Peaches' Realm

I love books. I read all kinds of books. I will list some of my fave books here. Books that I whole-heartedly recommend.

The Well of Loneliness ~ Radclyffe Hall. A classic, one you really should read. Published in 1928 and deemed obscene, this really is a lesbian classic. Yes, the book about Stephen is sad, but also beautiful and powerful.

Aimee & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 ~ Erica Fischer. The true story of a young Jewish lesbian in Berlin during World War II, who meets the young wife of a Nazi soldier. The two women fall in love, and they have a passionate affair until Felice is caught by the Nazis...

Possessing the Secret of Joy ~ Alice Walker. A novel about women, and the mutilation of women, also known as female circumcision. Read it.

Living My Life ~ Emma Goldman. Read about the early Anarchist movement in the US, about the revolution in Russia, through the eyes of a woman who refused to follow the rules of how a woman should be.

The Color Purple ~ Alice Walker. The amazing book about Celie. You really should read it.

Daughters of Egalia ~ Gerd Brantenberg. Hilarious and thought-provoking. A feminist classic. Everyone should read this book at least once. Brantenberg turns the table on men and women, and gender roles.

The Secret History ~ Donna Tartt. An amazing debut, I read it when it first came out and loved it.

The Light Bearer ~ Donna Gillespie. Magic, religion, history, and a passionate love story. When Rome was an Empire, a woman fought for her people in Germania. This book means a lot to me. I recommend it to anyone interested in history and culture.

Backlash ~ Susan Faludi, and The War Against Women ~ Marilyn French. Two books that will make you angry, and might change the way you look at your fave films, books, and tv-series. Read them.

Stupid White Men ~ Michael Moore. Hilarious and to some degree scary. A look at the men (and a few women) who rule the US. You should also watch his film, Bowling for Columbine.

According to Mary Magdalene ~ Marianne Fredriksson. Who was Mary Magdalene and what role did she play in the life of Jesus? An interesting book with an alternative look at Mary Magdalene.

Tipping the Velvet/Fingersmith/Affinity ~ Sarah Waters. I love all three books. Read them.

Camille Claudel: Un Femme ~ Anne Delbee. The life of sculptress Camille Claudel, her love affair with Auguste Rhodin, and her attempts to break free from the traditional role a woman should play.

Pope Joan ~ Donna Woolfolk Cross. A myth about a female pope is brought to life in this marvellous and thought-provoking book. The Catholic church denies that Pope Joan ever existed, yet the myth about her is still alive.

Orlando ~ Virginia Woolf. A declaration of love (from Woolf to Vita Sackville-Vest) and a fabulous book, with wonderful twists of gender roles challenging the way we look at femininity and masculinity.

Dracula ~ Bram Stoker. A classic. Just read it.

The Second Sex ~ Simone de Beauvoir. Every woman should read this book. I mean it.

Communion ~ Whitley Strieber. Fascinating. I couldn't put it down.

The God of Small Things ~ Arundhati Roy. I love the way she writes. I want to read more from her. Fabulous.

To the Is-land/An Angel at My Table/The Envoy from Mirror City ~ Janet Frame. Autobiography. Read them. And while you're at it, see if you can get your hands on the film, An Angel at My Table. Marvellous.

The Firebrand ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley. I love the way Zimmer Bradley takes on the historical myths and make them her own. read this book, and read her trilogy about Avalon.

The Black Book ~ Orhan Pamuk. Twisted and funny. First time I started reading it, I put it aside after 50 pages. Second try, I just couldn't put it down.

The Dreaming Tree ~ C.J. Cherryh. If you're into mythology, this book is lovely. Read it.

Dirty Weekend ~ Helen Zahavi. Ever been really pissed off by men? And the way some men assume that just because you're a woman, you're fair game? Then read this book.

Cries Unheard ~ Gitta Sereny. Chilling and terrifying. And utterly heartbreaking. How can a child murder another child? And yet it does happen. Read this book.

The Satanic Verses ~ Salman Rushdie. It took me a few years of having this book in my shelf, before I actually read it. It's a marvellous book. Read it.

Neverwhere ~ Neil Gaiman. A magical and mysterious world in the London Underground. Love this book!

The Bookseller of Kabul ~ Asne Seierstad. Buy it and read it. I recommend it.

Rosario is dead ~ Majgull Axelsson. It will tear you apart. It will make you angry. And then you'll tell everyone you know to read it.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe ~ Fannie Flagg. Please read the book before you watch the film. It adds to the joy of the film.

SCUM Manifesto ~ Valerie Solanas. Every woman should read this book. Seriously. Buy it. Read it. And tell your friends to do the same.

And last, some authors I think you should keep an eye on: Anne Rice, Kathy Reichs, J Wallis Martin, Marianne Fredriksson, Anne Holt, Laurie R King, Val McDermid, Paul Auster, Isabel Allende. I could name more, but this will do. Most of them write crime stuff.

Oh, and don't forget to read Tolkien. You really must. I mean it.

Here are a few fave films that are not Dyke related. More coming up.

The Abyss, 1989 ~ Directed by James Cameron. Beautiful scifi film. I love it.

The Accidental Tourist, 1988 ~ Directed by Lawrence Kasdan. William Hurt and Geena Davis make this film marvellous.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994 ~ Directed by Stephan Elliott. Hilarious and fabulous, simply fabulous darling...

And the Band Played On, 1993 ~ Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, and featuring Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin and others. An amazing film about when AIDS first turned up.

An Angel at My Table, 1990 ~ Directed by Jane Campion. Kerry Fox is amazing as Janet Frame in this beautiful film, based on Frame's autobiography.

Atlantis, 1991 ~ Luc Besson's declaration of love for the ocean. Beautiful and marvellous.

Backbeat, 1993 ~ Directed by Ian Softley, this is the story of Stu Sutcliffe, who dropped out of The Beatles, just before they made it big. I love it.

Bagdad Cafe, 1988 ~ Directed by Percy Adlon. Beautiful and warm, about how people can affect our lives.

Baraka, 1992 ~ Ron Fricke is responsible for this amazing film, no actors, no acting, just documentary clips from all over the world. Beautiful and amazing.

Beautiful Thing, 1996 ~ Directed by Hettie MacDonald.

Contact, 1997 ~ Directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Jodie foster as Dr Ellie Arroway. Based on the book by Carl Sagan. Beautiful.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977 ~ Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Cry Freedom, 1987 ~ Directed by Richard Attenborough, this is the story of Stephen Biko through the eyes of the reporter who became his friend. Powerful.

The Crying Game, 1992 ~ Directed by Neil Jordan. A fabulous film.

Elizabeth, 1998 ~ Directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring gorgeous Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth.

E.T., 1982 ~ Directed by Steven Spielberg. A classic. Worth watching more than once.

Glory, 1989 ~ Directed by Edward Zwick. The second film I saw with Denzel Washington. First was Cry Freedom.

The Green Mile, 1999 ~ Directed by Frank Darabont. Simply excellent. You better watch this one, if you haven't.

The Matrix, 1999 ~ Directed by the Wachowski brothers, a fabulous film that has action, philosophy, and of course, Carrie-Anne Moss as drop dead gorgeous babe Trinity. You should also watch The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix revolutions.

Maurice, 1987 ~ Directed by James Ivory, this is a beautiful film about life and love, and the choices we make.

My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985 ~ Directed by Stephen Frears and based on the book by Hanif Kureishi.

My Left Foot, 1989 ~ Directed by Jim Sheridan. Daniel Day-Lewis is outstanding as Christy Brown.

My Own Private Idaho, 1991 ~ Directed by Gus Van Sant. Excellent.

Once Were Warriors, 1994 ~ Directed by Lee Tamahori. We meet a family in turmoil in this story about love, life, tragedy and pride. Heartbreaking.

A Room with a View, 1985 ~ Directed by James Ivory. I better admit it, I am a sucker for Merchant-Ivory films.

Shine, 1996 ~ Directed by Scott Hicks. Heartbreaking in parts, but ultimately a beautiful and warm film.

Strange Days, 1995 ~ Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Not only am I a sucker for Merchant-Ivory, I am also a sucker for scifi-flicks. There, I've said it. I love this film. Angela Bassett is fab in it. Yummie...

Thelma & Louise, 1991 ~ Directed by Ridley Scott. Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis are the best. They are. Really.

Torch Song Trilogy, 1988 ~ Directed by Paul Bogart. Sad and warm about a gay man, his lovers, and his troublesome relationship to his mother. Harvey Fierstein plays Arnold, and Anne Bancroft pays his mother.

When Harry Met Sally, 1989 ~ Directed by Rob Reiner. In my opinion, one of the best romantic comedy films ever.

And I just have to say that I have a thing for Pedro Almodovar. I love his films. And Luc Besson. Fab films. Quentin Tarantino, excellent. And you really have to watch the Terminator films.

And did I tell you that I'm a TV fanatic? Well, I am. And some of the best things I have seen on telly will be listed here.

The ultimate fave has to be The L Word. It's just brilliant and fabulous and hot -  and Shane has got to be the coolest dyke ever on telly. My goodness. I swoon. Alice is lovely. Carmen was the hot stuff but still... all those fab women, some you hate at first, then you fall in love. Some you adore, then you wonder why you ever did. And others, well, actually, so far just Jenny, you just never ever like. At all. If you haven't seen The L Word yet, BUY IT!!!

As If. Face it, this is the best youth drama you have ever seen. Possibly the best you will ever see.

E.R. Together with SFU, the best thing on telly. And Jorja Fox was hot as lesbian Dr Maggie Doyle.

French & Saunders. Basically everything they do. Ever. Official site

The Governor. Prison drama by Lynda La Plante.

McCallum. John Hannah as forensic pathologist Ian McCallum. Gorgeous Zara Turner as his colleague.

My So-Called Life. Before we got As If, we had the marvellous Angela and her fabulous friends. Remember? 

Prime Suspect. Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison. Excellent.

Silent Witness. Absolutely gorgeous Amanda Burton as Dr Sam Ryan.

Six Feet Under. The best thing there is on telly now. Rachel Griffiths is yummie. Official site

Third Watch. Molly Price is marvellous as police Faith Yokas.

This Life. I miss it. So excellent!! You do remember This Life, don't you?

Touching Evil. One of the best mystery/crime TV series ever. Brilliant! And Nicola Walker is gorgeous.

The Vicar of Dibley. Dawn French, anyone? She's gorgeous. And hilariously funny!

Queer As Folk. The original version. So good.