Recs if you like Exit West...

A growing list of books by LGBTQ+ authors of Muslim backgrounds (or from the general SWANA region) and/or focusing on such experiences in the text.

Based on books I have read or keen to do so. Recommendations are welcome

in progress

Basically, a huge list of every book I ever heard features sapphic characters.

I have not read all of these, so I cannot be sure of the amount of the time on page of the sapphic characters or of the quality of the books.

Some of these I do not plan to read at all, since they are not my style. If you feel like a book doesn't belong here, let me know.

For my favs / read, check out my other lists & shelves.

Open to suggestions for more titles.

Don't shoot the messenger.

All of his picks since 2008, both summer reading lists and yearly round-ups.

myth and folklore woven into reality to explore the legacies of colonialism: displacement, cultural erasure, trauma, the question of identity, and resistance. these books revolt against the idea of a single, rational, western worldview, reclaiming indigenous beliefs and knowledge systems as valid forms of truth.

after all, what looks like "magic" may simply be reality seen through other eyes.

recs always welcome :)

Books that illustrate some aspect of the immigrant experience - in fantasy, or in the real world; in childhood, or in old age; in history, or in the modern day. (work in progress - recs welcome!)

Fiction has always been where truth hides. Across horror, thriller, literary fiction, fantasy & mystery every book on this list has something to say about power, who holds it, who destroys it, and how it reproduces itself.

audiobooks where the narrator is the author! any book goes, no matter the genre. there may be multiple versions of the audiobook, but at least one version has the author as narrator. please suggest more in the comments!

my favorite genre! the grit of the everyday alongside the possibility for something more, a veil thinning, serendipity bending reality to its whimsy and beauty. this is a smaller list due the brittle nature of the genre. it's up to interpretation, but i like my magical realism on the more realistic side with very slight tints of magic/fantastical elements. recommendations are welcome!

Here's every book so far from BOTM's monthly shortlist since February 2015 for anyone who wants to read them all like I do!

Don't let the poor zombies starve, feed your brain, make it plump and ripe with knowledge and critical thinking skills. It might also be useful if the zombies never come, who knows. You better be ready.

Is it fantasy? Horror? Magical realism? Sci-fi? Litfic? It's best not to ask questions.

Love casts a spell; the real monster is oppression. Modern magical realism, urban fantasy, and fabulism: books that use supernatural elements to explore themes of family, desire, history, and society.

In order from #1 (My Brilliant Friend) to 100 (Tree of Smoke)

I realized that in Asia, magical and supernatural beliefs are steeped in our day-to-day lives. It’s so normalized that we or I, didn’t even think about it. So, I wanted to read more books in this category where magic occurs in everyday life

books that stick with you for months and leave you thinking

A list published in 2024 by the New York Times, as voted on by 503 novelists, poets, critics, and other book lovers—with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review

according to the New York Times

Books that leave a lasting impression long after you’ve returned them to the shelf. Romance is not required to break your heart - this list also includes fantasy, fiction, and nonfiction compiled by my own heartbreak, friends, and social media recommendations to hurt your feelings. Happiness? Don’t know her, I need to call my therapist for a higher antidepressant dose. [Never take these away from me.]

If any of these novels or authors are problematic in any way please let me know.