So, you’ve been at home and maybe already read hot-selling titles like Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett, and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli. You might have also Netflix-binged through Queer Eye, I Am Not Okay with This, AJ and the Queen, and Special, gave a couple movies like Alex Strangelove and Let It Snow a spin (or several). Now you’re thinking you want to find new-to-you LGBTQIA+ fiction titles, but the Library is closed and you can’t browse the shelves.
We got you and we are always here to recommend some great books for you. These titles – and many more! – are also always available for free to check out with your Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh account. You can link to Hoopla through our eResources page and view a Hoopla tutorial here. Don’t forget to also log your books in our Stay In & Read: Virtual Reading Challenge! Have questions about this program, registering, or logging books? Contact Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh on any of our social media platforms or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org.
After these, are you interested in more picks? Fill out our Book Recommendation form and a librarian will curate a list of suggestions for you!
Finding Your Feet By Cass Lennox
Evie fully intended to just meet other asexuals while holidaying in Toronto, only to find herself learning how to dance at Toronto’s newest queer dance studio from grumpy Tyler, biracial transgender man recovering from an emotionally abusive relationship. While Evie might be an excellent dance student, learning to emotionally trust a person is another hurdle for Tyler that he is not ready to explore. If you enjoyed this title, be sure to check out the rest of the Toronto Connections series.
Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab By Shani MooToo
Jonathan Lewis-Adey was nine years old when his mothers separated, and Sid entirely vanished from his life. Fast forward to adulthood, when Jonathan is finally able to reconnect with his absent mother, only to find out that Sid is now Sydney, an elegant man living in his native Trinidad. For the next nine years, Jonathan tries to rekindle that former parental bond, looking for Sid within this stranger and learning his life story.
The Clothesline Swing By Ahmad Danny Ramadan
Taking place following the aftermath of Arab Spring, Hakawati weaves stories together, stories of his childhood in Damascus, the barbarism he experienced for his sexuality, the experience of leaving home and being at war, and how he met his lover, who is dying by his side. All the while, Death is eavesdropping on their conversation, waiting for their final moments.
The Necessary Hunger By Nina Revoyr
Nancy, a Japanese-American queer girl living in an inner-cty L.A. neighborhood during the 1980s, finds herself dealing with complex romantic feelings towards her teammate Raina, while also juggling classes, plans for college, and being a star basketball player for a highly-ranked team. A poignant coming-of-age story that Nancy reflects on her final year of high school, foreseeing the potential futures of her friends, and becoming a step-sister to Raina as her father falls for Raina’s mother.
Two Wings to Fly Away By Penny Mickelbury
It’s 1865 in Philadelphia, where runaway slave Genie Oliver uses her dress shop as a front for the Underground Railroad. Meanwhile, white heiress Abby Read avoids marrying any man by running a rooming house; however, when the daughter of the free black servant Maggie is captured by slave catchers, Abby teams up with Genie in a group to join Harriet Tubman to help guide escaped slaves into freedom in Philadelphia.
Nirvana is Here By Aaron Hamburger
Ari Silverman finds himself having to confront a past he kept buried when two events occur: his ex-husband is accused of sexually harassing a university student where Ari is on the committee to determine a charge, and to make that decision, Ari connects with his former high school crush, Justin Jackson, who is now happily married to a woman. During these events, Ari reflects on his adolescence on being a Jewish boy in the Detroit suburbs of the 1990s, his passion for Nirvana, and being haunted by the sexual trauma he suffered at the hands of his classmate and neighbor, Mark.
The Not Wives By Carley Moore
The lives of three very different women are explored during the Occupy Wall Street movement as they piece together a new American identity founded on resistance against the traditional role of the wife and the gentrification of New York. Stevie, a non-tenured professor, is handling the care of her 8-year-old child with a separated father; Mel, Stevie’s best friend, is in separate relationships with a woman and a man, and suddenly finds herself pregnant at the age of 42. Johanna is a homeless teenaged runaway that bonds with Stevie when both witness the suicide of a university student.
To Be Taught, If Unfortunate By Becky Chambers
At the turn of the 22nd century, a team of explorers led by Ariadne O’Neill are on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light years away while shifting through form and time as the culture on Earth changes dramatically. The crew is multiracial and multigenerational, sharing a close physical and emotional relationship with one another that goes beyond the romantic partnership. With concerns that their Earth will be no longer recognizable when they return, Ariadne chronicles their mission in hopes that someone may still be listening back home.