#lesbian book recs

[lucidmagic]

Sapphic/Lesbian Fairytale Retelling Recommendations?

I've been on a fairytale/folklore retelling with a sapphic twist kick lately (mostly because I've been brainstorming a loose one for an OG project) and I was wondering if my dear and illustrious followers (and those who come across this post) may have recommendations they want to shout out.

So far, I've read:

Malice by Heather Walter (Sleeping Beauty),

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn (Beauty and the Beast with some Sleeping Beauty),

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer (Persephone and Hades)

(those are the ones I can remember reading as of late)

I have The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist by Ceinwen Langley and Thorn by Anna Burke coming in the mail soon.

I definitely know there is more to read, but idk where to even start. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions!

Thanks! Stay safe and happy!

[so-many-ocs]

yo!

i don't make dedicated posts about my own work on here a ton, however comma!

RADIO APOCALYPSE is FREE in ebook format from october 16 (tomorrow) until october 20th (friday)!!!

my birthday is coming up, and For My Birthday, i would like it very much if more people got to read my writing!

so, if you like:

post-apocalyptic science fiction

cosmic/eldritch horror

radios

lesbians (plural)

eye motifs

audio dramas of Most Kinds

cool book covers (in my unbiased opinion)

crushing existential loneliness. the fundamental, ever-lurking, and unchanging sense of isolation at the pit of your being; the feeling that, no matter what, you will never be closer to those around you, and you can laugh about it, and you can reach out, but the silence is impenetrable. it will outlast you in every way that matters

knitting!

here's how to get RADIO APOCALYPSE for free!!

go to the amazon site for your location

search "radio apocalypse kayleigh gallagher" or something to that effect

go to "ebook"

DO NOT: do not select "read now for free." that will take you to the page for kindle unlimited, which you have to Pay For

instead select the option that says something along the lines of "buy now for $0"

enjoy your free book!

[aloneholy]

hi i love your blog :) & was wondering if you could recommend your favorite/the best sapphic n wlw media like shows books movies please? I have recently come to ... Realisations .. :') I do love picnic at hanging rock btw and also the similar vibes of the media that you tend to reblog. homeorotic energy w out being Explicity Stated it also very welcome <3 thank you if you can and i hope thats okay !!! have a good day :)

hellooo what a lovely question - thank you so much! i’ll happily rec some things i’ve loved, especially that i find homoerotic/wlw media that Compel me much harder to come by - and i agree, picnic at hanging rock is so unique.

books:

- zami: a new spelling of my name by audre lorde - an “autobiomythography” & maybe thee most formative book for me, in terms of wlw reading. i read it for university and it changed me as a person, changed the way i look at loving women. it��s beautiful

- nightwood by djuna barnes - if you like the more unsettling aspects of picnic at hanging rock, something lynchian and modernist, this is a dark and heavily abstract lesbian novel which i really love

- our wives under the sea - a really poignant and lovely soft sci-fi depiction of a wlw relationship, themes of grief, identity, loss etc. some compare it to annihilation though expect much less science fiction

- her body and other parties by carmen maria machado - a lovely (probably my favourite!) collection of short stories which often are wlw-centric or have a vibe. stunning prose in general

- hera lindsay bird by hera lindsay bird - wlw poetry, very fun and contemporary, what i call self-aware poetry

- mary oliver’s poetry!!!

- for biographies, anything about tove jansson….

- anything by virginia woolf will fit the not explicitly stated vibe feeling - mrs dalloway has a really wistful lesbian undercurrent, orlando is a love letter to vita sackville-west. etc. etc.

movies:

- persona (ingmar bergman) - thee movie. it’s Not explicitly stated, it’s feverish and desolate, but it’s both intensely homoerotic and a searing exploration of identity, existential dread etc.

- mulholland drive (david lynch) - again, unsettling vibes. not even gonna elaborate on it - it’s a david lynch - but it’s a must-see

- passing (rebecca hall) - a moody, poignant and beautiful adaptation of nella larsen’s novella (which is on my to-read list) about a relationship between two women

- the favourite (yorgos lanthimos) - recently rewatched with a friend, no notes. a bizarre, obsessive, thrilling story. rachel weisz is to die for in it

- kajillionaire (miranda july) - a tender and strange (affectionate) depiction of a bond between two women in unexpected circumstances

- thoroughbreds (cory finley) - what if murder was homoerotic, what if murder was a metaphor. in a way this is about every codependent friendship between girls that has ever veered towards obsession

- vita & virginia (chanya button) - a biopic abt virginia woolf and vita sackville-west specifically, people have very mixed feelings on it but i personally love it to bits.

tv shows:

- black sails - anne and max’s storyline in black sails is the most visceral and lovely wlw story i’ve seen in tv or film… there are specific tws i would heed for max’s arc in the first season which i’d be happy to elaborate on, but their story is beautiful

- first season of killing eve is still unmatched 😔 second is still quite nice, if not as good. third is hm. the ending scene has whimsy to it. never watch the fourth.

things my gf loves that i still haven’t read/seen:

- portrait of a lady on fire - i just know it will Get to me so i’m waiting for the right mood to watch it

- this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar & max gladstone - same reasoning!

things i’ve started but haven’t had a chance to finish yet:

- little blue encyclopaedia (for vivian) by hazel jane plante - a beautiful (but sad, and also about grieving, hence it’s taking me a while) trans wlw story. quaint and quiet and wistful.

[lonely-wandering-heart]

I read a lot of sapphic books so I am thinking of posting my reviews of them on here and I have very few people I can talk about them to since I’m not out.

Also sapphic book recs please!!!

[batwing00]

i feel like this would be a great place to ask, any good lesbian/sapphic books to read? ive always considered myself more of a nonfiction reader but i am on the brink of finishing “one last stop” by casey mcquiston and it has completely changed my mind. so im interested in nonfiction/history, romance, fiction of any kind, poetry, etc. send all the recs!!

[beeesworld]

[lesbianp1lled]

Some more recommendations for you:

Fletcher DeLancey's Caphenon series is a science fiction series bout three lesbians - one is the leader of an alien planet, the other two are in the army and crashland on the planet.

Silvia Shaw's Imperial Rand is about a lesbian historian is transported to another dimension of matriarchal warrior women when she acquires a mysterious amulet.

They are both series, but I have only read book 1 so that is all I can recommend. I wish there were more books with lesbians only. I remember there was a list going around about lesbian media a while ago, maybe you can find some more recommendations on it?

I really understand your frustation. It makes me so frustrated each time I pick up a "lesbian" book but it's about sapphic/bisexual/queer women instead. I don't want to read about men and it's annoying how much important men and male attraction is given in so called "sapphic" books.

thank youuuu

[rosealouette]

My love for you is renewed with every sunrise, my adoration just as strong at sunset. Upon gazing toward the deep crimson and gold, I am reminded of the light shimmering in your eyes. We are different now, and we will continue to change, but our love is forever our own. 

Poisoned Reverence by Rose Alouette Nightingale

[maxalotlxl]

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven

4 Stars.

Wow, It's been over a week since I finished it and I'm still unsure how to talk about what I thought of this book. First off, I don't know if I call this a horror it was more of a paranormal mystery. I loved it. I felt connected somehow to these characters, Catalina in this book was the most sweetest person ever and I wish to have her as my own best friend.

Also it was a beautiful sapphic story, with the trying to explain away romantic feelings for friends, but always wanting for them and their different characteristics constantly coming to mind in tense scenarios making it easier to get through them. *chefs kiss*

The climax to the mystery had me staying up way later than I originally wanted just because I needed to read one more page. Then another. Until I was done with the book.

The actual ending makes me wonder if maybe there will be another to this book?

Now the themes in this book were heavy, eating disorders and societies expectations on young people and their beauty, abuse and parental neglect. I found myself in how these characters explained their history and feelings on these topics as someone who struggles with mental health. So please be careful with the content warnings.

Finished 18th of October.

[all-about-books-baby]

Absolutely BEGGING for queer, f/f book recs. Just finished when Katie met Cassidy and it was horrendous and I just need something better

[mysweetsinfulobsessions]

HIJAB BUTCH BLUES by LAMYA H.

Alright, changing it up a bit with my book stuff but this one hit home with me. The author draws very interesting parallels between stories in the Quran and her experiences as a gay muslim woman that are very interesting. And if you think you can’t be muslim and gay, or wear a hijab and be gay, or even tackle muslim culture and queerness in one, then you’re bound to be pleasantly proved wrong with this one.

[lonely-wandering-heart]

New Book Review- ‘I Kissed Shara Wheeler’ by Casey McQuiston 🌈

Ok so I would like to state that before I give my review that I am not American or Christian so some of the ‘Culture’ that is talked in the book I might not have understood or picked up on. :)

🧡🤍🩷🧡🤍🩷🧡🤍🩷🧡🤍🩷🧡🤍🩷🧡🤍🩷

I’m gonna be completely honest and just say straight away that this book has well and truly confused me. I genuinely could hardly put the book down but I’m also not sure that I actually liked the book.

I enjoyed the mystery of the book, but I HATED the reason for the mystery. I understand that Sharas actions did end up having semi-decent reasons but the way she went about things was just messed up. For most of the book you read about all the awful things Shara has done and yet in general she faces no consequences. I also couldn’t really understand why Chloe was so adamant on searching for Shara despite all her complaining about Shara. At one point Chloe’s friends say that Chloe has a crush on Shara but she doesn’t know it and the same is implied/said from Shara to Chloe as well, however, the ‘relationship’ between them that is shown throughout the book doesn’t really give off a secret-crush-in-love-with-each-other kinda vibe it just feels obsessive and quite negative.

However, I did enjoy Smiths character development and the rekindling of their relationship with Rory. I feel like a book on that story could have had a better tale to tell.

I also feel like the book deals with personal, family and community homophobia really well showing that love and safety can even be found in somewhere that seems impossible.

On the other hand, I feel as though the use of queer stereotypes in the book sort of ruins it as I feel it traps queer people into those ideals. (For example: “Chloe, we’re gay, we can’t do math.”)

Also, from the cover art and the description of the book I was expecting a more sapphic story and instead it just felt like a mystery/next step in life story instead.

But the thing that really confuses me is that I really couldn’t get enough of the book? I kept going “oh just one more chapter!” “What’s next?” Despite having these feelings for the duration of the story. I didn’t have to force myself to finish it I was happy to read it. It’s a weird feeling… I’ve never had it with a book before.

I’m going to give this book 3 stars because there was some things I liked and I found it hard to put down but I feel like any more stars would be too generous.

[batwing00]

hello is there a lesbian pirate book????? pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplea

[phaedraismyusername]

Happy International Lesbian Day! Here's some super brief book recs to celebrate

Books dealing with love, loss, longing and abandonment

This is How You Lose The Time War is a short but beautifully written epistolary novel between two agents on opposite sides of a time war as they slowly fall in love.

Our Wives Under the Sea is one of the most beautifully written debuts I've ever read about a woman whose wife comes home wrong after they thought she'd died at sea and how it feels to grieve the loss of someone who's still in your home.

Lucky Red is a western novel about a young girl working in a brothel who meets her first female gunslinger and falls head over heels for her, and the consequences that come with loving dangerous people.

Body horror galore

Camp Damascus is about a young woman living in a super conservative christian town built around the worlds most successful conversion camp and the horrors that are uncovered there when praying the gay away fails.

To Be Devoured is about a woman whose fascination with the local vultures turns into obsession and the urge to know what carrion tastes like overtakes her life and leads her down stranger and stranger paths.

Chlorine is about a girl whose entire life revolves around being a competitive swimmer, and how abuse, neglect, and obsession with being the best takes its toll on the young women caught up in these destructive cycles.

Flawed character studies

Big Swiss is about a woman who has a kitchen floor reset in her 40s, moves away and starts a new life as a transcriber for a sex therapist and becomes obsessed with one of his clients before inserting herself into this poor woman's life.

The Seep is a speculative sci-fi set in a future where there's been a quiet alien invasion that has given people the ability to make almost any changes to their own bodies and what that world feels like to someone who doesn't want to partake.

Milk Fed is about a woman in therapy who feels cut off from almost everything until she meets another woman who triggers in her a melding of sex, hunger, and religion and where that takes her. Huge trigger warnings for ED content. It gets tough, y'all.

Fantastical wlw books

Bitterthorn is an amalgamation of fairytales retold as a slow burn sapphic love story between a sad young girl from a cursed land and the evil witch who takes her as a companion in the latest of the generational sacrifices made to appease her.

All the Bad Apples may be set in contemporary Ireland but it is a fairytale following a young girl as she travels across the country looking for a sister she refuses to believe is dead and the people she meets along the way.

Gideon the Ninth needs no introduction on this site but for the sake of formatting - lesbian necromancers in space who find themselves in an isolated murder mystery plot. It's not a romance but it is a love story and this series will change your life if you let it.

Translated novels

Boulder is a short character study following a free spirited woman when she accidentally settles down with the woman she loves and how love and resentment can take up the same space in your chest when life doesn't turn out the way you hoped it would.

Notes of a Crocodile is a cult classic coming of age story about queer teens in Taipei in the 1980s. It was written in the 90s so please keep that in mind if you choose to read it.

Paradise Rot is about an international student studying in Australia and her growing obsession with her housemate as they share a space that allows no privacy. I've never read anything that feels stickier.

[beeesworld]

Sully Morales x Kiskeya Burgos

[celepom]

It’s Pride 2023! Time to put up some more comic recs!

This time I’ve put together some stories about discovering one’s own queer identity, outlining a family history of queerness, and several stories where being queer isn’t the focus - queer characters are simply allowed to be.

Belle of the Ball By Mari Costa

High-school senior and notorious wallflower Hawkins finally works up the courage to remove her mascot mask and ask out her longtime crush: Regina Moreno, head cheerleader, academic overachiever, and all-around popular girl. There’s only one teensy little problem: Regina is already dating Chloe Kitagawa, athletic all-star…and middling English student. Regina sees a perfectly self-serving opportunity here, and asks the smitten Hawkins to tutor Chloe free of charge, knowing Hawkins will do anything to get closer to her. And while Regina’s plan works at first, she doesn’t realize that Hawkins and Chloe knew each other as kids, when Hawkins went by Belle and wore princess dresses to school every single day. Before long, romance does start to blossom…but not between who you might expect. With Belle of the Ball, cartoonist Mariana Costa has reinvigorated satisfying, reliable tropes into your new favorite teen romantic comedy.

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The Moth Keeper By Kay O’Neill

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn't exactly what Anya thought it would be? The nights are cold in the desert and the lunar moths live far from the village. Anya finds herself isolated and lonely. Despite Anya's dedication, she wonders what it would be like to live in the sun. Her thoughts turn into an obsession, and when Anya takes a chance to stay up during the day to feel the sun's warmth, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.

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Hollow By Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White & Berenice Nelle

Isabel "Izzy" Crane and her family have just relocated to Sleepy Hollow, the town made famous by—and obsessed with—Washington Irving's legend of the Headless Horseman. But city slicker-skeptic Izzy has no time for superstition as she navigates life at a new address, a new school, and, with any luck, with new friends. Ghost stories aren't real, after all.... Then Izzy is pulled into the orbit of the town's teen royalty, Vicky Van Tassel (yes, that Van Tassel) and loveable varsity-level prankster Croc Byun. Vicky's weariness with her family connection to the legend turns to terror when the trio begins to be haunted by the Horseman himself, uncovering a curse set on destroying the Van Tassel line. Now, they have only until Halloween night to break it—meaning it's a totally inconvenient time for Izzy to develop a massive crush on the enigmatic Vicky. Can Izzy's practical nature help her face the unknown—or only trip her up? As the calendar runs down to the 31st, Izzy will have to use all of her wits and work with her new friends to save Vicky and uncover the mystery of the legendary Horseman of Sleepy Hollow—before it's too late. 

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Until I Meet my Husband By Ryousuke Nanasaki & Yoshi Tsukizuki

The memoir of gay activist Ryousuke Nanasaki and the first religiously recognized same-sex marriage in Japan. From school crushes to awkward dating sites to finding a community, this collection of stories recounts the author’s “firsts” as a young gay man searching for love. Dating is never ever easy, but that goes doubly so for Ryousuke, whose journey is full of unrequited loves and many speed bumps. But perseverance and time heals all wounds, even those of the heart.

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Is Love the Answer? By Uta Isaki

When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She’s never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there’s a word for what she feels inside--asexual--and she’s not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at all--and that that's perfectly normal.

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M Is for Monster By Talia Dutton

When Doctor Frances Ai's younger sister Maura died in a tragic accident six months ago, Frances swore she would bring her back to life. However, the creature that rises from the slab is clearly not Maura. This girl, who chooses the name "M," doesn't remember anything about Maura's life and just wants to be her own person. However, Frances expects M to pursue the same path that Maura had been on—applying to college to become a scientist—and continue the plans she and Maura shared. Hoping to trigger Maura's memories, Frances surrounds M with the trappings of Maura's past, but M wants nothing to do with Frances' attempts to change her into something she's not. In order to face the future, both Frances and M need to learn to listen and let go of Maura once and for all. Talia Dutton's debut graphic novel, M Is for Monster, takes a hard look at what it means to live up to other people's expectations—as well as our own.

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Golden Sparkle By Minta Suzumaru

Himaru Uehara’s first year of high school is off to a good start, minus one problem—he keeps having wet dreams. With only his mom and sister at home—and having skipped health class in middle school—he thinks it means there’s something wrong with him. Thankfully, a new friend has just the remedy and teaches Himaru exactly how to deal with those pesky dreams! But his solution only leads to more confusion, and the two find themselves navigating feelings they’ve never felt before.

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Thieves By Lucie Bryon

Ella can’t seem to remember a single thing from the party the night before at a mysterious stranger’s mansion, and she sure as heck doesn’t know why she’s woken up in her bed surrounded by a magpie’s nest of objects that aren’t her own. And she can’t stop thinking about her huge crush on Madeleine, who she definitely can’t tell about her sudden penchant for kleptomania… But does Maddy have secrets of her own? Can they piece together that night between them and fix the mess of their chaotic personal lives in time to form a normal, teenage relationship? That would be nice.

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic By Alison Bechdel

Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian home, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with his male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescense, the denouement is swift, graphic -- and redemptive.

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She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat By Sakaomi Yuzaki

Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga, who also lives alone. What will come out of this impromptu dinner invitation...?

Kasuga and Nomoto promised to spend their Christmas and New Year’s together. Now, they find themselves learning more about each other’s families through the food sent by Nomoto’s mother. Cute character bento, salmon and rice, stollen, fruit sandwiches, roast beef…Nomoto and Kasuga warm up to each other over a cheerful holiday season.