Remarks on Thoughts Of A Grown Up Lesbian by C K Cooper
581939
C K Cooper's succinct writing style and utterly candid and forthright discussion of her own personal journey from recognition, experimentation, and finally acceptance of her sexuality in her first book "Thoughts Of a Grown Up Lesbian" is a provokative and soul stirring account. Poised in a series of common questions and extremely personal answers, Cooper draws from her own personal experiences with such difficult issues as individual guilt and inner conflict, family acceptance, religious intolerance, and social stigma: providing a very unique and fresh insight into the nature and ramifications of female homosexuality and women's sexuality in general.
  Exposing an unexpected sensitive and vulnerable side, Cooper elicits a powerful, emotional connection with the reader. Any girl or woman of any age who is struggling with her own issues coming to terms with her sexuality and how she preceives her place in society or just needs an understanding shoulder to lean on for support and validation will find "Thoughts of a Grown Up Lesbian" an invaluable resourse. While written as a cathartic exercise for her own clarity, Cooper's "Thoughts Of A Grown Up Lesbian" is a must read for lesbians and those who already love them, men (especially - gay or straight), parents, family, and friends struggling to understand and accept the wonderful lesbians in their circle of relationships.
  The only thing that keeps this mighty missle from being an unqualified five star favorite for me is it was just too short. I could have thoroughly enjoyed staying engaged in this insightful, sometimes highly emotional, and occasionally even funny conversation for many more hours. I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment from this facinating author!  Dr. R. deVoll Fisher -author of the best selling "Caleb's Branch" and "I Shoulda Listened To Sinatra".
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Me:  Dr. Melfi, I just finished reading this great book about the actress, Lorraine Braccco.

Dr. Melfi:  And??

Me:  I found out that even people who are famous and are looked upon as our idols, still have the same issues that we non famous people have.

Dr. Melfi:  And how did that make you feel?

Me:  It was wonderful to see an absolutely gorgeous and fine actress choose to be involved with wrong men all her life.  She was depressed, as many of us have been in our lives, she is tough but in the end found her toughness and her age to be a positive thing and she was able to use her new found sexiness, in her 50's to be very powerful and fulfilling.

Dr. Melfi:  As a man, how do you feel about her talking about how sexy she feels at 50?

Me:  I have always felt that Ms. Bracco was gorgeous, sexy with that raspy Brooklyn accent.  It was very alluring to find that she considered herself sexy after many years of depression and finding herself not really what she wanted to be.  And then to find out that she played a nude scene in the Broadway show of "The Graduate," was just icing on the cake.

Dr. Melfi: Is there anything else that you can tell me about this book?

Me:  Oh yeah.  I would love to have a sit down talk with Lorraine Bracco, so that I can see the real person inside that lovely skin and talk to her about her marvelous book.  I am certain that even though I am older than she, I would be shy, but then she would somehow put me at ease, because that is the kind of person she is.

Dr. Melfi:  Sounds to me like you really enjoyed your reading.

Me:  I truly would recommend it to anyone who would like to have an insight into an actress that has been to hell and back and still has kept it together and bares all to her readers.  Dr. maybe you would like to read it.

Dr. Melfi:  Well with the high praise that you give it, maybe I will give it a try.

Dr. Melfi:  Our time is up for today and I can truly say that you have enlightened me not only about Lorraine Bracco, but you can see a little of yourself in her struggles.  Good session!!!  Congratulations!!
4065910
(Originally posted on bookmyopia/wordpress)
Campbell Cam Cooper is seventeen, lives in Florida and is from a family of Polynesian dance show Spirit of Aloha performers at Disney.  When she isn't dancing alone in front of the mirror, she is doing morning work shifts at one of Disneys restaurant kitchens. She has also recently received a letter of acceptance from Harvard. And oh, she has cancer.

When she isn't visiting doctors, she spends time in feeding her canary and crossing off things to do (before you die) from a Flamingo List (like erm.. shoplifting) , a list penned by her best friend and another cancer fighter, Lily. After being in and out of trials, treatments and hospital visits for years, she is finally told that science just isn't going to cut it anymore, miracle is what she needs.

What follows is a road-trip with her mother and kid sister, journey to a hard-to-find quaint little town called Promise in Maine, which is said to have healing powers. Where queer things happen; like sunrise and sunset in the exact same spot, dandelions growing purple, and flamingos flocking near winter.  Where she meets Asher .. and her heart skips a beat *winks*.

Is it also where Cam gets another shot at life? Just what are the probabilities of miracles happening here?

My thoughts:

Cam is a rockstar! Though she wouldnt like to admit it, she is such a goofball even when she is perpetually moping around.  I loved the entire family unit  her mom Alicia, sister Perry and her Nana. None of them ever give up on her till the end, and keep trying to advocate in favour of Promise being a miracle town.  So when Cam tries to orchestrate miracles of her own to keep up their belief, they feel affronted and hurt.

It was such a sad irony that a Disney dweller seeks for a fairy tale ending in another place, away from the make-believe settings that Cam keeps jesting about. But I loved how the story comes to a full circle.. when she is homesick and looks back with fond memories of the place she came from.. Maybe that is the miracle that worked for Cam.. to realize that the probability of a miracle doesnt increase or depend on a place nor can be forced or conjured.

It is about believing.. of finding happiness .. in your first love, or a first part time job, the one best friend who has stood by you, breaking curfews under your mums nose, sharing egg creams with your sister, or rescuing a newly hatched flamingo!  Just recognizing that the cancer doesnt have to define the entire You.

I felt the story meandered a bit though (the kind of meandering that would probably translate better into a screenplay), and the Flamingo List plot device was kind of a weak spot  or maybe just wasn't used too well. She sort of unintentionally ends up crossing off most of the things in the list every time, so it isn't like the list acts as some source of motivation to achieve something. More than anything else, the author used it just to bring up Cam and Lilys zany friendship in the book occasionally. Or maybe I just didn't get it.

For those who have read The Fault In Our Stars:

Well, one big similarity is that both have a female teen protagonist (Cam and Hazel) diagnosed with cancer. However, unlike TFOIS, where the love story plays out as a major part of the book and also in Hazels personal journey, the Cam-Asher story didn't make much of an impact in my mind. This is perfectly fine with me, as the book had an array of other characters that enriched Cams life. I liked that the author focussed on Cam and we meet and get to know everyone else through her (including Asher) and not letting the teen romance overwhelm the later part of the book.
4742586
This is a great book written by Maryland author Kaution. This is a novel about lesbian women and the struggles they experience in life, relationships and friendships. Unlike other lesbian based novels, it places a brighter spotlight on  butch/femme relationships. It has a hint of erotica with steamy sex scenes from awesome characters. It's a great read, with interesting characters and steamy sex scenes. Kaution has been spotlighted on several internet radio shows,and websites including in LezNation Magazine.
1788570
So what did I think of this book? It was about 2 kids who've known each other since babies. They both love each other and it grows from teenage platonic love. To an all encompassing consuming living thing. On Noah's side the boy was comfortable with the knowledge, and wanted to act on it. Tweet however suffered with a COLOSSAL and I MEAN OF EPIC proportions self esteem/worth problem. The fences she built would rival Fort Knox walls!  That being said the author wrote a lovely VERY YOUNG people love story. That was filled with teenage angst that left my adult self pretty much over that kinda BS...... Yeah it's been a while for me since that time of my life :)
However it's a beautiful story that WILL make you cry! Without giving up the why of it, tissues at the ready is a good thing. The book for me really made it worth it at the last 1/3 or so. I got impatient  as i said with Tweets teenage BS. Making mountains outta moe hills and shit.... Ok I digressed. Can u guess yet that I was over that. But I guess if Mrs Bailey took that stuff out, would have not had this story. Anyhoo it's a great read, if u can get pass the warped thinking/actions of Tweet. The young man Noah is WORTH it! Happy reading all :)
3708835
This Years Love[sic]
By Kristen Forever
There are moments when you happen upon a book that really puzzles you, in positive and negative ways, and when you finish it you merely shake your head to try and clear the chaos thats rolling about simply from what someone has written.  Thats what This Years Love[sic] by Kristen Forever did to me, and even now, several reads later, I still think back on her book and shake my head.
I was completely perplexed as to how to rate this book.  The concept gained it high scores, the taste it left in my mouth, not so high.  I suppose I shall just have to talk you through it and you pick up the book and tell me what you thought.  I will initially say that the editing was quite poor.  My suggestions to the author right off would be to consult the Chicago Manual of Style.  There are standards when it comes to writing fiction that you should just follow.  An example is in dialogue when wanting to stress a word you don't underline it, rather italicize it.  There were a plethora of other errors that with a good editor could be corrected.
Now that the formalities I typically leave until last are through let us get to the meat and bones.  This Years Love[sic] is the story of the first 17 years of a young womans life.  However, this is not just any young woman.  We learn quickly that it is for certain that every year near her birthday her life strangely affects the life of another for a year, until again the cycle repeats and another picks up where last years individual left off.  Id love to go into more details than that, but it wouldnt make any sense out of context.
Ms. Forever has laid this book out in a clever way.  She brings us in to each year and the circumstances surrounding it while mixing it with the current day goings on where the true struggle is still taking place.  Our main character, Avoir, is a beautiful, petite, large-chested young woman who is the daughter of a famous neuroscientist.  In this, her 17th year she is desperate for some resolution to what has plagued her with loneliness and guilt since she can remember.  Jack and Charlie Liebe are the two brothers who have become enmeshed the final year shared with us.  What becomes of all of them?  Youll have to read the book and see.  I can guarantee you an interesting ride.
As aforementioned, the editing was lacking if at all.  I noted passage after passage where even a proofreader could have made a difference.  I realize budgets for indie authors are slim to none; however, this is not an area to skimp on.  I have a few other warnings for our readers that may not bother all, but I know they do some.  This is supposed to be a YA fantasy; however, there is most certainly a ton of adult content.  In addition, there is near-rape, self-mutilation, and sexual situations.  I simply ask that the YA not lead one to believe that it is going to be all fuzzy bunnies and sunshine.
I have to say that I was definitely kept on my toes with Ms. Forevers YA fantasy book.  I never knew what to expect next, but it wasn't always a good thing.  I am glad that I read it, a strong concept kept me interested.  I urge those daring enough to give it a shot.  If you are stickler for a book that flows, this isn't the one for you.
39048
The audio book is wonderful. Ian Carmichael does a fabulous job and creates real atmosphere for this stereotypical 'cozy' English murder mystery.  I wondered -- am I the only one to pick up on the lesbian themes in this book?  The old spinster who died under suspicious circumstances was the life partner of another woman who owned her own business.  Both were described as 'determined not to marry.'  The suspected murderess had a female accomplice whom Lord Peter was sure despised the touch of men as well as a young woman who was slavishly devoted to her.  Does the term 'unnatural' speak to these relationships too?  (In the author's mind -- not the mind of the contemporary reader.)
1452531
When i started reading the book I was overtaken by emotion. I crave hearing about what is good about women. She has a great talent for writing a "call-to-arms" and digs deep into some shared experiences.
Then at some point I realized her ideas about women were limiting to me. Her vision of women is very typical and even stereotypical. It assumes all women are good nurturers, heterosexual and looking for a long term relationship. To some extent it implies women are forced into competitive or leadership roles they don't actually enjoy.

These are some quotes that alerted me:
"Most of us want a masculine man, but there's no way to have one unless we become a feminine woman"
"Our burgeoning sexuality didn't just freak out Daddy, who was attracted and repelled at the same time. It freaked out Mommy too, who was jealous, and our teachers who had similar projections."
"A woman is meant to hold the heart of the world within her hands. She must cater to it and minister to it and kiss it when it cries... we are meant to prepare the food, the spiritual food of love and compassion. We are meant to care for the children, not just our own, but every child.  When we do not recognize our cosmic function, our own hearts break and so does the heart of the world"

there are many other quotes that had me perk up my ears.
It's confusing to have these things uttered by someone who is pro-woman in some ways. I had to write this review to un-confuse myself.
518480
Susan McBride's "The Cougar Club" is humorous and at times, so serious you want to cry for Carla, Elise and Kat. These three women grew up in Missouri. Then, each one followed their particular destiny. Now, after hitting their forties, the women come back together in St. Louis to share where they've been, what they've been doing and most importantly what has been done to them by "men" and society. Each woman's emotional pain was so deep I could not choose one as the most victimized. I did wonder about how much control we allow or must allow men to have over our lives. I do believe it is easier for a man to turn forty and older than it is for a woman.

What I liked about the book is the reality of the situations. The Cougar Club is about a woman's fear of aging, the strain to prove ourselves as still and always necessary parts of society and always making time for women who are facing the same obstacles. Becoming "catty" is not the wise way to gather strength to your heart and soul.  In "The Cougar Club" Susan Mcbride tells just what is needed to get through this narrow tunnel in our lives. These women needed one another,  friendship. Honest friendship allows for tears, anger and plain out runaway, wanna-quit fatigue. Thomas Wolfe wrote a book titled "You Can't Go Home Again." How beautiful when just the opposite is true, and you can go home again.

I like a book when all of my emotions are rubbed raw. Susan Mcbride took me out of my home and put me in the homes of other women. I felt like a woman listening to some parts of my past all over again. Boy, I asked myself hard questions. I laughed about not knowing how to dance with the boy I most wanted to impress at the party. Still, I won the masquerade party prize for the best costume. My mother made that costume. It was lovely. So, I would like to thank Susan McBride for a bit of nostalgia. "The Cougar Club" also reminded me of Erma Bombeck's famous words or a book title.  "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries-What Am I doing Down in the Pits?"

Is it possible Susan McBride can read minds or is she just so in tune with a woman's spirit? Because at the end of the book Susan writes "Susan's Five Fabulous Rules for Forty-Somethings." Since I'm well past forty, I tend to think her words of wisdom are useful to any woman at any time.

By the way, through the wonders of the virtual world, I had the chance to meet Susan. What a lady! Remember to cliche "he or she doesn't meet a stranger?" That is a good description of Susan McBride. She is not false. She is a woman made to befriend other women through her books or just sipping a glass of lemonade at a cafe and sharing a heavy conversation.
395865
Ever since I reached my mid-20's, or at least, ever since I started experiencing the so-called "quarter-life crisis", I started categorizing some of the books I read into a "QLC" category. This list includes Astigirl by Tweet Sering, and Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist, both of which are non-fiction. After reading Mina V. Esguerra's Welcome to Envy Park, I finally had a fiction book in that QLC books list.

Moira Vasquez is on a break, and she's taking this break in her brand new condo in NV Park after five years of working and saving in Singapore. And this break it meant: no job, no boyfriend, but with some plans on where she's jetting off next. She has no plans of staying too long, really, even if Ethan, the cute guy who lives in the same building is proving to be a really good distraction. Moira is convinced that she's home for a quick stopover, but what if what she needs is already right in front of her?

Welcome to Envy Park didn't feel like the usual contemporary romance that I've known Mina for. Somehow, this book feels a little bit more mature and perhaps it's because the romance felt like a side story to what Moira was going through. I admit that I'm not a Moira. I'm not the type of person who'd shake things up just because (until lately, anyway). I tend to become comfortable, and just settle there until the restlessness finally hits me and I drag myself up. I never thought of working abroad, and until now I still don't think about it, but I do admire Moira for her guts to do it, and to keep on doing it. It takes a certain kind of personality, I guess, to be willing to uproot yourself every time.

But you can't always uproot yourself, right? At some point in your life, you have to start thinking of settling down (I got that feeling when I turned 27. Then things happened, and now I felt the need to uproot myself again, heh), and this is basically Moira's story. I liked how Moira was exposed to so many people in the book and how she observed them, and how she compared her life to them with her lists. Her voice is fun and fresh and her struggles with her thoughts, her career, her family and her love life felt true, like it's something someone her age experiences.

The story flowed easily, although it may not be as gripping as other romance novellas are -- perhaps it's because again, it really didn't feel like one for me. I thought it was more about self-discovery, and yeah, a certain kind of coming of age, and romance just happened to come with it all. And isn't that how it really often happens in real life?

Welcome to Envy Park is a book about choices, how it makes us, how it affects the people around us, and the things that come with it. It's a bit different from Mina's other books, but it's a good one. Definitely for people my age who are thinking of making major decisions in life (don't worry, you're not alone!). :)
1090752
In the spirit of this book, I will share the brief relationship that I had with Carolyn our sophomore year at Boston University.  I will never forget the first time I saw her; she was sitting in a auditorium chair, leaning over the fold-over wooden writing surface, taking a test.  Her long. blond hair was reaching toward the floor and she flipped her hair over to the other side of her head.  She was wearing jeans tight at the ankle.  I expressed an unspoken "Wow".

She and I were eventually assigned to the same study group where we did an end of the Semester project together.  As a result, we spent many long hours together where I got to know her as we spent long evenings together with a few other people writing a group project.  She and I ended up writing most of it as the other members of our group were less than industrious.

She was dating the Captain of the hockey team named John.  She had a very approachable personality and she often made me laugh or smile even when she didn't mean to; I found her way of expressing herself unique and funny in an understated way.

I remember her stating that she might want to go into teaching as her Mother had.

I also remember her talking about how her mother would zoom into parking lots and park in a red sports car, and she would shrink down in embarrassment.  My impression was that she was not materialistic nor superficial, and did not like to draw attention to herself unnecessarily.

I never saw her lose her temper but when I once spoke very snidely to her because I was in a bad mood, she said "Whoaa, OK Tiger!"  She was not going to allow herself to be abused, and I respected that.

One guy in our group named Peter once asked Carolyn to accompany him to get his belongings from his ex-girlfriend's apartment.  Quite honestly, he was not a very attractive fellow.  Yet Carolyn was so offended at how his now-ex-girlfriend treated Peter when they went to collect his belongings,that she threw her arms around him, planted a big kiss on him, and said, "C'mon honey.  We have to get going."  That was her way of defending him by pretending to be his new girlfriend.

That was Carolyn to me.  She was beautiful, independent, not attention-seeking, humble, accessible, a defender of others and not materialistic.

The last time I saw her was the following year when she spotted me in the student Union.  She called my name and came over to say HI and introduce me to her boyfriend John.  I said hello, but I don't recall why the conversation was so brief.

I had not followed current events closely in the years leading up to her wedding, but I often wondered what happened to her.  Then I suddenly heard that JFK, Jr. was engaged to some girl from Greenwich, CT named Carolyn Bessette.  I was surprised and a little bit jealous.  :)

I don't know what happened in the years since college, but the girl I knew was someone special that I would never forget even if she had never become a Kennedy.
3903254
The surprise I got was that it described in detail lesbian acts between different women.. As a born again Christian, I cannot agree with their actions.  Neither do I want detailed descriptions of their sexual encounters.  Because of these factors, I did not finish the book.
3571089
My feelings about Jaycee Duggard are similar to those of others here in that she is and always has been a very strong, courageous person with a wonderful spirit. I feel sure that she will have a good life ahead of her because she seeks out the good. It is something we all should learn to do.

What struck me though, and angered me, besides what was done to Jaycee by the perpetrators involved, of course, was that her mother, who supposedly loved her so much, stayed married to a man who Jaycee did not feel loved or nurtured by or safe with. It was clear that Carl favored his own daughter, and that he was on the edge of being abusive to Jaycee himself. She said during her captivity that she didn't want to go home to him, and her first question to her mother, after eighteen years, was whether Carl was still there. Where was her mother when Jaycee was still at home? Why did she allow her husband to treat Jaycee differently and badly? I thought it was so sad that Jaycee had to cling to a vision of her mother that wasn't the truth.
2355947
Tracey Richardson is a skilled writer, and after experiencing her work in this novel, I will be reading others by her. This is a mature lesbian romance featuring professional lesbians who fall in love while visiting Vancouver, B.C. Each one is working through some serious baggage, and the baggage initially gets in the way of their being able to make a commitment beyond physical pleasure and attraction and the feeling of loving for the moment. So they have to withdraw to their respective corners to deal with their own "stuff" before they can reach out to each other again. The "stuff" takes up a lot of the novel, and it is serious stuff, giving the novel a heavy flavor. Thankfully there is a happy ending. But very well written and fleshed out with detail.
555748
Our Own Private Universe is a young-adult LGBT coming-of-age story. Aki is pretty sure shes bisexual and she is just starting to accept it. The only person shes told is her best friend Lori. Aki and Lori are spending the summer on a mission trip to Mexico with their church, at which Akis father is the pastor, and two other churches. Aki and Lori make a pact that they will both have summer flings while on the trip. Upon arriving in Mexico, Aki meets Christa, a cute girl from one of the other churches, and falls instantly in like. Luckily for her, Christa is bi too. Aki thinks Christa would be the perfect girl for her to have her fling with. Christa thinks Aki is cute too and soon a clandestine relationship between the two begins. After a time, Aki wants more than just a fling but there is one problem  Christa has a boyfriend back home.

I thought Our Own Private Universe was a realistic portrayal of an LGBT teenagers struggle to define her identity. Aki has so many questions. What does it mean to be bisexual? Now that shes been involved with a girl, if they break up, does her next relationship have to be with a boy? Should she come out to her parents? How do two girls have sex anyway?

Since the author is married to a woman, I assume that shes a member of the LGBT community and was able to draw from her experience to make this book authentic. In the acknowledgements she says that this book is the book she wished she had when she was a young-adult reader herself. I also think this book would be a great resource for LGBT teenagers. Even though Aki is fictional, I think it would help them to feel like they're not alone. It always feels good to be represented in a positive way in popular culture. Its also good to learn about people who are different than you so straight teens would benefit and enjoy this book as well.
3085557
Lesbians have known this for a long time so this is not news all straight males had to do was ask...What is so sad about the whole thing is if a gay women had written the book would it have been a best seller that straight men and women would have read??? Sadly I'm thinking not...with this in mind it showed that our culture is still stuck in a patriarchal mindset of males knowing what is best for females even though it does show progress it is still under the surface even if we don't want to admit it.....sad..:(
4527565
This new author writes well.  Unfortunately, she made some poor choices of subject matter and characterization.  One of the protagonists engages in frequent casual sex with both women and men.  Her reason?  A "relationship" that ended unhappily after two months (that's not a typo---two months!).

While not one myself, I do fully accept bisexuals, I hope without reservation.  However, I think a book that's represented as a lesbian book should be about lesbians.  This book contains explicit male/female sex (for example on page 90 Corrie, one of the protagonists, says, "C-coming...oh, do you f-feel me?" Her male partner's response is, "Yeah, tight, so good, f***---").  For material like this, my local library offers hundreds of selections that I can read for free, but I choose to purchase "our books" instead.  Quinn, the other protagonist, is a woman in her twenties who has not come out and who is accepting and even forgiving of Corrie's promiscuity.  That's a tough one for me.

I'm all for expanding my horizons, but not particularly in the direction depicted in this story.  I think potential readers should know that they might find the contents of this book distasteful.  Nevertheless, since the author does know how to tell a story, I'd like to see her take a shot at writing a lesbian book.