Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical RENT--After seeing Anthony Rapp reprise his role as Mark Cohen on Broadway, I had to check out his recent memoir. It's been sitting on my shelf since I found it in the remainders bin at Borders. If you're a RENT-head, a gay, a member of PFLAG, or an Andy Dick fan (admittedly a small subset, that last)(they were childhood friends), pick it up. Rapp details his life at the time when RENT was exploding all over the media which coincided with his mother's battle with cancer. He also digs into his family and romantic relationships, and doesn't always paint himself in the best light. Even a few tidbits about being backstage with Taye Diggs and Jesse L. Martin were enough to entice me.
I Am Not Myself These Days--If you're reading HERE, you should totally read this book. Another fag. Another memoir. And come to think of it, another dude who ended up partnered and living on the Upper East Side in NYC. This one is a not so hale and not so hearty recounting of a year in the life of an alcoholic ad exec by day/drag queen by night and his relationship with his crack-addicted gay whore boyfriend. Penthouse views included. Often poignant and frequently hilarious, sometimes in the same paragraph.
Now I'm reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan. Ian is my boy. His Atonement and Saturday are two of my favorite books of the last ten years or so.
9 comments:
Will definitely pick up the latter recommendation. You had me at 'drag queen' and 'whore boyfriend.'
And the goldfish is only PART metaphor. Mostly it's an actual component of his drag costume. Aquadisiac!
Really funny book. YOU. You, I know will love it.
So you liked Anthony's book? I thought the descriptions of backstage and the beginnings of Rent were fascinating. I loved how it was brutally honest at times, not all roses and fun.
I will definitely take your recommendations - esp. Atonement, which will be a movie soon with my current favorite, James McAvoy. I'll have to tackle the book before the movie.
Maddie, I did like it. For me (or you) it's a fascinating read. I'm not sure about for the general public. By all means read Atonement. It's on my Top Ten list all-time. That said, it's not an airy confection. You have to settle in and read it. WELL worth your time. I'm both excited and nervous about a movie adaptation, but I think the casting sounds awesome. James McAvoy has only been on my radar since Becoming Jane, but he's pinging hard now.
he's pinging hard now Dirty. :)
Yup, it is for a rather specific audience.
Both with movies and books, I love stories that are really complicated and meaty sometimes. Now I just have to find the time for all of these books, and the many, many movies coming out in the fall that are on my must-see list.
Dude, you have to blog or send me your Fall MUST-SEE LIST.
I'm excited about a book I just ordered....Hero. Came to my attention via the lovely Freakgirl. It's young adult fiction, which I normally shy away from, but it's about a gay superhero, so yeah, I'm there.
I've thought about starting a movie/tv/whatever blog or something - since that seems to be a little obsession of mine, but I love reading everyone else's and just commenting. Also, for a blog, I know NOTHING about links, adding pictures, that's all foreign to me.
I'll definitely send you the list when I get a chance...it's the fall and "Oscar worthy" time, lots of great stuff.
I ordered a copy of the scurrilous biography "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson" last night, about the agent who 'straightened up' all the 'mo stars like Anthony Perkins, Hudson, Tab Hunter, Guy Madison etc. Trashy. That's me.
Trashy good. Post review post-haste.
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