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Philip Ellis is Sex & Relationships editor at Men's Health magazine and the author of Love & Other Scams. He lives in Birmingham, U.K. His second novel, We Could Be Heroes (Putnam), is a romantic comedy set in the not-so-different worlds of superhero movies and drag.
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
It's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Notting Hill, with drag queens. Come for the jokes, stay for the big feelings!
On your nightstand now:
I'm currently reading Experienced by Kate Young. I was lucky enough to read an early draft of this brilliant romantic comedy and am having a great time diving into the final version now that it's out in the world; it's about a lesbian who's only ever had one girlfriend, until that girlfriend hits pause on their relationship so she can go out into the world and sleep with more people. Naturally, complications ensue.
Next on my list is A Power Unbound, the final installment in Freya Marske's phenomenal LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy trilogy; these books are witty, gripping, surprisingly sexy, and brimming with magic.
I can't wait to read Henry Henry by Allen Bratton, his queer satire inspired by Shakespeare's history plays, which everybody is talking about right now. I'm also halfway through the audiobook of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain: my husband is a chef, and this is one of his all-time favourites. The audiobook is narrated by the late Bourdain himself, which makes for a bittersweet listening experience.
Favorite book when you were a child:
Mort by Terry Pratchett. I found a lot of the early Discworld novels impenetrable, probably because I lacked the classic fantasy references from the '80s that Pratchett was skewering, but I loved the books that focused on the character of Death and his dysfunctional extended family.
Your top five authors:
Kate Atkinson, whom I started reading in my early 20s and whose recent novel Shrines of Gaiety is one of the best things I've read in years.
Sarah Waters, whose novel Fingersmith I have not stopped thinking about since I read it over 10 years ago; it's a swoonworthy lesbian romance and a rollicking Dickensian crime story wrapped up into one, with a twist you'll never see coming.
David Mitchell, who writes literary doorstoppers that are surprisingly accessible and blend genres in fun, interesting ways. If your only experience of his work is Cloud Atlas, I encourage you to seek out the even-more-ambitious The Bone Clocks.
Alexis Hall, whose queer romantic comedies are hilarious and addictive: Boyfriend Material is one of the funniest books I've ever read, and I have had a great time with Hall's recent foray into magical romance, Mortal Follies.
And finally, perhaps unsurprisingly, romcom royalty Emily Henry. Her debut novel, Beach Read, was a breath of fresh air when I first read it during lockdown, and I've been on the Henry train ever since. She has such a talent for coming up with what might at first seem like a light, frothy premise, and then imbuing it with real emotional weight.
Book you've faked reading:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I'm a sucker for adaptations and retellings of this story, like the iconic Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding and Curtis Sittenfeld's modern reimagining Eligible. And I just think it's so cool how this story can continue to reveal new insights when looked at through the lens of different cultures and identities: Pride by Ibi Zoboi reinterprets the Bennets as an Afro-Latino family resisting the gentrification of their Brooklyn neighborhood; Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal takes place almost in real time over a multiple-day wedding celebration in modern Pakistan; and the movie Fire Island transports viewers from the world of Regency balls to gay circuit parties. I'm also a longstanding defender of the 2005 film version with Keira Knightley, but I have somehow never got around to reading the original if you can believe it!
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. I've been recommending this novel to everybody since it came out last year; the late 2000s nostalgia is so on-point it's almost triggering, and the plot--revolving around two best friends and a very peculiar love triangle--had me hooked.
Book you've bought for the cover:
So, so many. But most recently, The Book of Love by Kelly Link. Although I was already sold before I saw the cover; when one of your favourite short story writers finally puts out a novel--and a thick one at that!--you sit up and pay attention.
Book you hid from your parents:
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. My parents were never too bothered about me reading horror--I picked up my first Stephen King when I was 11 or 12--but they probably would have had thoughts about just how much erotica was smuggled into the pages of those books in between all the bloodsucking.
Book that changed your life:
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. I was 17 when I first picked up this series about the lives and loves of a chosen family in San Francisco, and seeing a gay character like Michael Tolliver so beautifully depicted on the page opened my eyes to whom fiction could be written for and about. A 10th installment, Mona of the Manor, just came out, and spending time with these characters again was like being reunited with old friends.
Favorite line from a book:
"He sounded like a drinker, and possibly a homosexual. I took an immediate liking to him." --from "The Resident," a story in Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. Honestly, if I were a character in a book, this is how I would want to be introduced.
Five books you'll never part with:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, although really this could apply to any and all of her novels. Less by Andrew Sean Greer, a romantic whirlwind of a book that I love so much I have absolutely no desire to read the sequel. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy and pearls notwithstanding, Holly Golightly remains a truly fucked-up character and I will always love her. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin; I am amazed by what he accomplished in so short a book. And finally, The Secret History by Donna Tartt; allow me to be the first person to ever express the opinion that this Donna Tartt lady is very good at writing and will probably go far!
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell. I had anticipated this book for so long, so eager to see if Simon and Baz would finally end up together, that I burned through it in a single sitting when I should probably have savoured the emotional revelations a little more. When Rowell's new book Slow Dance comes out later this year, I will try to exercise more self-control.
Book you're jealous you didn't write:
I'm hugely envious of the humour, insight, and vivid characterization in Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly; she created a family that felt so real I wanted to invite myself over for dinner.
Book you would hand to your teenage self:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Not just because it's a deeply moving gay romance, but because it's also a very fun book, and I think teenage me could have done with taking everything--including himself--a little less seriously.