It's that time of year when people hit the beach, or at least a lawn chair in the backyard, for some sun and a little light reading. Nothing too serious. Usually, nothing too interesting, either.
I invite you to read my absolute-favorite-of-all-time books, the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. It chronicles the lives, the loves, and the friendships of the residents of 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco. The novels, developed from Maupin's critically acclaimed, groundbreaking newspaper serial in the San Francisco Chronicle, were developed into a series of movies that aired (or didn't air, depending on what corner of repressed society you may have lived in) on PBS and then on premium-cable TV. But the movies weren't any match for the witty prose and rapid-fire pop culture references of the books. Maupin's my kind of writer—a sucker for indepth character development, insistent on breaking the rules and more than willing to make up many of his own.
Here's the Internet Movie Database synopsis:
It's so much more than that, though. It's sassy, energetic, romantic, happy, adventuresome, inclusive. In Amy's dictionary of all things literary, next to the word "perfect," appears this collection of books. I've read them—there are six in the series and, yes, you must read them in order—several times. I fall in love with the characters a little more every time around. I see myself and my friends in them. I see the friends I'd love to have. And I remember the reaction when I reached the last page of the sixth book for the first time. I cried. I felt as though I were leaving my loved ones behind, never to see or hear from them again.
Perhaps I'm boosting your expectations too high. Perhaps this writing style, or the content, or the hype, won't appeal to you at all. But give it a shot. Read Tales of the City, the series' first installment. I bet you'll be back for more.
I invite you to read my absolute-favorite-of-all-time books, the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. It chronicles the lives, the loves, and the friendships of the residents of 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco. The novels, developed from Maupin's critically acclaimed, groundbreaking newspaper serial in the San Francisco Chronicle, were developed into a series of movies that aired (or didn't air, depending on what corner of repressed society you may have lived in) on PBS and then on premium-cable TV. But the movies weren't any match for the witty prose and rapid-fire pop culture references of the books. Maupin's my kind of writer—a sucker for indepth character development, insistent on breaking the rules and more than willing to make up many of his own.
Here's the Internet Movie Database synopsis:
Tales of the City chronicles the adventures of Mary Ann Singleton, a young secretary from Cleveland who takes a vacation to San Francisco and decides to stay. Set in 1976, before the days of AIDS and crack cocaine, the story depicts the city at the height of its boisterous gay, drug, and disco cultures through the eyes of the innocent heroine.
It's so much more than that, though. It's sassy, energetic, romantic, happy, adventuresome, inclusive. In Amy's dictionary of all things literary, next to the word "perfect," appears this collection of books. I've read them—there are six in the series and, yes, you must read them in order—several times. I fall in love with the characters a little more every time around. I see myself and my friends in them. I see the friends I'd love to have. And I remember the reaction when I reached the last page of the sixth book for the first time. I cried. I felt as though I were leaving my loved ones behind, never to see or hear from them again.
Perhaps I'm boosting your expectations too high. Perhaps this writing style, or the content, or the hype, won't appeal to you at all. But give it a shot. Read Tales of the City, the series' first installment. I bet you'll be back for more.
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