Hey everyone, Just so I can get comfortable being active on the forum, I thought I'd just ask a little question directed towards book lovers. Do you prefer to read fiction revolving around LGBT+ issues/fiction with an LGBT+ protagonist, or do you prefer to read 'normal' fiction? Do you prefer to watch films revolving around LGBT+ issues/films with an LGBT+ protagonist, or do you prefer to watch 'normal' films? For me, (let's just call it 'gay' for ease) 'gay' fiction is one of my pet hates, and if I had the choice to have 10 'gay' books given to me for free or 1 'normal' book, I'd choose the latter. I finished 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusack (sp. again) the day before yesterday and it was one of the most amazing books I've ever read. I've also got 50 or so pages left of 'Still Alice' by Lisa Genova which is a great read about a Linguistics professor who is diagnosed with Early On-set Alzheimers' Disease. In contrast, 'gay' films are my guilty pleasure. I love to watch them. Most recently I've watched 'Blue is the Warmest Colour' and have since absolutely fallen in love with Adele Exarchopoulos (sp), and I've watched 'The War Boys' too, but the homosexual relationship is a minor plot point. The Normal Heart is an excellent watch too. I need to watch this again soon. Just thought I'd put this out there. If anyone has any recommendations too of any novels at all (I'm looking to expand my collection) feel free to add them, same goes for films. Joe.
I just kinda read and watch what interest me. I'm not partial to either. It's merely happenstance that most books and movies I enjoy are deemed 'normal', by you.
I find most lgbt-themed fiction to be gimmicky. The plot lines tend to be too simple, and lose my interest easily. In both literature and cinema, there are some shining lgbt gems, but you have to wade through a lot of shit to find them
While I can't recommend any films, I can whole-heartedly recommend the "The Clan of The Cavebear" books by Jean M. Auel. They're about a cro-magnon girl who gets adopted by neanderthals, and although the info is a little outdated by now, it's a really great bookseries. It talks alot about the different cultures back then and how it possibly might have been, and while the books are thick, they're a pleasure to read. The writer describes things in such a way that I feel like I'm really there with the characters :icon_bigg
Do you prefer to read fiction revolving around LGBT+ issues/fiction with an LGBT+ protagonist, or do you prefer to read 'normal' fiction? I like whatever I like. The sexuality of the characters does not matter to me. Do you prefer to watch films revolving around LGBT+ issues/films with an LGBT+ protagonist, or do you prefer to watch 'normal' films? I especially prefer independent/art films (which are certainly not "normal"), a lot of which may have sexual content.. Which can be either heterosexual or homosexual. I always get a little excited when I see a same sex scene.. Hehe ^^; But again, the answer for the first question applies here as well.
I read or watch whatever catches my rather eclectic interests, but with the rise in awareness about how a lot of 'diverse' stuff doesn't quite make it to a lot of people's notices in the first place I'm trying to read more widely (and watch more widely, I guess, though I haven't focused on that yet). In general I haven't (in the past) gone out of my way to read or watch anything that was LGBT+ related, but if it "happened" to have that, brownie points I guess? So, that was before, and now I am trying to "improve". To that end there's a fledgling book club I'm trying to start on here, and we're currently reading "Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin, a book more usually categorized as "humorous" than "gay" but... it is a LGBT+ classic. The first discussion thread will be posted in just a little while! It won't always be LGBT+ books but at least the members will be! Mind is blank, can't think of any recommendations (other than TOTC!). I read "Thief" and really liked it, but didn't like the other Zusak book ("I Am the Messenger").
I couldn't care less if its gay, straight, or trans fiction. The quality of the writing is what determines whether I genuinely come to like a book.
Thanks to university I can't read/watch anything without critical theory anymore. And of course, my go-to theories are Queer and Deconstrutionalism. So literally everything is 'gay' to me.
I love books and will read just about anything (well, anything that's not too bad). Sometimes, I'm in the mood for something with an LGBT protagonist/about LGBT issues and I will deliberately read one. Most times, I just don't care. Same with films. I'm also a writer, and LGBT characters/issues tend to just slip into my fiction -- but not all the time.
Interesting. I have a lesbian friend who will read nothing but LGBT+ fiction, but I've never found one that's interested me. I'm onto my third book this week as of last night, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but the only books I have that are even remotely gay are the two John Green books I have and that's because in this context I'm not using 'gay' as an orientation. The storylines are awful.