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The Voyeur's Motel
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
14 posts | 8 read | 3 reading | 11 to read
On January 7, 1980, in the run-up to the publication of his landmark bestseller Thy Neighbors Wife, Gay Talese received an anonymous letter from a man in Colorado. Since learning of your long awaited study of coast-to-coast sex in America, the letter began, I feel I have important information that I could contribute to its contents or to contents of a future book. The man went on to tell Talese an astonishing secret, that he had bought a motel to satisfy his voyeuristic desires. He had built an attic observation platform, fitted with vents, through which he could peer down on his unwitting guests. Unsure what to make of this confession, Talese traveled to Colorado where he met the manGerald Foosverified his story in person, and read some of his extensive journals, a secret record of Americas changing social and sexual mores. But because Foos insisted on remaining anonymous, Talese filed his reporting away, assuming the story would remain untold. Now, after thirty-five years, hes ready to go public and Talese can finally tell his story. The Voyeurs Motel is an extraordinary work of narrative journalism, and one of the most talked about books of the year.
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vivastory
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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Interesting NY Times article about mistakes in non fiction books. I do have to say though that not all mistakes are equal.
nytimes.com/2019/09/22/business/publishing-books-errors.html

LibrarianRyan Thanks. 5y
DarcysMom I am surprised that fact-checking isn't de rigueur - especially with the deluge of fake news and other shady practices. 5y
Aaronlisa Interesting article. I think that anything that's labeled as non-fiction should have some level of fact-checking. And I think the onus is on the publisher not the author. 5y
See All 6 Comments
CarolynM @Bookwomble Not just your David Bowie book! 5y
Bookwomble @CarolynM Thank you for the tag. An interesting article, and one of importance in the current political/social climate. One fact that we can be sure of, though, is that Ziggy did, indeed, play guitar 🌟👨‍🎤🎸🌟 5y
CarolynM @Bookwomble 😂🙌👍 5y
68 likes6 comments
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m.galehuxley
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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This book bothered me for all of the wrong reasons.

Also, I wish I could have Gay Talese‘s career.

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Quinndm
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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“The only way that our society is going to achieve proper sexual stability and mental health, which are undisputed requirements for maturity, is to know the truth of what people are actually doing in the privacy of their own bedrooms. We must educate people with the truth, not indoctrinate; teach facts, not fallacies; formulate a code that accepts all sexual practices, not preaches asceticism.”

(The Voyeur‘s Journal: Gay Talese)

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Encurtido
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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Pickpick

Creepy, sexy, and fascinating.

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Ammar25
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
Mehso-so

This book isn't as explosive as one would think.An owner of a hotel rigged some rooms and spied on his visitors in various sexual positions and in various sexual arrangements.

And yes, Talese does say there are inconsistencies in the narrative, the dates and some events. Some would say that he should have checked and recheck everything written in the journal.But Talese wanted to present the material as is with all its promises and shortcomings.

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Ammar25
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese

With only a third of the book left. Talese does and repeatedly say there are inconsistencies in the journal of Mr Foos. I read in the Guardian that Sam Mendes will be directing a movie based on this book. The book improves in the last third of it. It's nice that some chapters are just a single case :)

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Ammar25
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese

So far it reads like amateurish porn. Some are exciting, but many are flat and expectant.

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Ammar25
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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Let's see what the fuss this is all about.

Yournewfriendsams Interested to hear what you think. Lots of talk over this one. 8y
Ammar25 @Yournewfriendsams Would it be a book that you would like to read ? 8y
10 likes2 comments
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LauraBeth
Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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Just listened to this and was fascinated with the conversation about the Gay Talese saga.

Suzze Liked hearing about the book machines for kids in Detroit, my hometown. 8y
LauraBeth @suzze - I just watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown filmed in Detroit. Was really good. I'm rooting for Detroit to be the comeback kid 😀 8y
Suzze @LauraBeth That Parts Unknown episode was great! Things have really started to turn around. Lots of restaurants and businesses opening. It's the neighborhoods that are hurting. Blockbusting in the 60s drove so many people out of the city and they have never recovered. 8y
22 likes3 comments
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Gleefulreader
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese

This is really just a book of badly written amateur porn, dressed up as investigative journalism. Through the endless excerpts from the "voyeur's diary" I keep waiting for the author to wink at the reader, to let us in on the joke. At 40% I'm still waiting, and getting fed up.

MrBook Hmmm, interesting. I may avoid this one after all then. 8y
Gleefulreader @MrBook I think perhaps just read the NYT article on the controversy rather than the book itself. I am 40% through and the author has FINALLY acknowledged that there are inconsistencies and his narrator seems less than truthful. One paragraph, and off he goes again! 8y
MrBook Lol 8y
6 likes3 comments
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Gleefulreader
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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To say I'm having a few issues with this book is an understatement. The legality? The morality? The truthful(less)ness? It is a short book, so I'll probably plough through and see where it ends up, but I do not have high hopes.

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Gleefulreader
The Voyeur's Motel | Gay Talese
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Having seen a bit of the controversy over this, I thought I'd give it a read first and then dive into the backstory.

MrBook Yeah, this has a very confusing backstory. Current headlines make me wonder if I should give this one a go. Eager to hear what you think of it when you're done. 8y
8 likes1 comment