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YEAR IN REVIEW 2015: books (‘Loneliness’ and beyond)

Scandal, historical intrigue and surprise among year’s best books

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books, gay news, Washington Blade

Among the year’s best books are the harrowing ‘A History of Loneliness’ for fiction and ‘Dead Wake,’ a heart-pounding true story of the sinking of the Lusitania.’ (‘History’ cover courtesy Farrar, Straus and Giroux; ‘Dead Wake’ cover courtesy Crown Publishers)

As you look back over your year, there are a lot of things you notice.

You had fun — probably more than once. You had some really great meals with really great friends — also probably more than once. And in my case, there were books — definitely more than one. More than 300, but here are my top picks of 2015.

FICTION:

I always loved author John Boyne’s books; in fact, “The Absolutist” is one of my top five ever. But “A History of Loneliness” has to be right up there. In this book, a priest explains his relationship with a colleague who always seems to be moved around from parish to parish. What’s wrong will slowly dawn on you, but our narrator is a little slower on the uptake. What happens will make you want to crawl into bed and cry for an hour.

In “One Night” by Eric Jerome Dickey, a woman who has nothing left to lose meets a man who has everything in life. She needs money. He decides that he needs her and they embark on a one-night stand that’s almost unbearably taut. I loved the mixture of this book: psychological, erotic and sass.

Also tightly written is “The Magician’s Lie” by Greer Macallister. It’s the story of a small-town sheriff who finally captures a killer who’s been on the loose for some time. She’s a slippery one — an illusionist — and he hopes she’ll offer a confession. Instead, she tells him a story. The sheriff doesn’t know what’s lie and what’s not — and neither will you in this wrap-you-up tale with an ending you totally won’t see coming.

Remember what it was like to be a kid? You’ll revisit it again in “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrik Backman, the story of a 7-year-old who loses her grandmother. Else is precocious, Granny was her only real friend and she was somewhat of a rascal. And as proof of that, before she dies, Granny leaves Elsa with an assignment.

Part fantasy, part childhood, all charming, this book from the author of “A Man Called Ove” is a wonderful winner.

“The Hired Girl” by Laura Amy Schlitz might be found on the young adult section of your bookstore or library, but I definitely thought it was more of an adult novel. It’s the story of a teenager who leaves her family because her father is abusive, and she moves to Baltimore to become a housemaid. It’s 1911, she’s Catholic, but her new employers are Jewish and the learning curve is steep. There’s adventure, heartbreak, romance and history here — and yes, you can still share it with your favorite teen.

NON-FICTION:

You may find “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson on other Best Of lists this year, for a reason. This is a historical account of the sinking of a ship but there’s more: Larson is known to tease a story out, adding small side notes and spinning off in ways that enhance the tale he’s telling. That makes for a fascinating, heart-pounding true account you won’t want to put down.

“Bobby Wonderful: An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents” by Bob Morris made me laugh, and it made me cry a small creek. It’s the story of Morris’ mother, her life and her death, and the relationships she had with her family. It’s also a gay man’s love letter to his very supportive Mom, and it definitely lives up to its name: it’s wonderful.

Though it may sound odd, “Rain: A Natural and Cultural History” by Cynthia Barnett put me in a good mood when I read it — maybe because it was as refreshing as its subject. Here, Barnett writes about all aspects of that stuff that falls from the sky – historically, culturally and meteorologically speaking — and she sprinkles readers with facts, disasters and sunshine. This book simply made me happy, which is why it’s on this list.

As a lover of all things scandalous, I found “Good Mourning: A Memoir” by Elizabeth Meyer with Caitlin Moscatello to be absolutely delicious. After Meyer lost her father, a high-powered lawyer, she realized that she was rather fascinated with death, just a little bit. So she marched into one of Manhattan’s premiere funeral homes, asked for a job and ended up being a funeral planner (think: services that are anything but dead). I loved this book for its behind-the-scenes peeks and for the tales that only an insider can tell.

There’s a tie for the last slot on this non-fiction list: I loved “Rosemary” by Kate Clifford Larson for its jaw-dropping look at history, the Kennedys and power gone wrong. I also couldn’t put down “Lights Out” by Ted Koppel, a cautionary, scare-the-daylights-out-of-you book on what could happen if our electric grid and internet infrastructure are attacked by terrorists.

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Books

Film fans will love ‘Hollywood Pride’

A celebration of queer representation in Hollywood

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(Book cover image courtesy of Running Press)

‘Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film
By Alonso Duralde
c.2024, Running Press
$40/322 pages

You plan to buy lots of Jujubes.

They’ll stick to your teeth, but whatever, you’ll be too busy watching to care. You like the director, you know most of the actors as first-rate, and word is that the newcomer couldn’t be more right for the role. Yep, you’ve done your homework. You read Rotten Tomatoes, you’ve looked up IMDB, and you bought your ticket online. Now all you need is “Hollywood Pride” by Alonso Duralde, and your movie night is complete.

William Kennedy Laurie Dickson likely had no idea that what he’d done was monumental.

Sometime in the very late 1800s, he set up a film camera and a wax cylinder to record a short dance between two men, hands around one another’s waists, as Dickson played the violin. It “was one of the very first movies ever shot,” and probably the first film to record men dancing rather intimately alone together.

Back then, and until well into the 20th century, there were laws against most homosexual behavior and cross-dressing, and very rigid standards of activity between men and women. This led to many “intense relationships between people of the same gender.” Still, in World War I-era theaters and though LGBTQ representation “was somewhat slower to get rolling” then, audiences saw films that might include drag (often for comedy’s sake), camp, covert affection, and “bad girls of the era.”

Thankfully, things changed because of people like Marlene Dietrich, Ramon Novarro, Claudette Colbert, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, and others through the years, people who ignored social mores and the Hays Code to give audiences what they wanted. Moviegoers could find LGBTQ actors and themes in most genres by the 1940s; despite politics and a “pink scare” in the 1950s, gay actors and drag (still for comedy’s sake) still appeared on-screen; and by the 1960s, the Hays Code had been dismantled. And the Me Decade of the 1970s, says Duralde, “ended with the promise that something new and exciting was about to happen.”

So have you run out of movies on your TBW list? If so, get ready.

You never want to start a movie at the end, but it’s OK if you do that with “Hollywood Pride.” Flip to the end of the book, and look up your favorite stars or directors. Page to the end of each chapter, and you’ll find “artists of note.” Just before that: “films of note.” Page anywhere, in fact, and you’ll like what you see.

In his introduction, author Alonso Duralde apologizes if he didn’t include your favorites but “Hollywood has been a magnet for LGBTQ+ people” for more than a century, making it hard to capture it completely. That said, movie-loving readers will still be content with what’s inside this well-illustrated, well-curated, highly readable historical overview of LGBTQ films and of the people who made them.

Come to this book with a movie-lover’s sensibility and stay for the wealth of photos and side-bars. If you’re up for binge-reading, binge-watching, or Date Night, dig into “Hollywood Pride.” Popcorn not necessary, but welcome.

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Books

‘On Bette Midler’ is a divine new read

Part charming, part nostalgic, and very affectionate

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(Book cover image courtesy of Oxford University Press)

‘On Bette Midler: An Opinionated Guide’
By Kevin Winkler
c.2024, Oxford University Press 
$29.99 232 pages 

Superb.

That word’s appropriate in this situation. Fantastic, that’s another. Transcendent or celestial, if you’re of that mind, or perhaps anointed. There are many adjectives you can use for a performer who transports you, one who sings to your soul. Sensational, breathtaking, outstanding, or – as in the new book “On Bette Midler” by Kevin Winkler – another, better word may be more suitable.

Born in Hawaii a few months after the end of World War II, Bette Midler was named after film star Bette Davis. It was a perhaps auspicious start: despite a minor disparity (Midler’s mother thought the movie star’s first name was pronounced “Bet”), young Midler seemed at a young age to want to follow in her almost-namesake’s footsteps. By age 11, she’d won accolades and prizes for her performances and she “yearned to be a serious actor.” As soon as she could, she headed for New York to seize her career.

Alas, her “unconventional” looks didn’t help win the roles she wanted but she was undeterred. Unafraid of small venues and smaller gigs, she “just blossomed” in New York City. Eventually, she landed at the Improv on 44th Street; the owner there helped her negotiate some minor work. Another man became her manager and secured a job for her at the Continental, a New York bath house strictly for gay men. She was hired for eight summer nights, Friday and Saturdays only, for $50 a night.

Almost immediately, her authenticity, her raunchy language, and her ability to relate to her audience made her beloved in the gay community. Midler’s tenure at the Continental expanded and, though legend points to a longer time, she worked at the bath house for just over two years before moving on and up, to television, recording studios, movies, and into fans’ hearts. Still, asks Winkler, “Did it really matter what stage she was on? She touched audiences wherever she performed.”

In his earliest words – and, in fact, in his subtitle – author Kevin Winkler reminds readers that “On Bette Midler” is a book that’s “highly opinionated, filled with personal contemplations…” He is, in other words, a super-fan, but that status doesn’t mar this book: Winkler restrains his love of his subject, and he doesn’t gush. Whew.

That will be a relief to readers who wish to relish in their own fervor, although you’ll be glad for Winkler’s comprehensive timeline and his wide look at Midler’s career. Those things come after a long and fascinating biography that starts in 1970, takes us back to 1945, and then pulls us forward through movies, television appearances, stage performances, and songs you might remember – with appearances from Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow, and Cher. It’s a fun trip, part confidential, part charming, part nostalgic, and very affectionate.

Despite that this is a “personal” book, it’s great for readers who weren’t around during Midler’s earliest career. If you were and you’re a fan, reading it is like communing with someone who appreciates Midler like you do. Find “On Bette Midler.” You’ll find it divine.

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Books

Architecture junkies will love new book on funeral homes

‘Preserved’ explores how death industry evolved after WWII

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(Book cover image courtesy of Johns Hopkins University Press)

‘Preserved: A Cultural History of the Funeral Home in America’
By Dean G. Lampros
c.2024, Johns Hopkins University Press 
$34.95/374 pages

Three bedrooms upstairs. That’s a minimum.

You need a big kitchen, a large back room would be a bonus, you want lots of bathrooms, and if you can get a corner lot, that’d be great. The thing you need most is a gigantic all-purpose room or maybe a ballroom because you’re planning on a lot of people. As you’ll see in the new book “Preserved” by Dean G. Lampros, not all living rooms are for the living.

Not too long ago, shortly after he took a class on historic preservation, Dean Lampros’ husband dragged him on a weekend away to explore a small town in Massachusetts. There, Lampros studied the town’s architecture and it “saddened” him to see Victorian mansions surrounded by commercial buildings. And then he had an epiphany: there was once a time when those old mansions housed funeral homes. Early twentieth-century owners of residential funeral homes were, in a way, he says, preservationists.

Prior to roughly World War II, most funerals were held at home or, if there was a need, at a funeral home, the majority of which were located in a downtown area. That changed in 1923 when a Massachusetts funeral home owner bought a large mansion in a residential area and made a “series of interior renovations” to the building. Within a few years, his idea of putting a funeral home inside a former home had spread across the country and thousands of “stately old mansions in aging residential neighborhoods” soon held death-industry businesses.

This, says, Lampros, often didn’t go over well with the neighbors, and that resulted in thousands of people upset and lawsuits filed. Some towns then passed ordinances to prohibit such a thing from happening to their citizens.

Still, funeral home owners persevered. Moving out of town helped “elevate” the trade, and it allowed Black funeral home operators to get a toehold in formerly white neighborhoods. And by having a nice – and nice-sized – facility, the operators were finally able to wrest the end-of-life process away from individuals and home-funerals.

Here’s a promise: “Preserved” is not gruesome or gore-for-the-sake-of-gore. It’s not going to keep you up all night or give you nightmares. Nope, while it might be a little stiff, it’s more of a look at architecture and history than anything else.

From California to New England, author Dean G. Lampros takes readers on a cruise through time and culture to show how “enterprising” business owners revolutionized a category and reached new customers for a once-in-a-deathtime event. Readers who’ve never considered this hidden-in-plain-sight, surprising subject – or, for that matter, the preservation or re-reclamation of those beautiful old homes – are in for a treat here. Despite that the book can lean toward the academic, a good explanatory timeline and information gleaned from historical archives and museums offer a liveliness that you’ll enjoy.

This book will delight fans of little-know history, and architecture junkies will drool over its many photographs. “Preserved” is the book you want because there are other ways to make a house a “home.”

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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