Beaming sunshine and penetrating heat rays encourage summery thoughts — lighter, smaller, happier, simpler. It’s only natural then that the set —for —summer brain craves reading material that’s similarly light and breezy.
As though geared especially to the idle —brained summer market, Alyson Books’ Q Guide series offers trivial fun in bite —sized portions.
The guides — which include Q Guides to Amsterdam, NYC Pride, Oscar parties, gay beaches and various TV shows (Designing Women, The Golden Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) — are seriously shallow yet informative.
In other words, they’re perfect accompaniment when you’re reclining on sand, lawn or a hammock.
The chapters are short, the typeface large, and the vocabulary wouldn’t challenge a high school student. (And, yes, there are plenty of illustrations). Also, if you’re traveling in a pack you can shout out little known factoids to keep everyone entertained.
The Q Guide to Charlie’s Angels (Alyson $16) is a 200 —plus page cornucopia of trivia about the stars and individual episodes. The guide tells about the campy classic’s development (beginning as The Alley Cats, leather —clad (!) women fighting crime in LA), its fashions and hairstyles (plus how —to —achieve —Farrah —hair tips from its inventor, Jose Eber: “Big curlers, that’s the secret”).
Feast on Angel Memories (in which Farrah, Jacklyn and others recall highs and lows from various episodes); S&M Angels (highlighting episodes where one of the angels was bound, gagged, or both); Gayest Moment and Gay Character Alert (no explanation needed); On Cloud Nine (featuring detailed recollections by Farrah, Jacklyn, Cheryl Ladd, Tanya Roberts and more).
Segue to Quote (Nobel —worthy comments from the angels about their various accomplishments, including Jacklyn Smith on her clothing line for Kmart: “Now it’s more than just a celebrity brand; it’s a true brand”), and Celebrity Survey (in which various B —grade celebrities discuss weighty issues such as their favourite angel and episode.
Porn director Chi Chi Larue recalls, for example: “Angels in Chains, that’s definitely the one that sticks out in my mind. I actually did a porno called Hole Patrol, which was a take —off of Angels in Chains. Where the boys get arrested for no reason and are thrown in a hick jail and there is a bad warden.”
Informative trivia — who can complain about that?
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