I’ve been reading some books that I don’t feel have a good spot on my other lists, because they are too soft of stories. A lot of these feel like drinking a warm cup of tea on a cool rainy day, and I wanted to put them in a category of their own.

Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
I didn’t know the wild ride that I would go on with this book would be so fascinating. The story feels so real, where we follow the younger, goodie-goodie sister as she observes her wild, destructive, addict older sister. There’s so much realness in this story that I have to wonder if there’s some real life inspiration, and I’m sure there’s so many people who could relate to different characters. I really loved the way this was told – really a beautiful story.

I Leave It Up To You by Jinwoo Chong
It’s wild that this book could be so funny and charming, even though the story itself is so very sad. A man wakes up from a two-year coma in 2021, and has to re-learn the world of post-covid with his family that he has not talked to in years. Oh, also his partner left him and his family wants him to take over the family business that has been struggling. Lots of pressure, and yet, this book was delightfully light and humorous. Really really liked it!

Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee
This book was such an important story of a mother who is struggling to stay sober and get her kids back after getting out of prison. It’s raw, emotional, serious, and real – and told really well. The sapphic yearning really hurt my heart, and I hope that no one has to worry about being “gay enough” anymore. Such a great read, and loved reading this with my sapphic book club as well! I got even more out of it after watching an interview with the author as well. 🙂

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
Did I pick this book up from the bookstore because of the cover? Yes, definitely. However, it was actually really cool. I almost put this book under thrillers, because the narrator is the ghost of a man who is haunting a train station, but the story is so beautifully written that it doesn’t read as a thriller at all. The man is reflecting on life that is passing him by alongside the live he had while alive, and it’s both hauntingly deep and painfully heartbreaking. Super unique read.

Under The Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
While this book was beautiful, it also made me really sad. It was also hard to read as a gay person with a religious family, but that made it all the more important. The main character is a queer woman living in Nigeria during a civil war, and she is attempting to live authentically while under extreme pressure from her mother. It’s beautifully written, and is a sad truth for many queer people living in areas that are not safe for LGBTQ+ people.

Harriet Tubman: Live In Concert by Bob The Drag Queen
I’m absolutely obsessed with Bob The Drag Queen, so I already knew I would like his first novel. This is a super fun story of Harriet Tubman coming back to life and producing a hip hop album. It sounds silly, and parts of it certainly were, but this was also packed with themes of black liberation, queerness, intersectionality, and miseducation. I honestly feel that I learned so much more about Harriet Tubman as a result of this book, and it was done in such a creative way. Completely brilliant.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
I couldn’t have read this book when the pandemic was still fresh, but I had a nice separation before reading this and I’m glad I did. The book starts off at a slower pace, which sorta makes it a good beach read – since you can fantasize about swimming in the Galapagos – and I totally did NOT see the plot twist coming! Overall, this one really made me sad and broke my heart. Jodi Picoult is great at giving you these big questions that are hard to answer, and this one hurt to ponder. I read so much of her fucked up books growing up that it was so nice to find my way back to her in a totally unique way.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth
This one was HEAVY on the sapphic yearning – literally if “Good Luck, Babe” by Chappell Roan was a book. This takes place in the 90’s in the UK, which may not have been the easiest time to be in a secret sapphic high school relationship with your best friend. The lesbian yearning and the poetry of their letters had my heart aching, and the whole book you just want them to be able to be together fully. Definitely a quick read, full of lots of emotions. Super, super gay.

Thanks for reading! (Last Updated: Oct 2025)