Get Swishy With It

So I just finished reading this great new book called Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever by Joel Derfner. It's a playful, wink-wink title for a book that's very, very funny, but also has an incredible amount of heart.

I read most of Swish on the subway, and I'm certain many of my fellow commuters were probably concerned about the state of my mental health as I read the book, because I not only regularly laughed out loud while reading it, but I also teared up and got all sniffley. Sometimes these things happened a few pages apart from each other, and then the cycle would repeat. Totally embarrassing, but totally true.

Joel's book of essays about his quest to become the gayest person ever, including (but not limited to) his mastery of knitting, cheerleading, musical theater, teaching aerobics, and casual sex, ends up being about those things, but also about so, so much more. In the end, Swish is an insightful, moving book that's skillfully interlaced with genuine comic brilliance, and as a whole is proof of the writer's true talent.

The book hits shelves today, and if you're in New York, you can catch Joel reading from Swish tonight at 7:30 at the Barnes & Noble on 8th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Comments

[Alex]

perfect reading for Fire Island!

must purchase! thanks :)

[Dan]

I was a 'test' reader with a galley copy and had pretty much the same reactions as you guys. Besides the subject matter and the way he treats it, he's also a plain-ol' excellent writer. There were many ways he could have gone astray with this, but my inner critic was sated by his solid style and focus. It was one of those books, like some movies, I wished were longer because the journey was so much fun.

[will]

I had the joy of meeting Joel for lunch back in January. He introduced me to the joys of Belgian praline spread. Mmmmmmm. He is exactly -- and I mean EXACTLY -- like his writing style.