|
The Book Nook
The Wright and Kampf books were published by Harrington Park Press. So is Bear Like Me, a novel by Jonathan Cohen ($19.95). Cohen, "born to nonbear parents thirty-five years ago", became a bear "after a brief dalliance in the altars of Gillette and Nair". Bear Like Me pokes fun at the gay bear phenomenon, as experienced by a nonbear who tries to become a bear. After being fired from his job at Phag magazine, writer Peter Mallory tries to pay the rent and put food on his table by doing an exposé of the bear cult. But to do that, of course, Mallory has to grow hair, put on weight, and wear flannel. In other words, he must become "bear like me". Here is Peter's dilemma, written "in his own words": "Becoming a bear, just like coming out of the closet, requires a certain shift in perception. What you find attractive, what you find acceptable, what you deem important, all changes. In a way, you become an outsider, but in a way, you become part of a small, select private group. Usually, this is a long process that accompanies repeated exposure to the bear community. I, however, didn't have the luxury of time." Needless to say, things get out of hand: Peter runs the risk of discovery, he runs afoul of an envious cub, and of course he falls in love. All this happens within the backdrop of the gay bear scene, which Cohen knows well enough to write about without exaggeration or insult. The story goes haywire at times; and some of the characters are one-dimensional, but what the hell. Bears will have a good time reading Bear Like Me; and non-bears will probably wish they were bears so that they could join in the fun.
Since bears like food more than anything else in the world - except perhaps sex, and even that's debatable - Collins's book has recipes that are delicious and non-fattening. These includes original recipes by Chef Collins, variations on classic recipes, and even low-fat, low-calorie substitutes. For example, Collins's "Sausage Gravy & Biscuits - Almost!" is a mock concoction that is made with a fat free gravy mix, Boca® crumbles, low fat English muffins, a dash of sage and butter cooking spray. I haven't tried it yet, but Collins swears that it's delicious. No More Fat Bears is available from www.nomorefatbears.com.
Other bears will take issue with Chef Collins's belief that a low-fat, sugar-free life is one that's worth living. P. J. Gray and Stanley Hunter go in the opposite direction with Bear Cookin': The Original Guide to Bear Comfort Foods (Harrington Park Press; $12.95). "Let's face it," they tell us. "Bears have big appetites and hearty, home-style cooking seems to be the only food that satisfies us. With this in mind, we searched for recipes that were not only hearty but were also flavorful and fairly simple to create. We discovered that the majority of our personal and family recipes seemed to meet these requirements." Among the recipes in Bear Cookin' are (I kid you not), such delights as "(Touch My) Monkey Bread", "What-A-Crock Pot Stew", "Polar Bear Chili" and "Fur-ocious Pot Roast". Bear Cookin' also pays tribute to such bear essentials as Cool Whip®, Bisquick®, and Velveeta® and even gives us "Bearable Meal Suggestions" (mostly beer). Needless to say, Bear Cookin's version of Sausage Gravy and Biscuits is the real thing: pork sausage, made-from scratch biscuits . . . you get the idea.
Whether you are fat bear, a dieting bear, a cub, a wolf or an otter, there are now enough bear books in print to delight you and inspire you. Whether you agree with them or not, these three new books have a place in every bear's den, shelf or kitchen. Brief Views: The last time we checked with E. Robert Dunn, he was making a name for himself with Echelon's End: Last Generation, the first book in his series of science fiction novels. Dunn has since followed that book with Echelon's End: Book 2: Sidereal Quest (iUniverse.com; $13.95). Book 2 takes up where Book 1 left off, in the desolate planet where the last of the Aidennians have landed after their space ship was blasted by the Tauron forces. This time the Aidennians - Commander Capel and his family - discover they have to leave their planet of refuge before its three suns detonate. Echelon's End 2 is only half as long as Echelon's End 1, and not as interesting. (Dunn created a whole universe in Book 1, which is a hard act to follow.) Even so, Dunn tells a good story; there is enough excitement to keep the readers at the edge of their seats (or beach blankets); and Nicraan and Retho make a cute couple. Long before Harvey Milk and the Castro, San Francisco was the home of the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance, two literary movements that were led by gay, bisexual or gay-friendly writers. Ground Zero for this literary explosion was City Lights Books, a bookstore and publisher in the City's North Beach (near José Sarria's Black Cat bar). The Beat Generation in San Francisco: A Literary Guidebook by Bill Morgan (City Lights Books; $17.95) pays homage to the City by the Bay at a time when its writers were at the forefront of American culture. Thirteen easy-to-follow walking tours take the tourist (and the reader) through all the haunts of "Beat" San Francisco - from North Beach to Russian Hill (home of the Six Gallery) to Market Street to Polk Gulch to the Haight District - as well as the East Bay (Berkeley and Oakland), South Peninsula (Santa Cruz and the Big Sur) and North Bay (Susalito and Bolinas). City Lights is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary - with founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti happily still at the helm -- and this book is their way of celebrating their fifty years together. May they have many more. Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and book lover who lives in South Florida with his life partner and many friends. He can be reached at jessemonteagudo@aol.com. |
|
The growth of the gay bear subculture has led to a increasing number of books by, for or about bears, cubs, otters, wolves and other furry creatures. Gay bear books include The Bear Cult by Chris Nelson (photos); The Bear Book and The Bear Book II, both edited by Les Wright (essays); The Bear Handbook by Ray Kampf (humorous "how-to" book); Bears on Bears by Ron Suresha (interviews); Bearotica, edited by Suresha (sex stories); and Tales from the Bear Cult, edited by Mark Hemry (more sex stories). Add to that list three new bear books: a fictional spoof and two cookbooks at cross-purpose.
Chef Penn Collins