I am mad at books…all of the books. All of the books that have come my way in the past couple of months, at the very least. I’m sick of the recycling of plots and surprise! graphic rape scenes and surprise! mom deaths and surprise! the villain is a crazed homosexual even though this book was published in 2008 and maybe we could get over that trope and straight authors who include gay characters getting more attention for their books than gay authors who write about gay people.
It’s March third and I’ve only been able to finish fourteen books, an absurdly low-number for someone who has read over or nearly 200 books every year since 2008. Every book I read in January was incredibly disappointing. Every book I read in February, all three of them, were “safe” books for me: one re-read, one by an acclaimed historian, and one queer theory book. I can’t bear the idea of picking up yet another book only to be disappointed by its inability to capture my interest or avoid some basic rules of decency or its eagerness to assail my community in the name of “political incorrectness” or “cutting-edge criticism.”
I’m sick of bad or mediocre young adult books getting overwhelming amounts of praise just because they include a trans character, even if they do it in a way that dehumanizes a real group of people, characters who are a lot like my friends, people that I love. I’m sick of not being able to go to the bookstore and easily find a love story that bears any resemblance to either my actual love life or my dreamed of love life. Why is it that even gay or lesbian romance novels are so often tragic? Where’s my escape?
I love books, and I know that there are many books out there that I will love once I find them, but sometimes it’s hard to feel so passionately about something that refuses to acknowledge the existence of people like me.
ugh I’m so sorry.
Thanks Amy, I am too!
That’s awful. I hate reading slumps. And I definitely get the complaints you have. Been there. Let me know if you want some suggestions! (The Collection was fantastic trans fiction, though not all with happy endings.)
It’s not necessarily the endings as much as me being sick of authors, even gay authors, catering to the mainstream’s idea of what “gay life” is like–horrible coming out, one love/marriage, brutal hate crime ending in death, etc. Do you have any good romance suggestions that manages to queer those plot lines?
I don’t actually read a lot of romance books, so that’s a little harder for me. If you’re willing to go weird, I loved Eat Your Heart Out by Dayna Ingram, which is about zombies. And the main character is a lesbian. And it’s kind of a Michelle Rodriguez fanfic. The Last Nude by Ellis Avery is beautiful, but it’s not a cheery book. The Miseducation of Cameron Post is amazing, though there is a pray-away-the-gay camp. I remember Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller being a very sweet little romance, but it’s been a while since I’ve read it.
The only mainstream lesbian romance book I’ve liked enough to keep actually follows a lot of those plot lines: it’s about a woman coming out in a small town, it was horrible, she left town, it gets better. Except that she ends up going back to her small town through a cruel twist of fate and tries to reconcile herself with her hometown. She meets a woman who she was friends with when she was younger, who later came out as well. But she stayed in town, and it completely messes with the main character’s “it gets better”/queer migration narrative. I actually liked it because it plays with that common idea of how queer lives go, that we all move to the big city and leave our small-minded towns behind, when that’s not really reality. I don’t know if that might be something you’re interested in. It’s Long Way Home by Rachel Spangler
I wish I had a good recommendation for you.
I appreciate the thought!
I hear you. When I’ve tried to focus on LGBTQ novels I’ve ended up feeling like shit pretty damn fast. I think it’s going to take several generations to see a wide-spread flowering of LGBTQ literary writing that affirms the best aspects of our lives, deals sensitively with our challenges, and that also provides enjoyment. Right now such books are few and far between.
I think the closest I’ve come to this is Zoe Whittal’s Bottle Rocket Hearts…and it’s set in the early 1990s in Canada, so on the surface I shouldn’t relate so well! But she managed to capture the unique way queer friendships work and it makes me so happy.
I’m just going to give you a standing ovation, because this, this all this.
I want to read books with GBLT people in them in my genre, but have found myself actively avoiding the very few that exist because I’ve tripped over so much awful I’d rather be completely erased from existence
Then move to the blogosphere and find everyone in rhapsodies because Straight Author #4 included a GAY MINOR CHARACTER, ZOMG SO PROGRESSIVE!
Ahhh yes, exactly, where did you come from lets be best friends.
I so know what you’re saying! All of last year was such a slump, for me. I’m still waiting for that fresh story to blow me away in 2013.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed! I hope you find something good soon!
It’s hard to love something that hates you—that’s why The Chronicles of Narnia and I can’t love each other; if it rejects economics and lipstick and Susan, then it’s rejecting me.
I wish I had an armful of personally vetted recommendations for you, but I don’t. I did want to pass along a few selections that are probably very obvious from Bitchfest‘s “Rubyfruit Jungle Gym”: Stacey Donovan’s Dive and Nancy Garden’s Good Moon Rising, which should be non-tragic young adult novels about girls in love. And remember—there’s always fandom for alternate readings and reclamation. It’s not the big leagues, but it is something. In fact, Queer Fest, a fanfiction festival whose express purpose “The purpose of queer_fest is to celebrate and examine the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, genderqueer, asexual, intersex, and trans* characters through fanfic” started taking prompts on March 1st! Here’s last year’s participants. Plus, fandom gives you trigger warnings.
I hope that helps a little bit.
I don’t really want to read young adult books as much as I want them to magically fix themselves? Mostly I want to read romance novels that feature anyone who resembles me and/or the type of person I’m attracted to.
I hope your next book will resolve this reading slump. A string of subpar books in my usual genres has encouraged me to turn to nonfiction for a change.
Glad you found a way out of your slump! I read an equal amount of fiction/non-fiction and still can’t find my way out!
My reading stats are appalling right now. I only want to read books that I am really excited about, so that limits how many books I actually pick up to read. I am just not as excited about them this year. At least not so far. I’ve requested some galleys that look promising but already, one of them irritated me so I divorced it.
I’ve found when I feel this way that it’s better for a book to find me, as opposed to me trying to find it.
I need a “good book” magnetic sweater, I think! COME TO ME, BOOKS.
It’s not YA but it might appeal – Emma Donaghue’s Kissing the Witch. It takes classic fairy tales and puts a female protagonist at the heart of each, each short story/fairy tale leading to the next as the baton is passed between women. Romantic and rather inspiring, there’s some more info on the author’s web page – http://emmadonoghue.com/books/short-story-collections/kissing-the-witch.html. I don’t read any YA but I hope this work for you. Also, have a hug because yes, it really does suck sometimes to be so boxed into a corner in the book store. Hope you manage to break out of the slump soon.
I don’t want to read YA, I just want it to be good, if that makes sense. In my dreams I will find a contemporary novel that features a group of friends who happen to be gay and everything will be great.
Thanks for the hug and the encouragement!
I feel ya… I get to this place sometimes when I’ve read dozens of samples and even purchased a few, but haven’t actually finished anything since they’re all just too disappointing.
Here’s what I’ve been reading lately:
- Becoming a Visible Man
- White Cat, Red Glove, Black Heart Trilogy
- Adaptation
- Evolution’s Rainbow
- Beautiful Music for Ugly Children
If you haven’t read these, great! Otherwise, just re-read Annie on My Mind or whatever queer-favorite-feel-good-read-in-one-sitting kind of book.
I find Annie on My Mind to be rather depressing, honestly! I might just have to reread Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall since basically what I want right now is to be able to read it again for the first time! Thanks for the book suggestions! I’ve read a few of them but am wary of Beautiful Music for Ugly Children its treatment of trans folks.
BMUC is pretty awesome, great feel good YA book. I felt the trans character was very well laid out (and I’m usually pretty harsh around this).
I’ve read 2 of Zoe Whittall’s books, both were quite good, but somehow not to my liking. Maybe I prefer the candy-colored world of YA…
BMUC is amazing. I just finished it last week and I love the way Gabe’s character was handled. It wasn’t so much about “look at the awful stuff that comes with being a trans teen.” It felt more like, “come read about this cool kid Gabe and experience the good and the crappy that comes with being him.” Something like that…
Maybe you could write that type of book!
Maybe!
First – ‘I’m sick of not being able to go to the bookstore and easily find a love story that bears any resemblance to either my actual love life or my dreamed of love life.’ this must be horrible
So sorry the book world isn’t providing you with what you want and need.
Second – thrusts ‘Girl Meets Boy’ by Ali Smith at you, virtually, in case you haven’t found it yet. Not YA, but it is just the best and so beautifully written. Only happy romantic endings, I promise.
It’s not horrible! Just frustrating!
Yes, yes, that one has been on my frequently-forgotten-but-must-read list–thank you for reminding me!
I am sorry your reading experiences have been so awful. It sounds like people are trying to fit their books into a niche by tacking on a LGBT character without making it genuine and real. I hope you get plenty of great recommendations.
Thanks Stephanie! I get cranky sometimes but I’m sure I’ll find something eventually.
Hey Cass!
I read this post a few days ago and I’ve been thinking about it since. I wish I had a good recommendation or a good idea or a wise and witty thing to say about it all. Sadly, I don’t.
Keep us updated ok? I’d be interested to learn about the books that don’t set your teeth on edge. A list would be fantastic. (Hint hint!)
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Hallelujah! I thought I was the only one in the world who had this view. I get extremely annoyed when loking for lesbian books of any genre that seem to just be erotica, and that when you ask for recommendations, FF erotica is what everyone assumes you mean.
I’m an author myself, writing in the steampunk and paranormal fantasy, and I am desperate to not include LBGT characters who subscribe to accepted tropes and stereotypes. I’m lucky in that my genres allow me to play around a bit more and have some fun with my characters
Good luck finding something to read – sorry, I have no recommendations either.
I liked Ann McMan’s Jericho series (Jericho, Aftermath) a lot.
I hope you came across some awesome books since you’ve written this.
But if not, a few GLBT themed YA I loved:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Suicide Watch by Kelley York, Where You Are by J.H. Trumble, Vintage by Steve Berman and How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J.C. Lillis