glbtq books

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 5:51pm

i sent a pm to paljoey asking about a book he had recemended before so i could buy it for the glbtq library we're starting at school... and then it occured to me that other people might know of some good books.

we're looking for books about coming out, about dealing with harassment, clean fiction or non-fiction stories about glbtq youth (or if you know of any dirty books, we'll buy those and keep them to ourselves ), autobiographies of famous glbtq people... stuff like that.

the point of our library is to provide people who dont feel comfortable going to the library to look at these books a safe place to read them (our new glbtq center is going to be in an old dorm building that doesn't have much student activity in it... just professor's offices) so anything you think someone ages 18-25 would benefit from, please let me know about it so i can check it out :)

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 7:36pm

There are so many great books. in my opinion, the definitive books are the 3 Randy Shilts gave us:

And the Band Played On
The Mayor of Castro Street
Conduct Unbecoming

These are nonfiction and read like fiction because they are so well researched--like documentaries in book form.

Other personal faves:

Stranger at the Gate
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
Life Outside (possibly any of Signorile's books)
Larry Kramer's books

and don't forget to include the great LGBT plays and musicals that are available for reading from Bent to Angels in America to Torch Song Trilogy to Falsettos and so many more.

[nitsua]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 7:57pm

For the middle school kids, I'd suggest the Rainbow Boys Trilogy, by Alex Sanchez. I've only read the first two, and they're good, if you're in middle school.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 8:44pm

Jerby's suggestions are all on the money. As soon as it is released, I'll be happy to donate a copy of Gay by God, which is the new title of Rev. Michael Piazza's book Holy Homosexuals. I also will send a copy of his Queeries: Questions Lesbians and Gays Have for God. (He's my boss.)

[nitsua]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 8:47pm

One of my favorite novels is Dream Boy, by Jim Grimes. It's a simple story, but beautifully told.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 11:13pm

thanks for the suggestions! i'll check them all out when i'm more awake tomarrow :)
and it's for a college library.

[wickedfiyeroofoz]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 11:16pm

I really enjoyed All American Boy by William J. Mann

[wickedfiyeroofoz]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 11:22pm

OK issue! I searched wikipedia for all american boy...just to see how it was reviewed and at the bottom this is what I see...



Has anyone here read this book.?...yes it's partially about a relationship between an underage guy and an older man....but I missed where it was about pedophilia and sexual abuse...makes me sad

[BeingAliveNYC2]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 12:48am

Two of my favorites are "Annie on my Mind" by Nancy Garden and "Patience and Sarah" by Isabel Miller and Emma Donoghue. They are both really great coming of age type books, and the second one takes place in the 1800's, which I found fascinating.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 12:53pm

"The Blue Lawn" by William Taylor is a great gay teen book that they'd enjoy :)

[Mistress Overdone]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 7:25pm

Kings and Queens: Queers at the Prom

[Mistress Overdone]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 8:27pm

All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 8:33pm

Theory/Essay Anthologies/Etc:
THE TROUBLE WITH NORMAL- Michael Warner
BROTHER TO BROTHER- Essays by Black Gay Men
QUEER THEORY, GENDER THEORY- Riki Wilchins
STAGESTRUCK: Theater, AIDS, Marketing of Gay America- Sarah Schulman

Fiction:
ANGELS IN AMERICA- Tony Kushner
THE HOURS- Michael Cunningham
MEN ON THE VERGE OF A HISPANIC BREAKDOWN- Guillermo Reyes
RAGS AND BONES- Michael Nava
THE CURE FOR SODOMY- Ken Shakin

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 10:28am

We should not forget Patricia Nell Warren's classic The Front Runner.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 10:42am

Pardon me for being rather old fashioned....and sorry to sound very un-PC, but what would define a "q" (queer) book as opposed to anything listed under glbt?
Updated On: 12/4/07 at 10:42 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 10:49am

Gordon Merrick?

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:35pm

"Q" actually stands for "questioning."

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:37pm

BECOMING A MAN, an award-winning memoir by Paul Monette.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:40pm

One of my professors from last year wrote an interesting book called "Gay TV and Straight America." It focuses a lot on the media side of GLBTQ theory, and I found it to be a great read. Also, I second All the Rage. We read that in the aforementioned professor's class, and I enjoyed it.

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 12:52pm

"Q" = Questioning?

Oh, the "Christ Was I Drunk Last Night" crowd.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 1:39pm

Actually, WindyCity, the "q" most often refers to youth.

[Mistress Overdone]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 2:24pm

I thought the "Q" referred to "queer." As in, those who are asexual or genderqueer or some other non-straight who did not fall into the category of G, L, B, or T. Updated On: 12/4/07 at 02:24 PM

[DBillyP]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 2:49pm

I suppose that also is correct.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 3:09pm

I feel like there aren't enough letters with just GLBTQ. There have to a be a few more hairs to split, I think.

I don't get why each and every word has to have its own letter. It just seems clumsy to me. If G,L,B,T,Q et al all need their own letter, why group them together in the first place?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/4/07 at 3:22pm

GLBTQ looks like a sign for the MTA. It just needs an arrow.

Under no condition would a library of gay literature truly exist without the wonderful Entries From a Hot Pink Notebook by Todd Brown. It is honestly the best work I've read dealing with the subject of coming out in high school. I related to this novel like no other and I would love to see it as a film one day. If you haven't read it, find it and read it NOW. And if you don't trust me, read the reviews...

Entries From a Hot Pink Notebook

Updated On: 12/4/07 at 03:22 PM