"Lettin' It All Hang Out" by RuPaul Charles

Oo, girl! You got Shemail!

I love RuPaul. I love Drag Race, I love Drag U, I love his music! He's great; he entertains me! So lately, I've been on a bit of a RuPaul binge--listening to the music, checking out RuPaul's coffee table book (RuPaul's Guide to Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Style!), and his autobiography "Lettin' It All Hang Out."

In this autobiography, RuPaul writes about his childhood, his start in the industry, his struggle with alcohol and drugs, and making a name for himself in the world of showbiz! I appreciated the brutal honesty of this book--I mean, it's one thing to be honest about your parents (we all have...brutally honest things to say about our parents), but it's another to truly let it all hang out about yourself.

Upsides: Obviously the tell-it-all style. It was really interesting to see RuPaul's beginnings and it was just another reminder that all famous people come from quite humble roots, have their own struggles--and while that's something I know in my heart, it's a good reminder that if you want to make something of yourself, you have to try hard, go through your own shit, and really struggle--and that's how you make a name for yourself! In the book, there were little notes off to the side about RuPaul's Tips for Drag Queens or her favorite songs to lipsynch to or her favorite books; I found most of that really interesting, though there were a few, I thought, where it was obvious they were running out of ideas (RuPaul's favorite cars? I mean, I love RuPaul, but not enough to care about what her favorite cars are. Then again, if you're a car fan, maybe that means something to you). There were a lot of lovely pictures of Ru, in and out of drag!

Downsides: This is always a hard section for me, as I so rarely read a book I didn't enjoy. There were a few moments in the book that weren't so much autobiographical, per say. The book, overall, is very down-to-earth, as if RuPaul is just speaking to you about his life--it's very conversational. I, personally, find this to be a good thing, but if you like the more traditional autobiography, a book that is less anecdotal/conversational and more about "the facts," then perhaps you wouldn't enjoy this.

Overall, I think this is a great book! I give it 5/5 stars! 5 Stars because I think RuPaul's autobiography is going to appeal to a very specific crowd and that means some people simply aren't going to like it--but I was not one of those people. If you like RuPaul or drag culture fascinates you or you simply like reading about people's lives this book will not fail to interest you!

And with that, I leave you all with my favorite Lip Synch for Your LIFE from RuPaul, season 3:

Raja and Carmen's Lip Synch from Season 3! What super sexy queens! They worked it out!

And can I just say, I'm SO excited for RuPaul's Drag Race ALL STARS!

Happy reading my friends!
AJ

PS. I'm over halfway through "A Feast for Crows," so you should be able to expect that up within the next week or so! Unemployment has its benefits!