Beach Blanket Lingo

We know you wouldn't allow your body to atrophy during swimsuit season, so why let your brain? Stay sharp this summer with our reading list; your abs can't do everything.

You or Someone Like You Chandler Burr
When Howard and Anne’s son Sam returns from Israel with two announcements, one expected (he’s gay) and one unexpected (he’s done with Judaism), his awakenings take a back seat to his parents’ spiritual and literary reckonings. A refreshing reminder that having a gay child is the least of anyone’s problems. (See, Mom?)

Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood’s Dark Dreamer Emanuel Levy
Finally! A full-length biography of the candy-colored aesthete who directed Gigi, married Judy and produced Liza.

The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir Staceyann Chin
Jamaica proves to be less paradise than minefield for out performance artist Staceyann Chin, whose story of growing up gay with little money and almost no parental supervision just might make you appreciate your own tortured childhood.

Lake Overturn Vestal McIntyre
Two Idaho trailer-park tweens probe the titular phenomenon (in which deadly gases collect in a lake before erupting and killing everyone for miles), their own problems (sexuality, for one) and those of their fellow rural citizens (class, race, faith, to cite a few). First-time novelist McIntyre pumps all these fumes into his lake without ever letting them boil over.

I’m Down Mishna Wolff
Timid little white girl in an all-black neighborhood just wants the kids on the block to accept her — and hopefully ignore her Jheri-curled, Kangol-hatted white dad. We’re down.

Family Man Elinor Lipman
In her witty tenth novel, Elinor Lipman crafts the perfect gay Daddy: A caring attorney who rescues his actress ex-stepdaughter from possible career suicide, reconnects with his now-widowed ex-wife and meets a handsome suitor in the process.

Bigger Than Life: The History of Gay Porn Cinema from Beefcake to Hardcore Jeffrey Escoffier
For the concerned X-Tube user with a sense of history, Jeffrey Escoffier chronicles the last truly recession-proof industry left: gay porn. We suspect you need no further coaxing.

Spott’s Canine Miscellany Mike Darton
This variation on the oft-refurbished Schott’s Original Miscellany — a collection of random trivia, facts and the occasional antiquated epithet — is perfect for Fido to read at the beach.