Alex Sanchez – Books from his past!
I’m pleased to welcome Alex Sanchez to my blog! Alex is the author of many books such as The God Box, BAIT, and the upcoming Boyfriends with Girlfriends.
Today he is here to share with us some of the books from his past and why they are so important to him!
At five years old: The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It describes a Spanish bull that prefers smelling flowers to fighting in a ring. That gentle but strong bull challenging the status quo by being true to himself made a fierce impression on my young imagination and self-image. In the years that followed, when I’d doubt myself and who I was, I often remembered Ferdinand.
At eleven years old, I belonged to a mail-order book club and recall one title I loved: “How to Be a Nonconformist.” I knew I didn’t fit in, and I was trying to figure out who I was.
For when I was sixteen, I wish a book had been available that portrayed gay and bi teens—a book that would’ve told me, “It’s okay to be who you are.” Part of who I was then was a very normal teenage boy trying to sort out love, friendship, sex, and sexuality. Now there are sooo many great gay teen books. I have a huge list on my website at:
http://www.alexsanchez.com/gay_teen_books.htm
At twenty, I discovered my first “gay” books by authors like Christopher Isherwood, Mary Renault, Patricia Nell Warren, and Yukio Mishima. If you haven’t read any of those, I recommend them!
