Looking for Love in All the Gay Places
If laughter is the best medicine, Eddie Campbell's book 44 Horrible Dates is the perfect prescription for anyone who finds being single a giant pain. Campbell went from documenting the love lives of fictional characters in the 2010 coffee-table read Days of Our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration in Photos (with co-author Greg Meng) to writing about his own less-than-successful track record of going out with one loser dude after another, debunking the myth that gay men have it easier than straight folks. "Growing up in Los Angeles is like growing up in an amusement park without any rides visually entertaining without a lot of substance," writes the 30-something L.A. resident. "Dating in L.A. is even more awkward and fucked up." (Try living with the added pressure of having to spew a baby from your loins.) Campbell dedicates a chapter to each suitor's special quirk: "Rich AKA: Grocery Store Stalker"; "Vince AKA: Eighty Dollar Chicken Salad"; "Kevin AKA: Angry Bottom." Farters, toe suckers, coke snorters the list of freaks goes on. Perhaps none was stranger than the guy who wanted a hot dog inserted someplace where the mustard don't shine. Not surprisingly, Campbell is still single, which is good news if you read this paper, unless you also like reading the adult ads in the back. Poor man's been through enough. Campbell reads from his book at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd., W. Hlywd.; Mon., June 18, 7 p.m.; free, book is $14.99. (310) 659-3110.
Mon., June 18, 7 p.m., 2012
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