2021 was challenging, but on the books front, I had a good year. I wrote and published an erotic gay novel called The Lodger, That Summer, which connected with readers in ways I could never have imagined. A humbling experience which taught me a lot.
I’m super grateful to all the readers who have reviewed or rated The Lodger on social media, or recommended it to their friends. Discovering this positive and supportive online community, especially around queer books, has been one of the wonderful things in 2021.
I also stepped up and diversified my reading this year, meeting my (completely arbitrary) 75 book challenge. I read more that at any other time in my life. I discovered brilliant writers such as Lauren Groff and Bryan Washington. I read my first (but not last) collection of poetry (Glasshouses by Stuart Barnes). I started this blog and began writing about the books I was reading.
TOP QUEER READS OF THE YEAR
(but ask me another time and the list might differ wildly…)
1. Memorial - Bryan Washington
2. Doubting Thomas - Matthew Clark Davison
3. Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters
4. Filthy Animals - Brendon Taylor
5. Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl - Andrea Lawlor
6. The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai
7. Bitter Eden - Tatamkhulu Afrika
8. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong
9. As Beautiful As Any Other: A memoir of my body - Kaya Wilson
10. The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone - Olivia Laing
Honourable mentions:
Lay Your Sleeping Head - Michael Nava
Cleanness - Garth Greenwell
Tin Man - Sarah Winman
Invisible Boys - Holden Sheppard
Corfu - Robert Dessaix
The Boy from the Mish - Gary Lonesborough
100 Boyfriends - Brontez Purnell
After Francesco - Brian Malloy
Skin - Kerry Andrew
Bath Haus - P.J. Vernon
Happy new year and happy reading everyone! Thanks for your recommendations, keep ‘em coming!