Lesbian Books: The Best Lesbian Romance, Fiction and Non-Fiction

I've chosen three books in this gendre, the first is My Own Worst Enemy by Lily Lindon. For me this comes in-between Romance and Young Adult, there are no spicy scenes in the book but there are a few swear words.

What I liked about this book is that the main character is a young butch identifying woman. If you go out on the Queer Scene then you will see a lot of butch and masc Women. However in the media, be it film, TV, or books, most lesbians have flowing long hair and wear pretty dresses, or play football with long straight hair held back in a ponytail.

But in this book you have not one but two butch identifying women and they are so similar that they end up being confused for one another. It's a light read, nothing too taxing although I did find myself shouting ‘just kiss her’ at several points in the book. It's a perfect weekend book to be enjoyed when you just want some light weekend reading. 

In contrast my second book was Experienced by Kate Young. It tells the story of Bette who has met the love of her life, the woman of her dreams Mei. They have good sex, Bette likes the sex, but then Mei decides that Bette should have more sex with other people. 

But instead of opening up their relationship to others or having an ethical non-monogamy agreement between them. Nope Mei gives Bette three months to have all the sex she wants before they resume their relationship. 

At the point that this was suggested, I was thinking that there was no way that these two are getting back together (no spoiler as to whether they do or not). 

Now of all the books I have read this summer I do have a favourite and if you are looking for one book to read over the coming weeks my absolute hot pick is Rosewater by Liv Little. 

It's a contemporary drama/romance book and I think that it's beautiful. Also if you read your books via audible or listening books the narration by Suhaiyla Hippolyte is simply sublime.

It starts with Elsie being evicted from her flat as she couldn’t afford to pay the rent and she reconnects with her best friend Juliet in her desperation to find a room to sleep in. Elsie is a part time bartender and a spoken word artist and the poetry is brilliant. You don’t have to be into poetry to enjoy this, it's the perfect medium for Elsie to convey her innermost thoughts and feelings. 

Let’s start off with some Classic Lesbian Fiction. Possibly the most famous classic book is Radclyffe Hall’s ‘The Well of Loneliness’. This book became famous because it was banned!!!

You may think that it was banned because it was a particularly spicy book full of lots of lesbians enjoying time in the bedroom. No, far from it. It's very long and contains absolutely no spice at all.

It was banned because it portrayed lesbians as normal people who were worthy of respect. It's also of its time in respect that to the contemporary reader it can seem very dull and slow moving. If you are a fan of the likes of Virginia Woolf, then give it a go. There is this myth that it’s a must-read for lesbians. It’s not. It was an important milestone at the time, but I feel that if it had not been banned it would probably have faded into obscurity. 

My favourite Classic Lesbian Fiction has to be ‘Rubyfruit Jungle’ by Rita May Brown. Published in 1973 and an autobiographical novel about growing up in 1950’s-60’s America as a lesbian. It follows the story of Molly an adopted child growing up with a mother who resents her as she tries to work out who she is.

At times it's very spicy and there are some scenes that a modern reader may find uncomfortable. Especially during Molly’s School years as she is discovering her sexuality and facing not only prejudice but also punishment for her lesbianism in a way that we no longer see in the western world. There is a good reason why this book is a classic and why it remains in print to this day and that it because it is good and still very relatable!

Other classic works that are still in print include The Color Purple by Alice Walker, it covers the years 1909 to 1947 and you follow both the trauma and triumph of Celie an African American teenager being raised in Georgia. This book was ground-breaking and Alice Walker became the first African American Woman to win a Pulitzer Prize because of it. 

Although set in the 1980s, Report for Murder is a murder mystery where the main character Lindsay Gordan is a journalist and a lesbian. It's and old school (literally) murder mystery starting with a murder in an old girls school with a wide pool of potential perpetrators each with their own motivation. It's a great book to take on a trip to your grandparents if you don’t want them to know you are reading lesbian fiction. 

As well as great detectives lesbians also make good villains as well. Out of the current crime/ psychological thrillers out there I chose The Fake Wife, by Sharon Bolton. 

It's hailed as “An absolutely gripping psychological thriller” Olive is having a night alone in a hotel when a strange woman joins her at her table and they start playing a dangerous game when the woman pretends to be Olive’s wife and Olive plays along, all the way to the bedroom. 

From flirtation to kidnap, blackmail and the uncovering of some well buried secrets. This book is captivating as each layer is uncovered and there are plenty of twists and turns. 

Apart from Crime, lesbians are also good at drama (oh yes we are) and we excel at dramatic fiction. A newly released bestseller is Wife by Charlotte Mendelson. It has received rave reviews.

It's the story of a toxic marriage told from the perspective of Zoe a shy young academic who is captivated by an older, glamorous, and successful woman Penny. Within a very short space of time Zoe has moved in with not only Penny but also Penny’s former girlfriend Justine and even before they have time to enjoy their time together Penny’s desire for a child takes over, her biological clock is ticking and becoming pregnant is the most import thing in her life. 

It's good to remember that you don’t have to be a young adult to enjoy a young adult book. I loved this story of rivalry, love and cakes. It tells the story of Shireen who has recently split up with her girlfriend Chris and she enters a televised Junior Irish Baking show, but her ex girlfriend Chris is also one of the competitors.

The story not only covers the rivalry of the two former girlfriends and the other competitors but also how much Shireen cares about her family and vice versa. I loved this story and how with young adult fiction all of the complexity of life and relationships remains, without the messiness of adult relationships.

Sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction. Lesbian History is wild! But there are so many fabulous books out there it's hard to know where to start. A good introduction is A Short History of Queer Women by Kirsty Loehr.

If your experience of History is the dog eared and dull history books from school or college then be prepared for a revelation. This book is funny, engaging and contains swearing. It's a whistlestop tour through Queer Women’s history. The title Queer women is important because not every woman who had sex with women was a lesbian or would define themselves as a lesbian. (Although the word existed since 1732, it wasn’t even added to the Oxford English Dictionary until 1976).

So Queer as an umbrella term is completely appropriate. From Sappho to Noble Queens, American First Ladies to Film Stars, Kirsty covers them with plenty of good humour. It's an introduction and leads you to wanting to know more not only about our rich and diverse history but also how it's been hidden, overlooked and dismissed. 

If you would rather read about the living instead of the dearly departed there are a wealth of Autobiographies out there. One of my favourites is Ten Steps to Nannette by Hannah Gadsby. 

In this book she tells her story from growing up in Tasmania where it was not legal to be Gay until 1997 (yes 1997) through the defining moments of her life and her decision to tell her truth in her powerful show Nanette.

I adore Hannah and I adore her honesty as well as her skill of blending humour and tension in a single sentence. Both harrowing and hilarious in equal measure. If you listen to Hannah tell her life via audiobook it's like you are sitting down with her as she tells you stories from her life.