Why am I passionate about this?

I have been writing about LGBTQ+ culture for magazines and newspapers for almost a decade, and am a voracious consumer of queer stories. Queer literature makes our various needs and desires as a community come alive on the page, and helps us to connect with and understand one another. Reading LGBTQ+ books is a way to learn about contemporary queer life, and work out what more we can be doing to help those more marginalised than us. 


I wrote

We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights

By Amelia Abraham (editor),

Book cover of We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights

What is my book about?

In We Can Do Better Than This, 35 voices – actors, musicians, writers, artists, and activists – answer this…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Detransition, Baby

Amelia Abraham Why did I love this book?

I loved reading this contemporary novel which is hilarious, astute, smart (you can see why it was nominated for so many book Prizes!) Written by a trans author, with central trans characters, it skips over any “explaining” about trans lives and eschews the sterotypes, making for complex and nuanced protagonists who feel 100% real. It’s a book about queer family making, and what that can look like. It feels right up to the minute in terms of the new formulations of family that are existing today. 

By Torrey Peters,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Detransition, Baby as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The lives of three women—transgender and cisgender—collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires in “one of the most celebrated novels of the year” (Time)

“Reading this novel is like holding a live wire in your hand.”—Vulture

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by more than twenty publications, including The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Time, Vogue, Esquire, Vulture, and Autostraddle

PEN/Hemingway Award Winner • Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Gotham Book Prize • Longlisted for The Women’s…


Book cover of Gay Bar: Why We Went Out

Amelia Abraham Why did I love this book?

Gay Bar is an imaginative history of gay bar culture in London, San Francisco, and LA – where the author has lived, over several decades. It is both personal and more widely historical, blending anecdotes and “overheard” with in-depth research to uncover the importance and also problems that come with these spaces, which are increasingly becoming extinct, as gay bars in major cities struggle to stay in business. 

By Jeremy Atherton Lin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gay Bar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: The New York Times * NPR * Vogue * Gay Times * Artforum *

“Gay Bar is an absolute tour de force.” –Maggie Nelson

"Atherton Lin has a five-octave, Mariah Carey-esque range for discussing gay sex.” –New York Times Book Review

As gay bars continue to close at an alarming rate, a writer looks back to find out what’s being lost in this indispensable, intimate, and stylish celebration of queer history.

Strobing lights and dark rooms; throbbing house and drag queens on counters; first…


Book cover of The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice

Amelia Abraham Why did I love this book?

This book is written with the utmost clarity – making an incisive and digestible argument why liberation for trans people fits into wider fights for socialism and justice for minorities. With chapters on why “T” belongs in “LGBT” and why trans inclusion should be core to feminist movements, it’s an essential read for LGBTQ+ people and their allies. 

By Shon Faye,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Transgender Issue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Few books are as urgent as Shon Faye's debut ... Faye has hope for the future - and maybe so should we' Independent

'Unsparing, important and weighty ... a vitally needed antidote' Observer

'Takes the status quo by the lapels and gives it a shaking' Times Literary Supplement

Trans people in Britain today have become a culture war 'issue'. Despite making up less than one per cent of the country's population, they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized 'debate' which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals…


Book cover of All The Things She Said

Amelia Abraham Why did I love this book?

Recently published and super accessible, this book is a modern catalogue of lesbian and bi culture for women. It looks at the recent evolution of queer female visibility in the mainstream and across pop culture, asking what material changes this visibility has for the life of queer women everywhere. It’s funny and pacey and broad in scope, as it asks: How is lesbian culture changing?

By Daisy Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All The Things She Said as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

______________________________________________________________________________________

'an explicitly inclusive, thoughtful, joyful read' - REFINERY 29

'This "love letter of sorts" to inclusive queer women's culture is perfect for anyone who's just come out, wants to know what the heck's going on or has yearned for an entire chapter dedicated to the film Carol.' - DIVA

'An introspective dive into the fast-moving world of queer culture, Daisy unpacks some of the 21st century's biggest lesbian and bisexual moments to paint a portrait of what modern-day queerness looks like.' - GAY TIMES

'Daisy Jones effortlessly explores queer culture' - COSMOPOLITAN
______________________________________________________________________________________

A modern, personal guide to the…


Book cover of Cleanness

Amelia Abraham Why did I love this book?

The follow-up to his acclaimed book What Belongs to You, Cleanness is a relatively short but gorgeously executed novel about an American teacher living in Sofia, Bulgaria. It gives snapshots of his relationship, as well as dating app hooks ups – for better or worse. Greenwell is one of the greatest writers of our time, and he turns each sentence beautifully. 

By Garth Greenwell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cleanness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Longlisted for the Prix Sade 2021
Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize
Longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020
A New York Times Critics Top Ten Book of the Year
Named a Best Book of the Year by over 30 Publications, including The New Yorker, TIME, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, and the BBC

In the highly anticipated follow-up to his beloved debut, What Belongs to You, Garth Greenwell deepens his exploration of foreignness, obligation, and desire

Sofia, Bulgaria, a landlocked city in southern Europe, stirs with hope and impending upheaval.…


Explore my book 😀

We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights

By Amelia Abraham (editor),

Book cover of We Can Do Better Than This: 35 Voices on the Future of LGBTQ+ Rights

What is my book about?

In We Can Do Better Than This, 35 voices – actors, musicians, writers, artists, and activists – answer this vital question, How do we make the world better for LGBTQ+ people?, at a time when the queer community continues to suffer discrimination and extreme violence. Through deeply moving stories and provocative new arguments on safety and visibility, dating and gender, care and community, they present a powerful manifesto for how – together – we can change lives everywhere.

Book cover of Detransition, Baby
Book cover of Gay Bar: Why We Went Out
Book cover of The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice

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Through Any Window

By Deb Richardson-Moore,

Book cover of Through Any Window

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Deb Richardson-Moore Author Of Through Any Window

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Mystery aficionado Beach lover Mother Gardener Housing advocate

Deb's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.

Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As Riley struggles to forge a new life, forces are gathering in the tension-plagued neighborhood where glitzy new homes rise alongside crumbling mill houses, and everyone, it seems, can peer into a neighbor’s window.

When murder explodes, someone unexpected is caught in the crossfire. Detectives are left to ponder: Are the…

Through Any Window

By Deb Richardson-Moore,

What is this book about?

After being questioned in a murder investigation, Riley Masterson has spent eighteen months under suspicion by the sheriff’s office. Anxious to escape accusing eyes, she finally decides to leave Alabama and move to South Carolina.

But Greenbrier isn’t the stabilizing influence she hopes for, as her neighborhood is slowly being gentrified, with homeless people living in the shadows of mansions. As Riley struggles to forge a new life, forces are gathering in the tension-plagued neighborhood as glitzy new homes rise beside crumbling mill houses, and everyone is able and willing to peer into a neighbor’s window.

When a ghastly crime…


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