this queer book saved my life!

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Our series concludes today as we meet Rebecca Turkewitz and her new new spooky story collection: Here in the Night.  New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop next Tuesday! September 19th!

What's it about? The thirteen stories in Rebecca Turkewitz’s debut collection, Here in the Night, are engrossing, strange, eerie, and emotionally nuanced. Preoccupied with all manner of hauntings, these stories traverse a boarding school in the Vermont woods, the jagged coast of Maine, an attic in suburban Massachusetts, an elevator stuck between floors, and the side of an unlit highway in rural South Carolina.

At the center of almost every story is the landscape of night, with all its tantalizing and terrifying potential. After dark, the familiar becomes unfamiliar, boundaries loosen, expectations fall away, and even the greatest skeptics believe—at least fleetingly—that anything could happen.

Buy Here in the Night
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781625570574

And read Danez Smith's The 17 Year Old and the Gay Bar here at The Poetry Foundation's website.

Connect with Rebecca Turkewitz
Website: rebeccaturkewitz.com
Instagram: @Rebecca_Turkewitz_Writes
Twitter: @R_Turkewitz

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Steven Flamm, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.

Today we meet Tristan Taormino and their new memoir: A Part of the Heart Can't Be Eaten.

What's it about? Sex educator, filmmaker, and podcast host Tristan Taormino shares her coming-of-age story, revealing how her radical sexuality and unconventional career grew out of an extraordinary queer father-daughter relationship. Tristan’s world began to fall apart when her dad was diagnosed with AIDS. After a series of devastating events, she moved to the messy, glorious world of 1990s New York City. In the midst of grief and depression, she helped change queer sexual subculture with her zine Pucker Up, her infamous The Village Voice column, and her editorship of legendary lesbian porn magazine On Our Backs. After the publication of her first book, The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women, Tristan followed her own path that marked the beginning of her work as a trailblazing feminist pornographer.

Releasing in September 2023, you can pre-order through Duke University Press!

Connect with Tristan Taormino
Website: tristantaormino.com
Instagram: @tristantaormino
Twitter: @tristantaormino
Facebook: facebook.com/tristantaormino

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!
Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read! New episodes of This Queer Book Saved My Life! drop this September.

Today we meet Lucian Childs and his new novel: Dreaming Home.

What's it about? When a sister's casual act of betrayal awakens their father's demons--ones spawned by his time in Vietnamese POW camps--the effects of the ensuing violence against her brother ripple out over the course of forty years, from Lubbock, to San Francisco, to Fort Lauderdale. Swept up in this arc, the members of this family and their loved ones tell their tales. A queer coming-of-age, and coming-to-terms, and a poignant exploration of all the ways we search for home, Dreaming Home is the unforgettable story of the fragmenting of an American family.

Buy Dreaming Home
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781771965491

Connect with Lucian Childs
Website: lucianchilds.com
Instagram: @lucian_childs
Facebook: Lucian-Childs-Author
Twitter: @lucianchilds

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Welcome to our Summer of Book Love series!

Every Tuesday this summer we will feature new episodes of 7 Minutes in Book Heaven which has your next summer read!

Today we meet Christine Suggs and their graphic novel ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico.

In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel sixteen-year-old Christine explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.

At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don't yet share a language with. Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine's two worlds collide. Through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.

Christine (they/them) is a comic artist and designer living in Dallas, TX with their wonderful partner, 1 dog, and 2 cats. Christine's work explores the intersection of their identities, namely being a queer, fat, Latinx leftist who loves all things cute. Bonus facts: their day job is in app design, they are an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and they're quite obsessed with their cats.

Buy ¡Ay, Mija! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly right now: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780316591928

Connect with Christine Suggs
Website: christinesuggs.com
Instagram: @csuggsillustration

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard

The book where your self-proclaimed fag hag decides to kidnap you. 

Today we meet Clark Carlton and Robert Rodi!

Our guest is novelist, playwright, and producer Clark Carlton. You may know him from his sci-fi/fantasy novel Prophets of the Ghost Ants which launched his Antasy series.

Our featured author is Robert Rodi who has published seven novels, and he also writes comic books, nonfiction, as well as a spoken-word performer and jazz singer.

We’re talking about the book that saved Clark's life: Fag Hag by Robert Rodi.

Fag Hag is a cult classic. Set in Chicago, the novel is about Natalie who is obsessed with her gay best friend Peter. When Natalie’s attempts to sabotage Peter’s new relationship with the love of his life, Natalie is forced to resort to … let’s say extreme measures.

Connect with Clark and Robert

twitter: @clarktcarlton
website: clarkthomascarlton.com

website: robertrodi.com
Facebook: @RobertRodi

Visit our website for more links to Robert's and Clark's projects: thisqueerbook.com/fag-hag.

Buy Fag Hag
Visit our Bookshop or buy directly: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781469953168

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Quatrefoil Library
Quatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Drag. Vodka. 90s subculture. And knowing you're gonna be ok.

Our guest today is Nathan Eckstein (he/they) who is a writer, playwright, and graduate student at the University of Minnesota pursuing a Masters degrees in Architecture. They are also a candidate for another masters degree in Science Research Practices.

Nathan shares with us how the memoir I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell saved his life. What’s extra special about this episode is that it was recorded live in front of an audience at Lush Lounge and Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. This was a Drag Edition of our podcast with performances by the Haus of Taylor: Connie Taylor, Maiden Taiwan, and a special performance by Eduardo (Nathan!). 

I Am Not Myself These Days follows Josh's life, as well as his drag persona Aqua's life. By day, he works at a So-Ho advertising agency. By night, he performs drag throughout New York. His is a life of vodka and a new relationship with Jack, a BDSM sex worker. The memoir is a tragic-comedy-romance, charting Josh's, Aqua's, and Jack's life as they navigate love, substance abuse, and New York's 90s subculture. 

Donate to the ACLU's Drag Defense Fund
During our live event, we fundraised for the ACLU's Drag Defense Fund. Join us by donating here: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-drag-defense-fund

Buy I Am Not Myself These Days
Visit our Bookshop or buy it here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780060817329

Connect with Nathan and the Haus of Taylor
On Instagram:
Nathan Eckstein: @notstraightnate
Connie Taylor: @connie_taylormn
Maiden Taiwan: @maiden.taiwan 

Also, shout out to photographer Nick Lents who shot the live event! Follow him on Instagram: @nicklents

Watch Nathan's Play: Technically Love
https://youtu.be/ZTBW3irw-_I

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olilla, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Awen Briem, Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

Going from unseen to seen.

This episode is the recording of our live event at Lush Lounge and Theater. And we welcome back William Burleson! You remember him from Season One, when we discussed how his book Bi America was life-giving for our guest Neil Aasve. Now, William talks with me about the book that saved his life: The Bisexual Option by Fritz Klein, MD. He shares with us, "I have to say, coming out as Bi, at first to myself, and then later to other people, there is really an uphill climb to find community. It's better today. We have Google. But nonetheless, it's still difficult. So when I went into a bookstore and I found the book The Bisexual Option, that was revolutionary."

And....William went on to meet Fritz who wrote the forward to Bill's own book!

Buy the books we discuss on this episode!
Visit thisqueerbook.com/bookshop to purchase The Bisexual Option or at https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780985871703.

You can also purchase William's books too!

Home: Anthology at https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781733976329.

Bi America: Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community at https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781560234791

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Awen Briem, Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

E-Lending Library
Quatrefoil Library has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

When you go up that mountain you don't know what you'll find.

Welcome to our LGBT podcast! In this episode, we meet Gerard Cabrera (he/him) and I talk with him about The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Gerard tells me that, "The Magic Mountain is about educating yourself and trying to make decisions for how you want to live your own life. Do you want to follow a path of seeking freedom or do you want to follow a path of just maintaining a status quo so that you can survive? With AIDS raging, I think that was a very salient sort of internal debate for me."

Gerard is the author of the new novel Homo Novus and I talk with him all about it. What is the plot? It's Holy Week 1987. And Fr. Linus Fitzgerald, a Catholic priest, is confined to his hospital bed by an AIDS diagnosis, while being comforted by the seminarian he sexually abused as an adolescent.

Episode transcripts and more info are available at thisqueerbook.com/podcast/magic-mountain.

Buy the books we discuss on this episode!
Visit thisqueerbook.com/bookshop to purchase Gerard's novel Homo Novus and Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain.

Become an Associate Producer!
Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our LGBT podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbook

Credits
Host/Founder: J.P. Der Boghossian
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, Natalie Cruz, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean Smith
Patreon Subscribers: Awen Briem, Stephen D., Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.

E-Lending Library
Quatrefoil Library has created a curated lending library made up of the LGBT books featured on our podcast! If you can’t buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1

Visit our friends!

It’s an LGBT podcast crossover event with the delightful Queer Lit podcast! We enter a unicorn union with guest host Lena Mattheis and discuss the Queer Armenian Library and the books that saved each of our lives. We laugh, we sigh… an unmissable double feature that will turn you gay on the spot.

Listen to new episodes of Queer Lit at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queer-lit/id1562201493

Follow Lena on Twitter and Instagram: @queerlitpodcast

Check out the Queer Armenian Library (queerarmenianlibrary.com)

Buy the LGBT books on this LGBT podcast at our Bookshop (bookshop.org/thisqueerbook)!

Join us on November 10th at Lush Lounge and Theater for our live recording event with William Burleson, author and Founder of Flexible Press. The event is free, but we encourage RSVPs: https://bit.ly/liveatlush