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2011 Year in Review: Books

This November, Barbara Grier passed away at the age of 78. The lesbian legend started Naiad Press, one of the first-ever publishers of lesbian-themed titles. The books were eventually bought by Bella Books, who have continued Barbara’s legacy and exclusively release books from queer female authors. The death of a pioneer like Grier reminds us why having our own presses is still vital to our existence. We’re still fighting the good fight, as books like And Tango Makes Three continued to be challenged this year for their gay content, considered to be “inappropriate” for young children when placed in schools and libraries. Also, authors Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith came forward to say they’d been asked to cut major gay characters from their young adult book, which spurred discussion within the publishing industry.

In better news, out poet Kay Ryan was named a MacArthur Fellow, which means she was awarded $500,000 to keep creating her work. The L Life was published with profiles of many famous lesbian women, as well as a few more obscure ones that are equally important to visibility and living an out life. Erin McHugh‘s interviews with politicians, actresses and authors remind readers that the only thing lesbians have in common with one another is that we all have relationships with other women. Otherwise, we’re all quite different – and that’s a good thing.

The Lambda Literary Association decided to open up their awards to writers who aren’t LGBT, but have included LGBT themes or characters in their work. This was a controversial move, but we’ll see how it goes in its first time around for 2011’s nominees.

BESTSELLERS

Coming in right before the New Year, Patricia Cornwell‘s Red Mist topped The New York Times Best Seller list in her first week of publication. It will likely continue to stay on the list for weeks to come, as is usual for Cornwell’s thrilling mysteries. Heather Aimee O’Neill reviewed it for us, writing:

Red Mist is packed with intrigue and suspense. A compelling and impressive addition to this popular series.
The Millenium Trilogy continues to be consumed in high numbers, thanks to the new highly-anticipated American film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Bisexual protagonist Lisbeth Salander captivates readers internationally.

Jodi Picoult‘s Sing You Home was one of this year’s top novels, and it followed a lesbian couple who fought for the rights to a frozen embryo that belonged to one of the women and her former husband. The gay-positive book was well-written and also had a musical component, as well as being a true-to-form Picoult read (in that it was a tear jerker). Ellen DeGeneres has bought the rights to make the book into a film, which is the best possible news that could come after knowing this book was read widely by people of all orientations.

Picoult has also become an LGBT activist of sorts, speaking in interviews how her gay son inspired the book and how important it is to her to include gay characters in her work. She told us in an interview:

I am so proud to do whatever I can in my profession to change even a few minds because that’s how you change the world. You don’t do it all at once. You do it one mind at a time. There are going to be readers who boycott this book because of the subject matter, but there are going to be a lot more readers who pick it up and who maybe for the first time rethink their opinions and maybe are not so quick to judge the next time they encounter someone who is gay or lesbian or transgendered who really want the same things out of life that they do.
Jane Lynch‘s memoir, Happy Accidents, was well-received and also used in a Barnes and Noble Nook campaign. The book was ripe with wit and background on Lynch’s life before acting and insight into why she aspired to take on film roles that were originally written for men. She also wrote about realizing her sexuality and coming to terms with being a lesbian, as well as being a lesbian in Hollywood. From Heather Hogan’s review:
One of the last chapters of the book is dedicated to her relationship with Embry, and it is the sweetest damn thing I have read in ages. Of course, it’s hilarious too. I don’t even want to tell you anything about it because I want you to swoon and giggle when you read it for yourself.
Ellen DeGeneres released a short tome of funny essays, Seriously, I’m Kidding. The humorous collection read much like the monologues on her show, with a few cute tidbits about homelife with wife Portia, who she says owns too many bottles of lotion.

Out chef Gabrielle Hamilton‘s memoir Blood, Bones and Butter topped many year-end best of lists, as well it should. The book will make you salivate, and also want to know more about this brilliant writer who also happens to be amazing in the kitchen and a perplexing lesbian (she was married a man). Annie Leibovitz‘s Pilgrimage was a passion project that we can all enjoy. The photographer journeyed to the homes, offices and habitats of people who have inspired her and took shots of things like the last dress they wore, the creek they drowned in, or the beds in which they slept. She tells the stories behind each place she visited, and how the shots she chose came to be. Readers learn a lot about Leibovitz herself in addition to the figures she is, herself, transfixed by.

Bisexual author Sapphire released The Kid this year, her follow-up to Push, which was made into the award-winning movie, Precious. The Kid was a continuation of the story, as it focused on Precious’ son as a grown man, dealing with more issues that stemmed from his upbringing and misfortunes.

Haruki Murakami‘s 1Q84 has some scenes of lesbian sexuality, but it was the novelists’s 1987 Norwegian Wood that was challenged this year, as it was on a high school reading list and parents did not find it fit for their children’s curriculum. The book was then removed, although the publicity given to the push to remove it likely garnered the novel several more readers.

MEMOIRS

One of the best reads of the year comes from Jeanne Cordova. Her memoir, When We Were Outlaws chronicles a time in the 1970s when she was a young lesbian reporter and activist who was fighting for lesbian visibility and equality in Los Angeles, as well as navigating her love life. The combination of the two, along with some nostalgic waxing on womyn’s music and politics of the times, makes this a must read for every gay woman. Out author (and Hip Mama publisher) Ariel Gore published a new memoir about her very young years, All the Pretty People: Tales of Carob, Shame, and Barbie-Envy, on a small press with illustrations by Summer Pierre.

The late Jane Rule‘s Taking My Life was published this year, and it was all about her formative years as a young girl growing up in New Jersey. She discusses her sexuality and tomboyish traits, as well as chronicling her ideas and interests in writing. She eventually came to write several novels and stories, including Desert of the Heart, the inspiration for the film Desert Hearts.

Reality show star Tabatha Coffey‘s It’s Not Really About the Hair included stories about her life as a hair stylist and a lesbian. Fans of the self-proclaimed bitch will likely enjoyed her sarcasm in written-form as much as they do on Bravo. Sarah Ellis and Kristen Henderson penned their book, Times Two, about their struggles to conceive and their subsequent pregnancies. The book was written from both perspectives, which are decidedly different, and make the saying “two sides to every story” very poignant. Kristen, who is a member of the band Antigone Rising, told AfterEllen.com about how writing the book helped her to come out to the public:

For me, personally, the biggest change is the fact that I’m out now. I’m not hiding behind pronouns or conveniently leaving out parts of my life in interviews in an effort to appeal to the middle. I’m telling the truth now, and I’m being honest about my own struggles with coming out, and it seems like people really appreciate it.
Mari Naomi‘s graphic novel, Kiss & Tell, follows the author/illustrator’s love life from ages “0 to 22.” This includes a lot of men, but some women, too, and it’s a fun and beautifully-drawn read.

Elena Azzoni‘s A Year Straight: Confessions of a Boy-Crazy Lesbian Beauty Queen was a disappointing offering from Seal Press. The memoir followed 2007’s Miss Lez as she decided to date and sleep with men, eventually meeting the man of her dreams.

NOVELS OF NOTE

Kate Christensen‘s The Astral was about a middle-aged man who was separated from his wife. One of his only friends is his lesbian daughter, a bike riding freegan.

Laurie WeeksZipper Mouth reads as a memoir, but is only partially based on the author’s life as a young dyke in 1990s New York City. It was as an official book club selection for literary site The Rumpus in December and Eileen Myles wrote the blurb for the cover. Heather O’Neill wrote in her review of Zipper Mouth:

Weeks’ language is sharp and lyrical. The prose is fast paced and manic, embodying the narrator’s spiral and struggle with addiction – both to drugs and to Jane.
In Hilary Jordan‘s When She Woke, the protagonist is punished for having an abortion in a future world by being forced to bear the color red. She becomes a revolutionary and meets a lesbian anarchist whom she takes an interest in, albeit briefly.

Nina Revoyr‘s Wingshooters came out on indie press Akashic Books won the Indie Booksellers Choice Award this year. The coming-of-age story is both political and personal, and a great read about dealing with cultural differences.

And in the graphic novel realm, Batwoman wowed with four issues of story and substance as well as incredible comic drawings. Not only was it good, but it was super gay, too. In fact, the most recent issue – #4 – showed us the most intimate scene we’ve had from Batwoman so far, and it was worth the wait.

Heather Hogan said of the latest issue:

The pacing is perfect, the art and coloring are incomparable, and the story just keeps getting better.
YOUNG ADULT

Sister Mischief by Laura Goode is a book of a different kind, which is why it was so popular this year among gay women. A teen lesbian rapper is at the center, and she attends a Christian high school in Minnesota. That’s just ripe with possibilities in itself. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray is all about aspiring, well, beauty queens and one of them is a lesbian. It’s received rave reviews and might be for young adults, but people of all ages seem to enjoy it.

Malinda Lo‘s Huntress is the prequel to her first novel, Ash. Fans of the previous book enjoyed Lo’s tale of lesbian love and lore, which Lo told us was more difficult to write than Ash.

Most of the parts of Huntress that I love the most were extremely hard for me to write. I love to write romantic scenes, but making the romance work was so hard! I love to write action, but I put the characters in some really hairy situations that even required me to diagram out what was happening (like little football charts). I’m very proud of what I’ve done with this book, though. I learned a lot!
Two other YA titles that received good reviews: A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner about a17-year-old in love with her friend and Flick, where the main character is an unapologetic young lesbian, by Geraldine Mead.

THE FUTURE

In 2012, we can look forward to The Last Nude by Ellis Avery, a fictional account based on the lesbian artists that lived in 1920s Paris. Also, Beth Ditto‘s forthcoming memoir, Coal to Diamonds, which she wrote with Michelle Tea. Jeanette Winterson‘s memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? promises to be as endearing as it is entertaining, as indicated by early reviews. It comes out in January. Carol Anshaw will be releasing her next novel in the new year. Carry the One comes out March 6.

We’re also likely to see more books from lesbian authors on e-Readers as well as on lesbian-owned presses like Bywater, Bella, Arsenal Pulp and Cleis Press. And as LGBT and feminist bookstores continue to try and keep their doors open despite the dwindling economy, please consider them for all of your book buying needs.

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