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 Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:52 pm
Hey guys. I just got my book list for my Topics in Literature class next semester, which happens to be a GLBT literature class, and I was wondering if anyone had read/liked any of the books on the list.
Alison Bechdel. Fun Home. [[This one's a graphic novel]] ISBN: 0-618-87171-1
2. Jeanette Winterson. Oranges are not the only fruit. ISBN: 0-8021-3516-1
3. James Baldwin. Giovanni's Room.
4. Leslie Feinberg. Stone Butch Blues.
5. Moises Kaufman. The Laramie Project.
6. Caryl Churchill. Cloud Nine.
7. Larry Duplechan. Blackbird.
8. Felicia Luna Lemus. Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties.
So, if anyone's read them, please let me know what you thought of them so I have an idea of just how screwed I'm going to be on these books next semester. Also, this will give me an idea of just how many of them I may want to keep at the end of the semester.
Thanks all!
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Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:53 pm
I actually haven't read any of those! Which I suppose gives me a brand-new shopping list.. :3 I too will see if anyone else has; perchance we can get mini-reviews from some members.
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Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:22 pm
Glad to have given you some shopping ideas. If you need to ISBN numbers for any of them (if you shop online or something) then I can get them to you also. I can do a review on them as the semester goes on, also, as I read them, if you'd like?
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:41 pm
Yes, I would like that a lot! I'm always looking to expand my library, and it would be helpful to have reviews of things I have yet to read. ^_^
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:40 pm
Book Review #1 Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Like I said above, it's a graphic novel, but it honestly reads more like a novel. The pictures that are there are more of an emphasis for what she is saying. Not so much a tale of her own coming out, this memoir is about her father's struggle, as well as her own. Her own struggle to try to fit into her family and as a person, and her father's struggle to complete the intricate lie he had begun year ago. The book is littered with literature references from The Great Gatsby to Ulysses, so you may want some understanding of those before going in to have any clue as to what is going on in the story. Not as quick a read as I thought it would be, Fun Home was far from un-enjoyable, but probably not a book I'd pick up and read had it not been assigned it.
All in all, not a bad book, but definitely a much harder read than I had originally anticipated. Five and a half stars out of Ten.
Next: Giovanni's Room.
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Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:35 pm
Book Review #2 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin Set in Paris, David (our narrator) is in the worst kind of denial. Trying to keep in mind the differences of the time period are hard, at least for this writer, and I quickly learned to hate David. David meets Giovanni in a bar, as Giovanni is the new bartender. There are very few surprises in this book, really, as readers know how it's going to end on the very first page of the book. What's interesting about it, however, is that Baldwin, the author, is black, and is writing a white character. It gives the book a slight twist to it, but it's not enough to bring it back from the lack of action, lack of emotion, and confusion that David is facing accompanied by his level of denial. It's not a completely bad read, however, Giovanni has his endearing qualities and pushed me through the book, but all in all it wasn't worth having to deal with David as our narrator.
Not an altogether bad book, I would recommend it be lent to you or that you borrow it from a library, as I would not have bought it had I not been forced to. Five stars out of ten.
Next: Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.
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