Eight LGBT writers give us a peek at their nightstand—or beach bag—to see what’s on their summer reading list.

by Noël Alumit

There are a lot of things to do this summer: tan, shop, get out of town for awhile or simply watch the waves roll in. There is also a lot of good reading to do. Several queer writers responded to the question, “What do you plan to read this summer?” Their answers are as varied as the genres they write in.

Scott Heim (novelist)

William Maxwell is someone I’ve been wanting to read for years; I just finished So Long, See You Tomorrow and found it so beautiful and profoundly moving that I plan to read every single thing he ever wrote.

Matt Link (travel writer)

I’m reading Moby Dick, mythical and surprisingly cynical, written by Herman Melville, who some said was gay. There’s certainly a lot of homoeroticism in it, with guys holding each other in beds—but it was published in 1851, so who knows? It’s over 500 pages long, so should keep me busy for the summer!

Joseph Legaspi (poet)

Summer, when my hectic schedule eases up a bit, I typically tackle a hefty tome, a classic if you will—satisfying the consummate lit major in me—among my other breezier reading fodder. This time around I’m tackling George Eliot’s Middlemarch. Nothing screams beach book more than morals and conventions in 19th-century England. Then again, I’m not much of a beach person.

Myriam Gurba (novelist)

I’m so totally stoked that Junot Díaz won the Pulitzer Prize for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a book which was bittersweet to finish. I will definitely be reading Díaz’s debut short-story collection, Drown. I’m also in love with all things Los Angeles. I can’t wait to gobble up Daniel Olivas’ Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature.

Fred Smith (romance writer)

I’m very much looking forward to Dirty Girls on Top by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. It comes out in July, and it’s the sequel to her bestselling The Dirty Girls Social Club from a few years back. It’ll be nice to catch up with the “sucias,” as the characters call themselves, and see what they’ve been up to the past five years.

Michael Nava (mystery writer)

I am one of the organizers of a GLBT reading series sponsored by the GLBT Historical Society, on whose board of directors I sit. I am reading or re-reading novels from our writers including Little Men by Kevin Killian, Margery Kempe by Robert Gluck, The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez, as well as Chris Rice’s new novel, Blind Fall. I am also re-reading works by KM Soehnlein, Trebor Healy and Frederick Smith.

Keith M. Harris (cultural critic)

I will be reading Marx's German Ideology, primarily for my own writing, and—as I have done every summer since 2002—I will read Don Quixote. I read parts of it every summer, but I never seem to finish.

Sharon Bridgforth (playwright)

I’m reading Morning Glory, a biography of Mary Lou Williams by Linda Dahl, because I’m doing research for my new performance piece, delta dandi.

Ten Books to Read this Summer

There are a ton of new books to enjoy this summer, whether it’s on a cross-country vacation flight or curled up at home in the A/C. Here are 10 to consider:

1. Love, West Hollywood: Reflections of Los Angeles

(Alyson Books) edited by Chris Freeman and James J. Berg

Stories about our gay mecca by a slew of wonderful writers, from Patricia Nell Warren, Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla, Pat Alderette and many more.

2. Band Fags! (Kensington Books)

by Frank Anthony Polito

The coming-of-age story of a gay boy in the 1980s. If the words Dallas, Dynasty and the Go-Go’s resonate with you, get this book.

3. Love & Lies: Marisol’s Story

(Simon and Schuster) by Ellen Wittlinger

Wittlinger is simply a master of her craft, and this story of a young lesbian who falls for her writing teacher will certainly entertain.

4. Miami Manhunt

(Kensington Books) by Johnny Diaz

Diaz made a name for himself with the bestselling Boston Boys Club. He changes location to Miami in this hilarious second novel about a movie critic named Ray Martinez.

5. Drama! Entrances and Exits

(Simon and Schuster) by Paul Ruditis

There are lots of gay men who could relate to participating in a high school theater production and the shenanigans that ensue.

6. A Prophet in His Own Land

(White Crane Books) by Malcom Boyd

An out Episcopal priest, Boyd has been concerned with the gay spirit for decades. This book of his selected writings from the past 50 years is the kind of document for those who enjoy both the beach and the pew.

7. The Age of Dreaming

(Akashic) by Nina Revoyr

In her new take on old Hollywood, Lammy-winning lesbian writer Revoyr sets her new novel on the mesmerizing life of a silent film star named Jun Nakayama, an Asian actor in a country with growing anti-Asian bias.

8. Simple Justice

(Bold Strokes Books) by John Morgan Wilson

The book that introduced HIV-positive detective Benjamin Justice into the mystery scene is being reissued this August. Simple Justice won the Edgar award, the most prestigious prize in its genre.

9. Inverte: Flagrantly Queer Culture, Politics, Sex, and Dish

(Suspect Thoughts) edited by Greg Wharton and Ian Philips

This eclectic mix of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and images is done in the subversive manner that Suspect Thoughts is known for.

10. A Transgender History

(Seal Press) by Susan Stryker

Ever wondered what that “T” in LGBT was all about? This book will set you straight (so to speak).

Book ‘em Kimo!

Neil Plakcy chats about writing, coming out and whether Kimo—the gay Hawaiian cop in his Mahu mystery series—can ever settle down.

by Ross M. Levine

Native Pennsylvanian Neil Plakcy (rhymes with “taxi”) is an author on the “edge,” as he puts it, in a “place of infinite possibility, symbolized by the ocean’s edge ... a place all kinds are drawn to.” For Plakcy, that place is his current home, South Florida, where he’s an assistant English professor at Broward Community College. Plakcy is the writer behind the Mahu mystery series featuring gay homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka, whose own “edge place” is the mean streets of Honolulu.

In Mahu Fire—the third in Plakcy’s series—Kimo discovers his “softer side” as he investigates a rash of anti-gay crimes, including the firebombing of a fundraiser for gay marriage. A brazen assassination follows, and as Kimo works the leads and zeroes in on the perpetrators, his life is complicated by a troubled teen, a sick father and a hunky, semi-closeted fireman named Mike, with whom the hard-bitten detective may be falling in love.

Why mysteries? Have you considered other genres?

As a kid I was drawn to the classic mystery authors and tried my hand at mystery stories, but it wasn’t until graduate school that I started to understand how plot works, and how to use it to build a story about character. I’ve dabbled in writing gay romance, and love to write erotica. I just edited an anthology of construction-worker erotica for Cleis called Hard Hats.

What did you learn at U. Penn studying writing with Philip Roth and Carlos Fuentes?

Roth was a rigorous critic. You couldn’t get away with a thing—not a misplaced comma or false sentiment. I’ve tried to bring that rigor to my own work. Fuentes was relaxed. From him I learned to let the story go where it wants, then tame and shape it. [I’ve also been influenced by Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett.] It’s about how their lives intersect with their work. All are known for going out and living—on the road, in war zones, at the beach. I think all have terrific insight into human nature and the search for an authentic way of living.

What’s your approach to teaching writing?

I’m big on structure. One way I learned to write was by picking up a mystery novel and looking at how many pages, when the bodies appear, etc. If you get those patterns in your head, then your creativity works within them. It’s also important to have something to say—hard sometimes for young writers.

Describe your own coming out.

In the 1990s [my late 30s], I worked in software development. A co-worker, who generally spoke to people through a hand puppet called Mr. Squirrel, asked if I was gay. My heart started to pound. I considered ducking the question, but said yes, then spent the whole evening driving highways, listening to Bruce Springsteen and calming down. Shortly after, I was flown to L.A. for a job interview. After the interview, I went for a long walk along Santa Monica beach, thinking about the chance to start over as a gay man, without the mess of coming out to people in my old life. I decided to go back to Florida and fix what was wrong with my old life. I lost a couple friends, but several people said things like, “This is not a big surprise.”

In Mahu Fire, what were the challenges of developing Kimo's “softer side”?

Kimo works in a macho environment. He’s still struggling with a bunch of issues—[discomfort] around effeminate guys (“Will others think I’m like that?”), enforcing laws that [discriminate against] GLBT people. He wants to learn to be gentle, to express love, but [lacks] role models. There’s tension when another guy tries to dominate him in any way, even just grabbing and kissing him. His initial instinct is to fight, until [he realizes], “Hey, this is pretty cool.”

Do you worry straight readers might be put off by the sex in the book?

It wouldn’t be reasonable to have two hot guys fall in love without physical expression of their emotions. Lots of straight people don’t mind reading about gay sex, so I don’t feel I need to censor myself.

Are there more Mahu books in your future?

Yes. After I wrote the first (Mahu), the character of Kimo wouldn’t

leave me alone. I realized coming out isn’t a one-time event, it’s a process. You have to keep coming out to new people, and you go through stages, like a second adolescence. A teenager learns to be an adult; coming out, you learn to live as a gay person. There’s a lot more Kimo can explore in his personal life—moving in with a partner, [raising] a child perhaps, his changing relationships with family and friends.

What does your partner do, and how did you guys meet?

When he first answered my online ad, nearly 10 years ago, he was an MRI tech. He went back to school and shifted to healthcare risk management. Now that he writes a lot for his job, he has a better understanding of what I do!