Today’s column will mark my last for now with TNG. Before I exit stage left, I wanted to take a moment or two to thank everyone and explain why I’m walking away.

Dear TNG Readers:

Regrettably, with the timing of this column, you’ve only got one day to read the Lavender Book Club’s selection, Andrew Sean Greer’s The Story of a Marriage, before tomorrow’s meeting. But if you’ve already read the book (and/or saw Greer’s well-attended and high-quality reading at Politics & Prose last spring), join the Lavenders tomorrow. The first of the two Lambda Sci-Fi book club meetings is this week, as well.

Also note that the first of the two dates listed for Bookmen DC is a 10th anniversary celebration, so no book is being read. See below for contact information if you’re a current or former group member and want to attend; the meeting won’t be held at the usual location, so you’ll want to e-mail for details.

Here’s a case where the subtitle tells you a lot:  What Happened When My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant.  In one sense, that’s about it for The Kid, sex-advice columnist Dan Savage’s recollection of the process he and his boyfriend Terry went through in order to adopt a child.  As might be expected from Savage’s columns, the book is extremely funny, especially in its opening stages, as it describes Dan and Terry’s motivations, the reactions of their families, and the tortuous, convoluted rigmarole that all couples, gay and straight, must go through to adopt.

I’ve spent almost 10 years publishing in the gay and lesbian press. Like any community, there are cold or crass or self-serving members of the gay literary world. I’ve heard tell of some and met a few others. But my great fortune has been that nearly everyone I have been in close contact with has been incredibly generous with their time, their knowledge, and their energy.

So let this edition of the Hidden History reading roundup serve as a token of appreciation to four of my favorite members of that part of my life. The authors and editors of these books are not only skilled at their craft, but they’re also great people. They’re the sorts who make everything fun and worthwhile. Thanks, folks!

Because of the intricacies of meeting dates and column posting times, here’s an extra-large edition of the GLBT book club roundup, with 7 meetings from 5 area GLBT book clubs. The first Lambda Sci-Fi Book Club meeting is this week (March 26), so pull your copy of The Family Trade off the bookshelf if you’d like to attend. Note that most of the meetings listed here are bunched close to the beginning of April, so set to reading!

With a friend, I made my final pilgrimage to Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop on a cold and sunny day in February. I had heard it was scheduled to close at the end of March, a victim of declining sales. As we walked down Christopher Street in the West Village, I spied a rainbow flag hanging loosely. Closer to the building, I could see the familiar, purplish sign screwed into the bricks. “Est. 1967”: years before I was even born.

TNG contributor Philip submitted this post. Hidden History appears biweekly, exploring the nooks and crannies of the gay and lesbian past.
It’s not often that I get to address breaking …

TNG contributor Philip submitted this post.
Beginning this week, Hidden History will appear on Mondays at noon, exploring the nooks and crannies of gay and lesbian history. Because I have …

Before launching into new Hidden History columns for 2009, I wanted to write a set of updates on the stories that appeared since the column’s inception last August.
Since the column …

Hidden History is my Monday afternoon column for The New Gay. Each week, I’ll cover a different nook or cranny in the gay and lesbian past.
A short while ago, TNG’s …