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Today in results from this year’s Our Queerest Shelves survey, I have your answers to the question, “What’s your favorite backlist (published before 2024) queer book you’ve read this year?” Last week, I shared your most popular 2024 queer books, and there was a lot of variety in those answers. For this question, there were even more unique titles mentioned—which makes sense, because there are a lot more books to choose from.
In fact, only three books were mentioned three or more times: almost all of the other titles were only named once or twice. I’ve included some of the books that came up twice as honorable mentions, but otherwise, we have three clear winners for backlist queer books that you read and loved this year.
(P.S.: I know some of you would be curious about the whole list, so I’ve included a link to all the responses as a bonus for All Access members at the end.)
Tied for #2:
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Chuck Tingle’s 2023 horror debut novel got some attention this year as well, maybe boosted by his 2024 queer horror book, Bury Your Gays. I read Camp Damascus in October and really enjoyed it! In fact, it made my backlist favorites list this year. I loved how Chuck Tingle combined gore and emotion, plus Rose is such a memorable main character. This is a gay conversion horror story, so be prepared to read about religious homophobia, but I thought it was handled well.
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
This is one of my all-time favorite books, so I’m very glad to see you all are reading and loving it! I really appreciate how this book grapples with the darkest parts of being alive—including racism, sexism, and transphobia—while still feeling defiantly hopeful. It’s somehow simultaneously a fantasy about a deal with the devil, a sci-fi story about an alien running a donut shop, and a realistic coming-of-age about a trans teen runaway. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and entirely unique.
#1
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
Cat Sebastian’s newest book, You Should Be So Lucky, was one of your top queer books of 2024, and her previous release is your #1 backlist queer read of the year! This is the first book in the Midcentury NYC series (You Should Be So Lucky is book two). It follows two reporters in 1950s New York City who fall in love. This got a ton of buzz last year and won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Romance.
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