by: Tiffanie Gabrielse

Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys
By: David Henry Sterry
Soft Skull Press
$15.95
encore book club read available with 15% discount at Two Sisters Bookery and Pomegranate Books

“Sexually Deprived for Your Freedom” is the newest slogan framing my license plate. Recently, I debuted my coping technique at my neighborhood coffee shop. Unsurprisingly, the heated body language delivered from passersby practically melted the snow on the sidewalk. Some, I admit, smiled at my forward and brazen bravado of being a military wife. Others, with their pierced lips, scanned their eyes over me as if I were classless, uneducated and undeserving to park at this swanky over-priced coffee house.

I wondered what was the big deal. What were these Puritans beholden to Victorianism afraid of? Whom was I corrupting? Within this book-club preview, I can say that, for the first time, I didn‘t want to travel elsewhere. I did not want to escape. No, no; I wanted to stay put. I wanted to become an anchor. I wanted to slide our next club read out of my bag and flaunt it. So, I did—and I enjoyed the gawking.

David Henry Sterry’s latest epic work, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys, is perhaps the most daring work of literature yet presented for encore book-club members to read. As we turn the pages this month, Sterry will break society’s double standard regarding sex, and he will challenge our common misconception that all sex sells well. Composed of raw, to-the-bone and uncensored first-hand positive (and negative) accounts of what it’s like to work in this billion-dollar industry, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys is perhaps our most important anthology to submit to. It defiantly peels away the glamour, the myth, the sparkle, the prejudices and fear that capture our daily, sheltered lives.

“Let me start at the beginning: I was in the sex business when I was 17 years,” Sterry opened up immediately to me within our phone date. His voice echoed a man who has been there, done that and proves far better from it. “That exposed, I made the decision I was going to give these people a voice. So we can put a human face on this group of people who are so misunderstood. They are glorified and vilified by people who can only write and wonder about it. Hardly anyone, basically none, have never done yet. Rather than show the real humanity of these people, rather than listen to their voices, it’s cheaper and lazier to characterize these people pejoratively and sensationalistic. I am tired of it.”

The unique anthology has, over the course of its original release, acquired more attention than anyone expected or cared to admit. Sworn to be an original, down to its cover art, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys provides an interior look into an otherwise unreachable and suspicious demographic. Showcasing writing from such sex-worker literati as art-porn priestess Dr. Annie Sprinkle; the infamous Happy Hooker, Xavier Hollander; author and LGBT activist Mattilda Berstein Sycamore; shining star of The Devil in Miss Jones, Georgina Spelvin; and our very own favorite dominatrix, Shawna Kenney, Hos, Hookers, Call Girls and Rent Boys will open our eyes and ears to an unprecedented inclusiveness.

“I think [placing this anthology in a book club] could be a great thing. It will humanize sex workers—who are often made fun of, if not completely degraded and discarded in our society,“ Kenney told me. I originally feared that this choice of work would be too alternative—even for encore. “Look at games like Grand Theft Auto where one gets points for killing hookers. Tiffanie, reading stories about the reality of that industry and it is big business has great potential to educate if not placate fears. Of course, I’m speaking about people who are open to learning about it. People who already have sex workers condemned due to religious or philosophical beliefs, well, we’ll never reach them.”

Or will we? It is a goal. Take heed, this selection does come with a warning: The stories are not sexy. They are not anything like our beloved fantasy starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. As Kenney points out, not much of the work is truly sexy. But, she promises, it is at its core honest.

“Keep an open mind,” Sterry asks readers daring enough to partake in the joy ride and submit their thoughts at the end of the month. “Keep a sense of humor and check your prejudices at the door. Remember, this book club is not your mother’s book club.”

by: Tiffanie Gabrielse

The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina
By: Suzanne Jalot
OllieDog Media
$5.95

To say it’s difficult being a military wife is an understatement. Our husbands are away for months at a time, and when they are home, there are long hours they must do training or standing duty. More often than not, we wives feel as though we live alone, and our husbands are merely visitors.

It is a sacrifice we make and a hardship we earn the right to complain about. However, there is one family member that, around the clock, never fails to let me know I am loved. There is one family member that warms my heart in the cold night and communicates loyalty, comfort, everlasting friendship and devotion with one look from his giant brown eyes. He is my dog, Zeus. Not limited to military wives without children, a family pet can mean the difference between depression and happiness.

For local editor and publisher of Dog Living Magazine—a bimonthly magazine all about pet health-care tips and interviews with prominent local dog owners—Suzanne Jalot believes dogs are much more than a furry, fluffy and faithful companion. As I will agree, she believes dogs are a pathway into our souls, who deserve much more than a pat on the head. Within her first book, The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina, Jalot feels the biggest influence on our dogs is the way in which we live our life with them. Many insist her work is the best travel guide available to steer owners down that fun and rewarding path.

“I started it as a compiled list for my own use at first,” Jalot confessed. “I wanted to do things with my dogs, Ollie and August. I wanted to include them more . . . Then, the more random things I did find that were available to us, the more I thought, This is useful!

“I love to travel with my dogs; they are my two big mutts modeled on the cover of the book. I wanted it to be a reference book for the entire state of North Carolina. It hits the highlights our state has to offer, and there are coupons in the back to use.“

Discussing everything from rules of etiquette for dogs when they play in parks, to the responsibilities owners should remember as they enjoy dinning patios like South Beach Grill at Wrightsville Beach, The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina details where to go for dog-friendly accommodations, emergency vets and animal-friendly annual events. Along its pages readers will also be lucky to discover the best-kept secrets of our animal-friendly Port City, such as the Masonboro water taxi to Masonboro Island now welcomes pets to come along for the ride!

Still, why a book solely dedicated to dogs? Perhaps the better question is, why not? Simply put, there’s nothing on the shelves like it. Jalot’s work is the first of its kind. The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina is more than a trite idea. Months were devoted to finding answers to our common canine questions, and her research spanned wide across our great state to sniff out the best places to take our pooches. Divided into three main sections for the mountains, piedmont and coast, Jalot’s work is an easy reference guide for those who want to explore not only Wilmington but our entire state.

“The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina is also an extension of our magazine.” Jalot explained happily, with her two floppy-eared creative muses by her side. “It’s to promote socialization, responsible dog ownership and awareness. It’s a lot like parenting. One of the life lessons our dogs teach us is they live for you. Their love knows no bounds, and we have to respect that. They cant take care of themselves, they can’t speak for themselves—it’s up to us. Through our pets we can see how to enjoy the little things.”

Available now at Southport’s Cool Dogs, Crazy Cats and Wilmington’s Aunt Kerry’s Pet Stop, Coastal K9 Bakery and Dog Gone Crazy, The Ultimate Guide to Doggy Fun in North Carolina shows us when and where we can expose our dogs to the many great experiences life has to offer. In essence, Jalot’s work should not be viewed as a list of businesses or events that tolerate animals, but rather considered as the dog owner’s bible to enjoying and sharing the world we live in with their four-legged best friends.

by: Tiffanie Gabrielse

Label 228
By: Camden Noir
Soft Skull Press
$24.95
Available locally at Planet, downtown, and Pomegranate Books, midtown.

What is art? To the metaphysicians, it is not the demonstration of mysterious ideas or the articulation of the beauty of God. It is not, as the aesthetical physiologists suggest, a game where the rules insist that man let off excess energy. It is not merely an expression of man’s emotions, nor is it the mass manufacturing of attractive tangible objects. Above all, art—well, it is not always pleasure.

For many, art is a struggle. It is war. It is blood, sweat, pain and the dying voice within the undying need to be heard. When I asked Camden Noir, an Army veteran deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, about what art was to him, he made it clear it’s his way to remain sane during battle. Most importantly, when he arrived home, it became an objective titled, “Label 228.”

The purpose was to join man in union, together in collaboration to change censorship upon the humanity for which he fought so hard.

“At 17 I was impressionable, and by 18 I was deployed,” Noir told me last week during our interview. “My down time was reading and writing—but mostly drawing kept me motivated. I drew tattoos on sketch pads for friends and sketched things that came to me. Art allowed me to peek on creativity.

“When I got home, I loaded up my Ford with everything it could fit and took off to Wilmington. One day, when I was walking down the street, I noticed a label, a postal sticker, on the back of a stop sign. I can’t remember what design was on it, but, Tiffanie, I must have stared at it for ever. I wondered, Why would someone put it there? Just for a passerby? Why would they waste it on a passerby? They were saying something, and I said to myself, It needs to be somewhere better.”

By putting out a call to artists on MySpace, asking them to send him their street artwork or anything they can dream of on priority-mail labels, Noir launched not just a project but a revolution. Within six months, he received over 500 USPS sticky labels. Label 228’s movement to become heard by expression, rather than by sound, exceeded the distance of oceans. In the end over 1,000 labels arrived at his doorstep.

From Denmark to Austria to Jamaica, artists worldwide, both famous and struggling, such as Mecro, Downtimer, Mat Curran, Daniel Fleres, Zoso, Josh Taylor, Aaron Kraten and David Flores, showed dedication, conviction and heart to the project. To them and Noir, Label 228 offered the chance to spend more time creating their work than if they were to paint and write directly on walls, vehicles and public objects. Within, individuals far and wide expressed courage, determination, sadness, calmness, fear, respect and love without saying a word.

“I wanted to give absolute freedom to the artists; I wanted them to do what they wanted,” he said. “We don’t have a voice today. If I were to limit what people were trying to say on the label, because it was too graphic, I’d be doing what I hate: I’d be stifling a voice. I’d be a hypocrite. So much of what’s in the book invokes things within me—page 27, for example. The girl with the gas mask, she’s wearing a jacket. It’s The Cold War. It strikes me as funny and ironic.”

Ranked number 12 on Amazon’s list of top art books to purchase, Label 228 causes viewers to enter into a specific form of relationship, both with the contributing creative artists, the art and all those who, simultaneously or subsequently, view the artistic label impressions on the page.

“Everything you do has an adverse reaction,” Noir admitted, “but for the people who do appreciate viewing this book, I want them to come away with the idea that anything is possible. Within this Google-search world, get an idea instead. Get ambition. Get an idea and go. Live.”

With roots grounded in graffiti, Label 228 succeeds in executing a statement in a more productive, more intelligent and less abrasive manner. Those who aren’t fluent in the arts will hopefully look at it and take steps to discover more artwork and more artists that have the capability to spike a creative nerve. Will there be a second book? A next step for Noir’s collection of figurative drawings on red, white and blue? According to him, he has already taken steps with artists to create T-shirts, echoing the freedom of speech and expression the book provides.

The possibility to put Label 228 on canvas is also not out of reach. After all—art is meant to be an everlasting outlet to foster life, living and vitality.

by: Tiffanie Gabrielse

Coloring Stories for Conscious Children, Vol. 2
By: Joel Finsel
Nexus Press
$19.99
Book signing at Old Books on Front St.
December 6th • 2pm

Once upon a time, far, far away in the 1950s, characters in children’s books enjoyed magical adventures and lived happily ever within enchanted castles. It always seemed the strong child who was dealing with difficult obstacles always had a rescue at the end of the book. By contrast, today’s children are sadly aware of the differences between reality and fairy tales, and it weighs heavily upon their absorbing minds.

Former children’s laureate Anne Fine believes the result of this awareness has replaced sugar-coated tales with rough and often too-real stories that offer no hope for weary protagonists. She fears contemporary children’s literature is thus becoming disheartening and contaminated, with depressing endings that do little to inspire or help the budding generation. Have children novels become much more concerned with realism than purpose? If so, what does this mean?

For local author Joel Finsel, the answer is simple and, in an odd way, motivating. He believes uninspiring books that loose touch with the world of fantasy, that fail to reconnect ourselves with the innocence of childhood as a release from the pressures around us, have no business being labeled “children’s books” at all. The trendy neglect to take the time to listen and learn from our children served as the muse behind his latest release, Coloring Stories for Conscious Children, Volume 2.

A writing veteran who has contributed work for local reads such as Focus on the Coast, encore and the Star-News, Joel Finsel has strong roots in our community, strong beliefs about the world beyond our city limits and, most importantly, strong feelings regarding the unenthusiastic messages we deliver to our youth. Within his debut children’s book, Coloring Stories for Conscious Children, Volume 1, he aimed to present readers with something many novels lack: a clear and significantly inspiring message. Volume 2, on the other hand, has a more spirited message.

“For this new volume, we decided to break up the five stories into two volumes,” Finsel described proudly. “For the sake of symmetry, a sixth story was added, called Sally’s Not Scared, illustrated by [local artist] Sullivan Dunn. For days I thought about this obligation to write a story and would clear my mind of all other worries, doubts, responsibilities. Once your mind is clear, all kinds of things begin to come to you.

“At the time I was troubled by the use of fear as a control mechanism in our society, holding us back from our potential to evolve as a species. Sally’s Not Scared is about a little girl, a bunny, who is not afraid to laugh and sing and be happy, even after an encounter with Weasly Will who teases her and scribbles on the picture that is her life’s masterpiece.”

Born from the impetus of the Rated-G exhibition at ERA Gallery in 2008, the second volume of Coloring Stories... should be viewed as more than just a continued read for tiny tikes. Instead, it’s a children’s book for adults juxtaposed with an adult book for children. Designed as a medium to nurture dialogue between children and adults on topics ranging from our hurried lives to pollution, Coloring Stories... furthers Finsel’s innovative and collaborative artistic project. Published by Nexus Press, Volume 2 is a zesty addition that deals with more mature themes, such as metaphysics and fear. The journey it takes us thereafter explores the world a variety of minds can create when working for a common purpose. For Finsel, this journey’s purpose is to discuss huge topics of our time through each main character.

“At our event at Old Books on Front Street, [held December 6th,] you will have the opportunity to meet the artists involved and have them sign your book.” Finsel said enthusiastically. “We’ll have a copy of the original, handmade edition, which has now grown to become a fairly desirable collectible. Some may even have the original plates there for you to view and possibly purchase. I keep mine in a vault. We probably won’t have live actors performing the stories as we did at the ERA opening, but we’re still working on that, and you never know who might want to get involved. It could be a heck of a party, for kids and adults.”

In a bold and creative move, done by no other children’s author and with original inventive contributions from local artists such as Wendy Kowalski, Michal and Nikki Wisniowski, Michael Webster and Brian Sillman, Coloring Stories For Conscious Children Volume 2 will stimulate kids of all ages to engage parents in a very important topic: How can we be better our existence? Entertaining and appropriate, Finsel’s makes it clear that saving our world begins at home.

by: Tiffanie Gabrielse

Goat
encore Book Club Preview
By: Brad Land
Random House
$12.95
(available with a 15-percent discount to book-club members at Pomegranate Books, Two Sister Bookery and Old Books on Front Street)

One aspect of the holiday season that I loathe is the need society has to celebrate them all at once. It is impossible to buy a turkey without being poked by pointy-toe couture Christmas stockings, harassed by Chanukah paraphernalia or assaulted by festive 2010 note pads on which to jot those New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps many are feeling too threatened by the vicissitudes of their careers, too endangered by the uncertainties of the economy and too worried about the loss of vitality to slow down the pace. Thus, come Thanksgiving I want to travel to a place where the act of counting my blessings doesn’t include the anxious condition of gratitude.

For book-club readers who want to join me on the journey, let’s travel with someone who knows that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. Let’s travel with Wilmington’s own award-winning author, Brad Land, who learned what he had to be most thankful for: life.

Abducted, robbed and beaten, Land reveals the depths of terror in his memoir, Goat, wherein he relives the horrendous evening he was left for dead on a country road. While psychologically exhausted Land details his struggle to contend with indifferent local police; his younger brother, Brett; parents who can barely discuss the incident; and the gnawing feeling that because of the past, he’ll never function normally again. When Brett enrolls in Clemson University and pledges a fraternity, Land believes he can mend their dissolving relationship by following in his footsteps.

What happens next in the name of brotherhood engrosses anguishing late-night hazing, estrangement and the death of a fellow friend. Land must weigh the cost of alienation from his community against accepting a form of brutality he never wanted to experience again. What would seem like an easy task to some, Land reveals that unseen struggle, and consequences are harder to acknowledge and overcome than assumed.

Unlike other memoirs and novels concerning the adult Greek-life genre, Goat promises to differentiate itself by providing a unique spherical lens for club members to peer into without becoming preoccupied by the stereotypical convex aspects of college life. Instead, Goat is noted to centralize on heart and soul, struggles and triumphs.

Will Land’s memoir throw us into a world where brutality, love, isolation, infuriation, brotherhood, and the never-ending obsession to belong are violently entwined? As narrator, will Land’s writing possess the qualities needed to coherently express his inner turmoil that fuels his work? Critically, we can only hope he presents us with disarming truthfulness instead of developing into an insignificant read for naive teenage boys who think joining a fraternity will solve their problems.

“I hope that at least one person takes something valuable away from what I‘ve done.” Land shared, as we discussed his goal within our book club.

Writing, as any writer knows, can be as daunting as it is relieving. The balance differs for each who attempts focusing their career on pen and paper. “I don’t think I’ll ever be that guy where I’m 100 percent comfortable with writing as a craft,” Land continued, “comfortable as in, feeling that I’m perfect with my writing. Then again I don’t want to be the guy that thinks, ‘I am the best, and I don’t need to write any more.’ There’s no heart in that attitude. I want to keep trying and pushing myself as much as I can with every single project I do. I hope that each thing I put out there for people, your club members, expands what I’ve done before it.”

Make no mistake, Land wants readers to know that he didn’t write the work to discuss how fun or brutal fraternities are. In fact, he aimed for the embodiment of the fraternity to play second fiddle. He did not relive his past on the page with the intention to smack the hand of the Greek culture or to depress those already initiated. Rather, Land wants to share his belief in human growth and spirit. The idea that surrounds his memoir is individual experience in every perspective, and is worth taking time to understand and be thankful for.

“Tiff, it’s surreal just to talk about it with you—thinking about it never loses its effect,“ Land shared. “It will hit me one day that I made something, and maybe one day I won’t be so flabbergasted. For now it’s still strange.”

As we dive into his nightmarish past, someone somewhere will learn, as he did, how to adapt and overcome. Hopefully, as we discover the consequence ignorance entails, we will find a divisive issue to formulate an opinion. That hope alone definitely makes for a good November read.