Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room

“Sarah Schulman’s Maggie Terry is a page-turning murder mystery, yes. Yet what makes it so compelling and unique is Maggie herself–a lovesick recovering addict, grieving for her former life. Her search for the killer becomes some- thing altogether more than a whodunit. Ultimately, the novel is an inspiring psychological portrait of a woman trying to make her way back from the edge.” –Danny Caine, The Raven Book Store
Post-rehab, Maggie Terry is single-mindedly trying to keep her head down in New York City. There’s a madman in the White House, the subways are constantly delayed, summer is relentless, and neighborhoods all seem to blend together.
Against this absurd backdrop, Maggie wants nothing more than to slowly re- build her life in hopes of being reunited with her daughter. But her first day on the job as a private investigator lands her in the middle of a sensational new case: actress strangled. If Maggie is going to solve this mystery, she’ll have to shake the ghosts–dead NYPD partner, vindictive ex, steadfast drug habit–that have long ruled her life.
Sarah Schulman is a literary chronicler of the marginalized and subcultural, focusing on queer urban life. She is the author of several books, including The Gentrification of the Mind, Conflict Is Not Abuse, and The Cosmopolitans. She is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at CUN Y, and teaches creative writing at the College of Staten Island.

From an award-winning writer whose work bristles with “hard-won strength, insight, agility, and love” (Maggie Nelson), an exquisite and troubling narrative of masculinity, violence, and society.

In this groundbreaking new book, the author, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence. Through his experience boxing–learning to get hit, and to hit back; wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym; confronting the betrayals and strength of his own body–McBee examines the weight of male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes, and the limitations of conventional masculinity. A wide-ranging exploration of gender in our society, Amateur is ultimately a story of hope, as McBee traces a new way forward, a new kind of masculinity, inside the ring and outside of it.

In this graceful, stunning, and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting, and healing, we gain insight into the stereotypes and shifting realities of masculinity today through the eyes of a new man.

“It’s people like Mama and me, I guess, who like to make the regular happenings in our town–like what happened to Joshua and David–sound like myth. There are those who doubt the veracity of my words. But I know. I was there.”

So begins the voice of Eric Gottlund in Jim Provenzano’s latest novel, Now I’m Here, as he begins his tale of how two boys discovered, lost, and then found each other again in the small town of Serene, Ohio, in the 1970s and ’80s. It is both pointed and poignant. As the town’s history is slowly erased by fading memories and encroaching suburbia, Eric brings back to life the two friends who showed him what true courage is. Fighting religious intolerance, small-mindedness, “rehabilitation therapy,” the lure of fame, and the heartbreak of AIDS, the two boys grow into men before our eyes. And through their love of each other and rock’n’roll–and the English rock group Queen in particular–Joshua and David breathe life back into their home town, if only for a while.

Graduating college and have no idea how to use that degree IRL?

Submitting a ton of resumes but not landing any interviews?

Feeling trapped in a job that pays the bills but doesn’t feel like a “real” job?

Just like you, I dreamed about taking the world by storm since I was a kid. And just like you, I found myself with a college degree and no freaking clue how to take all of my ambitions and unleash them on the real world.

It took tenacity and many years of learning lessons the hard way, but now here I am. I’m one of the key executives running a large-scale advertising company in one of the big-three global holding companies. I’ve taken great pride in helping hundreds of other people build their careers and leadership prowess.

But I started at the bottom. In fact, I was lower than the bottom. I was in the mud, the pit, the go-nowhere do-nothing intersection of joblessness and cluelessness–and I was stuck there.

Unlike me, you don’t need to figure it out on your own! I’m here to help, with practical advice and tools to help you:

• Stay true to your aspirations of a brilliant career, and turn big dreams into big action
• Understand how typical corporate America works so you can use this information to your advantage and land the job
• Stand out as a star performer once you get the job

You CAN get unstuck and turn your big dreams into a satisfying career!