Rainbow Reads for Adults

Recommended books by and about 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

Updated March 25, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.

1

An Evening with Birdy O'Day
Kearney, Greg
Paper Book
A funny, boisterous, and deeply moving novel about aging hairstylist Roland's childhood friendship with Birdy O'Day, whose fevered quest for pop music glory drives them apart Roland Keener is an aging hairstylist who's lived and worked in Winnipeg all his life. He's more or...

Canadian author.

2

Our wives under the sea
Armfield, Julia
Paper Book
Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

3

Arrête Avec Tes Mensonges: Roman
Besson, Philippe
Ebook

Quand j'etais enfant, ma mere ne cessait de me repeter : « Arrete avec tes mensonges. » J'inventais si bien les histoires, parait-il, qu'elle ne savait plus demeler le vrai du faux. J'ai fini par en faire un metier, je suis devenu romancier.. Aujourd'hui, voila que j'obeis enfin a ma mere : je dis la verite. Pour la premiere fois. Dans ce livre.. Autant prevenir d'emblee : pas de reglement de comptes, pas de violence, pas de nevrose familiale.. Mais un amour, quand meme.. Un amour immense et tenu secret.. Qui a fini par me rattraper..

Aussi disponible en formats numeriques.

4

Hijab butch blues : a memoir
H, Lamya
Paper Book
A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this "raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations" (Linah Mohammad, NPR). "A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

5

Lie with me : a novel
Besson, Philippe
Ebook

Also available in eBook format.

6

Gender queer : a memoir
Kobabe, Maia
Paper Book
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall -- Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was...
Also available in eBook format.

7

Rubyfruit jungle
Brown, Rita Mae
CD

8

A Sweet Sting of Salt : A Novel
Sutherland, Rose
Paper Book
A young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife. Now she'll have to fight to keep herself--and the woman she loves--safe. "A modern sapphic updating of the selkie wife folk tale that's already scoring with readers"--Parade (A Best Romance...

Canadian author.

9

The book eaters
Dean, Sunyi
Paper Book
THE NO. 2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'I devoured this' V.E. Schwab 'A vampire-themed Handmaid's Tale, with effective thrills that are intensified by social commentary' Guardian A gorgeous new fantasy horror - a book about...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

10

Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE "A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats, and as a Book Club Kit.

11

Written in the stars : a novel
Bellefleur, Alexandria
Ebook
"I was hooked from the very first page!" - Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of In a Holidaze "This book is a delight." - New York Times Book Review A National Bestseller and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Romance! Featured on...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

12

Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE "A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with...

Anima, Dominique, Yazz, Shirley, Carole, Bummi, LaTisha, Morgan, Hattie, Penelope, Winsome, Grace.. La plus jeune a dix-neuf ans, la plus agee, quatre-vingt-treize. Elles sont douze femmes puissantes, apotres du feminisme et de la liberte, chacune a sa maniere, d'un bout de siecle a l'autre. Leurs vies s'epaulent, s'opposent et font la ronde. Chacune est en quete, de place, de classe, d'un avenir, d'une identite, du bonheur. Elles sont un choeur, un tableau vibrant et foisonnant, une ode a la différence et a la soif « d'etre ensemble ».

13

The foghorn echoes
Ramadan, Ahmad Danny
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR GAY FICTION Hussam and Wassim are teenage boys living in Syria during America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. When a surprise discovery results in tragedy, their lives, and those of their families, are shattered. Wassim promises Hussam his protection, but ten years...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

14

Juliet takes a breath
Rivera, Gabby
Paper Book
Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that's going to help her figure out this whole "Puerto Rican lesbian" thing. She's interning with...
Also available in eBook format.

15

Lavender House
Rosen, Lev AC
Paper Book
A "Best Of" Book From: Amazon * Buzzfeed * Rainbow Reading * Library Journal * CrimeReads * BookPage * Book Riot * Autostraddle A delicious story from a new voice in suspense, Lev AC Rosen's Lavender House is Knives Out with a queer historical twist.<...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

16

Tell me I'm worthless
Rumfitt, Alison
Paper Book
Alison Rumfitt's Tell Me I'm Worthless is a dark, unflinching haunted house story that confronts both supernatural and real-world horrors through the lens of the modern-day trans experience. "Alison is like the twisted daughter of Clive Barker and Shirley Jackson...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

17

The dawnhounds
Stronach, Sascha
Paper Book
Gideon the Ninth meets Black Sun in this queer, Māori-inspired debut fantasy about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it....
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

18

On Earth we're briefly gorgeous a novel
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

19

On Earth we're briefly gorgeous a novel
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...

Un fils ecrit une lettre a sa mere analphabete. Il y evoque la schizophrenie de sa grand-mere traumatisee par les bombes au Vietnam, les coups violents de sa mere, son homosexualite mais aussi le pouvoir redempteur de l'ecriture.

Aussi disponible en formats numerique et large vision.

20

Stonewall : the definitive story of the LGBTQ rights uprising that changed America
Duberman, Martin B.
Paper Book
On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, was raided by police. But instead of responding with the routine compliance the NYPD expected, patrons and a growing crowd decided to fight back. The five days of rioting that ensued changed forever the face of gay and...
Also available in eBook format.

21

I'm so (not) over you
Jackson, Kosoko
Paper Book
It's been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a cafe. Hudson has a favour to ask - he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees. The dinner...

22

Trans bodies, trans selves : a resource by and for transgender communities
Erickson-Schroth, Laura
Paper Book
There is no one way to be transgender.Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a revolutionary resource - a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for transgender people, with each chapter written by transgender and gender expansive authors. Inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, the classic and powerful compendium...

23

Gender queer
Kobabe, Maia
Paper Book
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall -- Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was...

L'auteure relate son parcours, son coming out aupres de ses proches ainsi que le cheminement qui lui a permis de s'identifier comme une personne non binaire et asexuelle.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

24

I'm afraid of men
Shraya, Vivek
Paper Book
Toxic masculinity takes many insidious forms, from misogyny and sexual harassment to homophobia, transphobia, and bullying. Vivek Shraya has first-hand experience with nearly all of them. As a transwomen she grew up experiencing aggression for displaying femininity, and is haunted by the violence of...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author


Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.