Is there one LGBT-themed book -- either fiction or nonfiction -- that is required reading for all queer folk?

I actually wouldn’t want to say what was required or not; gay literature evolves with the times, and books that I once thought essential now seem dated. We actually want to try at Unabridged to get away from the idea that we all have to read the same book (or watch the same TV show or go to the same movie). Having said that, one book that has stood the test of time for me is James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room.

The first LGBT novels I ever read were Rita Mae brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle and Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance, both still in print. How about an LGBT-themed book for non-queer folk? My current favorite (again, not necessarily essential for everyone) is a new novel by Rabih Alameddine called The Hakawati; it happens to be written by a gay man, has a gay character and some gay themes, but I would recommend it as an amazing, magical Arabian nights for this century, a sprawling novel of Lebanon and traditional storytelling.

Are there any particular books that turned you on to ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.