20 queer literature recommendations

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(Hi, love you, missed you and all that.)

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“On Sun Swallowing is a sweet and bloody collection of poetry and prose, dancing in the spaces between skinned knees and red wine, satin and switchblades, rosaries and Dionysian ecstasy. Her writings are haunted by the ghosts of girlhood, god/s, lovers and the landscape of childhood, but Warren is unflinching - she haunts her ghosts in return, with sharp lyricism and cutthroat vulnerability.
On Sun Swallowing explores shadowy emotion, at times in a whisper, at times in a scream. Think: cheap cigarettes, even cheaper wine, and an oath to reach hell by midnight and be home in time for work in the morning.”

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[pearldver]

idk if someone already did that but here are the books lady dakota mentioned:
1. "On earth we're briefly gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong + Vuong's other work
2. "Heartstopper" by Alice Oseman
3. "Carmilla" by Sheridan Le Fanu
4. "The song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
5. "Call me by your name" by André Aciman
6.  "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx
7.  "The picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde
8. "The perks of being a wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
9. "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
10. "Paul takes the form of a mortal girl" by Andrea Lawlor
11. "Giovanni's room" by James Baldwin
13. "Bad gays" by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller
14. "The color purple" by Alice Walker
15. Sappho's poems
16. "C+nto & other poems" by Joelle Taylor
17. Allen Ginsberg's poems
18. "The secret history" by Donna Tartt
19. "Paradise Rot" by Jenny Hvai

[miamatic]

Adding all of these to my tbr!! Here are some of my fav queer books:
- To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger (horror, wlw)
- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (wlw, nonbinary rep)
- Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (wlw)
- Blue Is the Warmest Color by Jul Maroh (graphic novel, wlw)
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (mlm)
- Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca (horror, wlw)
- She of the Mountains (novel); God Loves Hair (short stories); I'm Afraid of Men (memoir) by Vivek Shraya
- Taproot by Keezy Young (graphic novel)
- Wilder Girls by Rory Power (wlw)

[ellaek]

A Starless Sea is a confusing mess of a novel about a library scattered across time, written gorgeously by Erin Morgenstern, which includes a gay love story between the main character and a man he meets along the surreal adventure he goes on. A rec for anyone looking for queer romance without the focus being solely on romance

[asherahe]

one of my favourite queer reads is the price of salt by patricia highsmith (written in 1953). it was often regarded as the first mainstream lesbian love story with a happy ending.

[swampboi]

i'm reading loveless by alice oseman right now, , and as an aroace myself, i find it to be a very comforting read, like a big warm hug that i never knew i craved so badly

[yuliavmp]

I recommend Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski. It has the same feel as Call Me by Your Name but without the obsessive+grooming bits(although people should check its trigger warnings too). It's realistic, mature and emotional gay historical fiction that needs more love 🌈

[aperson]

I love that the first recommendation was Vuong! I absolutely adore his ambitious style and structure—I really think he has quite a radical rethinking of what a novel (or poem for that matter) can be.

I almost think it is a disservice to call ‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’ a piece of queer literature because of its incredible range and depth.

Such an amazing writer, he really deserves the first mention.

[gracelilyowen]

maurice by e.m forster is my absolute favourite book in the whole entire world, i couldn't recommend it enough <3

[marydarko]

i always get sad during pride month for so many reasons, so any chance i can get to get lost into queer literature, i will gladly take. ty for all the recs!!

[sarahnoll]

Definitely recommend My Policeman, told from the joint perspectives of a woman in 50s Brighton and her husband’s lover. Some scenes are so visually stunning, some are full of devastation and gaslighting and shame.

[BeautifullyTragicxx]

I love the work of Audre Lorde. Her biomythography "Zami A New Spelling of my Name" is excellent, and Norton just put out an anthology of a number of her essays and poems, with an introduction by Roxanne Gay.

[kellydonaldson]

HIGHLY recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Taylor Jenkins Reid) for the queer storyline... and slightly unrelated but The Chestnut Man (Søren Sveistrup) as another horror thriller given the theme of the channel heheh

[lilimandula]

I am just finishing up reading Gentleman Jack, the inspiration for the tv series. Anne Lister was a businesswoman, a regency landowner, a seducer of women, a cheater (much less cool than the other stuff, but true) and a forever learner. Her diaries written in secret code were almost destroyed upon being deciphered at the end of the 19th century, because of the "very unsavory" content. She had no shame in who she was. She made it seem like everyone was gay in her time.

"The girls liked me
& had always liked me.
I had never been refused by anyone."
Anne Lister, 13 November 1816

[spencer]

although it's a christmas story, I recommend "The Price of Salt" by Claire Morgan to anyone who is a fan of the movie "Carol" :)

[eml]

all the books that Dakota has recommended
+ some queer Emily Dickinson poems
. Wild nights – Wild nights!
. we never know we go
. love is done when love's begun
. we cover thee, sweet face
. going to her!
. you love me, are you sure
. i have never seen volcanos

[dreamingofthemoon]

This is perfect timing, I'm currently drunk eating pizza! Thank you for providing me with quality content

[aisling]

I’m reading “The Hearts invisible Furies” by John Boyne. It’s about a man growing up gay in Ireland during the 1960’s when the Catholic Church was still very influential and it was illegal to be gay. I’ve not finished it yet but it’s a gorgeous book that I’ve not seen mentioned in many places but is very good.

[SmallSpaceCorgi]

You might like Edmund White, "Nocturnes for the King of Naples" and Andrew Holleran's "Dancer from the Dance". Also Holleran's lovely short story "In September The Light Changes". "Nocturnes", by the way is brilliantly surreal and dream-haunted.

[corvusbones]

these violent delights by micah nemerever would be right up your alley. (im not the best at summaries so ill just copy down a part of the summary i found in the amazon product description lol) its a dark academia novel surrounding “two college students, each with his own troubled past, whose escalating obsession with one another leads to an act of unspeakable violence.”

its absolutely captivating though make sure to check tws ofc

[twig]

this channel brings me so much joy, thank you Dakota for curing my book burnout