In Our Queerest Shelves, Book Riot’s LGBTQ books newsletter, I decided to see if we could do this challenge on hard mode: all LGBTQ books! I’m happy to say that I succeeded — and only had to cheat a tiny bit here and there. This post is adapted from those newsletters. For every challenge, I’ve provided five options of books you could pick up to complete the challenge, highlighting one or two titles. Obviously, we’re halfway through the year now, so it might be a little ambitious to do the whole challenge, but for the queer power readers out there: have at it! For the rest of us, hopefully you find a few challenges here to pick out for your Pride TBR or to read for the rest of the year. Let’s jump into the challenges! Each of these from the original 2022 Read Harder Challenge, but fulfilled with only queer books. There’s still enough time to do all of these challenges if you do one a week! Good luck, happy reading, and happy Pride!
The Life and Times of Butch Dykes by Eloisa Aquino (a collection of biographies, including of Audre Lorde and other queer authors) Gentleman Jack: a Biography of Anne Lister by Angela Steidele Oscar Wilde: A Life by Matthew Sturgis
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu Who We Could Be by Chelsea Cameron Book of Dreams by Kevin Craig (out September 13, 2022)
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2012 winner) A Little Life by Hanya Yangihara (2016 shortlist) Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (2021 longlist)
This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow Running with Lions by Julian Winters Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers edited by Cat Fitzpatrick Be Gay, Do Comics!: Queer History, Memoir, and Satire from the Nib Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility edited by Reina Gossett, Eric A. Stanley and Johanna Burton
More queer graphic nonfiction for teens:
How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess I’m a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee De La Cruz (not specifically YA, but would be well suited for a teen audience and was reviewed by School Library Journal) Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir by Bishakh Som (not specifically YA, but would be well suited for a teen audience)
Second Wind by Ceillie Simkiss Bingo Love by Tee Franklin (Graphic Novel) Permanent Ink (Art & Soul #1) by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn
The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (a modern classic!) Blackbird by Larry Duplechan
More queer political thrillers:
77 by Guillermo Saccomanno, translated by Andrea Labinger The Red Files by Lee Winter Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams
More asexual and/or aromantic books:
Loveless by Alice Oseman Not Your Backup by C. B. Lee Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz
The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde NDN Coping Mechanisms: Notes from the Field by Billy-Ray Belcourt Even This Page is White by Vivek Shraya Bestiary by Donika Kelly
More queer adventure stories by authors of color:
The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen Not Your Sidekick by C. B. Lee The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
More queer books that have been adapted:
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli / Love, Simon (movie) and Love, Victor (TV show) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (movie and musical) The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister edited by Helena Whitbread / Gentleman Jack (TV show) Revolutionary Girl Utena by Chiho Saito (TV show and movie)
More queer literary magazines:
Baffling Magazine Gertrude Press Sinister Wisdom Stellium
Use this task to try out a genre that’s unfamiliar to you. Maybe you can read a mystery novel with a queer main character for the first time — did you know this was one of the first genres to include queer characters? Or dip a toe into the world of manga with a yuri, BL, or queer manga title. If you don’t have well-read queer friends away from the keyboard, online friends definitely count. (We’re friends now if you’ve read this far. No take backs.) Ask on social media for queer book recs and pick one that you wouldn’t have read otherwise. I’d love to hear how it goes!
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote Redefining Realness by Janet Mock Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Death Threat by Vivek Shraya
While these almost all include stories by authors of color, most of the editors are white (though the 1997 Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year is edited by Jewelle Gómez, and that sounds amazing). More LGBTQ best ___ of the year anthologies:
Wilde Stories: The Year’s Best Gay Speculative Fiction (2007-2018) Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction (2016-2019) Best American Gay Fiction (1996-1998) Best Gay Erotica of the Year (2015-2018) Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year (1996-ongoing)
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (and Carmilla edited by Carmen Maria Machado) The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn
Of course, the easy answer is Lambda Literary. It’s been going since 1988, and they have an previous winners page that allows you to search by year and category! So as a 1990s baby, I might read New, Improved Dykes To Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel (Humor) or Her by Cherry Muhanji (Lesbian Debut Fiction). Another option is the Stonewall Book Awards, which have been given out by the American Library Association since 1971. The very first award was given to Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller, which is a favorite of mine! A recent award-winner was Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis — which, if you read out loud to your 2020 baby, totally counts. The Triangle Awards also began in 1988. Unfortunately, you have to click through each individual award to see previous winners: there isn’t a list of all of them in one place. The Golden Crown Literary Awards would only be an option for young teens: it started in 2005. If you were born before 1971, this will be a tricky challenge, unfortunately. Queer books have only started getting public recognition in the last few decades. One option may be picking another significant date (your graduation year, wedding anniversary, etc) instead. More queer retellings:
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (The Great Gatsby retelling) A Clash of Steel by C. B. Lee (Treasure Island retelling) A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson (Dracula retelling) The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (1001 Nights retelling)
For even more, check out 10 Great Queer Retellings of Classics and 30 Must-Read Queer Fairy Tale Retellings. More LGBTQ history books:
Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis Gay Voices of the Harlem Renaissance by A.B. Christa Schwarz The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability by Kristen Hogan Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory by Qwo-Li Driskill
Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid by Shayda Kafai Black Under by Ahsanti Anderson Mean Little deaf Queer by Terry Galloway The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis
2021: Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist [Or why not both?] 2020: Read a debut novel by a queer author 2019: Read a comic by an LGBTQIA creator 2018: Read a mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author 2017: Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel 2016: Read a book by a trans author 2015: Read a book by or about someone LGBTQ [a gimme!]
