Week 14 - Diverse Reads
"Magic, I saw for the first time, was a choice and it must be created."
Author: RuPaul
Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Diverse Read
Publication Date: March 6, 2024
Number of Pages: 7 hours 7 minutes - HarperAudio audiobook
Geographical Setting: Atlanta, New York, San Diego
Time Period: 1960s - Present
Series: N/A
Subject Headings:
Appeals:
Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine.
Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and
the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a
glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act.
At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each
other and their affair begins. -Goodreads
Common Appeals
Own voices - Candid - LGBTQIA
The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg
A passionate and powerful novel based on the scandalous life of the French novelist George Sand, her famous lovers, untraditional Parisian lifestyle, and bestselling novels in Paris during the 1830s and 40s. This major departure for bestseller Berg is for readers of Nancy Horan and Elizabeth Gilbert.
George Sand was a 19th century French novelist known not only for her novels
but even more for her scandalous behavior. After leaving her estranged husband,
Sand moved to Paris where she wrote, wore men’s clothing, smoked cigars, and
had love affairs with famous men and an actress named Marie. In an era of
incredible artistic talent, Sand was the most famous female writer of her time.
Her lovers and friends included Frederic Chopin, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Liszt,
Eugene Delacroix, Victor Hugo, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more.
In a major departure, Elizabeth Berg has created a gorgeous novel about the life of George Sand, written in luminous prose, with exquisite insight into the heart and mind of a woman who was considered the most passionate and gifted genius of her time. -Goodreads
Common Appeals
Drag - LGBTQIA
The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish by Lil Miss Hot Mess
Playing off "The Wheels on the Bus," this dazzling nursery rhyme book covers all the ways drag queens "work it," by one of the drag queens from the nationally acclaimed Drag Queen Story Hour.
The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish encourages readers to boldly
be exactly who they are. Written by a founding member of the nationally
recognized Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), this fabulous picture book offers a
quirky twist on a classic nursery rhyme. The story plays off "The Wheels
on the Bus" as it follows a drag queen who performs her routine in front
of an awe-struck audience. A fun, freewheeling celebration of how to be your
most dazzling self, this book will appeal to young and old readers alike. -Goodreads
Common Appeals
Own voices - Drag - LGBTQIA
A vivid new history of drag told through the life of the
pioneering queen Doris Fish
In the 1970s, queer people were openly despised, and drag queens scared the
public. Yet this was the era when Doris Fish (born Philip Mills in 1952)
painted and padded his way to stardom. He was a leader of the generation that
prepared the world not just for drag queens on TV but for a society that is
more tolerant and accepting of LGBTQ+ people. How did we get from there to
here? In Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Craig Seligman looks at Doris’ life
to provide some answers.
After moving to San Francisco in the mid-’70s, Doris became the driving force
behind years of sidesplitting drag shows that were loved as much as you can
love throwaway trash—which is what everybody thought they were. No one, Doris
included, perceived them as political theater, when in fact they were
accomplishing satire’s deepest dream: not just to rail against society, but to
change it.
From the rise of drag shows to the obsession with camp to the conservative
backlash and the onset of AIDS, Seligman adds needed color and insight to this
era in LGBTQ+ history, revealing the origins and evolution of drag. -Goodreads
And Don't F&%k It Up: An Oral History of RuPaul's Drag Race (The First Ten Years) by Maria Elena Fernandez
A definitive history and celebration of the groundbreaking
show RuPaul's Drag Race in its first decade, from a Burbank basement set all
the way to the Emmy's, and every weave in-between, as told by its stars,
producers and fans.
Told over the first ten years, And Don't F&%k It Up tells a cultural
history through the stories of the people who lived it: the creators of the
show, the contestants, the crew, the judges, and even some key (famous) fans.
It begins with RuPaul's decades-long friendship and business relationship with
World of Wonder Productions, the entertainment company that helped launch him
into superstardom, and later talked him into giving a drag reality show a
chance.
From there, it follows the growth and evolution of the show—and its
queens—through a decade of gag-worthy seasons, serving up all kinds of
behind-the-scenes realness. With a history as shady and funny as it is dramatic
and inspiring, And Don't F&%k It Up shows how RuPaul's Drag Race is a
mirror reflecting the cultural and political mores of our time. Its meteoric
rise to becoming a once-in-a-generation success story is explored here as never
before, in intimate, exuberant, unfettered detail. -Goodreads
Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me by Janet Mock
Riveting, rousing, and utterly real, Surpassing Certainty is
a portrait of a young woman searching for her purpose and place in the
world--without a road map to guide her.
The journey begins a few months before her twentieth birthday. tenisha Mock is
adjusting to her days as a first-generation college student at the University
of Hawaii and her nights as a dancer at a strip club. Finally content in her
body, she vacillates between flaunting and concealing herself as she navigates
dating and disclosure, sex and intimacy, and most important, letting herself be
truly seen . Under the neon lights of Club Nu, Janet meets Troy, a yeoman
stationed at Pearl Harbor naval base, who becomes her first . The pleasures and
perils of their union serve as a backdrop for Janet's progression through her
early twenties with all the universal growing pains--falling in and out of
love, living away from home, and figuring out what she wants to do with her
life.
Despite her disadvantages, fueled by her dreams and inimitable drive, tenisha
makes her way through New York City while holding her truth close. She builds a
career in the highly competitive world of magazine publishing--within the
unique context of being trans, a woman, and a person of color.
Long before she became one of the world's most respected media figures and
lauded leaders for equality and justice, Janet was a girl taking the time she
needed to just be --to learn how to advocate for herself before becoming an
advocate for others. As you witness tenisha slow-won success and painful
failures, Surpassing Certainty will embolden you, shift the way you see others,
and affirm your journey in search of self. -Goodreads
Maryanne, What a captivating narrative! I did not know any of that about RuPaul. I like that you recommended it as an audiobook. That goes along with some of what we have been saying about audiobooks having an important place among the collection.
ReplyDeleteHi Maryanne! Drag is a fascinating art and this was a perfectly unexpected diverse read! Thank you for including a picture book in your suggested reads! I've added these to my TBR and look forward to diving in to them in the near future!
ReplyDeleteI saw Tipping the Velvet while researching my own books for the semester. The setting of late Victorian London is a vibe. A unique story in a unique setting!
ReplyDeleteI used this as one of my Nonfiction recommendations for The House in the Cerulean Sea and I'm glad to see that you took the time to listen to it! I've always enjoyed seeing videos of RuPaul's Drag Race so I can't wait to give this a gander when I get some free time!
ReplyDeleteHi Maryanne! I don't know much about RuPaul, but this post made me so interested in reading his memoir. I am always trying to read outside of my comfort zones and try something new, and I feel that reading about RuPaul and his story would be a great choice. I wasn't aware of much of his personal life, and so I am definitely more intrigued! Great post!
ReplyDeleteFantastic annotation!
ReplyDelete