So You're a Gay Lady... (Literally Lesbian Books You Really Should Have Read By Now if You're a Lady Who Likes Ladies (TM))

So, you're a gay lady, a lesbian if you will. Maybe you're a proud, card-carrying dyke. Maybe you're utterly closeted and reading Curve magazine with your bedroom door locked late at night (Hi, 16-year-old me! We should talk!). No matter where you fall on the spectrum, you want to read like a lesbian. 


That's why we're here!


To kick off the re-opening of this blog and give you something to read while I dive into the next les-tastic novel on my reading list, here's the first five books on my Literally Lesbian Books You Really Should Have Read By Now if You're a Lady Who Likes Ladies (TM)!


(The Coming Out/Figuring Out You're Gay After Watching But I'm A Cheerleader Edition)

(1) Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeanette Winterson


Where it all began for more than a few of us, I'd imagine...


Winner of the Whitbread Prize for best first fiction, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a coming-out novel from Winterson, the acclaimed author of The Passion and Sexing the Cherry. The narrator, Jeanette, cuts her teeth on the knowledge that she is one of God’s elect, but as this budding evangelical comes of age, and comes to terms with her preference for her own sex, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household crumbles.

(2) Odd Girl Out, by Ann Bannon.


Start here, then read everything by our friend Ann - enormously delicious pulp, even if it is a little out of date. 


In the 1950s, Ann Bannon broke through the shame and isolation typically portrayed in lesbian pulps, offering instead women characters who embraced their sexuality. With Odd Girl Out, Bannon introduces Laura Landon, whose love affair with her college roommate Beth launched the lesbian pulp fiction genre.

(3) Map of Ireland, by Stephanie Grant


A sad, sweet, gorgeously written novel set in the early days of bussing in Boston - I'm fairly certain I've dated the main character in at least two incarnations, so you probably have too. 

(4) Annie on my Mind, by Nancy Garden


A little corny, a little dated, but still erotic and a damn good read. 

(5) Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters


If you came out sometime between yesterday and 1998, you should have been issued a copy of this book along with your black vest, flannel shirt, and L-Word DVDs. If you haven't read Sarah Waters yet, grab a few bottles of wine and settle in for the ride.