2011 Summer Intern Wrap-Up! And the 13 Titles In The GLBTQ Biography and Memoir Bookshelf!

So it's the end of our 2011 summer internship, and here's a note from Soraya!

Dear Readers:
Sadly enough, my internship has come to a close with the end of the summer. I wanted to start off by thanking Lee so very much for giving me this opportunity. I’m extremely grateful that he put up with my awkward and confusing schedule, and that he trusted me to read and review all these wonderful books! I had a wonderful experience reading about all these people and learning from them. All of these stories were fantastic, from Patti Smith’s book to David Sedaris’. I learned many valuable lessons, but the one I think is the most important is to embrace everyone’s differences. Of course, as people, we’re all the same in so many ways. Most people use their differences against each other, but I think our differences are something that can bring everyone closer together. Somebody might have a weird family situation, but that is by no means a bad thing. Somebody else might have a religious view that they do not share with anybody, but that does not make him or her a bad person. In fact, everyone on Earth is part of a greater machine. I don’t mean that in a religious or conspiracy-theory way, I’m just using a machine as a metaphor. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, but that’s why we’re all here together. To help each other and support our differences. You can’t build a chair with just legs. So I want everyone to love what makes them different, and to love what makes everyone else different. That’s at least what I learned. Once again, I had the most wonderful experience, and I’ll really miss it. Thank you all so much!
With much love,
Soraya (Summer Intern 2011)

I'm so pleased with her main take-away:

"...I want everyone to love what makes them different, and to love what makes everyone else different."

YES! She put that so well!

And here, thanks to Soraya, is our GLBTQ Biography and Memoir Bookshelf. These links will also be live on the left-hand book list column of this blog from today on!

• "Deflowered: My Life In Pansy Division" by Jon Ginoli
• "Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen DeGeneres" by Kathleen Tracy
• "Just Kids" by Patti Smith
• "Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer" by Chely Wright
• "Man In The Middle" by John Amaechi
• "Mayor of Castro Street, The: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" by Randy Shilts
• "Me" by Ricky Martin
• "My Two Wives And Three Husbands: A True Love Story" by S. Stanley Gordon
• "Naked" by David Sedaris
• "Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade" by Justin Spring
• "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" by Gertrude Stein
• "Transition: The Story Of How I Became A Man" by Chaz Bono
• "Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain" by Portia De Rossi

Thanks so much for all your hard work and these great reviews, Soraya!

Namaste,
Lee