As a writer, I’ve always been embarrassed to admit I don’t read much. I just… don’t usually enjoy it. With some exceptions like Harry Potter and a few others I couldn’t put down, I just don’t often… get into books. I’ve connected with some great non-fiction texts about veganism, atheism, philosophy… and in the past few years I’ve loved listening to lecture series on Audible. My commute is my “reading” time.
But fiction… I never make much of an effort. And it wasn’t until so much later that I realized why.
Every fucking piece of fiction out there is dully heteronormative. And I will never be able to see myself in heteronormative characters, no matter how ~deep or ~complex they are. No matter how ~classic or worshipped the text may be. I’ve come away from some of the most famous books in the world thinking, really? That’s what the fuss was about?
Even the few great lesbian books I’ve read, I haven’t really connected with the characters beyond their sexual orientations. Their personalities never really seemed close to mine.
And that’s… fine, whatever. At least they were gay.
In the end, most books are just another reminder that I don’t really connect with… anyone.