LGBTQ+
Theft by finding : diaries 1977-2002
David Sedaris
eAUDIO
Humor, Memoir, Literary Nonfiction, LGBTQ+
Shares the author's favorite diary entries, providing a look into the mind of a comic genius.
Shuggie Bain : a novel
Douglas Stuart
FICTION Stuart Douglas
Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Literary Fiction
"Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcher's war on heavy industry has put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie's mother Agnes walks a wayward path: she is Shuggie's guiding light but a burden for his artistic brother and practical sister. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a "whoremaster" of a husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good - her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor. But under the surface, Agnes finds increasing solace in drink, and she drains away the lion's share of each week's benefits - all the family has to live on - on cans of extra-strong lager hidden in handbags and poured into tea mugs. Agnes's older children find their own ways to get a safe distance from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to look after her as she swings between alcoholic binges and sobriety. He is meanwhile doing all he can to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be, but everyone has realized that Shuggie is "no right," and now Agnes's addiction has the power to eclipse everyone close to her-even and especially her beloved Shuggie." --
This book received a Kirkus starred review, and it's definitely worth the hype. The book takes place in the working class Scotland of the 1980s. Agnes is a young alcoholic woman who loves her children but is mostly incapacitated by poverty and drink. Shuggie is a young boy who is a bit of a social pariah for being a gay momma's boy - even though for most of the book he has little to no understanding of why he doesn't fit in with the others. He just doesn't. I thought this book was heartbreaking but also just plain beautiful. I won't forget Shuggie or Agnes. -Heidi K
Operatic
Kyo Maclear
eBOOK
Kids, Graphic Novels, LGBTQ+
Learn about genres of music, especially opera, along with Charlie as she researches the perfect song for a middle-school project, while dealing with her first romantic feelings for a classmate. -Anne W
How we fight for our lives : a memoir
Saeed Jones
BIOGRAPHY Jones, Saeed
Memoir, Biographies, LGBTQ+, Nonfiction
Haunted and haunting, Jones's memoir tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes that chart a course across the American landscape, Jones draws readers into his boyhood and adolescence--into tumultuous relationships with his mother and grandmother, into passing flings with lovers, friends and strangers. Each piece builds into a larger examination of race and queerness, power and vulnerability, love and grief: a portrait of what we all do for one another--and to one another--as we fight to become ourselves.
Added by Melody
The lotterys plus one
Emma Donoghue
jFICTION Donoghue, Emma
Kids, LGBTQ+
Once upon a time, two couples with Jamaican, Mohawk, Indian, and Scottish ethnic roots won the lottery and bought a big house where all of them, four adults and seven adopted and biological children, could live together in harmony--but change is inevitable, especially when a disagreeable grandfather comes to stay.
Added by Anne W
Hurricane Child
Kheryn Callender
jFICTION Callender, Kheryn
Kids, LGBTQ+
Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, twelve-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
Added by Anne W
Mr. know-it-all : the tarnished wisdom of a filth elder
John Waters
791.430233 /Waters
LGBTQ+, Memoir
"The newest essay collection from the New York Times-bestselling John Waters, reflecting on how to overcome newfound responsibility and rebel in the autumn of your years"-- Provided by publisher.
Added by Melody
Why be happy when you could be normal?
Jeanette Winterson
BIOGRAPHY Winterson, Jeanette
Memoir, LGBTQ+
This memoir is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother by the author of "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit"--winner of the Whitbread First Novel award and the inspiration behind the award-winning BBC television adaptation "Oranges."
Added by Melody
Naturally Tan : a memoir.
Tan France
791.45028092 /France
LGBTQ+, Memoir
Before he became famous as one of the Fab Five makeover experts, Tan France was the youngest child in his family, growing up in South Yorkshire, England. As a member of one of the very few South Asian, Muslim families living in the predominantly white community, he was routinely bullied for both his culture and his skin color. Knowing he was gay from an early age, Tan harbored that secret to avoid further racial harassment and potentially cause a rift between him and his family. It was a secret he would keep from them until finally coming out at the age of 34—happily married to Rob, a Mormon cowboy from Salt Lake City. With his trademark wit, humor, and radical compassion, Tan shares his journey and the lessons he’s learned along the way about being a successful businessman, a devoted spouse, and self-acceptance. From navigating the gay community, to finding the love of his life, to creating popular ladies’ clothing lines for Kingdom & State and Rachel Parcell, Inc. to joining Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, Bobby Berk, and Jonathan Van Ness on Queer Eye as positive, representative celebrity role models for LGBTQ people, Tan followed his own path to develop his signature style and embrace life on his own terms.
Added by Melody
How to write an autobiographical novel : essays
Alexander Chee
"From the author of The Queen of the Night, an essay collection exploring how we form our identities in life, in politics, and in art"--
Added by Melody
Nobody really needs me to suggest David Sedaris. But having read all his other books which blend essay, humor, autobiography, and scathing social critique, I thought this compilation of writing pulled from his diaries would seem a little old hat - sort of a "for fans only" affair. Well, I am a fan, but Theft by Finding has passages so biting and original and weird that I gasped several times while listening to the eAudio on walks during quarantine. Trademark humor is still there, but there are also parts of Theft by Finding that grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and shook me. -Heidi K