Research Guides: LGBTQ+ Resources: LGBTQ+ Literature

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Books at the Library

The following titles are a sampling of LGBTQ+ literature available in the library.

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.G165 An 2013
The story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten their relationship, promise to be true to each other and their feelings. From the moment Liza Winthrop meets Annie Kenyon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she knows there is something special between them. But Liza never knew falling in love could be so wonderful . . . or so confusing.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.1.T4479 Cem 2020
A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas's New York Times-bestselling paranormal YA debut Cemetery Boys, described by Entertainment Weekly as "groundbreaking."
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin; Colm Toibin (Introduction by)
Call Number: PS3552.A45 G5 2016
David is a young American expatriate who has just proposed marriage to his girlfriend, Hella. While she is away on a trip, David meets a bartender named Giovanni to whom he is drawn in spite of himself. Soon the two are spending the night in Giovanni's curtainless room, which he keeps dark to protect their privacy. But Hella's return to Paris brings the affair to a crisis, one that rapidly spirals into tragedy. Caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality, David struggles for self-knowledge during one long, dark night.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.L778786 Las 2021
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Call Number: PS3622.U96 O52 2019
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born -- a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam -- and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.1.E474 Pet 2019
There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told.
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Call Number: PS3552.R698 R8 2015
In bawdy, moving prose, Rita Mae Brown tells the story of Molly Bolt, the adoptive daughter of a dirt-poor Southern couple who boldly forges her own path in America. With her startling beauty and crackling wit, Molly finds that women are drawn to her wherever she goes-and she refuses to apologize for loving them back. This literary milestone continues to resonate with its message about being true to yourself and, against the odds, living happily ever after.
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.1.L2564 Whe 2022
For fans of "Good Omens"--a queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure. Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.

The following titles are a sampling of LGBTQ+ literature available in the library.

Be Gay, Do Comics by Sarah Mirk (Editor); Eleri Harris (Editor); The The Nib (Compiled by); Matt Bors; Matt Lubchansky (Editor)
Call Number: PN6726 .B34 2020
The dream of a queer separatist town. The life of a gay and Jewish Nazi-fighter. A gender reveal party that tears apart reality. These are the just some of the comics you'll find in this massive queer comics anthology from The Nib. Be Gay, Do Comics is filled with dozens of comics about LGBTQIA experiences, ranging from personal stories to queer history to cutting satire about pronoun panic and brands desperate to co-opt pride.
Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.7.U53 Ch 2018
Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There's checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack--his very attractive but moody captain.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
Call Number: PN6727.B3757 Z46
In this graphic novel, Bechdel relates her family history: a father obsessed with decoration; a mother receiving no love; and her own developing awareness of being lesbian. Growing up in the family home which was also the town funeral home, she eventually learns after his premature death/suicide that her father was a closeted gay man.
Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PN6727.K655 G46 2020
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up with Me by Mariko Tamaki
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.7.T355 Lau 2019
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend. Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy's best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it's really Laura Dean that's the problem.
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.7.W356 On 2018
Two timelines. Second chances. One love. A ragtag crew travels to the deepest reaches of space, rebuilding beautiful, broken structures to piece the past together. Two girls meet in boarding school and fall deeply in love--only to learn the pain of loss. With interwoven timelines and stunning art, award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden creates an inventive world, breathtaking romance, and an epic quest for love.
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - PZ7.7.W366 Pr 2018
Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia--the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian's secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone's secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend?
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
Call Number: PN6733.L34 S76 2021
Bron and Ray are a queer couple who enjoy their role as the fun weirdo aunties for Ray's niece Nessie. Their bi-weekly playdates are little oases of wildness, joy, and ease in daily lives that ping-pong between familial tensions and isolation. As their emotional intimacy erodes, Ray and Bron turn to repair their broken family ties.

The following titles are a sampling of LGBTQ+ literature available in the library.

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
Call Number: Young Adult Collection - HQ76.27.A37 J644 2020
ISBN: 9780374312718
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue explores their childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.
Born Both by Hida Viloria
Call Number: HQ77.98.V55 A3 2017
From one of the world's foremost intersex activists, a candid, provocative, and eye-opening memoir of gender identity, self-acceptance, and love. Born Both is the story of Hida's lifelong journey toward finding love and embracing an authentic identity in a world that insists on categorizing people into either/or, and of a decades-long fight for human rights and equality for intersex people everywhere.
Fat and Queer by Morales, Miguel M. (Editor); Bruce Owens Grimm (Editor); Tiff Joshua Tj Ferentini (Editor)
Call Number: PS508.S49 F38 2021
We're here. We're queer. We're fat. This one-of-a-kind collection of prose and poetry radically explores the intersection of fat and queer identities, showcasing new, emerging and established queer and trans writers from around the world.
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
Call Number: PS3622.U96 A6 2016
The New Yorker, The Best Books of Poetry of 2016 New York Times, Critics Pick Boston Globe, Best Books listing Miami Herald, Best LGBTQ Books San Francisco Chronicle, Top 100 Books of the Year Library Journal, Best Books of 2016. Ocean Vuong's first full-length collection aims straight for the perennial "big"--and very human--subjects of romance, family, memory, grief, war, and melancholia. None of these he allows to overwhelm his spirit or his poems, which demonstrate, through breath and cadence and unrepentant.
Outside the XY by bklyn boihood (Compiled by); Morgan Mann Willis (Editor, Based on a book by)
Call Number: PS508.S49 O98 2016
Outside the XY: Queer Black and Brown Masculinity is an anthology of more than 50 stories, memories, poems, ideas, essays and letters--all examining what it looks like, feels like, and is like to inhabit masculinity outside of cisgendered manhood as people of color in the world.
Punks by John Keene
Call Number: PS3561.E3717 P86 2021
A landmark collection of poetry by acclaimed fiction writer, translator, and MacArthur Fellow John Keene. With depth and breadth, PUNKS weaves together historic narratives of loss, lust, and love. The many voices that emerge in these poems--from historic Black personalities, both familial and famous, to the poet's friends and lovers in gay bars and bedrooms--form a cast of characters capable of addressing desire, oppression, AIDS, and grief through sorrowful songs that "we sing as hard as we live."
The Selected Works of Audre Lorde by Roxane Gay (Editor); Audre Lorde
Call Number: PS3562.O75 A6 2020
Self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" Audre Lorde is an unforgettable voice in twentieth-century literature, and one of the first to center the experiences of black, queer women. This essential reader showcases her contributions to intersectional feminism, queer theory, and critical race studies in twelve landmark essays and more than sixty poems--selected and introduced by one of our most powerful contemporary voices on race and gender, Roxane Gay.

More LGBTQ+ Comics

In addition to the titles available through the library catalog, JCCC students, faculty, and staff have access to the ComicsPlus digital library through the Billington Library's subscription.

ComicsPlus This link opens in a new window
ComicsPlus offers unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga from more than 100 publishers. Students and staff will need to sign up for an account using their JCCC email address at the Billington Library. Once your account is created, you can log in and browse titles on your PC or Mac, or download the app to read on your mobile device, available from the App Store for iPad and iPhone and the Google Play store for Android. When using the app, you will need to search for and select Johnson County Community College as your library, then sign in or register. The app allows users to download titles for offline reading.

Booklists for LGBTQ+ Fiction

Literary Studies

LGBTQ Literature by Margaret Sonser Breen (Editor) So much of great literature centres on explorations of gender, sex, and sexuality. What does it mean to be a proper man or woman; what if one cannot be properly called either? Should one wield one's sexual power politically? What is the relation between law, divine or secular, and sexuality? These are just some of the questions that this volume examines through an analysis of a wide range of texts.
Call Number: PS153.S39 L43 2015
ISBN: 9781619254237
LGBTQ Young Adult Fiction by Caren J. Town Young adult literature featuring teenage lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning characters is fast growing in popularity. The author explores a selection of recent novels--many of which may be new to readers--and places them in the wider contexts of LGBTQ literature and history. Chapters discuss a range of topics, including the relationship of Queer Theory to literature, LGBTQ families, and recent trends in utopian and dystopian science fiction.
Call Number: PS374.Y57 T69 2017
ISBN: 9781476628950
OutWrite by Julie R. Enszer (Editor); Elena Gross (Editor) Running from 1990 to 1999, the annual OutWrite conference played a pivotal role in shaping LGBTQ literary culture in the United States and its emerging canon. OutWrite provided a space where literary lions who had made their reputations before the gay liberation movement--like Edward Albee, John Rechy, and Samuel R. Delany--could mingle, network, and flirt with a new generation of emerging queer writers like Tony Kushner, Alison Bechdel, and Sarah Schulman.
Call Number: PN6122 .O98 2022