Year 4, week 44: Tinderbox

This week's book:
Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation
By Robert W. Fieseler

This book is so well researched and informative. I would have never heard of it or read it, if it wasn't for a reading prompt for this month. "Read a true crime" was the prompt, and it being pride month, I wanted to read something by a LGBTQ+ author, and hopefully about something in history. 

This book is about a fire in the 1970's at a gay bar in New Orleans. Before the shooting in Orlando a few years ago, this fire was the largest mass killing of gay people. I have been trying to better educate myself about the injustices that different groups have and still face every day. We should never forget the horrible treatment people have to face for loving someone who might just be the same gender or sex. The author did an amazing job researching the history of every person that was injured or killed in this fire. As a mom I wanted to just to hug everyone that had been kicked out of their homes and yell at the parents that kicked their kids out of their homes. 

The book contains so much information and history that I am glad I read it, but it's a hard read. I would recommend this book.

Year 4, week 43: Too Much Is Not Enough

This week's book:
Too Much Is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood
By Andrew Rannells

I have loved Andrew Rannells forever. I can't remember when I first saw him in something, but he just makes me happy. Rannells is probably best known for being the original Elder Price in The Book of Mormon on Broadway, along with being in several other famous Broadway plays, along with being on Girls. If the name doesn't ring a bell, Google him and you will be surprised to see all that he has been in. He's a hilarious guy that makes me laugh when I see him interviewed, and his voice is amazing! 

I originally saw that he had written a memoir of his life before he became very famous, listed on the Book of the Month website. I was going to add it to my order, but then I found the audiobook on my library app, and Rannells does the narration so I opted to hear him tell his own story. 

The book is such a great combination of humor and truly surprising heart-breaking memories that some gay youth have to face growing up. I would definitely recommend the book, and if he ever writes more about his life I will read that as well.

Year 4, week 42: Less

This week's book:
Less
By Andrew Sean Greer

This week’s book was one of those books that have been on a lot of people’s best books lists, and it was the Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2018. I ended up picking it up a few months ago from a used book shop I follow on Facebook. With June being Pride month, I wanted to support as many LGBTQ+ authors  I can, but really I don’t need an excuse to read new authors. 

This is the story of an author who is a gay man that is about to turn fifty, and when his ex invites him to his wedding, the main character takes a worldwide adventure to all corners of the world to essentially find himself. The story goes back from the current day and flashbacks of different times in his life. The book is about a man that is really having a midlife crisis, but due to all the YA books I have been reading lately, this seemed a little teen angsty if I'm going to be honest. 

I enjoyed the novel for the most part and it seemed like a quick read. I can see why it was quite buzzy. I would recommend the novel.