I was so excited to see GuRu : by fixing one piece of the jigsaw puzzle, you’ll miss seeing the whole picture by RuPaul in WPL’s collection. I had just finished a RuPaul’s Drag Race marathon over the holidays, where I watched all seasons on Netflix in an embarrassingly short amount of time. It’s safe to say I am addicted. I don’t normally enjoy reality TV, but I find this show compelling, so much fun and yes, addictive. While watching Drag Race I had the impression that RuPaul was someone who was smart, wise, and funny. I looked forward to reading GuRu to gain some more insight into just who RuPaul is.

While I enjoyed the book it wasn’t what I thought it would be. It was more of a coffee table book than a wordy tome. GuRu is a beautiful book, filled with philosophies, insights, and pictures. The photos are all shots of RuPaul and are unsurprisingly fabulous. As with RuPaul’s Drag Race, I find the transformations fascinating. The different looks and aesthetics that can be achieved by one person is mind-boggling to me, with my own very limited look. RuPaul, like all the drag queens on the show, are far better at being women than I will ever be. It is great to see so much variety in self-expression and the vivid colours of the photographs adds to the positivity conveyed in the book.

While there isn’t a lot of writing in GuRu, the words that are present are from the heart. They are genuine philosophies meant to inspire readers. There are a lot of good quotations, some insightful and some absolutely hilarious. It’s a book you can read through from cover to cover or you just read a random page for a pick me up. These quick inspirations can help to brighten your day and make you think about your perspectives. From thought provoking quotations like “The ego perceives us as separate from one another, but we are not. We are one thing.” to the inspiring “You’re actually stronger than you allow yourself to be.” to the unexpectedly practical “When driving in the rain, always turn on your headlights.”, RuPaul’s book offers wisdom for many situations.

GuRu is such a positive book. It was fun to read and offers some light when your world view is feeling dark. I definitely now want to read RuPaul’s others books to see what they have to offer.

— Ashley T.