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Post by burner on May 1, 2009 1:02:27 GMT -5
Atlas Shrugged ... again. I would not have thought to look to Wikipedia for any info on the book but a friend sent me the link and it is great, both for those who have read the book and those who might be interested in doing so.
In view of the worst economic mess since the Great Depression, this tidbit was especially interesting:
"In the wake of the late 2000s recession sales of Atlas Shrugged have sharply increased, according to The Economist magazine and The New York Times. The Economist reported that the fifty-two-year-old novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on 13 January, 2009. More than a month after these news reports, on 2 April, 2009, the novel ranked #15 at Amazon and they ranked it their #1 seller in "Fiction and Literature."
Here's the link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged
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Post by bluepride on Sept 4, 2009 22:13:40 GMT -5
I picked up a copy of "25 To Life" which is the story of Manhattan (NY) Supreme Court Justice Leslie Crocker Snyder, at a flea market last week. It's the story of the famed Judge who is currently running for New York City District Attorney. It recounts her life and beginnings in the criminal justice system in New York and her tribulations while rising up the ladder as a woman in the system. It also talks about the death threats she's been the target of over the years. She is very pro-cop, which isn't always the norm for District Attorneys, especially in New York. So far, the book is great and I noticed when I began reading it, that it was autographed by Judge Snyder. It was published about 7 years ago but it's not a bad read.....
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Post by bluepride on Sept 29, 2009 10:39:22 GMT -5
Currently reading "Man In The Middle" by John Amaechi, the basketball player who came out a couple of years ago. So far, it's a very good read. He tells of his early life and family problems and how he grew. (Figuratively and literally! 6'10"!) And he talks about what it was like being gay in a hetro dominated sport. Just an quick excerpt from the back cover of the book: "The NBA locker room was the most flamboyant place I've ever been. The guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged of their sexual exploits. They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful. They tried on each other's $10,000 suits and shoes, admired each other's diamond-studded rings and necklaces. It was an intense kind of camaraderie that felt completely natural to them but was a little too close for my comfort. As I surveyed the room, I couldn't help chuckling to myself: And I'm the gay one. ;D
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Post by burner on Oct 15, 2009 1:34:21 GMT -5
For Officer Hall...and others who may be interested.....
Earlier this year we posted about our mutual interest in gay detective novels. Well, I finished the "Mark Manning" series that I commented upon (for some reason the author hasn't done anything new since 2004) and I've now gotten hooked on an equally good author (and series) which I highly recommend to mystery lovers.
The author (Yeah, I REALLY believe this is his birth name) is Dorien Grey; his detective protagonist is Dick Hardesty and, at last count, there are 12 novels in the series thus far. Unlike most novels the city in which the plots unfold is never mentioned...neither as set in a "real" city like New York, nor in a non-existent city whose name was created in the author's imagination. All one can assume is that it's a small city but with its share of big city problems...and more gay bars than I can name in New York!!!!!
The dialogue is written in the "first person" and when happening upon a "hunk" in the middle of a murder investigation, Hardesty speaks not only to the reader but to his crotch as well...warning it to behave (and sometimes it actually does).
If there is anything "strange" about the series it's the fact that, while the books have been copyrighted between 2001 and 2008, the time frame seems to be set in the 1980s, when AIDS was rearing its ugly head in the gay community and the thought of a "gay police officer" was inconceivable to many. But overall the writing is crisp, pathos (especially in The Good Cop) is intertwined with humor, and the plot twists will leave you guessing to...or almost to...the very end. In my opinion, real "page turners".
Like the Mark Manning series that I commented upon earlier, characters are "developed" over the course of the series and it is helpful if the novels are read in the order in which they are written...and with this I offer these words of warning: The Ninth Man was copyrighted before The Butcher's Son but read The Butcher's Son first. I won't expand on "why," here, but you'll understand if and when you read them.
The series includes, thusfar: The Butcher's Son, The Ninth Man, The Bar Watcher, The Hired Man, The Good Cop, The Bottle Ghosts, The Dirt Peddlar, The Role Players, The Popsicle Tree, The Paper Mirror, The Dream Ender, and The Angel Singers.
Happy reading!!!!
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Post by edmontongreg on Oct 13, 2013 11:31:49 GMT -5
I am reading The Last Deployment. A gay soldier in Iraq. The book is amazing, I can identify with the writer on so many levels. - running , so you don't have to be part of a team. I have run. 2 marathons. &. 21 half marathons. After a break I am starting up again. This guy tells how he wishes he can share his gayness but can't because of DADT. uwpress.wisc.edu/books/4814.htm
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 13:16:54 GMT -5
Earlier this week President Obama awarded the Medal Of Freedom to several noteworthy people. Among them were two LGBT people who are both deceased. They are Astronaut Sally Ride and civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin. Rustin was the early mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. He worked to set up both early marches on Washington in 1941 and 1963. He was the preeminent strategist of nonviolent resistance. I'm currently reading the Autobiography of Bayard Rustin, one of my heroes.
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