Queereaders discussion

Discuss here. Titles do not have to be exclusively LGBT.

I have 4 relatively new biographies, yet unread which I am looking forward to:

John Barrowman's Anything Goes
Radioactive: Marie Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout
The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary
The Magical World of the Inklings

A favorite autobio is Recollections of my Life by Nobel prize winner Santiago Ramon y Cajal, the father of Neuroanatomy.

There are a couple of Tolkien and Beethoven bios I've enjoyed and one about Einstein, but don't have the details at hand.

I read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in high school which was the most unenjoyable book I had ever read. I hated it, but had to finish it for a book report. That turned me off to bios for some time. It shows what can happen if one reads a book one's not ready for.

Kernos, let me know if the John Barrowman is any good. I checked out Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman and Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari because I didn't know anything about her. Hope I can get to them when I visit my mom.

Doug wrote: "Kernos, let me know if the John Barrowman is any good..."

I shall. I wonder if he really wrote it? Hot man! I've looked at all the pictures. You should see him as a pretty puppy-dog. I think his being out and successful should encourage US actors to stop hiding. It will be interesting to see how Ricky Martin's career is effected.

He wrote a new biography, too!

WHat's is called, Doug?

Me Just... me!

I'm going to try to read a biography on each of the US Presidents. I'm going to read auto-biographies if possible. I'm still figureing out which ones to read.

I'm also reading auto-biographies of the original Star Trek cast. I read Up Till Now: The Autobiography by William Shatner and To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (Star Trek.

I also read all of the autobiographies of the three NFL players that came out as homosexual: The David Kopay Story, Out of Bounds: Coming Out of Sexual Abuse, Addiction, and My Life of Lies in the NFL Closet by Roy Simmons and Alone in the Trenches: My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL by Esera Tuaolo.

Two of my favourites:

Personal Historyby Katherine Graham who's family owned the Washington Post and who was probably the first woman to have a position of power in journalism. She was also intimately connected with Watergate, the Pentagon papers and was a major player in DC. It was amazingly well-written.



Paula is an autobiography by Isabel Allende that started off as a letter to her daughter who lay in a coma. She ends up telling the story of her amazingly interesting life - her uncle was Salvador Allende the democratically elected, though Marxist, president of Chile who was overthrown by a military coup (sponsored by the U.S.) in the 1970's. It's an emotional book and one of few that have made me cry.

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia. I gave it three stars because while it was somewhat honest. It hit on some of the emotions involved when you have an eating disorder along with another serious mental illness. On the other hand I do agree with some of the reviewers in that the ending made me feel a bit hopeless.

Prozac Nation. I never give books away. Wait. I can't say never. This book disgusted me so much that I got rid of it. Self-indulgent, self-centered whining. This book makes fighting the stigma of mental illness that much harder.

His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina. The story of Danielle Steel and her son who suffered with bipolar disorder and committed suicide at the age of 19.

I have His Bright Light. I want to read it. Badly. As someone who suffers with bipolar, I can't seem to pick it up because I know it will be an emotionally torturous read. It's a hard thing just being presented with the statistics of how many people lose their battle with this illness...even knowing the short story of Danielle and her son hurts my heart.

Laddie wrote: "... Prozac Nation. I never give books away. Wait. I can't say never. This book disgusted me so much that I got rid of it. Self-indulgent, self-centered whining. This book makes fighting the stigma of mental illness that much harder.
...

I might not be alive today if not for SSRI's or SNRI's. I certainly would not be as happy or effective as I am.

Kernos wrote: "Laddie wrote: "... Prozac Nation. I never give books away. Wait. I can't say never. This book disgusted me so much that I got rid of it. Self-indulgent, self-centered whining. This book makes fight..."

No, no..I'm not opposed to medication. I'm med compliant and really believe that if you have a serious mental illness then you should be. I strongly believe that.

I'm opposed to the author. I know that there are self-centered, mentally ill people. However, I felt like she was blaming her self-centered nature on the depression. Maybe that's the way it was but the tone of the book was all wrong. Everybody praised the book and I feel like she twisted everything.

One of the things I hear from people who don't understand mental illness is that people who suffer with depression or a mood disorder blame everything on their condition and take no personal responsibility. I feel like Wurtzel fed into that.

My dislike of that memoir has nothing to do with the medication and everything to do with the author.

Laddie wrote: "My dislike of that memoir has nothing to do with the medication and everything to do with the author. ..."

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it did. The media and lawyers have interfered with proper treatment, IMO

The latest memoirs/biographies I've read, will read or am currently reading are below. I collect histor books on WW2 era Europe and the Holocaust, so there are more acquisitions to study, but also I'm doing research for an upcoming writing project.

I'm posting the link because at the moment, the "add book/author" isn't working for me.

The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps by Heinz Heger
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak: Five Notebooks from the Lodz Ghetto
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88...

An Underground Life: Memoirs of a Gay Jew in Nazi Berlin by Gad Beck
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65...

I'm also endeavouring to finish up my own memoir, "The Boys Who Died", the first four chapters are exclusively here on Goodreads.com. http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/2...

Kernos wrote: "Laddie wrote: "My dislike of that memoir has nothing to do with the medication and everything to do with the author. ..."

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it did. The media and lawyers have inte..."

I agree.

I'm writing my memoir.
It's long overdue.
I'm hoping to finish it before May 2011 arrives.
All I can do is try.

I just picked up a copy of The Transformation of Toni Newman for review and, after what seems like years of searching, managed to find some very nice used copies of Canary and My Story.

I enjoy well-written biographies and memoirs, but sometimes find they stir up painful and long-buried memories, depending on the subject.

Right now I am reading Coming of Age in Mississippi and enjoying it so far, though I'm finding that the author's depiction of Mississippi in the 50's is very different from that in The Help, a fiction story that takes place during the same time period.

There was a time when I wouldn't touch a book that wasn't in the fiction section. The more memoirs I read, though, the more I seem to get out of them. At the same time, I've also found value in indulging in a variety of experiences and viewpoints, especially if the subject is personally relevant.

I dabbled in a few LGBT memoirs when I was young, and while it was great not to feel so alone, I found it very easy to get sucked into the idea that the author's means of expression was the only right one. There is nothing quite like the experience of reading that first memoir with a dissenting voice and realising that there as many shades of pink as there are of gray. :)

Nancy wrote: "I enjoy well-written biographies and memoirs, but sometimes find they stir up painful and long-buried memories, depending on the subject."

This I understand so well. I have to be EXTREMELY careful with what I read, and especially with what I view because of my own abused background, it's like asking to be subjected to flashbacks and memories which would upset my current balance.

Sometimes I want to read, but simply can't. Some people don't understand that, and only think I'm rejecting them or their work, when that's not the case at all. Recently got dinged rather strongly by an author because of that, when I had to reject reviewing their novel (which dealt explicitly with child sex abuse). As an adult person (and they stated it thusly) who hadn't been abused, they thought someone like me should be "over it" by now.

Perspectives.

It's why I understand how someone might pass on reading my memoir, for example, as it deals with very serious subjects. However, my point in recording it is that things unimaginable happen all the time, yet these they can be survived and triumphed over.


Sally wrote: "I dabbled in a few LGBT memoirs when I was young, and while it was great not to feel so alone, I found it very easy to get sucked into the idea that the author's means of expression was the only right one. ..."

This is something I can certainly identify with, especially regarding expression pieces in general. I've never read any memoir specifically labelled as GLBT though, since I don't read anything fiction or non-fiction solely for that reason anyway.

Hard to find the right words to try to explain what I mean but...I've just found that some cultures and their individuals very often seem to present their thoughts, etc. as being the solely right one. I look for translated works from languages I don't read to get a freshness. There's a whole other world out there, as it were.

Red wrote: "Recently got dinged rather strongly by an author because of that, when I had to reject reviewing their novel (which dealt explicitly with child sex abuse). As an adult person (and they stated it thusly) who hadn't been abused, they thought someone like me should be "over it" by now."

It always amazes me that people can be that thoughtless. In situations like that I always wonder if the person really thinks that way or if they're being nasty because you're not doing what they want you to do.

I rarely take such things personally, though maybe they were giving a "parting shot", but I've found a lot of people just haven't considered the impact of their words and the thoughts behind them. To me, it's a kind of ignorance which can be alleviated if they actually had an open-mind. It's like they can only look at any situation entirely from their own view. They've not considered there are differences. I do find it rather distressing this is supposedly someone who has researched their topic, have written about it as if to help others, yet can make such a callous statement.

It's kind of like the m/m fiction author writing about transgenders, who, when a friend reveals he has decided to begin the changes, stated, "You'd look terrible as a woman. Your face is too masculine!" This person has not understood what it really means, yet they're writing about it. Go figure.

Red wrote: "It's why I understand how someone might pass on reading my memoir, for example, as it deals with very serious subjects. However, my point in recording it is that things unimaginable happen all the time, yet these they can be survived and triumphed over..."

This is one of the reasons I like reading memoirs in spite of the pain they can cause me at times. Just knowing there are others who share similar experiences and can still function in the world is a great comfort. And even though we may share similar experiences, the way we cope with them and find a way to survive may be totally different.

I like to believe that people do not truly mean to be unkind when they make thoughtless comments. Like you mentioned, Red, people are self-centered and have a tendency to see the world from their individual and cultural viewpoints.

"I look for translated works from languages I don't read to get a freshness."

I've read some excellent translated works, but I could do better in this area. Whenever I travel to Europe, I'm always amazed at the literature that is available that will never get translated.

I also tend to like those loosely autobiographical fiction novels.

Charles Bukowski and his Henry Chinaski. Dan Fante and his Bruno Dante.

Edited to say that those may be two really unpopular examples...

Nancy wrote: "I've read some excellent translated works, but I could do better in this area. Whenever I travel to Europe, I'm always amazed at the literature that is available that will never get translated..."

Yeah, that's really wow. It made me understand better why some presses and publishing companies in the USA offer contest and rewards for best translated books from another language to English. It's opening up those willing to read, a little more. I think that's great.

When I return to Germany, actually I think I'll start focussing my press on translated works to English, and helping those who've actually done their translation but need editing or formatting help.

One, I suppose loosely autobiographical, work I received was from the writer Anne de Gandt, it's titled V.i.t.r.i.o.l. It's heavy, but mercifully short for me because it does "take you back". Regarding rape, incest, young teen pregnancy. It's translated from the French to English, and was widely released last week I think.

I heard on NPR yesterday morning that Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea, has joined the ranks of fraudulent memoirists.

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/19/1355415...

Nancy wrote: "I heard on NPR yesterday morning that Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea, has joined the ranks of fraudulent memoirists.

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/19/1355415......"

My son was telling me something about that in a very convoluted way. LOL I think they ask a good question, "Why didn't the author just write a novel instead?"

I suppose that's why I do write "fiction" for the most part, a lot of it is based on actual events, but to protect people's identities, names and settings have to be changed, plus other literary aspects included. Therefore it becomes a book instead of simply a portion of a memoir.

I liked the comment by someone on that website article: "In the early 20th century writers like Somerset Maugham and Hemingway would write stories that were highly autobiographical, but would publish them in the fiction genre so they could have their artistic liberties (and perhaps avoid scandal for themselves and their friends). And I believe that artistic liberty was appropriate - their novels were so beautifully written. Memoirs are so rarely written beautifully.

Nancy wrote: "Red wrote: "It's why I understand how someone might pass on reading my memoir, for example, as it deals with very serious subjects. However, my point in recording it is that things unimaginable hap..."

It can be very therapeutic to wrestle with your demons if the time is right. Reading is one method of doing this. Sometimes people need encouraging to do this in spite of their fear. It is most important when the demons are symptomatic, IMO. Sometimes professional help is needed.

I saw that they were reporting on that Nancy but I didn't read the story.. now I can. I take some memoirs with a grain of salt, because how can you really remember all the conversations ect.. they are subjective to memory.. but it is worse when you fabricate an entire story to make it look like you are a saint.

Oh and I tend to shy away from memoirs of serious subjects or abuse as well.. I tend to like more biographies that talk about the time and place as well as the person, so for example an old screen goddess where I can read about the forties and the studio system as well as the life of the person. Historical bios.

One knows this. But while I agree with the known suggestion someone might need professional help (it's why I'm a Psychology major though I've not decided whether I will go into practice clinically), it is inadvisable to encourage someone to "face their demons in spite of their fears" without fully knowing as much as their background as possible, because there is no way to know how they will react. It might send them abruptly into suicidal or homicidal actions, or more moderately severe depression etc.

One has to be careful with making general statements of that kind. Without a known, proper support system such personal explorations could very well be fatal or cause flawed thinking which can lead to further lowering of self-esteem or self-abusive behaviors. Too often when they have tried to face "personal demons" this can be the result. Also "personal demons" can cover too broad a range of subjects when someone things absolutely need to be considered under professional evaluation and direction.

I personally love "Fun Home" by Allison Bechdel. It's a memoir in graphic novel form of Allison's childhood growing up in a funeral home and coming to grips with her father's secret relationship with other men. She's known for her graphic series "Dykes To Watch Out For".

I liked Fun Home when I read it as well.
I just bought my mom Robert Redford and The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago for Mothers Day. Hope she likes them.. she loves Robert Redford, so I know she will like it for the pictures alone!

I recently turned my memoir into a novella called Confessions of a Mid-life Crisis available on kindle for only $0.99. Everything inn it is 100% true but the names have been changed to protect the...errr the innocent?

Confessions of a Mid-Life Crisis

When it seems like I'm done with my memoir a memory comes to mind. Then I have to go back and write it in.
Other than that I'm very happy with the way my memoir has turned out.

The Land Near Oz: Two Gay Yankees Move to New Zealand
Like Huck Finn (a Gay Huck Finn), I was born in Missouri and grew up on the banks of the Mississippi. I spent three years in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone before knocking about other parts of Africa and crossing the Sahara twice. I called Saudi Arabia and France home and trekked extensively in the Himalaya before settling in California with my spouse, "Beau." For the past six years, we have lived in New Zealand with two cats, two dogs, sheep, cows, and a donkey named Don Quixote. The Land Near Oz is my first memoir. (All Royalty payments are donated to THE TREVOR PROJECT www.thetrevorproject.org )

I loved Fun Home by Allison Bechdel as well - my daughter took a class on graphic novels her senior year of college and recommended this one. She later bought me The Essential Dykes to Watch Out Foras well but I haven't read it yet. I recently began reading Gail Godwin's The Making of a Writer, Volume 2: Journals, 1963-1969 and have thus far been bogged down by it. She is one of my favorite authors but reading her journals feels like too much work for me.

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to put this (I'm new to the group--thanks for being "out" there!). I released in May 2011, both in eBook and paperback, a memoir, Risking Everything: Coming Out in Coffee Land.

It has just won the 2011 Global eBook Award for LGBT non-fiction and I am thrilled!

Synopsis:

The story of a southern woman who has it all—husband, children, career, friends, and a BMW convertible. So why, on her 50th birthday, does she hop a jet for Europe? Alone? Her flight takes her through the cathedrals, museums, and kitchens of Italy, England and Wales, but ends at last in the rain forest of Panama where she loses everything … only to find everything.

Risking Everything: Coming Out in Coffee Land, at http://www.comingoutincoffeeland.com, is a story of adventure, betrayal, hope, and ultimately, living life on one’s own terms.

For a free sample, or to learn more, please visit my website http://www.comingoutincoffeeland.com. For reviews you can go to http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0051V83U2.

I invite everyone to brew up a great cup of java and stop by Ramblings from the Mountain, my blog to follow the adventure and learn why today I say, "Life is too short to drink bad coffee!"

Released May 10, 2012, a biography written in memoir style of a very dear friend who was a deaf, gay young Russian, an orphan and former sex worker who beats the odds to find a home, love and finally, peace.Silence Is Multi-Colored In My World

I am currently reading City Boy: My Life in New York in the 1960s and 70s for a book club. I am not happy with the book. Oh, the writing style is great, but I was hoping for more of what living in New York in the '60 and '70 was like. It is just a list of name dropping, and over half the names I have to google as I have never heard of them.

I do have an audio copy of Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir. I am not big on audio but this one is read by the author and I have heard that it is a very funny telling.

Just started Blood on the Border: A Memoir of the Contra War by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. I read her other memoirs Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie and Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years 1960-1975, excellent reads.

I have been on a memoir kick lately, but most of them have been dull. Hoewever I did find one that I couldn't put down, I read it in an afternoon. Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa is amazingly good, it is about a Mexican gay man who is in an abusive relationship and tries to deal with his issues with his father. It can be a bit triggering, but it was just utterly fantastic.

I've just read E.M. Forster a New Life which gives a good insight of gay life in the 20th century seen through the eyes of Forster.
Next i'm going to read Nina Simone the Biography.

I'd like to tell members about my own recently published autobiography. Perking the Pansies, Jack and Liam move to Turkey was published just before Christmas 2011. Since its release, the book has been an Amazon No1 bestseller in Britain and Canada, and reviews have been excellent. I've now released the e-Book in ePUB format which can be viewed on most non-Kindle e-readers and Apple devices. For more information, please check my website http://www.jackscott.info/buy-an-eboo...

One of the best I've read (and it happens to be GLBTQ) is I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir by Josh Kilmer Purcell. Hilarious as well as poignant, and extremely well-written.

I haven't yet got around to , but I have read and loved and , because Josh & Brent are my neighbors...

How lucky you are! Have you been to Beekman? I've been wondering if "The Fabulous Beekman Boys" is going to return to TV (and when those men are getting married!)

I also read and liked The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir, but I found the earlier memoir much funnier as well as uniquely moving.

Weeell, I've been to the Beekman 1802 store, but I prefer shopping at the actual vendors of the products they sell. I haven't been to their home, though I drive by it often. (It's got a sign in front of it to the effect of, "Respect our privacy.")

They have announced a new third season on a food-related channel. Hopefully this time we'll be able to see the show, because the only cable provider locally didn't carry the channel... It's fun to watch my friends and neighbors on their show.

K.Z., thanks for the recommendation!

You're welcome, Julia. Be prepared, though; the book is a far cry from wholesome. :)

Isaiah wrote: "I have been on a memoir kick lately, but most of them have been dull. Hoewever I did find one that I couldn't put down, I read it in an afternoon. Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa is a..."

Totally agree with you, Isaiah. I've read Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa a couple of times and have been floored by its poetry every time.