ON BOOKSHELVES

FREDDIE & ME

A Coming-Of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody
Mike Dawson
(Bloomsbury, $19.95, trade paperback)
**1/2

This charming but at times meandering graphic novel follows the childhood years of the author as a young British boy who, to put it mildly, falls in love with the rock group Queen, particularly the magnetic Freddie Mercury. Using a subjective and serviceable drawing style, Dawson alternates his childhood obsession over Freddie with his own growing up, first in England, then as a transplant to the U.S., dealing with his new life and new crushes—this time on girls. But there’s always Freddie and Queen to obsess over, fantasize about, and bore one’s friends with, especially with every rehearing of the author’s loud rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Freddie Mercury’s outing as a gay man in the 1980s, quickly followed by his illness and death from AIDS (a common celebrity two-stage outing process back then) is a short but very sad blip in the boy’s life. Although the more predictable forays into the author’s coming-of-age story sometimes make the mind wander, Queen fans should get a kick out of the outlandish and funny recreations of Freddie and his band. —HARRY EUGENE BALDWIN

SOCIETY’S CHILD

My Autobiography

Janis Ian
(Tarcher/Penguin, $26.95, hardcover)
***1/2

In 1966, at 15 years old, Janis Ian burst on the music scene with her controversial song about interracial love: “Society’s Child.” This was followed by a whole string of hit songs (“At Seventeen”), albums, and tours—all the trappings and traps of fame. As a writer she’s able to keep us hooked, even though she tests our patience by continually acting the victim to male and female lovers, therapists, greedy record execs, even a nasty IRS agent. You have to remind yourself how young she was through all this. It’s her music, though, that is the beating heart of this book. It’s ups and downs as she goes from prodigy to pro, learning, resisting, and even walking away at times, until she eventually sails into calmer waters in Nashville, now a white-haired doyenne with a loving partner. Janis Ian always dug poetically deep with her lyrics: this short, curly-headed minstrel sang stories of the sad and rejected, helping to transform the ‘60s legacy into legend. She adds to a treasure trove of achievements in this retelling of a quite remarkable life. —H.E.B.

LIMITED RUN

Seth Greenland

The witty man is back and discussing Shining City, his latest tale of prostitution, handcuff kink, questionable methods for disposing of bodies, and all-around dysfunction. Book Soup. Sun., July 8. 7 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

Barbara Ehrenreich

The outspoken activist of Nickle and Dimed fame is in town to promote her latest book This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation. Skylight Books. Thurs., July 10. 7:30 p.m. www.skylightbooks.com.

Alexa Young

Find out what happens when two besties become full-blown worsties in the new book Frenemies. Book Soup. Sat., July 12. 5 p.m. www.booksoup.com.

Homo Must

Alex Ironrod

The Southern Californian author will read from his new work Submission: Leather, Masters, and Slaves, describing the lives of dominant tops and submissive bottoms living in Los Angeles. A Different Light. Thurs., July 10. 7:30 p.m. www.adlbooks.com.