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Looking for a good LGBT novel to read?

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by MusicIsLife, Mar 10, 2010.

  1. MusicIsLife

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    So I was given the task of coming up with a list of 25 LGBT books for a display for pride week at work. I thought I'd share them on here, in case anyone is looking for something lgbt-related to read :slight_smile:

    1. Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller
    2. Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall
    3. The Well Of Lonliness by Radclyffe Hall
    4. A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice
    5. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
    6. Maurice by E. Forster
    7. Tipping The Velvet by Sarah Waters
    8. The Weekend by Peter Cameron
    9. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
    10. The Child by Sarah Schulman
    11. Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
    12. Lilith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler
    13. Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
    14. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
    15. Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
    16. When Fox Is A Thousand by Larissa Lai
    17. Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
    18. Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
    19. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
    20. Orlando A Biography by Virginia Woolf
    21. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
    22. A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White
    23. The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
    24. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
    25. At Swim Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill

    :grin: enjoy!
     
  2. RaeofLite

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    Thanks! :slight_smile:

    You can also add: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and Hero by Perry Moore.
     
  3. RAJ Aladdin

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    Haven't read these two but does anyone know if "The Chocolate Boys" or "Four Dorothys" constitute as LGBT related?
     
  4. Maddy

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    Fingersmith is the best book ever.
    Ironically, I've just got back from my "Gender and Sexuality in Children's Literature" tutorial, and I get to do an essay worth 50% on my first ever queer book :grin: "Kissing Kate" by Lauren Myracle. 15-year-old me, just starting to think "so I guess I do like girls, what do I do about it?" found out about that book, stumblingly ordered it at the local bookshop (making sure to say it was for a friend), and read it over and over while locked in my room. It's a nice book.
     
  5. Holmes

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    Thanks :slight_smile:

    I read Maurice a few years ago, and enjoyed it. I didn't read any gay-themed novels again till last year, after my parents recommended The Human Stain to me. There was so much heterosexual sex in that book that I wanted to find something I could relate to. I really enjoyed The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst.
     
  6. Mogget

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    It's hard to get ahold of (i.e. out of print), but Ricardo Pinto's The Chosen has a few gay characters. It also has some intense worldbuilding, quite a bit of violence (if you don't want to read graphic execution/torture scenes, avoid it), and presents Carnelian's (the protagonist) homosexuality (or same-sex attraction, it's a prehistoric society that doesn't really have a concept of sexual orientation per se) as entirely unremarkable (which I absolutely love). It has two sequels, I've read one and not the other (the second book is out of print and the library only just got the third). I absolutely love it and would cheerfully rant about it for hours, so I'll stop now.
     
  7. Kyalii

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    Oh, I loved A Density of Souls!!! The God Box by Alex Sanchez is awesome too. Thanks for this list - I have a new summer reading list now!
     
  8. MusicIsLife

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    :grin: you're welcome! & The God Box is AMAZING. I loved it.
     
  9. SaturdaySaviour

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    This is exactly what I needed. I'm guessing I won't find most of the books in the library, though. Thanks (*hug*)
     
  10. Jame

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    Thanks, really needed a list of good LGBT books!
     
  11. Techcompu2

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    not exactly a novel, but I really enjoyed: Rainbow Boys; Rainbow High; and Rainbow Road. they are a series, and by the author Alex Sanchez.
     
  12. Corny

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    I was gonna recommend "Die Mitte der Welt" by Andreas Steinhöfel. But I am very sad to discover that there is no English translation available :frowning2:
    It is the best LGBT book that I ever read - simply .. because in this book it is so unimportant that the main character is gay. He kinda has a coming out, too .. but it was just bound to happen and it seamlessly is integrated into the beautiful story with beautiful characters that you will just accept it as the "natural" thing to happen.
     
  13. Ooops

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    Some Lesbian novels :

    - The teahouse fire - by Ellis Avery ( taking place in the late 19th in Japan... beautiful )
    - Annie on my mind - by Nancy Garden
    - Patience and Sarah - by Isabel Muller
    - The love of good women - by Isabel Muller
    - Affinity - by Sarah Waters ( and some more novels from her too )
    - Sugar Rush - bye Julie Burchill ( and the wonderfull serial broadcast on channel4 !! )
    - Tokyo Chaos - by Anne Rambach ( and Tokyo Atomic, Tokyo Mirage , ...)
    - Define "normal" - by Julie Anne Peters
    - rage - by Julie Anne Peters

    The novels from Virginie Despentes, french author, whenever you may find English translations.

    nota :The "tokyo-novels" from A. Rambach take place in Japan . Start with " Tokyo Chaos"

    Enjoy
     
  14. Goethe

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    I'm currently reading At Swim Two Boys and I absolutely LOVE it!!! I don't have much time but I try to set time aside to read it.
     
  15. Allecto

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    Some comics with LGBT themes:
    American Virgin - One of the main characters is a trans man, and there are supporting characters that are gay/lesbian.
    Death: The Time Of Your Life - It's about a lesbian couple that makes a deal with Death.
    Y: The Last Man - Since it's about the death of every man on the planet, it's inevitable that lesbianism is going to come up. Also, one of the three main characters is a lesbian.
    Sandman - There are lots of LGBTQ characters, and one of the main characters can best be described as genderqueer.
     
  16. midwestblues

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    Kiss of the Spider Woman. It's fantastic.
     
  17. IsItSo

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    Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.
     
  18. Ander Blue

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    The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. I read this for the first time in high school, and when I came to the gay part - it hit me like a train.
     
  19. Allecto

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    seconding this. It won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason.
     
  20. ToTheCeilingFan

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    Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates was amazing...and it had a main character that just happened to be gay instead of focusing the entire novel around sexuality. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just find it refreshing when authors don't make a huge deal about the sexuality of their main character. So awesomely refreshing.