Lez Liberty Lit #88: Why Do You Write Like You’re Running Out Of Time?
Fat-positive queer books, Roxane Gay on dissonance, weeding out your shelves, books as best friends and more.
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s “Dirty River”
“This memoir will appeal to those seeking a gritty, glorious, multi-layered story of homecoming and self-healing.”
Things I Read That I Love #192: My 20 Favorite Longreads of 2015
I could’ve picked 200 but I just picked 20.
Read a F*cking Book: You Simply Must Get Your Hands on “I Must Be Living Twice”
“I Must Be Living Twice” is a strong place to first get acquainted with every aspect of Eileen Myles’ work, but it’s also a deeper look into her story for those of us who have been attempting to follow it all along.
215 Of The Best Longreads Of 2015 — All Written By Women
This should keep your brain busy for quite some time.
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Leigh Matthews’ “Don’t Bang the Barista!”
If smart, well-written theatrics are your thing, you’re in for a fun ride with Don’t Bang the Barista!
Were We Ever So Young: Rereading Julie Anne Peters’ “Luna” for the Seventh Time
Luna opened a door for me — no, it opened a thousand doors, doors that I’ve been confidently walking through ever since I came out.
Lez Liberty Lit #87: Drowning In Best-Ofs
Queer holiday depression, a trans princess book, reading Lolita under the patriarchy, Eileen Myles on Transparent, books lists and more.
Things I Read That I Love #191: Now We’re Living in Mississippi, Because My Mother Is Insane.
Topics include the questionable existence of a dog-free floor at Amazon, Galway Kinnell, “a black woman walks into a gun show,” the National Association of Professional Women scam, TripAdvisor, The Pleasant Company story and so much more!
Read a F*cking Book: Eileen Myles’ “Chelsea Girls” is Back, Better Than Ever
It’s the kind of book that takes hold of you. Chelsea Girls is like sitting in someone else’s heart and mind as they go back through an entire lifetime of becoming who they are in that moment, and those are the kinds of moments you can’t just walk into and out of at random.
Lez Liberty Lit #86: The Best of the Best of the Best of 2015
It’s best-of list time! Also poetry by QPOC, Jeanette Winterson and Marlon James in discussion, periods as a sign of anger, Victorian lesbians on a killing spree, and more!
Things I Read That I Love #190: I Am Not Writing A Novel Called “1994” About A Young Woman In An Office Park In a Provincial Town
This is an especially good installment! Topics include disruptive activism, not writing, pandering to men, gentrification, Hillary Clinton’s relationship with black voters, church sex abuse and more.
Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2015
Read these f*cking books.
Lez Liberty Lit #85: We Are Not A Trend
“Let us remember that we become the stories we tell.” Also: an early Horcrux, books women should not read, monstrous bad spelling and more.
Things I Read That I Love #189: How Can She Be That Pretty and That Nice?
Topics include private policing in Detroit, The Hunger Games, AirBnB, the Troubled Teen boot camp, women’s prison, Zola’s true story, being a guest star on “Friends” and moar!
Strange Bedfellows: “The Hunger Games” and “Monster”
What does Monster have to do with The Hunger Games and Katniss Everdeen? You’re about to find out.
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Deb Jannerson’s “Rabbit Rabbit”
In 26 slight pages, Rabbit Rabbit chronicles a personal unraveling, offering insightful treatment of the intricate connections between family and trauma.
Lez Liberty Lit #84: A Great Library Is Freedom
Books that Patti Smith mentions in her memoir, tips for NaNoWriMo, how 21 indie presses got their starts and other things about queer books!
Were We Ever So Young: Revisiting “Empress of the World”
The names of the main characters, Nic and Battle, were gender neutral enough that I projected heterosexuality onto them, not yet knowing that gay YA lit was something even there to be looked for.
Read A F*cking Book: Robin Talley’s What We Left Behind
Despite its shortcomings when it comes to theory, the story does the important work of allowing the characters to ask questions and struggle with their identities.