I have 1116 M/M romance on LibraryThing, so for my BWA bulletin, I thought to find what are the most shared among them and through them to draw up a top list of the Best M/M Romance. To them I added the books of the previous bulletin (the books tagged as "Gay Romance" on Amazon). Every book has one point for every copy owned on LibraryThing. And so here is the top 50:1) Call me by your name by André Aciman (202)
2) Menage by Emma Holly (117) (read before LJ)
3) All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann (111)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/19210
4) Comfort and Joy by Jim Grimsley (88)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/26094
5) The Back Passage by James Lear (66) (to be read)
6) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R. W. Day (48)
7) Brethren: Raised by Wolves by W. A. Hoffman (45)
8) The Tin Star by J.L. Langley (44)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1191.h
8) The Phoenix by Ruth Sims (44)10) The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek (43)
11) Standish by Erastes (41)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/15429.h
11) The price of temptation by M. J. Pearson (41)
13) Bareback by Chris Owen (40) (read before LJ)
14) A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach (37)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/2623.h
14) Ransom by Lee Rowan (37) (read before LJ)
14) Vintage : a ghost story by Steve Berman (37)
14) Discreet Young Gentleman by M. J. Pearson (37)
18) Latter Days: A Novel by C. Jay Cox (34)
19) All American Boy by William J. Mann (33) (to be read)
20) Deviations: Submission by Chris Owen (32) (read before LJ)
21) An Agreement Among Gentlemen by Chris Owen (31) (to be read)
22) Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale (29)
22) Without Reservations by J.L. Langley (29) (read before LJ)
24) Deviations: Domination by Chris Owen (28) (to be read)
24) A Secret Edge by Robin Reardon (28)24) Matelots: Raised By Wolves by W. A. Hoffman (28)
27) The Hell You Say: An Adrien English Mystery by Josh Lanyon (27) (to be read)
28) The master of Seacliff by Max Pierce (25)
29) Out There in the Night by Laura Baumbach (23) (read before LJ)
29) Falling by M.L. Rhodes (23) (to be read)
29) L.A. Heat: A Novel by P.A. Brown (24)
30) When You Don't See Me by Timothy James Beck (23)
33) Details of the Hunt by Laura Baumbach (22) (read before LJ)
33) Roughhousing by Laura Baumbach (22)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/31797.h
33) Winds of Change by Lee Rowan (22) (read before LJ)
33) Razor Burn: A Romentics Novel by Scott & Scott (22)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/15580
37) Willow Bend by Ally Blue (21) (read before LJ)
37) Spare Parts: A Romentics Novel by Scott & Scott (21)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/19023
39) Natural Disaster by Chris Owen (20) (to be read)39) On Fire by Drew Zachary (20)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/34403.h
39) Three Day Passes by Sean Michael (20) (to be read)
39) Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo (20)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/40712.h
39) Into This World We're Thrown by Mark Kendrick (20)
44) Strings Attached by Nick Nolan (19)
45) Oleander House by Ally Blue (18)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/31109.h
45) Jumping into Things by Julia Talbot (18) (read before LJ)
47) 911 by Chris Owen (17) (read before LJ)
47) The Broken H by J.L. Langley (17) (read before LJ)
49) Soul Mates: Bound by Blood by Jourdan Lane (16) (read before LJ)
49) Out of the Closet by Sean Michael (16) (to be read)
49) Scarlet and the White Wolf 1: The Pedlar and the Bandit by Kirby Crow (16)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/3266.h
49) Scarlet and the White Wolf 3: The Land of Night by Kirby Crow (16)http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/74342.h
49) The Name of the Game by Willa Okati (16)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/47199.h
49) My Fair Captain by J.L. Langley (16)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/10650
49) Tempestuous by Morgan Hawke (16)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/14471
49) A Private Hunger by Sean Michael (16)
Sweet Lips by Mel Smith (15)
Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft (15)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/21307 2.html
His Beautiful Samurai by Sedonia Guillone (15)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/63880.h tml
Male of the Species by Kate Steele (13)
The Filly by Mark R. Probst (12)
Heaven Sent 1: Heaven by Jet Mykles (12)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/27253.h tml
Flashover by Tory Temple (11)
Adagio by Chris Owen (11)
Dead to the World by L. E. Bryce (11)
Hearts from the Ashes by Ally Blue (10)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/35920.h tml
The Cost of Eternity by Shayla Kersten (10)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/44847.h tml
Freshman Pledge: The Magic of Love by Larry Coles (10)
Amnesia by Sean Michael (10)
Just a Boy by Rob Clinger (9)
Founder by Jodi Payne (9)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/12759 0.html
The Professor's Secret Passion by M.L. Rhodes (8)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/79571.h tml
My Sun and Stars by L. E. Bryce (8)
Never Let Go by M.L. Rhodes (6)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/11478 6.html
Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon (6)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/20924 3.html
Caught Running by Abigail Roux (3)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/19917 1.html
Under the Big Sky by S. Bryan Gonzales (2)
The Boy with Black Eyes by Brian Lucas (1)
Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft (15)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/21307
His Beautiful Samurai by Sedonia Guillone (15)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/63880.h
Male of the Species by Kate Steele (13)
The Filly by Mark R. Probst (12)
Heaven Sent 1: Heaven by Jet Mykles (12)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/27253.h
Flashover by Tory Temple (11)
Adagio by Chris Owen (11)
Dead to the World by L. E. Bryce (11)
Hearts from the Ashes by Ally Blue (10)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/35920.h
The Cost of Eternity by Shayla Kersten (10)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/44847.h
Freshman Pledge: The Magic of Love by Larry Coles (10)
Amnesia by Sean Michael (10)
Just a Boy by Rob Clinger (9)
Founder by Jodi Payne (9)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/12759
The Professor's Secret Passion by M.L. Rhodes (8)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/79571.h
My Sun and Stars by L. E. Bryce (8)
Never Let Go by M.L. Rhodes (6)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/11478
Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon (6)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/20924
Caught Running by Abigail Roux (3)
http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/19917
Under the Big Sky by S. Bryan Gonzales (2)
The Boy with Black Eyes by Brian Lucas (1)
Some points:
- I don't believe to have all the possibly worthy M/M romance, so please, if you notice a title you think should be there, tell me, I will look on LibraryThing how many copies there are and put it on the list. Plus, if you haven't a LibraryThing account, but you have the book (or ebook) please tell me and I will add a point to it (I don't ask a proof of ownership, I will trust my friendlist, so please, no multiple votes :-))) )
- Do you know another (serious please), online catalogue? If I find it worthy of attention, and with a valueable data base, I will add the number of copies to the list above.- I needed to make a choice and so I will consider only book for the first time printed in the twenty one century (from 2000 on). I know it's an hard choice, but otherless I will open an ocean!
- Every month (if I can) I will update the list, so if you are interested, you will always have an updated source: my source will be LibraryThing and Amazon (50 books for Bestselling in Gay and Lesbian Romance and 50 books tagged as Gay Romance)
- Obviously two books on the top 10 list are also books written by classic romance authors who tried the M/M romance genre, so I think they have a bigger audience and for them it's simplier to be on top. Don't mistake me, I think they are both worthy books, and Menage is the first book I read with an M/M relationship, so maybe, they are a good vehicle for readers to arrive to the real M/M genre and authors.
- I'm very happy to see 2 books by Kirby Crow's series, Scarlet and the White Wolf, on the list. I like a lot this writer, I think she deserves a wide audience, still there are very few "rumors" about her on the web. Is it a case of books which sell without mediatic "can can"? A reason more to consider them very worthy books?
- On Amazon, G.A. Hauser has a big audience, but here no one of her books are on the list. Very strange, since I think she has a very particular style, very original stories, and they are pure romance, so, usually, a genre with a wide audience.- My big congrats to Lee Rowan and Erastes to be on the list, both here and both on Amazon. You have a very faithful readership!
In the end, many of you are wondering why I'm doing this? Well because I'm nut, and you will forgive me because you are my friends!
Here is the link to the LibraryThing account I opened appositedly for this purpose:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top5













Comments
a nutyou as a friend - you match me in maNy ways! lolYour lists are always a treasure for me, to find new books, to revisit old ones, to increase my own ToBeRead pile...
Keep up the good work!
*hugs*
Ps and great to see your list of who's going to Yaoi Con! It's very exciting! ^__^
P.S. Can wait to see you at Yaoi Con!
Edited at 2008-05-16 02:00 pm (UTC)
I checked my own catalogue on LibraryThing and came across L.A. Heat by P.A. Brown. It's shared by 23 and I think it qualifies as much as a romance as it does as a thriller. And maybe His beautiful Samurai by Sedonia Guillone, it's shared by 15 on LibraryThing.
Christian
I recently wrote down the male romance books I've read:
1. Bareback by Chris Owen
2. Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach
3. Gemini by Chris Owen
4. Comfort and Joy by Jim Grimsley - one of my favorites
5. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman - one of the saddest books I've ever read. It's well written and poetic but I sobbed for days after reading it.
6. Tin Star by J.L. Langley
7. Anything for a Byline by Sean Michael - didn't like
8. Roughhousing by Laura Baumbach
9. Deviations: Submission by Chris Owen
10. Bad Case of Loving You by Laney Cairo
11. Tinder by Tory Temple - an ebook I loved (about FIREMEN!)
12. Falling by ML Rhodes- an ebook about magic and gay wizards, surprising I loved
13. Hot Valley by James Lear
14. Wicked Angels by Eric Jourdan
15. Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall - a very weird book that I loved
16. The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
17. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
18. The Swimming Pool Library by Hollinghurst
19. Allan Stein by Matthew Stadler
20. Nocturnes for the King of Naples by Edmund White-ties with Call Me by your Name as a sad book
21. A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White-I found it boring
22. Gaveston by Chris Hunt-loved, it's about King Edward II and his soul mate
23. Giovanni's Room-sad
24. The Back Passage by James Lear-fun
25. Willow Bend by Ally Blue-very sweet and moving
I have the following but haven't read yet:
1. Froghair by Sean Michael (ebook)
2. Deviations: Discipline by Chris Owen (ebook)
3. Good Thief by James Buchanan (ebook)
4. No Going Home by TA Chase (ebook)
5. To Love a Cowboy by Rhiane Aile (ebook)
6. Canadian Shots by Drew Zachary (ebook)
7. Painted House by Drew Zachary (ebook)
8. Warm Oceans by RE Jewiss(ebook)
9. Best Gay Romance 2008 by Richard Labonte
Elisa
Still here, still kickin', still writing. There will be, publishing schedules allowing, a couple of new books coming out this year. Watch for them.
And yes, you're a nut! And a good egg.
Hmm now I'm hungry.
Elisa