Welcome to the first Tuesday Our Queerest Shelves newsletter! I’m so excited to get to write twice as many of these. Today I took a break from recommendations of queer books to complete the Read Harder challenge with in order to shout out a new release I forgot last week, but more of those recs will be coming along shortly!
Speaking of queer books, today let’s help some teachers and librarians get queer books on the shelves for students who need them. Here are a few Donors Choose projects that would appreciate you tossing them some money as well as social media shares:
- LGBTQ books: Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
- Rainbow flags and pins: Global Learning Collaborative in New York, NY
- LGBTQ books: Glassbrook Elementary School in Hayward, CA
Bookish Goods
Gay for Books shirt by heyunclekate
This design is printed on a thrifted shirt, making it an eco-friendly and stylish choice. There are a couple of other listings with this same design. $30
New Releases
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane (Queer Speculative Fiction)
This is one of those books that I could have sworn came out earlier, because I’ve been hearing so much about it for so long. In this dystopian U.S., criminals are assigned a second (then third, fourth, etc) shadow, creating an underclass of Shadesters. Kris’s wife died in childbirth, and now she is struggling to raise a baby as a single, grieving mother — with a second shadow.
Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki (Asexual/Aromantic Manga)
Chika spent her high school years feeling like an outsider because she had no interest in dating. Then, in college, she discovers the labels “asexual” and “aromantic”, along with a community that show her that there’s nothing with her.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis (Queer Fiction)
The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato (Gay Fiction)
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (Bisexual Thriller)
Home by Cailean Steed (Queer Thriller)
Glitterland by Alexis Hall (M/M Romance)
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (Sapphic Fantasy)
Homecoming by Kaitlin Chan (Graphic Novel)
I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 2 by Honami Shirono (Asexual Manga)
Barbarities, Vol. 1 by Tsuta Suzuki (BL Manga)
Bisexual Men Exist: A Handbook for Bisexual, Pansexual and M-Spec Men by Vaneet Mehta (Bisexual Nonfiction)
Are We Free Yet?: The Black Queer Guide to Divorcing America by Tina Strawn (Queer Nonfiction)
For more new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
I realized that I somehow forgot to include one of my most-anticipated new releases last week: Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett! I mean, just look at that cover. To make up for it, I’m also recommending a Camryn Garrett backlist title I loved — which is why I’m so excited to pick up her new one!
Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett
Mahalia is jealous of some of her friends’ big Sweet 16 parties. She’s already turned 16, but she has another idea: she’s going to throw a giant coming out party, complete with a rainbow gown and an invite to her crush, Siobhan. And if it means taking on a part-time job, well, she’s sure she can juggle school, work, and planning an extravagant party…
Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
This follows Simone, who has been HIV positive since birth. She manages it with medication, but stigma pushed her from her old school, and now she keeps it a secret. Just as she built a friendship group, took on a leadership position in the drama department, and started to believe her crush might like her back, she starts getting blackmail notes. Simone has two dads, her best friends are both queer, and she comes out as bisexual over the course of the book, initially feeling insecure because she has a preference for guys. This was a beautiful read, and I especially love the queer community that surrounds Simone.
All the Links Fit to Click
Quiz: What Queer Book in Translation Should You Read?
Meet the historian who is driving a bus full of banned queer books across the U.S.
That’s it for me this week! Until next time, you can find me at my sapphic book blog, the Lesbrary. You can also hear me on All the Books or you can read my Book Riot posts.
Happy reading!
Danika