Queereaders discussion

I am almost done with The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and am halfway through Beijing Comrades by Beijing Tongzhi.

Just finished All My Mother's Lovers which gets a so-so review from me and am starting on a newly released collection: Octavia E. Butler: Kindred, Fledgling, Collected Stories. Some I've read before but was psyched to see this tremendous author recognized with a definitive collection.

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov. I had to read excerpts from this in Russian class in undergrad.

Shikasta by Doris Lessing

I've started a rather... ummm... quirky book Hot Milk. Quite unexpectedly, same-sex attraction appeared!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I'm reading Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other which was joint winner of last year's Booker Prize (I never read a Booker winner before!). I'm nearly 70% into the book, which is basically a group of linked short stories about a group of people who are all linked in some way. The book has several well-realised lesbian characters but I've just reached a chapter about a trans (or possibly non binary) character called Megan/Morgan which I'm approaching with some trepidation. One Twitter reviewer accused it of going into TERF territory. I'm enjoying the book so much that I will be seriously disappointed if Evaristo took that route. Will report back. Has anyone else here read the book?

Ian wrote: "I'm reading Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other which was joint winner of last year's Booker Prize (I never read a Booker winner before!). I'm nearly 70% into the book, which is..."

Having read the Megan/Morgan chapter, I think the issue comes from Evaristo having her NB character choose the term Gender-Free to describe themselves, a term used a lot in Terf circles. Otherwise, both the character and the chapter read OK to me.

I Have Something to Tell You by Chasten Glezman Buttigieg

The Hate U Give!

Just finished Annie on My Mind

Just finished The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner which left me with
complicated feelings. Today is the 100 year anniversary of the author's death.



Still making my way through the Butler anthology.

John wrote: "I Have Something to Tell You by Chasten Glezman Buttigieg".

John, Let us know how this is!

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

I've just finished Alexander's Choice by Edmund Marlowe. Next up is Love in Strange Times by Emery C. Walters

Matthew Todd's "Straight Jacket: How to Be Gay and Happy" is great. I listened to it as an audiostream, and found it to be compassionate, smart, and convincing.

About to start Rubyfruit Jungle and hope to source a copy of The House of Impossible Beauties to start in the new year. Also going to read Julia Serano's Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Eugene wrote: "Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender"

I fancied that one, but I wanted to stay away from YA literature for a while. Will probably get to it, though it would be interesting to hear what you think of it.

Ian wrote: " Also going to read Julia Serano's Whippin..."</i>

Serano has a new one out I want to get to, on my ever growing TBR list [book:99 Erics: a Kat Cataclysm faux novel

I would not normally mention a mainstream historical fiction mystery series here. However... this one is a bit different: Murder in the Crypt

I'm on the third book in the series now. The second one features the introduction of a gay character in Victorian England, where the (straight) main character takes an incredibly progressive view of the situation - not necessarily realistic, but I'll take it!

I raced through Rubyfruit Jungle in a few days. It's a quick read but great fun - I really enjoyed it. Going for a change of pace next with Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. Not an LGBT title but I found a copy cheaply in a charity shop and the theme of self-discovery through cooking sounded interesting.

I should add that this will see me hit my self-imposed target of 10 books between the beginning of November and Christmas - yay!

TimInCalifornia wrote: "John wrote: "I Have Something to Tell You by Chasten Glezman Buttigieg".

John, Let us know how this is!"

Finished it yesterday - definitely recommended!

Ian wrote: "Eugene wrote: "Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender"

I fancied that one, but I wanted to stay away from YA literature for a while. Will probably get to it, though ..."

I finished it last night. I'm writing a review, but the short answer is that I found it disappointing.

For those of you who read nonfiction, I started Ready for a Brand New Beat: How Dancing in the Street Became the Anthem for a Changing America today, finding it really tough to put down!

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

John, Thanks for letting us know how the Chasten Buttigieg book was. I keep hearing good things about it.

Finished the Octavia Butler story collection yesterday-high marks for a favorite author.

Now starting In Memory of Memory which in its early pages is promising.

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

I just finished Alice Payne Arrives and the second book as well. If you like/might like futuristic and time travel (but also historic) stories, give it a shot! It's a light, fun read. It features some badass heroines (who are women of color), a beautiful lesbian relationship, plus the main character is bi. :D

Moving on now to Chasten Buttigieg's memoir <3

Just finished Moss by Klaus Modick.

Now on to The Hunger by Alma Katsu

I just finished Carry On
Next I’m reading the new faraway novella series that’s free for Amazon prime users

Currently reading: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Also reading Three Halves of a Whole by Elijah Aster.

After a break of almost a month and after having started and abandoned Debt: The First 5,000 Years and The Exorcist (I might give a second try to the first one, The Exorcist, however, hasn't aged well in my opinion) I have finally started Real Life which I am finding beautiful.

Before the year is over, I am planning to start When We Rise by Cleve Jones.

Reading the tedious Other Women by Lisa Alther for a book club.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson and Thread, A Brothers' Keeper Story by Tristan B. Taylor

Just finished my final book of the year: Journey by Moonlight. Though set in Italy, it's a very Hungarian novel. Far from a breezy read, but glad I read it. Contains homoeroticism, which I took as latent same-sex attraction.

I am finishing the year with Real Life by Brandon Taylor and I couldn't end on a higher note. It is a beautiful book which deserves the acclaim it got (it has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize).