Every week, Lethe posts a list of ten books on a theme compiled from suggestions by our readers, editors and authors. The list is neither exhaustive, didactic, or ranked, and while there are undoubtedly countless books you've missed off, perhaps you'll find a few new ones here to discover for yourself. It's getting to that time of the year when everyone's compiling their list of the year, and Lethe's no different. We asked a bunch of our authors and editors to recommend an LGBTQ title they've read this year (not necessarily published in 2015, although the majority of the list is...) Queers Destroy Science Fiction/Horror/Fantasy edited by Seanan McGuire/Wendy N. Wagner/Christopher Barzak Continuing the outstanding work of last year's Women Destroy.. series, 2015 saw the queers take over the asylum with three special issues from Lightspeed, Nightmare and Fantasy magazine. Each issues featured reprint fiction, essays, art and original fiction from a range of authors both established and new, including Chuck Palahniuk, John Chu, Chaz Brenchley, Alyssa Wong, Kai Ashante Wilson, Catherynne M. Valente, and several authors who also have Lethe titles, including Richard Bowes, Lee Thomas, Matthew Bright and Chaz Brenchley. Recommended by: Steve Berman From the Lethe vault: Daydreamers by Jonathan Harper On the collection, N.S. Beranek says: "I felt gut-punched several times while reading his stories. The rest of the time I felt he must have a hidden camera trained on me. His characters thought and felt things I thought were exclusive to me." Recommended by: N.S. Beranek. Read a fuller review here. (Daydreamers was *also* recommended by Ron Suresha.) Speak My Language and Other Stories edited by Torsten Højer A truly enormous collection of short stories from a diverse collection of LGBT writers. The stories are eclectic and brilliant, and it's pretty much the essential purchase of 2015 for even the most casual reader of queer fiction. The collection features too many authors to mention, including Neil Bartlett, Patrick Gale, Paul Magrs, Felice Picano, Lawrence Schimel, Michael Carroll and many others... Recommended by: Matthew Bright Blood Storm by Steven Harper A rousing adventure tale with Norse influences, the ensemble cast features a gay couple who assist a half-troll, an Orc and a former slave as they deal with injustice, sexism, slavery and deadly enemies as they search for the long lost art of the shape, which would allow the half-troll Danr to become fully human. Recommended by: Traci Castleberry/Evey Brett From the Lethe vault: Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas (Not technically a 2015 release, but ssssssh...) 1932: Fortune and celebrity are years behind Butch Cardinal. Once a world-class wrestler, Cardinal now serves as hired muscle for a second-rate Chicago mobster. While collecting a parcel from a gangland lowlife, Cardinal witnesses the man's murder. Though wounded, he escapes the killers and flees into the night carrying the package. In it is a necklace with a metal pendant. Bent and scratched, the thing looks like a piece of junk, but the trinket is the reason a man died. It's the reason a lot of people will die. Editor and author Ron Suresha recommends Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas, "a writer who continues to simultaneously shock and charm me with his books. With its compelling plot and memorable characters, this is the one book this year I completed in less than two days." Recommended by: Ron Suresha. Just Three Words by Melissa Brayden Accountant Samantha Ennis craves order and structure. As the bookkeeper at the boutique advertising agency she owns with her three best friends, it’s her job to apply logic to the chaos. When one of those best friends, laid back Hunter Blair, moves in to share her loft apartment, Sam’s carefully organized world is thrown wildly askew. Nathan 'Burgoine calls it "a great continuation of her romantic trilogy: funny, a bi character, and she's hysterical with dialog. Other than that, the folks above have mentioned most of the authors or books I'd suggest." Recommended by: 'Nathan Burgoine. Read his full review. This year we were sad to see the end of Out in Print, a superb website dedicated to reviewing LGBTQ books. We asked the man behind Out in Print, Jerry L. Wheeler, to give us his recommendations for 2015, and he gave us four titles to choose from. (The archives of Out in Print remains online for you search reviews - and we recommend it, because the site is a treasure trove of books...) Bone Bridge by Yarrott Benz The harrowing account of teenage brothers, as different as night and day, trapped together in a dramatic medical dilemma-a modern miracle and a modern nightmare. The only case like it in history, the true story unfolds over thirteen years as the two brothers navigate through their enmeshed lives. Jerry says: "Really absorbing, complex relationship between two brothers linked by health issues. Would you save the life of an abusive brother you hated? Read the full Out In Print review. Erebus by Jane Summer Amalgam of narrative, book-length poem concerning loss, grief, the genre of poetry, and love. Jerry says: "an emotional poetic collage of art, articles, fact, fiction, and personal connection to the Air New Zealand crash into Mt. Erebus of 1979." Read the full Out In Print review. The One That Got Away by Carol Rosenfield After years of hand-holding demanding brides, b.d. knows what love can do to sane people. Fortified by doses of drag queen wisdom from her boss, Eduardo, b.d. tackles unrequited love and lust, dyke drama, and being in a relationship without having a date for New Year's Eve in this romp about queer life in New York City. Jerry says: "a brilliant debut from a very funny writer." Read the full Out In Print review. (The One That Got Away was *also* recommended by Nathan Burgoine and Ron Suresha. Basically, everyone recommended it. You should probably go read it immediately.) JD by Mark Merlis Jonathan Ascher, an acclaimed 1960s radical writer and cultural hero, has been dead for thirty years. When a would-be biographer approaches Ascher’s widow Martha, she delves for the first time into her husband’s papers and all the secrets that come tumbling out of them. Jerry says: "Merlis's title character is the best part of this book. Merlis manages to make this throwback queer full of self loathing and brooding about incest an interesting read." Read the full Out In Print review.
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