Gay sera, sera*

 I've done it! I've managed to read a non-fiction book this month. However, it's somewhat cancelled out by the four Star Trek books. Sorry. Three of the four are from the Deep Space Nine relaunch that I'm in the process of re-reading. The last one is an e-book I was curious about, mainly because Saavik features in it (she's one of my favourite Star Trek characters - the Robin Curtis version, not the Kirsty Alley one).
 Again, I've stuck with the publisher's synopsis/blurb rather than writing my own, but I have added a little something to book twelve's entry...

11. Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume One - Cardassia: The Lotus Flower, by Una McCormack, and Andor: Paradigm, by Heather Jarman

CARDASSIA: The last world ravaged by the Dominion War is also the last on which Miles O'Brien ever imagined building a life. As he joins in the reconstruction of Cardassia's infrastructure, his wife Keiko spearheads the planet's difficult agricultural renewal. But Cardassia's struggle to remake itself -- from the fledgling democracy backed by Elim Garak to the people's rediscovery of their own spiritual past -- is not without opposition, as the outside efforts to help rebuild its civilization come under attack by those who reject any alien influence.
ANDOR: On the eve of a great celebration of their ancient past, the unusual and mysterious Andorians, a species with four sexes, must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to ensure their survival. Biological necessity clashes with personal ethics; cultural obligation vies with love -- and Ensign Thirishar ch'Thane returns home to the planet he forswore, to face not only the consequences of his choices, but a clandestine plan to alter the very nature of his kind.

12. There Must Be Fifty Ways To Tell Your Mother, by Lynn Sutcliffe

Coming out is a continual process, and one that is unique to every lesbian and gay man. Each day we have to keep taking the decision anew. Should I tell this person? How? What will their reaction be? This book cannot provide all the answers, but it offers the experiences, inspiration and ideas of others.
Men and women from all over the world are deciding to come out to thier parents, their children, their employers and their partners. Here are some of their stories...
BOLD: 'I just got stronger and stronger as a gay person. Even if I went to the ice-cream man I managed to drop it in: "One strawberry cornetto for a homosexual, please."'
BRAVE: 'Seconds later my dad had me pushed up against the wall, knife at my throat. His exact words were: "I would rather see you dead than queer. Make your choice."'
BIZARRE: 'When I finally revealed that I was a lesbian she just said: "No, you're not actually. I've alreasy thought about this. You've got a hormone disorder." And she just carried on eating.'
BLATANT: 'I knew I was gay from the age of seven: my treehouse had a breakfast bar.'

 For the curious, I tried coming out to The Parents by leaving this book conspicuously lying around the house when I was in my late-teens. It didn't work though, as they claimed never to have noticed it.
 I ended up being outed by my youngest sister, Inexcuseable, when she answered the phone one day. She screeched up the stairs to me: "It's your gay friend!" while The Parents were sat in the living room only a few feet away. Anyway, after I'd finished on the phone. Dad came upstairs and asked me if I was gay. Thinking I'd never have a better chance to tell him, I said yes. He nearly fainted, or had a heart attack or something. When he'd recovered, he told me not to tell mum as it would kill her. I told her anyway and she didn't spontaneously combust, or anything, so that was ok, although The Parents and I didn't speak properly for ages afterwards. After a little while, everything went back to normal. 

* Post title from page 75   

13. Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume Two - Trill: Unjoined, by Andy Mangels & Michael J. Martin, and Bajor: Fragments and Omens, by J. Noah Kym

TRILL: They are a people with secrets. For centuries they kept their true nature hidden, even taking disturbing steps to protect the small population of near-immortal symbionts with whom a privileged few Trill are joined, body, mind, and soul. They are a people who hold memory to be sacred, yet deny their own past. Now amid a a whirlwind of scandal, accusations, and growing civil unrest, Ezri Dax must penetrate millennia of lies and deceptions, and rediscover what should never have been forgotten, before her civilization rips itself apart.
BAJOR: The honeymoon is over. Following the euphoria of Bajor's marriage to the Federation, the real work of making that union work has begun. But even on a world where politics and religion are intertwined, conflicting visions of Bajor's role in the interstellar arena divide the planet's leadership. As newly minted Captain Kira Nerys sets the tone for the kind of Starfleet officer she will be, First Minister Asarem makes a bold move to define Bajor's voice in the Federation, while the returned Benjamin Sisko prepares for a future that only he, as yet, can see.

14. Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume Three - Ferenginar: Satisfaction is Not Guaranteed, by Keith R. A. DeCandido, and The Dominion: Olympus Descending, by David R. George III

FERENGINAR: Quark's profit-driven homeworld is rocked with scandal as shocking allegations involving his brother's first wife, the mother of Nog, threaten to overthrow Rom as Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance. Making matters worse, Quark has been recruited by Rom's political adversaries to join their coup d'etat, with guarantees of all Quark ever dreamed if the succeed in taking his brother down. While Ferenginar's future teeters on the edge, the pregnancy of Rom's current wife, Leeta, takes a difficult turn for both mother and child.
THE DOMINION: Since its defeat in the war for the Alpha Quadrant, the Great Link -- the living totality of the shape-shifting Founders -- has struggled with questions. At its moment of greatest doubt, its fate, and that of the Dominion itself, is tied to Odo's investigation of his kind's true motives for sending a hundred infant changelings out into the galaxy. As Odo searches for answers and takes a hard look at his past choices, Taran'atar reaches a turning point in his own quest for clarity... one from which there may be no going back.

15. Miasma (Star Trek: The Original Series), by Greg Cox

The Enterprise-A is transporting a party of diplomats when it picks up a mysterious alien signal emanating from a nearby world. The planet’s dense, impenetrable atmosphere makes it unclear if the beacon is a distress signal, an invitation — or a warning to stay away. Spock, Doctor McCoy, and Chekov are part of a team sent to investigate, but an unexpected catastrophe forces a crash-landing. Now the landing party is stranded on a hostile world, unable to communicate with the Enterprise. While Captain Kirk and Saavik race to locate the lost crew, a badly wounded Spock struggles to keep McCoy and the others alive until they can be rescued, even if that means making an unthinkable sacrifice...