From The DavidDust Book Club ...

Children's Literature FAILs

Reading Is Fundamental

There is something so HAWT about a man reading...

.

Catching Up On Some Reading

To see more of model Miguel Iglesias, click HERE.

.

Grandpa Gunn Dishes The Dirt on Who's Nasty

According to the New York Daily News, Tim Gunn's new book - Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work - is full of stories about all the obnoxious people in fashion (like giraffe-necked Vogue empress Anna Wintour - above).  He also talks smack about Bravo's The Fashion NO Show host Isaac Mizrahi (delicious!) and Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis (it's a good thing!).

I love the fact that usually sweet Tim is comfortable enough in himself, his career, and his celebrity status to tell it like it t-i-is.

This might actually be a book I would buy and read!

The Social Stigma of the Old Fashioned Book

According to a recent article in the New York Times (via The Grumbler), there is a social stigma attached to people who read books (the ones made from trees) in public.  But there's hope!  All you have to do is shell out money for one of those E-Readers, and you'll be all sexy and cool and shizz!!

If you happen to be one of those sad and lonely paper-book-reading outcasts, you can still get a way-cool FREE BOOKMARK!  Maybe that will help ease the pain of your solitary and desolate existence...

Ultraconservative Texas Extremists Rewrite U.S. History

The Texas State Board of Education wields undo power over textbook publishers, since Texas is the second-largest purchaser of textbooks.  Curriculum guidelines adopted in Texas affect what students nationwide learn because book manufacturers will print whatever their largest customers want them to.  These Texas-approved textbooks are sold to smaller states/school districts all over the nation, and the lessons in these texts are taught to students everywhere.

On Friday the conservative-dominated Board injected their radical ideas into the social studies, history and economics curricula that will be taught for decades.  Some of the changes included (via Joe.My.God)...

-The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.” 

-"Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state." “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

-The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”

-McCarthyism will be taught as an example of how communism was rooted out of the federal government.

-Students will learn about the "patriot movement" of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association.

-"Board members also rejected requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while the late President Ronald Reagan was elevated to more prominent coverage."

You've got to hand it to conservatives - they don't miss a trick, do they?  It's amazing ... and disgusting.

Happy Hump Day From Kid Christmas!

I think it's very appropriate that Dust Bunny Eric Arvin released his latest work - Kid Christmas Rides Again - on a "Hump Day"...

This novella includes the original short story (the fantastic Kid Christmas Meet Snow Globes) plus 10,000 words of new Kid Christmas adventures. And, as always, it is fabulously illustrated by Absolutbleu. Go to Dreamspinner Press and order yours today.

Illustrations: Absolutbleu

Subsurdity

I received my copy of Eric Arvin's novel, Subsurdity, and I'm looking forward to tackling it over this long weekend. The book comes highly recommended, so I can't wait to read it. I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished...

All I Could Bare by Craig Seymour

One of the great things about blogging is every once in a while you get contacted by a cute guy – who then sends you a cute book. Okay, it’s happened exactly once, but I’m happy it did.

Last week I mentioned “Go-Go Professor” Craig Seymour (see post here). Seymour was the gentleman who wrote his master’s thesis on go-go dancing – and did “research” by dancing himself.

After I posted about him last week, he sent me a very nice email – and he informed me that he has written a book about his experiences. It is called All I Could Bare – My Life In the Strip Clubs Of Gay Washington, D.C.

I just received the book yesterday, so I’ve only had a chance to peruse it. But what I have read is FANTASTIC. Besides, how can you NOT love a book when the first sentence is “Fuck it.”?

Here is an example of Seymour’s descriptive and entertaining prose, from the very first page:

I couldn’t see a thing, not really. It took what seemed like a full minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the brick room painted black. I started to make out the outlines of figures seated in the rows of seats in front of the stage and standing along the back wall. The music continued to thump, louder now that I was inside, and the air smelled of Clorox and crotch. Beads of chilly sweat dripped from my armpits. My heartbeat quickened. Again those word, “Fuck it”.

CLICK HERE to order All I Could Bare by Craig Seymour.

It is a damn shame this book wasn’t set in NYC. If so, I'm SURE I would have been acquainted with Craig – and he would be enjoying summers at his beach house, paid for by yours truly – one dollar at a time. I was VERY generous back in my strip club days.

Anywhoo, I am going to read Craig’s book and give you a proper review when I’m done. I’ve never done a book review on DavidDust before (mainly because I don’t read) – so I’m excited. And now that I have something to read, I may be more willing to get on the damn Stairmaster at the gym.

Craig, thank you very much – and by the way:

You had me at “Fuck it”… XOXOXOXO

Order All I Could Bare now - and check out Craig's excellent blog here.

Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness

DavidDust favorite Mario Lopez will be in the NYC area next week promoting his new fitness book – Mario Lopez’s Knockout Fitness. He will be signing copies at Bookends in Ridgewood, NJ on May 13th (7:00pm) – and in Manhattan on May 14th at Barnes & Noble (5th Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets) at 1 pm.

I would LOVE to try and sneak up to Barnes and Noble next Wednesday to see Mario – but unfortunately with the J-O-B, it probably won’t be possible.

I have to give you a little background on how I came upon this information. A couple of weeks ago I did a post on Mario’s Broadway debut in A Chorus Line. Almost immediately after I posted, Blanca Oliviery - Senior Publicist at Rodale Trade Books - sent me an email with the information on his book signing. Her “Google Alerts” must be FIERCE! I promised Blanca to let my Dust Bunnies know about the book signing a little closer to the date.

Ms. Oliviery has been a TOTAL sweetheart. I asked her if she could send us a “sneak peek” beefcake photo from the book, and did she EVER deliver (gorgeous photography by Joan Allen):

OMG! I must thank Blanca AGAIN for helping out a little old blogger like me. And if I ever publish a book, I know exactly who to hire to be my publicist.

One last thing: poor Blanca has to TRAVEL with Mario for his book tour – and pretty much be attached to him at the hip at all times. That poor girl!! How does she stand it?!? I informed her if she needs some extra help, I am SO available.

To order the book (from barnesandnoble.com), click here.

Thanks again to Blanca for being such a sweetie – and to Mario for being such a hottie!!!