I tasked myself to read only queer books this month, and here’s the summary (including a couple I’ve yet to finish that I’m pretty sure will take me to the end of the month!) I wanted to read as widely as possible, so the books here span contemporary, fantasy, non-fiction, thriller and classic literature.

A classic literary novel about a closeted gay man in 1950s Paris. It’s a pretty violent book and hard to read at points but also full of beautiful language and ideas. The character of Giovanni is so vivid and tragic, he jumps off the page and makes me want to cry. I’m keen to read more of Baldwin’s work ASAP, but not sure where to go next…

A literary novel about a middle-aged gay poet experiencing a medical crisis. It’s the first book I’ve read that is set during the COVID-19 pandemic, and though it’s not about that directly, it’s very present in the text. I found the use of poetry contrasted with the detailed, more pragmatic exploration of being a patient in a hospital really interesting, and I’ve never read a book that is so explicit about medical issues, so I found it really affirming.

A YA thriller about memory and teenage girls. Read in bed, in the space of about 2 hours, and enjoyed, in the same way I enjoy Sour Patch kids.

A reread, but that doesn’t meant I wasn’t completely unable to put the book down. Le Guin is an all-time favourite of mine and this book is such a fascinating take on gender and society. If you haven’t read this, please do.

Another reread, and okay, the queerness isn’t super at the forefront of the book but it is undeniably there. Hobb writes one of my favourite non-binary characters of all time (though I’m not sure if she knows that’s what she’s doing!). Listened to the audiobook, which is worth it solely for the voice the narrator uses when narrating cats. I listened to a lot of this walking around Tooting in the sun, looking for a nice place to lie down, perhaps my own form of fool’s errand.

More than just a history of poppers, although I did also learn a lot about them. Read in one day, lying in the sun in the grass of the Wandle nature reserve.

Contemporary book about queer life in London, AKA, I have had no original experiences ever. Set on the summer solstice weekend, which just happened to be when I read it! Freakiest moment was hearing character reference an estate in Roehampton, then going past that same estate on the bus five minutes later. All that aside, I really liked how articulately McKenna writes about big ideas, and how he made a large cast of characters all feel different and three-dimensional.

Sequel to The Traitor Baru Cormorant, and the name is fitting because this is kind of a monster of a fantasy book. Dickinson is not afraid to introduce dozens of different cultures, customs, ranks and names all at once, changing POV and time regularly, and also our main narrator has a brain injury. Quite different to the first in the series, a lot funnier in parts, and also more lesbian sex. Reminiscent of Harrow the Ninth, I’m only halfway through but enjoying the ride, though it’s slow-going because if I don’t focus for even a moment I’m lost.

Maori urban fantasy, haven’t started yet but I just got the audioboook and I’ve been meaning to read this for YEARS so I’m excited to get into it.

This experience was really interesting in terms of the connections it made me draw between very different texts. For instance, the concept of ‘hygienists’ in The Monster Baru Cormorant, who force colonised peoples into ‘socially healthy’, ‘hygienic’ relationships and modes of reproduction reminded me of Giovanni’s exclamation to the closeted, sexually repressed David:

In the same argument, David asks:

Queerness, exemplified by Giovanni’s room itself, is dirty; straightness is clean. And yet, when Baru weighs up the merit of their violent colonisers, the purported cleanliness, it is clear that the violence inherent to this ‘hygiene’ cannot be justified.

The hot irons of the Falcrest Empire may be more overtly violent than the homophobia of 1950s Paris, but it is a symptom of the same problem, and the same metaphor is used. The options are: assimilate to so-called cleanliness, accepting the required violence and repression; or accept Giovanni’s “stink of love”, and with it, freedom.

Meanwhile, reading LHOD and Fool’s Errand together forces some unavoidable parallels between the masculine, often prudish narrator (Genly/Fitz), contrasted by the effeminate, unknowable best friend/soulmate/??? (Estraven/Fool). Both Genly and Fitz defend, reiterate their masculinity at frequent intervals, and position themselves in opposition to this other, even when this other is their most intimate friend.

And they’re not the only ones. In McKenna’s Evenings and Weekends, gay masculinity is interrogated. Phil’s teenage “exaggeration of his low gruff voice” is an effort to appear straight, but it doesn’t work. Now an adult, Phil sees his masculinity as more of an act, almost like a drag king. He’s going for “Action man… Wait, no: Bruce Springsteen”, or later, “mountaineer”. I cannot help but wish Fitzchivalry Farseer could have accessed this more playful, ironic, freeing form of masculinity, a masculinity that is not a box, but a game.

Finding queer books to read was actually more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I relaxed my initial criteria pretty early on (not all of these authors are themselves queer, or at least not all are publicly out).

It also turns out that some genres were harder to find than others. I was really craving a good crime/thriller novel this week, but I couldn’t find any queer ones that looked like they’d hit the spot. If I’d wanted to read romance, on the other hand, I’d have a hundred options, but unfortunately I’m just not a romance person….

In terms of intersectionality, I could have done better. Only two of these authors are not white, and only one is trans. I was definitely limited by what was on offer at my library, or for cheap online, or already on my bookshelves. Maybe next year I’ll plan more in advance, instead of getting to May 31st and scouring Libby desperately.

I’ve reached the end of my summary! Please do comment below recommendations of other books, or thoughts on these books/the ideas I discuss in this post.

PS Not featured, but I read an unpublished book written by a new member of my writing group, which I really enjoyed! I also finally finished reading The Wild Robot to one of my students, which took forever because we could only do like a few chapters a week so honestly I’m just glad it’s over. I also watched season 2 of I Kissed a Boy.