Happy #PrideMonth!
This June, we’re reading with pride and highlighting inspiring and unique stories that celebrate the world’s LGBTQIA+ communities.
Click for the Ultimate LGBTQIA+ Pride Book List
Inspiring Memoirs:
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
*A LibraryReads Notable Nonfiction Pick*
Central Park birder Christian Cooper takes us beyond the viral video that shocked a nation and into a world of avian adventures, global excursions, and the unexpected lessons you can learn from a life spent looking up.
“Wondrous . . . captivating.”—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of An Immense World
“Utterly captivating, a marvel of storytelling . . . Christian Cooper’s memoir is tender, honest, funny, wise, poignant, piercing, and infused with brilliant observations on the nature of birds, humans, and his own extraordinary personal journey.”—Jennifer Ackerman, New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Watch an Author Interview with Christian Cooper
Uncle of the Year: & Other Debatable Triumphs by Andrew Rannells
From the star of The Book of Mormon and Girls, candid, hilarious essays on anxiety, ambition, and the uncertain path to adulthood that ask: How will we know when we get there?
“With the unsparing eye of David Sedaris and the social wisdom of Nora Ephron, Andrew Rannells tackles the most foundational questions of growing up.”—Lena Dunham
“This is the funny, honest, cozy hang with Andrew Rannells that you’ve been creepily dreaming of. . . . A delight.”—Tina Fey
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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One Sunny Afternoon: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing by Amanda Jetté Knox
From the bestselling author of Love Lives Here, a deeply personal memoir about facing life-long trauma head on, and bravely healing the scars that endure.
“From that young girl who found solace in drugs and alcohol, to the adult who was attacked by vicious trolls for sharing her story of a transgendered family, Knox shows us how a triumphant life is accessible despite enormous hurdles. Not only is PTSD navigable but with acceptance, vulnerability, and love, stored memories have the power to bring ultimate freedom.”—Susan Doherty, award-winning author of The Ghost Garden
Available August 22nd in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Yards Between Us: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Football by R.K. Russell
A groundbreaking memoir from professional NFL player, writer, and advocate R.K. Russell, who made history by becoming the first out active NFL player to identify as bisexual.
Told through the people and moments that have shaped him, Russell traces the highs and lows of his life in and out of football.
Through being cut, injured, and frustrating setbacks, Russell’s confidence lags as the secret of his sexuality weighs heavier and heavier. And when that frustration is combined with the devastating loss of his best friend, the darkness that follows also brings a deep understanding that perhaps it’s time to make a change. In The Yards Between Us, R.K. Russell shows us the life-changing power of embracing who you are and fighting to make space so others can do the same.
Available in Hardcover.
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Lesbian Love Story: A Memoir In Archives by Amelia Possanza
For readers of Saidiya Hartman and Jeanette Winterson, Lesbian Love Story is an intimate journey into the archives—uncovering the romances and role models written out of history and what their stories can teach us all about how to love.
“A brilliant and beautifully written ode to women who love women and the importance of their visibility.”—Arianna Rebolini, Vulture
“Lesbian Love Story boasts an inventive blend of genres. Amelia Possanza spins together memoir, archival nonfiction, and fictional passages with ease.”—Laura Zornosa, Time
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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All Down Darkness Wide: A Memoir by Seán Hewitt
All Down Darkness Wide is a perceptive and unflinching meditation on the burden of living in a world that too often sets happiness and queer life at odds, and a tender and honest portrayal of what it’s like to be caught in the undertow of a loved one’s deep depression. As lives are made and unmade, this memoir asks what love can endure and what it cannot.
“The most beautiful prose I’ve read in years.”—Alexander Chee, The Atlantic
“Rapturous . . . Hewitt beautifully illuminates his own darknesses so that we might also see our own.”—Melissa Febos, The New York Times Book Review
“Exquisitely written.”—Claire Messud, Harper’s Magazine
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Pride in Fiction:
The Celebrants: A Novel by Steven Rowley
*A Read with Jenna and LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick*
A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.
“The Celebrants is very much about being alive. It’s marketed as a modern-day The Big Chill, but it’s stirred together with a streak of Gen X independence, a pour of wry humor, some St. Elmo’s Fire feels and a loud reminder to live boldly . . . It’s a book that will inspire you to gather your friends and revel in the now.”—The Washington Post
Available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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The Rachel Incident: A Novel by Caroline O’Donoghue
*A LibraryReads Pick*
A brilliantly funny novel about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.
“If you’ve ever been unsure what to do with your degree in English; if you’ve ever wondered when the rug-buying part of your life will start…if you’ve ever loved the wrong person, or the right person at the wrong time…In short, if you’ve ever been young, you will love The Rachel Incident like I did.” —Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Available June 27th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Just As You Are: A Novel by Camille Kellogg
Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of spirit to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies-to-lovers romance.
“Brims with heart, spice, and humor.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
“The L Word, but better.”—TJ Alexander, author of Chef’s Kiss
“A juicy sapphic romp; sweet, sexy, and tender in all the right ways.”—Gabrielle Korn, author of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Old Enough: A Novel by Haley Jakobson
A debut novel about a young bisexual woman who is pulled between a new sense of community and loyalty to a friendship she’s outgrown.
“Equal parts funny and romantic . . . A provocative work of art about a young woman who struggles to accept the pain and trauma of the past while looking forward to brighter days in the future.”—Cosmopolitan
“Both heartfelt and heart-wrenching, Jakobson explores finding your chosen family, falling in love, and facing the past in this unmissable debut.”—PopSugar
Available June 20th in Hardcover, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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Mrs. Nash’s Ashes: A Novel by Sarah Adler
A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love.
“I laughed. I sobbed. I loved it! Soft, sweet, and utterly enchanting, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler is a delightfully funny and poignant romance that sticks with you like a warm and gooey cinnamon roll.”—Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics
“This is a perfect romance novel. I loved this book from the hilarious beginning to the heartwarming and triumphant ending. Mrs. Nash’s Ashes is funny, hot, smart, and is so full of love, with a couple I cheered for from page one. I can’t wait to devour everything Sarah Adler writes.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk on Love
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
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A Satirical Graphic Novel:
Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
From the award-winning cartoonist and editor at The Nib, a hilarious trans-“final girl” horror graphic novel about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong.
“A witty, tender romp through the cosmic horror of being alive.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties
“A brilliant saga and ‘how to’ of trans survival in the nightmarish crypto-cis-bro-cult underworld of bachelor party indoctrination. I giggled so hard I blew snot bubbles!”—Lilly Wachowski, Director, Writer, Producer
Available in Hardcover and eBook Editions.
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Color with Pride:
The Official Trixie and Katya Coloring Book by Trixie Mattel and Katya; Illustrated by Aly Bellissimo
The first official coloring book from star drag queens and New York Times bestselling authors of Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood and Working Girls.
Suffering from stress, anxiety, or a strong desire to express yourself through the visual arts? Us too. That’s why, after years of vigorous focus groups, intense market research, and meticulous vision boarding, we are proud to bring you the official Trixie and Katya coloring book. This coloring book features forty-four fabulous illustrations by superstar artist Aly Bellissimo, who has drawn Trixie and Katya in a variety of scenarios, ready to be brought to life with your artistic touch!
Available August 22nd in Trade Paperback.
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