2007 Holiday Gift Guide: Good Reads
Holidays. Books. Gifts... No mystery there!
You can give juicy novels, serious literature or splashy coffee-table photo tomes. Here a few morsels I came across that seem giftworthy. Read on!
Pierre et Gilles: Double Je, 1976-2007
French artists Pierre et Gilles aren’t just photographers. They’re artists who create entire worlds that meld fairy-tale beauty, burlesque, old-Hollywood glamour, sci-fi and all around raucous-ness as part of the portraits they craft. They may shoot celebs (Madonna, Catherine Deneuve, Marilyn Manson, porn stars like Jeff Stryker or Aiden Shaw) or just plain folks, but trust—the images are never plain. This tome is a celebration of 30+ years of over-the-top gorgeousness. Wrap it up!
Hotel de Dream, Edmund White
One of our finest living writers, Edmund White has chronicled gay life in fiction, non-fiction and in his memoirs for decades. His latest novel takes a new spin on the life of 19th-century American author Stephen Crane, crafting a story around his life in New York, which also includes a novel Crane was writing (but was he?) about a gay street hustler. It’s all period stuff (circa 1895-1900), and White’s a master. Oh, the intrigue...
Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson
The buxom British TV foodie is back with a cookbook (which is a companion piece to her current Food Network series) full of great recipes that you can make simply—and fast! As Nigella stresses, just because you have to prepare a meal quickly, doesn’t mean it can’t be fabulous!!! You’ll love her.
The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution, Alice Waters
Speaking of simple food, the woman who basically kick-started the move toward organic food and “locally-grown” ethos decades ago has come forth with a great book of recipes and essays about why good food matters, and how to make it. She explains how you can make food taste better, and then shows the simple way to prepare it. Long live, Alice!
Broadway Nights: A Romp of Love, Life & Musical Theatre, Seth Rudetsky
Broadway’s pre-eminent musical director, conductor and accompanist to everyone under the sun, Seth Rudetsky has penned a totally fun novel, about—what else?—an up-and-coming musical director, conductor and accompanist who finally lands his dream Broadway gig. But he’s gotta juggle boyfriend drama, family craziness and all-around neuroses. Theater queens, dig in!
An Army of Ex-Lovers: My Life at the Gay Community News, Amy Hoffman
A Wellesley professor and long-time journalist, Amy Hoffman’s latest is a look at the storied history of a big-city gay newspaper. It’s a memoir of gay liberation before AIDS, before gay weddings, and before The L Word.
For years Hoffman toiled and triumphed at Boston’s Gay Community News which was provocative, informative, inspiring, and absurd, with a small circulation but a huge influence, produced a generation of leaders, writers, and friends. This memoir is about growing up in a political movement, dealing with talented, and sometimes utterly weird coworkers, and of trying to explain it all to her large Jewish family. Fun!
So, where do you wanna go next? If you know precisely, or if you need inspiration, this annual Lonely Planet guide (bigger, glossier and more photo-packed that other LP books) is a fun overview of what’s hot, what’s adventurous, what’s dangerous, what’s cheap and what’s sexy worldwide. A travel junkie’s must-have.
Comments