Recs if you like Hijab Butch Blues...
Listening Is Reading
When the narrator(s) makes the book even better. For new listeners and audiobook elites, here is a range of different genres and narrators that excel at audio perfection.
Too Queer for the East. Too Muslim for the West.
A growing list of books by LGBTQ+ authors of Muslim backgrounds (or from the general SWANA region) and/or focusing on such experiences in the text.
Based on books I have read or keen to do so. Recommendations are welcome
south asian pride
queer/trans south asian books! this list is multi-genre, and so includes queer rep from fantasy, romance, memoirs/non-fiction, poetry, etc.! recs are always welcome :)
an ongoing sapphic and lesbian masterlist (2300+)
in progress - taking suggestions
Basically, a huge list of every book I ever heard features sapphic / lesbian 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.
Don't shoot the messenger.
Remember to breathe, damnit!
Books where someone, at some point, lets out a breath they didnβt know they were holding. I fully intend to update this every time I come across this line, but let me know which ones are missing in the comments!
All the lesbian books I can find
All the lesbians books I can find. If you have any book you want me to add please comment β€οΈ
Butches In Literature
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 Iβve read!
High Femme Fiction
pink, sophisticated & sometimes fatale <3 curating the personality of my aspirations (added some essential nonfic & poetry!)
Nonbinary Protagonists
Get ready to meet a diverse cast of nonbinary characters who are the protagonists of their own stories. Recommendations welcome!
Lesbian History, Politics, Culture & Identity
β online discourse, βοΈ 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 βlesbianβ terminology was originally an expansive umbrella openly inclusive of fluid sapphics when many books were published, and not all identify as specifically/exclusively wlw!)
banned lesbian/sapphic books
a collection of books that were banned in the US simply for being lesbian/sapphic. i thought it would be fun to put them together in one place and share them so more people can find these gems and read them πββοΈπ enjoy! note: i will be updating this list as i come across more titles!
Ramadan Readathon
Books by Muslim authors you should read year round, but even more so this month
Non-Fiction: Gender, Feminism, Intersectionality
Different kinds of non-fiction books about gender, feminism, and related topics. People like black women or neurodivergent women are twice or more marginalised, and often it's not clear whether treatment was due to (for example) skin colour or perceived gender, so I'll add some books about other kinds of marginalisation as well. I haven't read all books (yet); if one is problematic, please tell me so in a comment!
lesbian/sapphic history πππ€π§‘
from photographs, essays, poems and more: these reads offer the living experiences of lesbians/sapphics of different backgrounds β‘
all lesbians/sapphics are welcome! anything sapphic-centered i find will be added on here! hope you enjoy!
From Masc to Butch: Essential Butch Reading
Welcome to Butch Lesbianism 101 Send this list to a TikTok masc in your life and watch a literate butch be born.
In all seriousness, this list started as a joke but then turned serious when I realized there are still a ton of books that feel like essential butch reading to me that I still need to get to!! Iβm trying to prioritize nonfiction here (with some exceptions)! Check out my other lists for fiction recs with butches π§‘
Butch Books That Say βButchβ
Iβve read dozens of stories with butch characters and yet it still feels like such an unexpected delight each time I see the word βbutchβ in a book. The more that younger lesbians and sapphics reject the word, the more I find myself fiercely clinging to it. I love being a butch lesbian. Butchness feels like home. Using the word honors the history and memory of the butch dykes who boldly walked this path before us.
Please drop recs in the comments π§‘
SWANA Authors
SWANA authors are authors from South West Asia and North Africa. They currently make up <1% of the trad publishing industry. This list is here to introduce you to their stories.
NOTE: if you find an author who doesnβt belong on this list, please comment & I will remove the book(s) ASAP.
As always, lists are forever evolvingπ₯°
butch lit
stone butch blues is not the only book about butches!!!!
actual sapphic books from all genres
Books with sapphic characters at their center!
This list includes books where the character's queerness is clear, not merely suggested. The sapphic characters have to be central to the story.
The genres go beyond romance, expanding to historical fiction, fantasy, poetry, graphic novels, horror, non-fiction & more.
The selection is still growing π
Read This, White Liberal
A collection of books on minorities and discrimination and other things your white friends should educate themselves on.
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