♦◊♦
David McConnell
Writer, novelist
The Satyricon by Petronius
A Boy’s Own Story by Edmund White
Prisoner of Love by Jean Genet
Griefby Andrew Holleran
About Ed by Bob Gluck (novel-in-progress)
♦◊♦
Christopher Bram
Novelist, essayist
Another Country by James Baldwin
Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood
Divine Comedies by James Merrill
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin
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Bob Smith
Comedian, author
A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym
The Man of the House by Stephen McCauley
The Greeks and Greek Love by James N. Davidson
The Professor’s House by Willa Cather
I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company by Brian Hall
♦◊♦
Bernard Cooper
Novelist, memoirist
In Youth Is Pleasure by Denton Welch
Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism by Daniel Harris
Travels With Lizbeth: Three Years on the Road and on the Streets by Lars Eighner
White People by Allan Gurganus
My Dog Tulip by J.R. Ackerley
♦◊♦
Andrew Solomon
Nonfiction writer, journalist
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Bertram Cope’s Year by Henry Blake Fuller
Geography IIIby Elizabeth Bishop
Transparent by Cris Beam
Á Rebours by Joris-Karl Huysmans
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Allan Gurganus
Novelist, short-story writer, essayist
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Collected Poems by Arthur Rimbaud
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Complete Poems by Constantine Cavafy
♦◊♦
Adam Haslett
Novelist, short-story writer
The Symposium by Plato
The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1 by Michel Foucault
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality by John Boswell
Billy Budd by Herman Melville
The Confusions of Young Törless by Robert Musil
♦◊♦
Ali Liebegott
Poet, fiction writer
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Another Country by James Baldwin
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Valencia by Michelle Tea
♦◊♦
Colleen Coover
Comic book artist
Love and Rockets by Los Bros Hernandez
Dar: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary by Erika Moen
Don’t Bite the Sun and Drinking Sapphire Wine by Tanith Lee
Baker Street by Guy Davis
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
♦◊♦
Mark Thompson
Author, activist
Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. by Jonathan Katz
A Single Man and Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette
All: A James Broughton Reader edited by Jack Foley
The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon by Tom Spanbauer
♦◊♦
Kevin Sessums
Author, journalist
The Way We Live Now . by Susan Sontag
Any poem by W.H. Auden or Elizabeth Bishop
Good Times, Bad Times by James Kirkwood
The Price of the Ticket: Collected Nonfiction 1948–1985 by James Baldwin
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
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You’re right, Giovanni’s Room is a terrific book that I read 30 years ago.
I read it years ago but still often think of “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality” by John Boswell. It gives a well-researched account of homosexuality in the west and how it became transformed from being relatively common and accepted in Ancient Greece, Rome, and Europe in the early Middle Ages to publicly reviled until recently.
I’ll add two of my favorites:
The Catholic, by David Plante
Music for Chameleons, by Truman Capote
Benoit: If only you had run into me when I was still living in San Francisco! I’d have provided you with a lengthy and probably ridiculously thorough list… I read Kramer’s “Faggots” when it first appeared in 1979 — and just before my first and only trip to Fire Island for which I found it invaluable research at the tender age of 23. I loved the book then and still have my original copy. I should re-read to see how I feel about it today. That was, of course, the summer of the three queer classics: Andrew Hollaran’s “Dancer From… Read more »
Shout out to ‘Stone Butch Blues’ by Leslie Feinberg!
What a comprehensive and varied list! Great compilation. Among my favs are Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, The City and the Pillar by Gore Vidal, and A la recherche du temps perdu by Marcel Proust.
Holding the Man, autobiography of Timothy Conigrave (Australian). “Captures” the times, growing up pre-AIDS and then the tragedy. But “captures” doesn’t quite cover it. It’s the most moving thing I’ve ever read.
I am reading a new book by Madeline Miller, “The Song of Achilles,” a re-telling of Homer’s Iliad. The relationship between Achilles and Patrclus is a rich imagining of love between two men and promises to make this book a gay-themed classic… at least on my list. Thanks for the terrific article. It’s great that in 2012 we don’t have to search obscure newsgroups and hunt for subtext to find the best gay reads.
I’m glad to see some of my favorites already mentioned — “We Two Boys” by Jamie O’Neil is deeply touching and supremely beautifully written; Tom Spanbauer’s “The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon” continues to make me laugh and cry out loud every time I read it; James Kirkwood’s “P.S., Your Cat is Dead” gave me the first glimpse of being able to laugh about something I’d struggled with for too long; “Coming Out Gay,” by Don deserves mention as it helped a generation of men accept themselves; I feel that John Rechy’s books — particularly “Numbers” —… Read more »
Great recommendations! I want to add one new title to the list – A Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski, just out this year from Beacon Press.
Can’t wait to check these books out! 🙂
Hey Benoit – did I miss the ‘L’ books on the list?
So I guess you missed all the Bechdel, Lorde, Woolf and Tea (among others)? This is a men’s site, so it makes some sense that there’s a bit more focus on Gay men’s lit. There’s also Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues, but unfortunately that looks like the main test dealing with trans* experiences. Also, I’m not seeing much bi stuff, though I could be wrong, since I’m not familiar with all the texts.
The Marketplace, mentioned a couple of times, is Bi-
I just briefly browsed the list, but I like that you asked a bunch of people to give their input. So relieved to see The Color Purple made a couple “Top 5s”. Interesting that no one lists “The Well of Loneliness” or “The City and the Pilar”…are these texts famous more for being firsts but not necessarily the best? One of my favs that doesn’t seem to get mentioned by anyone is “Passing” by Nella Larsen.
“I wish someone had given me a list of required gay reading when I was coming out. Gay men gave me a lot of things back then (porn, theater tickets, crabs), but no one gave me book titles. As a young gay man, I could have used a literary roadmap to help me put my experiences—and my feelings—in some historical and sociological context.”
I can very much relate to this paragraph. Thank you for choosing to be person to give the titles of great LGBT books to young people like myself. I will definitely read many books on this list.
Glad to see some love for the marvelous Alison Bechdel (Fun Home is a quicker read than the massive opus of DTWOF), but let’s not forget Howard Cruse, especially Stuck Rubber Baby and Wendel.
Gay Summer Reading List: Writers Choose the Best…
Image via Passport LGBT Summer Reading List: Writers Choose the Best Are you an avid reader looking for some good gay material to help keep you entertained this summer? You’re in luck! Earlier this month, The Good Men Project created a list on the…
Fabulous lists! (Especially the lovely Brad Gooch’s)
My Faves:
a la recherche du temps perdu — Marcel Proust
Sheeper — Irving Rosenthal
Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli — Ronald Firbank
Two Serious Ladies — Jane Bowles
My Loose Thread — Dennis Cooper
Some really good books on these lists.
I am surprised that none of Armestead Maupins’ books were mentioned.. His “Tales of… series are phenomenal!
Interesting after all these decades that we still see three times as many males asked to recommend books as females and more than twice as many authors recommended we male than female…and every time I was unsure of the gender for whatever reason, I gave the benefit of the doubt to females. (I have little knowledge of the percentages of transgendered people in recommenders or recommended.) I’m kind of surprised by how many men who were asked for their recommendations listed five males and while almost every woman recommended at least one male writer. We’ve still got a long way… Read more »
Agreed. It’s unclear to me if this article was meant to be a list solely of the best books of interest to gay men (which is fine) or if it’s really meant to be a list of the best queer books appealing to all queer folk. In which case, come on… Gay women and trans folk long for books reflecting their experiences as well. Also, why link to Amazon while simultaneously bemoaning the loss of gay bookstores? Amazon is actively trying to put gay and other indie/political bookstores out of business. Why not link to an independent gay bookstores? I… Read more »
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/opinion/09gurganus.html
Not a book, but how about a copy of Gurganus’ April 2006 op ed in the New York Times about how the Duke lacrosse boys are gulty of the rape they were accused of (while simultaneously lusting after their “abercrombie appeal”). It defines the “vicious queen” character even better than some of Proust’s characters.
Andre Gide is da bomb
Can’t believe no one mentioned Randy Shilts’ “The Mayor of Castro Street”. That book changed my life.
I’m a big fan of Maupin’s Tales of the City, but his “Micheal Tolliver Lives” really hit close to home. I think it’s his best novel.
Also, I’d mention: Gore Vidal’s “Myra Breckenridge”; John Rechy’s wonderful “Numbers”; any of Genet’s novels; Christopher Bram’s “Gods and Monsters”; Richard K. Morgan’s “The Steel Remains”; Frederick Pohl’s “Gateway”
Ditto on Maupin’s books!