#armistead maupin's tales of the city

[mrmousetolliver]

Tales of the City (1978) by Armistead Maupin.

[out-of-the-forest-i-come]

Yesterday, I listed some queer books coming out this month, and today I'll go over the queer series that are being continued in March. This is a non-exhaustive and informative list, checking out the trigger warnings and possible problematic content/author will be up to you.

Cirque du Slay, Book 2 of Hayden & Friends; Rob Osler, March 5th

Remnants of Filth: Yuwu, Vol. 3; Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou (translation), March 5th

Saint, Sorrow, Sinner, Book 3 of The Gideon Testaments; Freydís Moon, March 5th

Mona of the Manor, Book 10 of Tales of the City; Armistead Maupin, March 7th

Blessed Water, Book 2 of A Sister Holiday Mystery; Margot Douaihy, March 12th

Infinity Kings, Book 3 of Infinity Cycles; Adam Silvera, March 14th

Heir to Dreams and Darkness, Book 3 of Court of Broken Bonds; Ben Alderson, March 15th

The Weavers of Alamaxa, Book 2 of the Alamaxa Duology; Hadeer Elsbai, March 19th

Guardian: Zhen Hun, Vol. 2; priest, March 26th

In Walked Trouble, Book 2 of Single in Seattle; Dana Hawkins, March 26th

The Feast Makers, Book 3 of Scapegracers; H.A. Clarke, March 26th

The Phantom Flame, Book 2 of Brimstone and Fire; T.M. Ledvina, March 26th

[subway-tolkien]

Book Rec for Queer Kids and Allies

Hey Gen Z/A, this is for you, and anyone else who needs a refresher course in queer history.

If you want a good, hard look at what it was like to be queer throughout the 1970s-early 2000s, you should read Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series. Tales of the City in 1976 as a serial story in the San Francisco Chronicle, detailing the lives of a boarding house of misfits. It is set in San Francisco, and it covers everything from the early days of queer culture right on up through the AIDS crisis and into Reagan’s 80s and onward. I believe the last book was set in the early-to-mid 2000s. If you want a snapshot of our history, if you want to know the timeline that led to gay characters on mainstream television, for drag queens to march at Pride, for the legal right to marry your partner, these books will take you there.

NOTE: You will probably be offended by some of the subject matter. These books were written decades before you were born. Calm your tits and keep reading.

(Armistead Maupin is also a cool dude and you should definitely check out his other work, including his memoir, Logical Family, if you really want a glimpse into life as a gay man over the course of almost 80 years.)

[bethaven]

#13 Tales of the City (2019)

Plot: About 20 years since we last saw her, Mary Ann Singleton returns to Barbary Lane for Anna Madrigal's 90th borthday. Though it feels like coming home, it's not as easy as to just step in and be loved by all. While Mary Ann tries to reclaim the trust of the people she left, Anna struggles with dark shadows of the past that comes back to haunt her. It's time to tell the family what happened.

Years: 2019

Seasons: 1

My story: I've never heard about the original series or Armistead Maupin's books until I stumbled upon this series at Netflix around release. It fast became one of my all time favourites and taught me some very important queer history. Parts of it still makes me cry. It's one of my go-to comfort series.

Teachable moments: This is a natural and sophisticated depiction of queer everyday life. More than anything it shows the meaning and importance of chosen families.

Best character: Anna is a 90 years old transgender with her own home and chosen family in the middle of San Francisco. She've done what many haven't, not only did she survive, she also build a life for herself. Watching the series we know it wasn't all on good grounds, but it really pushes us to reflect on morality, ethics and doing what you have to in a very hard situation. Can we really judge Anna for what she did?

Best episode: "Days of small surrenders" (E8). Whenever I start another rewatch, I long for this episode. It's the most important episode and it's so beutifuly made. I'm really dragged into the story and it's like I'm walking side by side with Anna in the 60's.

Best quote: -"We're sitting on top of layers and layers of queer people sediment.." -"Of years" -"No, decades" -"And you know like every minute 30 000 dead skincells shed of a person and seep into their living space, that's like 1.8 milion an hour. So this place is probably more Anna and Michael, than Anna and Michael are." -"Wow" (Ani and Raven)

Fun fact: Three actors reprise their roles through all installments of Tales; Laury Linney as Mary Ann Singleton, Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal and Barbara Garrick as DeDe Halcyon. Paul Gross plays Brian Hawkins in the first installment in 1993, but doesn't return to the role until the 2019 revival. In the other two, Brian is played by Whip Hubley.

If you like this you might also like: The 2019 Tales of the City is the revival of three earlier installments; Tales of the City (1993), More Tales of the City (1998) and Further Tales of the City (2001-2002), which are adaptations of Armistead Maupin's books (9 in total). You don't have too see the earlier ones to understand the revival, but it helps to understand the story even further. Others you might like are Looking, Queer as folk, Hollywood and Glamorous.

[hottdoggblogg]

[artemismatchalatte]

My January 2023 Reads!

I read the first five books and I'm still in the middle of the last three. Ford's The Good Solider and Woolf's The Common Reader are both from my grad class on Modernism. We only read pieces of The Common Reader so I wanted to finish reading the whole thing since it's one of Woolf's books that I haven't read completely yet.

Strange Weather in Tokyo and Convenience Store Woman are both novellas that are translated from Japanese.

The best of the books that I finished this month was Strange Weather in Tokyo.

[weddingchicken]

I just wanted to be sure of you.

[thequeereview]

Book Review: Mona of the Manor by Armistead Maupin ★★★★★

A decade after the publication of The Days of Anna Madrigal, Armistead Maupin returns to his beloved Tales of the City with a delectably satisfying new addition—the tenth book in the series—Mona of the Manor. Transporting us to Gloucestershire, England in 1993, we’re reunited with Mona in her late forties, ten years after she became Lady Roughhton as the not-so-blushing mail-order bride of Lord…

[lenbryant]

"There's hope." From 1992. Armistead Maupin and his Tales of the City.

[freshlyblaked]

new cover art for the tales of the city series by armistead maupin

[youaremysunshine-court]

Love books where half the characters don't know each other but if you put them in a room together they'd all have at least one connection to every other person in the room

[kepage3]

TBR Challenge 2022 - Books Read in 2002 - 20. More Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin

TBR Challenge 2022 – Books Read in 2002 – 20. More Tales of the City – Armistead Maupin

Genre: LGBT, Humour Narrative Style: Third person from a number of different viewpoints. Rating: 4/5 Published: 1978 Format: Paperback Synopsis: The further adventures of Michael Tolliver, Mona Ramsey, Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal. Book challenge: TBR Challenge 2022 Time on shelf: I’m not actually sure where this book came from – I don’t remember buying it – but it has been on the…

[neil-gaiman]

Not an ask, just a thank you. Really enjoyed spending time with you yesterday at NJPAC. It was an early Christmas present for my husband and he didn't know where we were going until we got in the car yesterday morning (we live in South Jersey across from Philadelphia). He was so excited when I showed him the tickets on my phone. The sincere and often hilarious way you answered our questions and the thoughtful selections of the stories you read (Donna will live with me forever) made for a wonderful afternoon. My favorite story was about the dinner party and Armistead Maupin, it was so cool to hear a new favorite author (yes, my husband Jim and I are late comers to the magic - though I did read Good Omens way back in the day - but we're making up for lost time) speak so lovingly of an all time favorite author (I worked in book shops for about a decade and Tales of the City was always the first book I suggested to the baby gays venturing into the world of queer literature). Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. It as been a tough year for us, perhaps the worst in our 38 years together, as I was forced out of my job of 20 years last fall and 60 is a tough age to find work (I just got a new job a couple weeks ago thanks to a dear friend) so to hear Jim say twice yesterday that it was "one of the happiest days of my life" really brought joy to my soul. You are henceforth my Angel of Joy, Neil. Peace, joy, and long life to you and yours. Mike Kiley-Zufelt

That means a lot. And I'd recommend Armistead Maupin to everyone.

[artemismatchalatte]

2023 Pinterest 50 Book Reading Challenge

44. A Book That Takes Place During a Holiday or Holidays

Tales of The City by Armistead Maupin

[queer-media-tourney]

Here are all 64 round 1 polls:

Rent vs Orphan Black

Heartstopper vs Orange is the New Black

Carol (2015) vs Bugsnax

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern vs Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Fienburg

Red, White and Royal Blue vs This is how you lose the time war by Amar el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Our Flag means Death vs Always human by Ari North

The last of us two vs On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Heartbreak High vs Shameless

Undertale vs The Handmaiden

Young Royals vs Revolutionary Girl Utena

Sens8 vs Carry on by Rainbow Rowell

Bee and puppycat vs The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Yuri on Ice vs Ranma ½

Q-force vs Feel Good

Torchwood vs The interview with a Vampire (2022)

Homestuck vs Good Omens

Some like it hot vs Killing Eve

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off vs Bound (1996)

It's a sin vs Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan

Doctor Who vs Portrait of a young lady on fire

Steven Universe vs Saltburn

Xena Warrior Princess vs Cyberpunk 2077

Welcome to Nightvale vs Schitt's creek

Night in the woods vs A league Of their own

Lisa Frankenstein vs The boys in the band (1970)

Black Sails vs Owl House

Hannibal vs The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Bottoms vs The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

The picture of Dorian Grey vs Adventure time

The Sandman (comic) vs Supernatural

Maurice (1987) vs Hazbin Hotel

Nimona vs Love Simon

Epithet Erased vs What we do in the shadows

Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs The Other Two

One Day at a time (2017) vs Falsettos

She-ra and the princesses of power vs Dykes to Watch Out for

Celluloid Closet vs Harley Quinn

But I'm a cheerleader vs Vida

Angels In America vs Glee

Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur vs They both die in the end by Adam Silvera

Will and Grace vs Paris is Burning

Sanders Sides vs The Magnus Archives

The L word vs Goncharov

Queer as Folk vs Paper Girls

Boys don't cry vs Dracula

All of us strangers vs Yellow jackets

The Song of Achilles vs D.E.B.S

Brokeback Mountain vs Dead end: paranormal park

Carmilla vs Pride (2014)

The Bifrost Incident vs Pink Flamingos

Call me by your name vs Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Grishaverse vs Roswell New Mexico

Riverdale vs We Know the Devil

Stardew Valley vs Pose

Disco Elysium vs Different For girls

Banana fish vs my own private Idaho

Celeste vs Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin

Everything Everywhere all at once vs Outer Wilds

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar vs Victor/Victoria

Moonlight vs Stranger things

The birdcage vs Midnight Cowboy

The Watermelon Woman vs The Ritz

The haunting of Bly Manor vs Epic of Gilgamesh

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel vs How to survive a plague

[profiterole-reads]

I have blocked yet another man who made an extremely RUDE post about women writing/reading m/m.

Here are m/m books written by men:

I also recommend books by Na'amen Gobert Tilahun, Eliot Schrefer, Sander Santiago, Seth Haddon, MN Bennet...

So leave women alone. Most of us are queer anyway, and even allocishet women are allowed to write/read m/m. I'm not going around criticising men who write/read f/f. Max Gladstone writes amazing female characters!