books your pretentious friend has heard of






Metafiction & playing with form
Books that play with the "book" as a medium or are otherwise self-reflexive/meta.
My current criteria for this list are (1) does the book highlight its own textuality consistently or (2) do the metafictional elements add significantly to the themes explored or (3) does the book's use of discourse and form (e.g., narrative situation, layout) significantly differ from the norm?
Make sure to comment your suggestions with a small explanation even if you're not 100 % sure if they fit!






Lucy Dacus Recommendations ๐
Books recommended by musician Lucy Dacus, a solo artist and member of the band boygenius. Pulled from her goodreads list.






LGBTQIA+ literary fiction
The only queer & GNC lists/quests Iโve seen have been genre. I love them, but I wanted to also curate a list of literary fiction with LGBTQIA+ characters and themes!






See: footnotes or excerpts (vulpix, 2026)
Fictional books where the author uses footnotes or excerpts to build out the world theyโve created.






Sapphic Mystery/Thriller/Horror
Another collection of sapphic books that are tagged as horror, thriller, or mystery on Goodreads that I hope to one day read a few of.






Queer Literary Fiction
Focused on stories with beautiful prose, depth, and explore the intricate realities of the LGBTQ+ experience. Sub-genres could range from historical, contemporary, science fiction, magical realism, and classics (even romance!).
I will continue to update this, so comment if you have more!






maybe in another lifeโฆ
a diverse selection of alternate history novels & stories (that arenโt just about WW2/nazism)






your favourite artistโs fakest artist
works that look at the life and legacy of โgreatโ fictional artists. recommendations welcome!






alphabet soup group
Books on my TBR with LGBTQIA+ characters or themes.






Literary Sapphics
When you want to read something a step above trash






Sapphic Love
All books include main characters that are sapphic. This includes trans and non-binary lesbians






Sapphic Starter Pack






Books Represented by Lexi (NewlyNova)
For those of you who subscribe to newlynova on either YouTube or TikTok, I have compiled a list of books that she has mentioned in her videos






the artist is present
fiction books about art and artists that are inspired by the works of performance artist marina abramoviฤ. some of these novels state their inspiration explicitly, whereas some conceal it a little more.
however you spin it, it's undeniable, the artist is very much present in popular contemporary fiction.






Brb- Outrunning the Past
Books with characters that run away / leave their old lives behind as a part of the plot (either temporarily or not)
(not genre specific and happy to take requests!) TW! (please check tws before reading some!)






Lambda Literary Awards - Lesbian Fiction
The Lambda Literary Awards champion LGBTQ writers and stories by giving out awards in 26 categories of LGBTQ literature. These are the winners of the Lesbian Fiction category throughout the years!






Letโs Talk About Texts
Intertextuality in Many Forms






bible






NatsBookClub - with Natalie Portman
A book club where storytelling is at itโs heart. To feel for characters in stories as we might for ourselves or our friends.





