27 Must Have Queer Summer Reads: The journey begins…

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~Wednesday~ Several weeks ago now, I came across 27 Must Have Queer Summer Reads, undoubtedly pointed to on the feed of one of my Facebook friends or Twitter friends.

Now, I know people who have committed to read lists of books, the most impressive by far, being my friend Glenn Hunt, who has this note in the “About me” section of his blog: Read Watch Write Sleep Repeat.

As you may notice, I really like lists. I am currently working my way through the 100 Best English Novels of the 20th Century and the 100 Best Movies (1998 and 2007 rankings) lists.

I’ve never read a list of books, and I’m not sure I would have thought to try it, if I hadn’t been familiar with Glenn’s endeavor, but here I am thinking about trying to, maybe, commit to reading this list. Enough qualifiers on that?

With that said, I’ve already encountered enough negative speak in my head to worry about how successful I’ll be, some of it being:

  • Two of the books are graphic novels, which I am very not fond of.
  • Eight or so of them either are, or seem to be, Lesbian stories. Not that there’s anything wrong with Lesbian stories.
  • I am not a foodie, so I have my doubts about number 7 on the list, Spoon Fed.
  • I’m torn about the only book on the list that I’ve read, torn for two reasons: 1) I’m not one for re-reading books, and 2) That book was actually far from my favorite David Sedaris book; I would have put Me Talk Pretty One Day on that list before Barrel Fever.
  • The previous item being on the list makes the overall list suspect—just a little, at least.

I have a compulsion to read these books in order, and I’ll at least start that way.

Speaking of compulsions, that’s what’s making me feel like I have to re-read the one book on the list that I’ve already read, but I might get over that by the time I reach that selection, since it’s halfway down the list.

Here are the titles of the books if you haven’t already visited the link above:

  1. We the Animals
  2. The Velvet Rage
  3. Tiger, Tiger
  4. The Swimming Pool Library
  5. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
  6. If You Follow Me
  7. Spoon Fed
  8. The Price of Salt
  9. So Many Ways to Sleep Badly
  10. Girl in Need of a Tourniquet
  11. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
  12. Fun Home
  13. Forgetting Elena
  14. Barrel Fever
  15. A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend
  16. Eminent Outlaws
  17. Chelsea Girls
  18. Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter
  19. Two Serious Ladies
  20. Funeral Rites
  21. People in Trouble
  22. At Swim, Two Boys
  23. The Year of Ice
  24. Strangers in Paradise
  25. Many Waters
  26. The Song of Achilles
  27. I Am Not Myself These Days

I have actually completed We the Animals, and I’ll blog about it in soon.

I have requested The Velvet Rage from the library, and I’m first on the request list, which means I just have to wait for it to be transferred to my library, which usually takes a day or two.

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