The Lesbrary has been around since 2010, so we’ve covered a lot of books here! It can be overwhelming. You can browse by genre, rating, and representation, but if you’re looking for a shorter list, here are a few of my personal favorites by genre. These are just my (Danika’s) picks, so be sure to browse the site for all the other Lesbrarians’ favorite books!
- Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
- The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (review)
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker (review)
- Orlando by Virginia Woolf (review)
- Double Dog Dare by E.J. Cochrane
- A Whisper of Bones (A Jane Lawless Mystery) by Ellen Hart
- The Locket by Gerri Hill
- Secrets of the Last Castle by A. Rose Mathieu
- A Study in Honor by Claire O’Dell
- Stolen by Linda J. Wright
- Nevada by Imogen Binnie (review)
- Milk Fed by Melissa Broder (review)
- My Education by Susan Choi (review)
- Missed Her by Ivan Coyote (review)
- Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi (review)
- Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg (review)
- Just Girls by Rachel Gold (review)
- Painting Their Portraits in Winter by Myriam Gurba (review)
- Stray City by Chelsey Johnson (review)
- When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai (review)
- The Collection edited by Tom Leger and Riley Macleod (review)
- Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey (review)
- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (review)
- The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie (review)
- Hero Worship by Rebekah Matthews (review)
- Hymnal for Dirty Girls by Rebekah Matthews (review)
- A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett (review)
- Lizzy & Annie by Casey Plett (review)
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (review)
- Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (review)
- Marriage of a Thousand Lies by S.J. Sindu (review)
- (You) Set Me On Fire by Mariko Tamaki (review)
- Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson
- The Last Nude by Ellis Avery (review)
- Miss Timmins’ School for Girls by Nayana Currimbhoy (review)
- The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh by Molly Greeley (review)
- Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (review) [YA]
- Prairie Ostrich by Tamai Kobayashi (review)
- All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review) [YA]
- Pulp by Robin Talley (review) [YA]
- Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
- The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
- Sisterhood by Julie R. Enszer (review)
- Bodymap by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (review)
- A Place Called No Homeland by Kai Cheng Thom
- When I Was Straight by Julie Marie Wade (review)
- If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho edited by Anne Carson
- Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review)
- Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review) [Two moms]
- Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (review)
- Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee (review)
- P. S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy (review)
- Goldie Vance: The Hocus Pocus Hoax by Lilliam Rivera (review)
- Kenzie Kickstarts a Team (The Derby Daredevils #1) by Kit Rosewater, illustrated by Sophie Escabasse (review)
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (review)
- Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler (review)
- This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow (review)
- Starting From Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review)
- Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake (review)
- How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)
- Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo (review)
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (review)
- Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos (review)
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth (review)
- Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (review)
- Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan (review)
- Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan (review) [Bisexual M/F, Bi LI)
- Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman (review)
- Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (review)
- In the Silences by Rachel Gold (review)
- Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (review)
- Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (review)
- Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar (review)
- The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar (review)
- Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan (review)
- You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan (review)
- All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages edited by Saundra Mitchell (review)
- Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (review)
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus (review)
- Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen (review)
- Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
- The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (review)
- Under Threat by Robin Stevenson
- As I Descended by Robin Talley (review)
- Pulp by Robin Talley (review)
- Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde (review)
- Going Off Script by Jen Wilde (review)
- Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (review)
- The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson (review)
SFF Young Adult:
- Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (review)
- Love In the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (review)
- The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta (review)
- Once and Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (review)
- Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (review)
- Of Fire and Stars (review) and Of Ice and Shadows (review) by Audrey Coulthurst
- Dreadnought by April Daniels (review) and Sovereign (Dreadnought #2) by April Daniels (review)
- All Good Children by Dayna Ingram (review)
- Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha
- Adaptation (review), Inheritance (review), and Natural Selection (Adaptation 1.5) (review) by Malinda Lo
- Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (review)
- Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft edited by Tess Sharpe (review)
- Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley (review)
- Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner (review)
- Tierra Del Fuego, Colony Ship: Parting Shots by Caron Cro (review)
- An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (review)
- Meanwhile, Elsewhere edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett (review)
- The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist by S.L. Huang (review)
- Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (review)
- The Seep by Chana Porter (review)
- Love after the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead (review)
- Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (review)
- The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (review)
- The Narrows by m. craig (review)
- Indigo Springs by A.M. Dellamonica (review)
- Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue
- Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (review)
- The Second Mango by Shira Glassman (review)
- “The Freedom of the Shifting Sea” by Jaymee Goh from New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color edited by Nisi Shawl (review)
- Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant (review)
- The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- Falling In Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- The Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley (review)
- Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw (review)
- Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (review)
- A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray (review)
- Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)
- Hellebore & Rue edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff (review)
- The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (review)
- Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (review)
- Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)
- Alice Isn’t Dead by Joseph Fink
- A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson (review)
- The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)
- Gnarled Hollow by Charlotte Greene
- Eat Your Heart Out by Dayna Ingram (review)
- The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (review)
- Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories by Pam Kesey
- The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan (review)
- Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado (review)
- Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon (review)
- Rescued Heart by Georgia Beers (review)
- My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris (review)
- A Pirate’s Heart by Catherine Friend (review)
- Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman (review)
- Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall (review) [Bisexual M/F romance]
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (review)
- Roller Girl by Vanessa North (review)
- The Long Way Home by Rachel Spangler (review)
- Macho Sluts by Patrick Califia (review)
- Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica edited by Sinclair Sexsmith (review)
- Heathen, Volume 1 by Natasha Alterici (review)
- The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars by Michael Dante DiMartino
- Motor Crush Vol 1 by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr (review)
- Darlin’ It’s Betta Down Where It’s Wetta by Megan Rose Gedris (review)
- Spectacle Vol. 1 by Megan Rose Gedris
- As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (review)
- Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman (review)
- Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings and Vampire Island by Sarah Graley (review)
- The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (review)
- Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (review)
- Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson (Author) and Brittney Williams (illustrator) (review) (as well as Vol 2 and Vol 3)
- Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review)
- Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak (review)
- Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill (review)
- The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag (review)
- Space Battle Lunchtime Volumes 1 & 2 by Natalie Riess (Vol 1 & 2 review) (Vol 3 review)
- America Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Gabby Rivera
- Revolutionary Girl Utena manga by Chiho Saito (review)
- Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Shannon Watters (review)
- Supermutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (review)
- Jem and the Holograms by Kelly Thompson and Sophia Campbell
- Heavy Vinyl, Volume 1 by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva (review)
- Charm School Book One: Magical Witch Girl Bunny by Elizabeth Watasin (review)
- Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Vols. 1-3 by Jeremy Whitley (review)
- I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up by Naoko Kodama (review)
- Girl Friends: The Complete Collection by Milk Morinaga (review of volume 1, review of volume 2)
- My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata
- How Do We Relationship? Volumes 1 & 2 by Tamifull (review)
- Citrus, Vols 1-3 by Saburo Uta (review)
Nonfiction Comics & Graphic Memoirs:
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (review)
- I’m a Wild Seed: My Graphic Memoir on Queerness and Decolonizing the World by Sharon Lee De La Cruz (review)
- Be Gay, Do Comics!: Queer History, Memoir, and Satire from the Nib (review)
- On Loving Women by Diane Obomsawin (review)
- Kimiko Does Cancer: A Graphic Memoir by Kimiko Tobimatsu, illustrated by Keet Geniza (review)
- War of Streets and Houses by Sophie Yanow (review)
Memoirs and Biographies:
- Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison (review)
- The Life and Times of Butch Dykes by Eloisa Aquino (review)
- The Family Tooth by Ellis Avery (review)
- When We Were Outlaws by Jeanne Cordova (review)
- Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote (review)
- Hunger by Roxane Gay (review)
- Prairie Silence by Melanie Hoffert (review)
- Love is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar (review)
- Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (review)
- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (review)
- First Spring Grass Fire by Rae Spoon (review)
- Gender Failure by Rae Spoon & Ivan E. Coyote (review)
- Before the Rain: A Memoir of Love & Revolution by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa (review)
- Licking the Spoon: A Memoir of Food, Family and Identity by Candace Walsh (review)
- Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker, illustrated by Julia Scheele (review)
- Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme edited by Ivan Coyote and Zena Sharman (review)
- Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire by Lisa M. Diamond (review)
- Inseparable: Desire Between Women In Literature by Emma Donoghue (review)
- Queers Dig Time Lords edited by Sigrid Ellis and Michael Damian Thomas (review)
- Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer
- The ABCs of LGBT+ by Ash Hardell (review)
- Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (review)
- Kicked Out edited by Sassafras Lowrey (review)
- Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller (review)
- The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman (review)
- Dear John, I Love Jane edited by Candace Walsh and Laura Andre (review)