Top Gay Books of the XXI century
It's that time of the year again, when I update the Top Gay Books List. Some books went up, some went down, and there are many new entries, especially for the second decade of the XXI century.
As usual some "boring" basic rules: the list considers only gay themed books released after January 1, 2000, so you can consider this a Top 100 List of the XXI century. To enter the list I browsed all the LGBTQ publishers I found, considered all the specific awards and all the recommendations from friends. I haven't read ALL the books, like you, I am trying to read as much as possible, but the list is impartial, meaning that if I didn't like a book, or I haven't read it yet, I nevertheless included it in the list.
To decide the ranking I chose to consider the owned copies on LibraryThing, a cataloguing website that seems to be "serious" and of common use. For every author I considered only a book, the one with more owned copies, so the list is more a Top Authors than a Top Books.
The actual list will remain frozen for 1 year, and in September 2014 I will reopened it and track the changes. In the meantime, I will continue to feature authors from this list in my In the Spotlight appointment.
First decade (2000-2009) (All books with links here: http://www.elisarolle.com/ramblings/top_100_gay_novels.html)
1) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
2) Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
3) Three Junes by Julia Glass
4) The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
5) Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
6) Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry
7) The Master by Colm Toibin
8) Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
9) Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham
10) At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill
11) The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin
12) Melusine by Sarah Monette
13) Fraud by David Rakoff
14) The Vesuvius Club: A Bit of Fluff by Mark Gatiss
15) A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice
16) The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan
17) Hero by Perry Moore
18) Untold Stories by Alan Bennett
19) Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
20) The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
21) Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
22) The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman
23) Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
24) As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
25) The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant by Dan Savage
26) Shadows Return by Lynn Flewelling
27) How I Paid for College by Marc Acito
28) The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer
29) Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
30) The Misfits by James Howe
31) Liquor by Poppy Z. Brite
32) Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
33) My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park by Steve Kluger
34) The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt
35) I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
36) Ex Machina, Vol. 2: Tag by Brian K. Vaughan
37) The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman
38) All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann
39) Carnival by Elizabeth Bear
40) Dog Years: A Memoir by Mark Doty
41) Dramarama by E. Lockhart
42) The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
43) Dorian: An Imitation by Will Self
44) Havemercy by Jaida Jones
45) Bear Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan
46) Rough Music by Patrick Gale
47) The Chosen (The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, Book 1) by Ricardo Pinto
48) The Married Man by Edmund White
49) My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
50) The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
51) Freak Show by James St. James
52) The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America by Charles Kaiser
53) Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
54) Tommy's Tale by Alan Cumming
55) The World of Normal Boys by K. M. Soehnlein
56) Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums
57) The Center of the World by Andreas Steinhofel
58) The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington by Brian Francis
59) Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century by Graham Robb
60) Absolutely Positively Not by David LaRochelle
61) Grief by Andrew Holleran
62) Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford
63) Homosexuality and Civilization by Louis Crompton
64) Alternatives to Sex by Stephen McCauley
65) The Coming Storm by Paul Russell
66) Without Reservations by J. L. Langley
67) Not a Day Goes By by E. Lynn Harris
68) Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
69) The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy
70) Leave Myself Behind by Bart Yates
71) Comfort and Joy by Jim Grimsley
72) The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon
73) My Lucky Star by Joe Keenan
74) The Back Passage by James Lear
75) What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson
76) Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon
77) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day
78) The Martian Child: A Novel About A Single Father Adopting A Son by David Gerrold
79) Point of Dreams by Melissa Scott & Lisa A. Barnett
80) Sprout by Dale Peck
81) Lust or No Harm Done by Geoff Ryman
82) The Sluts by Dennis Cooper
83) Brethren: Raised By Wolves by W. A. Hoffman
84) The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
85) Now Is the Hour by Tom Spanbauer
86) We Disappear by Scott Heim
87) Cut & Run by Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
88) The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux
89) Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde
90) Homophobia: A History by Byrne Fone
91) Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon
92) The Notorious Dr. August by Christopher Bram
93) The First Verse by Barry McCrea
94) Vintage by Steve Berman
95) Mordred, Bastard Son (Mordred Trilogy) by Douglas Clegg
96) Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg
97) The Way of Light (The Chronicles of Magravandias, Book 3) by Storm Constantine
98) The Assignment by Evangeline Anderson
99) Scarlet and the White Wolf by Kirby Crow
100) GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel
101) The Abomination by Paul Golding
102) Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir by Edwin John Wintle
103) Oleander House by Ally Blue
104) Amuse Bouche by Anthony Bidulka
105) When I Knew by Robert Trachtenberg
106) Collision Course by K.A. Mitchell
107) Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby
108) Dragon's Treasure by Elizabeth A. Lynn
109) Posted To Death by Dean James
110) Tale of Two Summers by Brian Sloan
111) Saint Morrissey: A Portrait of This Charming Man by an Alarming Fan by Mark Simpson
112) False Colors by Alex Beecroft
113) Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
114) Bareback by Chris Owen
115) Gay Life & Culture: A World History by Robert Aldrich
116) Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy
117) Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai
118) Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910-1969 by William J. Mann
119) Edinburgh by Alexander Chee
120) Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman
121) Vampire Vow by Michael Schiefelbein
122) Breakfast with Scot by Michael Downing
123) Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 by David Deitcher
124) Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal
125) A Secret Edge by Robin Reardon
126) Dark Reflections by Samuel R. Delany
127) Clay's Way by Blair Mastbaum
128) The Elusive Embrace: Desire and the Riddle of Identity by Daniel Mendelsohn
129) Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin
130) Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality by Jonathan Ned Katz
131) A Son Called Gabriel by Damian McNicholl
132) Latter Days by C. Jay Cox
133) A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach
134) Pulp Friction: Uncovering the Golden Age of Gay Male Pulps by Michael Bronski
135) Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is by Abigail Garner
136) Saints of Augustine by P.E. Ryan
137) The Phoenix by Ruth Sims
138) The Bill from My Father: A Memoir by Bernard Cooper
139) Queer Street: Rise and Fall of an American Culture, 1947-1985 by James McCourt
140) Rag and Bone by Michael Nava
141) My Side of the Story: A Novel by Will Davies
142) Standish by Erastes
143) How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity by Michael Cart
144) The Kiss Murder by Mehmet Murat Somer
145) 7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman
146) Ransom by Lee Rowan
147) A Perfect Waiter by Alain Claude Sulzer
148) Crossing Borders by Z.A. Maxfield
149) Mind Fuck by Manna Francis
150) In the Absence of Men by Philippe Besson
151) Men on Men 2000: Best New Gay Fiction by David Bergman & Karl Woelz
152) Discreet Young Gentleman by M. J. Pearson
153) A Young Man's Passage by Julian Clary
154) Desert Sons by Mark Kendrick
155) Out & About Campus: Personal Accounts by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender College Students by Kim Howard
156) Bourbon Street Blues by Greg Herren
157) Frontiers by Michael Jensen
158) Half-Life by Aaron Krach
159) Avoidance by Michael Lowenthal
160) The King by David Feintuch
161) Back Where He Started by Jay Quinn
162) The Romanian: Story of an Obsession by Bruce Benderson
163) David Inside Out by Lee Bantle
164) Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen
165) Lawnboy by Paul Lisicky
166) The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government by David K. Johnson
167) Man About Town by Mark Merlis
168) The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby
169) Love Speaks Its Name: Gay and Lesbian Love Poems by J. D. McClatchy
170) Skin Lane by Neil Bartlett
171) Someone Killed His Boyfriend by David Stukas
172) Venus as a Boy by Luke Sutherland
173) Flight Dreams (Mark Manning Mystery) by Michael Craft
174) Fortunes Of War by Mel Keegan
175) Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball by Billy Bean
176) PsyCop: Partners by Jordan Castillo Price
177) Band Fags! by Frank Anthony Polito
178) Every Man For Himself by Orland Outland
179) My Best Man by Andy Schell
180) He's The One by Timothy James Beck
181) Queer Jews by David Shneer
182) Lake Overturn by Vestal Mcintyre
183) The Manny Files by Christian Burch
184) Can't Buy Me Love by Chris Kenry
185) Hornito: My Lie Life by Mike Albo
186) First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery by Scott Sherman
187) Shameless by Paul Burston
188) The Death of a Constant Lover (Nick Hoffman Mysteries) by Lev Raphael
189) No Going Home by T. A. Chase
190) One Dead Drag Queen (Stonewall Inn Mysteries) by Mark Richard Zubro
191) Fool's Errand by Louis Bayard
192) Civil Wars: A Battle for Gay Marriage by David Moats
193) The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by Rev. Jeff Miner
194) Jeremy Thrane by Kate Christensen
195) Men Like That: A Southern Queer History by John Howard
196) Falling by M. L. Rhodes
197) Selfish and Perverse by Bob Smith
198) Out of Sync: A Memoir by Lance Bass
199) Tricks of the Trade by Ben Tyler
200) War Boy by Kief Hillsbery
201) Common Sons by Ronald L. Donaghe
202) So Me by Graham Norton
203) Handyman by Claire Thompson
204) Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East by Brian Whitaker
205) Gay Haiku by Joel Derfner
206) The Actor's Guide To Murder by Rick Copp
207) Soul Mates: Bound by Blood by Jourdan Lane
208) The Straight Road to Kylie by Nico Medina
209) Letters to Montgomery Clift by Noel Alumit
210) Swords of the Rainbow: Gay & Lesbian Fantasy Adventures by Eric Garber
211) Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
212) Secrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star by Rich Merritt
213) Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley
214) Design Flaws of the Human Condition by Paul Schmidtberger
215) The New Gay Teenager (Adolescent Lives) by Ritch C. Savin-Williams
216) Mahu by Neil S. Plakcy
217) Come Out Fighting: A Century of Essential Writing on Gay & Lesbian Liberation by Chris Bull
218) Limits of Justice by John Morgan Wilson
219) The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood by Jesse Green
220) The Good Thief by James Buchanan
221) L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown
222) Faith for Beginners by Aaron Hamburger
223) 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous by Graeme Aitken
224) Tongue Tied by Richard Stevenson
225) Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin
226) Broadway Nights: A Romp of Life, Love, and Musical Theatre by Seth Rudetsky
227) Always My Child: A Parent's Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, or Questioning Son or Daughter by Kevin Jennings
228) The Summer They Came by William Storandt
229) Easter by Michael Arditti
230) Fixer Chao by Han Ong
231) The Music of Your Life: Stories by John Rowell
232) Any Kind Of Luck by William Jack Sibley
233) Men Like Us : The Gmhc Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Well-Being by Daniel Wolfe
234) Light Fell by Evan Fallenberg
235) Bound In Blood by David Thomas Lord
236) Evil? by Timothy Carter
237) Bent by Sean Michael
238) The Coming of the Night by John Rechy
239) God Says No by James Hannaham
240) The Conversion by Joseph Olshan
241) Nothing Pink by Mark Hardy
242) How's Your Romance?: Concluding the "Buddies" Cycle by Ethan Mordden
243) The Master of Seacliff by Max Pierce
244) Hot Sauce by Scott Pomfret & Scott Whittier
245) My Tender Matador by Pedro Lemebel
246) On Fire by Drew Zachary
247) Change of Heart by Mary Calmes
248) Daytime Drama by Dave Benbow
249) Uncle's Story by Witi Tame Ihimaera
250) Bitch Goddess by Robert Rodi
251) Queer Fear: Gay Horror Fiction by Michael Rowe
252) The Desire for Dearborne by V B Kildaire
253) Love Means No Shame by Andrew Grey
254) Sugarless: A Novel by James Magruder
255) Salvation Army by Abdellah Taïa
256) The Future is Queer: A Science Fiction Anthology by Richard Labonte & Lawrence Schimel
257) What Love Means to You People by NancyKay Shapiro
258) Everything I Have Is Blue: Short Fiction by Working-Class Men About More-or-Less Gay Life by Wendell Ricketts
259) A Note in the Margin by Isabelle Rowan
260) The Hour Between by Sebastian Stuart
261) A Fostered Love by Cameron Dane
262) When The Stars Come Out by Rob Byrnes
263) My Dearest Holmes by Rohase Piercy
264) The Boys in the Brownstone by Kevin Scott
265) Hurricane Watch (Dar and Kerry) by Melissa Good
266) The Male Nude Now: New Visions for the 21st Century by David Leddick
267) Closing Distance by Jim Oliver
268) The Republic of Vengeance by Paul Waters
269) A Push and a Shove: A Novel by Christopher Kelly
270) The Archer's Heart by Astrid Amara
271) Bound by Deception by Ava March
272) Longhorns by Victor J. Banis
273) Capital Queers (Alex Reynolds Mysteries) by Fred Hunter
274) Safe as Houses by Alex Jeffers
275) First Person Plural by Andrew W.M. Beierle
276) Through It Came Bright Colors by Trebor Healey
277) None So Blind by L J Maas
278) This Thing Called Courage: South Boston Stories by J. G. Hayes
279) Bite Club: A West Hollywood Vampire Novel by Hal Bodner
280) Christopher: A Tale of Seduction by Allison Burnett
281) Whose Song?: And Other Stories by Thomas Glave
282) The Boys and the Bees by Joe Babcock
283) The Whole World Was Watching: Living in the Light of Matthew Shepard by Romaine Patterson
284) Adam & Steve: A Novel by Craig Chester
285) Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture by Warren Dunford
286) Finlater by Shawn Stewart Ruff
287) From Boys to Men: Gay Men Write About Growing Up by Ted Gideonse
288) Suspension by Robert Westfield
289) Onyx by Felice Picano
290) Bird-Eyes by Madelyn Arnold
291) Angel Lust : An Erotic Novel of Time Travel by Perry Brass
292) A Strong Hand by Catt Ford
293) Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling
294) Alone in the Trenches: My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL by Esera Tuaolo
295) Talking In The Dark by Billy Merrell
296) The Devil and Daniel Silverman by Theodore Roszak
297) Desmond: A Novel About Love and the Modern Vampire by Ulysses G. Dietz
298) What I Did Wrong: A Novel by John Weir
299) Alex in Wonderland by Michel Lacroix
300) Secret Matter by Toby Johnson
301) 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye - A Novel by Nick Alexander
302) Wendel All Together by Howard Cruse
303) Dishes by Rich Wallace
304) Setting the Lawn on Fire by Mack Friedman
305) Queer Beats: How the Beats Turned America On to Sex by Regina Marler
306) Soul Bonds: Common Powers 1 by Lynn Lorenz
307) The Name of the Game by Willa Okati
308) Dance, Recover, Repeat by Alasdair Duncan
309) The Haunted Hillbilly by Derek McCormack
310) Outline of My Lover by Douglas A Martin
311) An American Family (Non-Traditional) by Michael Galluccio
Second decade (2010-2019) (All books with links here: http://www.elisarolle.com/ramblings/top_100_gay_novels.2.html)
1) Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
2) The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller
3) In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
4) The Absolutist by John Boyne
5) Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
6) Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade by Justin Spring
7) King of the Screwups by K. L. Going
8) Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution by David Carter
9) Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels
10) At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream: Misadventures in Search of the Simple Life by Wade Rouse
11) Strings Attached by Nick Nolan
12) Hot Head by Damon Suede
13) Promises by Marie Sexton
14) Lessons in Love by Charlie Cochrane
15) Me by Ricky Martin
16) Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright
17) Where's My Wand?: One Boy's Magical Triumph over Alienation and Shag Carpeting by Eric Poole
18) Love Drugged by James Klise
19) Perfect Peace by Daniel Black
20) Something Like Summer by Jay Bell
21) Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff
22) A Better Place by Mark A. Roeder
23) Special Delivery by Heidi Cullinan
24) Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
25) Probation by Tom Mendicino
26) Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
27) Scrap Metal by Harper Fox
28) Shattered Glass by Dani Alexander
29) Unnatural (Archangel Academy) by Michael Griffo
30) Muscling Through by J.L. Merrow
31) The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet: A Novel by Myrlin A. Hermes
32) Like Coffee and Doughnuts by Elle Parker
33) Downtime by Tamara Allen
34) Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States by Joey Mogul
35) Keeping Promise Rock by Amy Lane
36) Will by Maria Boyd
37) Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune
38) Finding Zach by Rowan Speedwell
39) The Boy I Love (The Boy I Love Trilogy) by Marion Husband
40) Captive Prince: Volume One (Volume 1) by S. U. Pacat
41) Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee
42) God vs. Gay?: The Religious Case for Equality by Jay Michaelson
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