Last week we wrote about children’s books that feature a two-mommy family. While these books are great, they are few and far between — as are all gay-friendly books for that matter. One of the most recent LGBT-themed kids’ titles is a lovely picture book called And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Based on a true story, it’s about two male penguins that want to raise a family so badly that they start caring for an egg-shaped rock. The zookeeper is so moved by this that she gives them a real egg to nurse. The book features cute penguins, characters that overcome the odds, and a wonderful message about the importance of family. So, what’s not to love?

Apparently, a lot — And Tango Makes Three is the most “challenged” book in schools and libraries for a second straight year, according to the American Library Association. What’s the public’s beef with a sweet kids’ book? You can probably guess, but here’s the explanation Judith Krug of the ALA gave the Associated Press: “The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable. The people complaining, of course, don't agree with that." Well, we can’t have that, now can we? Let’s not upset the breeders with a book that teaches kids about antiquated things like compassion, acceptance, and understanding. … continue reading

Some people are just better listeners. Audiobooks have been giving lit fans another way of getting into an author’s work for years, but they still haven’t quite reached the popularity of an actual book. Much like the music video did for the pop song, writers and their publishing team are looking for effective ways to boost the popularity of their audio versions by adding in some bonuses, so that maybe even those who do like to read might want to buy the audiobook anyway.

As someone who certainly needs more sales promotion, out writer Augusten Burroughs (Running With Scissors) had four of his favorite musicians record tracks based on his new memoir, A Wolf at the Table.

He had rock legend Patti Smith, indie band Sea Wolf, Tegan Quin and piano pop ingénue Ingrid Michaelson record “response tracks” to the book about his father. Burroughs’ website claims the audio book itself is “a true work of art, created through inspiration, passion, and the uniting of two creative mediums.” The songs are streaming on his website, but you probably have to hear it all to get the idea. … continue reading

A timeless classic of British literature is about to be brought life for the 20th time. Hold on to your bonnets: BBC Films is about to make yet another adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre and bring it to the big screen. If your love of Brontë alone isn't enough to send you racing into the theaters, then perhaps the film's star will; Ellen Page has just signed on to play the title character.

Known mostly for her work in contemporary indie comedies, this will mark the first time Page will star in a period piece. … continue reading

I've always had a bit of a thing for vampires. They're immortal. They're dangerous. They're night owls. Now, my vampire thing doesn't extend to putting on pointy teeth or biting the unsuspecting (well, not unless they ask). And I live in California, so I clearly love the sun. Still, I've watched way more than my fair share of sucky vampire movies. Which is why I was a little surprised I hadn't clued into Twilight sooner.

You can see why I might have missed the best-selling young-adult book series by Stephenie Meyer. Harry Potter notwithstanding, it's simply the wrong age bracket. While I'd heard chatter both on AfterEllen.com and elsewhere about the film, I hadn't paid close attention. I had my teenage vampire movie, thank you very much. It was called Lost Boys. But then, well, then I saw the teaser trailer.

Gulp. Now this might actually be something I could, pardon my puns, really sink my teeth into. The star-crossed lovers meets Buffy/Angel vibe is palpable. The film stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a newly transferred high school student drawn to her mysterious classmate Edward Cullen (Harry Potter alum Robert Pattinson). … continue reading

If you fancy some Canadian-on-Canadian literary action, you might want to take a look at this recent article in U.K. newspaper the Guardian. To celebrate the centenary of Anne of Green Gables (first published in 1908) author Margaret Atwood has written a long, wide-ranging article that takes on the life of Anne's author, L.M. Montgomery, as well as 100 years of cultural response to the book and her own personal feelings about it.

I'm a fan of both Montgomery and Atwood. But since Atwood is known for such dark, troubling adult novels as Cat's Eye and The Handmaid's Tale, I was initially a little apprehensive as to what she might make of bright, cheery Anne. Was this going to be a hatchet job on maudlin sentimentality?

Admittedly, there are some traces of Atwood's sardonic humor in the article. She describes Anne as “hit[ting] Prince Edward Island's Green Gables farmhouse in a splatter of exclamation marks, apple blossoms, freckles and embarrassing faux pas.” And reflecting on the likely real-life fate of a Victorian orphan, as opposed to Anne's fairy-tale ending, she writes: … continue reading

Oh, those pesky relationship deal breakers. You know, those problematic little or not-so-little things that make you want to call it off on the spot. Things like, I don't know, a Bush/Cheney sticker on her back bumper.

Last weekend the New York Times ran an interesting essay about literary deal breakers cleverly titled "It's Not You, It's Your Books." This, of course, got me thinking. Is there a book that if I spied it on someone's nightstand would make me run, not walk, out the front door? I could really only come up with two off the top of my head. They are, I think, fairly self explanatory.

Fine, lumping Bill O'Reilly together with Adolf Hitler is probably a low blow. Probably.

To be honest, I'm usually not as concerned with what someone reads as I am that they read at all. But I'll be the first to admit that I don't read as many books as I used to in my halcyon days of youth (otherwise known as the age before the internet). In school, my summers were a blissful blur of books, books and more books. Yet today the stack of books I've bought but still haven't opened/finished/even remembered I bought in the first place grows taller and taller. Not that I'll let that stop me from mustering some belletristic snobbery if I were to catch either of these prominently displayed on someone's bookshelf. … continue reading

It's St. Patrick's Day! I'm never quite sure what to make of this particular holiday, since it immediately brings to mind losers wearing green hats and guzzling green beer — or worse, parades that won't let the gays in. But in an attempt to accentuate the positive, here are seven (that's lucky!) delightful Irish people and things:

1. Carly Smithson

I'm still not entirely sure she can live up to all the hype, but American Idol contestant Smithson was great last week. I hope she'll continue to rock out, though I really don't think the Ann Wilson comparisons are right. There can be only one Ann Wilson. But kudos to Smithson for bringing Heart to the masses.

2. Roisin Connor (Siobhan McCarthy)

If you stopped watching Bad Girls after Helen and Nikki left the show, tune back in to see Roisin and Cassie, another star-crossed couple. Sometimes they wear very nice soooots.

3. Emma Donoghue … continue reading

Listen, I really have something I need to get off my chest ... something that will most likely have you either raising your fist in a Norma Rae–style show of solidarity or storming my castle with torches and pitchforks.

I adore Tori Spelling.

Ahh, all right. I feel better for having come out of that particular closet. Now that my admission is out of the way, allow me to get to the whys of the matter.

Bev Niner. Though my heart will always belong to Christine Elise as Emily Valentine (who, you, know, was SO punk because she wore, like, plaid shirts and leggings and hats and do you remember that one time when she got Brandon to take Ecstasy (except they called it U4ia instead of Ecstasy) and they were rolling around on the hood of his car and Brenda was all like “Brandon, what is WITH you?” and Brandon was all like “Pfft, whatevs, Brenda” but then Brandon realized that life should be, you know, hugs not drugs and he totally gave Emily Valentine the boot? I love that episode), the most enduring Beverly Hills, 90210 moment comes courtesy of Tori Spelling’s Donna: yes, I’m talking about hundreds of West Beverly Hills High School chanting “Donna Martin graduates!” in protest. Sure, Donna got wasted at the prom and broke all the rules but is that any reason not to let her graduate? Gawd, adults are SO uptight.

Not only did Donna go on to graduate despite her illicit imbibing, she was dyslexic, almost raped, stalked, taken hostage, had her own clothing store, dabbled in prescription drug abuse, and held onto her virginity until the end of her college days. Sure, she didn’t end up in a cult or battle amnesia as Kelly (Jennie Garth) did, but still. It makes me feel a little silly for getting so melodramatic over sophomore year BadPermGate.

Wait, no it doesn’t. A perm? What the eff was I thinking?

After graduating once and for all, Tori moved into omigawd I SO love her territory by joining fellow actresses like Tracey Gold and becoming a Queen of the Lifetime Movie. From Death of a Cheerleader to Co-Ed Call Girl to the movie with what’s undoubtedly the greatest title ever (yes, you know I’m talking about Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?), she spent a large part of the ‘90s as either a victim or a bitch in many a delicious made-for-TV flick. … continue reading

I've been thinking about books lately. I guess it's not surprising!

I've always had trouble picking a favorite movie, but I've never had trouble pinpointing which books are my favorites, and that's because there's a simple test: If I truly love a book, I re-read it. Many times.

In fact, I often re-read them every couple of years, or sometimes I'll even re-read favorite passages from them. (Yes, I was the girl in the corner in the library. Every weekend.)

Given the amazing response to thelinster's post What book got you hooked? last summer, I'm guessing that many of you might be just as bookish as I am. So I thought I'd share a few of the books that made deep, lifelong impressions on me. They shaped me as a human being and as a writer, and every time I read one of them, I feel like I've come home.

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
… continue reading

L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time is more famous, but A Ring of Endless Light will always win out for me.

It's been a bad week for fake memoirists. The other day, Margaret B. Jones' “memoir” about her troubled youth as a drug runner in South Central L.A., Love and Consequences, was exposed as pure fiction.

It seems that Jones is actually Margaret Seltzer — a privileged, white Valley Girl who never lost foster brothers to gang violence or purchased a burial plot with drug money. Oops.

Days earlier, Misha Defonseca's 1997 memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Hollocaust Years, was unmasked as a fiction.

Defonseca's story was even more outrageous than Seltzer's tale of urban gang life. She claimed that as a Jewish Belgian child, she traveled 1,900 miles in search of her deported parents. Along the way, she killed a Nazi soldier, ended up in the Warsaw Ghetto and was adopted by a pack of wolves. As it turns out, she did survive the arrest and murder of her parents by Nazis, but she never left Belgium, never killed any soldiers and was never adopted by wolves. Oh, and she's not Jewish.

Now, I generally try to avoid giving unsolicited advice, but I'm going to break that rule here: If you're ever inclined to write an inspirational memoir about your life, base it on your actual life. If you'd rather make it all up, call it fiction. I think that's good advice. And here are my reasons why.

1. You will probably get caught. … continue reading

It's kind of a David-and-Goliath struggle: Multibillionaire Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is using her might to protect her empire and stop the little guy from making any minor incursion.

Well, at least that's how the publisher of the Harry Potter Lexicon would like you to see it. Of course, there's another side to the story. Rowling feels “betrayed by a fan” for his role in trying to publish an unauthorized Harry Potter companion book.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the basic story. You may have heard that J.K. Rowling wrote a series of very popular books about a teenage wizard, Harry Potter.

The insane popularity of these books spawned an enormous fan online universe, one that Rowling encouraged and supported. In fact, she singled out praise for one site, The Harry Potter Lexicon, saying:

“This is such a great site that I have been known to sneak into an internet café while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter (which is embarrassing). A website for the dangerously obsessive; my natural home.”

Rowling's support and praised waned, however, when Lexicon creator Steve Vander Ark and publisher RDR Books decided to print and sell a copy of the Lexicon. The book was scheduled for release last November when Rowling (and copyright holder Warner Bros.) obtained an injunction which delayed publication until the intellectual property issues were resolved. Rowling says that a print version of the Lexicon constitutes copyright violation and that it would undermine an official Harry Potter encyclopedia that she plans to write. Both sides are entrenched, and it appears to be going to the court for resolution. … continue reading

How would you feel if you were one of the great movie stars of a generation — a prolific actress, an Academy Award winner, a grand dame, an adoptive mother of four children (or five, depending on how you count) — and this was how you were remembered?

Such is the legacy of the late Joan Crawford.

Not only is she remembered as a tyrant, she's remembered as Faye Dunaway! … continue reading

Tonight at 8:00, tune in to Fox for the 39th NAACP Image Awards telecast. This year, the theme is "Stand Up and Be Counted." According to the press release,

During this crucial election year, the NAACP encourages everyone to be socially conscious and take a stand on critical human and civil rights issues.

Wouldn't it be nice if every awards show encouraged such things? Susan Sarandon always gets played off when she tries to be political on the Oscars, and Kanye West was barely allowed to remember his mom on the Grammys this year.

Here are some of the nominees:

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
CCH Pounder (The Shield)
Jennifer Beals (The L Word)
Nicki Micheaux (Lincoln Heights)
Regina Taylor (The Unit)
Wendy Davis (Army Wives)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty)
Golden Brooks (Girlfriends)
Tia Mowry (The Game)
Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Audra McDonald (Private Practice)
Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)
Pam Grier (The L Word)
S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order)

  … continue reading

A good friend of mine here in the U.K. has taken on an insanely demanding job working as a manager for the National Health Service. She isn’t the type to complain — and I think she does actually enjoy the work — but the stress and long hours have had a notable effect on her leisure habits. When she watches TV, she wants short, upbeat programs like Scrubs. When it comes to online videos, she wants to watch hilariously cranky turtles chasing cats. And when it comes to reading, she wants to slip back into the literary equivalent of comfort food: girls’ books, and most particularly the girls’ books she read when she was growing up.

All this Anne-of-Green-Gablesing has got me thinking about the girls’ books I used to read as a kid. Here are some of my favorite examples of the most popular genres.

1. The Ballet and Stage School Books

At the risk of having my queer card taken away, I have to admit that I loved these books. I went on dreaming that I was going to be a ballerina long after I’d given up actual ballet lessons. And I still love watching ballet, musicals and contemporary dance, even if I’ve reluctantly come to realize that, truthfully, I find standing by the barre for hours and doing exercises a little boring.

The British writer Noel Streatfeild, author of Ballet Shoes, is, obviously, one of the queens of this genre. As an early teen, though, the ballet books that I loved (and that my father relentlessly teased me for loving) were Jean Estoril’s Drina books.

If you’ve read this series — which is eleven books long, and follows Drina Adams from her first ballet lessons at age nine, to her triumphant debut as lead ballerina with a major company, plus wedding at age 18 (which seems awfully young, in retrospect, for such a major commitment) — you’ll know that she dances everywhere: in Exile, in Paris, in Italy, in Madeira, in New York, in Switzerland. Yes, these books are schlocky. But in their defense, the author was obviously a well-traveled woman who loved the places she was writing about — and she did give me a long-standing taste for travel, even if not for ballet classes.

If all this talk of ballet gives you a rash, though, there are always what might be called the anti-ballet-book ballet books: Jahnna N. Malcolm’s Bad News Ballet series, about five girls who loathe the ballet classes they are forced into, and who refer to their snobby, skinny, ballet-mad classmates as “the Bunheads.”

2. The Horse Books

No doubt Freud would have something to say about the popularity of “pony books” for girls, but whatever he had to say, I doubt it would apply to me. I was never actually that interested in horses in and of themselves — which is just as well, since my parents couldn’t have afforded a pony if I’d wanted one. But there were a few horse-themed books that I enjoyed. One was National Velvet, which — besides being made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor — is actually a really good, genuinely literary novel, about a strange, spacey girl called Velvet and her strong, silent mother who once swam the English Channel. … continue reading