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Leaders in the GLBT literary, political, and social world since 1974, Lambda Rising bookstores still offer the finest in GLBTQ literature and entertainment. |
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The Gay Publishing Company |
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 If you don't have these gay classics, get them now!
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Many authorities, not just us,
regard these titles to be classics in their respective gay genres. Note that the list is not currently in any specific order and that our search function is not yet live, but at least you have a list to work from!
By the way, if you know of a book we've missed, have a different review to suggest, or want to add another tag or label to any existing titles, please let us know—this is your list, so make it all it can be.
Check back often to see what updates and additions we've made, or sign up to receive our e-newsletter, which will notify you when we make major changes. Happy reading! |
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Not into the classics?
Looking for something else?
Try these additional reading and watch lists: |
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New York: Penguin Reprints, 2009 (originally, 1982); ISBN-13: 978-0-143114-84-0
male coming of age, young adult, classic
The first in a semi-autobiographical trilogy that spans fifty years, A Boy's Own Story is a coming-of-age story set in the American Midwest of the 1950s. (The other titles in the trilogy are The Beautiful Room Is Empty, 1988, and The Farewell Symphony, 1998.) "A Boy's Own Story is a delight from start to finish," says reviewer Philip Spires. "Edmund White's style is quite beautiful, full of complex allusions, superb characterisation, and, above all, masterful description."
A rather critical review of this book is available here: http://thegayrecluse.com/2008/01/12/on-a-boys-own-story/
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New York: Bantam Classics, 1983 (originally, 1973); ISBN-13: 978-0-553278-86-6
female coming of age, lesbian experience, comedy, classic
Required reading in many higher-level literature classes, Rubyfruit Jungle is the first book I remember that made me laugh out loud as I read. The star of the semi-autobiographical story is Molly, a seven-year-old girl when we first meet her, who lives in Coffee Hollow, Pennsylvania, a small town just outside York. The rest of the book follows her through high school, then college, and a life of discovery in New York City, all during the 1950s and '60s. "Imagine, if you will, Tom Sawyer, only smarter," reviewer Shelly Temchin Henze said, "Huckleberry Finn, only foul-mouthed, female, and lesbian, and you have an idea of Molly Bolt" (New Boston Review, April-May, 1970).
A plot summary is available here: http://www.answers.com/topic/rubyfruit-jungle-novel-1 |
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New York: Ballantine Books, 1998 (originally, 1973); ISBN-13: 978-0-345913-23-4
male coming of age, classic
When The Best Little Boy in the World was first released in 1973, its author hid his identity behind the pen name "John Reid." But, by the time a sequel, The Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up was released in 1999, financial and investment writer and DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias didn't have to hide. Known as the coming-out story for "sweet little midwestern boys who live next door," rather than "Stonewall radicals," "outright fairies," and drag queens, The Best Little Boy in the World is still considered largely relevant, even in today's much faster paced, online world.
Listen to an interview with the author (recorded on September 24, 1998) on NPR's Talk of the Nation here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1009844
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Boston: Alyson Publications, 1982; ISBN-13: 978-0-932870-77-3
historical fiction, Hollywood, New York, classic
An interior designer, a Hollywood soundtrack musician, an accountant, and a movie star—friends for four decades, the 1930s to the '70s. According to the author's preface, this book started as a search into what their lives would have been like: "How did a gay person in the '30s decide on a career, live with a lover, find sex, cope with oppression, attain self-esteem, make friends, hide gayness or reveal it to his family? . . . What I found is in these pages." Reinhart spent hundreds of hours interviewing the four men before a history of life in the shadows of success emerged. "I sought those events in their lives when, because of their homosexuality, they made choices, took turnings, or feared to do something lest they reveal their homosexuality." Reinhart is also the author of Walk the Night (1994), a novel of gay life during the Holocaust, and a number of short stories and plays.
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Beverly Hills, CA: Wildcat Press, 1996 (originally, 1974); ISBN-13: 978-0-964109-96-4
sports, classic
Harlan Brown has been fired from Penn State University and gone into hiding at an obscure New York college. But before long, the cross country coach finds himself protecting three incoming transfer students, all of them openly gay—for the 1970s. One of them, long-distance runner and Olympic hopeful Billy Sive, cautiously enters into a relationship with the coach. In addition to some remarkable characterizations and a realistic setting, the author also applied her own experiences from the sports world to convey a somber portrayal of the amateur sports world of the time. Harlan's Race (1994) is a popular sequel.
Read the interesting historical story behind The Front Runner here: http://www.outsports.com/difference/pnw.htm
The author discusses sports, literature, and the gay community on the Out Front Blog (published February 10, 2009), here:
http://www.fhoutfront.com/2009/02/the-front-runner-35-years-on-qa-with-author-patricia-nell-warren.html
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Beverly Hills, CA: Wildcat Press, 1996 (originally, 1976); ISBN-13: 978-0-964109-97-1
religion, American Indian, classic
At first, Vidal is just another confessor to Father Tom, but the rookie priest comes to discover they share a common secret. Often acclaimed as a cross between The Thorn Birds (1977) and the newer Brokeback Mountain (1997), Fancy Dancer is a devoted exploration of the inner conflict that is often fought between the indoctrination of upbringing and the uncontrollable realities of love.
View the first six pages here, at Amazon.com (allow your mouse pointer to hover over the cover, then select "First Pages")
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New York: Plume-New American Library, 1981; ISBN-13: 978-0-452256-75-0
bisexuality, classic
Hansen, who also wrote under the names James Colton (or Coulton) and Rose Brock, is remembered primarily for his popular Dave Brandstetter Mysteries (twelve books about the "adventures" of an openly gay insurance claims investigator) but also wrote dozens of other gay works, including poetry. However, A Smile in His Lifetime is generally considered his mainstream literary success. Part of the reason for that success is captured by reviewer Josh Thomas: "Mr. Hansen has captured the quintessence of gay men: we are lovers. More than dickhounds or drag queens, we want to be husbands. To my knowledge, this is the first book to point that out."
An essay on the historical significance of Hansen's writing is available here: http://trashotron.com/agony/columns/2003/11-20-03.htm
(includes a hard-to-find link to the twelve books in the Dave Brandstetter Mystery series, too)
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New York: Penguin Group, 1987; ISBN-13: 978-0-805006-69-8
male coming of age, relationship study, classic
Set in Manhattan during the 1970s, the story of Surprising Myself basically follows the relationship of Joel and Corey, who escape rural Virginia to explore their feelings of loyalty and love. A Publishers Weekly review touted the book as "candid (often explicit), wise, humorous, and affirmative, with compelling characters who are engagingly human first, and only then straight or gay."
A short section of an interview with the author (published July 10, 2006) is available here:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6350914.html?q=surprising+myself
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