BookWoman's Pride Picks
BookWoman has been owned and operated by queer people for almost 45 years and we're here to offer you some of our favorite books to celebrate pride year round!
In the Dream House
A Memoir
By Carmen Maria Machado
Narrated by: Carmen Maria Machado
Length: 5 hours 28 minutes
In the Dream House
“A masterful look at the complexity of the queer experience. Machado employs a kaleidoscope approach to examine her relationship with an old partner, a woman who verbally, physically and emotionally assaulted her, her own personal experiences that led her to stay “in the dream house” of abuse, and society’s role in the oppression and devaluation of women, especially queer women and women of color. Through a mix of long and super short chapters, examples of old folk tales and pop culture, and more realistic narrative, Machado digs deep into the confusing, distorted and contradictory aspects of a toxic relationship, in which the victim begins to doubt her own reactions and motives. It’s a #fivestarreview for us, and #requiredreading! And the @librofm #audiobook features Machado reading! Amazing amazing amazing. ”
Jhoanna, Bel Canto Books
Here for It
Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays
By R. Eric Thomas
Narrated by: R. Eric Thomas
Length: 7 hours 34 minutes
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today • From the creator of Elle’s “Eric Reads the News,” a heartfelt and hilarious memoir-in-essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope, and experiencing every awkward, extraordinary stumble along the way.
“Pop culture–obsessed, Sedaris-level... Read more »
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
A Novel
By Ocean Vuong
Narrated by: Ocean Vuong
Length: 7 hours 18 minutes
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
“Written as a letter from son to mother, Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is desolately beautiful. Each carefully crafted sentence builds upon the last, a momentum that carries you through a hundred pages before you remember to take a breath. Bleak, brilliant, it is the book other books will be compared to for years. Honestly, I would have been fine if it had been the last book I ever read.”
Cody, Book Culture, @thecodystuart
Red, White & Royal Blue
A Novel
By Casey McQuiston
Narrated by: Ramon de Ocampo
Length: 12 hours 15 minutes
If you enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea, then you’ll love Red, White & Royal Blue.
“This book is so much more than a captivating romance—it's a bubble bath, a warm hug, a delicious dessert, a catharsis full of feeling and hope and queer joy that still makes me cry and laugh even as I've reread it 10+ times! The audiobook is skillfully narrated, and de Ocampo does far better British and Texan accents than my brain could come up with on its own reading the book in print. Recommended for listeners no matter your gender identity or orientation, but this truly is chicken soup for the queer soul.”
Miriasha, Phoenix Books
Real Queer America
LGBT Stories from Red States
By Samantha Allen
Narrated by: Samantha Allen
Length: 7 hours 26 minutes
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST
A transgender reporter's "powerful, profoundly moving" narrative tour through the surprisingly vibrant queer communities sprouting up in red states (New York Times Book Review), offering a vision of a stronger, more humane America.
Ten years ago, Samantha Allen was a suit-and-tie-wearing Mormon missionary. Now... Read more »
Girl, Woman, Other
By Bernardine Evaristo
Narrated by: Anna-Maria Nabirye
Length: 11 hours 6 minutes
Girl, Woman, Other
“The twelve Black British women who are the central characters in Bernardine Evaristo's GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER are so vastly different that when their connections are slowly revealed, like a spider web you didn't see until the light hits it just so, you'll settle in and become entranced. I loved this deep dive into a part of British culture that isn't often depicted. The form is unusual but once you give yourself over to it, you'll see why it works. I particularly loved the last part of the book which reminded me of enjoying a long leisurely meal and still leaving room for the perfect dessert. The ending was terribly satisfying. Highly recommend.”
Rachel, Avid Bookshop
Under the Udala Trees
By Chinelo Okparanta
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 11 hours 18 minutes
Inspired by Nigeria's folktales and war, Under the Udala Trees is a deeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly.Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child, and... Read more »
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
By Andrea Lawlor
Narrated by: Dani Martineck
Length: 9 hours 28 minutes
“HOT” —Maggie Nelson
“TIGHT” —Eileen Myles
“DEEP” —Michelle Tea
It's 1993 and Paul Polydoris tends bar at the only gay club in a university town thrumming with politics and partying. He studies queer theory, has a dyke best friend, makes zines, and is a flaneur with a rich dating life. But Paul's also got a secret: he's a shapeshifter.... Read more »
The Stonewall Reader
By New York Public Library & Edmund White
Narrated by: Various
Length: 10 hours 44 minutes
"...a remarkable audio experience that emphasizes the revolutionary power of LGBTQ voices and provides an invaluable record of a community that refuses to be silenced." -AudioFile magazine Earphones Award winner
For the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, an anthology chronicling the tumultuous fight for LGBTQ rights in the 1960s and... Read more »
Her Body and Other Parties
Stories
By Carmen Maria Machado
Narrated by: Amy Landon
Length: 8 hours 41 minutes
In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado... Read more »
Sister Outsider
Essays and Speeches
Crossing Press Feminist: Book #1
By Audre Lorde
Narrated by: Robin Eller
Length: 7 hours 31 minutes
Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature. In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action... Read more »
All Boys Aren't Blue
A Memoir-Manifesto
By George M. Johnson
Narrated by: George M. Johnson
Length: 5 hours 11 minutes
This program is read by the author.
In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first... Read more »