LGBT+ Books?

[Gravy]

Update!

Luna by Julie Anne Peters
Transgender m to f YA.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant.
Sci-fi/horror (killer mermaids).
Bi main protag. and a lesbian side protag.

[ravenmarie]

my personal favorites are the miseducation of cameron post by emily m. danforth, jack holmes and his friend by edmund white, carry on by rainbow rowell, and we are the ants by shaun david hutchinson. these are all vastly different stories, but i love them all very much!

[AlainaElric]

My favorite book series by Jacqueline Carey, the Kushiel Legacy series, has main characters who follow a law; Love as thou wilt. (This of course means their law doesn't force marriages distasteful to their citizens, and insists that one can love another no matter gender). Phedre (the heroine in the first three books) love both males and females, as many in the book do. Her adopted brother Aluin is in love with their Master (holder of their marque who adopted them into his household).

[sarahh4]

Have a look at More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. I haven’t actually read it yet but it’s on my list

[Helga_]

A Greater Music by Bae Suah (the English version of the Korean novel The Essayist's Desk)

This is the only one I've read so far. I didn't notice it's about a lesbian couple, either in the original or the translated version. I've realized that the idea of lesbian romance wasn't something I was used to at that time. I missed all those clues, all the subtle descriptions. As you can guess, the novel doesn't deal with trials and tribulations of LGBT relationships caused by their sexual orientation. You know, it's simply about love in general. I've reread it once, but the fact that the protagonist's ex-lover is a female doesn't bring any changes in my perspective. It remains to be a memorable story esp. in terms of its overall sentiment.

There are so many excellent books with LGBT protagonists that I have narrowed my suggestions down to a handful that I consider to be classics:

The Swimming Pool Library by Allan Hollinghurst
Tales of the City (Series) by Armistead Maupin
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Maurice by E M Forster
The Well Of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall
The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren

Thank you for an excellent thread, I'm sure I'll be returning to it to update this list as more LGBT themed books occur to me.

(adding Giovanni's Room to my to-read list for the summer...) Thanks for the mention

[MikleoKrein]

There are plenty of published LGBT books in Chinese. I love reading those books.

In English books though, I honestly haven't read a published English LGBT book. I saw a few in bookstores, but the summary is always about 'Coming of Age', 'Coming Out', 'He likes him, but I like him, but that other guy that he likes - likes me instead'. I don't know, even with Hetero books, I steer clear from books like that.

Even in the mainstream media, majority of the LGBT films consists of bittersweet or tragic endings. Can anyone recommend an LGBT book with a generally carefree feel with a happy ending?

I can recommend numerous well-written LGBT books, but they are unpublished and only written online.

[Tamorie Hargro]

my personal favorites are the miseducation of cameron post by emily m. danforth, jack holmes and his friend by edmund white, carry on by rainbow rowell, and we are the ants by shaun david hutchinson. these are all vastly different stories, but i love them all very much!

I've just recently read Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and it really is very good! I ate it up in just about 3 days haha

Another book I've just finished is Running With Lions by Julian Winters. It's pretty new and is a very, very good book.

[Gravy]

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller has a few LGBTQ+ characters, including a f/f couple, and a genderfluid teen.

[Kiisme]

Harper Bliss is a good lesbian writer but he has a thing for older women if you don't mind.

[Kiisme]

There are plenty of published LGBT books in Chinese. I love reading those books.

In English books though, I honestly haven't read a published English LGBT book. I saw a few in bookstores, but the summary is always about 'Coming of Age', 'Coming Out', 'He likes him, but I like him, but that other guy that he likes - likes me instead'. I don't know, even with Hetero books, I steer clear from books like that.

Even in the mainstream media, majority of the LGBT films consists of bittersweet or tragic endings. Can anyone recommend an LGBT book with a generally carefree feel with a happy ending?

I can recommend numerous well-written LGBT books, but they are unpublished and only written online.

Try Harper Bliss collection

[Sharill Rasowo]

I found it hard to find interesting fiction in this genre in western literature so I moved East. There are a lot of translated
Web novels from China, Korea and Japan whose main characters are not straight. One can go to a site called novelupdates.com which consolidates all translated novels from Asia specifically China, korea and Japan, and using filters these books will come up.

[_Delly_01]

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (YA Contemporary/gay/not explicit)
Cam Girl by Leah Raeder (NA Romance/lesbian/explicit)
Black Iris by Leah Raeder (NA Romance/lesbian/explicit)
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller (YA Fantasy/genderfluid/unsure if explicit)
Two Boys Kissing David Levithan (YA Contemporary/gay/unsure if explicit)
Everyday David Levithan (YA Sci-Fi/gender fluid/not explicit)
The Abyss Surrounds Us Emily Skrutskie (YA Fantasy/lesbian/not explicit)
History is All You Left Me Adam Silvera (YA Contemporary/gay/not explicit)
They Both Die at the End Adam Silvera (YA Sci-Fi/gay/not explicit)

P.S. Leah Raeder is Elliot Wake's former name. He has another book I've yet to read called Bad Boy. If you don't mind super steamy scenes, check him out. He is a stunning writer.

[Divya Tamilselvan]

Recently I read a book called Me Inside by Martha miller. The protagonist in this book is a lesbian
Also I read a book named A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman. The book contains a gay representative character.

[Elena Nechita]

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The jasmine throne
The priory of the orange tree
Cemetery boys

[Alissa Nesson]

I love Ellen Hart’s Jane Lawless series