A Good Book

[NYTSJulie]

OK,

I'm a big reader and am seeking a new book. I just finished "A Low Life in High Heels" written by Holly Woodlawn. It was a scream and if you like campy kiki stories this is a great read.

I like transsexual stories, and love to hear other girls experiences. Mostly biographies or something non-fiction.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[mbf]

heres my choice. a bit unusual maybe, but thats the biography of punk-trannie Jayne County "Man enough to be woman"

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Enough-Woman-Jayne-County/dp/1852423382/ref=sr_1_1/002-2284000-3297637?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182295159&sr=8-1

[NYTSJulie]

I'm just getting myself back into the habit of reading so I haven't read anything recently but am beginning to again. Been ordering a bunch of books online but most of them are educational as I want to have more knowledge and skills to use when I need them. Mostly books that I feel I could directly use in my day to day life that will allow me to maintain and take care of myself better. When I'm not reading through educational books I had been mostly reading non-fiction, more specifically memoirs. I actually just finished the first fiction book (although I'm told a good percentage comes from real life) I've read in over 6 months yesterday which was nice as I read right through it fairly quickly. It happened to be a transsexual story (one I'm sure you've read) and the first one I can recall reading. I liked it better than I thought I was going to, especially the ending. Easy to see where things were going but enjoyed it just the same. I loved "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls and followed that up with "Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burroghs (might have mispelled both names). I bought 10 books online this week that should be here very soon. Out of those books, 2 are cookbooks, 2 get into more of the science behind food and advice for having the perfect gear for the kitchen, 1 on housekeeping (tips on cleaning, maintaining and organizing) since this is my first real time having an apartment that I want to look good so it can reflect myself (regardless of if I have company here), 1 is a skin care and cosmetics indgredients dictionary which I've wanted for a while now, 1 is on eyebrows which I finally bought after amazon suggested it to me for so long (and I used it to make one of the seperate orders over $25 for free shipping), and finally 2 classic books and 1 nonfiction book. The 2 classic books I bought were "Vanity Fair" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and the 1 nonfiction book which I'm eager to read is "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert. That last book has me very excited and I'm expecting to fall in love with it and be transported to her journey across those places which I someday would love to visit as well. I was looking for more suggestions myself so would hope more post to this thread. :)

Are you talking about the Champagne Slipper? If so yes it was a get read.

[NYTSJulie]

heres my choice. a bit unusual maybe, but thats the biography of punk-trannie Jayne County "Man enough to be woman"

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Enough-Woman-Jayne-County/dp/1852423382/ref=sr_1_1/002-2284000-3297637?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182295159&sr=8-1

I just looked her up online and although she seems interesting I dont know if I can relate. I am not saying this in some high horse manner but she is not passable and kind of alternative.

[NYTSJulie]

Are you talking about the Champagne Slipper? If so yes it was a get read.

Yes, I am. It was a nice satisfying read. It says that she's working on another book, do you know if she still is or what she plans for it to be about?

She said she started writing a new one several times but then scratched it. She said "that book is done it needs to be something different not a spin off".

[TJT]

Didn't she come from Miami,Fla,thought she'd be James Dean for a day?

[LG]

Didn't she come from Miami,Fla,thought she'd be James Dean for a day?

Holly came from Miami, FLA
Hitch-hiked her way across the USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, Hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side
She said, Hey honey
Take a walk on the wild side

Candy came from out on the Island
In the backroom she was everybody's darlin'
But she never lost her head
Even when she was giving head
She says, Hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side
Said, Hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side
And the colored girls go
doo do doo do doo do do doo

Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hussle here and a hussle there
New York City's the place where they said, Hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side
I said, Hey Joe
Take a walk on the wild side

Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
Lookin' for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the Apollo
You should've seen 'em go go go
They said, Hey sugar
Take a walk on the wild side
I Said, Hey babe
Take a walk on the wild side
All right, huh

Jackie is just speeding away
Thought she was James Dean for a day
Then I guess she had to crash
Valium would have helped that bash
Said, Hey babe,
Take a walk on the wild side
I said, Hey honey,
Take a walk on the wild side
And the colored girls say,
doo do doo do doo do do doo

Jackie Curtis thought she was James Dean for a day (or rather mimicked James Dean every now and then). It was Holly Woodlawn who came from Miami FLA (though actually born in Puerto Rico).

In her autobiography, Jayne County apparently said of Jackie Curtis: "She was my biggest influence, the person who really got me started...". Jayne County also appeared on stage with Holly Woodlawn.

I reckon these books might be interesting too:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Face-World-See-Superstar/dp/094536721X
http://www.amazon.com/Superstar-Housedress-Legend-Jackie-Curtis/dp/B000EXYZQI/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-1007215-5618349
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Transsexual-Porn-Meghan-Chavalier/dp/1425996817/ref=sr_1_5/104-1007215-5618349?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182334679&sr=1-5
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Real-Me-Gender-Diversity/dp/0787965472/ref=pd_sim_b_2/104-1007215-5618349?ie=UTF8&qid=1182334679&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/My-Gender-Workbook-Something-Entirely/dp/0415916739/ref=pd_sim_b_5/104-1007215-5618349?ie=UTF8&qid=1182334679&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Shes-Not-There-Life-Genders/dp/0767914295/ref=pd_sim_b_1/104-1007215-5618349?ie=UTF8&qid=1182334679&sr=1-2

[TJT]

I can remember when Jayne was Wayne and fronting The Backstreet Boys circa 75/76.

Is Jayne still alive?

[LG]

I can remember when Jayne was Wayne and fronting The Backstreet Boys circa 75/76.

Is Jayne still alive?

Wow, you must be quite a bit older than I am...

And yes, it seems she's still around and still performing

http://www.jaynecounty.com/

[TJT]

It doesn't say "ancient pervert" at the bottom of my posts for nuthin',LG. I've got dingleberries older than most of the folks here.

[TheGuard]

Just finished Reading Absurdistan, honest and refreshing satire.

...heading into Palahniuk's latest soon, should be an enjoyable mind-fuck...

[cshkuru]

Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston. Has 2 sequels Six bad Things and A Dangerous Man.

Very Interesting Graphic Novel - Big Black Kiss by Howard Chaykin. Vampires, TS prostitutes, the Mafia and a Vatican pornography ring. How can you go wrong.

Good Cyberpunk - Voice of the Whirlwind by Walter Jon Williams.

[LG]

For me, the most beautiful book ever written is Jean Dominique Bauby's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", which has now been made into an award-winning film. I read the English translation a few years ago.

At 43 Bauby, then the editor-in-chief of Elle France, suffered a rare stroke to the brain stem; only his left eye and brain escaped damage. When he woke up twenty days later, he found he was mute and almost entirely paralysed; he could only move his head a little, grunt, and blink his left eyelid. This rare condition is called "locked-in syndrome".

Rather than accept his "locked in" situation as a kind of death, Bauby ignited a fire of the imagination under himself and lived his last days-he died just days after the French publication of the book. Bauby had to compose and edit the book entirely in his head, and convey it one letter at a time dictating the text by blinking when the correct letter was reached by a person slowly reciting the alphabet over and over again.

The book is at times heartbreaking but mostly full of hope and humanity. Bauby wrote with grace and wit but without a hint of self-pity. Though he was unable to get off his wheelchair or bed, unable to speak or move, his spirit soared.

I would recommend this book to all of you.

[BlackAdder]

I just read RA Salvatores Road of the Patriarch....who needs deep stuff lol...I deal with that everyday at work; when i read its to escape.