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cinematicct · 9 months

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Legally Blonde (2001)

👱‍♀️👙💼

Based on the fictional novel by Amanda Brown, this comedy film stars Reese Witherspoon as sorority girl Elle Woods who decides to enroll at Harvard Law School to try to win back the guy who broke up with her.

The supporting cast includes: Luke Wilson as junior attorney Emmett Richmond, Selma Blair as overachieving law student Vivian Kensington, Matthew Davis as Elle’s boyfriend Warner Huntington III, Jennifer Coolidge as manicurist Paulette Bonafonté, Victor Garber as the arrogant Professor Callahan and Holland Taylor as the stern yet inspiring Professor Stromwell. What’s more, the canine star of the film is a chihuahua named Moonie who plays Elle’s pet dog Bruiser.

Reese Witherspoon radiates just the right amount of witty pep and nuanced energy to take on the role of a sunny but determined blonde who goes from majoring in fashion merchandising to studying practice of law. Luke Wilson plays a mild-mannered character who doesn’t judge Elle for her perceived superficiality. Selma Blair as Vivian is portrayed as both a total snob and (later) a supportive colleague. Jennifer Coolidge is priceless in her portrayal of a self-conscious yet brassy woman who becomes a trustworthy confidante. Bruiser (the dog) is quite the precious attention-stealer as Elle treats him like a human being and carries him around wherever she goes.

The movie (along with the original novel) is an introduction of overturning discrimination against blonde stereotypes. Elle Woods is first seen expecting a marriage proposal from her long-term boyfriend Warner, only to be dumped since he saw her blonde identity as a burden to his future aspirations and (more importantly) his familial expectations of being a senator. Elle then puts her mind to work on her pursuit in becoming serious enough to not just prove her former beau wrong, but also to fight for the dignity of other blondes. However, she realizes that fitting in at Harvard is a lot harder than she thought it would be.

The story even contrasts Elle’s frivolous Southern California lifestyle with the intellectual tradition of her East Coast peers. For instance, Elle is fooled into wearing a Playboy Bunny outfit for a “costume party” in Cambridge. Not only that, but she finds Warner engaged to the preppy Vivian Kensington as his preference of an intelligent woman, igniting the old blonde vs. brunette rivalry (otherwise known as the beauty vs. brains dichotomy).

Throughout the course of the film, Elle sets out to change societal beliefs about blondes being too shallow to be smart or have a care in the world. Along the way, she defends fellow blonde/sorority sister/role model Brooke Taylor-Windham being accused of murder. What’s more, the hostility between Elle and Vivian gradually ceases as they come to see past their external differences.

The soundtrack contains a list of both original songs and cover versions of classic hits. The track list includes: “We Could Still Belong Together” by Lisa Loeb, “Watch Me Shine” by Joanna Pacitti, “Sex Machine” (a cover version of the James Brown song) by Mya and “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick to name a few. But one specific original song that plays as the theme of the film is “Perfect Day” by Hoku. Moreover, Elle helps Paulette to get the attention of her crush (a UPS delivery man) by teaching her a particular move called the “Bend and Snap”, during which the whole salon joins in.

Lastly, the memo of the whole storyline is you don’t need to change your identity, but to commit yourself to the fullest to achieve great potential. In Elle Woods’ case, she is able to rely on her looks, optimism and deep intelligence to succeed. That said, I justifiably recommend this solid girl-power movie to every fan of Reese Witherspoon.

If anyone were to ask how I came up with this, here’s my response: “What, like it’s hard?”

#legally blonde #Legally Blonde 2001 #metro goldwyn mayer #based on a novel #amanda brown #elle woods #Reese Witherspoon #bruiser woods #Paulette bonafonte #Jennifer Coolidge #delta nu sorority #harvard law school #comedy film

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bookgeekgrrl · 9 days

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My media this week (5-11 May 2024)

another absolutely unhinged episode from this crew. i love them all so much.

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🙂 Lessons in Exposing a Deadly Alias (Cambridge Fellows Mysteries) (Charlie Cochrane) - this series is now the equivalent of watching criminal minds or some other long-running procedural: it's certainly not for the plot/mystery but for the characters who are family. I do love that as the series has gone on their friends & family have taken on a more active role in the investigations. that said, I think I might be done with this series; it took me forever to get thru this bc I wasn't remotely motivated to get back to it.

🥰 No One Likes Us But We Don't Care (Rainne) - 45K, modern Steve/prewar Bucky - an accidental interdimensional swap drops a 1940s Bucky into the present - he & Steve figure out what that means for them (3rd in a series)

😍 Spectred Isle (Green Men #1) (KJ Charles, author; Ruairi Carter, narrator) - [reread] very old world supernatural shenanigans in 1920s England - truly sad that there won't be any more in this universe because it's sooooo good and so rich but forever grateful we at least got this marvelous (and complete) story

🥰 it's good to see you back in a bar band, baby (LiarsandThieves22) - 139K, Steddie modern musician AU - absolutely adored this! enemies-to-friends-to lovers speedrun, understandable & character appropriate mutual pining, fantastic supporting characterizations - it had it all!

😍 You Should Be So Lucky (Cat Sebastian, author; Joel Leslie, narrator) - baseball player Eddie & newspaper writer Mark are both dealing with some devastating life events. They find each other and some solace and healing. This book, like We Could Be So Good, is absolutely incredible. It knocked my socks off and healed my heart. It almost made me like baseball! I'm just going to quote from a review written by kiki124 in the Romance Salon server because she is great with words and captured it exactly: "I was just blown away by the writing and the ways Sebastian drew these two utterly believable and interesting characters, plus all the side characters, plus the literary notes, plus the queer history plus the New York history. I think that what I love the best about these books is that the story doesn't end when the characters fall in love--there's a whole second half of the book to come as the relationship has room to breathe and grow and work out kinks. Literally everyone who has a heart and a brain should read these books."

💖💖 +115K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

the Steve Rogers problem (relenafanel) - MCU: stucky AU, 36K - "Bucky doesn't consider his Steve Rogers problem as a problem so much as the solution he hadn't realized he was hoping for to help him through the transition from the Bucky Barnes he'd been before his accident to the new, shiny version of himself. No, the problem isn't with Captain America and The Howling Commandos fandom. The problem is the amount of porn Bucky managed to write and draw about Captain America before finding out that he's less than one degree of separation away from Steve Rogers. 'Less than' as in he's sitting across the table from him."

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Is It Cake? - s2, e4-5

Girls5eva - s1, e1

QI - series U, e4-8

Beyond Paradise - s2, e4-6

Game Changer - s6, e8

Strange Way of Life (2023)

Um, Actually - s6, e6

The Brokenwood Mysteries - s10, e2

Smartypants - s1, e2

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Rock The Boat" (s21, e18)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Blimey" (s16, e18)

Doctor Who - series 14, e1-2

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Re: Dracula - May 5: The Dead Travel Fast

Wiser Than Me - Julia Gets Wise with Patti Smith

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Sans-Souci Palace

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! BONUS - The animal that terrifies Peter, and other 'Wild Card' topics

Re: Dracula - May 7: Stranger in a Strange Land

Short Wave - 'Stealing The Past': A Spat Between Twins Leads To A Theory Of Disputed Memories

Re: Dracula - May 8: Foul Bauble of Man's Vanity

Vibe Check - Oh, How We Have Fallen From Taste

Re: Dracula - May 9: Castles in the Air

Today, Explained - Israel, Gaza, and Eurovision

Consider This from NPR - From utility man to one of California's foremost journalists

It's Been a Minute - A 'Wild Card' game with Rachel Martin

Wild Card with Rachel Martin - Issa Rae thinks a little delusion goes a long way

⭐ It's Been a Minute - Drake and Kendrick are beefing, but who pays? Plus, moms as our social safety net

Today, Explained - The real victims of Baby Reindeer

Re: Dracula - May 11: Pray for my Happiness

Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - TikTok’s Boom-Bling

⭐ Lost Notes - Go with the Flow: Community, Virality, and the Politics of Dancing

Why Won't You Date Me? - Love in Theater (w/ Jesse Tyler Ferguson)

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - Chappell Roan

⭐ Big Gay Fiction Podcast - Baseball, 1960 New York, and Bad Dogs with Cat Sebastian

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Beauly Priory Wych Elm

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

'60s Sunshine Pop

'60s Folk Rock

Dance Party Hits

Carly Rae Jepsen

Presenting Charli XCX

Presenting Dua Lipa

Energy Supermix

Women of Electronic

Essential Proto-Metal

Rock Radio • 1980s • Popular • High variety

Presenting The Beach Boys

Classical Workout

Instrumental Hard Rock

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rockislandadultreads · 5 months

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In Memoriam: Authors We Lost in 2023

Master of Disguises by Charles Simic

In this volume of poetry, Charles Simic shows the height of his poetic powers, as its poems mine the rich strain of inscrutability in ordinary life, until it is hard to know what is innocent and what ominous. The face of a girl carrying a white dress from the cleaners with her eyes half-closed. The Adam & Evie Tanning Salon at night. A sparrow on crutches. A rubber duck in a shooting gallery on a Sunday morning. And someone in a tree swing, too old to be swinging, blowing a toy trumpet at the sky. Simic served as poet laureate of the United States from 2007-2008.

Charles Simic passed away on January 9th.

Passage to Juneau by Jonathan Raban

In this volume, travel writer Jonathan Raban takes us along the Inside Passage, 1,000 miles of often treacherous water, which he navigates solo in a 35-foot sailboat. Throughout, Raban offers captivating discourses on art, philosophy, and navigation; an unsparing narrative of personal loss; and insight into the immeasurable divide between the Northwest's Indians and its first European explorers over a gulf of centuries.

Jonathan Raban passed away on January 17th.

Avid Reader by Robert Gottlieb

After editing The Columbia Review, staging plays at Cambridge, and a stint in the greeting-card department of Macy's, Robert Gottlieb stumbled into a job at Simon and Schuster. By the time he left to run Alfred A. Knopf a dozen years later, he was the editor in chief, having discovered and edited Catch-22 and The American Way of Death, among other bestsellers. At Knopf, Gottlieb edited an astonishing list of authors, such as Toni Morrison, John le Carré, and Michael Crichton. In this memoir, Gottlieb writes with wit and candor about the challenges and satisfactions of running America's preeminent magazine.

Robert Gottlieb passed away on June 14th.

A Village Life by Louise Glück

In her eleventh volume of poetry, Louise Glück begins in the topography of a village, a Mediterranean world of no definite moment or place. Glück was known as a lyrical and dramatic poet; while her manner was novelistic, she focused not on action but on pauses and intervals, moments of suspension (rather than suspense), in a dreamlike present tense in which poetic speculation and reflection are possible. She also served as poet laureate of the United States from 2003 to 2004.

Louise Glück passed away on October 13th.

#in memoriam #nonfiction #poetry #reading recommendations #reading recs #book recommendations #book recs #library books #tbr #tbr pile #to read #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog #readers advisory

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sophiebernadotte · 5 months

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This article examines the idea of anti-slavery sociability as part of a wider analysis of the informal elements of the transatlantic anti-slavery movement. It considers how American abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman drew support for the American anti-slavery cause from French salons during her time spent living in Paris from 1848 to 1855. This case-study highlights how a focus on the informal dimensions of anti-slavery activism illuminates the often underappreciated work of female abolitionists in the transatlantic reform sphere. Through the connections she established with the likes of French writer Victor Hugo and Russian exile Nicholas Tourgueneff at salons in Paris, most notably that of Mary Clarke Mohl on the Rue de Bac, Chapman was able to cultivate European support for abolitionism in myriad ways. This included financial donations, goods to be sold at anti-slavery bazaars, and, perhaps most importantly, testimonies against American slavery from renowned Europeans like Hugo that could be republished in the United States.

#to read later #uni life #history student #abolitionism #us history #french history #nineteenth century #womanhood #social history

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blahblaheverythingisgay · 1 year

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The foxes as reasons the residents of the luxury condominium I work at have been notified:

Dan: used the visitors parking box for a entire week

Kevin: used the court outside of it's permitted use time

Andrew: let his pet poop in front of the elevator

Matt: broke the gym's mirror

Aaron: threw out of the window a Cambridge test scored 2

Allison: parked out of her parking box

Nicky: broke a chair in the party salon we didn't even know was breakable

Renee: scratched the painting off a barbecue table trying to clean it (because she painted something on it and didn't want to cause trouble)

Neil: roasted the people using the party salon and threw a underwear at them

Bonus:

Wymack: got an assessment for the frequency his kids caused trouble in common area

#aftg incorrect quotes #aftg #wymack dealt with it all #neil josten is a menace #it is all actual truth

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emmashouldbewriting · 10 months

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I like your ginger/auburn colour which I assume is natural. You could think about how much time you’ll save if you grow out the dye.

And you could consider colour masks to give your hair a hint of colour to enrich your colour as it were…

Or go Cambridge blue 😉🇬🇧

my natural colour is a duller shade of auburn and i'd prefer something a smidge brighter tbh. it's not so much about growing out the dye - my hair goes platinum very easily and is extremely healthy, and i wouldn't necessarily gain more time (nor would i want to, my salon trips are my only days out hahahahaha) it's actually something that i've been considering for a while and right before my 30th seems like a good time to change it.

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beautyandspa · 5 months

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Top-Rated Hair Salon in Cambridge: Style, Precision, and Care

Discover Cambridge's best hair salon, where exceptional style meets precision. Our talented stylists excel in the latest hair trends, offering personalized cuts, colors, and treatments. We prioritize your hair's health and your personal style, ensuring a luxurious experience and stunning results in every visit. To avail our top-notch services, visit us or call us at 519-740-0500.

#best hair salon Cambridge

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whatsonincambridge · 2 years

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Best Hair Salon Cambridge-

In Cambridge you will find wide range of luxury salon and spa. But if you are looking for the Best Hair Salon Cambridge then visit the website of Whats On In Cambridge. Visit our website to know in details about those salons.

#Best Hair Salon Cambridge

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dollycas · 2 months

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Sunday Salon / Sunday Post - A Week in the Life of Dollycas – Weekly Rewind – New Arrivals @KensingtonBooks

The Sunday Salon is a Facebook group that has become an informal week in review gathering place for bloggers. It is also a place to share our thoughts about things of a bookish nature. You can also link up weekly on Readerbuzz. The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received, and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE! Last Sunday, my daughters and I traveled north to attend Kensington Books Midwest Cozy Con hosted by Bound to Happen Books at O'so Brewing Company in Plover, Wisconsin. It was about an hour and a half drive. Daughter #2 came home the night before since she now lives over an hour away. Daughter #1 is just 35 minutes away. As soon as she arrived we were on our way. The car ride was fun and filled with laughter and the spring-ish scenery was beautiful. When we arrived I didn't think too many people were there but in a few minutes, the place started to fill up. The authors took their places in their booths and it was nice to visit with a few of them before the lines got too long. But we did wait in a few lines so we were able to talk to some of the people around us, like a woman who has become an online friend. She has followed my blog since I started and has been a host for Great Escapes tours. It was wonderful to meet her in person and sit down and talk to her and her husband who shared some of his delicious treats with us. In all the years I have been blogging this is the first time I have attended an event like this. For an avid reader and lover of cozy mysteries, this event had me a bit nervous at first, but everyone was so friendly. They took time to visit, sign books, hand out swag, and take photos. I have conversed by email and on Facebook with them for years, and some have been on tours with Great Escapes, so for me, it was like meeting rock stars. My daughters were surprised by the reception I received from the authors and truthfully so was I. When I introduced myself as Dollycas they were so happy to meet me. They were so appreciative of my reviews and book tours. It brought tears to my eyes more than once. The Authors Colleen Cambridge, Emmeline Duncan, Clara McKenna, and Carlene O'Connor were also at the event. Sadly, Lynn Cahoon made it to Wisconsin but was ill and unable to attend. The Publicist Larissa has been so supportive of my blog and book tours. She does a fantastic job of keeping me informed about new releases, always makes sure I have a book to give away, and also sponsors random giveaways throughout the year. She gets me in touch with authors if needed and facilitates tours for those who wish to work with Great Escapes. She is dedicated to providing anything her authors need for promotion and organizes fabulous events like this Cozy Con. It's a big job that she excels at. It is so nice to put a face and voice with a name. This was an event I will never forget and thank everyone who made it possible. I hope Wisconsin made a good impression and they will come back and do it again. After such a joyful time, Tuesday went down the tubes with a Facebook outage. Most people were down a day but I had the pleasure of being unable to log in until late Thursday when a code they sent me to change my password, which was correct, actually worked. You never realize how much you use a site until you are locked out. I was not a happy camper and my husband had to put up with me :-) Thousands of people were venting on Twitter/X because Facebook has no customer service. It was a glitch that was probably found because of that. I am just glad to be back on. The first thing I did was add Mr. Dollycas to all my fan pages and groups as an administrator so if it happens again he can at least post for the book tours. He got creative and got the job done but it was crazy. After that, the rest of the week has been calm and normal. LOL How was your week? Weekly Rewind - March 4 - 9, 2024 Monday - My Reading Itinerary Monday! – Week #10 – 2024 Tuesday - Death and Fromage: A Novel (Follet Valley Mystery) by Ian Moore #Review / #Giveaway Wednesday - Cozy Wednesday featuring Double Scoop of Murder (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries) by Lena Gregory #Review / #Giveway – Great Escapes Book Tour @LenaGregory03 #gemmahallidaypublishing Thursday - Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs #Review / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour @BerkleyMystery Friday - #FlashbackFriday – Read on Arrival: A Bookmobile Mystery by Nora Page #Review / #Giveaway @crookedlanebooks Saturday - Special Guest – Denise Jaden – Author of Tragic Tuesday: A Tabitha Chase Days of the Week Mystery #AuthorInterview / #Giveaway – Great Escapes Book Tour @denise.jaden @denisejadenauthor Happy Reading!! Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent Read the full article

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ontariobusiness · 4 months

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The Artistry of Scissors: Navigating Haircuts in Cambridge

In the heart of Cambridge, where historical charm meets contemporary flair, the experience of getting a haircut transcends the routine of grooming; it becomes a personalized expression of style and identity. The city's vibrant atmosphere, shaped by a diverse blend of tradition and innovation, inspires a wide array of haircut choices that reflect the dynamic tastes of its residents.

Cambridge's inhabitants embrace a myriad of haircut styles, from classic and refined cuts that pay homage to the city's historical roots to avant-garde and eclectic choices that resonate with the forward-thinking spirit of urban living. Each haircut becomes a unique piece of art, blending the timeless elegance of Cambridge with the modern influences that define the city's character.

Seasonal shifts in Cambridge also play a role in shaping haircut trends. As spring breathes life into the city, fresh and lively cuts emerge, mirroring the renewal of nature. Summer invites breezy and effortless styles, reflecting the energy of outdoor activities. Fall inspires textured and layered cuts, echoing the changing hues of the city's foliage. Winter brings forth cozy and low-maintenance styles, complementing the cooler climate.

The individualistic spirit of Cambridge residents takes center stage in the realm of haircuts. Each resident uses their hair as a canvas for self-expression, experimenting with lengths, textures, and shapes that best convey their personalities. From sleek and polished looks that exude sophistication to more relaxed and tousled styles embodying a carefree spirit, the variety of haircut choices mirrors the diversity and freedom that define the city.

The talented stylists in Cambridge's salons play a crucial role in this narrative of haircut exploration. Their expertise and dedication to understanding each client's unique preferences ensure that the chosen cut not only enhances individual features but also aligns with the dynamic and creative spirit of Cambridge.

Ultimately, getting a haircut in Cambridge is more than a grooming ritual; it's a collaborative and artistic process that celebrates personal style and individuality within the rich tapestry of the city's history and modernity.

#haircut in cambridge

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philaet0s · 5 months

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One Letter, One Book

I have this obsessive need to track everything I do, so I have (several) Excel sheets with information about the books I’ve read this year. I thought I could use all this nonsense to create a list of recommendations, with one challenge: I have to give one author for every letter of the alphabet -if I can. When I didn’t have an author whose name began with a certain letter, I checked book titles. If I couldn’t find a name or a title with a certain letter, I had to leave it blank.

A: Maya Angelou

Letter to My Daughter

(4 stars)

Maya Angelou shares her path to living well and with meaning in this absorbing book of personal essays. Dedicated to the daughter she never had but sees all around her, Letter to My Daughter transcends genres and guidebook, memoir, poetry, and pure delight.

B: Philippe Besson

Arrête avec tes mensonges (English: Lie With Me)

(5 stars)

Just outside a hotel in Bordeaux, Philippe, a famous writer, chances upon a young man who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back to Philippe's teenage years, to a winter morning in 1984, a small French high school, and a carefully timed encounter between two seventeen-year-olds. It's the start of a secret, intensely passionate, world-altering love affair between Philippe and his classmate, Thomas.

Honourable mention to James Baldwin because I read three of his books this year (Giovanni’s Room, Another Country and Go Tell It On the Mountain) and they were all brilliant, but Besson’s novel is the one I gave five stars to.

C: Albert Camus

L’étranger (English: The Stranger/The Outsider)

(4 stars)

With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, The Stranger—Camus's masterpiece—gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach.

D: Patricia Duncker

Hallucinating Foucault

(5 stars)

In this ravishing tale of sexual and textual obsession, the young unnamed narrator sets forth from Cambridge on a quest. He is to rescue the subject of his doctoral research, Paul Michel, the brilliant but mad writer, from incarceration in a mental institution in France. What ensues is a drama of terrible intimacy and tenderness played out one hot and humid summer in Paris and in the south of France.

E: Annie Ernaux

Les années

(4,5 stars)

Annie Ernaux invents a form that is subjective and impersonal, private and collective, and a new genre – the collective autobiography – in order to capture the passing of time. At the confluence of autofiction and sociology, The Years is ‘a Remembrance of Things Past for our age of media domination and consumerism’ (New York Times), a monumental account of twentieth-century French history as refracted through the life of one woman.

F: The Farewell Symphony, Edmund White

(3,5 stars)

This is the story of a man who has outlived most of his friends. Having reached the six-month anniversary of his lover's death, he embarks on a journey of remembrance that will recount his struggle to become a writer and his discovery of what it means to be a gay man. His witty, conversational narrative transports us from the 1960s to the near present, from starkly erotic scenes in the back rooms of New York clubs to episodes of rarefied hilarity in the salons of Paris to moments of family truth in the American Midwest.

G: Romain Gary (Emile Ajar)

La vie devant soi (English: Life Before Us)

(5 stars)

Momo has been one of the ever-changing ragbag of whores' children at Madame Rosa's boarding house in Paris ever since he can remember. But when the check that pays for his keep no longer arrives and as Madame Rosa becomes too ill to climb the stairs to their apartment, he determines to support her any way he can. This sensitive, slightly macabre love story between Momo and Madame Rosa has a supporting cast of transvestites, pimps, and witch doctors from Paris's immigrant slum, Belleville.

H: Victor Hugo

Claude Gueux

(5 stars)

Written by Victor Hugo in 1834, "Claude Gueux" is a short story considered to be an example of early 'true crime' fiction. Within it, Hugo presents his still-developing ideas concerning societal injustice three decades before he would imbue them into his seminal novel "Les Miserables".

I: Christopher Isherwood

A Single Man

(4 stars)

Welcome to sunny suburban 1960s Southern California. George is a gay middle-aged English professor, adjusting to solitude after the tragic death of his young partner. He is determined to persist in the routines of his former life. A Single Man follows him over the course of an ordinary twenty-four hours. Behind his British reserve, tides of grief, rage, and loneliness surge – but what is revealed is a man who loves being alive despite all the everyday injustices.

J: Le dernier jour d’un condamné, Victor Hugo

(English: The Last Day of a Condemned Man)

(4 stars)

This novella by Victor Hugo recounts the thoughts of a man condemned to die. A novel advocating for the abolition of the death penalty.

K: Tony Kushner

Angels in America

(3,5 stars)

New York City in the 1980s. A gay man is abandoned by his lover when he contracts the AIDS virus, and a closeted Mormon lawyer's marriage to his pill-popping wife stalls. Other characters include the infamous McCarthy-ite lawyer Roy Cohn, Ethel Rosenberg, a former drag queen who works as a nurse, and an angel.

L: Edouard Louis

Histoire de la violence (English: History of Violence)

(4,5 stars)

I met Reda on Christmas Eve 2012, at around four in the morning. He approached me in the street, and finally I invited him up to my apartment. He told me the story of his childhood and how his father had come to France, having fled Algeria. We spent the rest of the night together, talking, laughing. At around 6 o'clock, he pulled out a gun and said he was going to kill me. He insulted me, strangled and raped me. The next day, the medical and legal proceedings began. History of Violence retraces the story of that night, and looks at immigration, class, racism, desire and the effects of trauma in an attempt to understand a history of violence, its origins, its reasons and its causes.

M: Toni Morrison

Beloved

(4 stars)

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.

N: Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

(4 stars)

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.

O: George Orwell

Animal Farm

(4 stars)

A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

P: Phèdre, Jean Racine

(English: Phaedra)

(3,5 stars)

Jean Racine’s last and greatest tragedy is based on a legend that has intrigued dramatists as far back as Euripides and Seneca. Phaedra, the second wife of Theseus, the heroic king of Athens, is consumed with an illicit passion for Hippolytus, her stepson.

Q: "Being Queer in America: A Journal of Disintegration"

From David Wojnarowicz's Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration

(4,5 stars)

In Close to the Knives, David Wojnarowicz gives us an important and timely document: a collection of creative essays — a scathing, sexy, sublimely humorous and honest personal testimony to the “Fear of Diversity in America.” From the author’s violent childhood in suburbia to eventual homelessness on the streets and piers of New York City, to recognition as one of the most provocative artists of his generation — Close to the Knives is his powerful and iconoclastic memoir. Street life, drugs, art and nature, family, AIDS, politics, friendship and acceptance: Wojnarowicz challenges us to examine our lives — politically, socially, emotionally, and aesthetically.

R: Sally Rooney

Normal People

(4 stars)

Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation--awkward but electrifying--something life changing begins. A year later, they're both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

S: Neige Sinno

Triste tigre

(4 stars)

Entre 7 et 14 ans, la petite Neige est violée régulièrement par son beau-père. La famille recomposée vit dans les Alpes, dans les années 90, et mène une vie de bohème un peu marginale. En 2000, Neige et sa mère portent plainte et l’homme est condamné, au terme d’un procès, à neuf ans de réclusion. Des années plus tard, Neige Sinno livre un récit déchirant sur ce qui lui est arrivé. Sans pathos, sans plainte. Elle tente de dégoupiller littéralement ce qu’elle appelle sa « petite bombe ».

T: Donna Tartt

The Secret History

(5 stars)

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last—inexorably—into evil.

U: "Unfinished Duet"

From Richard Silken's Crush

(4 stars)

Richard Siken’s Crush, selected as the 2004 winner of the Yale Younger Poets prize, is a powerful collection of poems driven by panic and obsession. Siken writes with ferocity, and his reader hurtles unstoppably with him. His poetry is confessional, gay, savage, and charged with violent eroticism. In the world of American poetry, Siken's voice is striking.

V: Ocean Vuong

Night Sky with Exit Wounds

(4 stars)

Ocean Vuong's first full-length collection aims straight for the perennial "big"—and very human—subjects of romance, family, memory, grief, war, and melancholia. None of these he allows to overwhelm his spirit or his poems, which demonstrate, through breath and cadence and unrepentant enthrallment, that a gentle palm on a chest can calm the fiercest hungers.

W: Jeanette Winterson

Written on the Body

(5 stars)

Winterson chronicles the consuming affair between the narrator, who is given neither name nor gender, and the beloved, a complex and confused married woman.

Y: Your Nostalgia is Killing Me, John Weir

(4,5 stars)

John Weir, author of The Irreversible Decline of Eddie Socket, a defining novel of 1980s New York in its response to the global AIDS crisis, has written a story collection that chronicles the long aftermath of epidemic death, as recorded in the tragicomic voice of a gay man who survived high school in the 1970s, the AIDS death of his best friend in the 1990s, and his complicated relationship with his mother, "a movie star without a movie to star in," whose life is winding to a close in a retirement community where she lives alone with her last dog.

Z: Stefan Zweig

The Chess Player

(3,5 stars)

Stefan Zweig's acclaimed novella Chess is a disturbing, intensely dramatic depiction of obsession and the price of genius.

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