You might have noticed that there’s a new page at the Lesbrary: the Recommendations List! Every month at the Bi & Lesbian Literature tumblr, I’ve been updating my list of all the bi and lesbian books I (Danika) have read and can recommend, so I thought it was time to bring it over to the Lesbrary as well! I’ll be updating that list every month as I find new sapphic books to read and love, but I thought I’d post it here first, to bring it your attention!
The Lesbrary has been around since 2010, so we’ve covered a lot of books here! It can be overwhelming. You can search by genre (Fiction, YA, Romance, Mystery, SFF, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, etc) or by rating (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars, 4 stars, and 5 stars), but if you’re looking for a shorter list, here are a few of my person favourites by genre. These are just my picks, so be sure to browse the site for all the other Lesbrarians’ favourite 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)
- Nevada by Imogen Binnie (review)
- My Education by Susan Choi (review)
- Missed Her by Ivan Coyote (review)
- Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg (review)
- Just Girls by Rachel Gold (review)
- Painting Their Portraits in Winter by Myriam Gurba (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)
- Lizzy & Annie by Casey Plett (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)
- Prairie Ostrich by Tamai Kobayashi (review)
- 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
- Starting From Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (review)
- How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (review)
- Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (review)
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth (review)
- Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee (review) [children’s/middle grade]
- Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (review)
- Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman (review)
- The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (review)
- Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin (review)
- You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan (review)
- Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (review)
- Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (review) [Bisexual M/F]
- Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
- Under Threat by Robin Stevenson
- As I Descended by Robin Talley (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]
- Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (review)
- Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst (review)
- Dreadnought by April Daniels (review) and Sovereign (Dreadnought #2) by April Daniels (review)
- All Good Children by Dayna Ingram (review)
- Adaptation (review) and Inheritance by Malinda Lo (review)
- Natural Selection (Adaptation 1.5) by Malinda Lo (review)
- Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce (review)
- Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner (review)
- Tierra Del Fuego, Colony Ship: Parting Shots by Caron Cro (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)
- Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey (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 Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- Falling In Love With Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (review)
- Bearly a Lady by Cassandra Khaw (review)
- Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks (review)
- Everfair by Nisi Shawl (review)
- Hellebore & Rue edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Catherine Lundoff (review)
- Fist of the Spider Woman edited by Amber Dawn (review)
- The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (review)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (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)
- Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley (review)
- The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (review)
- Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson (Author) and Brittney Williams (illustrator) (review) (as well as Vol 2 and Vol 3)
- 100 Crushes by Elisha Lim (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
- Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review)
- On Loving Women by Diane Obomsawin (review)
- 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
- Citrus, Vols 1-3 by Saburo Uta (review)
- Charm School Book One: Magical Witch Girl Bunny by Elizabeth Watasin (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 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)
- 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)
- Kicked Out edited by Sassafras Lowrey (review)
- The Whole Lesbian Sex Book by Felice Newman (review)
- Dear John, I Love Jane edited by Candace Walsh and Laura Andre (review)
