The title of this book continues with “True Tales of The Dorkiest Girl Alive”, which sums up the book quite nicely. Here we have another collection of hysterically funny stories, that actually happened to Notaro. I enjoy reading Notaro’s books while on a plane. The short little chapters are great for reading while traveling, and all are amusing enough to take my mind off my deathly fear of flying while I am reading them.

Some of the stories I found especially humorous in this book involved traveling by airplane. There’s the one about the space hog in front of her who insisted on reclining her seat into Notaro’s space. There’s the one about her being trapped in the airport, waiting for the flight to board, with a bunch of teenage Japanese basketball players. There are some great stories about strange things that happened while she was on her book tour. It’s not all about travel, though. Some stories are about the woes of poor customer service, others mention her darling nephew, and some even touch on the perils of the internet.

As always, the book is full of the frustrations, emotions, and embarrassments that Notaro gives us in great detail without flinching or pulling any punches. I’m not sure I would be brave enough to be that honest. The result is that all of us dorky girls who do some not so smart things see a little bit of ourselves reflected back at us when we read Notaro’s words.

This one is easy to take along with you while you are on that last bit of summer vacation. It’s light and refreshing, and still has something to say. I always enjoy Notaro’s stories.

Can you think of another instance where two people in the public eye broke up, and then both of them wrote a book about it? Neither can I. Each book is a compelling read on it’s own, but, if you really want to get the full “he said/ she said” effect, you need to read them one right after the other.

The main idea goes something like the following. Governor James McGreevy ended his political career with a (now at least somewhat famous) speech in which he declared himself to be “A Gay American”. At the time, he was married and he and his wife had a very young child. He later wrote the book The Confession describing what led up to that moment. This, of course, got a lot of media attention, which led to his then wife Dina Matos McGreevy to write her book Silent Partner. Her book is a memoir of their marriage, from her point of view, and answers the question everyone has been asking since James McGreevy made that life changing speech, “Didn’t you know he was gay?”.

In the wake of Brokeback Mountain(a movie based on a book by Annie Proulx), there has been a lot of commentary about these kinds of marriages. So much so that there is a new term created, “straight spouse”, to refer to the spouse whose partner comes out of the closet after years of marriage. A quick tour of the internet will show that this is not as rare an occurrence as one might expect. There is even a Straight Spouse Network created to meet the needs of the people who find themselves in this sort of situation. (Dina Matos McGreevy mentions this group in her book). This is happening in the lives of lots and lots of people.

Once upon a time, people hesitated to get divorced, in part because of the stigma society placed upon it. Today, divorce is taken much more lightly. Now, society is starting to look at “mixed marriages” between a straight person and a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person. The term “mixed marriage” (once used to refer to marriages between two people of different races) has had it’s definition expanded. Surprisingly, it seems that just because one spouse has come out of the closet, this alone does not necessarily mean that the marriage will end. For better or for worse, our concept of marriage is changing.

I decided to read The Confession first. After opening with a short narrative where Dina asks him “Are you gay?”, James goes back in time to his childhood. He is Irish, and was raised Roman Catholic, and was very devout. As a young child, he was told all about his father’s brother, a war hero, who James was named after. His father stresses how important it is for James to live up to his name. This sets the stage for a young man who desperately does not want to be gay.

James points out, more than once, that many of his early experiences were repressed, and it was only with the help of a therapist that he was able to write this book. He had years where he was seen dating women, and then having anonymous sexual encounters with men. This became more risky once he got into politics, especially since what he describes sounds to me to function very much like a “boys club”. Meeting were often held at strip clubs, and to get work done, James needed to go with, and play the game.

Much of James McGreevey’s book is about politics. What offices he held, which wonderful things he helped to get passed, what the campaigns were like. I, personally, don’t care to read about politics, and I found myself confused about just how all those details fit together. What I did understand is that his story could not be told any other way. James was a workaholic, in part, to avoid some aspects of his marriages, and it is clear to me that this is where his head was at much of the time. Readers who enjoy books about history and politics are going to get more out of this book than I was able to.

In short, it goes like this. James got married, to a woman he truly loved named Kari, and had a child with her. The marriage ended, largely because Kari did not enjoy the political life, and did not want their daughter raised around all that deceit and nastiness. A few years later, James met Dina at a political function, and then married her. Shortly after the marriage, James went to Israel (for political reasons), and met a man named Golan Cipel, who he was smitten with. James finds a way to bring Golan to America, and gives him a questionable job as one of his employees. Dina gets pregnant, and ends up hospitalized due to complications before the baby was born. This is when James and Golan start their affair. Years later, after Golan and James are all over and done with, Golan threatens to blackmail James. Golan wants a whole lot of money, or his is going to tell the world about their affair. This is what leads to the “I am a Gay American” speech.

One thing I heard a lot before I read The Confession was that it was scandalously lurid, and detailed the sexual acts between James and Golan. This is simply not the case. James instead gives just enough details to give the reader a good idea about what likely went on. The book is not pornographic, and does not read like “Penthouse Letters”.

I read Dina’s book Silent Partner next. Her book is mostly focused on their marriage, with just enough information about her childhood. She and her family immigrated from Portugal when she was a small child, due to a major health problem one of her brother’s had. She loved America, became a citizen, and got involved with local politics before meeting James.

Her book is not simply a diatribe about hating her ex-husband. It is a very detailed dissection of the years of their marriage, including details of specific instances, as well as describing the roller coaster of emotions involved. In short, no, she had no idea he was gay.

I was fascinated by the little things in this book. She describes how James proposed to her, first by asking his friend to ask Dina if she would marry him, and later by presenting her with a ring, but not actually asking her the big question. Dina notes it as odd even at the time, but can find realistic reasons why James decided to do things this way. She was shielded from much of the speculation about James being gay that was all over the media because she got her news from the television instead of the newspapers or internet. Dina believed for a long time that James might have been involved with someone else, but suspected that someone else was his ex wife, Kari, whom James had regular contact with. Readers of this book will understand exactly how blind sided Dina was by James’ public announcement that he was gay. Dina then goes on to describe what life was like after that speech, with the media hounding them, the difficult decisions about their divorce still up in the air, and a very young child to care for through it all. There is no doubt that Dina suffered. What she shares about these very personal experiences will help other “straight spouses” to feel like they are not alone.

What was the most interesting to me about these two books was not in the details where they agreed, but in the places they differed. It’s the he said/ she said aspect that I find the most telling. Somewhere in the middle, where things overlap, is the truth.

Few things are more tempting than those things deemed “verboten”. It has always made me angry when someone (or some group or organization), decided on my behalf that I needed to be protected from reading a particular book. When I was a kid, finding out that a book was banned somewhere was enough for me to decide I wanted to read it, just to spite the people who banned it. I have always felt that if you don’t like a book, for whatever reason, then don’t read it. Or, read it, and then tell others why you didn’t like it. But whatever you do, don’t actively decide for the world, (or, in most cases, for your kid’s school), that not one person should ever get the chance to read this particular book, and make their own decisions about it. Who made you the King of Books anyway?

So, in an effort to thwart those who want to become “Big Brother”, here is a book that tends to get banned, and why you should read it anyway. Knowledge is power, people.

(1)I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

What This Book Is About
This book is a biography. These events actually happened to a real person. Angelou starts her story when she is about three years old, and on a train with her brother on their way to their grandmother’s house, where they will grow up. I found this book to be really sad. Tragedy after tragedy happens, starting when she is still a child, and continuing until she reaches early adulthood. It’s about racism, and class-ism, and abuse of power. But it’s also about family, and love, and faith, and persevering.

Why This Book Gets Banned
Maya gets molested and then raped by a stepfather when she is still too young of a child to realize exactly what is going on. The book describes what happened from her point of view. It’s clear to the reader, even if it was unclear to Maya, exactly what happened. There is a court case that follows, and that again brings up details of the rape, and also Maya’s mixed emotions and confusion about it. It’s not an easy read. If you are an abuse or rape survivor, parts of this book might be especially difficult for you to read. Later on in the book, there are descriptions of some teenage characters having sex. It’s not very graphic, but it is still clear what the two teens who are underneath a makeshift tent in the woods are doing. People who want to ban this book, particularly if they want to ban it from a High School, use the label “mature content” or say the book is “too graphic” for teens to read and then discuss in a classroom setting.

Here Is My Source

Why You Should Read This Book
Despite the things that go wrong in Angelou’s life, (and there are many heartbreaking things that happened), there is still hope. To me, that was the point. No matter how bad life gets, there is still hope. You can’t simply give up and die when things look bleak. You just need to find the one sliver of good in a situation, and hold on tight to that. Belief in God helps, at least, for Angelou. In today’s world of instant gratification and over prescribed antidepressant medications, this is a message people may benefit from hearing. If your life right now is not going so well, you can read what Angelou went through, and maybe decide that things aren’t so bad for you after all in comparison. You can learn a new way to cope with your problems. If your life is going great, then you can read this book of tragedies, and count your blessings. If you ban the book because of the negative content, you never give someone the chance to hear the positive message. And that would truly be a tragedy.

The full title of this book is My Pet Virus The True Story Of A Rebel Without A Cure. I enjoyed this book so much! Who knew a book about contracting HIV could be hilarious?

Decker uses his somewhat twisted sense of humor, (my favorite kind), to tell his story. He was born a “thinblood”, which is his word for “person with hemophilia”, and contracted HIV from tainted blood products when he was a child, (in the 1980’s, before blood was checked for HIV). This made him a “positoid”, his word for “person who is HIV positive”. I really like the creative new words Decker made! He eventually was diagnosed with AIDS, and, “thanks to modern medicine”, Decker is living his life, not so differently than any of the rest of us. In fact, he’s done some things (such as meeting Depeche Mode, writing a regular column for a Poz Magazine, and doing book tours for his wonderful memoir), that most of us readers will never do.

Decker and I are pretty close to the same age, so, I can remember how paranoid people were back in the 1980’s when we were all first hearing about AIDS from the news on TV. People were scared, and uninformed, and often prejudiced against and mean to people with HIV/AIDS. Imagine being a child with HIV in a world so very freaked out by it! Imagine starting to date under those circumstances. In spite of this, Decker had a fairly normal life (if anyone’s life can really be described as “normal” that is), with a brother who picked on him, friends he did stupid things with, and even girls he dated.

Included in the book are photos of Decker from the time period that each chapter focuses on. In the first one, he’s a toddler, and he and his brother are dressed alike. Very cute! Other photos include friends, famous people he met, and his wife Gwenn, (who remains HIV negative).

The two of them do public speaking, educating about HIV, AIDS, and how to stay negative. They show people that you can live with HIV and AIDS, without making it seem like a picnic. The two of them are very honest, which takes bravery in a world where ignorance abounds.

This a quirky memoir about a serious subject, that manages to remain lighthearted and positive, without glossing over the difficult stuff. Its a quick and extremely entertaining read. The book is slightly smaller in dimension than most paperbacks, and would make a great “stocking stuffer” Christmas gift for your friends who read.

The full title is “Queen of the Oddballs and Other True Stories from a Life Unaccording to Plan”. This is a memoir of some of the oddball things that Carlip has done in her life. There were many parts I found to be laugh-out-loud funny, and also some chapters that were just heartbreakingly poignant. This is one of those books where I found myself impressed, over and over again, at how much personal stuff the author was willing to share with the world.

Many of the stories in this book involve Carlip’s interactions with famous people. As a child, she was selected to appear on Art Linkletter’s House Party. As a teenager she met Carly Simon and Carole King. “Met” isn’t exactly the word I’m looking for here, but I can’t quite think of a word that fits better. What’s another word, that means: “endearingly stalked”? Carlip also won The Gong Show, with her juggling act that was both skillful and funny when paired with the song she chose. The list goes on. Each chapter ends with some photos and souvenirs from the story she described in the chapter. These are presented in scrapbook format, and are really cute! Each chapter begins with some little facts about what was going on in the world in that particular year, to help put things in perspective.

In addition to all the humor, Carlip gives the reader some of her very personal memories. There is a chapter about when her father was dying that just broke my heart. Reading it is like standing next to Carlip while the experience is going on, and reminded me very much of when my beloved Gram was dying. She also tells the reader details about her relationships over the years, giving us the good, the bad, and the ugly. I don’t think I would have the guts to be so honest in writing meant for lots of other people to read, and I admire Carlip’s bravery. She even gives us snapshots of what was going through her mind, and what she was doing, while going through adolescence,(the time when we are all at our most awkward), including thoughts about her own developing sexuality. She holds nothing back from her readers.

Overall, one idea comes shining through. “Be Odd and Proud”, (to borrow a phrase from Carlip). Be who you are, and do what makes you happy. Don’t worry so much about if other people, or the society you live in, thinks you are uncool, or an “Oddball”. It’s really ok! In our consumer culture, we get a million little messages every day telling us to buy this or use that to fit in, to be more perfect, to be happy. How refreshing to hear that its wonderful to be an “Oddball”! Kudos to Carlip, for encouraging “Oddballs” everywhere to be themselves!

Catch A Wave tells the story of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson. The book begins during Wilson’s teenage years in suburban Los Angeles, and covers the musician’s life up to (almost) present day. Many books have been written about the Beach Boys, and having read Timothy White’s obsessively researched The Nearest Faraway Place, I wasn’t sure that another book about this subject could provide anything new. But this isn’t the case. Catch A Wave takes a fresh look at the history of the Beach Boys by filtering it through the life and times of Brian Wilson. The stories are fascinating, the writing is well paced and Peter Ames Carlin’s telling of the stories has a healthy balance of fan infatuation and objective narration. Even if you’re not a fan of Wilson’s music, there is likely to be something in this book for you. Everything is covered from Wilson’s tumultuous relationship with his father/manager Murray Wilson, to his brotherly connection to the Manson Family, to the personal, spiritual and pychological hurdles he seemed to face at every turn. What’s probably most important about Catch A Wave is how up-to-date it is. The book documents the completion of Brian Wilson’s legendary, unfinished 60’s album Smile, and goes on to show how the often-troubled man is coming to find peace in his life. Catch A Wave is highly recommended to fans of music biographies, and should prove to be an enjoyable read to anyone interested in real-life stories.

Cockeyed is a memoir by Ryan Knighton. The book tells the story of a man who is diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa as a teenager. In the years that follow, his eyesight continually degrades until (at the close of the book) he is left with a tiny sliver of vision in one eye. The book begins with Knighton’s tales of being a teenager in suburban Vancouver. At the time, the author hadn’t yet realized how bad his vision was, and this lead to a few accident-prone experiences while operating motorized vehicles. Specifically, how he almost ran a guy over while driving a forklift, and how he trashed his dad’s car while night driving. The book progresses through Knighton’s experiences as a teacher in Korea and covers everything he learns along the way about how to function in the world as a blind person. The author’s style of storytelling is infused with enough humor and sarcasm to make each chapter a pleasure to read. He doesn’t try to manipulate the reader through cheap “woe-is-me” tactics. Instead, he makes things very conversational. It’s like he’s saying, “You know what it’s like for a blind guy to use a public restroom?”, and then he relates his observations on the matter. And in the book, he does cover everything from every day events (like using a public restroom) to the emotional struggles he faced in his relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Tracy.

I enjoyed this book on many levels. The memoir is well-paced, and is a quick read. Knighton’s style is smooth and personable, and as stated above, he does a good job of including the reader in his stories. I also found I could relate to the book on a personal level. I am legally blind, and while my vision isn’t as low as Ryan’s, I tend to encounter the world in much the same ways as he. Specifically, the way he talks about his relationship with Tracy. He does a great job of relating just what it’s like to be the “blind half” of a couple, and how that can put certain strains on the other half, and more importantly, how lucky he is to be with someone who can handle these conditions.

I would definitely recommend this book. Fans of memoirs or anyone just looking for a good read should enjoy Cockeyed.

If you enjoyed the book Running With Scissors, (by Augusten Burroughs) you will really like this book too! Its that kind of “different”. I couldn’t put this one down, and ended up reading it really fast. Josh Kilmer-Purcell has written down his memories of the years he spent working in advertizing by day, and working as a drag queen named Aqua by night. The book is fascinating and scary, and I was amazed that someone could live like that for so long and still have the brain cells left over to write a book with when all was said and done.

Kilmer-Purcell is gay, but not interested in becoming a woman. His alter ego, Aqua, is a drag queen with all the style and drama one might expect, and, with goldfish swimming around in her clear plastic breasts. I had no idea how long it actually takes to transform oneself like that, and was also very impressed with the variety of creative outfits and designs that Kilmer-Purcell created for Aqua. I don’t know how he managed to drink and occasionally do some coke while out at the clubs every night, sleep for a few hours only, and then get to work again the next day in one piece, and, to manage to do this for days and days on end, and actually remember most of what happened in that time. More than I could do! I need my sleep!

This book also describes the relationship Kilmer-Purcell had with a boyfriend named Jack, from the start of the relationship to the end. It started rather sweet, and got more and more scary as Jack, who worked as a male escort, became more and more addicted to crack.

The book is hysterically funny in places, especially some of the stories that take place in the clubs the drag queens do shows at. It’s also scary, and sad, and completely gripping. The book will be out sometime in February. I got to read an advanced copy, because I work at a bookstore. This is a very captivating book, where the reader will constantly wonder what will happen next, and then guess wrong each and every time.

A Million Little Orders.

Right now, this is the book everyone is asking about at the bookstore. (And no, we don’t have them in stock anymore, and no, neither do the other bookstores in your town). (But we can put you on a list to get one). Most of the mass of people who want this book simply seem to want it because Oprah mentioned it, and then had the author on her show. More than once in the past two weeks, I believe.

Now, I read this book some months ago, and I have to agree that is really is a great book. Its interesting, its scary, its something that actually happened to the author. However, it sort of bothers me that people aren’t reading it because of its attributes, but only because Oprah is saying its good. It is very strange to have several housewife looking women, (accompanied by their toddlers), and several grandmothers, and at the same time, several college students, (both men and women), suddenly have this burning desire to read a book about a guy’s experiences as he went through rehabilitation for drug addiction. Oprah definately has the magic touch when it comes to booksales.
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