LGBTQIA+ Fiction and Nonfiction
Wednesday, June 9, 2021 on Zoom at 9am
17 in attendance
Holley W, O’Neal
Riana M, Pinson
Alisha J, BPL
Cara W, Center Point
Holly P, Vestavia
Joan I, BPL
Laura T, Homewood
Lynn H, BPL Central
Maura D, Trussville
Meredith J, Homewood
Nicole L, Tarrant
Pam J, BPL
Samantha H, Hoover
Shawn C, Pinson
Samuel R, Springville Road
and 2 people whose names I didn’t catch
Mark your calendar for Staff Day on Friday, August
27th. It will be a virtual half-day
morning conference, with both live and pre-recorded content to accommodate a
variety of schedules.
Rampart Trilogy by M. R. Carey (The
Book of Koli, The
Trials of Koli, and The
Fall of Koli)
Everything that lives hates us...Beyond the walls of the
small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognizable landscape. A place where
overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly seeds that will kill
you where you stand. And if they don't get you, one of the dangerous shunned
men will. Koli has lived in Mythen Rood his entire life. He believes the first
rule of survival is that you don't venture too far beyond the walls. He's
wrong.
Riana
Ace:
What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by
Angela Chen
What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through
life not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about gender roles, about
romance and consent, and the pressures of society? This accessible examination
of asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual
activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different
needs in relationships—are the same conflicts that nearly all of us will
experience. Through a blend of reporting, cultural criticism, and
memoir, Ace addresses the misconceptions around the “A” of LGBTQIA
and invites everyone to rethink pleasure and intimacy.
Riana
The
Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
In this gorgeous debut graphic novel, fairy tales are the
only way one boy can communicate with his Vietnamese immigrant parents. But how
will he find the words to tell them that he’s gay? A powerful read to celebrate
Pride Month about family, identity and the enduring magic of stories.
Riana
Green Bone saga by Fonda Lee (Jade
City, Jade
War, and Jade Legacy[to be published Nov 30, 2021])
In this World Fantasy Award-winning novel of magic and
kungfu, four siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an
Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis.
Riana
Little
& Lion by Brandy Colbert
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding
school in New England, she's isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is
where her friends and family are (as well as her crush, Emil). And her
stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her
emotional support. But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself
falling for someone new...the same girl her brother is in love with.
Shawn
Fat
& Queer: An Anthology of Trans & Queer Bodies & Lives by Miguel
Morales
We're here. We're queer. We're fat. This one-of-a-kind
collection of prose and poetry radically explores the intersection of fat and
queer identities, showcasing new, emerging and established queer and trans
writers from around the world.
Shawn
Female
Husbands: A Trans History by Jan Manion
Long before people identified as transgender or lesbian,
there were female husbands and the women who loved them. Female husbands -
people assigned female who transed gender, lived as men, and married women -
were true queer pioneers. Moving deftly from the colonial era to just before
the First World War, Jen Manion uncovers the riveting and very personal stories
of ordinary people who lived as men despite tremendous risk, danger, violence,
and threat of punishment. Female Husbands weaves the story of their lives in
relation to broader social, economic, and political developments in the United
States and the United Kingdom while also exploring how attitudes towards female
husbands shifted in relation to transformations in gender politics and women's
rights, ultimately leading to the demise of the category of 'female husband' in
the early twentieth century. Groundbreaking and influential, Female Husbands
offers a dynamic, varied, and complex history of the LGBTQ past.
Shawn
I’m
Just a Person by Tig Notaro
One of America’s most original comedic voices delivers a
darkly funny, wryly observed, and emotionally raw account of her year of death,
cancer, and epiphany. In the span of four months in 2012, Tig Notaro was
hospitalized for a debilitating intestinal disease called C. diff, her mother
unexpectedly died, she went through a breakup, and then she was diagnosed with
bilateral breast cancer. Hit with this devastating barrage, Tig took her grief
onstage. Days after receiving her cancer diagnosis, she broke new comedic
ground, opening an unvarnished set with the words: “Good evening. Hello. I have
cancer. How are you? Hi, how are you? Is everybody having a good time? I have
cancer.” The set went viral instantly and was ultimately released as Tig’s
sophomore album, Live, which sold one hundred thousand units in just six
weeks and was later nominated for a Grammy.
Samantha
Mostly
Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
What does it take to come back to life? For Jessa-Lynn
Morton, the question is not an abstract one. In the wake of her father’s suicide,
Jessa has stepped up to manage his failing taxidermy business while the rest of
the Morton family crumbles. Her mother starts sneaking into the taxidermy shop
to make provocative animal art, while her brother, Milo, withdraws. And Brynn,
Milo’s wife—and the only person Jessa’s ever been in love with—walks out
without a word. It’s not until the Mortons reach a tipping point that a string
of unexpected incidents begins to open up surprising possibilities and second
chances.
Samantha
Red,
White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Nicole says, “A total rom-com that I usually don’t read but
loved this one – did the audio and the narrator was great.”
What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the
Prince of Wales? When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was
promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome,
charismatic, genius―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White
House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry,
across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an
Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Nicole & Cara
Meddling
Kids by Edgar Cantero
Nicole says, “It’s a blast of Scooby crew nostalgia with a
horror twist that I 100% chose for the cover; while the focus isn’t romance at
all, one of the main characters is a lesbian and her perspectives on the world
and those around her was nice representation.”
In 1977, four teenagers and a dog—Andy (the tomboy), Nate
(the nerd), Kerri (the bookworm), Peter (the jock), and Tim (the
Weimaraner)—solved the mystery of Sleepy Lake. The trail of an amphibian
monster terrorizing the quiet town of Blyton Hills leads the gang to spend a
night in Deboën Mansion and apprehend a familiar culprit: a bitter old man in a
mask.
Now, in 1990, the twenty-something former teen detectives are lost souls.
Plagued by night terrors and Peter's tragic death, the three survivors have
been running from their demons. When the man they apprehended all those years
ago makes parole, Andy tracks him down to confirm what she’s always known—they
got the wrong guy. Now she'll need to get the gang back together and return to
Blyton Hills to find out what really happened in 1977, and this time, she's
sure they're not looking for another man in a mask.
Nicole
One
Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York
City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love
stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She
can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with
too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no
chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through
boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the
train.
Cara
The
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Nicole says, “Covers Old Hollywood and covering up
relationships and the pressure of maintaining love in secret.” Maura says, “I
thought the love scenes were romantic without being overly graphic.”
From the New York Times bestselling author
of Daisy Jones & the Six—an entrancing and “wildly addictive journey
of a reclusive Hollywood starlet” (PopSugar) as she reflects on her relentless
rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held
secrets the public could never imagine.
Cara
The
Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr.
A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden
union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge
they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.
Cara
Sister
Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Barker 1974-1989 edited by Julie
Enszer
Poets Audre Lorde and Pat Parker first met in 1969; they
began exchanging letters regularly five years later. Over the next fifteen
years, Lorde and Parker shared ideas, advice, and confidences through the mail.
They sent each other handwritten and typewritten letters and postcards often
with inserted items including articles, money, and video tapes. They discuss
their work as writers as well as intimate details of their lives, including
periods when each lived with cancer. SISTER LOVE is a rare opportunity to
glimpse inside the minds and friendship of two great twentieth century poets.
Laura
Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo (Six
of Crows and Crooked
Kingdom)
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly
heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams - but he can't pull it
off alone.
A convict with a thirst for revenge.
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.
A runaway with a privileged past.
A spy known as the Wraith.
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is
the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction - if they
don't kill each other first.
Riana
Real
Life by Brandon Taylor
Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the
Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem
degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left
behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For
reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within
his own circle of friends—some dating each other, some dating women, some
feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series
of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an
ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while
exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community.
The
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Riana says, “It’s about the relationship between Achilles
and Patroclus from Greek mythology. One of my fave romances, it’s written so
well!”
A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human
heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that
brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An
action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and
executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has earned resounding
acclaim.
Riana
Snapdragon
by Kat Leyh
Snap's town had a witch. At least, that’s how the rumor
goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy old lady
who sells roadkill skeletons online―after doing a little ritual to put their
spirits to rest. It’s creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it’s kind of cool,
too. They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby
opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work. But as Snap
starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact
have real magic―and a connection with Snap’s family’s past.
Holley
Thirsty
Mermaids by Kat Leyh
Fresh out of shipwreck wine, three tipsy mermaids decide to
magically masquerade as humans and sneak onto land to indulge in much more
drinking and a whole lot of fun in the heart of a local seaside tourist trap.
But the good times abruptly end the next morning as, through the haze of killer
hangovers, the trio realizes they never actually learned how to break the
spell, and are now stuck on land for the foreseeable future. Which means
everything from: enlisting the aid of their
I-know-we-just-met-can-we-crash-with-you bartender friend, struggling to make
sense of the world around them, and even trying to get a job with no skill
set…all while attempting to somehow return to the sea and making the most of
their current situation with tenacity and camaraderie (especially if someone
else is buying).
Holley
Happily
Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
Holley says, “The LGBT characters are secondary characters,
but this is such a great friend group surrounding Tessa and I love their
loyalty and support of each other in all that they do!”
Jane the Virgin meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved
Before in this charming debut romantic comedy filled with Black Girl
Magic. Perfect for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Nicola Yoon, with crossover
appeal for readers of Jasmine Guillory and Talia Hibbert romances.
Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own
life. She’s rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels
she loves. The only place she’s a true leading lady is in her own writing—in
the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1
devoted reader.
When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of
a prestigious art school, she’s excited to finally let her stories shine. But
when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just...gone. Fortunately,
Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a
real-life love story of her own. And she’s ready with a list of romance
novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after. Nico, the brooding artist who
looks like he walked out of one of Tessa’s stories, is cast as the perfect
Prince Charming.
Holley
It’s
Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian
Of all the women and men Noni Blake has pleased in her life,
there’s one she’s often overlooked—herself. After the end of a decade-long
relationship, Noni decides it’s time for that to change. She’s finally going to
prioritize her wants and desires and only do things (and people) that feel good
in the moment. As she embarks on a pleasure-seeking quest that takes her
halfway around the world, she discovers that maybe she can have everything, and
everyone, she’s ever wanted.
Holley
Zenobia
July by Lisa Bunker
Samantha says, “YA book about transitioning with great
supporting cast of drag queens.” The critically acclaimed author of Felix
Yz crafts a bold, heartfelt story about a trans girl solving a cyber
mystery and coming into her own.
Samantha
The
Lions of 5th Avenue by Fiona Davis
In New York Times bestselling author Fiona
Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New
York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up
the pieces.
Lynn
The Something Like… series by Jay Bell (specifically:
Something
Like Summer, Something
Like Winter, Something
Like Autumn, and Something
Like Spring. The
series has grown much larger since those first four!)
The Something Like… series is a collection of
books by Jay Bell, each written from a different
character’s perspective that began in 2011. The plots intertwine at key points
while also venturing off in new directions. Love, like everything in the
universe, cannot be destroyed. But over time it can change. The hot Texas
nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two
words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life,
but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that
the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest,
keeping it safe would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion
threaten to tear them apart. Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a
decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and
sometimes even enemies.
Holley
Less
by Andrew Sean Greer
Who says you can't run away from your problems? You are
a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the
mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You
can't say yes--it would be too awkward--and you can't say no--it would look
like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary
events around the world.
QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town?
ANSWER: You accept them all.
Samuel
Historical character Deborah Sampson is a fun research
topic! Find out more about this Revolutionary War figure at https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson
Samantha
Samuel reports that Hoopla has a great ebook and eaudio
selection of LGBTQIA+ romance authors.
Among his favorites are Eden
Finley, Aimee
Nicole Walker, and Anyta
Sunday.
Blog posts from JCLC libraries
(if you’d like you library’s PRIDE blog post listed here, email me a link):
Hoover Library
www.hooverlibrary.org/blog/read-pride-0
www.hooverlibrary.org/blog/enjoy-new-memoir-lgbtqia-pride-month
Homewood Library
https://tclkidsblog.wordpress.com/2021/06/03/pride-month
O’Neal Library
https://eolib.blogspot.com/2021/06/read-with-pride.html
Awards/Recommended Reading
Lists:
2021 Over the
Rainbow Book List (adults)
2021
Rainbow Book List (YA & children)
Samuel says, “If you want to get involved in selecting queer
materials, you want to join the Rainbow Round Table
of the American Library Association and join one of the book selection committees.
I did it for a few years. It was a lot of fun and great working with librarians
from all over the country and the world.”
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