The Toast discussion

Fellow Toasties,

I would like to read more fiction by/about LGBTQ people and issues. Would you mind recommending some of your favorites?

I recently read and enjoyed The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (YA). I also like More of This World or Maybe Another (short stories) and Fun Home (graphic novel - although this is a memoir). If you like historical fiction, a lot of people have good things to say about Sarah Waters. I have not read much fiction with trans characters and nothing leaps out as an immediate recommendation, but Nevada is on my to read list.

oh cool, thanks for the recommendations!

For historical fiction, I really liked Fingersmith and The Night Watch, both by Sarah Waters, and At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde is also very, very good, but it's a memoir.

I second The Miseducation of Cameron Post, that book made me feel things. The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard is a great place to start for recent trans writing. It's a little uneven but overall a very rewarding read.

I'd recommend Alison Bechdel's graphic novels (Fun Home is one of my favorite books ever), Sarah Schulman's novels, Rubyfruit Jungle (it's a classic), Stone Butch Blues (another classic), Michelle Tea's books, and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are Not the Only Fruit.

i just read affinity by sarah waters and it was lovely. also carmilla, if you're into some old school gothic sapphic vampires!

Highly recommend Nevada, it's one of the few trans stories I've come across that's not a transition story. I didn't always love reading it, but I chalk that up to being a cis reader with a book that's very much for trans readers.

The Summer We Got Free is a good one too, it touches on so many issues and I loved the characters. And Beautiful Music for Ugly Children is a sweet YA about a trans boy who's a radio dj.

I think Holding Still For As Long As Possible is a must read - it's the book that's felt closest to my own life, though I think/hope others from different perspectives would love it as well. I have such a crush on Josh, the transguy who is one of the 3 main protagonists, and I identify with Billy, one of the women in love with him, who suffers from anxiety.

I would second the recommendation for Jeanette Winterson! Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was spectacular! As was Written on the Body, although I think Oranges makes for a better introduction as it has a lot of autobiographical elements.