Books – thrilling, clever and beautifully written

the color purple

Year of publication:
1982
Author:
Alice Walker

“The Color Purple” narrates the story of Celie, a young black woman living in the South of the United States. Tragically, Celie has been subjected to sexual violence quite frequently and is then shipped off into a non-consensual marriage. Everything appears to be going down the drain- until Celie meets Shug, a confident and emancipated woman, who introduces her to the true meaning of love.

Andersrum in die Chefetage – Queer Karriere Machen in der Männerwirtschaft

Year of publication: 2022
Author: Matthias Herzberg

As a gay man, Matthias Herzberg knows what it means to be open about your sexuality, even though it can still be a big risk these days. Especially in the working world – because in the worst case it can mean the end of his career. His long struggle for recognition was marked by intrigue, discrimination and forced outings. Today, Matthias is the successful managing director of a training company. In his book, he recounts his personal experiences with the often homophobic leadership and work culture in Germany. But he also shows that the courage to be open about oneself and one’s own identity is rewarded in many ways and how this also opens one or two doors for a queer career.

BEING HUMAN

Year of publication: 2022
Author: Alice Claudia Oehninger

Alice is trans*. She looks like a white boy. In traditional Tanzania, she is expected to play this role. She goes through love and rejection and discovers a strong desire to be a parent. Playing the role of a man, she marries and finds happiness in Germany until a crisis destroys her fragile world.

Meetings and border crossings in cultures and gender. A very personal story that touches and invites reflection.

Bisexual Men Exist: A Handbook for Bisexual, Pansexual and M-spec Men

Year of publication: 2023
Author: Vaneet Mehta

After his own coming out as bisexual and the negativity and skepticism that followed, Vaneet Mehta launched the #BisexualMenExist campaign, which now reaches its full potential in his book of the same name. In it, the author shares personal experiences as well as those of others in order to validate, make visible and destigmatize the identity of bisexual men.

Blaue Augen bleiben blau

Year of publication: 2010
Author: Balian Buschbaum

In front of the public eye, Balian Buschbaum turns away from his career in pole vaulting in 2007 to finally be able to stand up to himself; because Balian is a trans* man. In his book “Blaue Augen bleiben blau” , he describes what it means to him to finally be able to live “his dream”. He goes into detail about the individual steps of his journey, which thoughts have always accompanied him and how he found the courage to free himself from the wrong body.

Blutbuch

Year of publication: 2022
Author: Kim de l´Horizon

The narrator of the story is neither a man, nor a woman. Growing up in a shabby Swiss Suburb, they then moved to Zürich to escape the closeminded community they grew up in. where they manage to live comfortably with their sexuality and nonbinary gender identity.

But then their grandmother starts suffering from severe dementia, and they start questioning their own and their families legacy. Why do they have only fragmented childhood memories?What happened to their grandmothers sister? And what happened to their great aunt who vanished mysteriously years ago? Trying to find answers is hard, in a culture of silence that surrounds all of them.

Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family

Year of publication: 2018
Author: Garrard Conley

Nineteen-year-old Garrard Conley is unwillingly outed to his parents. Since his father is the church’s Baptist preacher, Garrard faces a life-changing decision: Does he bend to his parents’ will and begin therapy, or does he stand by his sexuality and risk losing his old life? A moving story about the dichotomy of religion and homosexuality.

FANTASTISCHE QUEERWESEN UND WIE SIE SICH FINDEN

Year of publication: 2019
Author: Stef, Sven Hensel

Diversity for all! 36 slam poets tell the story of their queer existence, of searching and finding not only love, but also their own identity. This book lets you look deep into the world of the LGBT*IQ community, beyond heterosexuality and the classic binary gender classification – and recognize what role diversity actually plays.

Gayme Changer – how the lgbt+ community and their allies are changing the global economy

Year of publication: 2021
Author: Jens Schadendorf

“In GaYme Changer, the first book of its kind, Jens Schadendorf has traced the LGBT+ community and an increasing number of their allies across the globe to discover the start of a revolution in businesses and economies. With fascinating stories around individuals, companies, nonprofits and a fast-growing cohort of other organizations, he describes the emergence of a strong ecosystem accelerating the rise of global LGBT+ equality. Supported by up-to-date research, he also shows how investment in LGBT+ diversity and inclusion delivers a powerful return.”

Generation Rainbow

Damit anders sein endlich normal wird

Year of publication: 2022
Author: Ralph Zimmerer, Clara Schmidt-Von Groeling, Albert Kehrer

Role models give people orientation and help them to understand and develop their own identity. But in order to achieve this, role models must above all be visible. Especially for LGBTIQ talents who are only at the beginning of their professional life, there are few visible rainbow role models. The book “Generation Rainbow” offers exactly that: role models for queer career starters as the new Generation Rainbow to confidently and openly make their way in the working world. In personal interviews, LGBTIQ individuals from a variety of work settings share their stories, experiences, and advice.

Heartstopper

Year of publication: 2018
Author: Alice Oseman

At the beginning of a new school year, Charlie and Nick happen to take a class together and a distant acquaintance soon develops into an intimate friendship between the two. But as the only outed boy at his school, Charlie’s feelings for Nick seem unrequited. But Nick also senses that he feels more for Charlie than friendship. Only slowly does he learn to understand his feelings. But with the support of their friends, they face all challenges.

HETEROS FRAGEN. HOMOS ANTWORTEN.

Year of publication: 2017
Author: Anja Kühne, Nadine Lange, Björn Seeling, Tilmann Warnecke

In 50 columns, the Queerspiegel team has explained the gay world to the readers of the Berliner Tagesspiegel week after week. In this book, the accumulated knowledge of these experts brings light into the darkness: questions that many would otherwise not dare to ask are answered with professional competence, journalistic care and humor. The authors test the truth of stereotypes and dispel myths and prejudices.

Ich bin Linus: WIE ICH DER MANN WURDE, DER ICH SCHON IMMER WAR

Year of publication: 2020
Author: Linus Giese

Him being trans ist something Linus suspected since he was six years old. But out of shame and ignorance about terms like queer, trans* and non-binary he hides his true self for a long time. In 2017, he freed himself from his old life by saying “I am Linus”. Now Linus Giese openly talks in his book about the ups and downs of his journey on which he repeatedly encounters hate, especially on the Internet.But that doesn’t stop him from standing up for the rights of trans* people.

In one person

Year of publication: 2012
Author: John Irving

The bisexual Billy Abbott spends his youth backstage, sometimes on stage at his grandfather’s small-town theatre. There he learns that his family does not only play certain roles on stage, but also that, in real life, no one is who they seem to be – especially not himself. Disturbed, but also fascinated and in search of himself, he takes off on a journey to find his missing father. For Billy, an adventure begins that sends him not only into his past but also halfway around the world.

Leah on the Offbeat

Year of publication: 2018
Author: Becky Albertalli

While Leah has a feeling for rhythm on the drums, her real life is often off beat. As a daughter of a single mom, her life is really not the easiest. Even though her mother supports her being bisexual, Leah doesn‘t have the courage to tell her friends. And with the end of school coming closer, she is more and more afraid of what her life is going to be and whether or not she is going to stay in contact with her friends. Especially to this special person, Leah feels more than just friendship for. Even if she doesn‘t want to admit it.

Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined

Year of publication: 2020
Author: JJ Bola

Is there such a thing as gender justice? The roles of the tough man and the delicate woman are still anchored in social thought structures. However, movements such as #MeToo show that some forms of masculinity are not necessarily perceived positively today. This book is about finding out how complex masculinities really are and what it can mean to be a man.

Mein intersexuelles Kind

Weiblich – männlich – Fließend

Year of publication: 2013
Author: Clara Morgen

Intersexuality is well on its way to no longer being a taboo subject, yet it is far from being accepted in society. Clara Morgen describes her life with her inter* child and the problems, decisions and misinformation that come with this diagnosis. The book tells a very personal story complemented by interviews with other parents, doctors and inter* people.

our wives
under the sea

Year of publication:
2022
Author:
Julia Armfield

“Our Wives Under The Sea” manages to tell an allegoric story of loss, grief and love.

After Miri’s partner returns from a deep sea mission that went horribly wrong, everything starts to change. Miri doesn’t even want to imagine what might have happened in the depths of the ocean- but more importantly: Her beloved Leah appears to have turned into a completely different person. While she continues to feel Leah slipping out of her reach, Miri escapes by dreaming of how everything used to be.

PAGEBOY

Year of publication: 2023
Author: Elliot Page

It was 2020 when Canadian actor Elliot Page came out as trans. In his biography, he looks back on the hurdles of Hollywood, his childhood and past relationships that led him to himself. At the beginning of the book, Page says it himself: ‘While his story may be just one of many, it is immensely important right now in a world where trans rights remain under attack.

QUEEr

Year of publication: 2023
Author: Benno Gammerl

In “Queer”, Benno Gammerl reconstructs the not-so-linear developement of Germany’s queer rights movement. Even though many people would like to think that the queer community has reached its goals, Benno Gammerl succeeds in walking the thin line between celebrating how far we have come and acknowledging how many challenges still lie ahead of us.

the art of being normal

Year of publication: 2015
Author: Lisa Williamson

David Piper is trans* and has known since he was eight years old. But apart from his friends Essie and Felix, noone knows about his dearest wish of being a girl. While his parents believe that he is gay, his classmates think of him as a freak. When they attack David again, Leo suddenly appears to defend him. David is fascinated by Leo and after a while an unusual friendship develops between them. But Leo also has a secret…

this book is gay

Year of publication: 2014
Author: Juno Dawson

No more stereotypes and pigeonholing! With statistics, definitions and personal stories, Juno Dawson explains not only the LGBT*IQ ABC, but also how it feels to be part of the community and what exactly it is about one’s own sexual orientation. A book full of profound questions and honest answers.

Unser Platz in dieser Welt

Year of publication: 2018
Author: Luisa Strunk

What if you are attracted to a girl? How do I make friends? How can I belong? The many issues of being a teenager, and then there’s the problem of love. But 16-year-old Marie is struggling with other issues. She suffers from the constant terror of her classmates, and she simply feels alone. Her only distraction are her books.
Everything changes when she meets Gwen, the girl with the blonde curls, and decides to stop hiding from the world. An intimate friendship quickly develops between the two. Marie is happier than ever before. Everything seems almost perfect, if it weren’t for the secret attraction Marie feels for Gwen. The friendship is about to break. Can it still be saved?
“Unser Platz in dieser Welt” is about great love and the search for one’s true self.