Best Gay Books, Take Two

A year ago today, inspired by a poll on AfterElton, I made a Top 10 List of what, in my opinion, were the Best Gay Books ever written. In closing, I noted "Of course, if I was to make the same list a year from now, it would probably look completely different."

Well, here we are, a year later. I've read quite a few gay themed novels and short story collections this year that were completely unknown to me last year, so I decided it was time to make a new list.

1. At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill. This is still my very favorite of all the gay themed books I've read.

2. The Object of My Affection, by Stephen MacCauley. Last year, I had this a bit farther down the list, but in thinking about it this year, I think it deserves a higher spot. All of MacCauley's novels are wonderful, he hasn't disappointed me yet! I just wish he'd publish more often!

3. The Tales of the City series as a whole, by Armistead Maupin. Same place as last year. I'm still waiting for the next book, Mary Ann in Autumn, which I haven't heard anything about in over a year now!

4. The Buddies cycle as a whole, by Ethan Mordden. Reading these five short story collections has been one of the highlights of my year. I fell in love with all of the characters and I know that they're books that I will return to again and again.

5. Maurice by E.M. Forster. A bit lower on the list this year, but still an incredibly beautiful gay novel by one of the best writers in English literature.

6. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. As I said last year, this is just an incredibly intense, passionate book. It was also a beautifully written one.

7. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Last year I said that this should be read by everyone, regardless of their sexuality. Maybe the film version will help with that?

8. The Body and its Dangers by Allen Barnett. Another discovery for me this past year. Barnett's short story collection, dealing largely with living with AIDS, is full of little masterpieces. His was an incredible voice and I can only imagine what other works he'd have given the world if he hadn't been lost so young.

9. The Boys in the Bars by Christopher Davis. Another collection of powerful short stories written during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. The title story is especially good, but the most striking for me, I think, was 'History', a piece made up of fragments that Davis started before the epidemic and continued in its earliest days. He collected them together, leaving them unchanged as a record of the innocence of the Before period and the confusion of those dark first years of the plague.

10. Joseph and the Old Man by Christopher Davis. This is actually something I just finished reading, but it was so beautifully written. It's the story of a novelist and his much younger lover in what turn out to be their final days together before a tragic accident. This is another book that I think should be read by everyone, regardless of their sexuality, because it is such an incredibly moving portrait of the real nature of grief, not just the sweeping emotions but the small, seemingly mundane details of loss.

Well, there we have it. I don't think any less highly of the books which made my top 10 last year but didn't this year. Any list such as this is bound to be heavily influenced by what I've been reading most recently, and I could probably do a Top 100 without much difficulty!