Lesbian Top 10

So you're stuck on a desert island, no cute girls around. You need some serious reading material. Here's what we consider to be the best lesbian novels out there (in chronological order). Disagree? Share your favorites on the Your Top Books message board.

	The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith Back when the late mystery writer (of recent Talented Mr. Ripley fame) first published this undated 1950s lesbian pulp romance, she allowed it only to appear under a pseudonym, Claire Morgan. It has endured (under her own name now) as one of the best lesbian novels ever written.
	Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown Though it's dated, this manic coming-out novel (by a writer who's moved on to dainty mysteries with talking cats and fox hunts) remains a both hilarious and essential story of youthful lesbian self-worth. Still funny after almost 30 years.
	Curious Wine, by Katherine V. Forrest Some books are meant to teach, others to entertain. This classic from the mid-1980s about women searching for love does both. It's lushly romantic, and the sex scenes sizzle, but there's a surprisingly philosophical bent to it.
	Stone Butch Blues, by Leslie Feinberg Everything so many other lesbian novels aren't: tough, true, sharp -- and without floral metaphors or softball games. Feinberg's richly truthful fiction introduces transgender characters and working-class realities into the middle class world of queer lit.
	Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, by Jeannette Winterson This brilliant autobiographical first novel tells the story of a girl growing up as the Bible-thumping only child of a Christian couple in working-class, industrial England. When she discovers the joy of lesbian love as a young teenager, she is subjected to a harrowing ordeal at the hands of parents and church. Horrifying, sharp, witty, and truly inspiring.
	Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel At eight books and counting, this is the longest-running, funniest, and most visually satisfying lesbian comic-strip series out there. It's also one of the best domestic sitcoms in queer history, with a rich cast of characters, spot-on cultural commentary, and truly witty writing.
	Soul Kiss, by Shay Youngblood Eight-year-old Mariah is abandoned by her drug-addict mama to live with her elderly maiden aunts in rural 1960s Georgia. As she grows into womanhood she discovers her sexuality and yearns for reconnection with the father she never knew.
	Name Me Nobody, by Lois-Ann Yamanaka A tender Hawaiian tale about a young girl whose best friend falls in love with another girl. It's a sweet testimony to the power of friendship.
	Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters Victorian-era cross-dressing lesbian male-prostitute erotica! This is an imaginative, saucy, campy, carnal tale of a "tom's" romp through the streets, and beds, of 19th-century London.
	Tea, by Stacey D'Erasmo This contemporary lesbian coming-of-age tale is sharply observant of its urban world of smart, wry women embracing passion and personal politics with equal fervor.