Book reviews – Bookish Butch

The ‘work in progress’ is …progressing and some reading thoughts

Winner in the GLBT category

Hello you all,

rainy day here,

in my beautiful ugly.

Please don’t think,

I’m complaining,

I’m not,

give me rain over,

sticky dank heat,

any day.

My work in progress,

is progressing,

more and more notes,

adding up,

a memory stick full of pictures,

hell,

I even created a twitter account,

check it out,

join me,

https://twitter.com/bookishbutch

Austin Kleon’s book,

Show your work,

suggested it was,

the favorite social media,

of writers.

Early days,

but,

I can see enjoying it,

and,

it will help with impulse control,

“gotta’ control yourself,

or those 140 words,

can get you in trouble

🙂

I just finished reading,

Gender Failure,

by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon,

a must read people,

will give you much to ponder,

and,

make you laugh and cry,

lots of emotion,

lots of thought,

two astute minds,

collaborating to serve up,

a truly excellent book.

I think you all know,

the love and respect I have for Ivan,

a butch idol of mine,

respect brother.

Rae Spoon,

I am less familiar with,

but,

equally impressed with,

the journey and grit that lead to this,

place,

yes,

impressive.

It brought forth many questions,

I never realized,

I had about the trans experience,

if I can put it this way, but, actually that kind of, a ridiculous way of putting, because the experience is different for everyone,

all part of the vast,

human experience.

It made me think,

and,

feel,

and that is what I value,

above all else,

in a book.

I saw their show,

Ivan and Rae’s,

Gender Failure,

last year with my friend, Francoys,

and so looked forward to reading,

and discussing it with him.

Don’t think for a moment,

“well, I saw the show, I know what the book is about”

it is a very different ‘creature’

both are excellent and complimentary in my opinion.

The show left a lasting impression,

I have discussed it with people,

and,

pondered on it,

many times,

since.

The book opened up a door,

Fran Lebowitz,

one of my all time favourite writers and speakers,

discusses this concept in a talk on Jane Austen,

A book should not be a mirror but a door.

By this she means it shouldn’t be about you,

or recognizing yourself,

but, a door to another world,

another world view,

a glimpse into someone else’s,

human experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujjJlT9cCts

I have read all of Ivan’s work,

’tis love,

and,

now I want to explore,

more of Rae’s,

they appeal to me,

very much,

and,

force me,

in a joyful way,

to explore my thoughts,

confront my acquired ideas.

That rocks

🙂

Austin Kleon in his,

Steal Like An Artist,

and,

Share Your Work,

advises you to learn everything,

there is to know about artists who you love,

learn all their work.

I’ve been doing this for years, but, it is nice to see it articulated, I guess.

Ivan is right up at the top of artists and work I love.

A worthy book.

and this morning,

I came upon this,

on upworthy via face book

proof there isn’t only crap on fb

It added to my thoughts,

once you start,

chewing, marinating and pondering,

on a subject,

stuff turns up,

nice that,

so here is the link

http://www.upworthy.com/the-thing-your-first-grade-english-teacher-missed-that-you-should-definitely-know?g=2&c

Let me know what you all think,

about all this,

I’m off to steal and share.

Be well.

Later girls,

Thoughts of Spring

Hello girls,

hope you are all,

well,

BB is feeling ok,

better than ok,

this in spite,

of major personal,

upheavals,

and,

a cold.

I have had an interesting week,

first,

the delightful podcast,

experience,

WomenAloud,

with the charming and whip smart,

Shawn Marie Bryan.

Shawn Marie,

is everything I like,

about Americans,

open, giving, optimistic,

sunny,

that is the word,

that comes to mind.

Canadians,

need,

sun,

pretty desperately,

especially in,

February.

🙂

Thanks for,

the balmy breeze,

the soft Spring sun,

it has lifted my spirits,

it has,

energized,

me.

You all remember how,

a few posts ago,

I mentioned,

about being up,

for,

the Best Canadian Blog,

in the,

GLBT category.

I know these things aren’t important, but, they sure make a butch smile

Well,

I guess mentioning it,

here and on face book,

worked,

’cause I won

slow, swaying, happy dance to the strains of Into The Mystic

So yeah,

Spring,

and tides,

the return of warmth,

has been,

on my mind.

I have been reading,

a book,

which is terribly,

a propos.

About,

love,

romance,

climate.

A smart,

good read.

Superior by Zoe Amos.

It is a romance,

but,

an adventure as well.

It is a slim novel,

yet,

it covers a lot of ground.

A love story,

tender and sweet,

between two very likable,

young women,

some intelligent discourse,

on climate change,

and,

encroaching conservatism.

The comfort and danger,

in being taken care of,

of looking to the past,

as an ideal,

of giving away our choices,

our power,

for safety.

It’s romantic,

it’s smart,

and,

it moves at,

a good brisk,

speed.

I like a romance,

that engages,

my mind,

as well as my heart.

This one did both.

A well lead and developed plot,

fun,

without being silly.

I think this is worth checking out.

I will be looking for more Zoe Amos,

in the future.

Be well ,

and may the sun,

soon,

warm you all.

Later girls,

First book of the year:-)

Hello you all.

Hope your year,

has gotten off,

to a good start:-)

2013 was a slow reading year,

I read many less books,

than is my habit,

but,

that’s OK,

what I read,

I think I savoured,

more.

I had concentration issues,

for a long time,

couldn’t keep my mind,

on books,

they weren’t,

‘taking me away’,

some seemed like,

work,

but,

I think mostly,

subconsciously at least,

it was sad,

for me,

to read books,

and,

not discuss them,

with customers and such,

so I let myself be diverted,

by other,

sources-

face book, tumblr, pinterest, they have their charms, you know:-)

and of course,

I read,

blogs and articles,

and,

magazines and newspapers,

you get the picture,

right?

Just,

not,

too many books.

As a result,

I have a ton of books,

waiting to be read,

and,

quite a few,

that have been started.

But, on Thursday last,

January 2 ND,

I picked up,

a book,

and,

in two days,

I had finished it,

I loved it,

it was just what,

my butch,

bookish,

heart,

needed.

My sweetheart sent it to me,

for Christmas,

and,

she knows me well,

a smashing choice.

The name of the book is,

Cha-Ching!,

it was published in 2013,

and it by Ali Liebegott.

I had vaguely heard,

of this book,

but,

I hadn’t really stopped,

to investigate,

again, I’m glad my girl, did:-)

It is the story of Theo,

a working class butch,

with issues,

and addictions,

and,

not bright or promising future.

Theo decides to move,

to New York,

from San Francisco,

and,

start anew,

some days go well,

some,

not so much.

Theo is a good person,

with flaws,

but,

mostly,

a good heart,

she makes bad decisions,

mostly because she is a bit,

of dreamer and in spite of,

having no real reason,

to be so,

an optimist.

You root for her,

you associate with her,

you want things,

to go right for her.

I don’t want to,

give any of the plot away,

I purposely,

didn’t read any reviews,

because I didn’t want to know

🙂

It is worth the read,

and,

the discovery.

If you are looking for a novel,

about the not often depicted butch,

the poor, working class butch even less,

or just a well written,

honest portrayal,

of life in cities,

when you work,

in convenience stores,

or data entry jobs,

when you aren’t rich,

or comely,

but,

you are smart and have dreams.

Read this book,

it is romantic and joyful,

in little bits,

like life,

in little bits.

It is a good strong read,

literary,

not symbolic or hoity toity,

about people,

real people,

some of whom are nice,

some of whom are kind of shitty,

shades of grey.

To my mind,

and,

at this point in my life,

an amazing read.

I couldn’t recommend it more,

made me feel,

good about reading,

made me feel less,

lonely,

made me feel as if butches,

have voices too.

Thank you,

Theo,

thank you,

Ali,

and thank you,

sweetie,

for being butch,

for writing butch,

for loving butch.

Later girls,

p.s you don’t have to be butch to like and get this book, you just have to hope and dream and have felt down of your luck, sometimes

The Last Nude

It’s so hot,

wicked hot,

turn you into,

a raving lunatic hot,

yep,

that kind of hot,

I’m melting, I’m melting.

The fans and AC,

have been going,

full blast,

for 48 hours,

and,

the respite seems to be,

far off,

not good for us cranky types,

oh well,

drink lots of water stay indoors,

and,

read.

That’s what I did today.

I finished Ellis Avery’s The Last Nude.

A good friend,

my brilliant librarian/writer friend,

lent this to me,

on my last Toronto visit,

and,

since we are meeting up,

tomorrow for breakfast

🙂

I had to finish it.

I liked this book,

a good novel,

takes place in a time period,

I adore,

Paris,

roaring twenties,

it’s main character is an artist,

who’s work I admire,

it speaks to me,

the art deco esthetic of it,

the curves,

the lines,

the strong women,

the androgyny.

Tamara De Lempicka,

love her work,

have for decades,

some of her prints,

have graced the walls of,

my apartment,

my bookstore,

really like her stuff.

Secondary characters,

include one of my,

bookseller idols,

Sylvia Beach and her fellow bookseller/lover,

Adrienne Monnier.

This is a fictionalised account,

brilliantly researched,

of an affair De Lempicka had,

with one of her models,

the beautiful Rafaela.

Stylistically strong,

and,

a very good read.

I will admit I had my problems,

with it.

I put it down several times,

in the last month or so,

it wasn’t the story,

which is fascinating,

it wasn’t the writing,

never boring or cliche,

no my biggest problem,

was the main character,

I didn’t like her.

De Lempicka,

isn’t a nice person,

she is manipulative and materialistic,

and,

I guess that was hard for me,

because I had always admired her.

I know it’s silly,

the art is the important part,

and,

this is a novel,

after all,

but,

it bugged me,

that she wasn’t very nice,

what a naive ole butch, I am, sometimes.

This novel is a look inside,

the art world,

the wide open sexual times,

that 1920’s Paris,

represents,

a look at power and manipulation,

and,

inequity,

in relationships,

and,

so much more,

two big thumbs up.

But,

be warned you will,

perhaps??

come away not liking,

De Lempicka,

or maybe you aren’t, as hero worship afflicted as I am

😛

This novel was very well reviewed,

and,

reading it is a transporting,

food for thought experience.

More than worth,

your time.

I imagine more than a few of you read it,

I’d like to know,

what you all thought.

Later girls,

keep cool,

be well,

The deep freeze and Holy The Firm

We have been in a deep freeze,

here in Montreal,

well,

all over the province,

deep, polar air,

positively Siberian.

As I was walking home,

from work,

last night,

early evening,

wearing my down jacket,

layers,

that included,

long johns,

flannel and lambswool,

thermal socks,

the warmest tuque I have,

I thought to myself,

imagine,

if you weren’t dressed so well,

if you didn’t have enough to eat,

or a warm and comfortable apartment,

to shelter you from the cold.

I think the upcoming months,

of loss,

of transformation,

will be a test of what I am,

made of,

must reach down,

deep,

into the strong part,

listen to the steady beat,

of the butch core.

Yesterday,

being a particularly cold day,

it goes without saying,

the bookstore was deserted.

I got some time to read,

I read Annie Dillard’s,

Holy The Firm.

Annie Dillard,

is unquestionably,

a great writer,

a master of the distilled,

sentence,

an observer of nature,

of creatures,

human and other.

She is also a deeply religious, spiritual person.

I didn’t like this book,

I read it,

finished it,

very short.

It is not a novel,

it is a memoir of her time ,

on Puget Sound,

of,

a plane crash,

that leaves everyone safe,

except for a little girl,

who is badly burned.

Ms. Dillard,

remembers observing this little girl,

at a day long cider making,

communal happening.

It is admirable in many ways,

this book,

it’s sparseness,

it’s deepness,

it’s faith,

while questioning.

I can see that some people,

would love it,

find comfort and solace and poetry,

in it’s pages.

Not my thing,

too lyrical,

too religious,

no,

not for me.

I’ve read books,

that ‘talk’ of faith and religion,

that I loved,

all of Anne Lammott’s musings and meanderings,

through faith and being saved,

and,

I laughed and shook my head,

with approval and understanding.

But, Annie Dillard,

was more Broccoli,

for me.

I’m glad I read it,

and,

I’m sure it has imparted some,

knowledge and experience to me,

but,

I didn’t like it.

Maybe I read the wrong one,

I’ll try another,

some time,

soon,

any suggestions?

Have a great day girls,

keep warm.

Later girls,

Late Nights On Air

Beautiful sunny day,

much colder than it’s been,

it’s January,

not Spring,

supposed to be cold.

I have finished reading,

my first complete novel,

of the year,

Elizabeth Hay’s,

Late Nights On Air.

It took me a while,

what with the cold from Hell,

and,

what is,

a bit of a slow book.

At times,

I wasn’t sure if I would,

finish reading it,

but,

now that it is,

said,

and,

done,

I’m glad I did.

In a lot of ways,

it is a very Canadian book,

nature and the weather,

the alure of the north,

the cold, the loneliness.

It is a novel about how,

life changes you,

how the,

landscape,

experience,

and,

people,

help you,

to become who you become.

It’s a book of maturity,

looking back on youth,

of city people,

experiencing the wild.

It’s a sad book,

all white and pale grey,

the characters are nuissanced,

complex.

About the every day tragic,

and,

the every day quiet.

Not a thriller,

not a page turner,

but,

a worthwhile read,

I would have hated,

this book,

twenty years ago.

But, I have become,

in the last few years, at least,

a more patient reader,

and,

even if I am not,

mesmerised by a book,

I can tell,

if it’s worth,

my time,

my effort,

this book was.

But,

I have to say,

it was,

a semi-broccoli read

😛

if you are interested,

in the notion of Northern exile,

and,

are searching for a quiet,

yet,

dense,

read,

that will leave,

a sense of landscape,

in your memories.

This might just be for you.

Later girls,

Maternal wisdom…

Been a slow,

beginning of the week,

at the bookshop,

I’ve managed to finish two books.

I’ve started and finished,

Utz by Bruce Chatwin,

a novel about a collector,

of Meissen porcelain,

in Czechoslovakia,

during the communist reign.

An odd, short and engrossing,

novel.

Chatwin is much more,

famous,

for his travel and anthropological books,

On Pantagonia,

Songlines,

and all.

This novel,

Utz(the name of the main character)

deals,

in a humourous way with,

the obsession to collect,

and,

much more subtly,

with the real meaning of freedom,

of the mind,

how one can be truly,

free,

inside a totalitarian regime,

and,

less so,

in a,

supposedly democratic one.

As someone who was an avid,

collector himself,

and,

someone who worked in auction houses,

and,

knew many collectors,

as well as being an avid traveller,

Chatwin,

brings insight and experience,

as well as a keen sense of,

observation to this novel,

a little gem,

not for everyone I’m sure,

but,

an interesting look at Prague,

in a pre Havel period,

a couple of hours,

well spent.

The other novel I read is,

Slow River by Nicola Griffith,

a British writer,

good book,

complex themes,

ecological consequences,

abuse,

identity,

family,

not easy to wrap up,

a good read,

set in,

the not too distant future,

a Nebula Award winner.

Sci-Fi isn’t usually my thing,

but,

this I liked.

Took me a while to get,

‘into’ it,

but, once I did,

I wanted to know,

and I cared.

What would happen,

and,

about,

the characters.

If I don’t care about the characters,

like or dislike,

it’s very difficult for me,

to immerse myself in a book.

Both these novels had,

people,

I cared about,

at their center,

and,

both allowed me to pass,

the long hours,

of waiting for customers.

I like a book to distract me,

take me away,

and,

make me think.

When I was a child,

pretty young,

seven, eight,

not quite sure,

my mom told me,

‘When you read, you are never bored’

of course,

she was right.

Reading cures and prevents,

boredom,

and,

I always have a book lying by,

the side of the bed,

in fact,

most of the time it’s lying,

right next to me,

in bed.

🙂

Do You?

Happy Halloween.

Later girls,

When I grow up….

It’s a grey cloudy morning,

of the October variety.

I don’t mind,

I feel good,

my friend Pierre,

webmaster extraordinaire,

fixed the pesky problem,

with the blog,

just to be clear,

you all were never in danger,

of contamination,

it was a Google alert brought on,

by a spam,

left on the blog,

incredible amount of spam,

you gotta wonder

!!??!!

any way,

it’s fixed,

BB is back

🙂

It’s been slow and odd,

at the bookstore,

remnants of full moon,

weird Fall weather,

cold,

hot,

rainy,

grey,

everything within three days.

So, instead of obsessing on that,

or the blog,

limited success with these but, still…

I have been reading,

Ivan E. Coyote’s,

latest collection of stories,

One In Every Crowd,

Fun aside, recently when I visited the Queer Book Fair here in Montreal, Queer Between The Covers, I bought both this book and, Persistence: All Ways Butch And Femme, from Arsenal Pulp Press’ table and as we strolled the rest of the book fair, I was carrying the books and met the artist who created both book covers, Elisha Lim, she was very pleased that both books had her art:-) At the Anarchist Book Fair, I had also purchased her Zine, The Illustrated Gentleman, which is an adorable twist on GQ, Butch style. She does nice work, you should check her out, at http://elishalim.com/

Getting back to Ivan,

you all know,

I love her work,

her written work,

since I have never seen her perform,

someday, I hope.

Ivan’s writing speaks to me,

directly to,

my butch soul.

This collection is no exception.

A few of the stories,

have been published,

previously,

in other collections.

At first,

I thought,

oh, I’ve read this, too bad,

and then it felt,

like I was visiting with a good friend,

talking about the old days,

what Bruce calls ‘Glory Days”,

and,

catching up on what’s been going on,

with her,

in her life,

talking about her Grandma passing,

her quitting smoking,

her new and marvelous love,

bitching together on,

how Harper is ruining Canada,

and,

how the Christian Right,

is messing with our American cousins.

Catching up,

reminiscing,

butch to butch.

That’s what it feels like to me,

when I read Ivan,

shooting the shit,

with a pal,

a sister,

a brother.

I’ve never met Ivan,

I probably never will,

so?

doesn’t make our ‘relationship’,

any less,

‘intimate’.

That’s what great books,

give you,

connection.

Now,

I am way past the age,

of needing guidance,

from a butch who’s been around the block,

but,

I think the young LGBTQ people,

that Ivan wrote this for,

well, mostly,

will benefit,

from knowing,

that there are uncle Ivans,

out there.

Who live their lives as they wish,

who write,

and,

perform,

and earn a living,

who come from families,

that love and support them,

and,

those who don’t have families,

like that,

can find them,

make them,

that many of us,

exist.

Some of us,

are messed up,

some of us,

are well adjusted and happy,

we just are.

It’s good to know,

that High School,

even for those of us,

who do fine,

or pass,

whatever the case may be,

isn’t the end all.

I had a supportive family,

like Ivan’s,

we didn’t have to talk about this stuff,

it just was.

High School was fine.

I’ve said it before,

I’m lucky.

I’m not sure I would have needed,

Ivan’s book,

but,

it would have been,

nice to have,

just as it is now.

Be it for an example,

or a warm familiar presence,

it’s good to know,

that the Ivan’s of the world,

are there,

and writing to us,

comforting,

and,

inspiring.

A must add to your collection,

in my humble opinion,

and,

something to give to a kid you know,

who feels different,

nothing preachy or academic about this book,

a talk with your favourite uncle.

Some of them might even think,

when I grow up…

I’m gonna be like that

🙂

Later girls,

***the header is an homage to what is quite possibly my favourite book, 84 Charing Cross Road**

A book of substance and joy, Persistence

Well,

looks like,

Fall,

is finally here,

glad to see it,

I’ve missed it,

in the sweltering heat,

the humid,

clingy,

heat.

I even wore,

my tweed cap,

yesterday:-)

This Summer,

has been particularly,

difficult on my reading,

can’t concentrate in,

the sizzling city.

Now,

if I had escaped,

to the sea,

or,

the lake,

with my love,

maybe,

I would have done,

A Kallmaker to soothe the grumpy butch

It’s been a tough week,

seems like there have been,

many of those,

this Summer,

hot and humid,

makes for low sales,

and,

a grumpy,

sleep deprived,

butch,

with wonky concentration.

But, I still got my looks and a rockin’ new haircut:-P

The kitchen is getting a face lift,

new doors,

on the cabinets,

and,

a subway tile ceramic back splash,

looks good,

brings it,

into this century,

from the nineties,

mom is over the moon happy,

I like it too.

The problem is that it messes with ,

my already messed up,

sleep.

oh well,

it will be finished soon,

I hope 🙂

My lady sent me,

a package with some books,

she’s so sweet and considerate that way<swoon>

One of the books,

helped with my mood,

and,

my concentration problems,

a Karin Kallmaker romance,

that I hadn’t read,

Nice:-)

I have read all but,

the last two,

I read one last year,

that I wasn’t crazy about,

the story didn’t work for me.

However, even a Kallmaker,

that isn’t her best,

is still head and shoulders,

over most romance novels.

The one I read this week,

is Warming Trend,

set briefly in Key West,

but mostly,

in Alaska.

An Alaskan setting is perfect when you are suffering from the heat

I liked this book,

a lot,

good romance,

an intrigue,

some science,

that seems credible,

mind, I’m no scientist.

I enjoyed the info about ice,

and the effects of,

man made havoc.

The main character,

Ani is a brilliant,

butch ice geologist,

well, almost she’s working on her Phd,

full of passion,

and irresistible naivete,

a strong, smart, character,

who perhaps trusts people,

too much.

Her work ethic and honesty,

are exemplary,

she doesn’t play games,

she doesn’t even know how,

thinks everyone is like her,

honest,

straightforward,

and,

working in the interests of science.

I’m simplifying a complex character,

but,

this is at her root.

A good story,

interesting characters,

even the ‘vilain’,

isn’t one dimensional.

The secondary characters are well drawn,

the mark of good fiction,

and,

it’s wonderfully romantic.

Good read,

entertaining, sexy.

Just what a grumpy ole butch needed.

Later girls,