Top 10 LGBT Themed Books

Giovanni's Room is one of the greatest LGBT novels of all time. Baldwin’s classic portrays homosexuality and bisexuality with a heavy focus on shame and social alienation. David, an American man living in Paris, meets an Italian bartender Giovanni. He faces a decision of choosing between his American fiancée and his boyfriend.

This book portrays the day in the life of a middle-aged English professor who is struggling to cope with the death of his partner Jim. He has various encounters throughout the day which help brighten up his world. The book was later adapted into a film by Tom Forde starring Colin Firth.

First published in 1890, this book was branded immoral at the time. The book explores aestheticism and focuses on beauty and youth. Dorian, a young innocent man turns superficial and self-obsessed as he discovers the powers of his exceptional beauty. He remains physically unchanged by his immoral lifestyle but his portrait shows the reality.

The 'Something Like… ' series is a collection of books that each tell the story from a different character's perspective. The first book in the series, Something Like Summer, focuses on the relationship between high school students, Ben and Tim. Told from the perspective of Ben, the story spans 10 years and explores coming of age, family and societal pressures. The success of the series later led to a movie adaptation of the first book.

This semi-autobiographical novel is the first of 3 books exploring coming of age and homosexuality in 1950's America. Struggling to come to terms with his sexuality and with family difficulties, the boy takes solace in art and literature.

Set in the deep south of America, Cecile, a poor black girl endures rape, domestic violence and the loss of her children. The novel treats the relationship between Cecile and Shug beautifully. The film version stars Oprah Winfrey and Whoppi Goldberg.

Set in London during the 80's, this novel is in 3 parts and explores the life of Nick, a young gay middle-class man, and the tense relationship he has with the political Fedden family. Exploring themes of hypocrisy, privilege, class and homosexuality, this book has the perfect backdrop of Thatcher's Britain. Hollinghurst manages to capture this era brilliantly and the novel was a poignant winner of the Booker Prize in 2004.

With a pervasive lesbian theme, this novel tells the story of a young working class woman called Nan who becomes besotted with Kitty, a male impersonator, and follows her to London. Exploring sexuality and sexual identity between two women, this acclaimed novel was a popular UK TV series and also adapted for the stage.

This coming of age young adult book follows Simon Spider, a closeted teenager who falls in love with a guy he’s been emailing. An entertaining read that will leave you grinning from ear to ear. The message of the book is clear. Why do gay people have to come out of the closet?

Written in the early 20th century, Maurice was only published after Forster’s death in 1971. It is one of the first novels to deal so openly with male homosexuality. Set in Edwardian times, the novel depicts the life of Maurice Hill from the age of 14, through to his education at Cambridge University and finally, to his father’s firm. Maurice is following the life that he is supposed to. But difficulties arise because he is gay. Hugh Grant later starred as Maurice in the film adaptation.