Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better
Author: Ted Allen
Imagine this: Five eminently stylish and hilariously witty gay men -- authoritative experts in food and wine, grooming, decorating, fashion, and culture -- invade your life, assess your strengths and weaknesses, and, in the course of a day, make you better dressed, better groomed, better mannered, and a better cook, living in a better home. All of this is painless (unless you have a really egregious body-hair situation), liberating, and downright fun.
This is what Queer Eye for the Straight Guy does each week on one of the hottest TV shows in memory, as the Fab 5 -- Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, and Jai Rodriguez -- turn an everyman frog into an every-girl's-dream prince. And this is what the book offers: the essential "make better" advice from each of the Fab 5. Just like the show, the book focuses on easy but lasting lifestyle transformation -- the tasks, the projects, the modest purchases, and, most important, the new attitudes that immediately make a noticeable difference.
From Kyan's instructions on how often to wash your hair to Carson's explanation of why shirts are the new ties, from Ted's strategies for ordering wine and Thom's suggestions on a better bathroom to Jai's hints on shaking hands, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is filled with clear, direct advice on the issues that confront every man. But Queer Eye doesn't try to make you dress like Carson or dance like Jai; it's about teaching you how to refine your own personal style, without throwing away your entire closet and buying a whole new everything. It's about helping you realize the best expression of yourself -- the real you.
Queer Eye introduces men to the rewards that women -- and a lot of gay men -- have long reaped by thinking about the day-to-day details that make them look better, feel better, and get more out of life. Many straight men have long felt that these subjects are not for them. Nothing could be sillier. In this book, the Fab 5 set them straight (so to speak).
About the Authors
TED ALLEN is a contributing editor at Esquire and coauthor of the four books generated from the magazine's "Things a Man Should Know" section.
KYAN DOUGLAS was trained at the Aveda Institute and has worked in salons and as a stylist for television and magazines.
THOM FILICIA is the founder of the interior-design company Thom Filicia, Inc., and was named one of the top 100 designers by House Beautiful.
CARSON KRESSLEY is an independent stylist who worked for years at Polo Ralph Lauren, specializing in men's sportswear.
JAI RODRIGUEZ is an actor, singer, and dancer who has performed on and off Broadway.
Publishers Weekly
Complete with sound effects, techno music and an amusing glossary-which defines the Fab Five as "stylish and savvy saviors of straightness"-this audio package possesses all the vibrancy and humor of an episode, as well as some sound advice. In the longest but most useful section, Allen covers everything from the "10 culinary weapons every man should own" (eight-inch chef's knife, 12-inch tongs, etc.) to simple cocktail recipes and dinner menus that are sure to make a date swoon. Listeners should keep a notepad and pen handy for this section, as well as for Kressley's contribution on the dos and don'ts of couture: "Pleated pants are never the answer," but cowboy boots are a closet essential. Douglas's section feels thin at times, but listeners will perk up when he stops talking about unsightly "nose-bush" and moves on to skin care. Filicia, meanwhile, tells people how to spruce up a space by applying "paint-on architecture," and Rodriguez reveals where all the women are hiding and how to impress them ("make it cultural" by going to a play, museum or lecture). The Fab Five succeed in keeping the tone of their readings conversational, and "hip tips" and "straightguy" questions, which are posed in comically exaggerated straight guy voices, lend the audiobook an interactive feel. With its lively dance pace, light humor and bonus q&a, this audiobook is certain to snare fans of the show. Simultaneous release with the Clarkson Potter hardcover. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-A witty, yet sound manual based on the hit television show. A chapter is devoted to each star's area of expertise-Ted on food and wine, Kyan on grooming, Thom on decorating, Carson on fashion, and Jai on "culture." Some of the information, such as Ted's mixed-drinks recipes and recommended bar essentials, or Thom's advice on how to redo bathrooms and dining rooms, will be more than teens are currently interested in, but the general recommendations (Ted: "let that anxiety go"; Thom: "understand your space") should at least provoke thinking out of the box. More germane to YAs is Kyan's chapter on hygiene and Carson's smart couture pointers, while Jai's advice on "interacting with humans" is so felicitous that it could be adopted by both sexes. The pages are chock-full of color, including quality photos; "hiptips" and "straightguyFAQ" boxes appear on almost every other page. Each chapter contains one or more lists of five items, such as classics every man should own, elements of a perfect shave, and dishes not to order on a date. A glossary helps the uninitiated understand the meaning of terms from astringent to julienne to the Five's ubiquitous "tszujing." Underneath the humor and the occasional sexual innuendo are the book's strength and appeal: sincere, commonsense advice on how to be "you-only better."-Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Books about: Microsoft Office Excel 2003 or Oracle 10g
Accessible Preaching: Healing, Disability, and the Word of God
Author: Kathy Black
In A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability, Kathy Black offers a unique and effective approach for preaching about disabilities. By going to the heart of the gospel and drawing on the healing narratives or miracle stories, Black shows how preaching affects the inclusion or exclusion of forty-three million persons with disabilities from our faith communities. A Healing Homiletic provides a new method of preaching about healing, based on Scripture, for understanding the needs of the disability community.
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