I think I might be a little burnt out on self-published books. The problem is that I always have the same problems with them, and almost all of those problems can be summed up with “not enough editing.” The Gifted Ones (a memoir), unfortunately, fits in that category. The typos are numerous, including two onesRead More
Holly reviews The Professor by Terry Castle
The Professor: A Sentimental Education collects personal essays by Terry Castle, author of The Literature of Lesbianism. Magnetic, self-flagellating, and sharp, her writing here blends personal, political, and academic thoughts on topics as diverse as teen angst and world travel. In these essays, she collects stamps, smokes pot, and talks for her slutty daschund puppy. If it sounds mundane,Read More
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Is there any way I can be more lesbian?”
I mean, sure, we watch lesbian TV shows and movies, read lesbian books, hang out with lesbians, and date/have sex with women… but is that enough? Isn’t there any way to do more things gay? Not to worry, I am here to help. Lesbian cooking! The Lesbian Erotic Cookbook by Ffiona Morgan the butch cookbookRead More
Holly reviews Dear John, I Love Jane edited by Candace Walsh and Laura André
Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write about Leaving Men for Women, edited by Candace Walsh and Laura André and published by Seal Press, is a collection of personal essays about women who discover they’re lesbian/ bi/ queer/ otherwise in love with a woman a little later in life. For some, this means coming outRead More
Danika reviews Butch is a Noun by S. Bear Bergman
I feel the need to start off by saying: I loved this book. I only keep books that I plan on re-reading, and this one is firmly in the permanent collection. It also an example of why I really try to keep the definition of which books are included in the Lesbrary as open asRead More
Laura Mandanas reviews Forbidden Passages
Forbidden Passages: Writings Banned in Canada is a book of essays, short stories, and excerpts of texts that have been seized and censored in Canada. The collection features a broad range of perspectives and does not shy away from any subject. (Due, unfortunately, to the fact that Canadian censors shy away from just about everything.)Read More
Guest Lesbrarian Rie reviews The Chelsea Whistle
Previous to reading The Chelsea Whistle, I’d attempted a memoir by a smothered-but-privileged writer. This history of Tea’s youth soared where that failed. It’s all those adjectives given to books that end up written by a mom in the midwest–raw, gritty, real, hopeful–but this one’s real. It’s the brutality of childhood that we all experience,Read More
Guest Lesbrarian Orange Sorbet reviews Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi
I thought Teri Hatcher’s Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life had poisoned celebrity autobiographies for me forever, but when I first heard of Portia’s Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain, I knew I had to get it. (This may or may not have had to do with how cute I think sheRead More
Kelly reviews Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws by Kate Bornstein
After the success of the It Gets Better project and the recent publication of the accompanying book, I wanted to revisit another book aimed at suicidal young queers. Kate Bornstein’s Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws was first published in 2006. Bornstein is well known as a performance artist and genderRead More
Danika reviews Dear John, I Love Jane edited by Candace Walsh and Laura Andre
I love this book. I just want to say that straight off the bat. In any minority (of power) group, telling our own stories is crucial, especially when they’re stories that defy the narrative that has traditionally been put forth about that group. The foreword of Dear John, I Love Jane is written by theRead More