inaugurals. She still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime and scoundrel time.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I HATE puns, and Kate Clinton just adores them. And once she thinks of one, she likes to use it over and over again - and collections of essays often suffer as soon as you realize that an author who seems to do a good job with a monthly column is actually only rehashing the same material over and over again....you've simply forgotten in the last month. This is Clinton's problem. This book is about 250 pages long, but I can give it to you right here: W. is an ass, gay people should worry less about gaining the right to marry and more about health care issues, Kate herself doesn't want to get married, and gays have become a market "niche that needs to be scratched" (seriously, that one appears maybe four times). String those thoughts together with some additional puns, and now you can mark this one "read".

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Clinton, I just wish this had been a better book. I picked up another Clinton book before I read this one, and now I'm in NO hurry to get to it.

[Kiwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about a decade late and have never had much interest in (or patience for) politics, but I will definitely say I enjoyed this book. It was repetitive in places as she wrote many of the concepts from her mind in multiple essays, which then all ended up in the same book. I enjoyed the writing style and of course the humour!

My absolute favourite, I think, is when she describes her interactions/life with her girlfriend, including some of the technology. This book was a good laugh at my history. I learned a few new things too!

[Damian Serbu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Clinton is too much. Funny, but with a great political/social message. You will laugh your ass off reading this book.