Two years ago, the New York Public Library put together this anthology of articles from their archives to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The book is broken into three sections: before Stonewall, the Stonewall uprising, and post-Stonewall. The articles consist of all types of writing, from historical accounts to personal diaries to poems and short stories. I…
This book takes you on a tour through fun, happening gay communities where you’d be least likely to expect them: in America’s red states. The author used to be a male Mormon missionary. Now, she’s a woman, married to another woman. As she takes us across the country, we meet some pretty amazing people – activists who are fighting for…
This book has been sitting in my bookcase for years. I certainly understand why it’s a touchstone for so many people. Reading her life story, you really feel and understand the struggles she faced in the Jim Crow south. What starts out as a seemingly happy childhood turns pretty tragic, as she faces constant racism, poverty (at one point living…
What is it about Homo sapiens that gave us an advantage over the other species of humans that came before us? According to this author, it was the trait of friendliness that allowed us to advance so far, leaving the other species in the dust. The author describes experiments in which wild animals were domesticated, and how they changed both…
This is the third book of Henry Carroll’s that I’ve read. They’re short books, but they’re packed with a lot of insight. The technical information (which is only a small part of his books) is really geared toward beginners and doesn’t contain much info that I haven’t already learned, but that’s fine; I always benefit from hearing it again. It’s…
This year, I pretty much kept pace with last year in terms of reading. The pandemic increased my time spent indoors, and reading was my primary way of passing the time. I read 67 books in 2020. Although I love good fiction, I usually end up reading non-fiction. Last year, I tried to remedy that by making a deliberate effort…
Last year, I went to Ghana for a Mission Rabies project. I got to see several small village communities and I took many great photos. I’ll be going to Tanzania in mid-January for another Mission Rabies project, and I wanted to read some inspirational photography books to prepare me for (what I hope will be) more excellent photography opportunities. This…
This is a no-holds-barred, brutally honest memoir from Queer Eye’s most outgoing, flamboyant cast member. In the book, Jonathan describes sexual abuse at the age of 4 by an older boy from church, his sex addiction, bad experiences with meth, struggles with relationships, his HIV diagnosis, and the brutal cancer battle that his stepfather waged and lost. The way he…
Punk is my favorite genre of music, and I’ve also always liked the punk aesthetic in terms of graphic design. The graphic art that graced the covers of albums and singles was colorful and creative. The collages, the ransom-note lettering, stencils, logos, and the whole do-it-yourself ethos were brilliant and exciting and were an important part of the entire punk…
Earlier this year, I read my first Bukowski book, Post Office, and I liked his straightforward, gritty style. Ham on Rye is supposed to be his masterpiece, so I gave it a try. The book chronicles the pretty unhappy years of Bukowski’s childhood and adolescence, told through his alter ego, Henry Chinaski. There’s lots of belittling by his father (including…
This is a very cool book that describes in excellent detail some mythical musical gems that for whatever reason never got to see the light of day. The author covers all genres, and has done some impressive research. At the end of each album description, he gives a rating on the odds that the record will ever be released. The…
This was a really interesting book about the history of gay Brooklyn, impeccably researched and filled with fascinating stories about the borough’s queer and trans denizens. It starts in 1855 with the publication of Brooklyn resident Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and ends just before Stonewall. Brooklyn was a prominent port, and the waterfront attracted quite the crowed, particularly sailors,…
I’ve gotten very into street photography this year, reading lots of books on the topic. Alex Webb is a well-known photographer, as is his wife Rebecca, although neither is really thought of as a ‘street photographer’ in the same way as Joel Meyerowitz or Garry Winogrand, for example. Still, with this book being part of Aperture magazine’s Photography Workshop series,…
Henry Carroll writes small, very helpful, very useful little books about photography. A few months ago, I read his book about taking great photographs in general, and I really got a lot out of it. In this book, he focuses on taking photos of people. In his very clear, encouraging style, he points out some basic rule or technique, and…
I’m late to the party in terms of reading Charles Bukowski. My high school friend John was a big fan, and I know other people who rave about his work, and I love the aesthetics of the book covers, but I’d never read anything of his until now. Not sure what I was expecting, but with Post Office you get…