Illustrated by Jessica Pace | Washtenaw Voice
By The Washtenaw Voice
The Feature
Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs
Author: Dave Holmes
Genre: Autobiography, Entertainment
Content Warning: Language
Recommended By Laurence Wilson, Contributor
Dave Holmes, in his book, “Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs,” takes the reader on a pop culture journey through the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s as he manages the stigma of his sexuality while attempting to maintain respect in the entertainment industry. The story of how Holmes, a Catholic teen from St. Louis evolved into a MTV VJ reveals the painful truth of growing up gay in America. “It was at that moment that I realized that there would be a self that I could show the world and a self I’d have to keep hidden…Each day, I became more aware that I was both different and different, and each day, I turned to music to ease the discomfort. I was insatiable,” Holmes writes.
Holmes also describes the world after 9/11. He saved newspapers to recall how the world used to be before the attack. “These will be valuable someday. These were the literal last messages from the old world….We will never be this frivolous, this silly, this unserious ever again.” After an unsuccessful healing session, Holmes asked himself, “Rather than try to fit in somewhere that’s not for you, are you better off on your own, wandering, listening, observing?”
Holmes’ favorite music hits are sprinkled with colorful overtones of a double-minded society. “When you’re young, you think you’re always going to know every song in the Top 40. You feel pity for the old people who have to ask you what’s playing on the radio… And then one day it happens to you.”
The holidays are just around the corner. Maybe you know a child like Dave Holmes who is both different and different and always at the family dinners. Holmes writes, “It feels good to be an out gay television person. There aren’t many of us, even now. I hope that the fourteen-year-old version of me who needed to see himself reflected on television saw it.” This memoir offers a new way to love and understand your own family, giving everyone a place to truly call home.
The Family Drama
Caucasia
Author: Danzy Senna
Genre: Fiction
Recommended by Xailia Claunch, Editor
“Caucasia” is the story of Birdie Lee and her struggle to find her place in the world as a biracial woman. Birdie and her sister Cole grew up together in Boston with a white mother and Black father. As they grow up, Cole looks more like her father, and Birdie like her mother.
When her parents split up, Cole moves away with her father, and Birdie stays with her mom. Birdie’s mother becomes fearful that she is wanted by the FBI and COINTELPRO due to her activism, and takes her daughter on the run with her. They hide in New Hampshire, and for four years, Birdie has to hide her identity, name, and race from the world.
Tired of living a lie, and missing her sister, Birdie runs away. She heads back to Boston, hoping to find the whereabouts of the rest of her family. As she learns more about herself and her identity, she searches the rest of her family. Birdie especially wants to find Cole, the only person who ever fully understood her.
“Caucasia” is a beautiful tale of a girl caught in the middle of everything—race, family, politics, religion, culture, adolescence, self-image, and identity. For anyone who is struggling with any of these, you will find it easy to empathize with Birdie’s quest to finally feel at home.
The Cookbook
A Homemade Life
Author: Molly Wizenberg
Genre: Food Memoir
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
A poignant, funny, delightful collection of essays (don’t let the boring cover fool you), each accompanied by a corresponding recipe that might make you drool on the pages. We begin with Wizenberg’s father’s potato salad and end with her fudgy chocolate wedding cake, with plenty of pickles, Paris, and even prunes in between. I may or may not have eaten a whole batch of her banana bread muffins (studded generously with chunks of chocolate and crystallized ginger) all by myself. Full of flavors for omnivores and herbivores alike, if you’re craving a little comfort food and a little family love, this one really brings it home.
The Epic
Homegoing
Author: Yaa Gyasi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
A generational story about the progeny of two West African sisters, one who is sold to American slavers and one who remains in Africa. Each chapter tells the story of one of their descendants against the backdrop of various moments in history. The folklore of West Africa is sprinkled throughout, offering hope, freedom, redemption, and even a way home.
The Classics
Anne of Green Gables
Author: L. M. Montgomery
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
This beautifully written beginning to a beloved series follows Anne, a precocious young orphan who is taken in by the elderly Cuthbert siblings, who were hoping to adopt a boy. When they decide to give Anne a chance, she learns what it means to be really loved, how to belong while staying true to herself, and what lies at the heart of a home.d spooky series to read throughout the fall, I recommend the “Cirque Du Freak” novels by author Darren Shan. Although the first book was released in 2000, this series is just as good as ever if you enjoy a little dark humor. This is a coming-of-age vampire series with a macabre twist. I loved the series as a young adult and they even made a fantasy film adaptation called “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.”
Little Women
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Content Warning: Incident of antiquated derogatory racial terms in final chapter.
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
Bookish Jo, artistic Amy, gentle Beth, lovely Meg. Four sisters and their wise and loving mother face the beauty and tragedy of family life as they try to reach their castles in the clouds—the hopes and dreams that drive them even in a time of limited opportunities for women. Alcott’s sweeping novel follows the little women from childhood and into womanhood, bringing the reader into the family to join in the foibles, triumphs, and heartbreaks of home.
The Wizard of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Recommended by Jessica Pace, Graphic Designer
We all know the story, but if you’ve never read the actual novel you’re in for even more magical details. The timeless journey home, along with the message that you already have everything you need to get where you’re going, make this the perfect novel for the season when we all remember that there’s no place like home.
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