Queer Library is a new feature on Bonjour, Cass! Every Friday I’ll write about a queer book on my shelves, an upcoming book I’m looking forward to reading, a review, or anything else related to LGBTQ books.
After last week’s Queer Library post about the upcoming book Against Equality: Prisons Will Not Protect You, I was directed to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP)’s page explaining their stance against hate crime legislation. The SRLP is a non-profit that “provides legal services, public education, and works towards policy change through community organizing” for low-income trans communities and trans communities of color, so it’s particularly interesting to read about the organization’s advocacy against hate crime laws.
I was really excited to see a post on Tor.com about queer representations in steampunk literature and in steampunk fan communities entitled ‘Queer Cogs: Steampunk, Gender Identity, and Sexuality.’ It was surprising to me to see Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series listed as a representation of queer identities in steampunk lit! I’ve seen it reviewed a bunch of places but hadn’t noticed any mention of queer content within the books. I’ll definitely be checking it out now.
My other favorite queer link of the day was The Hive’s interview Lisa Cohen, author of All We Know, a biography of three queer historical women. I’m anxiously waiting for my library to let me know that my hold on that book has come through!
I’ve wanted to read the Parasol series for some time. Most excellent.
There’s lots of queer content in the Parasol Protectorate series! Plus the books are simply great reads, funny & imaginative.
I second that. The Parasol Protectorate series is good fun. There is a woman cross-dresser and I believe she’s lesbian too. She’s a great character – well, they all are – I have read 3 books in this series and enjoyed them a lot. I wouldn’t recommend reading the whole series in one go, but in small measures, this is a fun series.