B is for Bette Midler

"'Sometimes it's not that easy to pull out of an S & M relationship.'

'Wait a minute. Since when were you guys . . . ?'

'S & M.' Michael repeated. 'Streisand and Midler. He was into Streisand. I was into Midler. It was pure, unadulterated hell'(Maupin, 1994, p.32)."

Maupin, A. (1994). Further tales of the city. New York: HarperPerennial.

I absolutely ADORE Armistead Maupin, and I've read each of his Tales of the City books at least twice. The series has a very interesting history--the stories were first published as an ongoing series in the San Francisco Chronicle. (Dickens, Trollope, and Nomeland first published their books in installments, too.) If you like John Irving,

you will love Armistead Maupin. His stories feature eccentric characters caught up in bizarre, soap opera-esque plots.

My friend Meagan loves Armistead Maupin, too!

To learn more about the wonderful Mr. Maupin, please visit his official website, armisteadmaupin.com.

And speaking of Midler and Streisand . . .

Midler, B. (1993). Experience the divine Greatest hits. New York: Atlantic.

I prefer Midler. Streisand obviously has loads of talent, but The Divine Miss M is all about fun. Check out her duet with Mick Jagger:

Beast of Burden first appeared on the album, Some Girls. You can listen to the Rolling Stones version here, and Bette's version here.

ps. Here's a story about the time my grandmother tried to buy me the Stones album, Some Girls: Queen vs. The Rolling Stones. (As you can see from this photo, I finally got the album.)

circa 1979