thefemmenextdoor: Do you know any good lesbian anthologies I could read? I've read The Persistent Desire, A Woman Like That, Persistence: A Butch Femme Reader, and Brazen Femme. I know there's got to be way more out there haha. Thanks!
There are! What kind of anthologies are you looking for? All the ones you listed seem to be nonfiction about butch and femme identities. If you’re looking for more on that subject, this list might be useful.
Honestly, I haven’t read a lot of queer anthologies myself. The ones that I have read and enjoyed are (in addition to Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, which you’ve already read):
Does anyone know if there are lesbian versions of those cosy mystery books, like the ones that have themes like tea shop murders, or cookie shop murders?
There are tons of lesbian mystery series out there, but here’s a few that seem like the cozy mystery type (first books in each series):
Anonymous: Hi! your blog is so important and I love it! Do you think you could recommend some books that feature a butch lesbian character? thank you so much!
(Since queer representation remains relatively scarce in this genre, note that while many of these books DO discuss queer themes at length — and that all contain at least one queer character — a few do not revolve around said character(s) and/or are not centered around queer themes.)
In addition, goodreads.com has shelves for just about everything; one look at its Queer, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender ones can uncover some of the many books I couldn’t fit on this one post!
I need GOOD BOOKS ABOUT LESBIANS. Wonderful funny lesbian love story novels.
No sad things or drama or angst please. I mean every story has up and downs but no depressing flowery text. I’m looking at you, Annie on my Mind. (Sorry to its fans but this book is so not my cup of tea)
please and thank you. Help out this lonely gay gal? C:
Thanks for the mention, Vee! First, all the helpful reblogs in one place.
@corinneduyvis:
I loved Lies We Tell Ourselves(and Robin is awesome) and definitely recommend it, but it’s got quite a few sad things and drama, so it may not be what you’re looking for right now. (Maybe I’m wrong. Do give it a try if you’re on the fence!) My own book Otherbound is on that (excellent) list of Gay Without the Gay Angst, and while Amara’s bisexuality is indeed 100% a non-issue, there is a whole lot of other angst there. Just a heads-up—I’d hate for you to give it a try when that’s not what you’re into right now!
Try Sister Mischief by Laura Goode, maybe. There’s a fair bit of relationship angst, if I recall, but the tone of the story is not at all dramatic or angsty, which might make up for it.
@bisexualbaker:
The Second Mango and Climbing the Date Palm (first and second books in a series) star a brown-skinned Celiac Jewish lesbian and are suuuuuper adorable. They are also currently on sale! I totally recommend them.
So sweet, so funny, so very full of references to Full House. You really can’t go wrong with this one!
My recommendations, which aren’t necessarily funny but aren’t gay angsty either:
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. It was written in the 70s, so not everyone is accepting, but Molly is, as the back cover says, “A full-blooded, all-American, 100% true-blue gay-and proud of it!”
I remember Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller being a really sweet romance, but I read it years ago, so it may have some angst. Not much, though, especially considering that it’s a very early lesbian novel.
Lesbian Books Happy Ending (Goodreads list. Keep in mind that Annie On My Mind is the first listing, so happy ending =/= happy rest of the books)
If you’re looking for romance, try browsing lesbian romance publishers, like Bold Strokes Books, Bella Books, and Bywater Books. Romances typically have to have happy endings, at least.
I really loved Tripping to Somewhere by Kristopher Reisz (Goodreads). It’s urban fantasy about two girls following something known as the witches’ carnival — it’s fantastic and weird and wonderful (and not your typical “road trip”). It’s also kind of hard to find these days; you may have to seek it out at your library or through interlibrary loan, or buy a used copy. But it’s really good.
That’s all I know of, though. Anybody else have queer girl road trip recommendations?
[image description: an orange and black banner reading “queer halloween reads, part one: classics”. it is surrounded by four book covers of the titles listed below.]
The is the first of four posts featuring queer and queer-ish reads for Halloween. Enjoy!
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Jackson has penned several creepy classics, including We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Lottery. This 1959 literary ghost story is a landmark of the genre, inventing (as far as I can tell) the strangers-gathered-in-a-spooky-house trope. Many fans of the novel have read at least one of those strangers as queer.
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu An 1872 novella (now in public domain and available online) that tells the story of a young woman named Laura who befriends a strange girl named Carmilla. This pre-Dracula vampire tale is sometimes subtitled: “A Tragic Love Story”.
The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez A runaway slave is taken in by two kindly vampire women who operate a brothel - for them and their kind, giving life is as important as taking blood. This unconventional vampire story then follows Gilda over the next two hundred years as she travels the world and seeks connection. Confession: I’m too much of a wuss to read most of the scary stories that will be in these Queer Halloween Reads, but I’m working my way through this one, and it’s pretty great.
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite Lost Souls, the debut novel by Billy Martin (the author’s current name), is perhaps more well-known, but I went with his second book, Drawing Blood, to keep the vampire-to-haunted-house ratio even. It stars a cartoonist named Trevor, the only one spared when his father killed his family and himself. Returning to his childhood home to confront his father’s demons, he also crosses paths with Zach, a bisexual hacker on the run from the FBI.
