The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

10.6 -- Gay Pride June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Read a book where one of the main characters is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered OR read a book with the word “rainbow” in the title. Ex: Middlesex, The Hours, Sing You Home, Boy Meets Boy, Gravity's Rainbow, Rainbow Valley. Goodreads has many GLBT lists. As with all lists, be careful. Make sure the book you choose really does fit the task. If you have any question, ask in the appropriate task help thread

Accepted books:
Ash
The Color Purple
"rainbow" or "rainbows" in the title
Orlando

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if anyone is struggling - I have a whole shelf of GLBT on my shelves, as well as a MM currently own to read and a need to get list - they would likely all fit...if anyone wants some specific recommendations, let me know - I read quite a bit of it and know others that do as well

will you accept non-fiction for this task? thanks for your help! :)

kiki wrote: "will you accept non-fiction for this task? thanks for your help! :)"

Nonfiction works.

thanks! :)

I'm thinking about reading Ash. It was listed on one the GLBT lists but from the blurb it doesn't appear to fit the bill. Can anybody confirm or deny?

The Book of Lost Things has a main character who is gay.

from the sounds of it, its like a coming of age, discovering sexuality type book...I don't know if I would agree with it, but that's up to our awesome mods ;)

Dee, I checked out your GLBT shelf. Do have anything on there that isn't erotica?

The River in Winter isn't - its a set in the 1970's/1980's literary fiction - honestly, wasn't a fan of it

but I would call very limited stuff on my shelf true erotica (defined as having no happy ending) - however, for sweet and only one scene at the end - you would try Faith & Fidelity

Books I've read recently with gay characters and no sex scenes:
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Secret History

YA books with gay characters :
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Hero
Boy Meets Boy
A Great and Terrible Beauty
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Anything by Alex Sanchez

Other books, not erotica (but there might be some sexual references):
Giovanni's Room James Baldwin
A Single Man Christopher Isherwood
Maurice E.M. Forster
Orlando Virginia Woolf
The Naked Civil Servant Quentin Crisp
Carol Patricia Highsmith
No Night Is Too Long Barbara Vine a.k.a Ruth Rendell (murder mystery)

This sounds like the perfect opportunity for me to read China Mountain Zhang!

the majority of suzanne brockman's troubleshooter series has Jules - the gay FBI guy - he's hilarous! and about book 6 or 7 Robin comes in - they eventually get their HEA...

also several of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books - the later ones with Quinn and Blay - feature GLBT characters

I just finished The Map of True Places and it has a gay main character. It also takes place on an island/seashore so it would work for task 5.1 as well

Another YA book with gay main character--not erotica--Another Kind Of Cowboy by Susan Juby was pretty good.

If you like fantasy, the Mercedes Lackey Valdemar series has gay characters - the Last Herald Mage trilogy focuses on a gay character, but there are other gay characters in other books.

there's also a mystery series by Nathan Aldyne that I read years ago, in which the main characters are gay.

Felina wrote: "I'm thinking about reading Ash. It was listed on one the GLBT lists but from the blurb it doesn't appear to fit the bill. Can anybody confirm or deny?"

I haven't read the book, but from most of the reviews I read it appears to be a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. So, yes, it would fit if you're still thinking about it.

My Most Excellent Year and Almost Like Being in Love would work for this task (and I can recommend them both).

I found The Color Purple on one list but, when I read the descriptions about it, it does not appear that the main characters are gay but rather that same sex exploration is part of the character development. Would this book qualify?

Bea wrote: "I found The Color Purple on one list but, when I read the descriptions about it, it does not appear that the main characters are gay but rather that same sex exploration is part of the..."

Yes, that will work.

another for anyone who read outlander and enjoyed it - there are the Lord John mysteries also written by Gabaldon

Kristi (Passion for the Page) wrote: "Bea wrote: "I found The Color Purple on one list but, when I read the descriptions about it, it does not appear that the main characters are gay but rather that same sex exploration is..."

Thanks, Kristi.

Dee wrote: "another for anyone who read outlander and enjoyed it - there are the Lord John mysteries also written by Gabaldon"

Just a warning that they do have M/M sex scenes in them, in case anyone isn't into that.

I think I'm going to read The Bermudez Triangle which has two girls that fall in love and leave their third friend out. It's ya and I'm pretty sure there isn't too much graphic sex or anything. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

I would also recommend Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Two of the main characters are gay but it's mostly a comedic book. It's rather rude but not graphic at all. I really loved it.

If you don't mind raunchy English humor and comedic M/M sex scenes The Liar is pretty good.

Another recommendation is The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell.

For the alternate "rainbow", will "rainbows" work? As in: Rainbows End: A Novel With One Foot In The Future
Thanks!

Deedee wrote: "For the alternate "rainbow", will "rainbows" work? As in: Rainbows End: A Novel With One Foot In The Future
Thanks!"

"Rainbows" is fine.

I'd echo the recommendation of Will Grayson, Will Grayson - it was very funny and I enjoyed it a lot.

For mystery lovers, one of my favorite mystery writers, Laurie R. King, has one series, the Kate Martinelli series, which features a lesbian detective protagonist. There are five books in the series. (Her other series is excellent too -- I pretty much enjoy anything she writes!). I recommend her if you like smart mysteries.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver is wonderful. It's such a pleasure to read her writing--very rich, and the history is fascinating. Really enjoyed that one.

If you like early 20th century British literature, Maurice is quite interesting!

Also, for historical fiction, many of the books by Sarah Waters fit this task: Affinity and Tipping the Velvet were both good.

If you are a fan of biographical fiction and/or history, I recommend The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle. The book is based on the life and work of Alfred Kinsey, the US pioneer of sex studies. He was a married man, but had many lovers of both genders. Although you may blush while reading parts of the book, the story proves that real life is often more fascinating and complex than fiction.

Can anyone speak to the character Alec in The Mortal Instruments Series (City of Bones, City of Ashes, etc)? The Wikipedia article on the series' characters confirms he is gay, but I'm not sure how much of a "main character" he is. Any thoughts?

Vicky wrote: "Can anyone speak to the character Alec in The Mortal Instruments Series (City of Bones, City of Ashes, etc)? The Wikipedia article on the series' characters confirms h..."

I just finished City of Ashes a few days ago, my feeling is that Alec is more of a secondary character. I consider Jace and Clary to be the main characters.

Joanna wrote: "Also, for historical fiction, many of the books by Sarah Waters fit this task: Affinity and Tipping the Velvet were both good."



Fingersmith too!

Would Orlando work? The main character changes gender throughout the book I believe, but is not necessarily transgendered in a modern sense as it happens kind of magically, overnight. I haven't read it yet so may be describing it incorrectly!

Terri Fl wrote: "Would Orlando work? The main character changes gender throughout the book I believe, but is not necessarily transgendered in a modern sense as it happens kind of magically, overnight...."

I'll take it.

I'm looking to plan some tasks that include books to read with my preschooler.

In reaching the 500 page picture book limit, is it okay to combine the two options (e.g., read Heather Has Two Mommies and Duckie's Rainbow plus others enough to total 500 pages)?

Are all the books that Rosemary posted in message #13 approved for this topic? If so, I want to read A Great and Terrible Beauty.

Joanna wrote: "I'm looking to plan some tasks that include books to read with my preschooler.

In reaching the 500 page picture book limit, is it okay to combine the two options (e.g., read [book:Heather Has Two ..."

Yes, that will work.

Joy Marie wrote: "Are all the books that Rosemary posted in message #13 approved for this topic? If so, I want to read A Great and Terrible Beauty."

I haven't looked at all the books Rosemary posted in message #13. But after doing some research specifically on A Great and Terrible Beauty, it looks like it will work.

I saw Marked on a list...but didn't see anything that would indicate it would work. Does it work for this task?

If not I will possibly use Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society if either of those work?

If you like adult UF/paranormal and aren't squeamish about sex, try the Morgan Kingsley books by Jenna Black. The books features a gay demon cop and his human lover as main characters The Devil Inside.The books are explicit and feature bondage and whips.

★Meghan★ wrote: "I saw Marked on a list...but didn't see anything that would indicate it would work. Does it work for this task?"

I haven't read Marked (yet), but I've found references that say the main heroine's best friend is gay and that he plays a prominent role in the books. So it works. The other two books would work as well.

I finished this one last night...only had two kissing scenes in the whole book - its more of a coming of age - I Call Death Dad - plus I liked the norse mythology theme in it

Kristi (Passion for the Page) wrote: "★Meghan★ wrote: "I saw Marked on a list...but didn't see anything that would indicate it would work. Does it work for this task?"

I haven't read Marked (yet), but I've ..."

Thanks! Have had this book for awhile and haven't gotten around to reading it.

Kristi (Passion for the Page) wrote: "★Meghan★ wrote: "I saw Marked on a list...but didn't see anything that would indicate it would work. Does it work for this task?"

I haven't read Marked (yet), but I've ..."

He's a very important character to the series! Enjoy! I love them all!