Things I Read That I Love #188: I’m Making a Fool Of Myself, and I Can’t Get Out Of It
Topics include Mary Gaitskill, Terri Gross, witch-hunts, The Church of Satan, murder, Todd Marinovich, pork, Times Square, Adam Lambert fandom and so much more!
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: “Fledgling” and Queer Black Vampire Mythology
If you’re interested in seeing the complexities of polyamorous relationships interpreted through the lens of speculative fiction, or in reading a quietly queer sci-fi great’s exploration of sexual fluidity, Fledgling will be up your alley.
“Pedal Zombies” Is The Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction You Didn’t Know You Needed
“Zombies signify failure — of political will and social cohesion, of technology and medicine, of the human body and soul. These are all topics that are being battled over right now, among people who care about all three worlds that this series occupies: science fiction, feminism, and bicycling.”
Lez Liberty Lit #83: Pages Like Leaves
Queer books for Halloween, a new collaborative serial from Malinda Lo, witch history, librarian history and more.
Rebel Girls Reading List: 10 Activist Workbooks and How-To Guides for Queer Feminists
From figuring out your own gender politics to launching massive campaigns and everything in-between, these books have your back as queer people, women, people of color, and other folks living at the intersections. The bonus? They’re also all badass as f*ck.
Things I Read That I Love #187: I’m Hiding From My Life, What Else?
Topics include the battle for the soul of Oakland, getting rid of tipping, the sex lives of college students, Terence Trent D’Arby, dying alone, the thirst of California and Ryan Murphy.
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: “The Gilda Stories” and Queer Black Vampire Myth
The Gilda Stories was published in 1991 and hasn’t been out of print since — it uses the vampire myth to tackle new themes, including Black American life and queerness.
Lez Liberty Lit #82: It’s Never Too Soon To Reread
An excerpt from Carrie Brownstein’s memoir, tiny beautiful libraries, the best queer sex in literature, Michelle Tea on Eileen Myles and more.
57 Feminists Riff on What the World Could be in “The Feminist Utopia Project”
This book is not a manual to create The Feminist Utopia; it is a process that you are invited to share in.
Things That I Read That I Love #186: As If They Had Just Been Waiting For Us To Ask
Topics include not having children, Nicki Minaj, the black family in the age of mass incarceration, Bernie Sanders, Ina Garten, the Tonys, a gay commune and more!
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Meredith Maran’s “A Theory of Small Earthquakes”
A Theory of Small Earthquakes is a novel about bisexuality, family, and secrets, with a narrative that’s quite different from the typical work of women’s fiction.
Lez Liberty Lit #81: All Eileen Myles All The Time
Eileen Myles is having a moment (okay she’s always been having a moment but people finally noticed); a new trans poetry literary journal; queer books to read this fall and more.
Things I Read That I Love #185: You Don’t Choose Her But She Finds You
Topics include the Slender Man murders, girls’ games, multilevel marketing, how to write about trans women, scars, Disneyland/Dismaland, Kony 2012 and moar!
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Meliza Bañales’ “Life Is Wonderful, People Are Terrific”
Can you resist a title as snarky as Life Is Wonderful, People Are Terrific? I couldn’t, especially when the book was written by spoken-word champion and award-winning filmmaker Meliza Bañales.
Fool’s Journey: “She Is Sitting in the Night” is the Queer Tarot Book You’ve Been Waiting For
It’s a queer tarot guidebook and a celebration of an 80s feminist tarot deck rolled into one; a book of beautiful and radical tarot card meanings, and a conversation across generations of feminism and LGBTQ politics.
Lez Liberty Lit #80: Stories Are What You Make Them
The Hitchhiker’s Guide and loving problematic things; The Argonauts and embracing but not constraining queerness; writing about race and representation; queer books with bi characters and more.
Relevant To Your Interests: Books About Hackers
I’m reading a book about hackers right now and feel like maybe some of y’all want to join me. Just a feeling I had.
Drawn to Comics: Kate Beaton Tells Us What Would Happen if Lois Lane Met Wonder Woman
Kate Beaton talks to Autostraddle about why Ida Wells is her hero, the fascinating Filles de Roi, and obviously Wonder Woman.
Things I Read That I Love #184: It Seemed Everyone, Even The Moon, Was Laughing and Drunk.
Topics include working at Disney, the real lives of Sugar Daddies, Michael Derrick Hudson in context, the ghost town of Bodie, Live Aid, an essay that made me cry and so much more!
Hidden Gems of Queer Lit: Colleen McKee’s “Nine Kinds of Wrong”
I’d known for a while that my colleague Colleen McKee had a book out, and one day I bought a copy from her in the break room. When I learned that it combined memoir, poetry, and fiction, I had one burning question: “Who let you do that?!”