My Book Choices

That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole

This book was my first time reading a historical F/F romance, and it got me very ready for more. Alyssa Cole creates such a rich and detailed setting, and the attraction felt between the heroines develops in a deeply sensual and captivating slow burn. It’s also a beautiful and thoroughly researched depiction of two fiercely independent Black women living in New York’s distant past. It’s just the kind of story I’d want to get swept away in for some historical escapism from my desert island predicament.

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus

I’ve been craving a re-read of this one, and what better time to get to it than filling the hours on a deserted island? This is a beautifully unique and poetic story about two young Black women discovering and falling in love not only with each other but with themselves. The author also weaves a variety of spiritual practices and traditions into the book in a way that is absolutely breathtaking and not to be missed.

Anyone But Her by Erica Lee

Because sometimes you just want to laugh along with some familiar characters, especially when you’re coping with being stuck on a deserted island! There’s a reason Anyone But Her can still pretty much constantly be found in the lesbian bestseller chart: it’s a hilarious, feel-good read with a lot of heart and the perfect amount of heat to go along with it. What more could you want?

Bewilder by Bryce Oakley

I’m mixing it up and putting a book I haven’t yet read in this list, because if anything is going to get me through my ever-growing TBR pile, it’s a good long time out on a desert island. I read and loved the first book in the Kaleidoscope series quite a while ago, and I need to get myself a copy of book two asap. Four whole books of hot and witty lesbian rock stars falling in love? Need I say more?

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

This nonfiction book is subtitled ‘Creative Living Beyond Fear’ and it absolutely lives up to that. I first read it when I was going through a pretty rough patch with my own creativity (honestly, weren’t we all at the start of Covid?), and I’m not exaggerating when I say it lit up my entire life. I’d recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone looking to make creativity part of their everyday life, and I’m very due for a re-read myself.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This is quite possibly my favourite book of all time, so of course it’s coming along with me to the island. I first read it in high school, and it totally changed my perspective of what books and writing can be.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews

This is quite possibly my second favourite book of all time, so to the island it goes as well! I went to an arts high school and specialized in creative writing, and whenever I felt stuck on an assignment I’d procrastinated starting until the last minute, I’d pull this book down off the shelf, open it to a random page, and feel immediately rejuvenated and in love with writing all over again.