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[aluminium]

I havent studied or read much LGBTQI lit.

I really love Jeanette Winterson - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry etc (although I've read and love most of her work). And I've read Tipping the Velvet, and I enjoy graphic novels like Strangers in Paradise, and Blue is the Warmest Colour....

I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend some other quality LGBTQI lit - I'm probably more interested in lesbian or bi stories... but I feel like I need to broaden my experience of this literature so am open to suggestion.
Thanks.

Edit to add? I'm not looking for porn. I don't mind erotica; I guess I'm just looking for authentic stories.

Edited by aluminium, 13 June 2019 - 06:05 PM.

[seemingly]

If there's a fandom you quite enjoy (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Walking Dead etc) you can find a lot of non-canon pairings.

www.fanfiction.com

[archyandmehitabel]

American Library Association (ALA) LGBTQ Rainbow Book Listsfor children and teens and Lambda Literary website have many suggestions.

I follow a friend from uni on Twitter who is a queer librarian and very active. I found these from links on her feed

[RynandStompy]

Tanya Huff is an excellent SF and also urban fantasy author where many main characters are LGBTQI.

They're not written for erotica but as fully faceted characters who's sexuality is part of the story, but is not the story.

[aluminium]

RynandStompy, on 13 June 2019 - 07:29 PM, said:

They're not written for erotica but as fully faceted characters who's sexuality is part of the story, but is not the story.

I think that's what I mean when I say authentic. I'll have a look at some of the lists posted above and search out Tanya Huff. Thanks.

Sorry PP, I'm not up for fan fiction - but thanks anyways.

[tenar]

Ursula le Guin "The Telling" and "The left hand of darkness".

[hills mum bec]

The Binding by Bridget Collins was really good.

[petal71]

I know you said you'd prefer lesbian or bi, but if you haven't read Call Me By Your Name (protagonists are male) you are missing an incredible piece of modern literature.

[Silverstreak]

Not "literature" as such, but some excellent writing: The Invasion of Tork and The Invasion of Adam are both excellent. Again, gay male characters but worth a look.

Oooh, one of the best short stories I have read is What Worse Place Can I Beg In Your Love? by Syd McGinley. A short sci fi romance about a man who becomes the pet of a seven foot tall shark-like alien. Gay male characters and not classical literature by any means, but if you can hack the kooky premise, it's fantastic writing, not a word wasted. Hard to get a copy though.

Re literature with lesbian themes, have you read Colette's Claudine series, they're awesome. They're set at the turn of the century in France, mostly Paris and they're so good.

[aluminium]

Thanks for the suggestions.

My only issue with the gay men protagonist is that in the past I've found it difficult to relate but I'll make a list and give them another go.

[RynandStompy]

aluminium, on 13 June 2019 - 07:39 PM, said:

I think that's what I mean when I say authentic. I'll have a look at some of the lists posted above and search out Tanya Huff. Thanks.

There's a light, urban fantasy trilogy she did called Keepers Chronicles. Main female character's teenage sister is lesbain with powers. 3rd book is sister's point of view. Plot is light 'we must save the world from evil', and funny.
It's not an issue what gender or sexuality a relationship is with. Focus is on gaining maturity and ..stopping evil.

[kimasa]

If you're interested in YA or graphic novels I can give you a massive list.

Even for those who aren't hugely into graphic novels I really recommend trying Bingo Love by Tee Franklin. It's such a beautiful, but sad story. You will probably cry. I haven't met anyone who hasn't cried when they hit "the realisation" of who she's telling the story to at the end.

Oh and for anyone with tweens-teens who are into GNs- Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy by Rey Tercerio is a GN modern-day retelling of Little Women that along with many other themes, addresses some LGBTQI+ issues. Plus it ends with the girls attending a women's rights march.

[Thylacine]

If you liked Tipping the Velvet, have you read any others by the same author? I really liked Affinity

[two_ones]

Mighr not be exactly what you are after but I am reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, the protagonist is intersex, however the author himself is not. I believe it won the Pulitzer prize?

It's really good. So far it's been mainly focused on the protagonist's Greek grandparents moving to America in the 1920s and haven't really gotten to his transition story yet.

[Just Jack]

Are you looking to read the LGBTIQ 'classics' OP? Things like Well of Loneliness, The Colour Purple, etc? Or more modern ones?

[petal71]

I hear what you're saying about not being able to relate to gay male protagonists. Usually neither do I. However, with CMBYN, Aciman seems to get into the head of not just a boy coming of age and realising he has a strong same sex attraction (as well as being attracted to women, so he is bi really), I felt like he was getting into my head and I am neither gay or a man. He somehow captures the insecurities, the foibles, the obsessional nature of being that age. Many others have commented it's a story that speaks across the genders, across sexualities, because it is mainly about speaking your truth and about the rollercoaster ride of desire that we can all relate to.

Edited by petal71, 10 July 2019 - 08:21 PM.

[aluminium]

Looking to broaden my literary experiences.

[BeAwesome]

This was a middle years book, but I liked Drum Roll, Please, by Lisa Jenn Bigelow.

[Lunagirl]

I just finished Priory of the Orange Tree, which has some same sex relationships. The story itself is adult fantasy (not that type of adult...) As per a PP's recommendation, it's part of the story but not the story. There's a lot else going on, including dragons.