Well, it’s already March. I had another month of fantastic queer lit, and I hope all of you did, too! The February Queer Your Year prize packs went out in the mail yesterday. And congrats to Aubrey, who won the February raffle!
If you’re just joining us, welcome! All the details about the challenge are here.
Originally I was planning to do general rec threads every month—as you probably know, I could talk about queer lit all day. But I’d love to hear what you enjoy about these threads. So, on that note:
What great queer books have you read this month? What’s on your March TBR? What prompts are you still looking for recs for? Give a rec, get a rec, you know the deal!
What would you like to see in these threads? Do you like having a place to trade queer book recs? Would you enjoy more specific themed threads for different prompts? A more general discussion about queer lit? Something else? Please share your thoughts/ideas/dreams.
I'll start! Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments was a favorite of the month for me (Black history book). So inventive and expansive!
I also loved Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid—I continue to be delighted by the queerness in her work.
And if anyone is looking for graphic nonfiction, I also highly recommend A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings by Will Betke-Brunswick. Heartbreaking but really warm and funny, too.
I would love some recommendations for "protagonist over 50" if anyone has them!
In February I read FT Lukens' In Deeper Waters which is a YA fantasy about a prince with secret magic and a merman. It's very sweet.
I also read Belly of the Beast by Da'Shaun Harrison, and I highly recommend for nonfiction that lays out the intersections of anti-fatness, anti-blackness, and queerness.
I enjoyed No Parking by Valentine Wheeler (small town full of queers, low-key romance, protagonist has always known she's bi but is still discovering new things about her identity).
It's funny, it's a book I just liked pretty well rather than THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING, but I find myself recommending it ALL THE TIME because it checks boxes that so many other books don't! Older characters, small town that isn't overly romanticized, nuanced relationship with an ex, Christmas from a non-observer's perspective...
I made a delightful discovery this month. Shipwrecked: Being a tale of true love, magic, and goats by Juniper Butterworth. It's like goblin-core meets cozy fantasy. Sapphic fantasy romance between two goblins (a pirate and a principle goatherd). The world building and character development is charming. Also deeply weird in the best possible way. And with more emotional depth than I was expecting from a low-stakes fantasy novella about goblins falling in love.
I've had a great reading month so far! I read How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler for the science/nature writing prompt and loved how it blended the scientific and the personal, so glad I picked it up after seeing it being recommended. I also just finished reading She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, a genderqueer historical fantasy epic set in 14th-century China that absolutely blew me away. I'm currently reading the anthology Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth for a book with under 100 ratings on Goodreads and I'm finding it to be a very excellent collection of SFF/fantasy short stories centered around plant life.
I ended up (re)reading Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All for the prompt, book published in the decade you were born (1980s). It's kind of a fascinating example of a book where the protagonist would never ever say, or even think, the word "queer" out loud, but if you know you know. There's a couple of instances of same-gender desire on the page but a whole lot more that's kinda quiet. Recommend or not? I'm not sure! I put some thoughts here on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5320676754
I also recently finished Michelle Gallen's Factory Girls and loved it - not a queer book (or is it??? I saw some space you could wedge a queer reading into, though I didn't get the impression that was the author's intent). But I loved its anger, it's a darkly funny fuck-you-and-fuck-the-world book. The main character is just burning up with it, and it goes from feeling despairing to feeling like righteous burn-it-all-down fury. Does anyone have a rec with that feeling? (Maybe Your Driver Is Waiting, which is in my holds list?)
That sounds fascinating--I don't think it's one I'm drawn to read, but one thing I have been weirdly very excited about recently is making more space for queer narratives that aren't obvious. We have so much great queer lit today, it's easy to forget about both the obvious queer lit of the past, AND the more subtle, "this book can be read as queer if you want to read it that way" books. I think both have a lot of value!
Re: angry books. I just read So Lucky by Nicola Griffith, and it is full of rage. I really loved it. The MC is newly disabled (diagnosed with MS) and I think Griffith writes about her anger with so much complexity and nuance. She's queer, though the book really isn't about that. It works for the fiction by a disabled author prompt.
I enjoyed Lori L. Lake's "Eight Dates" very much. She writes humor so well, and also children (there's a little girl character in the book). One thing I'd like to see in these threads is poetry. Queer poetry exist! (I know; I read and write it.) Mary Oliver is a favorite. My own poetry collections are published by Launch Point Press, which publishes lots of queer authors.
Queer poetry is the best! I also love it. I read Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparan for the debut poetry prompt, which I absolutely loved. Chen Chen, Saeed Jones, Carl Phillips, Andrea Gibson, and Billy-Ray Belcourt are some other favorites. Another debut (I think) I really admired was Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee.
Thanks for mentioning your books and love of poetry. Excited to check out Launch Point Press!
I could use recommendations for fluffy queer classics. I prefer genre fiction (mostly romance and fantasy but I read others too). I’m not in the mood to read bleak or depressing right now.
I loved Patience and Sarah by Isobel Miller. I’m not aware of m/any other classics with a happy / optimistic ending.
I'll start! Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments was a favorite of the month for me (Black history book). So inventive and expansive!
I also loved Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid—I continue to be delighted by the queerness in her work.
And if anyone is looking for graphic nonfiction, I also highly recommend A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings by Will Betke-Brunswick. Heartbreaking but really warm and funny, too.
I would love some recommendations for "protagonist over 50" if anyone has them!
In February I read FT Lukens' In Deeper Waters which is a YA fantasy about a prince with secret magic and a merman. It's very sweet.
I also read Belly of the Beast by Da'Shaun Harrison, and I highly recommend for nonfiction that lays out the intersections of anti-fatness, anti-blackness, and queerness.
The protagonist over 50 is kinda hard (there are already so few, and even fewer queer ones).
Bingo Love is a really fun graphic novel about two Black women in their 70s (I think?) falling in love.
Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure is a historical sapphic romance that is a real joy, and very funny.
I also loved Hide by Matthew Griffin, though it's pretty bleak.
Loved Bingo Love!! The women are 60 or 70, yes.
I just read The Seep by Chana Porter and the protagonist is 50 so I think that just about counts.
I enjoyed No Parking by Valentine Wheeler (small town full of queers, low-key romance, protagonist has always known she's bi but is still discovering new things about her identity).
Oooh, that sounds lovely!
It's funny, it's a book I just liked pretty well rather than THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING, but I find myself recommending it ALL THE TIME because it checks boxes that so many other books don't! Older characters, small town that isn't overly romanticized, nuanced relationship with an ex, Christmas from a non-observer's perspective...
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson is very short and features 2 protagonists over 50.
I made a delightful discovery this month. Shipwrecked: Being a tale of true love, magic, and goats by Juniper Butterworth. It's like goblin-core meets cozy fantasy. Sapphic fantasy romance between two goblins (a pirate and a principle goatherd). The world building and character development is charming. Also deeply weird in the best possible way. And with more emotional depth than I was expecting from a low-stakes fantasy novella about goblins falling in love.
Okay, that sounds amazing.
Yeah, I'm adding this to my TBR
Three cheers for queer lit!✨
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon! Recommended by a fellow reader of Books & Bakes. Normally don’t read sci-fi/fantasy but this consumed me!
I loved this one, too!
I've had a great reading month so far! I read How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler for the science/nature writing prompt and loved how it blended the scientific and the personal, so glad I picked it up after seeing it being recommended. I also just finished reading She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, a genderqueer historical fantasy epic set in 14th-century China that absolutely blew me away. I'm currently reading the anthology Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth for a book with under 100 ratings on Goodreads and I'm finding it to be a very excellent collection of SFF/fantasy short stories centered around plant life.
That sounds like such a great month. I'm so glad you loved the Imbler! I also thought She Who Became the Sun was so brilliant.
And SFF stories centered around plant life? Sign me up!
I ended up (re)reading Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All for the prompt, book published in the decade you were born (1980s). It's kind of a fascinating example of a book where the protagonist would never ever say, or even think, the word "queer" out loud, but if you know you know. There's a couple of instances of same-gender desire on the page but a whole lot more that's kinda quiet. Recommend or not? I'm not sure! I put some thoughts here on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5320676754
I also recently finished Michelle Gallen's Factory Girls and loved it - not a queer book (or is it??? I saw some space you could wedge a queer reading into, though I didn't get the impression that was the author's intent). But I loved its anger, it's a darkly funny fuck-you-and-fuck-the-world book. The main character is just burning up with it, and it goes from feeling despairing to feeling like righteous burn-it-all-down fury. Does anyone have a rec with that feeling? (Maybe Your Driver Is Waiting, which is in my holds list?)
That sounds fascinating--I don't think it's one I'm drawn to read, but one thing I have been weirdly very excited about recently is making more space for queer narratives that aren't obvious. We have so much great queer lit today, it's easy to forget about both the obvious queer lit of the past, AND the more subtle, "this book can be read as queer if you want to read it that way" books. I think both have a lot of value!
Re: angry books. I just read So Lucky by Nicola Griffith, and it is full of rage. I really loved it. The MC is newly disabled (diagnosed with MS) and I think Griffith writes about her anger with so much complexity and nuance. She's queer, though the book really isn't about that. It works for the fiction by a disabled author prompt.
Ooo, I've had that on my TBR pile, I'll have to bump it up!
I enjoyed Lori L. Lake's "Eight Dates" very much. She writes humor so well, and also children (there's a little girl character in the book). One thing I'd like to see in these threads is poetry. Queer poetry exist! (I know; I read and write it.) Mary Oliver is a favorite. My own poetry collections are published by Launch Point Press, which publishes lots of queer authors.
Queer poetry is the best! I also love it. I read Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparan for the debut poetry prompt, which I absolutely loved. Chen Chen, Saeed Jones, Carl Phillips, Andrea Gibson, and Billy-Ray Belcourt are some other favorites. Another debut (I think) I really admired was Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee.
Thanks for mentioning your books and love of poetry. Excited to check out Launch Point Press!
Andrea Gibson is my favorite! How could I forget them? Thanks for the other poets for me to check out,
Danez Smith is a favorite poet of mine.
I could use recommendations for fluffy queer classics. I prefer genre fiction (mostly romance and fantasy but I read others too). I’m not in the mood to read bleak or depressing right now.
I loved Patience and Sarah by Isobel Miller. I’m not aware of m/any other classics with a happy / optimistic ending.
I feel you on not wanting to read bleak/depressing!
One that comes to mind is the Tales of the City books. Pretty fun and fluffy.
The Color Purple is definitely bleak, but the queer love story does have a happy ending! Maurice also has a happy ending, but it's not really fluffy.
Thanks. Maybe I’ll try Tales of the City. I’ve heard good things about it over the years.