Tag Archives: books

TBILISI: Gay Book Controversy Roils Nation Of Georgia

The nation of Georgia has seen several demonstrations and assaults over the publication of a book by a 20 year-old author which mocks the Orthodox Church and depicts several gay sexual encounters. Via the Moscow Times: The catalyst for the dispute was a provocative new book satirizing the church, the most respected institution in Georgia. Its title is an irreverent …

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The Condemned

French journalist Philippe Castetbon contacted men living in countries where homosexuality is against the law and asked them to provide a “self-portrait and a personal text, words of fear and anger.” Castetbon has turned their responses into a book, Les Condamnés.

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The Real Life “English Patient” Was Gay

Newly discovered letters have revealed that Lazlo de Almasy, the Hungarian soldier who inspired the Best Picture Oscar-winning romance/drama The English Patient, was gay in real life. He never slept with a woman and he was in love with a Nazi. Letters have surfaced in Germany proving that the World War Two spy who inspired the hero the the Oscar-winning …

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Tales Of The City Musical To Get San Francisco World Premiere

The musical version of Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City will see its world premiere in San Francisco next summer. “Tales of the City,” a new musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s famed stories – created with veterans of “Avenue Q” and members of the rock band Scissor Sisters – will receive its world premiere in the American Conservatory Theater’s 2010-11 …

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Karl Rove: Don’t Talk About My Gay Dad

Even though Karl Rove’s stepdad was totally gay, he doesn’t like people saying it. From a review of his new memoir: The attack dog rears his head, however, when Rove deals with questions about his stepfather’s sexual orientation. He blasts journalists for raising the issue at all — in his eyes it’s purely a liberal gambit to criticize him for …

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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

From the author of Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.

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Author J.D. Salinger Dies At 91

Famously reclusive and iconic novelist J.D. Salinger died in his New Hampshire home yesterday at the age of 91. J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting …

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Beau Breedlove To Pen Memoir

Beau Breedlove, the young Oregon man whose teenage love affair with Portland Mayor Sam Adams threatened to cost Adams his office, is releasing a memoir. Breedlove (real name!) posed nude for Unzipped Magazine shortly after the affair became public. “The book is a reflection on the events of my life before, during and after the ‘scandal’ surrounding my relationship with …

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DC’s Lambda Rising Booking To Close

Sigh. Yet another LGBT bookstore bites the dust. Lambda Rising, a bookstore serving the LGBT community in the nation’s capital for 35 years, is closing its D.C. store in Dupont Circle and its remaining out-of-town store in Rehoboth Beach, Del., in January. The closings, announced Friday, mark the end of the city’s only exclusively LGBT bookstore and becomes another in …

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At Sarah Palin’s Book Signing

And these people all have the right to vote.

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The Diaries Of Benjamin Britten

My loyal companion Aaron writes from his exile in Oregon to suggest that opera fans here on JMG would enjoy Journeying Boy: The Diaries of the Young Benjamin Britten, which comes out today. A review in the Guardian UK headlined Boys, Bitching, Brilliance notes: Benjamin Britten’s early years are often ignored, overshadowed by the spectacular success of his opera Peter …

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Time To Re-Review Matt Barber’s Book

Last week I suggested checking out anti-gay activist Matt Barber’s new book, The Right Hook, and offering up your reviews on Amazon. Many of you did, to hilarious effect, although most of your reviews were later removed after Barber and his male lover Peter LaBarbera stamped their delicate stilettos on wingnut radio shows and websites. Reviewers are being highly critical …

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HomoQuotable – Elton John

“I made the mistake of not having sex until I was 23! I loved being with another man and felt relieved that I finally knew who I was. I made the mistake of falling in love too soon because I was naive and romantic. My advice to you is to never chase love. It will find you when you least …

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Pre-Orders Send Palin’s Book To #1

Pre-orders for Sarah Palin’s coming memoir, Going Rogue, have sent the title rocketing overnight to #1 on the bestsellers lists of book merchants nationwide. Just two days after HarperCollins announced that Palin’s “Going Rogue” had been moved up from the spring to Nov. 17, preorders Wednesday night for the former Alaska governor’s memoir made it No. 1 on both Amazon.com …

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Swag Tuesday

For today’s Swag Tuesday we’ve got Joel Derfner’s memoir Swish: My Quest To Become The Gayest Person Ever and What Happened Instead, which is just out in paperback. This new edition features a foreword by Elton John, who says, “Swish is the best book about being gay that I’ve ever read. But it’s not just about being gay; it’s about …

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Wisconsin Book Burning Battle Goes On

Remember the Christian group that wants to burn a gay-themed book that they found in their Milwaukee-area library? The battle rages on and the Christianists now want the library to stock books by “ex-gays” in order to “balance” any books that positively depict homosexuality. Residents have sparred for months on blogs, airwaves and at meetings, including one where a man …

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It’s Towel Day Too

As I am a hoopy frood, I must let you know that May 25th is Towel Day, a tribute to Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy author Douglas Adams, who has been suffering a permanent existence failure since 2001. Towel Day celebrations will take place at pubs worldwide, where things will get unpleasantly like being drunk. A sixth Hitchhiker’s book by …

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#AmazonFail: “Our Bad!”

Although some hacker tried to take credit for the delisting of LGBT titles from Amazon, the e-tailer says it’s actually their own fault. Complainers are now getting this automated reply: Thank you for contacting Amazon.com. This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection. It has been misreported that the issue …

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NYC: Oscar Wilde Bookshop To Close

Sad news. The nation’s oldest gay bookstore, the West Village’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop, will close on March 29th due to the “current economic crisis.” The store was opened in 1967 on Mercer Street by Craig L. Rodwell, who was influential in the gay rights movement. It later moved to 15 Christopher Street. Mr. Rodwell, who inspired similar owners of gay …

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Frankly My Dear, My Rate Is $250/Hour

In a blistering review, the NY Times tears into Clark Gable: Tormented Man, a new book by David Bret who claims that Cable was “gay for pay”, “rough trade”, and in general a self-loathing homophobe. Calling the book “breathtakingly trashy”, the Times adds: “For all its smut, the book is painfully unsexy.”

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