booklist

the list of recomended books is incredibly long and poorly organized.
the list of faves is constantly changing.
so rather than putting book reviews up only when i think about it, i'm going to post all the books i read, and all the movies i watch, perpetually. say, once a month or so. so here's the books. the movies will be next post.
please, tell me, if you read and liked or hated any of them, or if you're looking for recomendations from here! (btw, bow is book o' week club)

august 07:
talk to me- carol dines (not really worth reserving)
jack- a. m. homes (ok gay kids)
nobody passes- mattilda aka matt bernstein sycamore (PLEASE! SOMEONE READ THIS SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT! facinating gender, and other, essays)
something rotten- jasper fforde (better than the previous, not as good as the first)
the sand child- tahar ben Jelloun. (i didn't get it.)


juli 07:
born to rock- gordon korman (bow)
georgies moon- chris woodworth (forgettable bow)
the wish - gail carson levine (still love her)
life as we knew it- susan beth pfeffer (amazing facinataing scary must-read)
ophelia- lisa klein (as expected)
the grim grotto- lemony snicket (how many more?)
alice in the know- phyllis reynolds naylor (i do have a soft spot for alice)
letting go of bobby james- valarie hobbs (worth putting on hold. really good.)
grass angel- julie schumacher (unremarkable)
a true and faithful narrative- kathrine sturtevant (only problem- too short!)
under the same sky- cynthia defelice (bow. but i forget.)
palms to the ground- amy stolls (unremarkable bow)
self-made man- norah vincent (interesting, if extremely binary, gender nonfic)
valencia- michelle tea (bought in san francisco!)


juni 07:
prom- laurie halse anderson (better than expected)
westmark- lloyd alexander (old beloved friend)
my almost epic summer- adele griffin (not epic)
little fur- isobelle carmmondy (nice cover)
rules of the road- joan bauer (a good one)
the slippery slope- lemony snicket (trying these again)
fairest- gail carson levine (i love her.)

mai 07:
the bitch posse- martha o'connor- well written but disturbing
memory board- jane rule (sweet lesbian novel)
not the only one- jane summer (short story collections of various enjoyability)
marly's ghost- david leviathan (forgettable bow)
bad kitty- michelle jaffe (pink teenage braintrash)
getting it- alex sanchez (queer teen)
bang!- sharon flake (bow)
uglies- scott westerfeld (amazing, absorbing, my new addiction)
the mozart season- virginia euwer wolff (forgettable bow)
crush- carrie mac (can't even remember)
pretties- scott westerfeld (see, i told you!)
upstate- kalisha buckhanon (beautiful and heartbreaking bow)
specials- scott westerfeld (so satisfying!)
the carniverous carnival- lemony snickett (i can't get enough)
under the wolf, under the dog- adam rapp (bow)
playing dad's song- d. dina friedman (bow)
define "normal"- julie anne peters (a familiar friend)
the minister's daughter- julie hern ( i think i liked it, but it's unmemorable)

april 07:
dairy queen - catherine gilbert muridock (excellent ya, highly recomended)
heven to betsy- maud hart lovelace (not sure why this was on my list)
best foot forward- joan bauer (typich ya)
the full spectrum- ed. deven leviathan and billy merrell (really cool queer kid's stories of their experiences)
the joy luck club - amy tan (better than expected)
here they come - yannick murphy (dark, disturbing, uncomfortable, not recomended)
party princess - meg cabot (as fun as the rest of them)

märz 07
the necessary hunger- nina revoyr (excellent, lesbian teen basketball players)
west with hopeless- carolyn lieburg (bow)
a changed man- francine prose (a great novel. read it.)
like the red panda- andrea seigel (creepy ya. very depressing)
between mom and jo- julie anne peters (you KNOW how i feel about her books)
the sea of trolls- nancy farmer (bow, norse lord of the rings)
playing the field-phil bildner (girl on the boys baseball team)

februar 07
the man who fell in love with the moon- tom spanbauer (one of ch's faves, and understandably so)
the world according to mimi smartypants (made me subscribe to her blog)
the shell house - mimi newberry (a gayYA with NO ending)
the fall of fergal- phillip ardagh (kids braintrash)
overnight- adele griffin (bow)
the love wife- gish jen (i don't know why i like her book so much, but i do)

januar 07
avalon high- meg cabot (a's xmas gift. a great re-read.)
coffee will make you black- april sinclair (lesbian ya)
the house on the gulf- margaret peterson haddix (bow)
swimming to america - alice mead (bow)
breakout- paul fleischman (bow)
true believer- virginia euwer wolff (oddly like coffee will make you black, also enjoyable)
a theif in the house of memory - tim wynne-jones (bow)
whispering to witches -anna dale (bow, the book in my photos, oddly)
a house of tailors- patricia reilly giff (lovely bow, too short)
enna burning - shannon hale (odd but enjoyable bow)
the bermudez triangle- maureen johnson (lesbian YA)
the most beautiful girl in the world- judy doenges (it looked good at w&cf. wasn't too bad, actually)
best lesbian love stories 2004 (cause the library's erotica collections have been stolen)


dezember 06
justin case- meg rosoff (nothing like the other)
i was a non-blond cheerleader -kieran scott (fun braintrash ya)
fly on the wall- e. lockhart (odd but enjoyable)

november 06
gulf breeze- gari hill (lesbian fic)
devil on my heels - joyce mcdonald (bow)
eva underground- dandi daley mackall (excelent bow)
looking for alibrandi- melina marchetta (bow? or maybe just ya)
koyal dark, mango sweet- kashmira sheth (indian ya)
shakespeare bats cleanup- rone koertge (him again)
aftershocks- william lavender (excellent bow, one of my faves)
shadow of a doubt- s. l. rottman (bow)

oktober 06
the key to the golden firebird- maureen johnson (bow, i liked blue envelopes better)
the extraordinary adventures of lafred kropp- rick yancy (goofy bow)
where i want to be- adele griffin (unmemorable bow)
i know you're out there- michael beaumier (excellent memoir about personal ads
running with the reservoir pups- colin bateman (ya list)
the truth about forever- sarah dessen (yeah, her again. this one is perhaps my fave)

september 06
head games- mariah fredricks (i lked this one better)
ruby- francesca lia block and carmen staton ( i really just have to say flb)
all the wrong places - karen kallmaker (lesbian romance)
now you see it - vivian vande velde (bow)
newbies- james a. moore (why was this on my list?)
checkers- john marsden (unmemorable bow)
the car- caren paulsen (bow)
alice on the outside- phylis reynolds naylor (gay kids, banned book)
parrot in the oven, mi vida- victor martinez (not impressed)
thy neighbors wife- georgia beers (lesbian fic)
coming out under fire - allan berube (nonfic i wish i could write a research paper on- makes me want to hear stories)
dreams of tresspass, tales from a harem girlhood- fatima mernissi (more nonfic- autobiography)
avalon high- meg cabot (meg cabot. aurturian legend. sounds awesome. is awesome)
the beat goes on- adele minchin (public service ya, but good anyway)
13 little blue envelopes- maureen johnson (awesome, i loved it, i cried and cried)
cinderellis and the glass hill- gail carson levine (retold fairy tale)
athletic shorts - chris crutcher (i gotta read the boy books too, sometimes)

august 06
necklace of kisses- francesca lia block (who only gets better as she ages. and no less magical)
size 12 is not fat - meg cabot (good stuck in an airplane book)
fun home - alison bechtel (magnificently magical graphic autobiography)
tipping the velvet- sarah waters (lesbian historical fiction -rocked.)
endgame- nancy garden (NOT what i consider a nancy garden book!)
dark angel- david class (went a little too well with endgame)
on the run- michael coleman (don't even remember this one)
i am the wallpaper - mark peter huges (ya braintrash)
better than running at night- hillary frank (she's a pretty awesome author, too)
return to lesbos- valerie taylor (vintage lesbian pulp)
when kambia elane flew in from neptune- lori aurelia williams (wierd in an unenjoyable way)
far from xanadu- julie anne peters (my fave lesbian YA ever, i am SO IN LOVE with mike)
picture perfect- jodi piccault (much better, and more fun, than expected, good book.)

july 06
looking for alaska- john green (excellent YA, i cried.)
box girl- sarah withrow (gay kids)
the boyfriend list - e. lockhart (fun and enjoyable bow)
postcards from no man's land - aidan chambers (wonderful, satisfying, well-crafted enjoyable book. highly recomended.)
the left hand of darkness - ursula k leguin (fun with gender scifi)
comedy girl - ellen schreber (ya)
razzle- ellen wittlinger (less fun than hard love)
boy meets boy- david levithan (finally! it was my hold's turn. the gay surrealistic dreamworld)
a girl named disaster - nancy farmer (bow i slogged through)
the order of the poison oak - brent hartinger (ya gayboy braintrash)
the first part last - angela johnson (good ya)
party girl - lynne ewing (unmemorable ya)
this lullaby - sarah dessen (because she wrote it)

june 06
iron man- chris crutcher (gay kids booklist)
full service- will weaver (enjoyable bow)
hard love- ellen wittlinger (better when one is not suffering such)
the killer's cousin -nancy werlin (enjoyable bow)
when she was good - norma fox mazer (unimpressive bow)
are we there yet? - david leviathan (another fun new author)
breaking boxes - a. m. jenkins (excellent gay older brother book)
i am the messenger- marcus zusak (great bow with a disapointing ending)

mai 06
dove and sword- nancy garden (about joan of arc, no baby dykes)
the bride price- buchi emecheta (indian YA)
crooked- louisa luna (i liked brave new girl better, but it was ok)
in every laugh a tear- leslea newman (lesbian fic)
mystery- peter straub (the mystery to read while cruising islands. totally excellent)
pepperland- mark delaney (bow)
dreamland- sarah dessen (cause i'm gonna read them all)
bluebirds used to croon in the choir- joe meno (short stories of varying degrees of enjoyable)
cant get there from here- todd strasser (unmemorable YA)

april 06
love medicine- louise erdirich (required for fiction writing. okay, other than that, i guess)
michael cart- my father's scar (i like gay girl books better)
escape from memory- margaret peterson haddix (unmemorable bow)
24 girls in 7 days - alex bradley (loveable bow braintrash)
fat boy swim- cathrine forde (excellent bow)
trying hard to hear you- sandra scoppettone (lesbian YA)
journey to a woman - ann bannon (classic vintage lesbian pulp)
joe jones- anne lamott (perhaps her best work of fiction)
girl, 16, absolute torture- sue limb (ya braintrash)
brave new girl- louisa luna (dark, dark, but excellent mtv book)
m or f? - lisa papademitriou and chris tebbets (fun with gender YA)
morning star- nick bantock (beautiful, as always)
the philadephia story- phillip barry (required for school)
the last chance texaco- brent hartringer (better than his other, ya)
i can't tell you - hillary frank (unmemorable ya)

märz 06
desert of the heart- jane rule (vintage lesbian)
teen idol- meg cabot (i'm still an addict)
the thin woman - dorothy cannell (a re-read of my fave mystery)
how i live now (bow book, amazing mesmerizing, beautiful, haunting)
confessions of a teenage drama queen- dyan sheldon (ya braintrash)
the other side of venus - shirley verel (vintage lesbian pulp)
the warrior heir- cinda williams chima (a better than expected YA fantasy)
how i paid for college: a novel of sex theft friendship and musical theater- marc acito (read all in one morning, one of the best books of 2006, on my list of best books ever, love it, own it, quote it, you must read it)
rose of no man's land- michelle tea (absorbing, creepy)
sophie pitt-turnbull discovers america - dyan sheldon (i really have no excuse for reading two of them)
banana rose- natalie goldberg (a's new fave, not really my style, but very much hers)
kissing the witch - emma donoghue (feminist folk tales)
the heavenward path- kara dalkey (bow)
the canning season - polly horvath (fun and brittish bow)
shade's children- garth nix (engaging sci-fi bow)

februar 06
that summer- sarah dessen (new YA author for me- she's a good 'un!)
the arizona boy - ron koertge (my new fave YA author- i put this book in a short story of mine- my character liked it even more than i did!)
the house of scorpion- nancy famer (facinating bow- someone else read it so we can talk about it!)
spring fire- vin packer (vintage lesbian pulp)
maja running- aniali banerice (YA, not well written)
the rise and fall of a 10th grade social climber- lauren meehlin and laura moser (the title says it all. this was a great one of the genre)
doormat- kelly mcwilliams (unmemorable bow)
boy meet boy- ron koertge (perhaps the best rk yet)
manstealing for fat girls - michelle embree (excellent, but made me track everyone's eating habits for about a week)
burning up- caroline cooney (braintrash YA)
after summer- nick earls (good, but not as good as 48 shades of brown)
alexandria- nick bantock (beautiful, as usual)
kissing vanessa- simon cheshire (unmemorable bow)

januar 06
the boy in the basement- susan shaw (mesmerizing bow)
a face in every window - han nolan (very good YA)
princess in training- meg cabot (as good as the rest of them)
the blue sword- robin mckindley (a reread- my fave book- this was post-wisdom teeth)
storytime- edward bloor (creepy YA, not recomended)
plastic angel- nerissa nields ( i really liked it, it's just like the song)
girls in pants- anne brashares (hey, they're enjoyable. i have a hard time remembering them, though)
the girls in 3-B- valerie taylor (one of my fave vintage lesbian pulp- takes place in chicago)

december 05
the lost prince- frances hodgston burnett (by far her worst)
astra- grace livingston hill (it's a xmas requirement)
a man without a country- kurt vonegut (stick to fiction)
lark in the morning- nancy garden (not my fave NG, but please, i read it in leah and rachel's hallway in philly- how bad could it be?)

november 05
mountain solo- jeanette ingold (bow book, excellent YA)
rosemary and juliet - judy maclean (classic lesbian YA)
valencia- michelle tea (laura's favorite book ever)
enchantment- orson scott card (one of my perpetual rereads)

oktober 05
margaux with an x- ron koertge (i'm a huge huge fan of anything he writes)
all this heavenly glory -elizabeth crane (even better than her first- neurotic short stories)
acelleration- graham nance (book o week club)
a small rain- madeline l'engle (one of my frequent re-reads)
an inexpressible state of grace- cameron abbott - unmemorable lesbian fiction

september 05
holly's secret- nancy garden (kid's book, gay parents)
luna- julie anne peters (the best YA transsexual novel ever written)
the misfits- james howe (cozy feel good YA)

august 05
choices- nancy toder (early 80's lesbian)
rough music- patrick gale (highly recomended)
one of those hideous books where the mother dies- sonyan sones (excellent YA)
reflections of a rock lobster- aaron fricke (kinda lame gay autobio)
blindsighted- peter moore (excellent YA)
lesbian/ woman- del martin and phyllis lyon (enormous classic lesbian nonfiction)
bird-eyes-madelyn arnold (creepy, disturbing, not recomended)
i love everybody- laurie notaro (humor, memoir, braintrash)

juli 05
dirty girls social club- Alisa valdez-rodriguez (worth the wait, lives up to the hype)
swollen- melissa lion (mindtrash YA)
babyface- norma fox mazer (mindtrash YA)
a knot in the grain- robin mckinley (short stories, fairy tales)

juni 05
chasing vermeer- blue balliett (HP YA)
twilight girls- paula christian (vintage lesbian)
girls will be girls- leslea newman (lesbian short stories)
the door in the hedge- robin mckinley (fairy tales)
culture shock germany- richard lord (nonfiction)
saving francesca- melinda marchetta (excellent YA)

mai 05
waiting for christopher- louise hawes (interesting ya)
monsoon summer- mitali perkins (really excellent feel good YA)
the true meaning of cleavage- mariah fredricks (mindtrash YA)
breadgivers- anzia yezierska (good anti-jewish-father book)
the virgin suicides- jeffery eugenides (as always well written, though not plot driven)
king matt the first- janusz korczak (interesting, but needed an editor)
48 shades of brown- nick earls (even better the 2nd time! i love it!)
pages for you- sylvia brownrigg (i told you how this captivated me)
naked without a hat- jeanne willis (mindtrash YA)
mind's eye- paul fleishman (whatever, it's a p.f.)
vögelein, the clockwork faerie- jane irwin (may make me obsessed with graphic novels)
persepolis 2- marjane satrapi (I LOVE THESE! i keep giving away my persepolis 1)

april 05
karin kallmaker-watermark (lesbian romance)
willam sleator- interstellar pig (wierd YA)
jean ferris- of sound mind (great, well written YA)
anne lamott- plan b:further thoughts on faith (nonfic, christian, liberal, funny)
l.s.matthews- fish:a novel (odd but likeable YA)
andrew clements- things not seen (hyde park YA)
pauline fisk- midnight blue (magical, lovely)
louise plumber- a dance for 3 (unremarkable)
sandra cisneros- the house on mango street (short chapters like poetry. not really my thing. chicago.)
patricia wrede & caroline stevermer- the grand tour (regency europe, magic, fun, braintrash)
rosa guy- ruby (lesbian, not recomended)
monica furlong- coleman (i've been waiting forever! lived up to expectations)
bett williams-girl walking backwards (a.- you totally need to read this one!)
jane futcher- crush (lesbian YA)


märz 05
alex sanchez- rainbow boys, rainbow high (sweet valley high for gay boys. totally fun)
ann heron- two teenagers in 20 (dated, but still good)
chris lynch- the gravedigger's cottage (well written YA book)
suzanne fisher staples- shiva's fire (enjoyable indian YA book)
xanthus press- breaking silence (coming out letters- interesting, timeless)
roald dahl- skin and other stories (totally creepy, but well written- ugh!)
ann brashares- second summer of the sisterhood (addicting, enjoyable, great quotes)
kate brian- the princess and the pauper (lovely YA braintrash)
dorothy canfield fisher- understood betsy (adorable classic)
brenda woods- red rose box (enjoyable YA)
lloyd alexander- the rope trick, the book of three (escapism r us)