The Hot Sheet

Books

The Passages of H.M. by Jay Parini — This intriguing new novel imagines Herman Melville on his sea voyages and in his domestic life with wife Lizzie, dealing candidly with his unrequited love and desire for men, including fellow author Nathaniel Hawthorne, and his inspiration for the homoerotic Billy Budd.

The Sixties: Diaries 1960-1969by Christopher Isherwood — The second volume of compulsively readable diary entries from the celebrated writer finds him documenting his storied love affair with Don Bachardy, as well as his friendships with Francis Bacon, David Hockney, and Gore Vidal, against the backdrop of the country's most turbulent decade.