Books

By: Hugh Ryan, 2020, Paperback

Hugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story. Not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history―a great forgetting.

Ryan is here to unearth that history for the first time. In intimate, evocative, moving prose he discusses in new light the fundamental questions of what history is, who tells it, and how we can only make sense of ourselves through its retelling; and shows how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Through them, When Brooklyn Was Queer brings Brooklyn’s queer past to life, and claims its place as a modern classic.

By: Rachel Runya Katz (Author), 2024, Paperback

"Is it okay to say that Rachel Runya Katz's characters are always so hot to me? The slow burn tension between Jade and Nia was off the charts." - Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

After reconnecting on a road trip, two friends must decide if love is the ultimate risk worth taking in this funny, emotional sapphic romance.

Nia and Jade had been inseparable ever since their best friend, Michal, introduced them at her tenth birthday party. But now it’s been three years since Michal died of cancer― since the brutal fight Nia and Jade had in the weeks after― and they're barely on speaking terms.

Until Nia reads a letter Michal wrote for her 29th birthday, asking her and Jade to go on the southern Jewish history road trip they'd planned before she died. To add to the complications, Michal's then-boyfriend and Jade's twin brother, Jonah, joins the trip. Despite the years apart and Jade and Jonah’s strained relationship, any awkwardness quickly disappears as it becomes clear how much Nia and Jade have missed each other.

Unfortunately, old issues soon arise. Nia has been in love with Jade since they were teenagers, and Jade has been so committed to their friendship that she never let herself consider something more. As the stops pass, tensions mount, running high until Nia and Jade are forced to confront what happened three years ago, their feelings for one another, and even their respective relationships with Jonah.

Rachel Runya Katz’s Whenever You’re Ready is about family, friendship, and the kind of first love that could last a lifetime―if only you are willing to take a chance.

"Poignant, tender, and swoony, Whenever You're Ready is an instant favorite from an auto-buy author." - Alison Cochrun, Lambda award-winning author of Kiss Her Once for Me and Here We Go Again

By Yamile Saied Méndez, Hardcover, Picture Book

A powerful, lyrical debut picture book celebrating diversity for children from all backgrounds and of all colors, especially for kids who have ever felt like they don’t belong. Where am I from? You’re from hurricanes and dark storms, and a tiny singing frog that calls the island people home when the sun goes to sleep.... When a little girl is asked where she’s from—where she’s really from—she’s no longer as sure as she was about her answer. She turns to her abuelo for help. However, he doesn’t quite give her the response she expects. She gets an even better one.

For a generation that has seen the legalization of gay marriage, increasing numbers of families with two mothers or two fathers, and the respected presidential candidacy of an openly gay man like Pete Buttigieg, the 1960s - 1990s can seem a time remote in every regard. Yet the present grows out of the past, and understanding the ways in which life was different in another era deepens our thinking about the present and the future.

Where the Pulse Lives is a personal memoir, the author's account of growing up in Connecticut at a time when gay desire represented an unspeakable shame, experiencing in New York City the highly sexual and politically charged climate of the 1970s, and coming to terms with what it meant to be a gay man in the years dominated by the tragedy of AIDS, the empowering activism of gay men and lesbians in ACT UP, and a growing interest in gay history. These were the years in which gay men no longer wanted to be defined by the values of the dominant culture. Self-definition proved more complicated than expected, however.

John Loughery is the author of six books, including Alias S.S. Van Dine (winner of an Edgar Award), John Sloan: Painter and Rebel (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography), The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives and Gay Identities, a Twentieth-Century History (winner of a Lambda Award), Dagger John: Archbishop John Hughes and the Making of Irish America (winner of the Lehman Prize from the New York Academy of History), Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century, and most recently a self-published account of his uncle's World War II experiences, An American at War: Surviving Bataan, Mukden, and the Trauma of Recovery. He lives in Berlin, CT.

By: Victor Esses (Author), 2019, Paperback

What makes a home for you?

Victor Esses is Jewish-Lebanese, Brazilian, and gay. In 1975, Victor's mother flees Lebanon as a refugee of the Civil War. In 2017, Victor visits Lebanon for the first time. In 2018, amidst the elections that will see Brazil choose a far-right president, he travels from London to São Paulo to show his partner the city of his childhood.

Where to Belong is the tender, moving story of these journeys – an exploration of how to find your place in a rich and complex world of identities.

By: Anita Kelly (Author), 2022, Paperback

How long, exactly, had June been coming to Moonie’s for the sole purpose of pining after the bartender?

Long enough to know, probably, that there was no good reason for Mal Edwards, a bastion of stability and good sense, to see any kind of future with June anyway. Was it even fair to express feelings to a woman like that when June was barely around, on the road more than she wasn’t?

But as another Pride weekend approaches, June’s fiftieth birthday and the eventual end of her long-haul trucking days loom in her mind, nestled against the memories of Moonie’s nights gone by where it felt like June and Mal came close—close to something happening, something real. Until June would inevitably chicken out, and retreat once again to life on the road.

It’s time for June to finally figure out her next act. And if she’s not brave enough to ask Mal Edwards to be part of it, she doesn’t deserve her, anyway.

After all. If you can’t tell a butch you love her during Pride, when the hell can you?

Newly revised and updated, this classic manifesto is “a foundational text for anyone hoping to understand transgender politics and culture in the U.S. today” (NPR)

*Named as one of 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time by Ms. Magazine*
 
A landmark of trans and feminist nonfiction, Whipping Girl is Julia Serano’s indispensable account of what it means to be a transgender woman in a world that consistently derides and belittles anything feminine. In a series of incisive essays, Serano draws on gender theory, her training as a biologist, her career in queer activism, and her own experiences before and after her gender transition to examine the deep connections between sexism and transphobia. She coins the term transmisogyny to describe the specific discrimination trans women face—and she shows how, in a world where masculinity is seen as unquestionably superior to femininity, transgender women’s very existence becomes a threat to the established gender hierarchy.  

Now updated with a new afterword on the contemporary anti-trans backlash, Whipping Girl makes the case that today's feminists and transgender activists must work to embrace and empower femininity—in all of its wondrous forms—and to make the world safe and just for people of all genders and sexualities.

For readers of The Paris Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue comes a “sensuous, captivating account of a forbidden affair between two women” (People)—Eleanor Roosevelt and “first friend” Lorena Hickok.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Financial Times • San Francisco Chronicle • New York Public Library • Refinery29 • Real Simple

Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, “Hick,” as she’s known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have. She moves into the White House, where her status as “first friend” is an open secret, as are FDR’s own lovers. After she takes a job in the Roosevelt administration, promoting and protecting both Roosevelts, she comes to know Franklin not only as a great president but as a complicated rival and an irresistible friend, capable of changing lives even after his death. Through it all, even as Hick’s bond with Eleanor is tested by forces both extraordinary and common, and as she grows as a woman and a writer, she never loses sight of the love of her life. 

From Washington, D.C. to Hyde Park, from a little white house on Long Island to an apartment on Manhattan’s Washington Square, White Houses moves elegantly through fascinating places and times, written in compelling prose and with emotional depth, wit, and acuity.

What do you like?
How do you feel?
Who are you?

This brightly illustrated children's book provides a straightforward introduction to gender for anyone aged 5-8. It presents clear and direct language for understanding and talking about how we experience gender: our bodies, our expression and our identity. An interactive three-layered wheel included in the book is a simple, yet powerful, tool to clearly demonstrate the difference between our body, how we express ourselves through our clothes and hobbies, and our gender identity. Ideal for use in the classroom or at home, a short page-by-page guide for adults at the back of the book further explains the key concepts and identifies useful discussion points.

This is a one-of-a-kind resource for understanding and celebrating the gender diversity that surrounds us.

By: True Kelley (Author), Who HQ (Author), Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator), 2014, Paperback

Born in a little cabin in Tennessee, Dolly Parton always dreamed big, and she was right to! She wrote her first song at age five and became a country music star by the time she was in her early twenties. Of course, her success didn't stop there. Dolly Parton is also an actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist whose "Imagination Library" reading initiative reaches children throughout the US, Canada, and the UK. There is simply no one like Dolly Parton!

By: Kirsten Anderson (Author), Who HQ (Author), Gregory Copeland (Illustrator), 2024, Paperback

Learn how a young girl who lived on a Christmas tree farm grew up to become one of the most celebrated musical artists of the twenty-first century in this addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Taylor Swift always knew she wanted to be a country music artist, so at age thirteen, she convinced her parents to move their family out of Pennsylvania to Nashville.

As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Taylor wrote songs about teenage heartbreak and fitting in with her peers, and she performed these and other tunes at open mic nights and karaoke events. Breaking into the music industry took longer than she expected because record executives thought there was no place in country music for her songs. But Taylor was fearless and proved them wrong.

Since the release of her self-titled debut album in 2006, Taylor Swift has dominated the music charts, reinvented her sound, won numerous awards, shaken off public criticism, and spoken up for herself and others.

Whether you're a lifelong Swiftie or someone who just loves learning about musicians, this enchanting book will teach you all about the experiences that helped Taylor Swift become the successful superstar many kids and adults looks up to.

By: Dana Meachen Rau (Author), Who HQ (Author), Laurie A. Conley (Illustrator), 2023, Paperback

Learn about the remarkable life of actress and comedian Betty White, a pioneer of early television with a seven-decade career, in this title in the Who HQ Now series featuring newsmakers and trending topics.

From 1939 to 2021, actress Betty White was one of the most beloved performers in the entertainment industry. She starred in fan-favorite television shows like The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and also blockbuster movies like Toy Story 4 and The Proposal. Over her decades-long career, Betty White won Emmy awards, was named an honorary mayor of Hollywood, earned a star on the Walk of Fame, and set the Guinness World Record for woman with the longest TV career ever. Off-screen, Betty advocated for animal rights, racial justice, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Learn about her legendary life in this book for young readers. 

By: Patricia Brennan Demuth (Author), Who HQ (Author), Jake Murray (Illustrator), 2019, Paperback

You've probably seen her on T-shirts, mugs, and even tattoos. Now that famous face graces the cover of this Who Was? book.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was famous for her stylish collars (called jabots) and her commanding dissents. This opera-loving New Yorker always spoke her mind; as a young lawyer, RBG advocated for gender equality and women's rights when few others did. She gained attention for the cases she won when arguing in front of the Supreme Court, before taking her place on the bench in 1993. Author Patricia Brennan Demuth answers all the questions about what made RBG so irreplaceable and how the late Supreme Court justice left a legacy that will last forever.

By: Taylor Rouanzion (Author), Stacey Chomiak (Illustrator), 2024

A rhyming picture book about gender expression featuring parents as they dream about who their child will be. The perfect gift for new parents, baby showers, or any occasion!

"Models easy, loving acceptance for kids, no matter their gender expression."--Kirkus reviews

Before you were born, we all wanted to know
who you would be and how you would grow.
"Nursery in pink? Or nursery in blue?"
Everyone always asked about you.

Journey through all the colors of the rainbow as new parents introduce their baby to the endless colorful possibilities of each day. A rainbow of choices, colorful and bright. What feels best to you? Which colors are right?

A joyous, rhyming picture book about a child’s journey of gender expression and the unconditional love between parent and child, Who You Will Be invites readers to celebrate self-expression and find which colors feel right to them. Perfect for fans of Pink Is for Boys and Julián Is a Mermaid.