Tales about pre-AIDS promiscuity in SF, hedonism & heartbreak in the Weimar Republic & a front runner: Gays name the books that every baby gay should read
When it comes to book recs, you're not gonna be able to do better than this list...
Mark
So few people are reading these days, experts warn we’re in a “post-literate age.”
Thankfully, Queerty readers came to the rescue.
Unlike TikToks or IG reels, great books are everlasting. The queer classics in particular contain poignant advice about the gay experience, which still holds true all of these decades later.
When suggesting queer titles, there were a few popular choices: Tales of the City, The Front Runner, The Velvet Rage, Goodbye to Berlin and of course, Dancer from the Dance. So bent on pleasure, we continue to drive right through Happiness.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Reading any of these suggested titles will help you get to a reflective place…
What’s the first book you would recommend to a baby gay and why?
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. San Francisco in the 70’s/80’s. Joyous work about being gay in gay paradise. I lived there then and it was as wonderful as the book(s). — John in Oregon
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. — Steve in Eugene, Oregon
Tales of The CIty, by Armistead Maupin. It is another book that speaks to being young, insecure, not knowing how to act and ultimately finding community, accepting the concept of the “chosen family” and ultimately growing up. It harkens back to in some ways simpler time, but many kids today would find it difficult due to the intense focus on interpersonal communications by real people”in real time. — Albert in Huntsville, Alabama
Tales of the City—for fun frivolity and it’s easy to read. — Stan in Monterey, California
Tales of the City. — John in Toronto, Canada
Tales of the City and the entire series by Armistead Maupin. It offers a groundbreaking portrayal of LGBTQI+ life in the 1970s and ’80s, illuminating the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic alongside the resilience of chosen family. — Manfred in California
Tales of the City because it was given to me as an 18 year old and prepared me for gay life. Mouse’s Letter to Mama is still as relevant today as it was back then. — Mark in the U.K.
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. It’ll tell you that being queer is fine, that wanting a relationship is healthy, and that found family are for life. — Dan in the U.S.
Tales Of The City Series – Armistead Maupin. The joy of being gay in a city that welcomes it. Not all of us can have this. — Terry in Greenville, South Carolina
Tales of the City. Maybe it hit me just at the right time, but for me it was a perfect entry point to show just what delights gay life can encompass . Admittedly, it’s a bit dated now, but it still conjures a feeling of wonder and excitement, and was the book that made me NEED to visit San Francisco all those years ago. — James in London
We have a winner! A newspaper series to start, Tales of the City chronicles the jubilance and promiscuity of pre-AIDS life in San Francisco and the devastation and heartbreak that came after it. Despite being fiction, it’s a great historical record–and downright gripping.
Only one! Well, it has to be Patricia Nell Warren’s The Front Runner. Before you get to the ending, it can be a silly read. The bending, if not the breaking, of the clause in Title IX regarding teachers and students “getting it on” needs to be thought of. There are contrivances along the way, but it’s one of the OG’s of gay fiction. Even though it leans into the trope that so many other gay stories use. — John in San Francisco
The Front Runner — Kent in North Carolina
The Front Runner. I found a paperback copy on my school bus in the mid 70s. It changed my perspective, as I knew then that I wasn’t the only one like me. I was 14 or 15 at the time and really felt like I too could be anything and do anything. I still have that same paperback book and I’m now turning 65 in a few weeks. — Thom in Texas
While I sometimes feel wary of women writing about gay men (and similarly of men writing about women), I recommend The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren and Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx. Both demonstrate that women writers can indeed be cognizant of gay men’s lives and how their stories can be alternately exhilarating and heartbreaking. — Roger in Palm Springs, California
The first gay novel to appear on the NY Times best-seller list, The Front Runner seems awfully prescient–and relevant–in the age of Heated Rivalry. For many gays, it was the first time they read about gay characters were strong, successful and physically gifted.
The Velvet Rage by Dr. Alan Downs. This is a book that I WISH I’d had access to when I was a baby gay. In it, he systematically looks at the common psychological issues that plague the developing gay, and he suggests alternative ways to approach the issue and take the power away from it. He covers young gays, older gays and everyone in between. It provides phenomenal insight into the gay personas that surround us and deconstructs possibly why they are the way that they are. The book is dense with insight, and you can easily find yourself re-reading pages to fully understand the concepts/observations that he teases out of the gay experience. I have read it three times, because you can find new relevance in the book at different periods in your life. Truly fascinating and empowering. — Jeffrey in Colorado
The Velvet Rage–not a piece of fic, but more a self help book. I never felt so scene and unpacked. — Craig in NYC
This is a great suggestion. Baby gays make a lot of mistakes, and sometimes veer towards self-destruction. The Velvet Rage shows those experiences are universal, and as Jeffrey and Craig say, make you realize that you’re not alone.
Dancer From The Dance—pre-AIDS gay nightlife and men enjoying life and having healthy relationships. — Patrick in NYC
Dancer from the Dance or Firebird — Jon-Michael in Denver, Colorado
Dancer From the Dance by Andrew Holleran, because it speaks to the insecure child in us all and what it was like before the days of smartphones, hell, Pcs even! The days when cruising was an art form, way of life, rite of passage, etc… — Albert in Huntsville, Alabama
Andrew Holleran wrote a classic that lives on.
Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin stories. It’s an amazing first-hand account to queer life in pre-Nazi Germany, and a beautiful companion to the movie and stage musical adaptations (both of which explore different aspects of the memoir). If you enjoy that piece, he has multiple amazing books to explore about his life as a proud gay man living in the 1920s to ‘70s.— Jeff in Asbury Park, New Jersey
Goodbye to Berlin (Christopher Isherwood) — Michael in Somerville, Mass.
Beautifully written, Goodbye to Berlin provides a gripping account of a queer golden age–and how quickly it can all dissipate.
Notable mentions…
Two by Paul Monette: Borrowed Time and Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story–in that order. The first is a no hold barred true life story of the early years after the AIDS erupted on the world, and the second is his autobiography up to the point he met his first husband, Roger. — Kit in Tennessee
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette — Jake in Missoula, Montana
Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story by Paul Monette. — TJ in Myanmar
I suggest starting with Joe Keenan’s hilarious trilogy of Blue Heaven, Putting On the Ritz and My Lucky Star. The scrapes that the main characters get into are as crazy and unpredictable as they are screamingly funny. — Elliott in Plainview, New York
F*g Hag by Robert Rodi. It was my first gay book when I moved to the big city and now I buy everything he publishes. He has one gay a* sense of humor! — Mark in Chicago
I would recommend Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Saenz. It’s technically YA, but it’s beautifully written and a powerfully positive message to young gay folks — James in Cathedra City, California
I was born in the ‘80a and didn’t have older gay men to show me the ropes. So I constantly searched for books that would give me the real deal. F*ggots by Larry Kramer gave me a glimpse of what was and maybe what could have been if our government had cared enough to deal with an epidemic that continues to haunt us. — Ernest in L.A.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak may he RIP. it contains lessons for all things. Well, at least it did for me. Thanks for letting me share openly without judgment. — Tony in New Jersey
Anything by Gordon Merrick, An Idol For Others, etc. — Jim in Asheville, North Carolina
Marguerite Yourcenar: Hadian’s Memoirs — Gianni in Italy
Maurice by E M Forster. This now historical novel follows the tropes of forbidden secrets, the sense of not fitting in, and the devastating loss of first love. Why recommend such a downer of a book? Because it ends with an affirmation of you will survive, you will be able to be your true self, and you will find love. — James in Parma Heights, Ohio
Naked by David Sedaris, to show baby gays there’s a difference between [cattiness] and sophisticated wittiness (of which Sedaris is a master). My boyfriend and I used to read passages aloud in bed to each other and laughed until we almost cried. — Ben in Mississippi
A Boys Own Story by Edmund White — Peter in London
John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies. Setting aside Boyne’s regrettable support of J.K. Rowling, there is one moment in the 2010s that inspired me even more than marriage equality becoming the law of the land in the United States, and that is the Republic of Ireland’s vote to legalize marriage equality by referendum. Not by a court decision. Not by an executive order. Not even by a vote by congressional body. And it wasn’t even close, in a vote of 62% to 38%. The Heart’s Invisible Furies reminded me of that and is an approachable read regardless. I just got back from my second vacation to Ireland and am already thinking of my third. And if Queerty is in the mood to let me name drop another book, I’d also recommend, At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill. — Kevin in the U.S.
(Yes John, you certainly may list two!)
A City of Hopes Unrealized: To understand and conquer the instinct to keep looking for Mr Perfect, rather getting to know the gay person who’s ready to get to know you. — Howard in Palm Springs
Kate Bornstein — Hello Cruel World (2025 updated version). It has stories and resources that can help a baby gay/queer feel like they’re not alone, and most importantly, it is a book that you can turn to again and again during your lowest moments. — Celisa in Vermont
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. It’s a classic. It explores the heart ache of being gay while having to project to the world you’re straight. — James in Buffalo, New York
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