arlingtonchamberofgay's reviews
124 reviews

Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity by Robert Beachy

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

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Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The moment I first heard about this book, I was excited to read it and it was absolutely worth the wait. Between the Supernatural references, the unsettling and unexpected horrific turn of events, and the exploration of queer media, I had a hard time setting it down, especially since horror is an extraordinarily campy, queer genre as it is.
What do we do when the execs, bosses, authorities decide that it’s a bigger profit to let us die, both on and off screen? We are expected to be satisfied with whatever we can get, whether it’s subtext that’s intentionally ambiguous or a palatable “good” homonortmative character. The moment we try to show nuance and complexity along the full spectrum of our experiences, we are told (or forced) to tone it down, become one-dimensional caricatures, and be grateful we’re getting the opportunity at all.
But Chuck Tingle shows us that we can still tell our stories, on our own terms, no matter what the horrors of capitalism have in store.

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Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Pain Studies by Lisa Olstein

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challenging reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Really Cute People by Markus Harwood-Jones

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It’s been really exciting over the last few years to see characters that look, talk, and act like me in different media. However, it’s been difficult to find good romance novels that tell the stories of enbies and polyam folks. Harwood-Jones goes beyond that by showing an Enby protag going through ups and downs, navigating friend groups falling apart, and stumbling into people who become their family (a trans man, bi woman, and their kiddo, no less!). This book shows what queer joy and love can look like, in all of its wonderful, beautiful, chaotic, different ways.

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