> Queer Books Please: Episode 8 - YA Triumph / Romance Fail

Friday, March 8, 2013

Episode 8 - YA Triumph / Romance Fail




This week on the podcast: once again I fail to have a romance novel for you this week--but I have a possible explanation (or excuse). I talk a little about the Lambda Literary Award nominees  particularly some titles from the YA category that I have enjoyed. A new segment, quote of the week, is introduced. Plus, I rave about the Kate Martinelli mystery series by Laurie R. King.

Embedded link and direct download after the cut. You can always download and subscribe on ITunes.











direct download


Congrats to all the nominees for the 25th Lambda Literary Awards! At first I was dismayed that I haven't read more of the nominees, and then I realized that actually, that's awesome, because it means my reading list just got quite a bit longer! I have read several of the books on the YA list, and wanted to highlight a few.

ADAPTATION by Malindo Lo was one of my favorite reads last year. X-Files plus San Francisco plus girls who like girls? Totally hooked me. This book is a great example of exciting, plot oriented YA fiction. I hope we'll see more queer YA fiction like this in the future.

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST by emily m. danforth  is pretty great example of the classic coming of age YA novel that features of fresh, honest teenage voice. In my opinion, those authentic teen voices are one of the things that give YA lasting appeal even with adult readers.

SILHOUETTE OF A SPARROW by Molly Beth Griffin is a sweet little historical fiction novel. Very well written. As I read it, I kept thinking about how much I would have loved and cherished a book like this when I was 13 or 14.

It's exciting to such a variety of stories being recognized by the awards! I've all ready picked up some other nominees from this and other categories and look forward to reading them and getting back to you about them.



Do you like mysteries? I just re-read a fantastic mystery series by Laurie R King about San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli. These are wonderful detective novels, and the queer content is seamlessly integrated.

A GRAVE TALENT
TO PLAY THE FOOL
WITH CHILD 
NIGHT WORK 
THE ART OF DETECTION


Once again I don't have a romance novel for you because the title I picked out completely rubbed me the wrong way. I keep reading romance/thrillers and being disturbed by their amorality.

If you want to try a well written example of what I'm talking about, try the Elite Operatives series by Kim Baldwin and Xenia Alexiou. Action packed, sexy, and disturbingly casual about violence and mayhem!

LETHAL AFFAIRS
THIEF OF ALWAYS
MISSING LYNX
DYING TO LIVE


MICRO REVIEWS













Music this episode:


Old White Eye (Ghost Hunter) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Certain Devils (Good Old Neon) / CC BY-NC 3.0

No comments:

Post a Comment