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GLBT Reading Lists

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Classic GLBT Fiction

Baldwin, James. Giovanni's Room, 1956.
The life-changing adventures of a young American expatriate who becomes romantically involved with both a woman and a man in 1950s Paris.
Brown, Rita Mae. Rubyfruit Jungle, 1973.
The trailblazing tale of a Southern girl growing up a lesbian in America--and living happily ever after.
Forster, E.M. Maurice, 1914, 1971.
The controversial story of teenage boys experiencing same-sex love at an English boarding school.
Hall, Radclyffe. The Well of Loneliness, 1928.
Impetus for the most famous obscenity trial in British legal history and one of the earliest lesbian classics, in which "Stephen" comes of age in a stifling upper-class environment and falls in love with another woman.
Harris, E.Lynn. Invisible Life, 1991.
The first of Harris's popular novels exploring issues surrounding alternative sexual lifestyles within the African-American community.
Holleran, Andrew. Dancer From the Dance, 1978.
Depicts a young man's obsessive search for love in the gay world.
Maupin, Armistead. Tales of the City, 1978.
Interconnected stories of San Francisco friends and lovers, their joys and sorrows. Inspiration for an acclaimed public television dramatic series.
Miller, Isabel. Patience and Sarah, 1967.
A historical romance set in 19th-century America, between a free-spirited woman artist and a cross-dressing female farmer, who leave their native Connecticut to build a life together in upstate New York.
Morgan, Claire. The Price of Salt, 1952.
A lesbian love story involving a married woman and a shopgirl. Written by mystery author Patricia Highsmith, using a pseudonym.
Vidal, Gore. The City and the Pillar, 1948.
A man's quest to recreate his first moment of sexual awakening, spent years ago with another teenage boy.
Warren, Patricia Nell. The Front Runner, 1974.
Groundbreaking story of an adolescent track star, and the coach who falls in love with him.
White, Edmund. The Beautiful Room Is Empty, 1988.
The sequel to A Boy's Own Story, as the author's protagonist begins an odyssey of sexual awakening.
White, Edmund. A Boy's Own Story, 1982.
A teenage boy's account of discovering and accepting his homosexuality.
Winterson, Jeanette. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, 1985.
Award-winning tale of a British adolescent girl who embraces her unorthodox sexuality while coping with the demands of her adoptive evangelical family.

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Contemporary GLBT Fiction

Bram, Christopher. Father of Frankenstein, 1995.
The fictionalized final days of James Whale, famed gay director of the horror classic Frankenstein. Basis for the Ian McKellan film Gods and Monsters.
Bram, Christopher. Lives of the Circus Animals, 2003.
Kaleidoscopic tale of several days and nights in the interlocking lives of New York City "theatre people."
Dawesar, Abha. Babyji, 2005.
The emotional journey of a precocious New Delhi, India honor student as she joyfully embraces her burgeoning sexuality.
Griffith, Nicola. The Blue Place, 1998.
Featuring a Norwegian-American lesbian sleuth, in a gripping psychological thriller.
Griffith, Nicola. Stay, 2002.
Sequel to The Blue Place, as the main character deals with the death of her partner and the search for a missing child.
Malloy, Brian. The Year of Ice, 2002.
A Minnesota teenage boy's struggle to accept his homosexuality in the midst of family strife and challenging friendships.
Peters, Julie Anne. Luna,, 2004.
Award-winning story of a transgender teenage boy and the impact of his personal struggle upon his family and peers. Additional novels by Peters: Keeping You a Secret and Far From Xanadu.
Revoyr, Nina. The Necessary Hunger, 1997.
Two female teenage basketball players coming to terms with family pressures and their unexpected emotional attachment.
Sinclair, April. Coffee Will Make You Black, 1994.
A young black lesbian coming of age in South Chicago during the heyday of the civil rights movement.
Waters, Sarah. Affinity, 2000.
Historical fiction set in Victorian London, where an upper-class woman forms a surprising connection with a female inmate in one of the city's grimmest prisons.

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GLBT Mystery

Clare, Baxter. Bleeding Out, 2000.
Debut installment in hard-boiled crime series starring "Franco," lesbian Los Angeles chief of detectives. Later volumes: Cry Havoc; Street Rules; and Last Call.
Forrest, Katherine V. Hancock Park, 2004.
Starring "Kate Delafield," Los Angeles police detective. Preceded by Murder at the Nightwood Bar, and many others.
Hansen, Joseph. Country of Old Men. 1991.
Concluding entry in legendary "Dave Brandstetter" series, featuring one of the first openly gay sleuths. Many additional series titles also available.
Hart, Ellen. The Iron Girl, 2005
Starring Minnesota-based lesbian restauranteur "Jane Lawless," solving crimes with companion sleuth, theatrical "Cordelia Thorn." Latest in multi-volume "cozy" mystery series.
James, Dean. Baked to Death, 2005.
Part of the "Simon Kirby-Jones" series, featuring a gay vampire as sleuth.
Raphael, Lev. Tropic of Murder, 2004.
Mystery series set in small-town-college academia, featuring a gay professor couple as sleuths. Additional titles: The Edith Wharton Murders and Let's Get Criminal.
Scoppettone, Sandra. Everything You Have Is Mine, 1991.
Starring "Lauren Laurano," New York City lesbian investigator, in a series with both suspense and humor. Other titles: Gonna Take a Homicidal Journey and I'll Be Leaving You Always.
Sims, Elizabeth. Easy Street, 2005.
Featuring sleuth "Lillian Byrd," a Detroit lesbian freelance writer and street mandolin player. Previous series titles: Damn Straight; and Lucky Stiff.
Wilson, John Morgan. Rhapsody in Blood, 2006.
Part of the celebrated "Benjamin Justice" series, with a gay Los Angeles ex-journalist struggling to reconstruct his life as main character. Many additional series titles also available.
Zubro, Mark Richard. File Under Dead, 2004.
Continuing the "Tom & Scott" mystery series, with a coupled Chicago teacher and a professional baseball player as sleuth team.
Zubro, Mark Richard. Nerds Who Kill, 2005.
The latest "Paul Turner" series entry, featuring gay Chicago police detective and his straight, wise-cracking sleuth colleague.

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GLBT Romance

Andrews & Austin. Stellium in Scorpio.
Banerjee, Anjali. Invisible Lives.
Bellucci, Lucille. Journey from Shanghai.
Hill, Gerri. Artist's Dream.
Hill, Gerri. Behind the Pine Curtain.
Hill, Gerri. The Target.
Kallmaker, Karin. Finders Keepers.
Kallmaker, Karin. Just Like That.
Martin, Marianne. Dance in the Key of Love.
MacGregor, K. G. Just This Once
Opyr, Joan. Idaho Code.
Perronne, Michael. Starstruck: A Hollywood Saga.
Scott, Darieck. Hex: A Novel of Love Spells.
Sosna, Chad. Doo-Lang Love.
Zavo. Hot on His Trail: An Erotic Novel.

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Transgender Fiction and Non-Fiction

Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us, 1994.
A loosely organized collection of Bornstein's ideas about gender. The book also contains Bornstein's two-act play "Hidden: A Gender."
Currah, Paisley; Juang, Richard M.; and Price Minter, Shannon (eds.). Transgender Rights, 2006.
Divided into three sections covering law, history, and politics, this collection of scholarly articles is an invaluable primer on the statutory law, case law, political influences, and general status of transgender and intersex rights in the United States.
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality, 2000.
The author—a biologist, feminist, and historian of science—presents an overview of how scientific culture and politics have instilled popular misconceptions about the natures of gender and sex.
Feinberg, Leslie. Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul, 1996.
Part autobiography, part informal history, Transgender Warriors explores perceptions of gender throughout history and across cultures. The book also illuminates Feinberg's own dedicated and influential work for transgender, labor, and human rights issues.

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