A comparison of James Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk and the film adaptation from Barry Jenkins, covering the differences, similarities, and which is better. … More Book vs. Movie: If Beale Street Could Talk
Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage has been anointed by Oprah and featured on bestseller lists and critic’s picks. But it’s not without flaws. … More The Pros and Cons of An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
Eleanor Roosevelt’s relationship with Lorena Hickok has been a source of controversy since the days it was happening in real-time. Were they secret lovers? Merely close friends? The topic has been endlessly debated. White Houses assumes that they were lovers, which seems reasonable, and purports to tell the story of their relationship. And it does, but … More The Secret Love Life of Eleanor Roosevelt: White Houses, by Amy Bloom
If you know me at all, you know I’ve spent recent years railing against novels about white dudes who can’t get their shit together (examples here, here, and here). But the thing about hating a certain form of novel is that every once in a while someone does it spectacularly well and forces you to … More Sometimes Less Really is More: A Book Review of Less, by Andrew Sean Greer
“’Do people always fall in love with things they can’t have?’ ‘Always,’ Carol said, smiling, too.” The Price of Salt is alternately billed as a tale of forbidden love and a tale of obsession. Only one of those actually fits the novel. Because while it is true that Therese Belivet allows her life to be completely … More The Price of Salt (or Carol), by Patricia Highsmith: Book Review
“… the story you know is never the real one.” Euphoria is an elegant, heartfelt exploration of love, jealousy, and pride in a wholly unique setting. Love triangles are nothing new in literature, so the fact that one figures so prominently in Lily King’s story could have easily caused it to devolve into a fairly … More Book Review: Euphoria, by Lily King
When I first picked up Adam, I confess I was simultaneously intrigued and repulsed by its premise. You see, Adam has the audacious idea to take the standard rom-com premise where someone pretends to be someone/something they’re not, and throw in gender norms and sexuality as a twist. It all starts when 17 year-old Adam goes to … More Book Review: Adam, by Ariel Schrag
When I was in my early twenties and beginning to think about coming out, I just happened to have a conversation with a well-read gay man at a dinner party. Somehow Gore Vidal’s The City and the Pillar came up. The premise intrigued me, as did the morbid darkness the man described. Thus, this was … More Great LGBT Book Recommendations: The City and the Pillar, by Gore Vidal
Last time I told you about a book that my husband and I discovered in a bookstore together. Now I’d like to tell you about one of the first books he recommended to me when we first met and started dating. I’m always curious about the books people like enough to recommend to others. It’s … More Great LGBT Book Recommendations: Call Me By Your Name, by André Aciman
“This is what I know: people’s hopes go on forever.” I’m going to be blunt here: if This is How You Lose Her isn’t already on your reading list, add it. Immediately. Mark my words, it will be appearing on numerous top ten lists for 2012–which is exactly where it belongs. This is How You … More Book Review: This is How You Lose Her, by Junot Díaz
Supposedly Fun 