Mod post: theme suggestions

[damned_colonial]

Please suggest themes you'd like to see covered here! Cut and paste the following into a comment:

ETA: please put your theme in the subject of your comment!

Theme:
Are you prepared to run it? Yes/No
Suggested books, if you have them already:


What does it mean to run the theme?

1. At least one month in advance, you'll let everyone know about the theme and your suggested reading for it. You need to suggest at least 3 works of fiction.
2. On the first of the month, you will post a welcome/introduction/kickoff for the theme.
3. Throughout the month, you'll take an active part in discussion of the theme.

You do not have to be an expert on the theme to run it. You just need to have an interest in it.

Comments

[damned_colonial]

Homosexuality in the 30s: we could read "While England Sleeps", for starters. And I've got a non-fiction rec, "Queer London", which is sitting on my "to read" bookshelf, *sigh*.

Boer War would be great as I suspect there are a range of books with different perspectives.

Egyptology, YES. Have to have an Amelia Peabody mystery in there, for starters. (I read one and didn't like it, but that doesn't mean it's not a good candidate.)

[florence_craye]

Would The Egypt Game count as Egyptology? I love that book, and it's also a delightfully quick read.

[naraht]

Homosexuality in the 30s

A must-read: "The Naked Civil Servant" by Quentin Crisp.

Egyptology, YES. Have to have an Amelia Peabody mystery in there, for starters. (I read one and didn't like it, but that doesn't mean it's not a good candidate.)

Best to read one of the books by her inspiration, the Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Edwards.

[damned_colonial]

Naked Civil Servant is autobiography isn't it?

[naraht]

Yes, it is.

[avendya]

He Shall Thunder In The Sky - it's lighter on Egypt than most of the Peabodys, but has WWI spies and is quite good.

[naraht]

Homosexuality in the 30s

An actual historical (AU) novel:

"The Summer Isles" by Ian R MacLeod

Cold War America

[gloss]

I'd love to run this one, and I have some book ideas:
Shimmer, Sarah Schulman
Fellow Travelers, Thomas Mallon
Advise & Consent, Allen Drury

...the theme's turned into "homosexuality and Cold War America", if that's okay. The only problem is that I'm not sure how/where to find a *free* edition, since by definition nothing's old enough to be public domain yet. Any ideas would be more than welcome.

Re: Cold War America

[naraht]

Homosexuality and Cold War America is such a great topic. J Edgar Hoover and Roy Cohn, oh my!

"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon might just fit under that theme, though it might not. A good secondary source is "The lavender scare" by David K. Johnson.

Re: Cold War America

[gloss]

See, I'd assumed that you'd claimed this topic, so when I realized you hadn't, I thought I'd nab it -- unless you want it.

I have Johnson's book next on my to-read list. WHEE.

I'm not sure about Kavalier & Clay, though I'm rereading it this summer, so I'll check. There's also James Ellroy's The Big Nowhere, but his depiction of gays leaves *a lot* to be desired. *thinks*

Re: Cold War America

[naraht]

I certainly haven't claimed it, although am happy to help out with suggestions. I've actually written two fanfics about homosexuality in Cold War America, so I suppose it's sort of an interest of mine. I did a bunch of reading for them which was how I found the Johnson book...

I adore Kavalier and Clay but I may be working too hard to fit it in here. :)

Re: Cold War America

[jest]

I've actually written two fanfics about homosexuality in Cold War America

What fandom? I'm currently writing Man from UNCLE slash so I am ALL over homosexuality during the cold war.

Re: Cold War America

[naraht]

One RPF (on Roy Cohn and his circle) and one X-Files. Both heavily focused on McCarthyism...

Re: Cold War America

[damned_colonial]

Re: Ellroy, that's *awesome* though, because we want conflicting perspectives.

I read Kavalier and Clay quite recently and I don't think it's really enough about homosexuality to put in the top 3, though it would make a good item on the "additional reading" list.

Re: Cold War America

[damned_colonial]

You know, I think under the circumstances that could be OK. As long as we don't make too much of a habit of it, perhaps space out the 20th century themes so it's not too frequent.

Re: Cold War America

[gloss]

As long as we don't make too much of a habit of it, perhaps space out the 20th century themes so it's not too frequent.
...and for a second I thought you were referring to adding homosexuality, not the lack of free editions. I need dinner, obviously.

Re: Cold War America

[damned_colonial]

*snort* ... I'm in favour of homosexuality ALL THE TIME to be honest.

Re: Cold War America

[gloss]

We're on the same page, then! :D

Re: Cold War America

[jest]

As long as Sarah Schulman book is on the list, I'm happy. "Shimmer" is the first thing I ever read that really gave me an inkling of just what cold war paranoia must have felt like.

Egyptology

[jest]

For Egyptology we most definitely want Arthur Phillips "The Egyptlogist". I think it's absolutely brilliant.