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Asexual Bookshelf


Wallach IX

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Another Pratchett suggestion, although it's never been said outright, but does anyone else think Vetinari could be Ace?

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Thanks for these! I will try to think of any I have read with a new eye out for asexuality. If you are looking for books with not really any sex and not too much romance check out books by Brandon Sanderson. (fantasy) The Mistborn trilogy and his book way of kings are awesome reads.

I don't really mind either in books but I skip some of the more "sexy" prolonged sex scenes in books. xD

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Måskemigselvetsted

Thanks for these! I will try to think of any I have read with a new eye out for asexuality. If you are looking for books with not really any sex and not too much romance check out books by Brandon Sanderson. (fantasy) The Mistborn trilogy and his book way of kings are awesome reads.

I don't really mind either in books but I skip some of the more "sexy" prolonged sex scenes in books. xD

Aloren, is that City of Bones by Cassandra Clare you are holding in your picture?

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I maintain that Sue from Jude the Obscure is asexual.

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I got one:

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (1996) features an asexual character Hal Incandenza

Hal might be the protaganist; he gets about 40% (my guess) of the author's attention, and is the only character with 1st person dialog (okay his father gets a couple pages). I add that it is often hard to identify one 'protagonist' in modern novels.

and here we have, pg. 634, "Hal is maybe the one male E.T.A. for whom lifetime virginity is a conscious goal"

although the next page deals with a certain "asexuality" in a negative sense; e.g. those who expend to much time on athletic pursuits to have the time to actively be sexual, I don't think this is what Wallace was going for with his 'protagonist.'

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There's mention of Asexuality in the sex starved wife. (At least, I think it's that book-came across that book and a similar book months ago at the library. I suppose I should mention that I volunteer at the local library, rearranging books).

My bad, it's actually He's just not up for it anymore. (Seriously, those two books were right next to each other at the library & I couldn't quite remember which one mentioned Asexuality and which one didn't).

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I have another find in the novel "All souls" by Javier Marías.

Two characters in the novel speculate about the sexual orientation of their mentor, Toby Rylands. While the question is never answered asexuality is considered. Here the relevant quote:

"Is Rylands homosexual, then?" I asked. "Oh, I couldn't really say, he's been on his own for as long as I've known him and, anyway, he'd never talk about such ungentlemanly things. He seems more asexual than anything else."
Marías, J., & Costa, M. J. (1992). All souls, 142

I think I should include a warning of some sort. While not sexually explicit in any way, a good deal of the book is an affair. So if you are looking for a sex/romance free read with a prominent asexual character look elsewhere. (Toby Rylands doesn't even get mentioned that often.)

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philos-phobos

I don't know if these would fit in here (is there a world watch list for asexual characters in (online) comics???)

Girls With Slingshots (Erin was just recently confirmed as asexual)

David Doesn't Get It (Narrator (David) and his sister Miriam are asexual)

Ignition Zero (Two of the main characters (Robbie and Orson) are aces)

Candy Hearts Resistance (Hasn't updated in a long while... but the author/narrator is an ace!)

EDIT: I decided to dig a bit and I found a couple more:

Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures (Abel)

Permanently Grounded (Colt/author - hasn't updated in a long while)

Unapologetic Ace (Annah/author - hasn't updated in a long while either)

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Ruth from the Dragonriders of Pern Series. Specifically The White Dragon. He's in several others, but the White Dragon is focused on Ruth.

You already have the Fool in the Tawney Man Series, but a few notes

Fool's Errand, Golden Fool and Fool's Fate by Robin Hodd (Amber/Lord Golden)

First, Robin Hobb, not Robin Hodd. Second, while his name is never revealed, the main character is more likely to call him Fool, as that was his name in earlier books. Third, the ace character is introduced in an earlier series; attempting to read these books without reading the first trilogy makes this series make little sense.

Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, Assassin's Quest are the 1st books in the series and have the ace character known as the Fool, the King's Jester. Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny have the asexual character as Amber the bead woman and general carpenter. Fool's Errand, Golden Fool and Fool's Fate are the last books in the series and have the character going under the name of Lord Golden as well as the Fool as well as Amber, as well as a few others (Mostly Lord Golden in public).

... So yeah, I like that series.

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Nico-Nico Friendo

what about The Dwarf?

The main character (the dwarf) isn't neccesarily asexual but he hates the humans love to each other and other similar behaviours/feelings/etc.

lol

I liked that book! Even though the dwarf is an evil little bastard, I still felt like I could relate to some of his feelings about human behavior. I remember reading it one year in my own private room at grandma's on Christmas Eve, while my family discussed how the Muslims (and anyone else who's not a Christian) want to ruin Christmas for "Christian" America (the "War on Christmas" that Fox News yabbers about every year), etc. :rolleyes:

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Cousin It

A few suggestions from the vaults...

For anyone who enjoys mild, fluffy, English mystery novels - your Agatha Christie and your Dorothy Sayers types - I can recommend these novels of Josephine Tey:

The Man in the Queue

A Shilling for Candles

To Love and be Wise

The Daughter of Time (though be warned, this one can cause unseemly obsessions with dead kings)

The Singing Sands

These were written between the 30s and the 50s. The asexuality of the leading character, Inspector Alan Grant, is implicit, but I've always thought was pretty clear.

Also - keeping with my 'mild fluffy English' theme - one of my favourite books:

AC Macdonell's England Their England.

This would appeal to people who like PG Wodehouse and EF Benson, or - on a different tack - Anthony Powell or Evelyn Waugh. It's 1930s English satire. Beautifully written, and very funny (if you like that sort of thing, but a lot of the deep satire it might pass you by if you're not into the inter-war period). Anyhow: the main character is as near to asexual as bedamned, and it's all very charming (and poetic)(which is a fan's in joke, and I'm not sorry).

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I just ordered a book on Amazon.com called Heart of Aces, an anthology of romantic stories involving asexuals.

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Mmmm, just adding how nice I like the sound of the "Asexual Bookshelf" title. ;D

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Thanks so much for this--this explains my fascination with the Sherlock Holmes character! Also, I do not see Hercule Poirot on your list--would he qualify?

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Crazy Cat Lady

Did I miss it? I'm sure I discovered this book via a thread on AVEN somewhere, but there is a YA novel, set in New Zealand, with a lot of mythology, called Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. One of the characters is asexual. IfI'm remembering correctly, it is the main character's best friend.

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Crazy Cat Lady

I am currently listening to Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. One of the Will Graysons has mentioned a few times specifically how he isn't asexual. Just the fact that it's mentioned impressed me.

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controlled_abandon

Quicksilver, by R J Anderson features an asexual protagonist who has a romantic relationship (or something along those lines). It's young adult science fiction, but set in the real world and not super heavy on the science fiction elements (or so I felt). It's the sequel to Ultraviolet.

Guardian of the Dead does have an asexual character, the main character's best friend as Crazy Cat Lady said.

The Vineart War Trilogy (Flesh and Fire, Weight of Stone, The Shattered Vine), a fantasy trilogy by Laura Anne Gilman, has a pretty clearly asexual main character. It's not called that, but his lack of sexual interest is mentioned throughout the trilogy. He also seems aromantic, and there aren't any sexual or romantic relationships that are a part of the story.

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I've just finished Hygiene and the Assassin by Amelie Nothomb. One of the main characters, Pretextat Tach, struck me as asexual. He actually identifies himself as one [weeeell, sort of... ].

Now, the reason I heartily recommend this book is mainly due to the wit and depth of the dialogue and the brilliant simplicity of the story. Now, the fact that Pretextat Tach [note: this won't be an exact formulation of the facts because I don't want to spoil things] is asexual is definitely a bonus to this book. Despite everything, up to a certain point, [i repeat, up to a certain point] I believe that we can understand [up to a certain point!!!!!!] him better than the non-ace readers [no offence!], who would find him... rather alien.

This is a kind of book that feeds food to your thoughts and I strongly think that it deserves a place on the Asexual Bookshelf. Skillfully written, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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I am Sherlocked

Interesting, one thing I want to do is definitely become a published author, better yet, it would be nice to be a best seller. I definitely want to create a novel that features a main character that is asexual. I think that would be neat to happen.

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I am Sherlocked

I am currently listening to Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. One of the Will Graysons has mentioned a few times specifically how he isn't asexual. Just the fact that it's mentioned impressed me.

John green is an amazing author and I'm pleasantly surprised that he has added asexuality to his books even if none of the characters are ace themselves.

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Crazy Cat Lady

I am currently listening to Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. One of the Will Graysons has mentioned a few times specifically how he isn't asexual. Just the fact that it's mentioned impressed me.

John green is an amazing author and I'm pleasantly surprised that he has added asexuality to his books even if none of the characters are ace themselves.

So far, I've only read a couple of books by him, but I plan to read more. He is amazing. :-)

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I don't know if these would fit in here (is there a world watch list for asexual characters in (online) comics???)

Girls With Slingshots (Erin was just recently confirmed as asexual)

David Doesn't Get It (Narrator (David) and his sister Miriam are asexual)

Ignition Zero (Two of the main characters (Robbie and Orson) are aces)

Candy Hearts Resistance (Hasn't updated in a long while... but the author/narrator is an ace!)

EDIT: I decided to dig a bit and I found a couple more:

Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures (Abel)

Permanently Grounded (Colt/author - hasn't updated in a long while)

Unapologetic Ace (Annah/author - hasn't updated in a long while either)

Mordecai from the webseries Lackadaisy is confirmed Asexual by the author on her tumblr.

www.lackadaisycats.com

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Great list i have read many of those. Great idea to post this. Awesome :cake:

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I've read some books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and have enjoyed them. I've read quite a few of Tanya Huff's books but not this one. I love reading so I'm going to be heading to the library's online catalog to see if any of these books are available.

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