Tales of the City (by Armistead Maupin)

My first selection for the Read Harder Challenge*, this book fits the category of "Set within 100 miles of your location."

I enjoyed finally getting a chance to read this groundbreaking novel, and I can see why its frank portrayal of gay life was such a revelation at the time.  As a novel, it's really dialogue heavy and very short on description -- which made me want to see the famed miniseries version, more than anything else. It's a fast, breezy read filled with terrific characters whose lives overlap in a string of implausible coincidences. Entertaining and charming.

In keeping with the RHC category, I also adored all the references to towns all over the Bay Area, not just locations in SF, but all over. I'm not sure if I'll delve into the rest of the series, although this was written and published in the '70s, so I am curious how and when the AIDS crisis impacts our cast of characters.  But I'm going to turn my attention to the Tournament of Books longlist (and soon, I hope, the shortlist) and keep further Tales of the City for future reading enjoyment.

*As a side note, if I re-read Go Tell It on the Mountain, it would check off five categories on this list.  I feel like I can find one that does even better, though. (Not that I want to knock off the list that easily.) 

[ ] Debut novel
[ ] Book you’ve read before
[ ] Classic by an author of color.
[ ] A book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey
[ ] A book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color