By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

 I almost quit this book just a few pages in...and then a couple of times after that. This author reminds me of Kristen Hannah; people rave about them, yet their writing and their plots are just mundane. Not anything uplifting or striving for good. Just mostly fluff. And always about wronged women... Am I in too many book clubs? Or the wrong ones? This is for the Monterey club, my neighbor Sandy's group. Their taste is not impressive!

One reason I almost quit is the rather rough and frequent sexual episodes. And the uneven and yet somehow predictable development of the characters. The two main characters are relatives, women, generations apart, yet their lives parallel each other in interesting ways. Emilia needs an outlet for her writing, but can't publish them as a woman; Melina seems to have the same problem in modern day.

Both struggle for their work to be accepted; both have men in their lives through whom they publish. And I can understand that I may not understand the worlds of either woman, both make such terrible decisions that it's hard to want to read about them. 

One aspect of the story that seems worth reading about and seems to be well-documented, is the research on whether or not Shakespeare wrote virtually ANY of the plays and poetry attributed to him. Picoult makes a good case, well-documented with sources, of the speculation that Shakespeare was really just an actor, and that there were most likely multiple authors of his canon. And this Emilia Bassano seems a likely candidate for many of them, considering her education and background, neither of which did Shakespeare have!

The author also frequently quotes Shakespeare and intersperses these quotes throughout the book and the dialogue. However, the dialogue between the characters of the time speak mostly just like us. It's hard to take such a disparity seriously!

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

 I had seen this around bookstores and wondered about it, so when it was on a Thrift Store shelf for 50 cents, I picked it up. It's a book of essays that can be read in any order, but they do have recurring characters. The humor in this book is biting and clever. I'm not sure it's good for me! But "wickedly funny" comes to mind. I kept thinking of Arthur Mecchi as I read it...It's a similar sense of humor.

It's hard to believe that someone could write about their meth use and have it be funny. Somehow, it is! The absurdity of his thinking as he was high was both heartrending AND funny. His family stories are just unbelievable; in particular, his parents. He captures their absurdities brilliantly. I wondered throughout this book how true some of his experiences were. One, where he works as a mover in NYC, was so descriptive and cleverly funny that I read it out loud to Leonard. 

I think I'll keep this around to read again on occasion...but not sure if I'll read any more by this author. It is fun to read these vignettes and enjoy them one by one. It'll be good for my 3AM wakeups when I can't get back to sleep, but need something shorter to take my mind back towards slumberland. 

Without the Mask - Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light by Charlie Bird

 I really enjoyed this book. It is the story of one of the greatest "Cosmo's" of all time, BYU's mascot. I liked how he shared his feelings about being gay, about coming out, about feeling different, and about interacting with his family. He also wrote very eloquently and movingly about how being gay is part of his identity. It is not something that can be taken on or off...which I knew, but now understand on a deeper level. An interesting insight he wrote was that, given the choice, he would NOT choose to be heterosexual. The learning and philosophy and interweaving of the Gospel is so fascinating. He has some hard truths to share about how he was treated, although there is no bitterness. He's a faithful member of the church, and he still has no long-term answers about how his gender identity will play out in the next life. We don't know! But he's very willing to live the Gospel now, not knowing, because Christ is central to his identity as well. 

He's found it challenging to find his place. Some of the LGBTQ community are promiscuous and that's not where he wants to be. It's an on-going struggle to find his place and friends, it seems. I have to admire his commitment and faith. AND, it's a very well-written book with great examples of what it feels like to struggle with same gender attraction.