Queereaders discussion

Adult Fiction

An Amateur Witch's Guide to Murder by K. Valentin. “Mateo has 99 problems, all of them hinging on the fact that his terrifying and currently missing bruja mother trapped a demon in his body when he was born. His mother forbade him from ever using magic, but it’s his only marketable skill. Enter Topher, a naïve, rich boy with a curse that keeps killing people around him. Lifting Topher’s bad luck curse should be simple, but he might be the center of a deadly magical conspiracy.”

And I'll Take Out Your Eyes by A.M. Sosa. "Examines a coming of age shaped by generational trauma. Set in Mexican culture, the story weaves together family violence, complex family dynamics, immigration issues, curses, and brujeria to create a narrative both brutal and tender. Sosa’s unflinching exploration of abuse and repressed sexuality is visceral and deeply affecting. The novel is also an examination of resilience and healing.”

Blood, Sweat & Queers: Vampiric Love Stories, ed. by Margaret Hall and Jamie Ryu. "Tales of queer love from eight LGBTQ+ authors, all intertwined with the eternal allure of the vampire—stories of desire unbound, of passion unending, and hunger that threatens to consume everything in its path."

Caramelle & Carmilla by Jewelle Gomez and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Caramelle is Jewelle Gomez’s latest addition to the universe of The Gilda Stories, a lesbian–feminist twist on vampire mythology, relating tales of a self-emancipated slave who comes of age over a span of 200 years. Carmilla was the original vampire story; it predated Dracula. This new version “packages the sensual, sapphic, and spooky into the experience of girlhood in 19th-century Austria, presenting the genre as reliant on themes of gender, sexuality, and race.”

Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer. “After her manager finds out she lives with her girlfriend, Ruth is fired from her job at New Creations, a craft store owned by the church that dominates Kill Devil, Kentucky. In an act of revenge, Ruth attempts to shoplift some yarn but is caught red-handed. The employees lock her in the store and attack her. As Ruth fights for her life, she plunges deeper into the tangled web of the New Creationists, who are hiding a terrible secret that threatens the entire town.”

Her Wicked Roots by Tanya Pell. “In this queer retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic gothic story, Rappaccini’s Daughter, a young woman is lured to a lush estate owned by a botanist who might be hiding dark secrets.”

Herculine by Grace Byron. “This blistering horror debut follows a young trans woman after she arrives at the all-trans girl commune founded by her toxic ex-girlfriend. There she discovers that demons, both literal and figurative, haunt her fellow comrades—and she's their next prey.”

Isaac by Curtis Garner. “17-year-old Isaac comes out into a dizzying world of casual sex. This all changes when he meets 28-year-old Harrison at a party. As Isaac tries everything to prove his worthiness, he must take a hard look at his ideas about love, sex, and men, and his relationship with himself.”

Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo. A queer retelling of The Great Gatsby. “New York City, 2075. Filipino American Nick Carraway falls for alluring, new-money Jay Gatsby. But in a city where the wealthy flaunt tech-enhanced bodies to cheat death, surfaces aren’t all they seem.”

Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor. “Wyeth is a Black painter who grew up in the South and is trying to find his place in the Manhattan art scene. When he meets Keating, a white former seminarian who left the priesthood, he begins to reconsider how to observe the world, in the process facing questions about the conflicts between Black and white art, the white gaze on the Black body, and the compromises we make—in art and in life.” The romance is only a partial thread in this philosophical novel. The Black author’s debut novel, Real Life, was a finalist for the Booker Prize.

The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur. “A down-on-her-luck woman makes a deal with a crafty demon to win back her ex-girlfriend after a proposal gone awry, only to discover the girl of her dreams might be the devil she knows.” Nationally bestselling author.

Adult Nonfiction

DILF: Did I Leave Feminism? by Jude Ellison S. Doyle. “A transmasculine perspective on feminism, patriarchy, and queer/trans politics. Doyle was well known as a feminist writer before publicly transitioning. The book covers a lot of ground in a short page count: bodily autonomy, critiques of trans-exclusionary feminism, histories of inclusive second-wave feminist figures, intersectionality, and more.”

Five Star White Trash: A Memoir of Fraud and Family by Georgiann Davis, an intersex person. “Davis introduces readers to the relatives who shaped her turbulent upbringing: the Greek grandparents who guided her, the father who understood cars better than children, the brother whose violence went unchecked, the mother who displayed love through gifts they couldn’t afford. It took Davis years to uncover the medical secrets her mother kept from her. Davis connects her personal experiences of medical abuse, fatphobia, and fear of the intersex body with incisive critiques of white supremacy, the opioid crisis, and gender oppression.”

Letting Go of Perfect by Daniel O’Shaughnessy. “The author has battled extreme dieting, excessive exercise, and steroid use, plus has expertise as a nutritionist and mindset coach. This book explores why body dysmorphia is so prevalent in the gay community, unpacking its psychological roots and providing practical tools to reshape self-image.”

Meet Me There, Another Time: Letters to Places That Queer and Trans People Left Behind, ed. by Lexie Bean. "Bathroom bans and health care bans [and, earlier, lack of relationship protection] have forced rainbow families to cross state lines. Even before that, many of us have been on the run. This anthology collects the letters to the places we carry within us, places left behind—homes, cities, states, and countries."

Queer Minds: LGBTQ+ Therapists and Advocates on Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and the Things That Help by Katy Lees. “A nonbinary and queer psychotherapist offers insight on everything from the psychiatric system, navigating eating disorders as a queer person, autistic queer liberation, and radical community care to dreaming, healing, and navigating hardship.”

Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food, ed. by Alex D. Ketchum. “Lesbian- and queer women–run feminist restaurants, cafes, and coffeehouses have been safe spaces where female authority is legitimized. During the AIDS epidemic, gay men and their allies centered food as an expression of collective care. Queer and trans folk have asserted themselves in a restaurant culture largely controlled by white cisgender men. This book celebrates intersections between queers and food in essays, comics, and recipes. Full color throughout.”

The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity 1869-1939 by Jonathan D. Katz. “A groundbreaking survey of queer art from across the globe: paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and film stills. Ranges from well-known masterpieces to works by unknown artists and pieces rarely considered in the context of sexuality. 22 original essays by experts in art and queer history. Illustrates the sea change in how society regarded homosexuality after the term ‘homosexual’ was introduced in 1869—the view that sexual proclivities were something you were rather than something you did. Decodes hidden queer symbols in artworks.”

My latest NetGalley review is for the Black, queer version of My Dinner with Andre: Minor Black Figures: A Novel by Booker-nominated Brandon Taylor:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...