What are you reading?

OK, I'm embarrassed to start two threads in a row, but... might as well.

I'm reading Jan Morris's "Destinations" in transit (other stuff in the mornings and evenings). Incidentally, she's probably the most famous transgendered person... I can think of. Used to be James, went to war and produced FIVE children!--before the transition.

Anyway, that's not why I read her--her travel books are marvellous, even though I don't agree with her many of the times.

I am on a Jeanette Winterson intermission. I discovered her last summer (thanks to a Bill Moyers interview and an unrelated recommendation from the woman I had just started dating) and have subsequently read 5 of her books with another sitting on top of my to-be-read pile. She is an amazing writer and a great interview (you can access her interview at www.pbs.org/moyers and following the Faith and Reason links).

During this intermission, I'm reading a biography of Ella Grasso, a former Governor of CT and the first woman elected Governor (in the U.S.) in her own right.

And I'm actually on a Jeanette Winterson interlude, if you will. She's my best friend's favorite writer, and he's always sending me her books. I really liked Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, which I actually read several years before I realized I was gay myself, and The Passion, which was even better. I've found the rest of her books pretty much "eh" up to this point.

Which is why it surprises me that I'm actually enjoying Lighthousekeeping quite a bit...

~S

I admire Winterson a lot, I think she's hugely talented, and a true original, but I must admit I think none of her later books quite stand up to "Oranges...". Still, I read them almost as soon as they come out.

I loved "Lighthousekeeping", I was relieved to find it better than the few preceeding ones ("The powerbook"?); maybe she'll pick up again.

I love Jeanette Winterson too. So far, my fav would have to be "Written on the Body".

I just finished "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. I'm now starting Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" and Leslie Feinberg's "Stone Butch Blues" . I'm ashamed to admit I've never read them.

Don't feel ashamed! So many books, so little time! :)

I never read Friedan myself. I assume it must be quite a period piece by now.

>> I admire Winterson a lot, I think she's hugely talented, and a true original, but I must admit I think none of her later books quite stand up to "Oranges...". Still, I read them almost as soon as they come out. Written on the Body (because everyone but me loved it) and Sexing the Cherry (because my mother found it in my adolescent bookstack and threw a fit!).

Now, the funny thing is, Winterson is one of only two lesbian novelists I've read. The other being Sarah Waters...I truly enjoyed Tipping the Velvet, and I have her other three books, too. Need to make time to read one soon.

~S

Sometimes, especially with the older writers, you may not even know they were lesbians! I'd read several books by Marguerite Yourcenar but didn't know she was gay until years later. Patricia Highsmith is another example--there are many.

If you're interested in finding lesbian authors who wrote about (or for) lesbians, the anthologies are a good way to discover a whole bunch at once, for instance, Chloe Plus Olivia: An Anthology of Lesbian Literature from the 17th Century to the Present or The lesbian pillow book.

I actually have a long and sordid history with The Lesbian Pillow Book - or, as I like to call it, the gift that kept coming back (long story).

Highsmith I was not aware of, although that makes sense, really, with the gay themes in her stories. I've read a few of her books - good stuff.

I just finished Matt Ruff's Set This House in Order, which involves some interest gender content. I highly recommend it -- totally unique, and this guy is really good at characterization.

I haven't quite decided what to read next. I've been browsing Many Children Left Behind: How the No Child Left Behind Act is Damaging Our Children and Our Schools, by Deborah Meier, but I haven't really committed yet. lol.

hello ladies!
I see that most of you are fans of Jeanette Winterson so I thought maybe I would recommend some other books/authors that you may want to look into. I suppose I will just do this in list form..
Orlando, Virginia Woolf
Like, Ali Smith
Nightwood, Djuna Barnes
The well of loneliness, Radclyffe Hall

Those are just a few, but they're some of the best out there!

Orlando is a masterpiece! The well of loneliness was a heavy read and quite long too.
I am now reading "Three bags full : a sheep detective story". allthough I have it in Swedish with the title "Glennkill". SO far I love it!!

I'm now about to finish Slow River by Nicola Griffith. The story makes me uneasy because of its continuous reminders of sexual violence. has anyone read other stuff by her? are they equally focused on sexual violence?

I just finished Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Wonderful read - full of surprises. Now looking forward to reading her Tipping the Velvet, sometime in the next few months.

teelgee, I really liked Tipping the Velvet, much more so than Fingersmith. So either our tastes differ or you're in for a real treat. :)

Don't miss The Night Watch, either.

I have to say I enjoyed both Tipping the Velvet and Affinity much more then Fingersmith or The Night Watch. But all are well worth reading.

Hi. I've read eveything I can find by Nicola Griffith. All of her stuff is equally violent.

Any recommendations for a light read? We live in a very remote area and our library doesn't carry much of anything for lesbians. Go figure!

re Message 8:

... but didn't know she was gay until years later. Patricia Highsmith is another example--there are many.

Marijane Meaker (a lesbian and YA writer) wrote a book about her affair with Highsmith -- Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950's.

From NPR: They met at a Greenwich Village bar and were both writing lesbian pulp novels under pseudonyms.

Meeker Meaker wrote Spring Fire (1952) under the pen name Vin Packer. It sold 1.5 million copies. She also wrote under the name Ann Aldrich. Meaker writes young adult novels under the name M.E. Kerr...

They are kind of dated,(pulpy) but I liked a lot of Meaker's work as Kerr.

Just finished Lian Hearn: the harsh cry of the heron. not exactly lesbian but a good read nevertheless.

I meant to post about this last year when I actually read the book, but forgot. Sometime in the spring - I forget exactly when, but presumably after my last post - I read Geoff Ryman's "The Child Garden." I would touchstone it, but LT doesn't seem to like that idea (it thinks I'm talking about "A Child's Garden of Verses"!).

Anyway, it's a very dense and lyrical book, futuristic but not exactly science fiction...I'm not sure what I'd call it. Surreal fiction, perhaps? ;) A lesbian love story...of a kind...is the focus of the first third or so of the book and runs as a touchstone through the whole story. It's almost as much a relationship that transcends class and race barriers as sexual ones, though.

One interesting aspect of the book...and an important one...is that in the future, everyone is implanted with viruses from birth, to immunize them against every disease - including illiteracy, homosexuality, any sort of "fault." Everyone knows the same music and books and culture and there's no deviation of any kind. The main character of the book is considered remarkable - and this is a major plot point - because she is immune to the viruses.

It's a very strange book that only gets stranger as you go along, but it did get me thinking quite a bit.

~S

I just recently finished reading Sarah Waters' The Night Watch which I liked. I also read Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith a few months ago. Tipping the Velvet has so far been my favorite (I have yet to read Affinity). Fingersmith was fine but I just wished I had read the book first (i saw the bbc adaptation first); it would have been drastically more compelling if I was clueless to all the twists and end. Either way, Sarah Waters is an amazing writer!

I love romance, and just finished Artist's Dream by Gerri Hill.

Just joined by the way. Hi!

Love Gerri Hill's books. Just finist A Place to Rest by Erin Dutton
and just started Home coming by Nell Starks. And welcome to the group!

Yes, I like her a lot :)

Now I'm reading Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon and slowly working through Close Calls, though it's a bit more meaty then my usual romance fixation.

I'm reading Juki Girls, Good Girls - Gender and Cultural Politics in Sri Lanka's Global Garment Industry. I apologize for the really long title, but it is very interesting focusing on globalization and societal expectations. I would definitely recommend it, though admittedly it's not really light reading.

Juki Girls, Good Girls sounds interesting.

Went to B&N yesterday, and got Beebo Brinker - had to read it in one night. Ah! When will my addiction to fiction end?

I just read "Women's Barracks" by Tereska Torres. I found a first edition copy in a local independent bookstore for a couple of dollars. The cover art is just something else.

I also like Gerri Hill. Did anyone read "The Cottage"?

I also thought "Tipping The Velvet" was great as well.

I'm looking to get together some Winter reading now that the weather is getting colder and sloppier. Anyone here have suggestions? Thanks.

GrrlLovesBooks: for fiction I would recommend Doctor's Wife. It's one of those unusual fiction books that just grabs at you. In non-fiction you might like Women and Madness. Well, that's my ideas anyway.

I'm happily reading something besides romance these days: Gendered Bodies. Thought provoking and sad, but it's interesting. The language is good, it seems to be researched, and I have a hard time putting it down.

Hi there,

Thanks for the suggestions. I will check them out.

I just started Crybaby Butch by Judith Frank. Did you ever read this one?

Thanks again!

I haven't read Crybaby Butch. I have avoided it for reasons of insanity :p But it is on my list. Do you like it?

I bought Lesbian Pulp Fiction yesterday. These 50's and 60's authors are good. I'm almost through the collection.

Just started 'A Poem for What's Her Name' by Dani O'Connor. Extremely funny just like the author. Dani rocks!!!

Hi Moodyluna,
Crybaby Butch is ok. It's different from a lot of what I read.

I'm interested in reading Lesbian Pulp Fiction. Guess I'll add that to my list! Sounds like you enjoyed it.
Are you finished and what did you think of it?

I really enjoyed the Lesbian Pulp Fiction, but having a hard time with Crybaby Butch -> I have to keep laying it aside, as it is soooooo embarrassing!

32>

I'm not moodyluna, but I've read Lesbian Pulp Fiction too. It was uneven, as you'd expect from a collection of exerpts, but a fun enough read. I read it in bits and pieces; I imagine it would be a bit too much sameness if you read it all in one go.

It's been a year or so since I finished this book, but I recommend "Strange Piece of Paradise" by Terri Jentz. Although it's about a terrible crime that Terri and Shayna, her traveling companion, survived, there is speculation about the Terri's interpretation of the friendship. While that is hardly the crux of the story, it makes for an intriguing, but unwritten, subplot. Regardless, it is both a fascinating and horrific story that ultimately allows the author to come to terms with how it sent her life awry. www.strangepieceofparadise.com

Hi Moodyluna,

I have to admit I felt the same about Crybaby Butch.

Think I'll treat myself to the Lesbian Pulp Fiction this weekend!

Hi lorax,

Thanks for the heads-up. I usually have a few books going at once, so Lesbian Pulp Fiction should do nicely.

Have a nice afternoon.

Just finished reading Calling the Dead and Holy Hell. The last one was good, but the first one (Calling the Dead) was a bit too disturbing for my taste.

Running out of my limited selection at the local B&N :(

I just bought this yesterday at Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia...All-Night Party The Women of Bohemian Greenwich Village and Harlem 1913-1930 by Andrea Barnet.

Has anyone read this book?

I can't wait to get started!

Hello all,

I've been lurking on and off, and I have some good books that I'd like to share. I'm a teen librarian and there's some really great stuff out there (I'm enamored of Lee Wind's blog...if anyone would like to take a look at some really good reviews: www.leewind.org).

Anyway, I've recently reread grl2grl: short fictions by Julie Anne Peters, Hello, Groin by Beth Goobie, and Dare, Truth, or Promise by Paula Boock, Skim by by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki. I'm currently reading Girl Walking Backwards by Bett Williams, and I'm really looking forward to Ash by Melinda Lo (a lesbian retelling of Cinderella - how can I resist?). :)

Happy reading, ya'll.
Mis

Oooh, Hello, Groin is one of my favourite lesbian books!! Definitely my favourite teen lesbian book. Skim I found to be rather strange... And I'm also happily looking forward to Ash; I love fairy tale re-tellings anyway, but a lesbian retelling?! Awesome! What was another lesbian fairy tale book I liked... Oh, right! Kissing the Witch! That was brilliant.

(To keep on topic:) I've just recently finished Written on the Body. I love Jeanette Winterson. She's a close second for my favourite author (after Sarah Waters).

Roses & Thorns: Beauty and the Beast Retold by Chris Anne Wolfe is also worth a read if you like your revamped fairy tales with a spin. :)

Just finished Girl Walking Backwards and wow...really liked it. I'm thinking I'll have an upset parent or two about some of the sexual situations in the story, but like a lot of the other material in the teen collection at my library, it's realistic, non-gratuitous, and necessary.

Oh, and since I've been on a role with my reading --it comes and goes -- I also highly recommend Hard Love and Love & Lies: Marisol's Story both by Ellen Wittlinger.

There are some great suggestions on this list. I know that I came late to it, but I hope everyone keeps posting. There are some great titles being printed nowadays and it's so nice to share with like-minded readers.

Always,
Mis

I'm reading, among other things, Sara Paretsky's mini-memoir Writing in an Age of Silence (which details the hair-raising interior struggles of so many women writers coming of age) and Marilyn Hacker's new book, Names (which is full of interesting ghazals and promises to be an extremely strong collection).

I am reading Ash by Malinda Lo. Not far enough into into it to tell if you if it is any good or not.

45 >

Oooh, let me know what you think of that one! I love retellings of fairy tales, so I've been eagerly looking forward to Ash.

46> Ash was good. I wish it had been more adult than young adult but I would recommend it to anyone. It is a quick read for the most part but the first 30 pages take a bit to get through. If you read it let me know what you think.

finished ash and loved all the elements that made it so much more than a 'fairy tale' this is now my preferred version of cinderella. recommending it to all my friends young adult and adult.

I just finished The Escape Artist: A Novel and thought that it was very well written. I bought her other book that won the Lambda Award and will be giving it to my partner for Christmas. I also enjoyed Skim a great deal and thought that the artwork was magnificent. Some of the best artwork I have seen in a graphic novel. For 2010, I have Lighthousekeeping and Tipping the Velvet on the top of my list!

Tipping the Velvet is my favourite book! I just got my girlfriend to read it, and she's really enjoying it, too.

I just finished Far From Xanadu and quite liked it, if you're into unrequited teen love.

I'm almost done Queer View Mirror and I'm quite liking it. It definitely has a lot of variety.

The Ten Thousand Leaves, A womans Passion for travel, Eat-Pray-Love (which I know feel bad for expecting not to like), Noughts and Crosses, The Seventh Heaven. All of these are pretty awesome, but most especially The Seventh Heaven, Mahfouz never fails to leave me in a slightly better place than I was.

Neurorin: great minds think alike! I just finished rereading Palace Walk a few minutes ago!

This weekend I read Michelle Tea's Rose of No Man's Land. I really like her work a lot, its exuberance, its artfulness. She impresses me more & more.

Just finished Battle Scars by Meghan O'Brien about an Iraq veteran, the only surviving of a well-publicized hostage crisis. She relies on her therapy dog Jagger to help there through PTSD. Because of Jagger, she meets Dr. Carly Warner. Brought together by love of dogs they become friends and then explore other options. Great for dog lovers and a quick romance. Put out by Bold Strokes Books.

The Blue Place by Nicola Griffiths, part one of her Aud Torvingen series, and immediately moving on to Stay, the second in the series, then I'll jump into Always - and then I'll be bereft at losing Aud. :(
As usual with NG great writing - lyrical, descriptive, and fantastic action with a solid thriller storyline.

I've just added some Mahfouz stuff to my wish list. Suggestions where to start?

I'm reading The girl with the dragon tattoo mostly. So far s'ok.

I'm reading Kushiel's Dart and really liking it, despite being totally confused.

QuiteTheHuman: My favorite of his is Midaq Alley, but I've just finished The Seventh Heaven and it was really amazing- a group of short stories based around the pursuit for the seventh level of heaven in Islam, the open ended endings on some of the stories took me back to the Dubliners.

I'll second Neuroorin on Midaq Alley -- it's a great book & a great way to start w/Mahfouz. Another great one that'll give you a sense of what he's about is The Beginning & The End

Awesome. Thanks so much.

hiya, feline reader here - I've been reading trashy stuff, but love vampire books. I'm reading Interview with a vampire. It's wonderful, hard to put down.
Just recently started doing my quals for my work at a library so had to stop for a while.

hi, quitethehuman. I wondered what that would be like to read. I know the film was out in the cinema I've always torn between reading the book and or only seeing the film. One things for sure If I have read the book I will go and see the film, but, not usually, the other way around.

hi, quitethehuman. I wondered what that would be like to read. I know the film was out in the cinema I've always torn between reading the book and or only seeing the film. One things for sure If I have read the book I will go and see the film, but, not usually, the other way around.

Hi feline reader here. Written on the body was equisite, not sure if I spelf that right. I was so excited reading this - difficult to put down and awesome.

Jeannette winterson is the best!!

Feline reader, Jeannette Winterson is the best, I have Written on the Body on my summer reading list and a friend of mine who just finished it said it's best thing of her's she's read. I just finished Ash about 15 minutes ago and LOVED it, I have a big weakness for fairytales and YA literature. I'm currently reading Morning and Evening Talk and Octavian Nothing, trying to decide if I want to start The Secret Under My Skin or Maddigan's Fantasia- I'm leaning toward Maddigan's Fantasia because I have a thing for creepy post apocalyptic circuses, I guess I just have a thing for creepy.

Neurorin, if you're into YA lit, take a look at Michelle Tea's Rose of No Man's Land. It's often described as YA & is SO great, such a sophisticated, sweet, sad wonderful story about all sorts of things including realizing you're gay. I'm really into Tea's work these days.

Hey felinereader, I'm not sure which book you're talking about, because I'm too lazy to scroll up. lol.

I did see the film of Fingersmith before reading the book, which was unusual for me. The book was, as it usually is, much better.

I've just read my first Jeanette Winterson with Lighthousekeeping and I really enjoyed it. It's not particularly overtly "lesbian" and I think that's part of the reason I liked it.

I'm big into YA stuff too, ladies. Currently reading The Rehearsal which has surprised me with a lesbian subplot I wasn't expecting. Not sure what I think of the whole thing yet, but I'll let you know.

I just finished The Gargoyle which was beautiful. Ummmm. yup.

That's about it. Adding Tea to my wishlist.

Great suggestions, I'll look into Rose of No Mans Land and The Rehearsal. I just plowed through The Secret Under My Skin and am starting A Wild Sheep Chase. I have two weeks ahead of me where I can get away with doing nothing but reading and writing, we'll see how that goes.

Oh, I did see that a YA novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon was just translated and released, I'm going to check it out as soon as I can; I read Shadow of the Wind a couple years ago and loved it.

I just finished Crocodile Soup (and reviewed it at lesbrary.wordpress.com). It was a little weird, but I think I liked it.

Is everyone nodding off into their eggnog?

I just started Water in a Broken Glass. Anyone read it?

I'm reading The Slow Fix and Redressing America's Frontier Past right now. Slowly because of finals...

The Slow Fix is is super short autobiographical stories from Ivan Coyote. Redressing is more about transgendered people, but there are some lesbians too. Both really fun and interesting.

I find myself leaning away from fiction and more toward memoir and history when it comes to queer lit. If you've got suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

I love a good biography, too. The Trials of Radclyffe Hall and Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay were particularly good historical lesbian/bi ones. Then, there was Anais Nin: A Biography, which was compelling as a train wreck.

I've read her others and think she's a marvelous writer. However she does not write about easy issues. While her others do not focus on sexual violence, there is other violence. Her Aud series (the blue place, Stay and Always) centers around a PI, so yes there is violence. Stay has Aud teaching a self defense course so violence and how to protect yourself is discussed in detail.

Has anyone read House Rules by Heather Lewis? I recently read her other two books (Notice and The Second Suspect), sort of as a trilogy. What did folks make of them?

First read of 2012... Sex Variant Woman: The Life of Jeanette Howard Foster . The title makes me wince a bit, but of course it's from Foster's Sex Variant Women in Literature.
This should be interesting.

(tap tap tap) Is this thing on?

I haven't read any Heather Lewis, I'm sorry to say, BettcherForrest. Have you enjoyed her work?

I'm most of the way through Women Prefer Women, which sounds trashy, but isn't. For the most part, anyway.