LGBTQ - Nonfiction

This list has been created by a Library Assistant at Wake County Public Libraries (WCPL) and encompasses *most* of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus other identitites such as, intersex, asexual, aromantic, demisexual, demiromantic, nonbinary, genderqueer, and more) titles categorized under "Nonfiction" and "Biography" in the WCPL collection as of March 11, 2025.

Showing 1 - 20 of 108  There are a total of 257 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Pure innocent fun"
Star rating for Pure innocent fun
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"In this inviting and joyfully raucous collection of sixteen original essays, written with a rare combination of humor and sharpness, Ira Madison III combines memoir and cultural criticism to offer an updated pop-culture manifesto. Alternately irreverent and emotionally resonant, Pure Innocent Fun will leave you laughing and inspired."--
Book cover for "Falling back in love with being human"
Star rating for Falling back in love with being human
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"Kai Cheng Thom grew up a Chinese Canadian transgender girl in a hostile world. As an activist, psychotherapist, conflict mediator, spiritual healer, and celebrated writer, she's always pursued the same deeply personal mission: to embrace the revolutionary belief that every human being, no matter how hateful or horrible, is intrinsically sacred. But then Kai Cheng found herself in a crisis of faith, overwhelmed by the viciousness with which people...
Book cover for "Farewell yellow brick road"
Star rating for Farewell yellow brick road
Author:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"In this lavish celebration authored by the icon himself, Elton John shares his fondest memories, most unforgettable moments, and previously untold stories of his record-breaking final tour. Readers will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into every aspect of this globe-spanning spectacle, including Elton's legendary touring wardrobe by Gucci, official photography, and more. As the tour weaves across the world, Elton reaches back in time to reflect on...
Book cover for "Loud"
Star rating for Loud
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"The empowering, inspiring, patriarchy-smashing first book by the TikTok and Spotify star Drew Afualo"--
Book cover for "Hi honey, I'm homo!"
Star rating for Hi honey, I'm homo!
Author:
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"Hi Honey, I'm Homo! is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America"--
Book cover for "Miss Major speaks"
Star rating for Miss Major speaks
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"The future of Black, queer, and trans liberation explored by a legendary transgender elder and activist. Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, New York's jail system, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. For over fifty years, she has been on the front lines of struggles for queer liberation. In this brilliant and moving conversation...
Book cover for "In the garden of beasts"
Star rating for In the garden of beasts
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
In 1933, President Roosevelt personally selected William E. Dodd to be the United States ambassador to Nazi Germany. Dodd took his family with him, including his daughter Martha. Initially enamored with the Nazi party and its passion, Martha supported the Third Reich. However, when Hitler's violent policies became apparent, Martha changed her opinion and watched in horror. Here, author Erik Larson offers a chilling first-person account of Germany's...
Book cover for "Everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant"
Star rating for Everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant
Author:
Average Rating:
2.7 stars
Description:
"Nineteen eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven: Chung's Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone from the city's first Black mayor to the local drag queens, from a big-time Hollywood star to elderly Jewish couples could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal. Here was where, beneath a bright-red awning and surrounded by his multigenerational family, filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin came of age; where he learned...
Book cover for "In the form of a question"
Star rating for In the form of a question
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"An inspirational and bold memoir from the most successful woman ever to compete on Jeopardy!--and an exploration of what it means to ask questions of the world and of yourself. ANSWER: Who Is Amy Schneider? In eighth grade, Amy was voted 'Most likely to appear on Jeopardy!' by her classmates. Decades later, this trailblazer finally got her chance. Not only did she walk away with $1.3 million while captivating the world with her impressive forty-game...
Book cover for "He/she/they"
Star rating for He/she/they
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"He/She/They uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the fundamental language and context of gender so that we can meet people where they are and pave the way to understanding, acceptance, and inclusion. As a transgender man, inclusion advocate, and LGBTQ educator, Schuyler Bailar is more than familiar with the myriad questions that come up. In [his book], he addresses them head on, such as why being transgender is not a choice, why...
Book cover for "Congratulations, the best is over!"
Star rating for Congratulations, the best is over!
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"The beloved bestselling author of Here for It presents a collection of heartening, thoughtful, and laugh-out-loud funny essays about the lifelong search for community and returning home. After going viral "reading" the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas is ready to live his best life. Or, if not, at least his best-ish life. Now, in this collection...
Book cover for "Gays on Broadway"
Star rating for Gays on Broadway
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"This is a chronological review of both the plays and the people that brought the world of homosexuals, bisexuals, transexuals, metrosexuals, and the sexually fluid to the American stage. The plays--which take in a few foreign imports--treat strong gay content (e. g., The Boys in the Band or The Killing of sister George), or minor gay content (Season In the Sun, The Nervous Set), or even a phrase in passing (as in New Faces of 1956's joke about Rome's...
Book cover for "Baking yesteryear"
Star rating for Baking yesteryear
Average Rating:
4 stars
Book cover for "Lesbian love story"
Star rating for Lesbian love story
Average Rating:
4 stars
Book cover for "Fieldwork"
Star rating for Fieldwork
Average Rating:
3 stars
Description:
"With her first book, Regan announced herself as a writer whose extravagant, unconventional talents matched her abilities as a lauded chef. In her follow-up, she digs even deeper to express the meaning and beauty we seek in the landscapes, and stories, that reveal the forces which inform, shape, and nurture our lives"--
Book cover for "Weightless"
Star rating for Weightless
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:

A poignant and ruthlessly honest journey through cultural expectations of size, race, and gender—and toward a brighter future—from National Book Award nominee Evette Dionne

My body has not betrayed me; it has continued rebounding against all odds. It is a body that others map their expectations on, but it has never let me down.

In this insightful, funny, and whip-smart book, acclaimed writer Evette Dionne

...
Book cover for "Pageboy"
Star rating for Pageboy
Average Rating:
3.6 stars
Description:
"The Oscar-nominated star who captivated the world with his performance in Juno finally shares his truth. "Can I kiss you?" It was two months before the world premiere of Juno, and Elliot Page was in his first ever queer bar. The hot summer air hung heavy around him as he looked at her. And then it happened. In front of everyone. A previously unfathomable experience. Here he was on the precipice of discovering himself as a queer person, as a trans...
Book cover for "Horse Barbie"
Star rating for Horse Barbie
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
"As a young femme growing up in Manila in the 1990s, Geena Rocero endured shouts of bakla, bakla!, a Filipino taunt aimed at her feminine sway, whenever she left the little universe of her eskinita. Eventually she found her place in trans pageants, events as widely attended and culturally significant as a national sport, going to high school by day and competing by night. When her competitors denigrated her with the nickname "horse barbie," due to...
Book cover for "Too much is not enough"
Star rating for Too much is not enough
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:
"From the star of Broadway's The Book of Mormon and HBO's Girls, the heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age memoir of a Midwestern boy surviving bad auditions, bad relationships, and some really bad highlights as he chases his dreams in New York City."--Publisher's description.
Book cover for "Hijab butch blues"
Star rating for Hijab butch blues
Author:
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Description:
"Fourteen years old and growing up in the Middle East, Lamya is an overachiever and a class clown, qualities that help her hide in plain sight when she realizes she has a crush on her teacher-her female teacher. She's also fourteen when she reads a passage in Quran class about Maryam, known as the Virgin Mary in the Christian Bible, that changes everything. Lamya learns that Maryam was untempted by an angelically handsome man, and later, when told...