BOOK CLUB: March Selection - LAKE OVERTURN by Vestal McIntyre

LAKE OVERTURN by Vestal McIntyre
Tuesday, March 29
7:30pm @ Magnet
Facebook RSVP

March Book Club selection, Lake Overturn, is available at A Different Light for 10% off when you mention Magnet book club!

“Reading Vestal McIntyre’s deliriously ambrosial novel is like entering reader’s heaven. Constantly surprising. . . . I loved it.” (Peter Cameron)

“Lake Overturn is a lovingly rendered portrait of small-town America. Vestal McIntyre knows his people intimately—how they speak, their manners and customs; but, most importantly, he knows their troubled hearts, and he plumbs the depths of those hearts with remarkable empathy and wisdom.” (Ron Rash)

“Every character in [Lake Overturn] is so real, complex, and interesting, the scope of the novel at once so wide and so deep, the themes and ideas so thoroughly embodied by the story, I felt as if I were reading a modern-day Middlemarch.” (Kate Christensen)

“Striking. . . . An author is lucky to bring one character so vividly to life: the gifted McIntyre...has done it for all of his. It may seem odd praise for a writer, but it’s among the highest: as you drink in this book, you barely notice the words.” (New York Times Book Review )

“A vast, intricate lattice of relationships, reminiscent of the novels of Richard Russo. . . . McIntyre is an honest enough artist that he [is] . . . capable of handling even the most noxious elements when he stirs his American backwater.” (Washington Post)

“[A] nicely handled exploration of the world’s effect on the tightly woven life of a small town driven by faith.” (Denver Post)

LAKE OVERTURN by Vestal McIntyre
Tuesday, March 29
7:30pm @ Magnet
Facebook RSVP

BOOK CLUB: February Selection - SALVATION ARMY by Abdellah Taia

SALVATION ARMY by Abdellah Taia
Tuesday, February 22
7:30pm @ Magnet

Facebook RSVP

If reading has the power to transport you to a different place, then a book club is a group adventure.

Join us on our journey to Morocco in February as we read and discuss SALVATION ARMY by Abdellah Taïa.

Grab your copy of the book club selection at A Different Light, mention Magnet and get 10% off! Then come discuss the book at Magnet (4122 18th Street) on February 22.

An “autobiographical novel” in the American avant-feminist tradition of Michelle Tea, SALVATION ARMY is a coming-of-age story that narrates Taïa’s life with complete disclosure — from a childhood bound by family order and latent (homo)sexual tensions in the poor city of Salé, through an adolescence in Tangier charged by the young writer’s attraction to his eldest brother, to his disappointing “arrival” in the Western world to study in Geneva.

Recently hailed by his native country’s press as “the first Moroccan to have the courage to publicly assert his difference," Taïa’s calmly transgressive work has “outed” him as “the only gay man” in a country whose theocratic law still codes homosexuality a crime.

SALVATION ARMY by Abdellah Taia
Tuesday, February 22
7:30pm @ Magnet

Facebook RSVP

BOOK CLUB: January Selection - JUST KIDS by Patti Smith

JUST KIDS by Patti Smith
Tuesday, January 25
7:30pm @ Magnet

Your New Year's resolution is to be more well-read in 2011? We got you covered. Our monthly BOOK CLUB meets at the Magnet Health Clinic (4122 18th Street) the last Tuesday of the month to discuss the latest, most buzzworthy titles popular in the LGBT community.

Our New Year's resolution here at A Different Light has always been to learn more from the men and women who came before us and paved the way to a more enlightened sensibility. With that thought in mind, we are happy to announce our first BOOK CLUB selection of the New Year: the National Book Award-winning JUST KIDS by Patti Smith.

Grab your copy at A Different Light, mention the Magnet Book Club and get 10% off! Then come discuss the book at Magnet Health Clinic (4122 18th Street) on January 25.

"Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe weren't always famous, but they always thought they would be. They found each other, adrift but determined, on the streets of New York City in the late '60s and made a pact to keep each other afloat until they found their voices--or the world was ready to hear them. Lovers first and then friends as Mapplethorpe discovered he was gay, they divided their dimes between art supplies and Coney Island hot dogs. Mapplethorpe was quicker to find his metier, with a Polaroid and then a Hasselblad, but Smith was the first to fame, transformed, to her friend's delight, from a poet into a rock star. Mapplethorpe soon became famous too--and notorious--before his death from AIDS in 1989.

Smith's memoir of their friendship is tender and artful, open-eyed but surprisingly decorous, with the oracular style familiar from her anthems, balanced by her powers of observation and memory for everyday details like the shabby, welcoming fellow bohemians of the Chelsea Hotel, among whose ranks these baby Rimbauds found their way." --Tom Nissley

JUST KIDS by Patti Smith
Tuesday, January 25
7:30pm @ Magnet

BOOK CLUB: 'Insignificant Others' Reading Guide - 2nd Half

We'll be meeting at Magnet on Tuesday, August 24 at 7:30 pm (that's tonight!) to discuss the last half of Insignificant Others by Stephen McCauley, our official August book club selection. See you all there!

1. Why is Doreen invested in Conrad having an insignificant other? What’s at stake for her?

2. The narrator says men should handcraft their relationships to better suit their needs. Do you think this is makes them psychologically evolved or as Doreen puts it, emotionally cut-off?

3. Richard and Conrad finally have a “little talk” on page 143. The conversation is rather anti-climactic with Conrad saying very little. What does it say about who’s in control and who is desperately trying to keep it together?

4. Why does the narrator put up with his overly sensitive, gossip fueling, religious assistant Anne?

5. What’s more difficult, telling your spouse about an impending surgery or an insignificant other? Why does Richard seem to be the go-to bad news bearer, except in his own life?

6. On page 154, Richard comments that the only way to keep the early affection glowing in a relationship is sadomasochism. Do you agree that we need to negotiate a “safe outlet for the inevitable desire to humiliate and punish the person you love”?

7. How’s Richard a poison and a cure for Benjamin’s sexual craving? Do you think he can be both or is he just a poison and deluding himself to justify his actions?

8. What’s the difference between the Connectrix building Richard works in and the one Benjamin designs, the “profitable traps he’s created for himself” (pg. 172).

9. Towards the end of the novel, the narrator ends his relationship with his insignificant other and freezes his gym membership. Subsequently he begins focusing on the “main event” relationship. What’s the message about monogamy and insignificant others and potentially life-shifting distractions?

BOOK CLUB: 'Insignificant Others' Reading Guide - 1st Half

We'll be meeting at Magnet on Tuesday, August 10 at 7:30 pm (that's tonight!) to discuss the first 120 pages of Insignificant Others by Stephen McCauley, our official August book club selection. See you all there!

1. On page 2, Richard says that he and his partner Conrad have stopped using the word “monogamy,” but continue to say “I love you,” which Richard finds more important. But actions speak louder than words. What actions point to Richard and Conrad’s love, if any?

2. Richard is not as worried about Conrad having an affair with someone from Ohio as he would be if the paramour hailed from New York or Los Angeles. Are gay men from metro areas more menacing? Or is this just a comment on Conrad’s snobby taste?

3. On page 5, Richard talks about Americans undergoing an ego adjustment. What are some concrete examples of this in the book? Conrad and Doreen? Co-worker Brandon? Richard himself?

4. What type of relationship does Richard have with his part-time lover Benjamin’s own significant others (wife and children)?

5. How does Richard’s relationship with Benjamin compare with his relationship with Conrad? Who’s really the insignificant other?

6. On page 68, Richard mentions that he has no problem with acting as long as it’s good acting. Who’s doing the most acting and who’s the best actor in the novel?

7. Expanding on question # 1, on page 85, Richard suggests that love and tenderness kills passion. Love (emotional), passion (sexual), monogamy (loyal) are the usual ingredients of a successful relationship. Is one more important than the other? Can you have two and negotiate the third, as Richard and Conrad have done?

8. Richard tries to convince co-worker Brandon to stay at the company, but Brandon thinks it’s too stable and wants to go play poker in Las Vegas. What does Richard think of this impulsive jump? Who’s Richard’s safe(r) bet – Conrad or Benjamin?

9. Talking to his trainer on page 110, Richard says that “sometimes the most settled lives have the biggest distractions.” Can we ever settle or are we always looking for the next best thing?

10. Ironically, Richard talks about distractions while working out, his small distraction from his bigger distraction (Benjamin). Is he caught in a cycle?

11. Expanding on question # 6, on page 118, Richard states that “self-awareness and confession make up for almost any flaw, in my book.” It’s evident that he doesn’t follow his own ideology. Can we trust a hypocrite narrator? Do his flaws humanize him or did you find them infuriating?

12. At the end of the first half, Richard forms an unlikely alliance with Doreen, the most important woman character in the book and Conrad’s “wife.” Going into the second half, what do you think her motives might be?

Hope you've all enjoyed getting an intimate look at modern day relationship power play. Discussion of the second half of Insignificant Others will be held at Magnet on Tuesday, August 24 at 7:30 pm.

BOOK CLUB: 'Role Models' Reading Guide - 1st Half

Excited about our first book club meeting? Well, so are we! So much, in fact, that we've put together a reading/discussion guide. We'll be meeting at Magnet on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm (that's tomorrow) and taking it from there! Meanwhile, something to think about before then. See you all there!

Role Models by John Waters

Johnny and Me: The first chapter is a pop culture platter stuffed with short vignettes on everyone from the Wicked Witch of the West, Captain Hook and John Travolta.

• Waters describes Johnny Mathis as the "polar opposite" of him. How so?
• On page 8, he describes Mathis as "beyond fame, something I'll never be." What does he mean?
• Towards the end of the chapter, Waters alludes to Mathis's sexual orientation but is vague. Why do you think he makes this subtle in a chapter filled with overt references?

The Kindness of Strangers: Waters is rescued from conformity by Tennessee Williams's "bad" work.

• Waters claims that Williams saved his life twice. Can literature be life-saving?
• According to Waters, which of Tennessee Williams's works are considered "bad"? Why are these his favorites?

Leslie: Waters traces the case of a former Manson girl to explore the concepts of freedom, friendship and forgiveness.

• Waters finally bring up an agenda. Does his case seem genuine or is it another example of pure, entertaining shock value?
• What connections does Waters make between cinema and murder? Manson and Hollywood?

Rei Kawakubo: Waters reveals the secrets behind his iconic "look" - Maybelline eyeliner in Velvet Black and thousand-dollar ill-fitting sports jackets.

• Young people can get away with anything fashion-wise, according to Waters. But once you're old you need... a direct line to designers and a big bank account. Has Waters strayed away from his thrift shop style mentality?
• Waters's wardrobe is full of intentional, expensive staining. He also mentioned in an interview that he fought his publisher to have a white book cover, easiest to stain. Do you think that was the point?

Baltimore Heroes: Waters takes us bar-hopping in Baltimore, to a time when cheap dive bars used to be exclusive and strip joint locals all had an outrageous story to tell.

• "Bad motherhood" makes a comeback in this chapter. Is Waters trying to make a point about the stability of a conventional, nuclear family?
• Despite the racism, drug use and corruption, Waters manages to make Baltimore nightlife glamorous. Will we too learn to appreciate the bizarre, backwards beauty of our shit-hole hometowns?

Hope you've all enjoyed getting to know various different sides of John Waters while reading his non-traditional memoir. Discussion of the second half of Role Models will be held at Magnet on Tuesday, July 27 at 7:30 pm.

MAGNET is excited to announce a bi-monthly BOOK CLUB in association with A DIFFERENT LIGHT bookstore

Magnet (4122 18th Street) will begin hosting a bi-monthly book club starting on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30pm. John Waters’s newly released memoir Role Models is the July book club selection. Copies are available at A Different Light bookstore (489 Castro Street) with a 10% discount for book club members.

Meetings will be held at Magnet’s storefront every second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The second meeting to discuss John Waters’s Role Models will take place on Tuesday, July 27 at 7:30pm. Discussion will be led by A Different Light’s event coordinator and will feature special appearances to be announced.

The partnership comes as a response to a growing interest in the Castro for community activities revolving around literature and open discussion. Magnet’s unique and innovative approach to sexual health lends itself to supporting all aspects of one’s life in HIV/STI prevention and self-care. The book club provides a space for people to make new friends, engage existing ones and intellectually engage each other in a unique space in the Castro. Waters’s book shares speaks to years of progressive outlooks on sexuality from sharing his own experiences as a gay man to vignettes of Tennesee Williams and pornographer Bobby Garcia.

***
Celebrating seven years in the Castro, MAGNET is a place where gay men connect. In addition to our clinical services, MAGNET is also an art gallery, lounge and internet café. A program of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, our mission is to promote the physical, mental and social well-being of gay men.

Since 1979, A DIFFERENT LIGHT bookstore has been committed to serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender community. We have been bookstore, social hall, sanctuary and life-line. With our world-famous store in San Francisco and, now, online - our commitment extends beyond the West Coast to the rest of the country and the world.