Koncocoo

Best Bisexuality

Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” - Luke 15:20. Includes a discussion guide for personal reflection and group use. Praise for Out of a Far Country “Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan have told the story of their miraculous journey from broken lives, relationships, and dreams to a place of hope and healing. Christopher Yuan, trapped in a life of drugs and sexual addiction, heard that call and rose to follow Jesus. George Verwer, founder and former international director of Operation Mobilisation “ Out of a Far Country is a true-life parable of saving grace for a prodigal mother and a wayward son who needed God’s forgiveness. Philip G. Ryken, president of Wheaton College in Illinois “At one point, Angela and Christopher were living worlds apart. This is a story of God’s redemption, love, and mercy in the midst of overwhelming sin and a heart that was far from God. “The story of Angela Yuan and Christopher Yuan, Out of a Far Country , will minister rich grace and hope to mothers who are praying for the return of a prodigal, to the prodigals they love, and to anyone battling a sinful addiction that seems impossible to overcome.
Reviews
"I love the mother and son writing from their individual perspectives and journey."
"An enlightening book sharing the struggles of the devastating sin of homosexuality and the transformation in the mother's heart, leading her to loving her son and commitment to prayer and trusting the Lord to work in her son's life."
"I have not read it yet."
"It is very well written and shares a true story of God's Amazing Grace."
"Loving people is what God does and He gives us opportunities everyday to show His love through us."
"A sad book about a young man coming to grips with his homosexuality and the destructive path it led him to."
"This book was so helpful - and so much so that had to order this one for a dear friend who was struggling with a son."
Find Best Price at Amazon
The ABC's of LGBT+
In the last few years the overturning of DOMA, the SCOTUS ruling in favor of the Marriage Equality Act, American transgender politicians elected to office, and landmark moments such as Apple becoming the most valuable company in the world under the leadership of an openly gay CEO have advanced LGBT awareness and understanding. Along with in-depth definitions, personal anecdotes, helpful infographics, resources, and more; Mardell’s LGBT book is proof it does get better every day in a world where people are empowered by information and understanding. Ashley Mardell's The ABC's of LGBT serves as a powerful tool for those that might be questioning their own identity, as well as for those seeking a deeper knowledge of the many, varied identities that exist in relation to our attractions, desires, and personal understandings of self."
Reviews
"I plan on also gifting his school library a copy of this book as well - our state finally has LGBT inclusive sex education and this book would be a great resource for curious and questioning teens."
"The fact its somewhat interative in the sense of you writing down, I think it was gender and gender expression, really made it fun."
"Amazing!"
"I've had this book for a while now and I've lent it to 3 of my friends who were curious or questioning and they all loved this book."
"As ususal Ash Mardell is amazing, informative and exceedingly funny."
"Ash is absolutely perfect."
"My daughter loved the book..she got some usefull knowledge and more of an understanding of things in a sometimes humourus way..and from different points of view."
"i love Ash's book!"
Find Best Price at Amazon
A Burst of Light: and Other Essays
Winner of the 1988 Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit. From reflections on her struggle with the disease to thoughts on lesbian sexuality and African-American identity in a straight white man's world, Lorde's voice remains enduringly relevant in today's political landscape. In addition to the journal entries of "A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer," this edition includes an interview, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation," and three essays, "I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities," "Apartheid U.S.A.," and "Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986," as well as a new Foreword by Sonia Sanchez. "The self-described black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities. In addition to the journal entries of "A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer," this edition includes an interview, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation," and three essays, "I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities," "Apartheid U.S.A.," and "Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986," as well as a new Foreword by Sonia Sanchez. In addition to her critically acclaimed The Cancer Journals, Lorde's works include The Black Unicorn, The First Cities, Cables to Rage, From a Land Where Other People Live, and Coal. As well as winning a 1989 American Book Award for A Burst of Light and Other Essays, she received the Walt Whitman Citation of Merit in 1991, designating her poet laureate of New York; the 1988 Manhattan Borough President's Award for Excellence in the Arts; the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement; and honorary doctorates from Hunter, Oberlin, and Haverford Colleges. [back cover]. Winner of an 1988 American Book Award. "The self-described black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities.
Reviews
"What's new here is an introduction by Sonia Sanchez, an interview about sadomasochism and three essays along with the original Burst of Light: Living with Cancer journal entries. One of her most enduring quotes comes from this collection, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Through her writing you can sense and feel her struggle, almost as if she is thinking out loud but always representing for a fierce self-determination and self-identity that is empowering."
"As a Doctor Who has treated thousands of cancer patients I read this book to gain better insight into how patients feel about their condition."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Lesbian Drama

Connect the Dots (Serial Killer Series Book 3)
She brings together a diverse group of women who each have a personal connection to a serial killer, and each woman brings a specific skill to the task. Chief of Security Casey Dennis, Dr. Celine Aponte, Arson Investigator Jordyn Stringfellow and bestselling author Roberta Witherspoon have all joined the team.
Reviews
"I have read all three stories so far and you can't put them down. Yo can read any as a stand alone but r get the dull effect redeem in order."
"I'm so glad I waited until book 4 was released to read this one because of the ending."
"Couldn't wait to get my eyes on this book and well worth the wait!!!"
"Being emotionally involved in the lives of the strong women."
"This is a really wonderful book."
"I hope I don't have to wait FOREVER until the next book."
"I'm loving this series but I was kinda hoping Bobbie and Scottie will got together but it's looks like she died so hope in the next book Bobbie finds love hope we don't have to wait long for the next book waiting for the seventh book of Aidan and Vicky it'll be so cool if the author can somehow integrate these characters with this series along with theirs."
"Omg I love these books and all I'm gonna say is.....omg I hate cliff hangers lol. Now I shall spend each day waiting impatiently for the next book."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Sexuality

Girl Sex 101
Girl Sex 101 will teach you... *The bits and pieces that make up female sexual anatomy. *Simple ways to communicate in the heat of the moment. *How to build a Road Map of your partner s pleasure. *Essential moves for cunnilingus, strap-ons, hand sex and more! Topics include: Safer Sex, STIs, Cunnilingus, Strap-on sex, Trans Women, Intersex, Sex and Disability, Gender Identity, Coming Out, Menopause, Pregnancy, Dyke Drama, Relationship Skills, Flirting, Vibrators and Other Toys, Lesbian Identity, Bisexual and Pansexual Identity, and much more! Allison Moon is the author of the bestselling sex-ed book Girl Sex 101 , the sex memoir Bad Dyke , and the Tales of the Pack series of novels about lesbian werewolves.
Reviews
"i have been bi for years but never knew the lingo."
"Lots of useful info, couched in a great presentation."
"Seriously I think every young queer girl needs this book."
"The use of story telling amidst very educational chapters go a long way into taking a lot of information and making it feel like everything is coming very easily and naturally to you."
"This book was so well written."
"Good resource for any one who wants to please girls!"
"If you're even a little bit curious, you need this book."
"But this is a really, really great sex-positive body-positive book, and I would recommend it for every lesbian and hell, every straight woman."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Transgender

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a revolutionary resource-a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for transgender people, with each chapter written by transgender or genderqueer authors. It is a welcoming place for transgender and gender-questioning people, their partners and families, students, professors, guidance counselors, and others to look for up-to-date information on transgender life. "As transgender people strive to gain more acceptance and legal protections, they will soon have a hefty new resource to assist them - a 672-page book, written by scores of transgender contributors, that encompasses social history, gender politics and wide-ranging advice on health, law, relationships and many other matters. Encyclopedic in scope, conversational in tone, and candid about complex sexual issues, the Oxford University Press book being released in mid-May is titled Trans Bodies, Trans Selves - a deliberate echo of a pioneering feminist health-resource book, Our Bodies, Ourselves that appeared more than 40 years ago" -- Associated Press "I have been waiting for some time to see a book come out that is written for the purposes of providing timely information to transgender individuals to support them through their identity process. I have yet to have seen a book that incorporates information for individuals who identify on the gender spectrum-most books focus on one specific identity, whereas Trans Bodies, Trans Selves allows for the breadth of applying to many different individuals. -Stephanie L. Budge, PhD, Assistant Professor, Counseling Psychology, University of Louisville. " Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is the answer to the wishes of many trans individuals and their therapists and counselors for a comprehensive resource of critical information that is both accurate and reliable, on the one hand, and written in a respectful way that is addressed to trans and questioning readers rather than at them or about them. Thanks to Trans Bodies, Trans Selves and all the transgender folks who have been writing and teaching over the past many years, we, a group of cisgender women, now know that we can no longer say 'a woman's body' and mean only one thing." -Jamison Green, President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), co-director of the Transgender Law & Policy Institute, and author of Becoming a Visible Man " Trans Bodies, Trans Selves comes at a moment in our history when transgender people are in the spotlight, but we are not yet the authority on our own lives. -Riki Wilchins, founder of GenderPAC and The Transexual Menace, and author of Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer " Trans Bodies Trans Selves is a remarkably timely and much needed book that brings together collaborators across the spectrum of transgender health, culture, and history. Happily, trans people now have a wealth of information in the form of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves ." -Dallas Denny, Founding Director of the American Educational Gender Information Service (AEGIS), past editor of Chrysalis Quarterly and Transgender Tapestry, and former director of the Fantasia Fair. "There has never been a book just like Trans Bodies, Trans Selves . -Rebecca Allison, MD, past President of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality. " TBTS is brimming with straightforward information about living a life as a gender-nonconforming person in the United States...illuminating even for people who are already well-informed... " -- The New Republic "[T]his book clearly comes at the perfect time...Bridging the gap between being understandable to the newest of readers and being helpful to those more versed in transgender issues, the vastness of topics covered includes everything from sex work to sexual safety, from romantic relationships to personal feelings about one's changing body. --socialworker.com. "Trans Bodies, Trans Selves offers practical suggestions on navigating life as a transgender person.
Reviews
"Now, both trans and non trans people have an excellent resource for information on transition, its implications and how best to achieve the desired goal of "being at one" with yourself. Over all its a MOUNTAIN of information."
"The book explores many facets of beings trans, including race, ethnicity, and culture and how these effect trans people as well as trans people in different religious traditions."
"AMAZING BOOK... More complete than anything I've seen before. Lots of great writings from well-known providers and trans* activists."
"Since the time it was written, the military has lifted its ban on trans soldiers (June 2016) and started rolling out training for commanders (July-October)."
"I predict this book will become a text book in colleges across the country for LGBT studies."
"While this is an invaluable resource for those who are transgender or gender non-conforming, it is also wonderful for trans allies to get complete view of what it means to be transgender, and to learn how to offer support and advocate."
"This book is highly informative and discusses many aspects of being trans and or gender diverse."
"I have been waiting for a book like this for years."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Activism

When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
Jones found community--in the hotel rooms and ramshackle apartments shared by other young adventurers, in the city's bathhouses and gay bars like The Stud, and in the burgeoning gay district, the Castro, where a New York transplant named Harvey Milk set up a camera shop, began shouting through his bullhorn, and soon became the nation's most outspoken gay elected official. He chronicles the heartbreak of losing countless friends to AIDS, which very nearly killed him, too; his co-founding of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation during the terrifying early years of the epidemic; his conception of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community art project in history; the bewitching story of 1970s San Francisco and the magnetic spell it cast for thousands of young gay people and other misfits; and the harrowing, sexy, and sometimes hilarious stories of Cleve's passionate relationships with friends and lovers during an era defined by both unprecedented freedom and and violence alike. "You could read Cleve Jones's book because you should know about the struggle for gay, lesbian, and transgender rights from one of its key participants-maybe heroes--but really, you should read it for pleasure and joy. When We Rise is about the building of a movement--and the building of Cleve Jones, who came to San Francisco as a teenage adventurer and transformed into an activist whose contributions helped change the course of gay history. "Cleve Jones is a history buff who has himself become part of history. Now, in When We Rise , Cleve takes us along on his personal journey in the fight for equal rights--a journey filled with humor, sadness, love and ultimately profound change. The story Cleve Jones tells-of a bullied boy from the sun-blasted Arizona suburbs, who finds an extended family among the street kids of San Francisco and then within the gay movement that revolutionized the world-is thrilling to read. "Jones takes readers on his thrilling, if perilous, voyage from fey, long-haired teen hitching his way from his home in Arizona to San Francisco, to becoming the mentee of Harvey Milk ... Jones survives San Francisco's viciously homophobic police in the '70s and, later, the AIDS epidemic that took his dearest friends.
Reviews
"I lived in San Francisco for this tumultuous period and Cleve Jones was at that time recognized as a Gay Icon who worked with Harvey Milk and George Moscone."
"The book tells the story of what it was like to be a young gay man in the late 60s who moved to San Francisco and witnessed the struggle for our rights and the AIDS holocaust up close and personal."
"This would be an good personal history of the early days of the gay rights movement and the AIDS epidemic if Jones edited out most of the earth-moving sex that he had with every "gorgeous man" and " cute boy" that came within range of his gaydar."
"This was definitely a page turner for me, I couldn't put it down."
"This book is a must-read for all young LGBTQ+ audiences."
"At turns sad, funny, gut wrenching and uplifting, When We Rise chronicles a microcosm in the greater movement for visibility and LGBT rights as experienced through the eyes of one man."
"My review is on Goodreads, but it was far better than the ABC TV series, by the same name."
"I was pulled in by the first sentence of chapter one."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Philosophy

The Argonauts
Writing in the spirit of public intellectuals such as Susan Sontag and Roland Barthes, Nelson binds her personal experience to a rigorous exploration of what iconic theorists have said about sexuality, gender, and the vexed institutions of marriage and child-rearing. “It’s Nelson’s articulation of her many selves―the poet who writes prose; the memoirist who considers the truth specious; the essayist whose books amount to a kind of fairy tale, in which the protagonist goes from darkness to light, and then falls in love with a singular knight―that makes her readers feel hopeful.” ―Hilton Als, The New Yorker “Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts exists in its own universe. My first reaction to Nelson’s book was awestruck silence, such as one might experience when confronted with some dazzling supernatural phenomenon. Thinking and feeling are, for Nelson, mutually necessary processes; the result is an exceptional portrait both of a romantic partnership and of the collaboration between Nelson's mind and heart.” ― The New Yorker. “Maggie Nelson slays entrenched notions of gender, marriage, and sexuality with lyricism, intellectual brass, and soul-ringing honesty in The Argonauts. “Reading Maggie Nelson is like watching a high-wire act. “So much writing about motherhood makes the world seem smaller after the child arrives, more circumscribed, as if in tacit fealty to the larger cultural assumptions about moms and domesticity; Nelson's book does the opposite” ― The New York Times Book Review “Maggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation.” ―Olivia Laing, The Guardian. “In The Argonauts , Maggie Nelson turns ‘making the personal public' into a romantic, intellectual wet dream. A gorgeous book, inventive, fearless, and full of heart.” ― Kim Gordon “[Nelson's] is a radicalism that looks like the future of common sense. It's a book about using the writings of smart, even difficult writers to help us find clarity and precision in our intimate lives, and it's a book about the no less intimate pleasures of the life of the mind. “Nelson's vibrant, probing and, most of all, outstanding book is also a philosophical look at motherhood, transitioning, partnership, parenting, and family-an examination of the restrictive way we've approached these terms in the past and the ongoing struggle to arrive at more inclusive and expansive definitions for them.” ―NPR “Brilliant like nothing else you've ever read, Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is as hard to pin down as it is stunning. “Reading Nelson is like sweeping the leaves out of your mental driveway: by the end of one of her books, you have a better understanding of how the world works...The result is one of the most intelligent, generous, and moving books of the year.” ― Publishers Weekly, "Best Summer Books 2015" “ The Argonauts finds Nelson at her most vulnerable, arguing for a radical rethinking of the terms in which we express love.” ― The Paris Review, "Staff Picks". “Maggie Nelson cuts through our culture's prefabricated structures of thought and feeling with an intelligence whose ferocity is ultimately in the service of love. “Reading Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts helped me to feel some things I've long thought about but hardly been able to express regarding the socialization of the maternal function, which is the dispersed, dispersive essence of the futurity we present to one another until one is not another anymore. “In the 17th century a book like Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts might have been called an anatomy, by which I mean it's a learned, quirky, open-hearted, often beautiful naming-of-parts.
Reviews
"I've read lots of queer literature, queer philosophy, and queer theory in the past decade, but this book made me feel more introspective, thoughtful, and curious about gender, femininity, motherhood, and sex than ever before."
"The book is written as a log of a slice of her life and though the details are the vehicle, the fragmentary thoughts - time, location, train-of-thought, &c. - are the real message and they include the reader in a way that feels very intimate while also being pensive enough to remind that reader that it is a labor rather than an extended share-session. Impressive work - I hope many other men are taking it up."
"LOVE THIS BOOK."
"Nelson's reflections on many varied quotations, often from poets, but also from a wide variety of other writers, offers very interesting responses."
"i had heard a lot of recommendations for this book, but it isnt written in a style i necessarily enjoy, but i think its an important story to be told."
"I enjoyed this book!"
"Amazing novel -- the audiobook too I strongly recommend, as it's given by Maggie Nelson herself."
"Speechless at the audacity, skill, depth, pathos and humor."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Coming Out

The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World
The revised and expanded edition covers issues related to gay marriage, a broader range of examples that extend beyond middle-class gay men in America, and expansion of the original discussion on living authentically as a gay man. ALAN DOWNS, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Beverly Hills, California, and the former CEO of Michael’s House, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Palm Springs.
Reviews
"Life examples from the less-than-fabulous, i.e. rural/suburban gay men, unsuccessful or non-materialistic gay men, poor and middle-class gay men, ordinary-looking gay men, gay homebodies, senior gay men, disabled gay men, gay men of color, and many others are almost nowhere to be found, likely because these people appear largely absent from the author's social and professional circles (which he talks about a great deal, almost to the point of bragging at times)."
"The author's goal: for the gay reader. to become his authentic self and that means dealing truthfully not. only with his pain but the ways he acts out to avoid feeling that emotion. and many others."
"It will enhance your life in communication, relationships, honesty, passion, love, romance, and happiness if you consistently practice it's lessons."
"The book can be read for its many insights into what makes gay men "tick" or as gay marriage manuel dealing with emotional growth and development as gay men and as coupled gay men."
"I'm about half way through and already it's the best self-help book I've read. The books not over."
"More gay men need to read this book."
"An excellent and vital book for all gay men."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights History

When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
Jones found community--in the hotel rooms and ramshackle apartments shared by other young adventurers, in the city's bathhouses and gay bars like The Stud, and in the burgeoning gay district, the Castro, where a New York transplant named Harvey Milk set up a camera shop, began shouting through his bullhorn, and soon became the nation's most outspoken gay elected official. He chronicles the heartbreak of losing countless friends to AIDS, which very nearly killed him, too; his co-founding of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation during the terrifying early years of the epidemic; his conception of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the largest community art project in history; the bewitching story of 1970s San Francisco and the magnetic spell it cast for thousands of young gay people and other misfits; and the harrowing, sexy, and sometimes hilarious stories of Cleve's passionate relationships with friends and lovers during an era defined by both unprecedented freedom and and violence alike. "You could read Cleve Jones's book because you should know about the struggle for gay, lesbian, and transgender rights from one of its key participants-maybe heroes--but really, you should read it for pleasure and joy. When We Rise is about the building of a movement--and the building of Cleve Jones, who came to San Francisco as a teenage adventurer and transformed into an activist whose contributions helped change the course of gay history. "Cleve Jones is a history buff who has himself become part of history. Now, in When We Rise , Cleve takes us along on his personal journey in the fight for equal rights--a journey filled with humor, sadness, love and ultimately profound change. The story Cleve Jones tells-of a bullied boy from the sun-blasted Arizona suburbs, who finds an extended family among the street kids of San Francisco and then within the gay movement that revolutionized the world-is thrilling to read. "Jones takes readers on his thrilling, if perilous, voyage from fey, long-haired teen hitching his way from his home in Arizona to San Francisco, to becoming the mentee of Harvey Milk ... Jones survives San Francisco's viciously homophobic police in the '70s and, later, the AIDS epidemic that took his dearest friends.
Reviews
"At turns sad, funny, gut wrenching and uplifting, When We Rise chronicles a microcosm in the greater movement for visibility and LGBT rights as experienced through the eyes of one man."
"I lived in San Francisco for this tumultuous period and Cleve Jones was at that time recognized as a Gay Icon who worked with Harvey Milk and George Moscone."
"Hopefully my dream of moving to the west coast will become a reality soon and I will have more chances to speak and learn from this great contemporary."
"Amazing, TRUE (I was there) and it was a journey down memory lane..Thank you, Cleve Jones!"
"You may not have set out to write an LGBT history, but you provided this youngish gay man with a remarkable education, and a renewed sense of gratitude for all of the hard work my forebears put into making the world a better place for everyone."
"The book tells the story of what it was like to be a young gay man in the late 60s who moved to San Francisco and witnessed the struggle for our rights and the AIDS holocaust up close and personal."
"This would be an good personal history of the early days of the gay rights movement and the AIDS epidemic if Jones edited out most of the earth-moving sex that he had with every "gorgeous man" and " cute boy" that came within range of his gaydar."
"This was definitely a page turner for me, I couldn't put it down."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Gay & Lesbian Demographic Studies

Suck Less: Where There's a Willam, There's a Way
I've got clap backs and life hacks and tips on classing up a simple grab-and-run lifting spree to the much more dignified act of larceny. Willam is a model, actress, mattress.
Reviews
"I wrote this and it's good but my Dad says it's riddled with typos worse than a ticks on a deer's butt."
"This was an amazing read."
"I love everything about this book you can actually learn a lot about things you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask."
"Every page is packed full with the hilarious humor every Willam fan knows and loves."
"The book takes you through all aspects of William's life as a drag queen and YT."
"Before this book I was really underestimating myself, but now I learned how to Suck Less & charge more!"
"This is a really fun coffee table book."
"I love Willam so of course I couldn't pass up buying her book."
Find Best Price at Amazon