5 *Huge* Novels I Read Last Year

I’ve often avoided *huge* novels because I’m a slow reader, and I always read every word. I never skim, and I don’t even want to improve my reading speed. I prefer reading this way.

I tend to read about 25 novels a year, but if I tackle a really large book, finishing it may take me a month or two. If I do finish it, that means it was terrific. There’s no way I’d give one or two stars to a huge novel, because I never would have made it more than 10% of the way before giving up.

In the last few years, I’ve told myself I was missing out by avoiding long novels. So I’ve made it a point to catch up with a few.

Here are the biggest novels I read in 2023, all of which I recommend. . . .

See full article on Medium:

https://medium.com/books-are-our-superpower/5-huge-novels-i-read-last-year-25581fa99185?sk=ef0dab6290c6b2db281413d4e451d986

‘The Lord Won’t Mind’: A Gay Classic, No Matter What Anyone Says

The November-December 2023 issue of Gay & Lesbian Review features an interesting essay by Andrew Holleran on Gordon Merrick, inspired by a 2022 nonfiction book by Joseph M. Ortiz, Gordon Merrick and The Great Gay American Novel, published by Lexington Books.

I’ve not yet read Ortiz’s book, which looks terrific, by the way. But Holleran’s essay sparked my interest in finally reading Merrick’s first gay novel, The Lord Won’t Mind, which has long been sitting among the TBR LGBTQI+ books on my Kindle . . . all these years, and I’d never read him at all. . . .

See full article on Medium:

https://medium.com/prismnpen/the-lord-wont-mind-a-gay-classic-no-matter-what-anyone-says-16bcb0d1651f?sk=40f143e144c6e955767ea400ba51dbd7

5 Novels About Gay Men and Teens That *Everyone* Should Read

As a gay man, I’ve always enjoyed reading gay novels. Alas, the way the publishing industry works, this is viewed as its own genre. Book editors believe “gay novels” will or should only be read by gay readers.

These days, a plethora of books across the LGBTQI+ spectrum is helping blur the lines and broaden the interest in all stories of diverse sexual identity, beyond the heterosexual “norm.”

Many authors of considerable literary talent have written great novels about the gay male experience. But their work has often fallen into a so-called “gay ghetto” from which it is hard to escape — with a few notable exceptions, such as Call Me by Your Name (see #3 below).

The literary quality of these novels should make them of potential interest to everyone, regardless of the reader’s own sexual preference(s). In other words, anyone who loves great literature should give these books a try. . . .

See full article on Medium: 

https://medium.com/books-are-our-superpower/5-novels-about-gay-men-and-teens-that-everyone-should-read-bb876db47994?sk=ff9d62e23e7c427106c6d0908e374a19

5 Novels of 20th Century Asia — From the “Eastern” Perspective

I wrote a previous article exploring 5 Great Novels About “East-Meets-West” — From the Western Perspective. I intend to offer more on that topic soon. But as I mentioned there, I’m also a fan of fiction written about Asian cultures — by Asian writers — from the “Eastern” point of view, if you will.

Far too much Asian literature exists to be read in any one reader’s lifetime. Not enough of it has been translated into English, so at least that narrows the field somewhat for English readers like me. . . .

See full article on Medium:

https://medium.com/books-are-our-superpower/5-novels-of-20th-century-asia-from-the-eastern-perspective-548f1b77ceca?sk=368b5af370a12c85a7c5f52e29b6e82c

THE LURE OF THE UNKNOWN by Algernon Blackwood — A Review

The Lure of the Unknown: Essays on the Strange, a collection of essays and talks by Algernon Blackwood, was far more delightful than I’d expected.

Blackwood’s weird stories are among my favorites. But not all of his tales are “ghost stories” or “weird” or “queer” (in the old-fashioned sense). He also wrote children’s stories, and novels dealing with more spiritual, mystical, and psychic themes. . . .

See full article on Medium:

https://medium.com/@johnpeytoncooke/the-lure-of-the-unknown-by-algernon-blackwood-a-review-aae17e6bb5bc?sk=0ec16b5557438f8808df5a6962e1bc5c

5 Great Novels About “East-Meets-West” — From the Western Perspective

I have a few confessions to make. First, I’m a big fan of novels with an East-meets-West theme. Second, this is for excellent reasons — I’m from the West (USA) married to someone from the East (Malaysia). Third, try as I might, I’ll never be an Asian; I’ll always be the outsider looking in.

These are my 5 favorite novels of Asia from the Western perspective. They are not about Western powers but Western people living amid various cultures of Asia, often caught up in circumstances beyond their control.

See full article on Medium:

https://medium.com/books-are-our-superpower/5-great-novels-about-east-meets-west-from-the-western-perspective-689c7ec74eba?sk=e470249d2eedaab692eea774cd01cc3a

Venice Envy - 5 Great Novellas Set in the Floating City

Before I ever visited Venice, I had already been there any number of times in my imagination, via works of fiction such as The Wings of the Dove by Henry James, and Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

But in my view, at least, the very best stories of Venice are to be found in the five novellas listed below. . . .

See the full article here:

https://medium.com/books-are-our-superpower/venice-envy-5-great-novellas-set-in-the-floating-city-e8ecd8ca2a5c?sk=b514c0478e46fbc6443a1cedc2964083