I would like to know what people are reading, that is one thing I would like to know. What better thing to offer than the suggestion of a really wonderful book? I always have a pile of them going at once (a bad, unbreakable and worsening habit) but let's see...get home free by John Clellon Holmes was really pretty fantastic, and filled with the New York we all miss whether we really knew it or not.

Most everyone who knows me knows that I am a big Anne Rice queen, so naturally the last two books I read, on vacation last month, were Merrick, the new Mayfair Witches/Vamp Chronicles edition, and then the charming Pandora, which I had missed thus far.

I have nothing but admiration for this great modern writer, and if you have somehow missed her books all these years, start and you will have years of catching up to do. The Vampire Chronicles are riveting and justly famous, but for johnny and I she has never topped the Mayfair Witches books, especially the first of them, the masterful Witching Hour.

I also adored The Feast of All Saints, which is fascinating for all the detail on New Orleans and the Free People of Color, the connections between haiti, Paris and New Orleans, and the intricate quadroon mistress system that was so much a part of N.O. life.

I just read Dreamcatcher, by Stephen King (Scribner). It was o.k, it wasn't that scary.There were painful autobiographical elements memories of a car accident like the one that nearly killed King in 1999. Its Blair Witch Meets X Files,The plot is trademark King Four pals meet virus-carrying aliens in the Maine woods.My favorite refrerence was the scooby doo lunch box, this sums up the who dunnit humour aspect.

I'm reading Dolly Parton's autobiography. It's pretty riviting. Even more than Latoya Jackson's autobiography if you can believe that. At first it's kind of hard to get into because she REALLY wrote it herself and the whole "Beverly Hillbilly" schtick is kind of tiresome. I know she has an audience that expects that crap but the truth is she is not a Hillbilly anymore and is quite an amazing woman. The good thing about that kind of "fireside chat" type of writing is that you really feel that you know her. I don't believe everything she says however. I really can't believe her best friend for 50 years, Judy (the one with the shag haircut, the one that never married, you know... the one that was in the Army for all of those years) and her are not lovers. She says that there is always alot of talk because when she goes on tour Judy is her bodyguard and they sleep in the same hotel room, in fact they sleep in the same bed. I guess that's how rummors start! She denies any hanky panky. Dolly is a totally modern woman!

Just finished Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club author)... it was such a fun read! Didn't want to put it down... imagine the fast-edit style of Fight Club, adding all the drugs, drinking and fabulosity of AbFab, throwing in a handful of wild, raunchy drag queens, but still maintaing a serious plot and a journey through a woman's psyche. HOT DAMN! It was both entertaining and thought-provoking. His style is edgy without being too distracting or too self-conscious, and the characters are AWESOME. Anything else I say would be a spoiler, so I'll leave it at that.

I just finished a reread of The Great Gatsby -- checking out decadence of another era -- and have now started a collection of Calvin Trillin essays. I love that he can be so humorously evocative of the joys of food without any cooking skill of his own. he's a great guide to NYC takeout!

I just finished "Sea Dragon Heir" by Storm Constantine.... a fantastical tale, miserable wretched and gray.... just how I like it

I adore her work

I am a big nautical fan.

For those who have a love of World/English history and of the Georgan/Napoleonic Period in general, check out Patrick O' Brian's Jack Aubrey Series. The series begins with the first work, Master and Commander. No, it's not a D/S novel. However, there is quite a bit of talk about flogging, rum and sodomy just to keep you all interested.

The naval detail, musical, medical, fashion, cultural, language, art, and science accuracy of the 22 volume work is truly staggering. It is immersive and educating. An excellent read.


T

[This message was edited by Ted & Di on 04-03-01 at 05:43 PM.]

I just read all of the David Sedaris books. They're a real hoot! I fell in Love with his sister Amy via "Strangers With Candy" and I've discovered that a sick form of genius runs in their family.

"The Book Of Liz," a play that they cowrote is currently running. I really liked it, but the books are great on a much higher level.

[This message was edited by Miss Understood on 04-09-01 at 08:42 PM.]

I am learning much from reading The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell. First printed in 1951 this little gem is loaded with insightful nuggets of information like "Among average respectable women envy plays an extraordinarily large part. If you are sitting in the Underground and a well-dressed woman happens to walk along the car, watch the eyes of the other women. You will see that every one of them, with the possible exception of those who are even better dressed, will watch the woman with malevolent glances, and will be struggling to draw inferences derogatory to her. The love of scandal is an expression of this general malevolence; any story against another woman is instantly believed, even on the flimsiest evidence. A lofty morality serves the same purpose; those who have a chance to sin against it are envied, and it is considered virtuous to punish them for their own sins. This particular form of virtue is certainly its own reward."
This serves as a reminder to look the best and sin often, so that envious eyes will fall upon you.

That Bertrand Russel sounds dangerous and intriguing. His insights seem to speak from both sides of the social coin, giving his voice both astonishingly enlightentend and reprehensibly candid insights. Feeling compelled...must..investigate..further.

Oh, yeah, so my friend Jemiah Jefferson, of Portland, OR, has gotten her shit together but good, and written an engaging and delightful vampire story. It's called, "Voice of the Blood", and you can get it at Borders and finer Amazon.com clones everywhere. or, you could just go here: http://www.jemiah.com/writing/novels/vox1.html

It's not entirely unlike the works of Poppy Z Brite or Anne Rice in theme, but that's about as far as it goes. I've found thus far, (I'm halfway through it), that her humour and irony is right in your face, she doesn't pull punches, doesn't take any removed distances from her narrator's experience or the reader's.
I'm also liking how it is very much the gorey, lusty vampire tale that your jaded post-goth self still quietly wants to adore, and yet, since it picks holes and laughs at the whole genre while at the same time being _of_ it, the book brings a sort of post-post modern humanity/humility to the medium itself. It forgives you for enjoying it

In other words, it says, "Yeah, I'm cheesy like a slice of Ray's, fuck off and keep reading...I know you want to",...and you do.

How splendid, AND she's coming out to NYC in mid-May for research! So,...if, over the weekend of the 19th of that month, you spot me out and about with a foxy young black chick with creamy dreads and a half-sullen/half grinning expression, please come up with your fonkyfab self and show her why NYC is worth writing about. Flirt shamelessly, she's game. You may well wind up being immortalized!

Currently reading "The Wanting Seed" by Anthony Burgess - but it is dragging on a bit. Certainly not his best.

But I highly suggest "I Am Elijah Thrush" by James Purdy - if you can find it as it is Out-of-Print. Tells the tale of an old homosexual dancer/drag performer/artist (who reminds me a bit of what Jack Smith might have been like) and his jealous wife who hires a third-party to spy on Elijah and his gay cohorts. Very sassy.

On the autobiography topic (Daddy - you're reading Dolly Parton's?!?), rush out and get Nina Simone's "I Put A Spell On You" - truly spellbinding!

E

Thanks for the scoop Evie. Actually I need a new book because I can't find "Dolly" and I never finished it. Bummer.
When do you find time to read?

Obviously she reads at work, Daddy.

Isn't that when you snap your fingers at someone and make a rude and smart-ass comment?I'm confused..

1)Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa, the gay buddhist.
2)Care Of The Soul by Thomas Moore
3)The Essential Lenny Bruce edited by Jo hn Cohen

The BEST porn anthology ever written, "What The Fuck" by indie pub house Soft Skull Press has some of the sexiest and intelligent modern-day erotica. i think you can buy it off their website.

After finishing Confessions of a Shopaholic (by Sophie Kinsella) which for anybody also afflicted with this malady is a must read, though the happy ending is the only downfall. It is very much in the same genre as Helen Fieldings' Bridget Jones' Diary- first one I loved, but the second one I never finished- didn't live up to the first at all in my opinion.

But right now I am tearing through Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls (by Rae Lawrence). Taken from a draft/outline penned prior to her death from breast cancer in '74, it does feel like a Susann novel (and I have read them all, and several more than once), but it is a bit predictable and all too short in comparison to Susann's other novels. I had issues with it not being trulya Susann novel, but curiousity won out over my feelings of loyalty regarding her writings. Incidentally, I had a rather lengthy discussion with Thomas (doorperson Thomas) last week at Kitsch-Inn about this very topic, and he had taken a course on Susann while a student at NYU. Finally, I met someone as fascinated by her and knew as much, if not more, than I (besides her biographer Barbara Seaman, who I met once at the now-defunct A Different Light- she was there for the Susann readings in honor of the rerelease of J.S.'s books, and Linda Simpson put the show together, and I was honored to participate and read a passage from Once is Not Enough, which I read when I was 14, and had to read again when I was 'older' so I could understand it so much the better). If only there had been a course while I was matriculated in college so many years ago. Next up on my list is Jackie Collins' New Hollywood Wives, which is sitting on my bookshelf in its vulgar cheetah-print cover! So I cannot wait to rip through that as well.

Sweetie gave me a copy of Sarah (by JT LeRoy) to read, which I also never finished. I just couldn't get the vernacular (all that West Virginia verbage and colloquialisms lost me), and I never got hooked, despite the topic matter (12 year old tranny truckstop hustler), which should have captured my interest.

Now to the reason of my posting (I know I digress a bit- no, alot)- I would really love to get my hands on a copy of The Wind Done Gone (the parody of Gone with the Wind written from the slaves' point of view). Unfortunately, Margaret Mitchell's estate won in court blocking publication, which is really sad for different reasons- 1) what about freedom of the press?, 2) let the public decide its merit, and 3) it would have boosted interest in Gone with the Wind again, which could only spell financial gain for the estate. Any suggestions on how to get a copy (without knowingly breaking any laws of course)?

[This message was edited by randella on 07-08-01 at 06:15 PM.]

The injunction prohibiting publication was lifted May 21/31 2001

You can get the book from Amazon.com or wherever.

prince 17.60 for hardcover.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/061810450X/o/qid=994636388/sr=2-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/102-8229927-6899305

I just finished The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington, which many people only know of through the Orson Welles movie featuring the incomparable Agnes Moorehead. I found the novel very enjoyable and poignant ... I just love the classics. Before that I re-read A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, one of my favorite novelists, though Maurice is my favorite of his. I too am a fledging Anne Rice fan, but confess I have to catch up on my Vampire series reading. The best of the series so far for me is Queen of the Damned, where all the vampire superstars come together like in the superhero comics where Batman teams up with Superman and Wonder Woman and Spiderman, etc. I'm not surprised to hear that Chi-Chi is an Anne Rice fan .... Mother certainly shows her influence!

Randella: the court case on this book finished, and the Mitchell estate people must have lost becuase the book is now in stores. I saw a copy last week at Astor Place Barnes & Noble. I want to read it too out of curiosity. Gone With the Wind was a fave of mine when I was a teenager. Though thoroughly racist and I threw it across the room in anger at certain points, I was fascinated by the whole Rhett-Scarlett relationship and the character of Scarlett herself.
Regarding Jacqueline Susann, I have not picked up the recent Dolls novel, but read the original Valley of the Dolls as well as Once Is Not Enough and The Love Machine. Once Is Not Enough is great ....