Queereaders discussion

A warm welcome to everyone who's joined us recently!

Feel free to introduce yourself by starting a new thread in this topic.

If you've read any great LGBT books, please tell us about them and add them to our group bookshelf.

What about us old members? :)

Hi! I used to read a LOT, but the 'net kind of kidnapped me for a while. Luckily, I discovered ebooks and all the wonderful new books that have been published since I last checked.

I mostly read fantasy, sci-fi and YA and fairly recently discovered all the LGBT books. =)

I'm not the best at keeping track of forums and stuff, but I'll drop in every once in a while.

Welcome, Marja & Keitorin!

Welcome folks!

Thanks! =)

Keitorin, I get hijacked by the net quite often.. and now my xbox has been calling me as of late...

We currently have 490 members! I wonder if we'll have 500 by the end of the year.

Hi folks,

I just joined, thanks for the invite, Nancy! I mostly read SF and mysteries. My favorite queer stories are main-stream stories that have queer characters that are just part of the norm. I like the idea that in the future it's no big deal. Wouldn't that be nice? Not to say that I want queer culture to go away, but just other people getting all heated about it. I want us to be the only ones that are heated about it. ;)

Welcome, Kelly! Thanks for joining. :)

I'm a big SF/F fan also and always looking for good queer stories in these genres. If you like future settings, you may enjoy Maureen McHugh's China Mountain Zhang.

Oh yes, I liked China Mountain Zhang a lot.

I'm creating a discussion for sf under book topics where I'll put the rest of my answer. :)

A warm welcome to everyone who's joined us recently!

We are now up to 545 members!

Feel free to introduce yourself, start a new topic, or add to an existing one.

If you've read any great LGBT books, please tell us about them and add them to our group bookshelf.

Oh no! The M/M romance group is catching us! =D

Hey, everyone! I joined recently at the invite of Nancy; glad I have. You may have already seen some of my postings. I love to discuss good LGBT novels and especially loved discovering new authors. I enjoy gay fiction (William J Mann, Michael Thomas Ford, Felice Picano, Christopher Rice) and gay mystery (John Morgan Wilson, Greg Herren, Mark David Zubro, Josh Lanyon)...gay erotica (Josh Lanyon, Max Griffin, Alex Morgan, A.J. Llewellyn, Dawn Dominique)...
Most recent books read that I really, really enjoyed are William J Mann's "Object Of Desire" and Christopher Rice's "Blind Fall"; novella is Josh Lanyon's "The Dark Horse"....Glad to be here!

Hi all,
I like general/literary fiction and have a sick obsession with horror. Always looking for great new titles to add to the ever growing tbr pile(s). Favorite thrill is finding good titles at the thrift store.

Welcome, Jon & Maicie!

I was told once that I'd grow out of my liking for horror. It hasn't happened yet.

Hi all.
Waving at you from Tokyo.
I am a voracious reader of...well, anything as long as it's good. My TBR shelves are already groaning but I already have to thank you all for some great recommendations since I joined a few days ago.

Hello Everyone,
I'm Criss Tareyton from Minnesota.
I am a disabled black gay female artist, writer, poet and musician. I write poetry, gay fiction books and most of my poems have been turn into spoken word pieces accompany with music I composed.

I thank you for allowing me into your group.
I can't wait to hear about the great things you all have to share.

Welcome, Gaijinmama and Criss!

Feel free to add your favorite books to the group bookshelf and jump in on discussions (or start your own) at any time!

Criss, I'm ashamed to admit I'm not much of a poetry reader. Not because I don't like it, just because I was never really exposed to it much in school and haven't developed an appreciation for it.

Hello Nancy,

Thanks for the welcome.
There is no need to be ashamed,there are a lot of
things that I was not exposed to, but now the doors are opened for me to explore,and boy am I exploring. Maybe one day you would grow to enjoy it. To me poetry is like writing a song. Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Er, I probably should have introduced myself before I started posting, but I have a habit of just jumping into conversations. I'm Lea, I read mainly fantasy but am open to various genres, and I'm sorely feeling the lack of good bi fiction. Non-fiction seems to be in abundance, though. Someday I'm going to have to dip my toes into that pool, also.

Hello, Queereaders. I'm Annie- I'm sixteen going on seventeen years old, and I'm bisexual with a preference for women. When I was in middle school, perhaps 5th grade, I was sure that I was bisexual. I had a giant crush on this girl, Mariliza, who was about three years my senior. The school psychiatrist, although skeptical, due to the fact that I was eleven, was pretty kind about it. She gave me a book called "Am I blue?". It was a book of short stories about lgbt kids and teenagers and as soon as I opened the front cover, I devoured every story in it, I read it millions of times till the spine cracked and the pages ripped.
Right now i'm reading Catcher in the Rye, which always seems to comfort me because I view myself as a current day, female Holden Caulfield. That's probably because I'm usually an outsider, I wear hunters caps, and people are too fake for me, they really frustrate me.

Sorry for the rant and thanks for letting me join this group!

Annie wrote: "Hello, Queereaders. I'm Annie- I'm sixteen going on seventeen years old, and I'm bisexual with a preference for women. When I was in middle school, perhaps 5th grade, I was sure that I was bisexual..."

Welcome Annie. I loved "Am I Blue" it's an amazing book.

Welcome, Lea, Ross & Annie!

I wish there was more bi fiction too, especially about women.

Annie, you're lucky you had a supportive school psychiatrist. When I was 17, there was really no one I could talk to and bisexuality wasn't even an option then.

Nancy wrote:

Annie, you're lucky you had a supportive school psychiatrist. When I was 17, there was really no one I..."

Thank you, Nancy! I feel very lucky, and I know how special it is to be growing up in a time like this. What I always push to my peers is acceptance, not just tolerance. My current school tolerates me, but I don't really feel all that accepted, to be honest. Thank you for allowing me to join this group. I also agree, I wish there was more bisexual women fiction. We must find some, and if that doesn't work, we'll write it! :)

Annie wrote: "Hello, Queereaders. I'm Annie- I'm sixteen going on seventeen years old, and I'm bisexual with a preference for women. When I was in middle school, perhaps 5th grade, I was sure that I was bisexual..."

Hi, Annie! I realized I was bisexual around the age of 11, too. I remember it being around 5th or 6th grade. I never talked to anyone about it, though. Not until years later. I'm glad you were able to talk to someone about it and that she gave you that book. I think I would have loved to have read it (or something similiar) back then. It might have made things a little easier.

Hello, all! I just recently joined the group, probably within the last week. My name is Harper. I'm 28, married, and I have a 14-month-old son. I'm from the SW suburbs of Chicago, IL. I'm bisexual and my husband is aware and accepting of it, which is awesome. However, very few other people in my family know (only my mother and some of my cousins). I've only recently gotten into LGBT fiction, mainly M/M stuff so far, but I have some lesbian fiction on my to-read list. I've been into M/M slash, fanfiction, and movies/TV shows for years, though, so I'm not sure what took me so long to actually start getting into the books. Now that I have, I'm building up a nice little collection. :)

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all!

Nice to meet you Harper! I have so admit I smiled when I saw your name. I've always loved it. In fact, its the first name of the protagonist in my new manuscript. :) Welcome, girl!

Thank you! I love the name, too. Unfortunately, it's not my real name. I am considering using it if I have a daughter in the future, though. :)

I would have changed my name to Harper when I was 18, but I couldn't do that to my mother. Rather, to myself. She would kill me lol.

Harper is such a cool name! I'm not crazy about my own name. It sounds so sixties. If my mom had her way, I'd have been called Luisa.

That's not as bad as Mary Noel <--- my grandmother's choice for me. Ugh.

Harper wrote: "Hello, all! I just recently joined the group, probably within the last week. My name is Harper. I'm 28, married, and I have a 14-month-old son. I'm from the SW suburbs of Chicago, IL. I'm bisexual ..."

Welcome, Harper! I'm bisexual and enjoy m/m fiction too.

Harper wrote: "Annie wrote: "Hello, Queereaders. I'm Annie- I'm sixteen going on seventeen years old, and I'm bisexual with a preference for women. When I was in middle school, perhaps 5th grade, I was sure that ..."

Funny story, I can't imagine a time when I didn't like girls. Once, I tried to kiss a classmate of mine in primary school (I was about 4)- I chased her around the play yard in an attempt to kiss her but she fell and skinned her elbow, and I got in trouble for chasing her. Oh and I had a husband in summer camp but I always wanted a wife instead. Haha.

PS: Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence I suggest you all read it ASAP!

Annie, you're funny! :)

My very first crush was on a Black boy in my kindergarten class. One of the girls dared me to kiss him. I did, then we walked back from school together, making sure to avoid being seen by my dad, who always watched for me out of our 20th floor apartment to make sure I got home safely.

My dad finds out about the kiss when he came to pick me up at school a few days later and one of my classmates who lived two floors down from us told him.

There was hell to pay and no more kisses until second grade. Ivan was in love with me and even though we kissed, I only had eyes for my teacher. She had short dark hair, and long, long, legs. I always loved her short dresses and white boots and couldn't keep me eyes off her. Ever. No wonder I was so bad at math.

Haha, thank you Nancy! That's a very cute story. Yeah, I never kissed my husband. I always tried to kiss his "other wife" though. Polygamy seemed to be politically correct as a 4 year old. Weird!

Katrina wrote: "I would have changed my name to Harper when I was 18, but I couldn't do that to my mother. Rather, to myself. She would kill me lol."

I'd actually considered changing my name for years and Harper was at the top of the list, but I couldn't do it for the same reason as you. My real name (Jennifer) was horribly popular around the time that I was born, so I grew up being one of the many Jennifers in my schools. It was pretty annoying always having to have my last initial tacked behind my name because there was almost always more than one Jennifer in any given class.

Nancy wrote: Welcome, Harper! I'm bisexual and enjoy m/m fiction too.

Thank you!

You know, it's weird, but I think I prefer M/M fiction (and fanfiction) to the lesbian stuff that I've read. Maybe it's because I haven't come across a really hot lesbian novel, though...

Annie wrote: "Funny story, I can't imagine a time when I didn't like girls. Once, I tried to kiss a classmate of mine in primary school (I was about 4)- I chased her around the play yard in an attempt to kiss her but she fell and skinned her elbow, and I got in trouble for chasing her. Oh and I had a husband in summer camp but I always wanted a wife instead. Haha."

That's a cute story, Annie. LOL.

I'm definitely going to check that book out!

I had a friend, Megan, when I was 7 or 8 years old. She and I used to pretend we were getting ready for our weddings and we could take turns being the groom, kisses and all. It's funny looking back at how sexually in tune with myself I was at that age - she would trace on my body what my dress looked like and I would make her do it over and over again, pretending like I'd forgotten. I REALLY liked her. lol

Thanks, Harper! I had the same issue with the name, except everyone thought my name was Anna or Annabella and they all assumed Annie was a nickname. I spent endless hours explaining that my name is Annie, it's not a nickname. Katrina, that's an adorable story. I have a similar story and I think I'll share it, if you guys will allow me to do so.

In 7th grade, my 'friend' Rachel and I would pretend that we were a boyfriend and girlfriend. She'd be the boy first, and to do so, she'd get on top of me and kiss me in a confused way, with her hand between my legs, awkwardly fumbling as she tried to locate what she knew on herself with cold hands on my small body. When it was my turn to be the boyfriend, I'd always ask her to show me what to do again, because I'd never felt that good and I loved being beneath her.

I miss that- not necessarily her, but having someone who I could kiss and learn with and make mistakes with, because we were young. I know I'm still quite young, but I feel as though it's not as okay for me to make mistakes with someone since I'm almost seventeen and I should know what I'm doing.

That little story made me smile, Annie. You sound like me! I'm 23 now, and I still wish I had that kind of "making mistakes" partner.

Annie wrote: "I miss that- not necessarily her, but having someone who I could kiss and learn with and make mistakes with, because we were young. I know I'm still quite young, but I feel as though it's not as okay for me to make mistakes with someone since I'm almost seventeen and I should know what I'm doing.

I know what you mean! Honestly, even though I've had girlfriends, I was only ever sexual with one and we were really young. If I was to go into a a new relationship with a woman now (I'm 28), I think I'd feel the same way, as if I wouldn't really know what I was doing because I've mainly been with guys and they were all more experienced than me and we never had that "learning" kind of relationship. I mean, if I were to be with a woman now, even though I know what to do on my own body, I think I'd still feel clueless.

Harper wrote: "Annie wrote: "I miss that- not necessarily her, but having someone who I could kiss and learn with and make mistakes with, because we were young. I know I'm still quite young, but I feel as though ..."

Ah, I'm glad you understand! It's very confusing, because people admire me for being open but don't quite want to accept me. I don't feel accepted, only tolerated and it hurts to feel that way, you know?

Annie,

Yeah, I know what you mean. It's hard for some people to accept something that's outside their comfort zone, for whatever reason. But you will find people who will accept you completely and those are the people who stay in your life. :) I have a few people like that, but I've also known people who maybe tolerated me because we worked together or were in the same social circle and in some cases just because we were family, but they never truly accepted or liked me as a person...so I definitely know how you feel.

Hey y'all old members, I am a new member! I have studied queer theory in college and am applying to grad school right now for political theory. Hope to be reading some of the fictions soon since I'm so used to theory. Nice group and impressive group activity!

Welcome, Annika!

Welcome, Annika.
Glad you approve!

Hello everyone. I just join this group. I am 23, 24 in May. I reside in Walnut Creek, California with my mom, her bf, my sister, 3 cats, 2 dachshunds and a parakeet. Never a dull moment in our house.

I love to read. My favorite genre is YA. I also like to read memoirs and fantasy. A few of my favorite GLBT writers are Julie Anne Peters, Alex Sanchez, and Gerri Hill.


Currently in college studying to be a teacher.

Welcome, Ashley! Everyone here is super and you'll no doubt find lots of new books/authors to read as a member of this group! Welcome again...