Pride Month Reads

[Amber]

Here's a list of LGBTQIA+ reads I have on my sjelf, for anyone looking to expand their suggestion lists (especially with YA):
The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles),
History Is All You Left Me, It's Not Like It's A Secret, Stonewall, Will Grayson Will Grayson, Hold Me Closer, Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, House of Night (series), Mortal Instruments (series), Pretty Little Liars (series), Scott Pilgrim (series)

[Amber]

If anyone has a bookstagram, there's a tag going around called #prideflagbooktag if you want to check it out for some suggestions!

[poshpenny]

Halftime update!

I've had some pretty stressful days lately and bought way too many books as a result. But I have some new books to choose from this month!

George
Autoboyography
Two Boys Kissing
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World

I've finished Simon, and am nearly done with George and the Alan Turing book... and I can't decide what to read next!

[Teri]

Ian wrote: "I have found myself reading a LOT of queer fiction this year! . . . Sorry, as you can tell this is a topic that gets me super excited."

I don't know how old you are, but I can imagine that for at least some of your life it wasn't as easy to find books that reflected your life experience. So enjoy being super excited.

[Ian]

Teri wrote: "Ian wrote: "I have found myself reading a LOT of queer fiction this year! . . . Sorry, as you can tell this is a topic that gets me super excited."

I don't know how old you are, but I can imagine ..."

That's one of the nicest things anyone has every said to me. Thank you!

[Ian]

Also, I'm currently reading Meddling Kids, which has some fantastic Scooby-Doo elements for grown-ups to it and has a queer character

[Nadine in NY]

Ian wrote: "Also, I'm currently reading Meddling Kids, which has some fantastic Scooby-Doo elements for grown-ups to it and has a queer character"

I've got questions and you all seem to be good people to answer them, since we're all here talking about Pride Month. When does one use the word "queer"? Is it one of those words that's only okay to use when used by a member of that group? Or is it a word that everyone should be using now to describe ... who? all people who are not heterosexuals? or a particular subset of people? I think I understand "genderqueer," but the plain old "queer" has confused me recently, because the usage has definitely changed and I don't really understand what it means today. Google doesn't help because it gives me too many different results and I completely miss the nuance that I can tell is there. I've asked my daughter, but she isn't sure either. LOL I sound like such an old fuddy-duddy asking this question!! hahahah welcome to middle-age, Nadine! when you just don't know what the cool kids are talking about any more!

[Ian]

Nadine wrote: "Ian wrote: "Also, I'm currently reading Meddling Kids, which has some fantastic Scooby-Doo elements for grown-ups to it and has a queer character"

I've got questions and you all se..."

As a member of the community, I think it is acceptable to use for people not in the community as long as you aren't using it in a sneering manner. I use it as an umbrella term. For example, I use it here because not all of the characters I am talking about are "gay" - a term used to describe people who both were assigned male at birth and identify as male who are attracted to other males.

Most of my books, because of my own orientation, fall under the "gay" label (Simon Vs., CMBYN, The Heart's Invisible Furies), but some of the books I've read have characters on other parts of the spectrum:
* The Female Persuasion has a lesbian character
* Hunger was written by a bisexual woman
* The orientation/gender of the character in Meddling Kids has not yet been directly specified.

[Teri]

Good question, Nadine. The meaning of terms has changed over time, and it can be confusing. I certainly don't want to offend anyone and want to use the terminology that best fits the situation. Thanks for the response, Ian.

[Ian]

Teri wrote: "Good question, Nadine. The meaning of terms has changed over time, and it can be confusing. I certainly don't want to offend anyone and want to use the terminology that best fits the situation. Tha..."

I fixed my typo, but I meant to say that I think it is okay to use if you are not in the community. As in, non-LGBT+ members can use it as well as long as it is not being used in a derogatory manner.

[Teri]

I am really tired today because I made the mistake of starting Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli last night and couldn't stop reading until I was finished (about 4am). I had seen the movie "Love, Simon" previously and was enjoying seeing the differences between the two. The characters were so darn adorable!

Now if only I can stay awake at work . . .

[poshpenny]

As a straight person, I will sometimes use queer as an umbrella term because it's easier to say than LGBT+. I don't use it all that much, but it's slowing becoming more frequent due to the culture shift. I don't normally use it for an individual IRL unless I know they use it themselves.

I've also noticed most of my queer fiction is gay or trans, so I made sure to get some L and B... not sure I'll make it to I or A this month, but there are a few I've got my eye on.

[poshpenny]

I just found out about this and it sounds interesting!

The Black Tides of Heaven is a silkpunk book which was nominated for a Nebula, Hugo and Golden Tentacle this year. Author J.Y. Yang is non-binary, and in the world of their book children are not assigned a gender. They can chose one, or not, when they want to. The story is about twins, and was released as twin novellas, one from each POV. The other book is The Red Threads of Fortune

[Ian]

Kelsey wrote: "Thank you all for the awesome suggestions! I second earlier recs of Not Your Sidekick (YA superhero romance). Seven Tears at High Tide (YA fantasy romance), by the s..."

I know there was a recent run of Green Lanterns where a Lantern was gay. Also there was an X-Man not long ago who got married (m-m wedding).

[Sarah]

Dreadnought is a LGBTQ+ superhero novel. It looks really good too!

[Eujean2]

Kelsey wrote: "Does anyone have any particular recommendations for LGBTQ superhero graphic novels and/or prose novels?"

The Advocate did a list of 52 LGBT superheros and villains. Unfortunately they do not have any specific recommendations for where to read the story lines. (Side note: I've heard that Deadpool should also be on this list.)
https://www.advocate.com/arts-enterta...

The first characters that come to mind are:
- Batwoman
Try: Batwoman: Elegy
(I really liked this one.)
- America Chavez
Try: America, Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez
(I liked where they were going with the story, but it fell a little flat with the first time comic book writer -- though I liked her book, Juliet Takes a Break)
- Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn (assuming you count villains too)
Try: Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death
(I think that is where you see their relationship. I enjoyed it. You do also see them together in Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Hot in the City, but I would NOT recommend this book. I almost threw it out the window.)

Superhero teams with LGBT characters
- Runaways -- specifically Karolina Dean
Try: Runaways Deluxe, Vol. 1
(This is YA, but written by Brian K. Vaughan, so it's still really good.)
- Bombshells -- specifically Batwoman
Try:DC Comics: Bombshells, Vol. 1: Enlisted (Period piece reimagining the women of the DC Universe. It's a lot of fun.)
- Zodiac Starforce -- several characters
Try: Zodiac Starforce Volume 1: By the Power of Astra
(Cute, YA. A little like Sailor Moon for an American audience.)
- Black Panther: World of Wakanda -- several characters
Try: Black Panther: World of Wakanda
(Technically about women from Black Panther's all female fighting force. I wanted to like this more than I did, but it is nice to see women of color together. This volume was written, in part, by Roxanne Gay.)

There are more cool LGBT characters in superhero worlds, but they are not the main superhero.

Slight rant:
Wonder Woman should really be an LGBT character too. At least one of the previous writers has said that she was bisexual (& they nod to that in the movie), but they haven't actually written it into her story lines...yet.

A long post, but I am always looking for diversity in comics!

[Chinook]

The Imitation Game and Open Earth and Clover I think are my only reads so far.

I’m hoping to get to The Lost Language of Cranes, Tipping the Velvet, A Boy's Own Story and Written on the Body.

[Chinook]

The queer discussion is interesting because I have no idea because I’m old. I call myself bisexual, but it seems these days the more common term is pansexual - which I could get behind as I absolutely include non-binary people in my own definition of bisexual. I see why the term changed, but I’ll likely stick to my old-fashioned term, in part because in many ways it’s not terribly relevant to my day to day life anymore - I’m married and have two young kids and so dating and sex are not really at the forefront of my life the way they were back when I was contemplating my identity.

I like the term queer a lot though and sometimes use it in spite of being a bit clueless of its nuances.

[Nadine in NY]

My Pride Month reading wrap-up:

poetry
(okay, I am still reading this, I expect to finish it mid-next week - close enough)
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen - I cannot recommend this book enough, so I'm happy to keep mentioning it!! I started this for Asian American month, but because I read just one poem a day, it's taking me some time, so I continued it for Pride Month. If you are looking for modern poetry or poetry about identity, immigration, or just "queer" poetry, check this guy out.

YA
Pink by Lili Wilkinson - I was looking for a lesbian YA book, stumbled upon a mention of this book in this group, and it was everything I wanted.

literary stuff
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta - meh. Most people love this. I didn't. I didn't hate it, either. I might have liked it better if I had read it instead of listened to the audiobook.

fantasy
Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente - this wasn't specifically for Pride Month, I read this just because it had the word "snow" in the title (for "weather term in title"), but it turns out it works for Pride Month too! I was expecting the world from this book, and it ... almost made it, but not quite. I think I just don't love novellas.

mystery
What You Want To See by Kristen Lepionka THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!! If you enjoy mysteries, READ THIS!! (but read the first one first: The Last Place You Look) Small bonus: there was a Goodreads shout-out in the acknowledgements!