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Oceanic Histories, Sporting Towns, and Individuality: October in Books

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Queer Historical Fiction Book Bracket: Round 1A

Book summaries below:

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

Five years after a suspicious fire killed his ornithologist mother, a closeted Syrian American trans boy sheds his birth name and searches for a new one. He has been unable to paint since his mother’s ghost has begun to visit him each evening. As his grandmother’s sole caretaker, he spends his days cooped up in their apartment, avoiding his neighborhood masjid, his estranged sister, and even his best friend (who also happens to be his longtime crush). The only time he feels truly free is when he slips out at night to paint murals on buildings in the once-thriving Manhattan neighborhood known as Little Syria.

One night, he enters the abandoned community house and finds the tattered journal of a Syrian American artist named Laila Z, who dedicated her career to painting the birds of North America. She famously and mysteriously disappeared more than sixty years before, but her journal contains proof that both his mother and Laila Z encountered the same rare bird before their deaths. In fact, Laila Z’s past is intimately tied to his mother’s—and his grandmother’s—in ways he never could have expected. Even more surprising, Laila Z’s story reveals the histories of queer and transgender people within his own community that he never knew. Realizing that he isn’t and has never been alone, he has the courage to officially claim a new name: Nadir, an Arabic name meaning rare.

As unprecedented numbers of birds are mysteriously drawn to the New York City skies, Nadir enlists the help of his family and friends to unravel what happened to Laila Z and the rare bird his mother died trying to save. Following his mother’s ghost, he uncovers the silences kept in the name of survival by his own community, his own family, and within himself, and discovers the family that was there all along.

Featuring Zeyn Joukhadar’s signature storytelling, The Thirty Names of Night is a timely exploration of how we all search for and ultimately embrace who we are.

Setting: New York, 1930s and contemporary

Literary fiction, magical realism, contemporary, historical fiction, 1930s, lyrical, adult

Any Old Diamonds by KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys #1)

Lord Alexander Pyne-ffoulkes is the younger son of the Duke of Ilvar, with a bitter grudge against his wealthy father. The Duke intends to give his Duchess a priceless diamond parure on their wedding anniversary—so Alec hires a pair of jewel thieves to steal it.

The Duke's remote castle is a difficult target, and Alec needs a way to get the thieves in. Soldier-turned-criminal Jerry Crozier has the answer: he'll pose as a Society gentleman and become Alec's new best friend.

But Jerry is a dangerous man: controlling, remote, and devastating. He effortlessly teases out the lonely young nobleman’s most secret desires, and soon he’s got Alec in his bed—and the palm of his hand.

Or maybe not. Because as the plot thickens, betrayals, secrets, new loves, and old evils come to light. Now the jewel thief and the aristocrat must keep up the pretence, find their way through a maze of privilege and deceit, and confront the truth of what's between them…all without getting caught.

Setting: Victorian England, 1890s

Historical fiction, romance, heist, late Victorian, 1890s, adult

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Queer Historical Fiction Book Bracket: Round 1A

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Endorsement from submitter: "Badass lesbian knight, lesbian princess, gay nerd prince, depressed gay duke what more could you want"

It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run-up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy, and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, Gwen and Art make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight, and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother. Lex Croucher's Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love.

Setting: Medieval, post-Camelot

Historical-ish fiction, romance, romantic comedy, medieval, Aruthuriana, young adult

The Lilac People by Milo Todd

In 1932 Berlin, Bertie, a trans man, and his friends spend carefree nights at the Eldorado Club, the epicenter of Berlin’s thriving queer community. An employee of the renowned Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institute of Sexual Science, Bertie works to improve queer rights in Germany and beyond, but everything changes when Hitler rises to power. The institute is raided, the Eldorado is shuttered, and queer people are rounded up. Bertie barely escapes with his girlfriend, Sofie, to a nearby farm. There they take on the identities of an elderly couple and live for more than a decade in isolation.

In the final days of the war, with their freedom in sight, Bertie and Sofie find a young trans man collapsed on their property, still dressed in Holocaust prison clothes. They vow to protect him—not from the Nazis, but from the Allied forces who are arresting queer prisoners while liberating the rest of the country. Ironically, as the Allies’ vise grip closes on Bertie and his family, their only salvation becomes fleeing to the United States.

Brimming with hope, resilience, and the enduring power of community, The Lilac People tells an extraordinary story inspired by real events and recovers an occluded moment of trans history.

Setting: 1932 Berlin, Germany / WWII

Historical fiction, 1930s, 1940s, WWII, adult

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PAUL MESCAL 2024 | Daniel Jackson ph. for GQ

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🏳️‍🌈 HAPPY PRIDE MONTH 🏳️‍🌈

QOTD: What’s a queer book on your tbr this month? Or, if you’re like me and they’re all queer, what’s one you’re REALLY excited for?

It’s pride month which means I’ll only be reading and posting about queer books for the entire month (as opposed to like 80%+ every other month 😂)

The candles pictured are from Book of the Wick and they have a wonderful range of LGBTQIA+ candles and merch to choose from! Use CHERIE10 for a discount at checkout 😉

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Books pictured:

❤️ Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

🧡 Into the Mouth of the Wolf by Erin Gough

💛 The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

💚 The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels

💙 Lover Birds by Leanne Egan

💜 You Should See Me in a Crown by Lean Johnson

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LECTIO (Latin: Reading) THE SEXY INTELLIGENT MIND OF THE MASCULINE SOUL!

The Male Form...  In Photography, Art, Architecture, Decor, Style, And Culture Which Moves Beyond Mere Appearance To Reveal The... SOUL.

By LadNKilt: Earl Of Darlow, Ben Official Residence: County Antrim Northern Ireland; Main Residence: London U.K.; Second Residence: Kansas City Missouri U.S.A. LadNKilt Archive | Message Me | Submit | LadNKiltLife (Biography)

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LECTIO (Latin: Reading) THE SEXY INTELLIGENT MIND OF THE MASCULINE SOUL!

The Male Form...  In Photography, Art, Architecture, Decor, Style, And Culture Which Moves Beyond Mere Appearance To Reveal The... SOUL.

By LadNKilt: Earl Of Darlow, Ben Official Residence: County Antrim Northern Ireland; Main Residence: London U.K.; Second Residence: Kansas City Missouri U.S.A. LadNKilt Archive | Message Me | Submit | LadNKiltLife (Biography)

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LECTIO (Latin: Reading) THE SEXY INTELLIGENT MIND OF THE MASCULINE SOUL!

The Male Form...  In Photography, Art, Architecture, Decor, Style, And Culture Which Moves Beyond Mere Appearance To Reveal The... SOUL.

By LadNKilt: Earl Of Darlow, Ben Official Residence: County Antrim Northern Ireland; Main Residence: London U.K.; Second Residence: Kansas City Missouri U.S.A. LadNKilt Archive | Message Me | Submit | LadNKiltLife (Biography)

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WELCOME JUNE…  SUNNY WEATHER…  SUNNY MASCULINE SOULS!

The Male Form...  In Photography, Art, Architecture, Decor, Style, And Culture Which Moves Beyond Mere Appearance To Reveal The... SOUL.

By LadNKilt: Earl Of Darlow, Ben Official Residence: County Antrim Northern Ireland; Main Residence: London U.K.; Second Residence: Kansas City Missouri U.S.A. LadNKilt Archive | Message Me | Submit | LadNKiltLife (Biography)

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Zane Phillips for Numéro Netherlands

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TOM HOPPER Photographed by David Yeo for Fault Magazine

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Christian Hogue

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