Does listening to audiobooks count as reading? Here it does. Let’s discuss your favorite reads — or listens.
All in Hybrid Read/Listen
Michael Perry’s “Forty Acres Deep” may be short, but it carries the emotional weight of a full-length novel in its 130-pages. Here, the author explores heavy topics: loss, survival and the quiet erosion of a way of life. It’s a book that operates on multiple levels – an intimate character study, a eulogy for small-scale farming and an unflinching look at the toll of solitude.
From the Obergefell ruling to the Pulse nightclub massacre, “Party” captures the emotional and political climate of a pivotal year for the LGBTQ+ community. The novel questions the expectations placed on modern gay men, contrasts different generational perspectives and resists a tidy resolution, embodying the complexity and contradictions of queer existence in a post-modern world.
Though the author is best known for his searing critiques of race and sexuality, “Beale Street” is unique in his body of work. It’s his first novel (that I’ve read) centered entirely on Black love and the only one narrated by a woman.
While “The Testaments” may not be as beloved as the original – let’s be honest, few sequels are – I still found it to be a compelling page-turner that stands as a masterclass in dystopian fiction.
Though the prose remains lush, her reliance on symbolism and Shakespearean allusions requires a level of patience and literary devotion this novel didn’t earn. For those well-versed in “King Lear” and drawn to dense, slow-burn literary fiction, there may be more to appreciate.
While Eliot Schrefer had admirable intent in addressing long held and incorrect theories about how we perceive sexual behavior in the natural world, the execution was a hodgepodge of personal anecdotes and pontifications that showed the author’s biases – even though he frequently maligned scientific bias.
Expectation: A novel that subverts the typical motherhood story with a focus on trans and found families.
Reality: More theory than fiction, Torrey Peters presents interesting ideas, but with an air of pretentiousness that can test patience.
Expectation: A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story.
Reality: A religious-soaked, multi-layered family drama.
Various queer writers dissect and debate the overt and obvious subtexts of both mainstream and art house fare with a mixture of analysis and theory. Many of the essays veer into the personal, showing how important the horror genre is to out and proud queers of a certain age.
While there were a few laugh out loud moments within each of the 18 essays, “Wow” didn’t fully capture my attention.
Expectation: A sweet but slight coming of age tale set amidst the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the late-1980s.
Reality: While there’s a lot of melodrama and the plot is stale, it’s a great introduction to this era in queer history, and the importance of having a gay Iranian lead character cannot be understated.
While it may be too in-depth for those seeking general information – honestly, it sometimes felt like reading a textbook – the editors, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson have compiled a primer on the vernacular, key issues and political lightning rods.
Expectation: A collection of Americana centered around one of the most popular and maligned states.
Reality: Groff starts the reader in a chokehold but slowly loosens her grip as the collection progresses.
Told in three parts — harm, heal and act — Ross uses personal experiences paired with historical context to explain how and why racial progress stalls, and why white men have such a difficult time accepting the fact we have privileges the Black community doesn’t.
Expectation: A heartwarming coming of age story about overcoming adversity and supporting one another.
Reality: Darker and more poignant than expected, but a tad uneven and overstuffed even for its slim length. However, when the story soars, it’s transformative.
Expectation: An epic journey through the horrors of Appalachia.
Reality: Funny, poignant and utterly engrossing, it’s a blockbuster book that delivers - even if the last third feels a tad trite.
While Perry provides commentary on the benefits and detriments of the subjects in the context of shaping public perception of LGBTQIA+ people during the aughts - and her own queerness - most of the essays felt like a Vulture-esque recap of plots and characters.
Expectation: High-brow gay fiction with tear-inducing scenarios and redemption.
Reality: Well-written and engaging, but the last act will make or break this story for readers. I’m still on the fence about it.
Acting as an embedded journalist, Cullen spent countless hours trailing and interviewing several of the MFOL teenagers. From the first meetings in a parents’ living room to political debates and a tour across the country, he was there for every early highlight, misstep and break down.
I’m going to challenge my fellow white men to read this book, over the next “it” topic by Malcom Gladwell, Simon Sinek or Mark Manson, because you will learn something here that will truly make you a better colleague. In the age of the Great Resignation, that’s more important than the bottom line.
