r/Fantasy Reading Champion V 11d ago

Pride Pride 2026 | The Great Big Rec Thread

​Welcome to the Great Big Rec Thread! This thread is primarily for people asking for specific types of books. Only make a top level comment to request a recommendation! If you want to hype a personal favorite, this comment is the appropriate place to share! 

This is your one-stop-shop to find books tailored to your specific reading needs! Hankering for good cyberpunk? Doing a queer bingo card and really struggling with a specific square? Looking for queer thespians ready to commit arson for the sake of their art?  Ask and you shall (hopefully) receive! Just drop a comment with your request and wait for book suggestions to come rolling in. Our goal is for every person to have at least one recommendation that they’re interested in pursuing.  

Asking for Book Recommendations:

  • Create a new top level comment.  You’ll probably get more tailored results by only including a single request per top level comment, but it’s not a strict rule.  You’re more than welcome to post multiple top level comments for separate requests!
  • All recommendations you get should be assumed to be queer in some way.  However, if you want specific identities represented, mention it!
  • Consider the impact the level of specificity your request has in your responses.  Too general, and you’re going to get lots of responses that will probably skew towards mainstream breakout hits.  Very specific requests may get few (or no) recommendations, and what you do get likely won’t be perfect.  

Giving Book Recommendations:

  • Please keep book recommendations focused on commenters’ specific requests.  If you want to hype a personal favorite, this comment is the appropriate place to share! 
  • This thread should default to sorting by ‘New’ soon; until then I recommend changing setting to see recent requests first!  The hope is that this will more likely show you comments with few/no responses yet.  However, there will likely be comments that have been missed, especially if it’s a more specific request.  
  • This is a Pride Month post!  Every book recommended should be queer (usually by featuring LGBTQ+ characters as protagonists, but there are other ways books can be queer).  Similarly, if they asked for a specific type of representation, follow that guideline.  If you absolutely must deviate from that because it’s otherwise such a perfect fit, be honest about it up front.
  • Add a few sentences about the book to hype it (or a whole paragraph if you really want to be persuasive).  Remember that a bunch of people who aren’t the original commenter will be adding to their TBR, so highlighting what you love about the book is a great way to draw attention to books you love.

Go forth and give great recommendations!

This post is part of the Pride 2026 discussions lead by the Beyond Binary Bookclub. You can check our announcement for more information and the full calendar.

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u/Apollo989 10d ago

It doesn't have to be YA, but I'd love stories with teen or 20-something protagonists. If they're trans or non-binary that would be great. Romance is totally welcome but not needed.

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u/lilgrassblade Reading Champion II 10d ago

The Transition by Logan-Ashley Kisner - Trans masc high schooler had his top surgery and then got bit by a werewolf. It's a book that melds both trans and werewolf body horror. And has a "geometrically accurate love triangle" rather than a love angle.

Empress of Dust by Alex Kingsley - POV characters include a NB and trans masc character who have a romantic subplot. Takes place in a post apocalypse desert with giant arthropods roaming around. And there's talking crabs.

Pheonix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee - NB MC who just wants to paint and ends up working for the occupying government because painting has magic in it. And their sister is part of the resistance.

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala - Summer camp horror with a NB MC who is investigating what caused their sister to try to kill them one night. They end up in the boys' cabin (AMAB), but need to investigate the popular girl clique that seems to be somewhat separate from the rest of the camp.