Recs if you like The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For...

in progress

Basically, a huge list of every book I ever heard features sapphic characters.

I have not read all of these, so I cannot be sure of the amount of the time on page of the sapphic characters or of the quality of the books.

Some of these I do not plan to read at all, since they are not my style. If you feel like a book doesn't belong here, let me know.

For my favs / read, check out my other lists & shelves.

Open to suggestions for more titles.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Another resource for those looking for butches in books.

Disclaimer: I do not necessarily recommend all of these books. Please check out my page for reviews of the ones I’ve read!

All the lesbians books I can find. If you have any book you want me to add please comment ❤️

LGBT*+ graphic novels / comics / manga +

Fluff to smut, including 18+ etc aka not exclusive to anything specific other than being queer content (queer & queer-rep inclusive stories). I have read a good handful of the ones now at the bottom of the list. Includes intended middle-grade-ish-level youth content to adult audience content.

In progress / updated over time

(recs highly welcome) Attempting a highly exhaustive list.

Memoirs, histories, guidebooks. Real life narratives told through creative expression.

❌ online discourse, ✔️ holistic knowledge fiction & non-fiction that will deepen your understanding of sapphism, its language/label evolution, and its intersections with bipoc, gender diversity and bisexuality. (please note “lesbian” terminology was originally an expansive umbrella openly inclusive of fluid sapphics when many books were published, and not all identify as specifically/exclusively wlw!)

There is an epidemic of authors marketing their books as having lesbian characters but never actually using the word “lesbian” in text— or only doing so in a negative context. The following list is books that use the word in a neutral or positive context. I love being a lesbian and I love calling myself a lesbian!! Let’s celebrate this word as much as possible!! 🧡🩷🧡🩷🧡🩷🧡🩷

All additions will be read and vetted by me first but recommendations are welcome in the comments!!

It's Lesbian visibility week! Here are 100+ books starring lesbians! Includes some non-fiction about lesbian women. (This list is presented by Duck Prints Press, the indie publisher focused on publishing queer art and stories by queer creators! A group of us collaborate to make these recommendations.)

aka my "i just love pretty and cool art and especially when it's lesbian/sapphic" list

stone butch blues is not the only book about butches!!!!

So much LGBTQ+ history! A lot of this is centered in the US, though there are some exceptions and I'm trying to grow it all the time. Note that I have an HIV / AIDS list that a lot of queer history, especially around the 80s + 90s. So check that one out for more

An alternative to "feminine rage" and "women's wrongs"

Nuanced, intersectional approaches to gender theory

Looking for transfeminine and nonbinary specific recommendations

Lives of outsiders rendered in sharp prose style. Descendants of Shelley, the Brontes, and Woolf; forebears to 'Weird Girl Lit'. Title refers to the authors, the subjects of the work may not always be women. Focused on novels published between WW2 and 9/11, with a few memoirs and short story collections.

curated with love by a real life butch 🫡 will update continuously

I don't resonate with most sapphic reading lists, so here is one for dykes instead

A mix of anthologies, standalones, and series. Many are indie!

Happy International Women's Day! Have a huge pile of our favorite books starring queer women (fiction and non-fiction!). (This list is presented by Duck Prints Press, the indie publisher focused on publishing queer art and stories by queer creators! A group of us collaborate to make these recommendations.)

It's free comic books day, and we love comics and graphic novels every day, so here, have over 150 of our favorite graphic novels starring queer characters. (This list is presented by Duck Prints Press, the indie publisher focused on publishing queer art and stories by queer creators! A group of us collaborate to make these recommendations.)

as the title says: comics or graphic novels featuring LGBT+ character(s)! always looking for more recommendations 🫶