Kevin Sampsell
[isbn]
A fantastic new book of collage and poetry, with images carefully crafted like graffiti tags in their juxtaposition of the serious and humorous, the jarring and the beautiful, melded with poems of stark truths and whimsical absurdity splashing about the pages.
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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ry downey
[isbn]
In The Dinosaurs Are Orange in Seattle, Ry Downey uses his poetic gift to do what poets do best: capturing those unspoken moods, drifting through contradictions of time and place, wandering around, absorbing everything he comes into contact with, and producing it into his own creative blend of words. He melds observations, nostalgia, and philosophical contemplations, into a natural, narrative, stream-of-consciousness style that is both... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Douglas Stuart
[isbn]
This book is truly everything I want from a novel. The vividness of the characters, the sheer beauty and authenticity of the writing, moments that make one angry enough to throw the book against a wall, and passages tender enough to bring a waterfall of tears at just the thought of them. This story captures so well the dark loneliness queer people often found themselves facing (and still face in so many places even now), especially those growing... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Peter Cameron
[isbn]
Someday is told in the first person from a gay, male point of view, but it doesn't center on "coming out" and avoids most of the other tropes of this genre, too, which is refreshing. I loved spending time in James Sveck's head; he's an intriguing character, who's sophisticated, cynical, entertaining, and relatable. This novel is basically just a snapshot of his life at the crossroads between high school and college, when he's feeling the... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Mark M Perry
[isbn]
There's a lot of story and depth packed into this small volume, striking an impeccable balance between a character-based coming-of-age story, a multicultural folklore exploration, and a dark fantasy. It also helps that this book is set in the Pacific Northwest, a region I live in and love, and is a perfect location, I'd imagine, for all kinds of fantastic happenings.
Deep within the woods, in a region called the Dark Divide (which is a... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Timothy Arliss OBrien
[isbn]
The Art of Learning to Fly is a glorious little illustrated collection of poems, celebrating that deeply implanted desire for flight that exists in so many of us. Featuring meditations on our winged companions and our interactions with them, especially that great wordless tour guide of our metropolitan lives, the pigeon. Take off on this fabulous flight of whimsy through these poets' imaginations and be mesmerized by where your soaring... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Timothy Arliss OBrien
[isbn]
Most of my favorite poetry books are those with a strong concept, and this book is an exceptional example of that. Through a blend of traditional poems, and those based on memories, stories, and other forms, Happy LGBTQ Wrath Month lays out the inspiring journey of a queer person struggling with accepting themselves. The author has an effervescent magical touch in his free approach to structure and in his handling of numerous personal... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Timothy Arliss OBrien
[isbn]
I've read many other stories written in verse before, but in most of them, the individual poems aren't really standalone pieces like in this work. You can open this collection at any point and find a short, intriguing, thought-provoking poem, but when read together, they slowly unfold the mystery of one woman's life, delving into a psychological exploration of her mental health and her questioning of reality. It's a stimulating literary trip,... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Timothy Arliss O'Brien
[isbn]
This collection of poetry and creative short prose is destined to be one of my favorite reads of 2019 and probably of all time. This book is uplifting, yet dark, whimsical, yet hard-hitting. O'Brien uses a variety of written forms, like poetry, essay, lists, prayers, daydreams, even a recipe, to tell his story as an LGBTQ+ individual working through his struggles with Christian faith, his trauma from conversion therapy, and his own battles with... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Brad Harper, Drew Harper
[isbn]
This unique, conversation-starting book does a great job of spanning the divide
between LGBTQ children and their conservative Christian parents who disagree
with their sexual orientation/identity/lifestyle for religious reasons. Drew and
Brad Harper designed this book so that both groups' points of view would be represented, so that both groups might actually be willing
to read it, and as a result, might be able to get along better with each... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Shaun David Hutchinson and Christine Larsen
[isbn]
This is a book you can easily devour within a weekend, but one whose characters and story will stay with you long after. It's about a gay teenager living in a hospital after the deaths of his family and moving through his own "Five Stages of Grief" to find himself once again. Though it's marketed as a young adult novel, it certainly has the potential for a much wider audience with its complex storytelling and universal themes such as overcoming... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Bret Easton Ellis
[isbn]
A captivating ride through the darker side of being young and rich in LA in the '80s. Take a couple of days and immerse yourself in this evocative and frightening portrait of a subculture.
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Anne Carson
[isbn]
Immerse yourself in this daring work of absolute genius. Part poetry, part myth, part coming-of-age love story for a gay teenage boy, it's like nothing else I've ever come across. A slim volume of exquisitely crafted lines, perfectly evoking that sense of wonder that only seems to manifest itself in the poetic language. This is magic!
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Jay McInerney
[isbn]
An immersive literary work and rare example of a novel written in the second-person point of view. McInerney narrates your story as you're gallivanting through New York City in the 1980s, staying up way too late, making questionable decisions with questionable people, sabotaging your work life, running away from your past and yourself, and basically just recklessly careening through your post-college existence. This is a fun yet thought-provoking... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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Bret Easton Ellis
[isbn]
The writing of Bret Easton Ellis disturbs me, but sometimes in a good way, and this is him at his best. Lunar Park is one of the novels that shook me from my chair, frightened me and made me uncomfortable, but kept me completely riveted. This fluid, first-person story seemed so realistic that at first I thought it was entirely biographical, until he started introducing supernatural elements, and even then I'm not convinced there isn't... (read more)
Recommended by Nicholas Y.
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