Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2019 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #18: A novel by a trans or nonbinary author
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Kay
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Jan 14, 2019 11:43PM
I'm a bit uncomfortable with this category. It's poor etiquette to out people as trans or nonbinary. The book I'm reading at the moment is by a writer who has transitioned gender but I don't know if this is public knowledge or if they appreciate being labelled as trans. I would feel happier tagging books with gender minority characters.
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Bonnie wrote: "Kristi wrote: "I’ve seen A Prayer for Owen Meany on several lists for this topic. Does John Irving identify enby? I’m not seeing that anywhere and am confused (but hopeful) as to his fi..."The quote about John Irving implies he may not be exclusively straight. That says nothing about his gender identity.
Kay wrote: "I'm a bit uncomfortable with this category. It's poor etiquette to out people as trans or nonbinary. The book I'm reading at the moment is by a writer who has transitioned gender but I don't know i..."OK I see someone has already listed Yoon Ha Lee and their books. I've just finished "Ninefox Gambit" and have the other two in the trilogy in my TBR pile. Yoon refers to his discomfort with labelling in this interview
https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2016...
and this too
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...
Maybe the category should read “out trans or non-binary author”? I agree that we shouldn’t out people or apply labels that they’re uncomfortable with, but I think we still have plenty of writers to work with who publicly identify as trans or non-binary. And I think it’s super important to support out trans and nb novelists, even when their work isn’t necessarily about being trans or nb.
Kay wrote: "Kay wrote: "I'm a bit uncomfortable with this category. It's poor etiquette to out people as trans or nonbinary. The book I'm reading at the moment is by a writer who has transitioned gender but I ..."Thanks for posting these interviews! I wasn't familiar with Yoon Ha Lee before this, but now I want to read his books.
I think he fits into this category perfectly as is. It seems to me like he's fairly adamant about not writing trans characters, but he does publicly identify himself as trans. (And if he felt pressure to out himself, it was because he was mistakenly put on lists of female authors, not because of lists of trans authors.) That's my reading of those interviews, anyway. :-)
rae wrote: "Kay wrote: "Kay wrote: "I'm a bit uncomfortable with this category. It's poor etiquette to out people as trans or nonbinary. The book I'm reading at the moment is by a writer who has transitioned g..."Yes I only listed his books after checking he has (a) already been mentioned, and (b) is out as trans. I know from some other gender variant writers they don't like being pigeonholed and what they write may not relate to who they are. Gender identity can be very personal.
There are plenty of authors who are open about being trans or nonbianary, I think it’s fine to use one of them without feeling like you’re adding labels. The author of Black Tides of Heaven, JY Yang has that they are nonbianary right in their good reads profile, no extra digging required.
Please consider reading Nails by the author’s former name MP Johnson. The author’s name is Emma Alice Johnson. This book is so raw and honest and about living your true self. Such an important read. It’s a quick read because you can’t simply put it down. It also has less than 100 reviews so it could be a double dipper too.
Doctor Who: The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson is a novel I really, really liked. If you like Doctor Who, please read the current Doctor's (Jodie Whittaker) first novel about her and her companions. I had no idea she's trans.My plan for this challenge is to read Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey, or maybe If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo.
C.S. Pacat identifies as genderqueer, and thusly I can highly recommend Captive Prince and the rest in the series.
I know this says novel, but I just found Charlie Jane Anders' Six Months, Three Days and really enjoyed it. I need to intersperse some short reads in with my longer ones anyways.
Charlie Jane Anders also wrote All The Birds in the Sky, and has a new novel coming out this year, if you did want a novel.
Sheri wrote: "Charlie Jane Anders also wrote All The Birds in the Sky, and has a new novel coming out this year, if you did want a novel."I know. I just have quite a few longer reads planned out already, so if I get further along in the year and can make room for it, I'll jump on that.
Freshwater is on sale on Kindle at Amazon @ $1.99 today for those that plan to read this one. Interesting book.
Pernille wrote: "I will be reading "The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein."I read and loved this one - my partner tried too, but couldn't get past the writer's flowery/w*nky prose. Just be aware that the author is not actually trans or non-binary - her subject, Sandra Pankhurst, is trans and had a truly extraordinary life. A really good snapshot of LGBT life in Australia as well as a story in and of itself.
I've just picked up " The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror" short stories based on fairy tales by Daniel Mallory Ortberg who transitioned while writing the book. Not a novel so may not count but may interest others here.https://www.autostraddle.com/mal-ortb...
Would The Prince & The Dressmaker by Jen Wang work here?
I just read https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... Redefining Realness by Janet Mock. It was a very interesting read!
Kay wrote: "I'm a bit uncomfortable with this category. It's poor etiquette to out people as trans or nonbinary. The book I'm reading at the moment is by a writer who has transitioned gender but I don't know i..."Gender identity is very private for some people and it is very out in the open for others. If we continue to be uncomfortable with it and hide it, it will continue to be easy to ignore and/or sweep under the rug. Those who are open about these things, and even loud about these things, are the ones who are most likely to affect change in society. Though I understand, and respect, those who make the decision to keep it private.
I would say read something by someone who openly identifies to be in this category. If they are open about it, then you should be as well. If you have inside information about an author's status that isn't public, I totally understand your wanting to avoid labeling. There are other books you could read that fall into this category that won't cause that sort of concern.
For this,I am planning to read "A queer and pleasant danger" .Does this work? It sounds like a memoir.
Marissa wrote: "Lost Souls was already mentioned (see also: Drawing Blood, Exquisite Corpse, RIYL horror, vampires, sex, etc), Brite also wrote a series of incredible foodie..."Thanks! I just finished reading Liquor and really enjoyed it.
I'll be reading Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale. It's coming out in July and I was already planning on reading it before the task list was posted. This could also work for task #13 because Laura is autistic as well as trans! Then again you could also read "Things I Learned From Mario's Butt" by the same author for either task, it's coming out this year as well!
Kay wrote: "I've just picked up " The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror" short stories based on fairy tales by Daniel Mallory Ortberg who transitioned while writing the book. Not a novel so may not coun..."I just got that book from the library (just randomly, not for this challenge). I'm looking forward to it.
Mod
The 2019 Lambda awards are out. Lots of great options there: https://www.them.us/story/2019-lambda...
Believe Me — Eddie Izzard. The audiobook is to die as it sounds like one long standup routine.
Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz! It's a great speculative fic YA read. Quick, and the audiobook is great, too. To clarify some of the suggestions I've seen on this thread: the challenge is to read a novel by an author who identifies as trans or NB. To me, that centers the author of a fiction book, and the content is secondary. For this reason, books like Symptoms of Being Human or The Prince and the Dressmaker (cis authors) and Eddie Izzard's Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens (nonfiction memoir), while excellent, do not meet the criteria, and do not fit challenge.
But correct me if I'm wrong! It's your challenge--read what you like!
I read freshwater. I highly recommend reading it. It is brilliant.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Oh no, the book police have caught me!
A friend recently called this book to my attention, which looks like an interesting choice for people who enjoy YA supernatural, Out of Salem. ""A genderqueer zombie and a lesbian werewolf resist a corrupt government that wants to incinerate them in this debut novel by Schrieve."
ProfBen10 wrote: "Any Doctor Who fans in this group? Well, I just discovered that one of the most recent 13th Doctor novels "The Good Doctor" was written transgender author. Just downloaded it on my Audible and can..."
Yes! Thank you so much for this recommendation. I'm a massive Doctor Who fan, so as soon as I saw your post I knew what I'd read for this challenge. Doctor Who: The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson was a fun, fast-paced read, a great choice for this particular task. She captured the voices of the characters perfectly.
I finished He Said,She Said: Lessons,Stories & Mistakes from my Transgender Journey by Gigi Gorgeous. I was having a hard time finding a book for this prompt. I saw Gigi on the Busy Philipps Show promoting the book. I pre ordered it that night. I liked the book. This is a genre/subject I would of never read without this challenge. That is why I love reading challenges because I read all sorts of different books. I learned a lot.
I just read the first one and was really impressed by it.
I got Freshwater at Christmas based on a podcast review on the Book Riot site. I'm about 1/2 way through and I'm also really impressed.
If an author’s preferred pronouns are they/their, can I assume their novel will work for this category?
Andrea wrote: "If an author’s preferred pronouns are they/their, can I assume their novel will work for this category?"Yep!
Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker is hands down the best middle-grade novel about a trans kid I've read. Much better than George, which is one that a lot of people seem to be reading for this category! Just an alternate middle-grade option :)
I just finished Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi for this prompt. Will definitely keep an eye out for future novels by this author!
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey and A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland both work for this category. Rowland is part of a Hugo finalist podcast called Be the Serpent that I've been enjoying. They have another book out later this year called A Choir of Lies
I would recommend all of Yoon Ha Lee's books, especially if you love big epic space opera. Already read them all though, so trying to pick something new for this challenge.
I listened to A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, a space opera. It was ok, not great, not horrible.
I have read the Twisted Wishes series by Anna Zabo. This was a fantastic series!! I don't normally get into books about rock stars, but these were beautifully written stories.
I'll be reading Red, White & Royal Blue because it just became available to me from the library (Per recent Book Riot article, Casey McQuiston is non-binary (https://bookriot.com/2019/08/20/illus...). However, I also have plans to read She of the Mountains later this fall.
Does anyone know of some good comics/graphic novels that fit this category?
Leah wrote: "Does anyone know of some good comics/graphic novels that fit this category?"I used Jack of Fables, Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape. In the course of the series, Matthew Sturges announced that she is a transgender woman and is now known as Lilah Sturges.
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Gender Queer: A Memoir (other topics)Jack of Fables, Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape (other topics)
She's My Dad (other topics)
Red, White & Royal Blue (other topics)
She of the Mountains (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Iolanthe Woulff (other topics)Akwaeke Emezi (other topics)
Pat Schmatz (other topics)
Eddie Izzard (other topics)
Sarah Gailey (other topics)
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