Qliterature, a.k.a. A List of Must Read Queer Literature

I’m a bad literate queer. I haven’t read much queer literature at all. I asked Twitter for some recommendations and the list was so huge, I had to share it here. This is just another example of why you should follow me on Twitter. I may need you for something seriously crucial at some point.

Suggestions by @bibliobutch:

• Anything by Ivan Coyote, Michelle Tea, S. Bear Bergman, Kate Bornstein, Staceyann Chin, Jewel Gomez, Jackie Kay, Alix Olson, Cherríe Moraga, Jeanette Winterson, Dorothy Allison
• Trumpet by Jacki Kay about a trans* jazz musician
• Straight by Hanne Blank
• Ecstasy is Necessary by Barbara Carrellas
• When We Were Outlaws by Jeanne Cordova
• The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinksi
• Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
• Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
• Mean Little Deaf Queer by Terry Galloway

Suggestions by @TheAllisonMoon (I suggest you get her lesbian werewolf novels too!):

• A Home at the End of the World by Micheal Cunningham
• The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer
• Fun Home again (two votes for this one so far)
• Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
• Silk Road by Jane Summer
• The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch (I saw her speak once, loved her)
• Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente
• Anything by Michael Chabon, Michael Cunningham, Michelle Tea, Jeaneatte Winterson, Sarah Waters, Francesca Lia Block, Samuel Delaney

Suggestions by @KeAnne:

• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
• The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
• Anything by Edmund White

Suggestion by @JamieJHagen:

• The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Suggestions by @bcmgsupermommy:

• Middlesex (again for two)
• The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Suggestion from @BruCube:

• Men Are Pigs But We Love Bacon by Michael Alvear

Suggestion by @SuzyQuzey:

• Anything by Monica Nolan

Suggestion by @nerdtaculurr:

• Lost Souls and Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite, who now goes by Billy Martin

My suggestions:

• Malinda Lo does Young Adult fiction, I haven’t read but heard are great (I worked with her at Curve and she is friendly as well, a bonus)
• Urban Tantra by Barbara Carrellas
• Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
• Glitter, a collection of sexual stories from people of all genders and sexual orientations, including me!
• Anything by Gertrude Stein, Virginia Wolf, Mary Oliver, or Andrea Gibson

Also, Flavorwire published a post about 50 Essential Works of LGBT Fiction that has more on it, if you’ve made your way through this list. Also, they wrote an interesting piece on whether America is ready for The Great Gay Novel.

I’m kind of overwhelmed now. Can I borrow about $1000 from someone to buy new books? And about $1000 a month to get a bigger apartment to store these books? What are your favorite queer books?