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#CitySidewalks #DecemberDreams

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I read about half of this and decided it‘s just not for me. I couldn‘t get attached to any of the (many) characters. I expected to like it a lot, as I did enjoy the TV adapted series, and as I chose to move to a queer friendly city when I was a young adult.

I think the dated writing held me back a little. It wasn‘t bad but some of it felt cliche, like the characters were stereotypical of the “types” of folks who might live in San Francisco.

This book is rooted in the lives of the residents of an apartment building in San Francisco. There's Mary Ann, the recent transplant from Cleveland. Mona, the embittered lonely woman. Michael's, Mona's friend and a hopeless romantic. Brian, a self-loathing straight guy. Anna, the mysterious landlady who offers a joint to any friend. And so on. The world expands to include more. We skip about to work places, date nights, society shindigs. 👇

I appreciate that this was huge for it‘s time, and I‘m happy that it spoke to many people who felt seen by the book. It doesn‘t stand up in this century however

21/23 I‘ve stayed up late finishing this one! I just couldn‘t put it down. I went into it completely cold after picking it up on a whim. I didn‘t realise it had originally been serialized and had no idea that would make it such a compulsive read. I loved the characters and it felt very contemporary considering it would now be considered historical fiction!! 5⭐️ This is my #booked2023 #featuringanonbinaryortranscharacter pick and also #192025 #1978

What a strange slice of life story with an almost magical realism ending. The authors style is distinctive and original

I am cutting it close on finishing my audiobooks backlog, but it might be possible. Tagged book is up next! #currentlylistening

#scarathlondailyprompts #orange #teammonstermash

A reread for my irl bookclub. Not everyone liked it as much as I did.

Pink spines on my TBR shelf. Someday I‘ll get to all of these! #curiouscovers

#BookNBrunch! Accompaniment this cold and gray afternoon was: multigrain scoop Tostitos, with black olives, pepperoni, Genoa salami, and Swiss, cheddar, & mozzarella cheeses; and a sparkling mango lemonade drink. MMMmmm 😋! This has been another presentation of: #MrBookKitchen. Happy reads & happy eats! 😎👌🏻

1-9-21: My 3rd finished book of 2021! I‘m re-reading this series. I haven‘t read it since the mid 90s. Written in 1978, book 1 holds up well. A time capsule of a funky era in San Fran and the group of people who live at 28 Barbary Lane are equally as interesting as the time they live in. Lots of people finding their true selves while looking for love. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #talesofthecity #armisteadmaupin 👍🏼📖#️⃣3️⃣

1. Bay Area, CA
2. Turn Right at Machu Picchu and Tales of the City
3. 250-350 pgs.
4. @NataliePatalie

Thanks for the tag @Jaclyn.

#LockdownLowdown. @veritysalter

This was a fun book often recommended in those '1000 books to read before you die' list. It was much better than I expected and I will read another in the series. It reminded me a little of John Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row'. Totally about the diverse and eccentric characters.
@Nataliepatalie

Starting Tales of the City. 😃

I was inspired to read this book after it was featured on "The Great American Read." I picked it up in the San Francisco airport as a souvenir.

It was okay. Not bad, but I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. I can understand why it was a successful newspaper serial before it was turned into a novel. Reading it in pieces and all the cliffhangers would have probably worked better for me than reading it in a book.

"Mary Ann Singleton was twenty-five years old when she saw San Francisco for the first time."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Husband bought me the 6 book set by Maupin & I just finished the 1st (tagged). These endearing tales about a group of friends began appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle in the 70's. I just googled & found “Letter to Mama,“ a coming-out letter sent by Maupin to his mother (also sent by a character in “More Tales of the City.“) Now get the Kleenex; here's Ian McKellan reading that letter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5BbtECCeE

Feeling very lucky to be seeing Armistead Maupin in conversation with Neil Gaiman tonight at the London literary festival! Big queer icon for my bisexual little heart. He‘s such a funny but also poignant and observant speaker.

I loved getting into the world of Barbary Lane and San Francisco in the late 60s and early 70s. So many twists and turns in all the relationships and the mystery of the Russian Hill landlady. I understand why my mom loved these so much in the early 90s.

I have vivid memories of my mom reading this series when I was 11 or 12 years old. So far it has completely met my expectations. I have a rare evening alone and I‘m enjoying the solitude. Drinking tea, enjoying my view, catching up on reading and Oprah magazines. @Cathythoughts another pic of my view. 😍

Happy NYC and San Francisco Pride weekend! I‘m stuck in the southwest but with you in spirit!The cover of the original printing of tagged title!🌈

After bingeing on the Netflix series I immediately bought the audiobook and may finish it before sleeping. I love the characters.

#wanderingjune

#californication

I‘ve only read this one in the series but enjoyed it.

There‘s a new TV adaptation isn‘t there - is anyone watching it?

I can‘t believe I never knew what a phenomenon this book is. I really enjoyed it!

There‘s often #carelesswhispers and gossip among neighbors.

I‘ve heard such great things about this book but haven‘t yet read it. #anglophileapril

Oh, what a delight! This audiobook is narrated by Francis McDormand, who is even better than I expected, and I had very high expectations. I came to SF in the early 90s when I was in my 20s and it was a wonderland! So much of the magic captured in this book was still sprinkled around the city, in specific pockets, and I remember being both intimidated by and energized by the possibilities of the city. Grab this audiobook- it‘s fabulous!

Tales of the City
Naoko Takeuchi
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Tacos
#ManicMonday #LetterT @JoScho

It's been about 17 years since I first read this San Francisco classic, and I'd forgotten some of the more surprising (and one cringe-worthy) twists and reveals. And it was a bit more soap-y than I remembered (owing, no doubt, to its origins as a newspaper serial). But I didn't forget the wonderful characters who end up feeling like friends. I would love a Mrs. Madrigal in my life.

Not dead! Just book hopping a lot recently. I am finishing up "Excellent Woman" by Barbara Pym, but then I found the documentary "The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin" on Netflix. So of course I had to revisit "Tales of the City". ?

#california #nofemmeber

Just been to #california and although I didn‘t do the Tales of the City tour, I thought about Mary Ann and Michael as we travelled through the streets of San Francisco.

University book sale! $15. Can‘t believe someone would part with the pristine box set of Muriel Spark. Mine now!

Hmm. Conflicted by this book. On the one hand, I can see why it would have been a captivating and possibly groundbreaking novel when it was released, with its focus on the sexual and cultural adventures of a cast of characters in San Francisco in the 1970s. But now it feels ...well, tedious and gossipy and, frankly, kind of dull. I'm glad I gave it a go since it's a "Great American Read," but I won't be continuing with the series.

What I delightful book. Loved the multiple story lines and this did not feel dated at all. Looking forward to reading more in this series.

Amazing!!!

When you're traveling and you already have your tablet with almost 400 books on it PLUS three additional paperbacks "just in case" but you feel compelled to stop into the airport book kiosk and buy two more that catch your eye ...
#bookwormproblems

Has anyone read Armistead Maupin‘s Tales of the City series? These are some of my favorite book spines in my collection 😍. #bookspines

#inlaws #reviews #others

A fabulous & fantastical glimpse into the lives of the residents of 28 Barbary Lane, with the first in the series set in San Francisco in the 1970s. Full of secrets & surprises it also has a great deal of humanity. The characters are rich & multi-layered and through the whole series you go on a really interesting, if increasingly unrealistic, journey with them as they look for love, happiness, and a sense of belonging.

#SeptinBooks18 Day 16: #TitleStartsWithaT

Picked this up in a used bookstore, not really sure what to expect, but the title appealed to me😊

Armistead Maupin at the Decatur Book Festival. So hysterical! #dbf2018

10/25 done for #GARBingo and still no bingo, but my next 3 are Their Eyes are Watching God, Pillars of Earth and The Book Thief. Hopefully, there are no more DNFs, and enjoy the rest of my list. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed some of these books.

@4thhouseontheleft

The tales take place in San Francisco in the late 70s, but many of themes are very relevant still today. The stories involve “Anna Madrigal” and her tenants along with a few of their acquaintances. I knew nothing of this series until the #GreatAmericanRead but after doing some research, I saw that there was a miniseries in the 90s and that netflix plans on reviving the series. I‘ll have to check out both and read the rest of the series.

This is on great audio with short chapters that alternate through the many characters. This isn‘t a deep character study but it‘s just fun to read. You have a wide variety of characters with just small pieces of their stories. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#LGBTQ #GreatAmericanRead

Some audiocooking since my library hold came in! I had never heard of this prior to #greatamericanread and already loving it! This is list is a gold mind for #audiobook lovers. #LGBTQ

Thank god for #bookmail This splurge I had a few weeks ago finally arrived. My soul needed my own copies of the bottom two 💕and the top two are on my TBR.

I‘ve started working through the books on the Great American Reads Top 100 that I haven‘t read before. I loved this one!!

What the hell!? I feel like my favorite TV show just got cancelled!

My book haul today was a used book I ordered plus my #readersgonnaread package sent by @morgan_krahn Tbh I‘m not feeling the selection so we‘ll see how it goes!

#riotgrams day 12 - queer reads! I thought about this prompt all day - what to pick? As I was dithering around in my Apple TV I was reminded of #GreatAmericanRead on PBS and Armistead Maupin‘s Tales of the City, which I‘ve never read. I got it on my nook in the very early days as a freebie and it‘s hung around ever since. Maybe I should make this one of the books I catch up with for GAR (when you‘ve read about 82/100, the TBR is quite short).

#riotreads #queerreads

The series starts to lose its mojo after the initial trilogy but these first three books were just awesome. 😎 Michael Mouse, Mary Ann & friends navigate love, sex and dating in late 1970‘s San Francisco.❤️