GLEE_BookLounge

Who Says You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover?

 

...or by its title? From the blog Living Out Loud with Darian:

 

"On May 13th the release of author and former MTV executive Terrance Dean's memoir Hiding In Hip Hop: On The Down Low in the Entertainment Industry from Music to Hollywood, is sure to cause a firestorm of controversy and spark a discussion about hip-hop artists who have built careers on their hyper-masculine and thuggish image while secretly leading double lives."

 

This reminded us of a funny piece we recently stumbled across on Cracked.com titled, The 11 Most Unintentionally Gay Rap Lyrics Ever. 50 Cent scores 3 of the 11!

 

Okay, so how long before the Religious Right comes out and starts burning this book in the streets? We're taking bets! Of course, this book will most likely fall into the hands (or should we say paws?) of people who are already explaining gay relationships to their children. What do you think about children's books that treat being gay as a non-issue...instead focusing on the more realistic concerns of kids'...from a kid's perspective? Who cares who my uncle is marrying...is it going to affect our play time? That's what kids are concerned about.

Of course, as they grow older, is this tolerance tested by other kids who grew up being taught that being gay is wrong and something to abhor? You can treat being gay as a non-issue, but when it comes to being accepted by their peers, how do parents, gay and straight, help their kids manage the tumultuous world of playground politics?

 

 

Despite the legal and legislative wrangling over same-sex marriage, gay weddings happen. A new children's picture book gently focuses on how the niece of one of the grooms deals with the news. Cute guinea pigs stand in for humans in this sensitive story in which Chloe is not concerned that her favorite uncle is marrying another male, only about how it will affect her close relationship with Uncle Bobby.

 

Read the rest of the SF Chronicle review here...

The 107 finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. The awards will be given out in West Hollywood on May 29th.

Yeah, we're nerds...and proud! If you haven't already played this game, a warning: it can be addictive! We've wasted a few hours (okay, maybe more than a few) in the past two weeks trying to go all the way. Can you?

Well, we'd like to welcome all the GLEE members out there who accepted our invitation to join the GLEE BookLounge. We now have over 3,300 friends from around the country...and we're bringing more into the fold every day.

Next week we will be updating the BookLounge once again, introducing you to some resident authors on the site, as well as some books, both new and old, that we think our BookLoungers will enjoy. And as many of you have discovered, there are also numerous groups on the site that reflect our love of books (and learning). Some of you have set up groups, and many more have joined one or more. We encourage you all to stake your claim on this site by setting up a group or joining one and participating in the discussion and banter.

Moreover, next month we are planning on updating the BookLounge weekly to keep things fresh, so check in on a regular basis to see what we have going on. Oh, and we'd like to welcome our new partner, TLABooks.com; we plan on doing a lot of cool stuff with them this year in conjunction with the BookLounge.

Of course, the main prupose of this BookLounge is to bring together all of you. We're looking forward to seeing the BookLounge friends mix and mingle (both online and off)...which shouldn't be too hard considering you all have at least one thing in common: you dig books! (Oh, and we presume most of you are human and breathe oxygen, so there...you now have three things in common!) Seriously, though, we're looking forward to helping to facilitate you all bonding with each other.

One last thing (we promise): If you are an author or poet and have published or will be publishing in the near future, send us a note and let us know you are out there (and on this site). We are always looking for writers to feature, and we want you to know that the BookLounge is here to help you get your work out there...and hopefully pick up some new fans (and friends) along the way.