Monday, July 05, 2021

Help Mr. DeVice Find a New Book

Please help Mr. DeVice find a new book to read. And perhaps we could throw in this chap as a bonus...

When I read this post by Mr. DeVice, listing some of the books he's been reading, I noticed that he made the following comment...

Well, I re-read Bridget Jones's Diary (for the third or fourth time, I think) because what little news and stuff I'd been exposed to was bringing me down, and I fancied a light bit of fluff - something that I knew would be ridiculous and fun - to cheer me up.

Four times? He read Bridget Jones's Diary FOUR times? 

CAN YOU SUGGEST A LIGHT, FUN BOOK FOR Mr. DeVICE TO READ? If so, please leave a comment.

The Mistress will weigh in with her suggestion, "The Guncle" by Steven Rowley, published in 2021.

The Mistress read The Guncle recently and agrees with its description as "a novel with some real depth beneath all its witty froth." Here's a publisher's blurb...

From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting–even if temporary–isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we’ve come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.

Since Mr. DeVice is a guncle (a gay uncle) we think this book may be just the ticket to cheer him up and replace Bridget Jones, at least temporarily. 

Your suggestons for a light, fun book are welcome.

34 comments:

  1. City of Girls
    by Elizabeth Gilbert (Goodreads Author)
    4.04 · Rating details · 201,996 ratings · 19,683 reviews
    "Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are."

    Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.

    In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.

    Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other. (less)

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  2. Excellent choice, Jeffery! I enjoyed "City of Girls" very much.

    The New York Times describes it as "a Love- and Booze-Filled Romp Through 1940s New York" but it delivers much more than that.

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    1. I read it twice. The first third of the book is hysterical. It’s been optioned. I hope if it gets done, it is done as a mini series.

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    2. Oh, now I want to read this, too. I fear that my reading pile may topple over on top of me and do me a mischief. Perhaps that's the way to go? I can use my recovery time to read!

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  3. The Brenda & Effie Mysteries (six volumes: Never the Bride, Something Borrowed, Conjugal Rites, Hell's Belles!, The Bride That Time Forgot and Brenda and Effie Forever)
    by Paul Magrs
    We are in Whitby on the North East coast. It is a town with a very distinct Gothic atmosphere of foreboding and chintzy doom. Everything smells of cod and chips and the sea gulls are as big as Yorkshire terriers. For a good nine months of the year the town is steeped in thick sea mist… and that’s probably just as well.

    Because this town is full of monsters.

    It is here that Brenda runs her immaculate Bed and Breakfast and her prim best friend, Effie, has her junk shop next door. Both ladies are wanting a quiet life, their biggest excitements being tea at The Walrus and the Carpenter and dinner at Cod Almighty. But both ladies discover that the monsters of this town are very much their business.

    Whitby’s ruined abbey rests on the very site of the gateway to Hell. And Hell is spilling over with desperate ghouls. Brenda and Effie are the chosen guardians of this tricky tourist spot…

    Brenda is ageless and mysterious and covered in scars, which she tries to conceal with heavy make up. Ancient and terrible secrets lurk in her past: secrets concerning a famous scientist father and a violent husband. Secrets that Brenda would rather forget.

    Despite themselves, Brenda and her friend Effie are continually drawn to investigate spooky and peculiar mysteries…

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    1. These are hilariously funny, wry and clever books, taking characters and inspiration from every classic literary horror and mystery story under the sun, and even some references to Doctor Who (Mr Magrs was a writer for the show). I loved them all. Jx

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    2. And another one. Or six! I'm going to have to clear a shelf on my bookcase...

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    3. JON: This is the first I’ve heard of the Brenda & Effie series.

      The Guardian says, Four years ago, if someone had told me that I would have a special place on my bookshelf for the adventures of two ladies of a certain age pottering around a seaside town in the north of England, I'd probably have sent them away with a DVD box -set of Rosemary and Thyme inserted where the sun doesn't shine.

      I’m tempted to read this series based on that Guardian blurb, as well as your shining review.

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    4. I want to eat at a chip shop called "Cod Almighty"! Jx

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    5. OK...added to my list, too.

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    6. I looked the book up on the library website. None of them are there. Looking around the web it seems Paul Magrs is unknown in the USofA. There are copies available on used book site but I really don’t want to buy them.

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  4. Oh, thank you, Very Mistress!
    "The Guncle" sounds marvellous! I'm already itching to read it. Don't send the man however - I'll never get any reading done (or anything else, for that matter)!

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    1. MR. DeVICE: It’s just what the doctor ordered. The book, not the optional man.

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  5. Alas I never read fiction, so I'm of little use here.
    I just reread, "Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother"
    which I found perfectly delightful.

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    1. NORMA: I’ll try that one. I’ve found that your tastes tend to blend nicely with mine.

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    2. The entire book is very good, but I realized that the story about his first cinematography job, filming porn would be right up your alley. It has Infomaniac's name all over it, as well as other fluids.

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    3. Norma, thanks so much for recommending "Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother."

      The porn chapter made me want to vomit yet it was hilarious.

      The entire book was a treat from the Jimi Hendrix story right through to the end.

      I don't know how he came out relatively unscathed with those two dysfunctional parents and his pervert Cousin Mike.

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  6. Vermilion by Molly Tanzer It was her first indie release. I really like the humor and imagery.

    The Forgetting Flower by Karen Hugg Reading it will make you feel like you're in Paris and the story is something fresh and different.

    I would like to chew on the man and see where the rest of that lower hip tattoo goes if Mr. IDV is going to pass.

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    1. Chew away, Melanie! I'm busy reading To Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffrey. Or I will be once I've finished commenting. And sorted out the photos from my garden visit the other day. And watched a bit of telly...

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    2. PROXIMA/MELANIE: The Forgetting Flower sounds intriguing.

      Enjoy your chew toy.

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  7. My Dirty Little Book Of Stolen Time by Liz Jensen.

    Time travelling prostitutes.

    In fin-de-siecle Copenhagen, part-time prostitute Charlotte and her lumpen sidekick, Fru Schleswig, have taken on jobs as cleaning ladies of dubious talent to tide them over the harsh winter of 1897. But the home of their neurotic new employer, the widow Krak, soon reveals itself to be riddled with dark secrets - including the existence of a demonic machine rumoured to swallow people alive. Rudely catapulted into twenty-first-century London, the hapless duo discover a whole new world of glass, labour-saving devices and hectic, impossible romance...

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    1. Put a hold on this at my library.

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    2. This sounds like something right up my street!

      P.S. "Lumpen sidekick" - now that sounds familiar, Mitzi...

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    3. What’s not to love about time travelling prostitutes?

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  8. Well, I shall bookmark this post - I always need book advice. The Guncle sounds like fun.
    My suggestion? Anything by Mavis Cheek - Patrick Parker's Progress made me laugh out loud, and Sleeping Beauties is interesting and quirky.
    Sx

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    1. I've just read some of the blurbs on Mavis Cheek's website, and can see why you recommended them.
      I think I'm going to have to win on the Premium Bonds, give up work, and buy all these books that everyone is suggesting!

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    2. "I'll Take It' by Paul Rudnick. Laugh my ass off every time I read it, and I've been reading it since I was 20! And if he can deal with leslie beans? "Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady" by Florence King. Absolutely the smartest, most hardcore, sexiest, funniest, laugh-out-loud-est book out there! You pay attention, all four of you, IDV. This little Muk knows what she's talking about!

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    3. MR. DeVICE: Please take note that Miss Scarlet steered me to Mavis Cheek years ago and I’m glad she did.

      As for Steve’s suggestions, although I haven’t read either of those books, I think she’s onto something. And possibly on something as well.

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  9. Sorry to be late to the party, I recommend How Long Has This Been Going On? a novel that is a gay history.

    My favorite book in the whole world, right now, is The Paladin of Souls.

    Brenda and Effie has been recommended to me before, but I wasn't able to find any of them, but I never got around to looking for them at the library. I'll make a pass at that.

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    1. PEENEE, I wasn’t expecting you to turn up to the party, considering all that you’re going through right now. Thank you for taking the time to recommend books to Mr. DeVice and the rest of us Bitches as well, of course.

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  10. My list is just about longer enough to choke a python...But the easiest thing is to book mark this post.

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    1. DINAHMOW: Long enough to choke a python? That sounds like a pick-up line.

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  11. By now Mr deVice's right arm either fell off or suffers from a form of priapism.

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    1. I agree with you, Mago. It would appear that MY arm has fallen off, too since I haven't posted anything new for a while.

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