Book & Film Recommendations Following the Events at Club Q in Colorado Springs
Now is the time for the community to work on bringing about change in society for our LGBTQ+ friends and family and for ourselves. It starts with listening and learning, with eliminating hate and the “othering” of people, and seeking compassion and acceptance.
We have work to do. And that work can’t just be confined to Pride Month. It goes beyond parades and placards. It’s more than politics.
It is humanity. It is love.
Poudre Libraries urges everyone to listen and learn from those who have stories to share. You can start with one of these recommended books or films covering a variety of topics and genres (listed by age).
Additionally, two members of Poudre Libraries staff organized a community resource guide for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Find or download the PDF below.
Adult Books
Skye Falling: A Novel by Mia McKenzie
100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell
We Want What We Want: Stories by Alix Ohlin
Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton
Borealis by Aisha Sabatini Sloan
Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun L. Harrison
Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman
Punks: New & Selected Poems by John Keene
Gumbo Ya Ya: Poems by Aurielle Marie
Mouths of Rain: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Thought by Briona Simone Jones
The One You Want to Marry (and Other Identities I’ve Had) by Sophie Santos
Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome
Maurice by E.M. Forster
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
The Headmistress by Milena McKay
Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
The Savage Kind: A Mystery by John Copenhaver
No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel
The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman
Raising LGBTQ Allies: A Parent’s Guide to Changing the Messages from the Playground by Chris Tompkins
Unconditional: A Guide to Loving and Supporting your LGBTQ Child by Telaina Eriksen
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
An Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Young Adult Books
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
Flamer by Mike Curato
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Nimona by ND Stevenson
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
The Afterward by E.K. Johnston
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig
Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Love and Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford
Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio
Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Colthurst
Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Squad by Mariah McCartney
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
The Heartbreak Bakery by A. R. Capetta
LGBTQ: The Survival Guide for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel Madrone
Children’s and Picture Books
The Whispers by Greg Howard
Charlie Chooses by Lou Peacock
My Own Way by Joana Estela (translated from the original Portuguese)
Rainbow by Michael Genhart
Maiden & Princess by Daniel Haack
This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman
Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima
A Plan for Pops by Heather Smith and Brooke Kerrigan
Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders
Stonewall: A Building, an Uprising, a Revolution by Rob Sanders
Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack
The Family Book by Todd Parr
El Libro de la Familia para Todd Parr
Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang
Federico and All His Families by Mili Hernández
Federico y sus familias para Mili Hernández
Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill
George [Melissa’s story] by Alex Gino
What are your Words?: A Book about Pronouns by Katherine Locke
Calvin by JR Ford
Movies and Documentaries on DVD and Streaming on Kanopy
Rainbow’s End – The European LGBTQ Movement
In My Shoes – Children of LGBTQ Parents
What are you?: Microaggressions and LGBTQ Identities
America’s Most Unwanted : LGBTQI Foster Youth in America from Echelon Studios
In Full Bloom: Transcending Gender
The Queen of Ireland from Blinder Films
Every Act of Life, a Floating World Pictures film