Utterly Fabulous: The Ten Best Queer Books Ever

Rating: QT

1. The Bible, by God (et al)

"Oh no (s)he DI-n't!"
Oh--yes I did.
I'm not talking about sex--although, kids, the Hebrew Bible is chock-full of the kind of nasty that makes even my queer hair stand on end--I'm talking queer. Reversal of power, the mighty brought low, the humble exalted, kings taken to school by prophets, burning bushes that don't burn, dead people coming to life, and--my personal favorite-of-the moment--the Son of God telling a guy, "Put your finger here." It's full-on Queer-O-Rama.


2. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

Don't let the "science fiction" category fool you. This is out-beyond-the-edge social criticism, written so beautifully you won't feel a thing when the top of your head blows off.


3. Gender Trouble, by Judith Butler

Ok. Butler's writing style is not going to be everyone's bag o' crack. I happen to love it, because the ideas she's putting forth here are so challenging to wrap my head around that I have to read slowly anyway.

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4. Gifted By Otherness, by L. William Countryman and M. R. Ritley

Way past "tolerance" or "acceptance." We're here (in the Church), we're queer (in the Church), thanks be to God! Countryman and Ritley articulate, in clear and well-written prose, the importance of GLBTI Christians to the Christian community. We have gifts that the Church cannot afford to lose. Let the people say, "AMEN!"



5. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

Hilarious and surprisingly moving when you least expect it. Very queer--again, not so much in sexual terms--in the way it blasts the life-breath (aka, ruah, for you Hebrew geeks) into the Jesus story. Truly. I laughed out loud and and felt closer to God.



6. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

Multiple narrators, one of whom tends to write in palindromes. Yipes stripes!



7. Dancing With God, by Jay Emerson Johnson

Queer-God-Talk at its finest. If God-talk makes you want to puke, go to a bookstore that lets you sit and read books that you have no intention of purchasing. Read the first ten pages. I dare you.



8. Epistemology of the Closet, by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Same caveat as for Judith Butler, although Sedgwick is also funny.


9. A Fisherman of the Inland Sea, by Ursula K. LeGuin

Queer is as queer does. This collection of short stories queers everything. Physics, colonialism, mountain-climbing, marriage, time...you name it, she queers it. If Judith Butler leaves you cold, just read these stories. You'll never be stumped by the term "performativity" again.



10. A Player To Be Named Later

Cop-out? Me? Never. Just keeping my Queer Options open. If you have a candidate, let me know.

yours in the struggle,
Max