Lutie Johnson is a single mom raising a young boy in Harlem in the 40s. A beautiful woman, Lutie receives unwanted attention from the sleazy janitor, the local pimp, and the neighborhood mob boss. This tragic tale conveys the futility of the struggle against poverty at its worst. Heavy stuff.
Other People's Property: A Shadow History of Hip-Hop in White America
by Jason Tanz Bloomsbury USA
Our Price: $24.95
A New Yorker-ish meditation on why white people like Hip Hop and why it makes us uncomfortable. Is it because our safe suburban lives seem boring and meaningless? Tanz takes a Hip Hop bus tour of the South Bronx, but comes to no real conclusions in this navel-gazing but enjoyable read.
The Late George Apley
by John Marquand Little, Brown and Company
Our Price: $14.95
Want to understand those “proper Bostonians”? This is the book. An epistolary glimpse at a life spent mostly on the waterside of Beacon St. from 1866-1933. Shows Boston’s club life, the politics of the era and the clash between the blue stockings and the Irish. Much about Harvard and the upstart, Yale.
Set in the 60s, and I mean the 60s (60 AD), this 1896 novel recounts the trials of Vinicius a young Roman tribune, when he falls for a Christian girl. Will he convert? Methinks he might, with St. Peter and Paul there to win him over. Also features Nero and Petronius, author of the Satyricon.
Jews Without Money
by Michael Goldfarb Carroll & Graf Publishers
Our Price: $14.00
Did you read Call It Sleep? Good, now read this. 101 Uses For a Dead Cat has nothing on these kids, who have little else to play with. Poverty is not romanticized in this panoply of gangsters, hookers, street peddlers and Tammany Hall stooges.
Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005
by Phil Baines Penguin
Our Price: $25.00
Ah Penguins! You can practically smell ‘old bookstore’ while you look at this book. Also provides a sort of sidelong glance at British cultural history over the years. Cool book. It’s not just for designers anymore.
The Hidden Messages in Water
by Masaru Emoto Atria Books
Our Price: $16.95
Look at the pictures. The implications of Dr. Emoto's research are enormous. It gives scientific proof to the idea of positive thinking. It teaches humankind to be kind to each other and our planet. A necessary message for our time, and one I really take to heart.
This novel of early 20th century New York Jewish immigrant life focuses on a few years in the life of ten-year-old David. A very psychological portrait of what he sees going on in the crowded streets and tenements and especially the marital strife between his own parents.
Invasion of the Dykes to Watch Out For
by Alison Bechdel Alyson Publications
Our Price: $14.95
It's here; it's queer! Bechdel continues coming up with new characters for these changing times. New are Samia, a Syrian lesbian; Cynthia, a republican lesbian and Janice, a transgendered teen. Does not disappoint.
This book features a butch, bike-messenger, heroin addict, punk named Jim. The San Francisco dyke scene from the druggie side. Also she's in love with a stripper. Pretty cool, maybe a little too cool, but readable.
I put off reading Waters for years because, let's face it, the bulk of lesbian literature sucks. But this one is great. A minor miracle. So I've decided that American lesbians can't write. Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson (both Brits) and Emma Donoghue (Irish) are my three faves!
