Are You Genre-Fluid?
Roll the Dice and Discover Seminal Queer Literature in Every Genre in our First-Ever Book Bingo to Suit Every Mood and Persuasion This Entire Pride Month
Book Bingo
BIOGRAPHY
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PARENTING
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SHORT STORY COLLECTION
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GRAPHIC NOVEL
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LITERARY FICTION
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CONTEMPORARY FICTION
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HISTORICAL FICTION
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SCIENCE FICTION
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TRUE CRIME
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BIOGRAPHY
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PARENTING
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SHORT STORY COLLECTION
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GRAPHIC NOVEL
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LITERARY FICTION
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CONTEMPORARY FICTION
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HISTORICAL FICTION
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Happy Pride!
SCIENCE FICTION
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TRUE CRIME
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CLASSIC
The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (1952)
Yes, yes, we know you’ve seen the movie, but trust us, the book is worth a read as well. Originally published in 1952, it was groundbreaking for many reasons we don’t think about today, like portrayals of femme/femme relationships or same-sex relationships not ending in suicide or fabricated heteronormativity. Two women fall in love, drive cross-country, and are blackmailed into facing the consequences of their actions.
ISBN: 0393325997
Price: $9.95
Page Count: 304
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (2015)
Although only published in 2015, A Little Life became an instant classic in the queer community, thanks to Yanagihara’s compelling rendering of four friends from college who navigate life through hardship and tragedy. This is a book regularly cried through (we’re talking an ugly cry here, people), so be prepared for all the feels (mostly the devastating ones). This is not a short book, and not a happy one, but it is some gorgeous prose, and will be a necessity for queer bookshelves for a long time.
ISBN: 0804172706
Price: $13.31
Page Count: 832
BIOGRAPHY
Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady by Susan Quinn (2016)
By now it is mostly common knowledge that Eleanor Roosevelt was queer, and Quinn’s carefully researched book on her thirteen-year relationship with reporter Lorena Hickok (known as Hick) is a careful study of how two women were able to initiate and maintain a relationship despite the intense scrutiny of being a First Lady..
ISBN: 780143110712
Price: $13.99
Page Count: 413
James Baldwin by David Leeming (1996)
Baldwin is known for examining race, class, sexuality, and mortality in his prolific works, and this biography touches not only on his life, but also on the accolades and controversies which were born from Baldwin’s activism. Written by a close friend of over 20 years, this is an intimate and unflinching look at the life and work of the queer icon.
ISBN: 1628724382
Price: $13.19
Page Count: 464
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reed (2017)
When unknown reporter Monique is offered the story of a lifetime (biographer to the glamorous and reclusive Evelyn Hugo) she is baffled, but not about to pass up the opportunity. What follows is the story of Hugo’s seven marriages, and only true love, alongside Monique’s own coming-of-career.
ISBN: 1501161938
Price: $9.32
Page Count: 400
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (2021)
Reese was happily with Amy, until Amy decided to detransition to Ames, who then has an affair with Katrina, who becomes pregnant with his baby, which prompts him to reconnect with Reese, knowing she always wanted to have children and to see if the three of them can be something like a family. Motherhood, gender, family, relationships, identity – it’s all up for grabs, and none of them are confined to singular definitions in this debut.
ISBN: 9780593133378
Price: $13.99
Page Count: 327
COOKBOOK
My Drunk Kitchen by Hannah Hart (2014)
Hannah Hart began as a YouTuber with her short and funny videos in which she drank a lot of alcohol and cooked things in increasingly nicer kitchens. This cookbook, sharing its name with her YouTube series, is a compilation of drunk recipes (Should you be drunk while making them? Eating them? Reading this? We’ll leave that up to you.) as well as hilarious stories, photographs, and life lessons.
ISBN: 9780062293039
Price: $22.99
Page Count: 240
Big Gay Ice Cream: Saucy Stories & Frozen Treats: Going All the Way with Ice Cream by Bryan Petroff and Douglas Quint (2015)
When Bryan & Doug went into the ice cream truck business it was to have a little fun and take a break from day jobs and doctoral programs; they certainly had fun, but they also grew a brand that continues strong with its signature rainbow ice cream logo and specialties like the “Bea Arthur.” This cookbook is part origin story, part testimonials, and part recipes for deliciousness, which is formatted like a yearbook, where you start with just the toppings in freshman year and work your way through to graduating as ice cream and sorbet makers senior year.
ISBN: 385345607
Price: $18.07
Page Count: 192
SHORT STORY COLLECTION
What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi (2016)
Oyeyemi is a writer who excels at knocking the wind out of her readers with her insight, creativity, and sometimes just plain strangeness. This collection of short stories is no different, and a great introduction to an author who will never take you where you expect to go, probing the power of keys to all manner of discoveries, and what happens when we use them.
ISBN: 1594634645
Price: $14.99
Page Count: 352
Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington (2019)
Queer Black and Latinx working class voices are given center stage in this collection of stories in and around the Houston area, with insight and depth that is not always afforded to historically oppressed populations. These interconnected stories are deeply rooted in a sense of place, what it means to belong, and where that belonging can most be felt.
ISBN: 0525533680
Price: $13.62
Page Count: 240
ESSAYS
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde (1984)
Audre Lorde is a queen of queerness, feminism, and intersectionality, and this collection of speeches and essays is a great introduction for those who want to learn more about themselves, the world, poetry, anger, love, pain, and revolution. Don’t let its inclusion on your syllabus make it seem unapproachable or condescending – Lorde writes from a vulnerable and furious place that makes her words and emotions accessible to all.
ISBN: 1580911862
Price: $14.49
Page Count: 192
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee (2018)
Chee’s collection of essays probe the intersections between identity, politics and fiction, and the flexibility with which those terms can be applied throughout the course of a lifetime. Conversational to the point of friendly, with ample meditations on writing as a craft, as a profession, as a means for change and as the change itself, it’s more likely than not that you’ll need to bring out your highlighter more than once while reading.
ISBN: 1328764524
Price: $10.63
Page Count: 288
FANTASY
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)
In a world where gender is unfixed, a person who is presenting as male is tasked with bridging a cultural divide for the good of all parties involved. Le Guin, also a master essayist, weaves in ideas of patriotism, the benefits of a collective, the politics of persuasion and invasion and, of course, gender and sexuality, showcasing her creativity alongside her carefully considered philosophies.
ISBN: 0441478123
Price: $25.00
Page Count: 307
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (2015)
In a world past the brink of collapse, a woman braves the desolation that was once earth on a mission to save her daughter in this first book of an epic trilogy that will captivate you from start to finish. Every book in this trilogy won the Hugo Award, the only series to ever do so. It is as much an exploration of finding self-worth in a world which tells you that you have no value as it is a harrowing view of environmental instability and a rejection of the view of earth as a nurturing, benevolent force.
ISBN: 0316229296
Price: $14.99
Page Count: 512
GRAPHIC NOVEL
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel (2008)
Bechdel’s groundbreaking comic strip ran from 1983 to 2008, telling the stories of lesbians in Middle America as they navigated cultural norms, politics, love, and life through humor and satire. This essential volume collects many of the recognized and establishing strips of the series, as well as the most recent additions at the time of publication.
ISBN: 0618968806
Price: $17.40
Page Count: 416
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (2019)
Kobabe uses e/em/eir pronouns, and this graphic memoir is the personal story of eir own journey to arriving at that identity (non-binary/queer/asexual), as well as a way to begin speaking with friends, family, and allies about what how gender and sexuality can be expressed. This is not a guide, it is a personal reflection, a way to approach embracing identity no matter its unfamiliarity to others, and a call to conversation.
ISBN: 1549304003
Price: $16.19
Page Count: 240
HISTORICAL FICTION
Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller (1969)
A painter and a farmer fall in love, and navigate their burgeoning relationship in the midst of puritanical New England in the 1960’s, managing to be an optimistic and playful read even in a setting which might portend nothing but struggle. Patience & Sarah has the unique honor of being the first book to be awarded the American Library Association’s Gay Book Award (now known as the Stonewall Book Awards).
ISBN: 9781551521916
Price: $24.13
Page Count: 240
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2011)
Anyone who only knows of Achilles because they’ve seen the movie Troy will be surprised by the idea that Achilles and Patroclus were more than chaste cousins. Miller retells the story of the Trojan War with beauty and grit, managing to make compelling the story we already know, while reinserting queer history where it has been previously ignored. Helen may have had the face that launched a thousand ships, but Patroclus and Achilles had the love that provoked a warrior.
ISBN: 0062060627
Price: $10.35
Page Count: 416
HISTORY
The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser (2020)
Gevisser explores the history of queerness, gender, and sexuality as it is perceived and governed in countries and cultures around the world, each section driven by the narrative of a small cast of those actually living in, or having fled, the community being discussed. Compelling and geographically diverse, these accounts will have you rethinking what you know of queer history.
ISBN: 0374279969
Price: $24.47
Page Count: 544
We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Leighton Brown & Matthew Riemer (2019)
This is a book which begs to be picked up and thumbed through at the very least, and pored over for every detail when you have the time. Filled with stunning photographs and ephemera that bring the history of queer liberation to life in ways both nationally relevant and movingly intimate, its strength lies not only in its dynamic format, but in its inclusion of individual stories alongside the greater narratives of marches, protests, and litigation.
ISBN: 0399581812
Price: $31.99
Page Count: 368
HORROR
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (2004)
Yes, they made a movie of it. And yes, then the U.S. remade it in English. And no – neither one is as good or as creepy as the book, which tells of the story of 12-year-old Oskar, and 12-year-old Eli who’s just moved next door and who only comes out at night. Yes, you know what’s coming, but even so – the telling is gruesome and quiet. This book will make the hairs on your arms stand up.
ISBN: 9780312355296
Price: $16.52
Page Count: 479
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (2020)
Alternating between three time frames, all somehow related to the Brookhants School for Girls and the strange occurrences which have been said to happen on and around the grounds, the girls and women in this book are connected in ways both obvious and subtle, and unraveling those connections is an unsettling affair. The addition of period black-and-white sketches lends to the eerie tone, and will have readers wondering what is real, what is illusion, and if it makes a difference.
ISBN: 0062942859
Price: $18.99
Page Count: 640
HUMOR
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (2000)
Sedaris is an old hand at laugh-out-loud humor, and is beloved by many a reader. The essays in this book were inspired by his move from Paris to New York, and contain some of his funniest pieces, now considered classics if you’re in the right circles. For more Sedaris, check out our review of The Best of Me.
ISBN: 9780316776967
Price: $11.29
Page Count: 272
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (2017)
Irby’s wit and humor are matched by her sincerity and self-deprecation, in an essay collection which touches on matters serious, trivial, and absolutely insane, with a hilarity unmatched amongst queer humor writers. Plus, Roxane Gay called this “as close to perfect as an essay collection can get,” which is the highest praise from the highest source.
ISBN: 1101912197
Price: $8.20
Page Count: 288
LITERARY FICTION
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956)
A queer classic of the highest echelons, Giovanni’s Room tells the story of David, an American living in France, reminiscing about two past relationships – one with a young woman named Hella and the other with a handsome bartender named Giovanni. Dealing with death, deceit, love, and sexuality, this introspective novel is as insightful as it is eternally relevant.
ISBN: 0345806565
Price: $9.59
Page Count: 176
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel (2017)
Claude is five year old, and he wants to grow up to be a girl. Claude’s family wants to be the best parents they can be to each of their five children, wants Claude to be happy, and wants to keep everything a secret. Which works – until it doesn’t. This is a story about family and transformation that makes what may seem like a unique situation wholly relatable at every turn.
ISBN: 1250088550
Price: $20.15
Page Count: 336
MEMOIR
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock (2014)
While exceptionalism can be problematic when telling stories of individuals usually excluded from common narratives, it is not an exaggeration or insult to say that Mock is exceptional. This memoir is a captivating and inspiring read, and Mock’s refusal to compromise on the truth of her experience, while simultaneously offering grace and wisdom to those in her life (and to readers), imparts lessons we all could learn about the necessity of honesty, the reality of vulnerability and, true to the title, a definition of what it means to be real.
ISBN: 9781476709123
Price: $15.98
Page Count: 288
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi (2021)
Emezi has stunned readers with every book they’ve released, and while each of their books have touched on real parts of their heritage, culture, and identity, this book reveals them in new ways, and asks readers to understand that they are evolving before our eyes. In a series of letters to people in their life, including readers, Emezi imparts advice, wisdom, and truth to anyone who is willing to listen. You can also read our full review of this remarkable memoir here.
ISBN: 0593329198
Price: $23.99
Page Count: 240
MYSTERY
Affinity by Sarah Waters (1999)
Margaret has begun working with the women at Millbank prison, and finds herself drawn to Selina, a spiritualist who claims she is innocent of the murder she’s accused of, alleging it was instead a séance gone wrong. Skepticism leads to curiosity leads to infatuation, and Margaret must make choices about who to believe, and how justice can be served.
ISBN: 1573228737
Price: $15.99
Page Count: 368
The Death of Friends by Michael Nava (2013)
Chris Chandler is dead, and his lover Zak Bowen has been arrested, but Henry Rios isn’t sure that Bowen has anything to do with it, and when Bowen disappears, it’s up to Rios to discreetly figure out what is actually happening, while trying not to ruffle the feathers of Chandler’s wife and son. With all the requisite twists and turns of a good mystery, this one will engage you not only for the plot, but for the carefully considered character and their slow unraveling.
ISBN: 039913977X
Price: $5.96
Page Count: 232
PARENTING
Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion by Nishta J. Mehra (2019)
This both is and isn’t your typical family: a brown mother, a white mother and their black adopted son (who now identifies as a girl, though did not at the time this book was published), dealing openly and honestly with conversations around race, gender, sexuality and most of all parenting. Lacking neither compassion nor struggle, this is a book which will challenge your notions of identity, and look closer at the challenges that come with these mothers’ particular identities.
ISBN: 1250133556
Price: $22.49
Page Count: 224
Raised by Unicorns: Stories from People with LGBTQ+ Parents edited by Frank Lowe (2018)
This collection of stories and essays is not necessarily always the feel-good fest you might hope for, but it deals with the diversity of family dynamics with honesty and care, and is ultimately a reflection of the love that can be found within a family, with or without struggle. These are voices not often considered as part of the LGBTQ+ community, despite their familiarity with it, and to include these voices in the conversation of queer families is essential and beautifully done.
ISBN: 9781627782562
Price: $13.25
Page Count: 207
POETRY
Love, Death and the Changing of the Seasons by Marilyn Hacker (1986)
In this powerful collection of poems two women fall in love and fall apart, and though the poems tell their story, they also stand alone as sonnets dedicated to love, lust, and loss. Read it straight through to experience the relationship as it happens, or flip to a random page for a dose of structured beauty.
ISBN: 0393312259
Price: $17.24
Page Count: 226
Homie by Danez Smith (2020)
Don’t let this slim volume fool you into thinking that your heart will be safe when you venture into its pages. Smith’s reflections on friendships are filled with joy, even while acknowledging our national weaknesses and cruelties. This is a book to be shared, highlight a line or five, and pass it to your bestie, your homie. Have them do the same.
ISBN: 1644450100
Price: $11.99
Page Count: 96
ROMANCE
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon (1957)
This pulp lesbian classic from the 1950’s tells the story of Laura, who during her freshman year of college becomes enamored with Beth, who is initially amused by the attention until she finds she too is attracted to Laura. There are admittedly valid quarrels with the way some of this novel turns out, but it still manages to portray their romance with compassion and sincerity.
ISBN: 1684220106
Price: $9.95
Page Count: 192
Starting from Scratch by Jay Northcote (2017)
Sid is immediately attracted to his housemate Ben, who is transgender and prefers that it not be common knowledge. As Sid and Ben get closer, and embark on a relationship it’s not clear whether Ben will be able to fully commit, but Sid’s going to keep trying anyway. This is just the right mix of steamy and cozy, physical and emotional, trust and doubt, and readers will savor every second of it.
ISBN: 1545255725
Price: $11.99
Page Count: 228
SCIENCE FICTION
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (2019)
Gideon is a swordfighter, Harrowhark is a necromancer, and though they would rather not, working together is the only way they’ll be able to compete to save their planet in the trials arranged by the Emperor. It’s a brutal setting, and even so the characters and plot manage to sparkle with wit, complexity, and elegance.
ISBN: 1250313198
Price: $19.04
Page Count: 448
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht (2021)
If space operas are your cup of tea, this is one you’re going to want to add to your collection. Mercenaries and criminals, compelled to flee when they’re blamed for an assassination they didn’t carry out (they assassinated the person standing next to the person they’re being blamed for), find themselves protecting an indigenous population from a foe who shows no mercy.
ISBN: 1534414584
Price: $16.73
Page Count: 512
SPIRITUAL/INSPIRATIONAL
The Book of Queer Prophets: 24 Writers on Sexuality and Religion curated by Ruth Hunt (2020)
Religious trauma is not unusual in the queer community, but neither is religious faith, and these essays by influential contributors tackle the murky questions which exist in the Venn diagram of queerness and faith. These two identities, these essays posit, do not need to be diametrically opposed. As these writers speak to their own experience, they open the dialogue for other queer people to consider their own interactions with and investment in religion.
ISBN: 000836009X
Price: $17.74
Page Count: 240
Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays by R. Eric Thomas (2020)
If you think being Christian and being gay only portends grief and despair, Thomas is going to disabuse you of that notion, with ample humor and bounding optimism, sharing his stories as a means to inspire hope and change. This message is intended for the larger world, but is seemingly directed at the reader
ISBN: 0525621032
Price: $14.00
Page Count: 288
THRILLER
Apparition Alley by Katherine V. Forrest (1997)
Although this is the 6th in a series, you don’t have to have read the first five to become immediately immersed in this one, with detective Kate Delafield facing a moment of reckoning in her career (under internal investigation) and her personal life (where being in the closet is becoming less of an option). With tact for the emotional turmoil of coming out in a contentious space like the LAPD in the late nineties, this is a suspenseful thriller built as much from inner tension as outer.
ISBN: 188352380X
Price: $14.95
Page Count: 231
Fire on the Island: A Romantic Thriller by Timothy Jay Smith (2020)
A gay undercover FBI agent in Greece… do I even need to finish that sentence, or have you already run out of the house to pick this one up? If you need more prompting, there is an affair with a suspect to an arson, an art forger priest, and a town full of secrets on the brink of being exposed, in a deftly woven, empathetic, and tight plot that doesn’t ignore the political and ethical realities of life in contemporary Greece.
ISBN: 1950691608
Price: $19.02
Page Count: 288
TRAVEL
Gears for Queers by Abigail Melton and Lilith Cooper (2020)
Abigail and Lilith decide to get on their bikes and cycle from Amsterdam to Montpelier, without too much preparation, but just enough gumption and grit to get them through the highs and lows of cycle touring. This is not a simple travel memoir, but also a series of anecdotes that reflect on their relationship, their identities, and where to find simple joys when larger problems loom.
ISBN: 1912240963
Price: $12.99
Page Count: 284
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad (2021)
After diagnosis and treatment for cancer, and three and a half years spent in and out of wards, Jaouad decides to spend the next 100 days of her life on the road, learning what it means to live, after being so focused on how to survive. Through conversations and reflection along the way, Jaouad looks at what it means to be well, how illness and grief are endured, and how to start over when “over” seems itself a worthy goal.
ISBN: 0399588582
Price: $18.24
Page Count: 368
TRUE CRIME
Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of the Hollywood by William J. Mann (2014)
William Desmond Taylor was at the height of his career as president of the Motion Picture Directors Association when movies were more popular than they had ever been – and then he was murdered. This is Los Angeles in the ‘20s, feuding captains of industry, movie stars and lavish parties, which reads like a novel, but bites like an exposé, and keeps you captivated to the very end.
ISBN: 9780062242198
Price: $13.59
Page Count: 528
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg (2020)
When two young women are murdered on their way to a peace festival called The Rainbow Gathering, the small community where they were from is rocked, and kept reeling when one man is convicted, but another confesses. This book delves not only into the murder and the players involved, but how trauma can be experienced on a large scale, community-wide and generationally.
ISBN: 0316449210
Price: $14.21
Page Count: 336
WESTERN
Real World: A Love is Blind Novel by BA Tortuga (2016)
Back in Texas after several deployments, Dan is still adjusting when he meets Abraham and is instantly attracted to him. Several perfect moments are followed by Dan learning that Abraham is bi and a dad, and a complicated home life that Dan isn’t sure he’s at all interested in long term, and Abraham isn’t sure he’s in a place for anything short-term. This second installation, in a two-book series, is a western romance with a great family story, and every character will stay with you for a while.
ISBN: 163477373X
Price: $16.99
Page Count: 343
Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison (2018)
Orphaned at 17, Jessilyn becomes Jess out of convenience and necessity, needing to fend for herself, fight for her survival, and find her brother who became an outlaw years ago. This is a book which will transplant you right into the heart of the desert, sharpshooting and horse-riding, and plotting and thieving, with relationships as intense as the moments they’re born from. This will leave your throat parched and your heart full.
ISBN: 9780735220454
Price: $17.00
Page Count: 416
About this book
- Genre:Various