Intro to LGBTQ fiction

[Alex]

Fellow Toasties,

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

[J]

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.

[Alex]

oh cool, thanks for the recommendations!

[Sam]

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.

[Nicole]

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.

[Michelle]

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.

[marykate]

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

[Emily]

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.

[Dorianne]

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.

[Lily]

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.