The Best Queer Books of 2024 So Far, According to All the Lists
Last week, Jeff O’Neal rounded up the books being named the best of the year so far by tallying up all the titles on ten of the biggest lists out at the time of writing: The New York Times, Time, Harper’s Bazaar, The BBC, The New Yorker, Vogue, Vulture, Esquire, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble.
I, of course, immediately wondered which queer books were appearing on these lists, so I took Jeff’s and added a couple more “best of” lists that came out in the past week: Amazon and NPR (Nonfiction and Fiction). I then went through and made note of the queer books included.
Sadly, I still don’t have 100% accurate queer book detection, so I’m sure I’ve missed some, but here are the ones I immediately recognized, arranged by the number of times they were mentioned.
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On One “Best of 2024 So Far” List
Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet by Molly Morris
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Carson McCullers by Mary V. Dearborn
Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Dead in Long Beach, California by Venita Blackburn
Henry Henry by Allen Bratton
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
On Two “Best of 2024 So Far” Lists
Coming Home by Brittney Griner
Exhibit by R.O. Kwon
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
On Three “Best of 2024 So Far” Lists
Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler
“Recent years have ushered in a ‘gender panic’ of the political right, attacking the freedom and safety of trans and gender non-conforming people from schools to public bathrooms to every corner of public life. In these dangerous times, post-structuralist gender theorist Judith Butler has returned with their fiery takedown of anti-gender politics. Butler, author of the landmark work Gender Trouble, traces the ways gender anxieties have been weaponized by authoritarian and fascist leaders and makes a bold argument for fighting for equality for all genders.” —Susie Dumond, 12 of the Best Queer Books: 2024 New Releases
On Six “Best of 2024 So Far” Lists
All Fours by Miranda July
“It’s not just that Miranda July’s latest novel is so propulsive you might have to cancel plans or set aside PTO just to scarf it down. It’s that her dazzlingly horny intelligence wrestles with marriage, queerness, and desire by turns sweet and hilarious, making even the smallest pangs of desire sizzle.” —Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture’s The Best Books of 2024 (So Far)
On Seven “Best of 2024 So Far” Lists
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
“This debut novel from poet Kaveh Akbar is a must-read in 2024. Cyrus Shams is a queer man obsessed with the concept of martyrdom. It’s this obsession that leads him to explore his family history, from his uncle, who inspired Iranian soldiers by dressing as the angel of death, to his father, who worked at a chicken factory in the midwest, to his mother, who might be the biggest mystery of all. Cyrus’s mother was killed when her plane was shot down in Tehran. But after discovering a painting in a Brooklyn art gallery, Cyrus realizes his mother might not be who she seemed.” — Emily Martin, 25 Excellent Books To Read in 2024
What’s your favorite queer book of 2024 so far? Let’s chat in the comments!
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