RECOMMENDED READING BOOKS WRITTEN BY, FEATURING OR ABOUT THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY
I’m Mark, Co-ordinator of OUT-Lit, a LGBT+ inclusive book club established in 2018 in conjunction with Gay Project & Cork City Libraries. We are a close-knit group & meet in Cork Library, Grand Parade on the last Saturday of the month to discuss the chosen book & decide on next month’s book. Since joining OUT-Lit & shortly after becoming the Co-ordinator I never imagined I would see the group flourish & grow so much. It’s a great way to read new and interesting books that you may otherwise never have read before. The difference of opinions and viewpoints of the books can be so varied. This can lead to some very interesting discussions & it’s so intriguing to hear different interpretations of so many books. Be sure to follow “Out-lit” on Instagram & Facebook, new members are always welcome.
KIDS: • Love Makes a Family – Sophie Beer
• Queer Heroes – Arabelle Sicardi • Pride: The Story of Harvery Milk & the Rainbow Flag – Rob Sanders • Julian is a Mermaid – Jessica Love • My Rainbow – Trinity & Deshanna Neal • Love is Love: An Important LGBTQ Pride Book for Kids About Gay Parents and Diverse Families – Michael Genhart • The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish – Lil Miss Hot Mess • And Tango Makes Three – Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell • Prince & Knight – Daniel Haack • Pride 123 – Michael Joosten and Wednesday Holmes LGBTQIA+ FRIENDLY PODCASTS: • I’m Grand Mam with Kevin Twomey and Pj Kirby • We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle • Getting Curios with Jonathan Van Ness • Food 4 Thot with Denne Michele Norris, Joseph Osmundson, Tommy Pico, and Fran Tirado • Nancy with Kathy Tu and Tobin Low • Lovett or Leave it with Jon Lovett • Queery with Cameron Esposito • Queerology: A Podcast on Belief and Being with Matthias Roberts • For the Girls with Jason Black & Nick Westrate
• The Songs of Achilles – Madeline Miller • Detransition, Baby: A Novel – Torrey Peters • What We Do in the Dark – Michelle Hart • Maurice; A Novel – E.M Forster • The Butchers – Ruth Gillian • Women Don’t Owe You Pretty – Florence Given • Beyond the Gender Binary – Alok Vaid–Menon • Untamed – Glennon Doyle • The Confession – Jessie Burton • Red, White and Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston • The Both Die at the End – Adam Silvera • Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin • The Colour Purple – Alice Walker • Girl Crush – Florence Given • The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets – Gayle Pitman • We Are Everywhere: A Visual Guide to the History of Queer Liberation So Far – Matthew Reimer and Leighton Brown • How to be a Girl: A Mothers Memoir of Raising Her Transgender Daughter – Marlo Mace • Gender Eurphoria: Stories of Joy from Trans, Non–Binary and Intersex Writers – Laura Kate Dale • Bad Gays – A Homosexual History – Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller • Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen – Amrou Al–Kadhi
I joined OUT-Lit about 18 months ago & we have read one book per month. I enjoy reading books that I would not ordinarily read or choose for myself. Consequently, I have broadened my range of reading & this has taken me out of my bubble. I’ve also been able to learn about issues in the LGBTQI+ community that I was unaware of previously; increasing my empathy for the struggles of my peers. The group is very sociable & it’s enjoyable to meet people from diverse backgrounds within the community.
After moving to Cork, Out-lit book club has allowed me to meet & connect with like minded people.
‘SAM’
OutLit has been a great addition to my life since moving to Cork. I’ve read a variety of books I might have missed otherwise, enjoyed meeting new people & sharing others’ impressions. We survived Covid on Zoom & are gladly back to meeting in person.
‘ROBERT’
‘BRUCE’
I love reading books & discussing them in detail. If a book has a gay character/plot there’s an understanding when you are in an LGBTI+ book club about the vagaries that entails but also a safety in discussing in an open forum how the book relates or affected you. For us readers we have a lot of fun reading books that are out of our normal choices & all opinions are welcome in OUT-Lit. Even finishing the book isn’t required. OUT-Lit has always inspired me to be more socially responsible as an LGBT individual & more vocal about my sexual identity as the group is filled with such inspiring individuals that teach those values indirectly through their personalities. So I get a chance not only to read a new book but also to gain many invaluable life lessons along the way. A wise person once said the habit of Reading banishes the darkness that looms in one’s mind. That statement fits well with OUT-Lit’s motto. I absolutely can vouch for this wonderful club if anyone wants to try and to be a part of it. Come along & let’s discuss the next book together. See you there. ‘KEVIN’
I’ve been a member of OUT-Lit since 2018, it has been a great way of developing friendships with other readers. The meetings give us a great chance for some very lively debate about the book we’ve read. I also enjoy the fact that I get to read books I wouldn’t have, this can be good or bad depending on the book. We also go for a drink or a meal afterwards & I love this chance to get to know each other away from book talk. I love being in the company of people, who like myself really love reading & would recommend OUT-Lit to anyone with a love of reading & discussing books.
‘WILL’
OUT-Lit is a way of introducing me to books & authors I almost certainly would not read & having an intelligent discussion afterwards with the group. There’s also the social aspect - a way of making new friends and getting to know them.
‘CHRIS’
‘CHARLES’
As an avid reader I am delighted to have a place where I can share both my love of reading, meet other LGBT people, discuss the books we read together & new books we each discover to bring to the group. While all members of OUT-Lit vary in their interests, we have common ground for looking at literature. It’s imperative that we have a local bookclub that doesn’t make LGBT readers feel excluded. Together we have found books written by, for & about the LGBT experience from a multitude of different authors & backgrounds. Our varied book choices has kept our discussions lively & the support we have gotten from the Library has provided us with an excellent meeting space. ‘JOHN’
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