I’ve done a lot of reading this year. My Goodreads challenge was to read 65 books, which if I’m being completely transparent, mainly consisted of a LOT of listening. As I recently shared via Notes, I used to question what “counts" as reading and what “counts" as writing. Yep, I used to be a snob about both. But my thoughts on the subject of both activities has evolved significantly over the years… Now I do a lot of listening, which means I get more writing and reading done than ever before, and I'm grateful for it.
Some of the reading was to prepare for interviews with authors for the QLP Book Club—including Rasheed Newson, Troy Ford, Andy Jiaming and, most recently, Alejandro Varela—as well as for other conversations and pieces.
For example, I had so much fun interviewing Samantha Mann about her memoir in essays, Dyke Delusions, and the profundity of my conversation with Katie Simon focused on her book about seeking more connected sex after being assaulted will stay with me forever.
So many fascinating chats this past year, such as with Oliver Radclyffe, in which we also discussed his memoir about coming out as trans and how that affected his marriage and other relationships; Greg Bourke’s tale of fighting for marriage equality in the United States; Kelly Lundquist’s new memoir, Beard, about being married to a gay man; and Dale Corvino’s debut memoir, Afterlife of a Kept Boy, in which we discussed sex work and so much more.
Plus, I loved listening to Mike Albo’s audio-only memoir Hologram Boyfriendsand talking to him about all the insights he packed into it about how technology has warped our relationships over the past couple of decades. I also talked to my friend Brian Schaefer about his debut novel, Town & Country, which is a sensitive portrayal of rural America and the influence of gay men upon the culture of small towns. And how can I forget my interview with Manuel Betancourt for his book Hello Strangerback in January? It centered on the idea of “elasticity of queer relationships,” which became my mantra for the rest of the year.
Of course, I loved Edmund White’s sex memoir, The Loves of My Life—the last book he published while he was alive—which we excerpted back in the spring. And the archivist/writers who produced The Love That Dares: An Anthology of Queer Love Letters shared some wonderful advice for anyone looking to preserve their correspondence for posterity.
Yet, so much amazing writing remains to be discovered! So I invited my co-editor Michael Narkunski and my pal Amelia Possanza, a literary publicist who has already introduced me to many amazing writers. They are both extremely plugged into the all things going on in the book world, so I wanted to know what they devoured over the past 12 months.
I asked them to share some of the books published in 2025 that they felt deserved more attention, and you might be surprised by some of their picks! Among the many things we discussed, we chatted about these authors and titles:
* Nell Stevens, The Original
* Ariel Gore, Rehearsals for Dying
* Bronson Lemer, The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship
* Bryan Lee O’Malley, Snotgirl series
* Jacqueline Harpman, I Who Have Never Known Men
* Jackie Domenus, No Offense
* Torrey Peters, Stag Dance
* Caro de Robertis, So Many Stars
One book I forgot to bring up that I absolutely adored was John Birdsall’s What Is Queer Food? I hope to invite him to join me for a conversation in the coming months.
We also discussed these 2026 titles that we’re looking forward to:
* Place Envy by Michael Lowenthal
* Men I Hate by Lynette D’Amico
* Night Night Fawn by Jody Rosenberg
Michael also shared the great news that his memoir, Macaroni Heart, is now under contract with University of Wisconsin press, and it’s slated to be released in 2027. Congrats!
What did we miss? If there are any other books you want to recommend or ideas you want share with us, please add them to the comments.
Thank you to everyone who tuned into our live video! Join me for my next live video in the app on December 28, the last one of the year, when Rachel Kramer Bussel joins me to discuss her latest essay—which we published this past week—as well as all that we’re looking forward to in 2026.
The Queer Love Project is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
