It's Not Mean If It's True: More Trials From My Queer Life

The third collection of Michael Thomas Ford's syndicated humor pieces from his column "My Queer Life" more than lives up to its sparkling predecessors, Alec Baldwin Doesn't Love Me and That's Mr. Faggot to You. Revel in Ford's tart summary of the suppressed all-gay season of MTV's Real World, with its outbreak of crabs and a heart-rending incident involving the impossible-to-find Julie Andrews recording Live in Japan. Ponder in pity or solidarity Ford's brave revelation that he has no style sense whatsoever and is taken for a hopelessly muddled straight man whenever he wanders into a J. Crew or a Gap. The best essays here are often not the topical ones, in which Ford responds to recent antigay news, but the most whimsical. In "Ah-Choo," he proposes a useful new hanky code, based not on sexual proclivities but on personality traits, such as Orange Hanky for "Tanning booth aficionado and gym bunny" or Green Hanky for "Eats only organic produce." Don't miss his mordant reflections on the outing of Tinky Winky in "Et Tu, Po?" or his "Condensed History of Queer Sex," beginning with God's anger at Adam and Steve for eating forbidden fruit: "As punishment, Steve's name and penis are both severely shortened, forever altering history." --Regina Marler