BlogHer - books - Comments

I'm not an expert--by any

katiect — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:14:21 -0500

I'm not an expert--by any means--of what makes a book "eligible" for a GLBT list...but these have some pretty interesting lesbian/gay characters......

Family Man

King of the Screwups

Mahu Fire

Bittersweet

Death of a Dying Man

Dearest Anne

Justice for All

Hey, I love rubyfruit

TW — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:24:12 -0500

Patience and Sarah

Alice B Toklas Cookbook

Hey does Zen and The Art count?

If not, Winter

Shy Girls

Other Girls

Journey to Zelindar

Herland

Diesel Fuel

She Walks in Beauty

Same Sea as Every Summer

Amateur City?

~TW
Retro-Food

Patience & Sarah

Denise — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:17:12 -0500

This is one of TW's favorite books and was meant to be on her suggested list but her computer crashed and she left it out in the second round. I'm very glad you mentioned it.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

More books for your list

dogsleder — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:37:54 -0500

I have a friend whose mother writes under the name Isabelle Miller. I've read through the posts and haven't seen her mentioned yet. The only one of her books I've read is Patience & Sarah, pub. 1972. It's about two women in 19th century New England and I really enjoyed reading it (a long time ago).

Other books by Isabelle Miller include: Laurel, Side by Side, The Love of Good Women and A Dooryard Full of Flowers which is a collection of short pieces.

excellent, keep 'em coming!

Denise — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:45:13 -0500

Tell your friends to come and contribute, too!

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

As Meat Loves Salt - Maria

refashionista — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:11:19 -0500

As Meat Loves Salt - Maria McCann

Gosh, I haven't read

sassymonkey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:10:24 -0500

Gone With The Wind since I was a teen, at which point all my friends thought I was nuts for read such a thick book.

One of my favourite go-to comfort reads is L.M. Montgomery's Blue Castle.

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

Yes! Debbie Harry!

sassymonkey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:04:45 -0500

I've been on the wait list for that one forever.

Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

What about The Screwed-Up

Vasilly — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:00:13 -0500

What about The Screwed-Up Life of Charlie the Second by Drew Ferguson? There's also Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers.

We are up to 62...

Denise — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:40:16 -0500

We need 38 more before we can really consider this a book list meme... any more "classics" you can think of? ;-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

how about another bechdel?

laurie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:31:47 -0500

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is one of my favourite books of all time.

Laurie

The blog is Not Just About Cancer and thebook is Not Done Yet.

Boo Rubyfruit...

Denise — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:18:19 -0500

but I know, it's a classic. ;-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Hey I like some science fiction

Denise — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:17:41 -0500

Heh. And honestly, I read almost everything you recommend eventually. I trust you.

Well I could have created a list of more than 100 but I wanted a lot of people to share their ideas but yes, Dykes to Watch Out For is in my head.

And you know I'm not just looking for YA, right? We're looking for (at least) 100 great GLBT books to create one of those book list memes that people pass around. Not just YA, all kinds of GLBT books.

;-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Arg

TW — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:44:16 -0500

Had a nice long list and eaten by tripping over computer when angiogram buzzer rang.

Rubyfruit Jungle

Another Mother Tongue

Diving into the Wreck

Curious Wine

Dusty's Queen of Hearts Diner

Fried Green Tomatoes

Well of Loneliness

Stone Butch Blues

Coal or the Black Unicorn

~TW
Retro-Food

GLBT YA books and more

Liz Henry — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:58:51 -0500

Okay Denise! This is just off the top of my head and I can do better once I'm home in my study and can scan the shelves. (I love saying "in my study".)

The Runaways - Graphic novel series with prominent genderqueer/lesbian characters. Pretty much the perfect YA comic book for anyone...

Cycler - Interesting sometimes controversial gender changing/ bi teenagers book. The protagonist becomes a boy a few days every month instead of PMS.

Earth Logic, Water Logic, Fire Logic - series by Laurie Marks. *excellent* fantasy fine for YA. GLBT fantasy where not everyone is white. yay!

Gossamer Axe - Fantasy. A bit campy. Heavy metal all-women band. Fight with the Sidhe to rescue lesbian partner.

The Gilda Stories - Sexy lesbian vampires FTW! A bit racy...older teenagers mayyybe

Mercedes Lackey, duh!

Marion Zimmber Bradley - start with The Shattered Chain. Thendara House. Fantasy/SF lesbian sisterhood fighting the patriarchy... with their psychic powers!

Nicola Griffith - various. Ammonite, etc. Too science fictiony for Denise, I'm sure.

Trouble & her Friends (ditto)

The Marq'ssan Cycle -L. Timmel Duchamp. Very long and very complicated and cool. Politically intense science fiction!

I'm sure this doesn't really count but I have to give a shout for the Birds of Prey comic books which at the least we can say have a lesbian or homosocial subtext.

About Monique Wittig, I love her a lot but not sure I'd recommend The Lesbian Body as the thing to start with since it's about sex and love and anatomical dissection. Maybe if you're super emo and into body modification. Otherwise, I'd read her essays in The Straight Mind if you want short, thought provoking political essays, and Les Guerrilleres if you want mind blowing weird prose-poem-like fiction. Across the Acheron is great too, it is a nonlinear rewrite of Dante. I love Wittig so much but she's very "experimental" and not for everyone. Les G. is a perfect gift for like, a 16 yr old proto fledgling lesbian poet who keeps a diary. I say from experience!

Has no one mentioned Dykes to Watch Out For! I can't believe it! Hothead Paisan?

-----------------
Liz Henry
Composite: Tech & Poetics

lizzard@bookmaniac.net